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Will McLaren ever return to winning ways? | Andrew Smyth FOLLOW CONTRIBUTOR Feature 8 // 06 Jan 2019, 03:35 IST SHARE Share Options Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Google+ Email F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Qualifying The 2018 season had many highs with Lewis Hamilton becoming only the third driver in history to win a fifth F1 title, Kimi Raikkonen tasting victory at a Grand Prix for the first time in five years and the emergence of Charles Leclerc. But, for McLaren, it proved to be another campaign to forget with the Woking-based outfit has now gone 20 years since they last won a constructors championship and ten since the drivers title. Aside from that, its also now been 119 races since Jenson Button crossed the chequered flag in Brazil 2012 for their final Grand Prix victory. Since then, its been an uneventful time for McLaren as most of their races have been spent at the back end of the midfield after splitting from Mercedes before going on to a failed three-year partnership with Honda and then struggling to progress with Renault. Disastrous engine partnerships Honda Holds Press Conference Prior To 2015 Formula One World Championship Emulating the great success they had with Honda during the late 80s and early 90s, with the legendary Ayrton Senna at the helm, would always be a tall order. McLaren split from long-time partners Mercedes as they felt winning the championship wouldnt be possible as a customer team against the works outfit. It was a fair point and the lure of having engines designed only for their car proved to be a very attractive option for then-CEO Ron Dennis. But poor reliability and a general lack of performance caused the partnership between Honda and McLaren to end after three years. The new collaboration with Renault has fared little better after McLaren finished down in sixth place in the constructors championship in 2018 and 357 points behind fellow Renault suppliers Red Bull. Advertisement Interestedly, in the V6 Hybrid era, McLaren have collected 195 points across the past four seasons compared to the 181 they achieved with Mercedes in 2014. Changes in team personnel F1 Winter Testing in Barcelona - Day Two Forcing out a man who had led them to record heights in the 80s in Ron Dennis was a bold move by McLaren, who felt a change was necessary for this new era. In came American Zak Brown, who had never worked in F1 before, to become the new executive director with Gil de Ferran and Andrea Stella taking on senior roles. But the capture of Toro Rosso technical chief James Key for 2019 is a big coup for McLaren with the 46-year-old having a stellar reputation in the F1 community. Key has been in F1 for the last 20 years following spells with Jordan, MF1 Racing, Spyker F1, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso. The Englishman is viewed as one of F1s foremost technical minds and had been linked with bigger teams over the past few years. F1 Grand Prix of Mexico - Final Practice The signing of Carlos Sainz on a multi-year contract to replace fellow Spaniard Alonso was a welcome boost for McLaren. Sainz may only be 24 but hes already got four seasons worth of experience behind him. Following several fine drives at Toro Rosso and Renault, Sainz is regarded as one of the sports hottest young talents and could become a beacon of hope for McLaren in the upcoming years. F1 Grand Prix of Japan - Practice Meanwhile, the arrival of 18-year-old test driver Lando Norris to replace Stoffel Vandoorne has raised plenty of eyebrows on the grid. But, considering some impressive outings during the practice sessions last year, McLaren decided that Norris potential was just too good to ignore and promoted him. Despite the comparisons that have already been made between the teenager and world champion Hamilton, It would be fair not to expect too much from him in 2019 due to his lack of experience and whether McLaren will be competitive or not. F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Qualifying Its still too early to judge the overall success of the McLaren-Renault partnership as it normally takes three years for new collaborations in F1 to maximise their potential. Meanwhile, the young driver-pairing of Sainz and Norris suggests that McLaren are planning for beyond 2019 with Brown confirming that Keys impact on their new car will be limited. Overall it seems that the eight-time constructors' champions are still undergoing a reconstruction process and will, therefore, likely use the upcoming season to build a platform for the future. Which means that chances of McLaren making any real strides towards front-runners Mercedes and Ferrari will only likely occur in 2021 when the next big regulation changes are introduced which will feature new cars and engines. Advertisement | https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/will-mclaren-ever-return-to-winning-ways |
Is Manny Pacquiao a Hater? | From the beginning, its not my plan to enter politics, he said, because I hate politics. I want to help more people. Its about giving. Its about doing your job. Its about solving the problems Hater is one of the most overused words in boxing. Part of its overuse is due to a lack of imagination, when its not simply parroting whatever word or catchphrase happens to be commonplace at the moment. WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs), the future Hall-of-Famer from General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines, is not a hater, per se. But he admitted during the first episode of All Access: Pacquiao vs. Broner that he hates politics, and frankly who can blame him. But Pacquiao, who is a senator and will someday be President of the Philippines, is a man on a mission, and that mission, in addition to his continuing to fight at 40 years of age, is to challenge the poverty of his countrymen, poverty which he himself experienced and remembers all too well. From the beginning, its not my plan to enter politics, he said, because I hate politics [But] I want to help more people. Its about giving. Its about doing your job. Its about solving the problems. God put me in this situation to serve honestly, stop corruption, to help the people. Thats my goal for being a boxer and being a politician. Wanting to help the people is a noble desire and long overdue. But stopping corruption in politics, where money flows like blood from a severed artery, may prove more difficult than Manny imagines. | http://www.boxing.com/is_manny_pacquiao_a_hater.html |
Has the Queen handed Meghan Markle role as patron of the National Theatre? | She is the Hollywood starlet who has found her greatest part as the most glamorous member of the Royal Family. And now the Duchess of Sussex is set to take over the regal role of patron of the National Theatre from the Queen, The Mail on Sunday has learned. According to Palace sources, Her Majesty has made the decision that Meghan should be given the coveted position as a mark of her growing confidence in the Duchess. It is understood the appointment will be announced in the next few days. Last month, Meghan had a private meeting with Rufus Norris, the director of the National Theatre, and, according to sources, they discussed plans for her role. Meghan and Harry meet the cast and crew of Hamilton backstage after their performance at Victoria Palace Theatre Palace insiders believe Meghans career as an actress makes her a natural fit for the position. She starred in US legal drama Suits for seven years and studied theatre at Northwestern University. The handover from the Queen will lower the curtain on an association going back decades. Founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1963, the National first had its home at the Old Vic theatre, but relocated to its current home on the South Bank in 1976. One part of Meghans job will be strengthening connections between the theatre and American benefactors, and the hope is the Duchess will add a Meghan dividend. The National Theatre has an office in New York and many of the companys most successful productions including History Boys and War Horse have opened to rave reviews on Broadway. Part of the role will see Meghan becoming involved with The American Associates of the National Theatre a New York-based charity which contributes more than 3million a year to supporting the Nationals work. Rufus Norris, who succeeded Sir Nicholas Hytner as director of the National Theatre in 2015 and who lived in Ethiopia, Malaysia and Nigeria as a child, is said to be acutely aware of promoting openness to different cultures. Until now, however, he hasnt openly courted the theatres connection to the Royal Family, saying last year that the National did not use the Royal prefix for fear of being considered elitist. He said: This country is still very class divided and anything that adds to that perception, that this place is not open to everybody, could be a downfall. This year Mr Norris is set to direct a stage adaptation of Andrea Levys award-winning novel Small Island which traces the evolution of four characters whose lives are affected by a move from Jamaica to London during World War II. Among its many themes, the play explores racism, an interracial relationship and a move to a new country. Sources say Meghans own story perfectly complements the play and marks a new direction for the theatre. Palace insiders believe Meghans career as an actress makes her a natural fit for patron of the National Theatre The Duchess, who has been outspoken about the racism her mother Doria experienced, is said to have bonded with Mr Norris. She has taken a great interest in the arts since moving to Britain. Meghan and Harry attended a benefit performance of the hit musical Hamilton to support Harrys charity Sentebale. Before Christmas, she made a visit to Brinsworth House which supports former artists and entertainers at a residential home. She also attended the Royal Variety Performance in November. Palace sources said Meghan has been holding various private meetings with organisations that tie in with her charitable and humanitarian interests. She is expected to begin work with these groups before taking leave to give birth to her first child later this year. Cate Blanchett is due to star at the National this year in the opening of When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other and next year the theatre will debut Lenny Henry in a one-man play about Richard Pryor. Both the National and the Palace declined to comment. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6561091/Has-Queen-handed-Meghan-Markle-role-patron-National-Theatre.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 |
How will Californias gender quotas impact women? | This year California will begin implementing a new policy that requires companies to fill around 40 percent of corporate board positions with female directors. Governor Jerry Brown signed the gender quota law into effect last year, and it will phase in over the next three years. By 2021, the policy will require companies to appoint two female directors if the company has five directors and three female directors if the corporation has six or more. While unprecedented in the United States, Californias policy is not original. The proposal follows in the footsteps of various other European countries including Norway, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain that have passed similar legislation in recent years. And given that some policies have been around for more than a decade already, California voters and policymakers would be wise to consider the outcomes of existing reforms and set expectations accordingly. Californians should start by reviewing Norways experience: Norway was the first country to require gender quotas for corporate boards in 2003, and the country set quotas at around the same level as California (40 percent of corporate board directors must be female under Norwegian law). Norways policy dissolves companies in the event of noncompliance, whereas California is set to fine companies between $100-$300K if they dont comply. Norway and Californias reform also shares a common objective. As California law describes it, More women directors serving on boards of directors of publicly held corporations will improve opportunities for women in the workplace. Likewise, the primary objective of Norways reform was to increase female representation in corporate leadership positions and reduce other gender disparities within corporations. The idea is that if women are discriminated against or lack a corporate network necessary to advance within a company, then gender quotas might help overcome that. But findings from a study published this week in The Review of Economic Studies challenges the idea that womens opportunities in the workplace can be improved through gender quotas. The studys authors find that although Norways gender quotas increased the nominal level of women on corporate boards and benefited elite women selected for board director roles, the impact mostly ended there. Specifically, Norways quotas did not increase female representation in corporate leadership positions overall, did not reduce gender pay gaps for highly qualified women, and did not benefit highly qualified women that were not selected for board roles. In a survey that was part of the study, young women also had not adjusted marital or childbearing plans because of the reform, which is important since marriage and childbearing have an impact on long-term female work and earnings trajectories. Related Articles Jerry Browns warning of fiscal oblivion Shutdown reduces federal workers to barter with the landlord Elizabeth Warren offers the wrong ideas in bid for presidency Shades of Prop. 187, as Trump rhetoric diminishes GOP Hold accountable for Rose Parade float breakdown: Letters The authors concluded that overall, seven years after [Norways] board quota policy fully came into effect it had very little discernible impact on women in business beyond its direct effect on the women who made it into boardrooms. The new study is not alone in its findings. Other research, described in the Cato research paper The Nordic Glass Ceiling and elsewhere, supports the findings of the recent study. For example, in one Swedish study researchers found no evidence gender quotas had an impact on the gender division of managers. And in a study published in the Nordic Labour Journal researchers reported that quotas did not lead to higher earnings for women. Indeed, as The Economist wrote in 2018, ten years on from Norways quota for women on corporate boards gender quotas at board level in Europe have done little to boost corporate performance or to help women lower down. Although we have yet to see what impact Californias reform will have on women, the existing evidence suggests it will not be what voters and policymakers expected. Voters and policymakers should temper their expectations accordingly. Vanessa Brown Calder is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute. | https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2019/01/05/how-will-californias-gender-quotas-impact-women/ |
Are Gun Rights The Next Target Of Corporate Censorship? | Authored by Jos Nio via The Mises Institute, Ever since Dicks Sporting Goods and banks such as Citigroup made business decisions in line with the mainstream medias push for gun control, some opponents of gun control have debated whether private companies pose a bigger threat to gun rights than government does. In the case of Dicks Sporting Goods, the outdoor company decided to stop selling rifles like the AR-15 and banned the sale of firearms to individuals younger than 21. In response to the Parkland shooting in Florida, banks like Citigroup also crafted their own anti-gun policies as reported in The New York Times: Citigroup is setting restrictions on the sale of firearms by its business customers, making it the first Wall Street bank to take a stance in the divisive nationwide gun control debate. The new policy, announced Thursday, prohibits the sale of firearms to customers who have not passed a background check or who are younger than 21. It also bars the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. Its not just gun owners who are experiencing limited shopping choices. Gun rights lobbies like the National Rifle Association have faced opposition from corporate America. Rental car companies like Avis and software companies like Symantec have severed their affiliate programs with the NRA in the wake of the Parkland shooting hysteria. It appears the next fad in virtue signaling in the corporate world may be gun control. Why More Laws are Not the Answer US Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana recently filed the No Red and Blue Banks Act that would prohibit the federal government from giving contracts to banks that discriminate against lawful businesses based solely on social policy considerations. Kennedy does raise a valid point about how the government should put the brakes on business subsidization. Unfortunately, Kennedy falls for the modern-day conservative trap of attacking government contracts because they benefit corporations who espouse leftist causes, rather than categorically opposing all forms of government intervention. For starters, all state contracts and privileges to businesses should be cut off, regardless of their stated goal or purpose. However, many well-intentioned conservatives are stuck on myopic thinking and fail to notice the implicit state coercion in the background. For them, ironically, more government is the answer. Thinking Beyond Stage 1 Most people see the capitalistic faade of the US economy, but they dont recognize the implicit threats of state force. Corporations these days are trying to beat the government to the punch when it comes to disassociating with politically maligned groups like gun owners. If corporations continue to lag, theyll receive veiled threats from the government to either ban these businesses or else have laws slapped on them. This was on display with the latest social de-platforming scandal. Justin Raimondo detailed Senator Chris Murphys threats to social media companies during the de-platforming mania: All this wasnt good enough for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), who demanded to know if the plan was to only take down one website. No doubt he has a whole list of sites hed like to take down. Even more ominously, it was revealed that a direct threat had been made to these companies by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), who sent out a memo listing all the ways the government could crack down on Big Data if they refuse to go along with cleansing the internet of divisive material. In many regards, politically-connected corporations decisions to discontinue business with certain political organizations provide cover for control-freak politicians. Instead of having to pass laws themselves, of which they can be held accountable for during election time, politicians can just pressure and even extort a corporation into carrying out their agenda. No controversial laws or regulations necessary at least for the time being. It Goes Back to Culture It would be nave to believe that these forms of dissociation and censorship are going to be confined to the private sector. At the end of the day, politics is downstream from culture. What were seeing now is a manifestation of this degenerative process in real time. No matter what the naysayers claim, political correctness and state-linguistic complex are tools of the political establishment in its campaign to legitimize political universalism. Once businesses embrace state-linguistic complex hook, line and sinker, this same behavior will then permeate to other parts of society. The political realm will eventually be one of the last sectors to embrace these trends. This has become apparent with the incoming Congress, which is already proposing a slew of gun control bills ranging from universal gun registration to red flag gun confiscation schemes. America Needs De-Politicization Yes, business decisions to disassociate with gun groups are not qualitatively the same as state-based gun control. In fact, state-imposed gun control is heavy-handed and much harder to repeal due to institutional inertia in government. In the long-term, gun organizations can at least turn to other banks and service providers for their daily operations. In some cases, certain entities will emerge to serve the needs of niche organizations that find themselves ostracized by legacy institutions. The controversial social media outlet Gab comes to mind. Other alternatives such as seeking legal remedies through the courts could be valid options for those affected by controversial business decisions. Plaintiffs could cite breach of contract actions such as violations of terms of service or defamation of character should they decide to take these companies to court. One thing is certain: adding more bureaucracy is not the answer in fighting corporate Americas political correctness agenda. America desperately needs a political detox, and decentralization might just provide the cure. | https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-04/are-gun-rights-next-target-corporate-censorship?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 |
Will Arizona lawmakers (again) try to kill the Electoral College? | Opinion: If enough states pass laws awarding their electoral college votes to the popular vote winner the arcane, racially motivated practice goes away. Protesters hold signs during a demonstration to protest the National Electoral College's selection of President-elect Donald Trump outside the Wilson Building in Washington. (Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo , EPA) Two years ago, the Arizona House of Representatives voted to eliminate the Electoral College. Its a great idea. Long overdue. The House passed a bill that would have given all of Arizonas 11 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote no matter who wins the in-state vote. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for it. Twelve states already have passed similar laws, with a combined number of 165 electoral votes. When enough states pass such bills to equal 270 electoral votes it would guarantee that the popular vote winner would win the presidency. How to make every vote count CLOSE Here are 3 things you need to know about the electoral college. Wochit The website for National Popular Vote, which is pushing the interstate compact, says in part: The bill ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. Exactly. The proposal passed in the Arizona House by a 40-16 margin, crossing political lines, but then-Senate President Andy Biggs would not let the bill come to a vote in the Senate. Maybe J.D. Mesnard, who introduced the bill back in 2016 and who now is in the Senate, will give it another go. He said in 2016, "Our presidential elections have come down to 10 battleground states. Arizona is so decidedly Republican that neither Democrats nor Republicans find it necessary or beneficial to campaign here. Arizona's issues are ignored because Arizona voters don't matter." Trump wanted to abolish it, until ... Every vote, Republican or Democrat or anything else, should matter. Before he ran for president, Donald Trump loved the idea of abolishing the Electoral College. For a time during the 2012 presidential election it appeared as if Republican Mitt Romney might win the popular vote but lose in the electoral college. That didnt happen. President Obama beat Romney by roughly 2.5 million in the popular vote. When it looked like Romney might get more votes, however, then citizen Trump tweeted: Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012 And: This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012 And: The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012 The Washington Post also catalogued a number of tweets that Trump later deleted, which included: He [Obama] lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country! And: The phoney [sic] electoral college made a laughing stock out of our nation. The loser one! And: More votes equals a lossrevolution! (Nov. 7) ... he needed the Electoral College Somehow, that very strong view changed for Trump after Hillary Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes than he did in the presidential election but lost to him in the electoral college. After that happened Trump tweeted: The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2016 Actually, the Electoral College came into effect in the 1800s under the influence of southern states like Virginia, which demanded that their slaves who could not vote be counted among their population. Not as individuals, exactly. The proposal to create the Electoral College included the three-fifths compromise, by which each slave was counted as three-fifths of a person, instead of a whole. Imagine that. It was enough to prop up the electoral college numbers for slave states like Virginia and tilt the presidency their way. How to make Arizona relevant In other words, the Electoral College is an arcane, racist conceit. Not only that, but the notion that smaller states come into play by way of the Electoral College is a joke. Its the so-called battleground states that come into play while other states are ignored. The only way to stage a free and fair national presidential election is to have every vote in every state matter. Then every state would be a battleground. The Arizona House recognized that in 2016. Maybe this year the entire Legislature will do so. Reach Montini at [email protected]. MORE BY MONTINI: Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2019/01/05/arizona-electoral-college-national-popular-vote/2479675002/ | https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2019/01/05/arizona-electoral-college-national-popular-vote/2479675002/ |
Who are the Golden Girls of Prospect Cemetery and why did they decide to spend eternity together? | Most people are buried along with their spouses, their children, perhaps even the family dog. But when Pauline Chorna, Annie Hrynchak, Anna Baran and Nellie Handiak died over the span of three decades, they did not waver in their plan. The four women are exactly where they wanted to be, buried shoulder-to-shoulder under a pink granite tombstone that lists their names beneath a single word: FRIENDS. Under the shade of a white oak, the unexpected inscription has become a landmark of sorts for the joggers and dog walkers who frequent Prospect Cemetery, a reason to pause and contemplate the stories buried beneath their feet. The pink granite tombstone at Prospect Cemetery marks the final resting place of four women who were best friend in life and proclaims that they are forever friends in death. ( Rick Madonik / Toronto Star ) While the women are far from Prospects most famous residents the cemetery is the eternal home of the Group of Sevens J.E.H. MacDonald, after all they represent one of its more unusual internments and, arguably, Torontos most enduring friendship. Their communal gravestone is also a mystery to be solved. Friends these seven letters explain the connection but reveal so little about the four women who chose to be forever defined by this word. Article Continued Below For the Golden Girls of Prospect Cemetery, their stories began more than 7,500 kilometres outside of Toronto, in the pastoral villages that dot the verdant foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain range begins in western Slovakia and arcs through Poland and Ukraine before tapering off in Romania. Canadians who have never heard of the region would at least recognize its most famous son; when Andy Warhol used to say I come from nowhere, the truth was his family the Varholas hailed from Mikova, a Carpathian hamlet located in present-day Slovakia. People from Warhols nowhere might call themselves Ruthenians, Rusyns, Carpatho-Rusyns, or Carpatho-Russians and in the early 20th century, there was a mass migration to North America, spurred by bleak economic conditions back home. Between the early 1920s and the Great Depression, some 15,000 to 20,000 immigrants from the Carpathian Mountains settled in Canada, with the vast majority in southern Ontario, according to University of Toronto historian Paul Robert Magocsi. Most came from the Lemko region that was then part of Poland, including a young Anna Baran. Back then, she was still Anna Hulik and passed her days tending her fathers sheep in their tiny village. When she decided to pursue a better life in North America, her father likely went to a moneylender to borrow the $300 or $400 needed for the overseas journey, according to her son, William Baran, who is now 86. Baran doesnt know when or where his mother first met the three women with whom she would eventually share a grave. Hes heard that maybe they met on the same ship bound for Canada but Nellie Handiaks daughter, Jeannie Lindo, is skeptical of this theory. As far as she knows, her mother was sponsored by her brother to come to Canada in 1929, landing in Kapuskasing before relocating to Winnipeg, where she married her first husband. They had two children and eventually settled on a 14-acre fruit farm near Hamilton. Article Continued Below But when Lindo was 5 or so, her father suffered severe heat stroke from which he never recovered and died a decade later. Handiak continued running the farm single-handedly, even after she remarried in 1954 and moved to Toronto. For a couple of years before she sold it, she used to go there every weekend to work, Lindo recalls. She made me what I am today, independent as heck. She was a very strong woman. Annie Hrynchak (third from the left in front row), Nellie Handiak (centre, with her hands on the table) and Anna Baran (second from the right) are shown in an archival photo of the women who often cooked meals for the Society of Carpatho-Russian Canadians, which regularly held dances and other events at its hall on Queen St. W. ( Supplied ) The four friends were all made from strong stock. We used to say about baba: strong like bull, recalls Barans granddaughter, Jo-Ann. Baran once described how Lemko immigrants were driven overseas by extreme economic hardship, only to arrive in Canada on the cusp of the Great Depression, where they struggled with unemployment and rampant racist discrimination. Coming to Canada we did not find what we all hoped for at all work, money and a better life, she wrote in a 1964 article excerpted in a book called From the Carpathian Mountains to Canada. It was very hard for our immigrants to cope with this situation in a foreign country. She described how Lemko girls became servants in homes with very little compensation and workers organized strikes or protests that occasionally erupted into riots, where police beat up the marchers viciously. The most desperate among them travelled across Canada by jumping onto the roofs of freight trains, in search of better work. Our men called them riding the rabbits, Baran wrote. For Baran, her own difficulties came to a head in 1938. She had married Matthew Baran in Saskatchewan, a man who loved cars so much he started a taxi business when they moved to Toronto. Matthew opened an office near Queen St. W. and Bathurst St., where he set up a cot, his son recalls; when the phone rang, he would dash into the night and pick up his fare. On April 1, 1938, Baran was driving his taxi on Lakeshore Rd. when he crashed into a lamppost and the steering wheel crushed his chest, breaking his ribs and likely puncturing his lungs. Police charged him with reckless driving but he died a week later at the age of 39. Anna Baran found herself widowed and the single mother of two children under 5. Her husband had been driving two passengers when he crashed and they decided to sue. She had nothing, her son recalls. They cleaned everything out. He remembers this as an impoverished time of eating a lot of macaroni and milk. His mother eventually found work cleaning boxcars at the CN railyard and he remembers spotting her occasionally on his way to Fort York, where he and his friends played cops and robbers. Leaning over the Bathurst St. bridge, he would see his mother below, her pushcart filled with brooms and Annie Hrynchak by her side the same woman who would eventually be buried next to his mother at Prospect Cemetery. Baran says his mother was the godmother of Hrynchaks only son, Bill, who died in 2014. The Star couldnt reach Hrynchaks surviving relatives but Baran remembers a woman every bit as strong and stern as his mother. Lindo, who knew Hrynchak later in life, recalls a refined woman always dressed to the nines full makeup, earrings, everything. Pauline Chorna (seated with the baby), is shown with her first husband and an unidentified woman in this undated photo. ( Courtesy of Steve Kobelyk ) Neither Baran nor Lindo remember much about Pauline Chorna, the fourth woman buried with their mothers. According to the tombstone inscriptions, Chorna was the first to die in 1977; she was also the oldest of the four women, born in 1900. Her obituary said she had one son, Walter, and two grandsons. One of them, Steven Kobelyk, said his father died last year and he personally doesnt know much about his baba, though he believes she immigrated to Canada in the 30s with her husband, Frank. In Canada, Frank met another woman so the couple split. But Frank had a friend named Mike Tychanych, who worked in the upholstery business and took a shine to Pauline. He asked his permission (to date her), Kobelyk says. And then it was OK. So Pauline and her new beau moved in together at 615 Dufferin St., a house they eventually shared with Chornas son and his French-Canadian partner, Cecile. Cecile Kobelyk, 91, remembers her former mother-in-law as very tiny and cute. Baba was a good woman, she says. She was as sweet as can be. But even though they lived together for years, the two women barely talked; Chorna only spoke her mother tongue, which Kobelyk believes to be Ukrainian. She said my name, Cece, but she never spoke English, she remembers.We just looked at each other and knew what the other was saying. Kobelyk had broken up with Walter by the time Chorna died but she knows her former mother-in-law was buried in Prospect Cemetery with three other women. The reasoning behind the unusual decision is a mystery to her, however. She never knew Chornas friends, just that she had a community she clearly cared about. When Kobelyk thinks back to life with her former mother-in-law, she pictures an aproned Chorna in the kitchen, bent over a pot of boiling water. Every Saturday, Chorna made endless pierogies stuffed with cheese and mashed potato, while Kobelyk sat at the kitchen table and closed each one, pinching and pinching until her thumbs were sore. But most of this food was taken elsewhere to be eaten, by people Kobelyk didnt know. Their home at 615 Dufferin was never the epicentre of Chornas social scene; that would have been another building, which Kobelyk never visited herself. There wasnt many people coming to the house, she says. They always met at the hall. Story Behind the Story delivers insights into how the Star investigates, reports, and produces stories. The hall was tucked inside a three-storey building most Torontonians have likely passed on their travels downtown, without realizing it was once the bustling cultural home for an obscure Central European community. Built in 1881, the original ground-floor tenant of 280 Queen St. W. was Maras Groceries and Liquors, the first store to display its wares behind plate-glass windows, according to Toronto Architecture: A City Guide. The ornate Queen Anne-style building has since housed a menswear store, bookstore, the production team behind the CBC drama Street Legal and according to the book, Haunted Toronto a ghost so malicious and evil it caused four tenants to flee their upper-floor apartments. Today, 280 Queen is home to one of the 60-plus locations of fashion retailer Aritzia, a bona fide success story of Canadian capitalism that reported a net revenue of $743.3 million in the 2018 fiscal year. But the building is currently owned by a fervently communist society, the kind that once hung portraits of Stalin and Lenin on its walls and hosted dignitaries from the former Soviet Union in its ballroom. Around the corner from Aritzias gleaming window displays, there is a side door with a sign that reads Friendship House. A directory lists several tenants, including the Canadian Friends of Soviet People, but property records show the building is owned by the Alexander Duchnovych Society of Carpatho-Russian Canadians. According to the book From the Carpathian Mountains to Canada, which was published by the Alexander Duchnovych Society, the organization was incorporated in 1982 by a dozen executive members. They include three of the four friends buried together at Prospect Cemetery Anna Baran, Annie Hrynchak and Nellie Handiak (who, at that point, went by her married surname, Drotarowska) and Mike Tychanych, the partner of Pauline Chorna. The books author is still alive, but his son, Michael Lucas Jr. one of the societys current directors, according to corporate records declined interview requests on his fathers behalf. But in his book, Lucas explains the society went through several iterations and locations before it was decided they needed a cultural home specifically for Carpatho-Russians. According to records at the City of Toronto Archives, they took ownership of 280 Queen in 1950, when the property value was assessed at $20,250. Suffice to say, the building has since appreciated considerably; a much smaller building down the street recently sold for $7.8 million. The society once boasted 247 members and 38 per cent belonged to the Communist Party, Lucas wrote. While his book covers a lot of ground from the history of Carpatho-Russians to descriptions of the societys cultural activities a prominent theme is a love for the former U.S.S.R. Lucas describes the breakup of the Soviet Union as temporary and refers to Mikhail Gorbachev, the countrys final leader, as the second coming of Judas. Socialism is and will be the future for all the human race! he wrote in one section. On a webpage dedicated to Lucas 80th birthday, a magazine called Northstar Compass described a celebration at 280 Queen where birthday greetings were read aloud by Lucas, including from then-prime minister Steven (sic) Harper, former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion and Vladimir Putin. We highly appreciate your sincere contribution to the promotion of friendship, mutual understanding and bringing together of people of our two countries, reads the message signed by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. Annie Hrynchak (left) and Anna Baran (centre,) are shown in a photo taken during the 35th anniversary of the Society of Carpatho-Russian Canadians. ( Society of Carpatho-Russian Canadians ) The Carpatho-Russian identity is one that is deeply complex and divided along religious, national and political lines, according to historian Magocsi, who chairs U of Ts Ukrainian Studies department and is of Carpatho-Rusyn heritage. While Carpatho-Russians speak a language related to Ukrainian, and come from an area Ukrainians consider within their ethnolinguistic boundaries, many actively reject identification as Ukrainians, Magocsi wrote in his 1999 book, Of the Making of Nationalities There is No End. Their poverty-stricken conditions in Canada also led to strong anti-clerical left-wing political and social attitudes, he wrote, as well as an affinity for the Soviet Union, the worlds first workers state. For their part, many Ukrainian-Canadians and other immigrants from the region regarded the politics of these Soviet-loving Carpathians with disdain. In his book, Lucas recalls how he was closing up the Queen St. hall one night when he spotted a tall man sitting alone. Before I could duck, he threw a chair at me breaking my sax and violin to pieces, yelling I shall kill you, you communist bastard! Lucas wrote, later complaining the man was only reprimanded with 30 hours of community work because the judge understood why this Polish patriot would want to fight against communism. For some, this communist orientation was alienating and younger Carpatho-Russians turned away from the community. When it comes to the four friends of Prospect Cemetery, their children who spoke to the Star all identified as Ukrainian. Some also distanced their mothers from the societys communist leanings. Lindo says her mothers main attraction to the hall was its many concerts, dances and social gatherings and, of course, her friends. I often said to my mother, What are you doing in a communist place? she recalls. She said its not a communist place, its a social club. According to Lucas book, Anna Baran appears to have been the most politically active at the society, where she was the head of the womens section. Her granddaughter remembers how her baba loved vacationing in Cuba and had a fondness for Fidel Castro, but says she also used to bristle whenever she was teased for being a red. Shed get mad. Dont call me red! Jo-Ann Baran laughs. When asked about his mothers political leanings, William Baran says one story springs to mind. In the winter after his father died, the family was living on welfare with no coal to heat the furnace of their Denison Ave. row house. His mother begged several politicians for help but only one came through. He remembers hearing a loud noise one day and running to the basement, where coal was pouring in through the window. She had asked Tim Buck of the Communist Party and told him the problem, he says. And he sent the coal in. Baran agrees, however, that his mothers main attraction to 280 Queen was the community she found there. She and her friends spent every Saturday at the hall, first cooking up a feast of pierogies, cabbage rolls and meat-on-a-stick, and then dancing into the wee hours of the night. Whenever the women came over, the house would fill with their raucous laughter and occasional bickering over whose village back home was superior. They liked fun, I could tell you that, he says. Theyd always be singing; I guess it made them feel like they were back in the old country. We even had an old dog called Blackie and he would howl when they were all singing together. They were best friends. In the late 60s, Lindo was living in Bermuda when her mother called and broke the news. She said, You dont have to worry about paying for my funeral, she recalls. She told me they went to Prospect Cemetery, her, Annie, Anna Baran, and Pauline, and they bought a cemetery plot. I said, Youve got to be kidding. And she goes, Oh, we got that too. ( Rick Madonik / Toronto Star ) When Lindo asked why, her mothers answer was: cards. Aside from their dances at the hall, the womens favourite activity was playing cards together, especially a game called hola. It was like a rummy game, because theyd go bang bang bang bang bang bang then someone would lose, Baran recalls. They loved playing cards so much, in fact, they never wanted to stop so when they died, they would be buried together and continue playing in the afterlife. Lindo found this hilarious. I was quite taken aback, she says. My mother was old-fashioned to a point. But they were so forward thinking that they decided to forget their children and grandchildren and whatever, she continued. They said, Were just gonna do this, and they did. Lindo doesnt know which of the four came up with the crazy idea but suspects her mother and according to cemetery records, shes right. On Oct. 9, 1968, Nellie Handiak purchased a plot at Prospect Cemetery for herself and three other women, with the specific request they be buried side by side, not stacked on top of each other like in other shared graves. But only nine years passed before the plot received its first internment, Pauline Chorna, who died on Jan. 30, 1977. Annie Hrynchak was next, passing away on Feb. 6, 1993, followed by Anna Baran, on Feb. 6, 1996. Nellie Handiak was the last to go, spending a full decade without her friends before dying on June 22, 2006, at the age of 97. Nearly four decades had gone by since Handiak bought the plot with her three best friends. It was lonely (towards the end), because all her friends were gone, Lindo says. As radical as it was for the times, nobody in the family was upset by the womens decision to be buried together, William Baran says. They went through a hard time in life and they relied on one another to help each other, to make life more livable, he says. And they decided to maintain that relationship through death. To find the women today, pass through the cemeterys white gates on the north side of Rogers Rd. and follow the gentle curve of the road to section 21, where theyre wedged between the Mills and Wasendas. There, they will always be, four friends playing cards. Before the final burial of these forever friends of Prospect Cemetery, Handiaks daughter fulfilled one of her mothers last requests: She slipped a deck of cards into her casket. With files from Toronto Star library | https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/01/05/the-golden-girls-of-prospect-cemetery.html |
Why DID the Premier Leagues first lady Susanna Dinnage do a radical U-turn over taking top job? | It was New Years Eve when the email dropped into the inbox of senior Discovery Networks employees and it came from chief executive and president Jean-Briac Perrette, commonly known as JB. He was celebrating the retention of Susanna Dinnage, who had been about to become the most powerful woman in football as chief executive of the Premier League and who was meant to be leaving her post as Global President of Discoverys Animal Planet in the New Year. In a shock announcement, which has left the Premier League jilted, Dinnage had a last-minute re-think and has said she would not be joining the self-styled best league in the world. Susanna Dinnage will no longer be taking over the chief executive role at the Premier League Discovery could not contain their glee. Retaining Dinnage was a late Christmas present wrote Perrette. But from the Premier Leagues perspective, it was an early New Year headache. An exhaustive search led by Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck had settled on Dinnage, 51, as the best fit to replace the unique leadership style of Richard Scudamore over the last 19 years. But even then the announcement was botched, overshadowed by the furore created by Bucks suggestion that Scudamore should receive a 5million leaving bonus, which might be standard fare in Bucks world but seemed a prime example of the fat-cat culture of money for nothing. Last week it got even worse for Buck and the Premier League with Dinnage apparently preferring to stick around to oversee shows such as Crocodile Hunter and River Monsters rather than take on the big beasts of the Premier League. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck had been leading the search for a new chief executive The only sweetener was that they at least will not now be due to pay headhunters Spencer Stuart their six-figure fee given that she never started in the job. It seems clear that Discovery have been piling the pressure on Dinnage to stay once they had absorbed the shock of her departure. She is genuinely highly regarded at the media behemoth. But that alone does not explain her U-turn. With the Premier League returning to their initial shortlist in Tim Davie of BBC Studios and Tom Betts, the ITV Strategy Director, it may be that the job itself is proving a hard sell. Scudamore has been made an easy target over the years, not least when he was embroiled in a sexist email row and in the casual acceptance of that 5m bonus, having previously argued for years that the clubs had found as much money as they possibly could to keep down tickets prices and contribute to wider society. But it is also true that his charisma in dealing with the multiple and complex personalities and agenda of Premier League owners appears irreplaceable. Karen Brady criticised Dinnage's decision, claiming football needed more women in power Her decision to pull out was a terrible disappointment to those of us who have struggled to show that there is nothing in football administration which should be the exclusive territory of men, wrote West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady in her Sun column yesterday. So I was annoyed when Dinnage shied away from one of the major jobs in world sport only weeks before taking over. Scudamore always recognised that his strongest suit was the regularity, ruthless competitiveness and unmatchable sporting entertainment of his league. Like a poker champion he played these qualities to the TV companies, the paymasters whose worldwide audiences loved their weekend kicks but who werent so thrilled about midweek. Still, the winnings kept rolling in. Follow that, then. Perhaps Dinnage was anxious that she couldnt carry the weight of a nations football love and decided against going to the altar. Indeed, Scudamore has just about held the collective together but the fraught negotiations over the latest overseas TV deal demonstrated that the task has grown ever harder. The big six clubs, Manchester United and City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, had demanded a bigger share of that pot, which had previously always been split into 20. The new deal from next season will see 3.3billion shared equally but any increase will be awarded dependent on league position, so it is likely the big six will increase their share. And that is the crux of the challenge facing whoever takes over from Scudamore. He announced that compromise at the last annual meeting over which he presided. But with City almost certainly facing Financial Fair Play restrictions and possible exclusion from the Champions League, with Chelsea possibly facing transfer bans and Tottenham underwriting the cost of their new stadium, the pressure to maximise income from the big clubs is only going to get greater. The Premier League are now starting the search for Richard Scudamore's replacement again The Premier Leagues constitution means that you need 14 clubs to vote through change meaning there is always a brake on the big six. Their only negotiating tool is the threat of a breakaway to a world league or European Super League. Throw into the mix the machinations of FIFA pushing for a revamped World Club Cup to replace the Confederations Cup every four years or an annual pre-season tournament and the expansion of UEFA competitions: it is clear that the challenges facing the Premier League collective look as challenging as they ever have done, as everyone scrambles to make money out of the big-name players and clubs. And that is just the opening salvo of issues to address. The rapidly changing TV landscape will make the next round of negotiations for the 2022-2025 deal more complex than ever. In theory, the arrival of Amazon on the scene from 2019, with Netflix and Facebook circling prime content, should be good news. But the fact that the Premier League had to re-tender two of their packages at a reduced price to draw in Amazon suggests it will not necessarily be the negotiating equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. The Premier League has been built on a very traditional model surrounding protecting UK content to allow Sky and latterly BT to build subscriptions and broadband packages. The tech era new media giants do not really think in terms of sovereign territory. The original citizens of nowhere an extremely beneficial concept when it comes to tax want global rights and access to subscriber data. That might be enough to reboot the growth of TV income, which has finally flatlined in the latest deal. But it will take a robust negotiator to play that hand well. With an inbox that will also include dealing with increased racism, the pricing out of younger audiences, the growing indignation at footballs reliance on gambling income and Brexits threat to foreign imports, the road ahead looks full of unexpected twists and turns. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6561135/Why-DID-Premier-Leagues-lady-Susanna-Dinnage-radical-U-turn-taking-job.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490 |
Should Craig Bellamy be sacked for turning down God Save the Queen? | At a time when football is still reeling from abuse scandals that sickened the game, it is right and commendable that there should be a greater concentration on the welfare of youth players in the academy systems and heightened sensitivity about the bullying of vulnerable teenagers trying to make it in English football. It is right and commendable, too, that parents should be especially watchful about their children when they are away from home and struggling with the pressures of trying to earn a professional contract in a tough, unforgiving environment where there is intense competition for places at clubs that offer a shot at fame and great wealth. But if you think that Craig Bellamy turning the sound down on the television when God Save the Queen was playing before England's World Cup semi-final with Croatia fits into the category of things we need to worry about, you are doing a disservice to people who are battling serious issues in the sport and to children who are being systematically bullied. Craig Bellamy shouldn't be forced to walk away for turning down England national anthem Bellamy upset a lad in the Cardiff City set-up because he said he didn't like Bristol City as well, apparently. I am wary of the 'it was only banter' defence because that is often a facile response that can be used to cover up a multitude of sins but if the lad in question was upset by Bellamy's stance, it would presumably have come as a shock to him to know that the rivalry between the fans of Cardiff and Bristol City sometimes oversteps the bounds of gentlemanly respect. There is a wider issue here, which is that the rewards of becoming a professional footballer are so great and the ambitions of parents for their children are so heightened that, when a kid is simply not good enough to make it as a professional, there has to be someone else to blame. In this case, the someone else is Bellamy. The crisis that has enveloped him, the threat to a promising coaching career that has barely started, has struck a chord with other coaches around the country in the last seven days. Another youth coach at a Championship club told me he has grown weary of the work because the players in his charge and their parents, are so sensitive to criticism that he feels it is harder and harder to improve them. England players singing God Save the Queen before World Cup semi-final against Croatia Another coach spoke of being the subject of an official complaint from a parent because he had shouted at an Under-18 player who had jumped out of a tackle. Another mentioned an official complaint from the parent of a kid at a younger age group on the basis that his boy was not being played in centre midfield in a six-a-side team. Coaches are in a position of power and there are some who abuse that power. But there is a flip-side, too. When they release a player at youth level because they are not good enough, they are vulnerable to the parents of those players complaining that they have been victimised. I don't believe Bellamy, who has stepped down as Cardiff's U18s head coach while claims against him are being investigated, is a bully. I also accept that I'm biased because I know him, I ghosted his autobiography and I consider him a friend of mine. There's a danger that means I only see one side of the conflagration that is engulfing Cardiff City. I'm not about to defend bullying. I hate bullying and I hate bullies. It's a curse in many walks of life and there is no doubt that it has blighted the lives of many who seek to pursue sport as a career. It can ruin lives. In the most tragic cases, it can end lives. A young player felt intimidated after Bellamy made clear his contempt for Bristol City Cardiff and Bristol City's rivalry sometimes does overstep the bounds of gentlemanly respect I know that it exists in football, too. It is an evil that we are beginning to treat more seriously at last. Nor am I about to beatify Bellamy. He did a lot of stupid things as a player. He was rash and he was hot-headed. He could be aggressive and rude. And he could be violent. His notorious golf club attack on John Arne Riise when the two men were Liverpool players under Rafa Benitez was revisited when Riise's book was published last month and it made Bellamy look ugly and thuggish. But I also believe that Bellamy the coach is totally different to Bellamy the player. His attitude towards the game had begun to change before his playing career ended. He became a consummate professional, dedicated to training and fanatical about his fitness. He demanded his team-mates show the same dedication and will to win as he did. He was a hot-head during his playing career but Bellamy the coach is different to the player That is what he has taken with him into coaching. Since his retirement as a player, he has quickly built a reputation as a fine coach. He came close to beating Ryan Giggs to the Wales job after producing a presentation that impressed the Welsh FA. A few months ago, he told me that, when he took over as the U18s boss at Cardiff City, he made it clear to his charges that he intended to set new standards for excellence in his team. He gathered the boys around and told them he was going to ask a lot of them in training, more than had been asked of them before. He told them that some of them would find the requirement to give their all in training day after day hard to cope with. He asked them to try to stick with it because they would reap the rewards if they did. But he was honest, too. He said some of them would fall by the wayside. Football is a brutal industry like that. Not many kids make it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I don't believe so. Bellamy is under investigation at Cardiff after a young player accused him of 'bullying' I know from speaking to him in the past how seriously he takes the welfare of his players. He has not forgotten the hardships he suffered when he was an apprentice. He is aware of how tough and how lonely it can be trying to make it. But he can be a hard taskmaster, too. The two things should not be mutually exclusive. When Bellamy was a kid in the youth system at Norwich City, he was so homesick that he used to call his parents from a telephone box near his digs and stay in there weeping when the call had ended. Football is a hard business. It is a meritocracy. It does not make allowances for sentiment. If so, then Bellamy is guilty. If not, then maybe we should let a good, conscientious, dedicated coach get on with his job. He demands a lot of his players and is uncompromising, but that doesn't make him a bully When the list of prices charged by clubs for kids to be mascots was published last week, the least surprising finding of a survey that illustrated the greed of Premier League clubs was that West Ham were right near the top with a tariff of 700. If ever a hierarchy of a club summed up the old saying about people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing, it is the wrecking crew in charge at the arena we are now obliged to call the London Stadium. One day, maybe, they will work out that they need to give something back to their supporters if they are to be regarded with anything other than derision. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6560789/Should-Craig-Bellamy-sacked-turning-God-Save-Queen.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490 |
What is Kalia scheme and who is eligible to get its benefits? | By Online Desk The government of Odisha has launched the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme, which would benefit about 92% of the farmers in the State. The government has earmarked Rs 10,180 Crore for KALIA in 3 years. The scheme will provide financial, livelihood, cultivation support along with insurance support to small, marginal and the landless farmers. KALIA scheme is a package for farmers' welfare. KALIA stands for Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation. This scheme has been launched to accelerate agricultural prosperity and elimination of poverty. All small and marginal farmers along with landless agricultural households, vulnerable agricultural household, landless agricultural labourers and sharecroppers/actual cultivators are eligible under different components of KALIA. A small farmer is a cultivator who owns 2.5 acres to 5 acres of arable land. A marginal farmer is one who owns less than 2,5 acres of arable land. Financial aid of Rs.25,000 per farm family over five seasons will be provided to small and marginal farmers so that they can purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and use assistance towards labour. This scheme has come into effect from the ongoing (2018-19) Rabi season. Yes, Financial assistance of Rs 12500/ will be provided to each landless agricultural household for agricultural allied activities such as goat rearing, small layer poultry units, duckery units, fishery kits for fishermen, mushroom cultivation, bee-keeping and so on. Yes, the vulnerable cultivators/landless agricultural laborers will get financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per family per year to enable them to take care of their sustenance. The cultivator/landless agricultural laborers who are in old age, having disability/ disease and are vulnerable for any other reason will benefit from the scheme. Five lakh families will be covered every year. Yes, 1) Life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh at a very nominal premium of Rs330 will be provided to all savings bank account holder of age between 18-50 years. Government of Odisha will bear farmers share of annual premium of Rs.165. 2) Personal accident cover of Rs.2.00 lakh at a very nominal annual premium of Rs 12 for all savings bank account holder aged between 18-50 years. Out of Rs 12 towards premium, Rs 6 is the farmers share, which will be borne by the government of Odisha. 3 In respect of the above beneficiary whose age is between 51-70 years, the entire amount of Rs 12 towards annual premium will be borne by the government. Ans. Yes, Crop loan up to Rs 50,000 will be provided at 0% interest from the Khariff Season of the year 2019. Q.9. 1) Small and Marginal Farmers are eligible to get benefit under support to cultivators for cultivation. 2) Land less agricultural households are eligible to get livelihood support under the scheme. 3) Vulnerable agricultural household covering vulnerable cultivators/landless agricultural labourers are eligible to get financial assistance under the KALIA scheme. 4) Life Insurance Support to cultivators and Landless agricultural labourers as well as the interest free crop loan component are meant for all category of beneficiary under KALIA scheme. A farm family constitutes a farmer and his/her spouse along with their dependent children. Any farmer wanting to get information on KALIA scheme can register for 'Kalia Barta' by giving a missed call to the Telephone No: 08061174222. The farmer will automatically get registered with the Government database. All information about KALIA scheme will also be sent to his phone number through SMS and voice calls from time to time. | http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/jan/05/what-is-kalia-scheme-and-who-is-eligible-to-get-benefit-1921003.html |
Is Premier League sponsorship still a viable option? | Post Supplied. Traditionally, sponsorship in sport has always been an attractive option for marketers. Over the years, sports have been able to accommodate near enough any type of brand or business; which is one of the many reasons why this type of marketing activity has been a favourite for many brands and businesses. So it will come as no surprise that with the resurgence of the English Premier League, there has been a huge amount of interest and money that have been associated with it. The Premier League, the highest level of professional football in England is now considered by most to be the best known and most followed league in the world. This along with the fact that the league is projected to generate a huge 5.65 billion Euros in 2018/19, goes to show just why it is so expensive to either sponsor a Premier League team or even the league itself. The massive worldwide viewing figures the Premier League attracts still makes it a very attractive sponsorship opportunity despite the cost, seeing an estimated 12 million people on average tune in worldwide to view each game. Many large organisations are still choosing to sponsor Premier league teams. For example, car manufacturer Chevrolet is spending approximately 53 million per year to sponsor Manchester United, while bank Standard Chartered have agreed a new deal with Liverpool worth 40 million a year, both of whom are included in the 300 million that is realised in sponsorship revenues by the top 6 clubs. However, it is not just the top clubs that are raking it in, but even struggling teams like Newcastle United are benefitting from very lucrative sponsorship deals. Currently, Mike Ashelys club is with betting company Fun88, a deal that is valued at 6.5 million per year. At the moment betting companies are dominating the shirt sponsorship of EPL teams, with 9 of the 20 Premier League teams featuring a betting company as the main sponsor on their shirt. This has been a relatively new trend, as 20 years ago shirt sponsorships were dominated by electronics companies, including Sanderson Electronics who actually sponsored two teams in the Premier League at the same time, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton. The first club to feature the name of a betting company on their shirt was Fulham in 2002, when they were sponsored by Betfair. The actual league used to have a main sponsor, that would be featured in the name, for example it has been previously Barclays Premier League, Barclaycard Premiership and before that the Carling Premiership. Now, the league has no sponsor which it is named after, however still has many big name sponsors. Coca Cola is now the official soft drink partner of the Premier League, joining other big name sponsors such as Tag Heuer, Cadbury, Nike, EA Sports and Barclays, who have now become the banking partner of choice for the league. The kit sponsorships are also still dominated by major sporting brands. Adidas have the largest share of kits with 30% of Premier League clubs wearing an Adidas kit. So it is clear by the presence of so many big brands associated with the Premier League and its teams, that it is definitely still an effective marketing strategy to get your brand out to a bigger audience. In spite of the substantial costs that are associated with this form of advertising, if a business can afford to do this, it is definitely worth it, as the audience for the Premier League is not going to drop anytime soon. This is why massive brands will continue to sponsor the Premier League, especially with the viewership not just limited to the UK, but also includes audiences from all over the world. Mike Kritharis Posted: 3rd, January 2019 | In: Online-PR Comment | TrackBack | Permalink | http://www.anorak.co.uk/454933/online-pr/is-premier-league-sponsorship-still-a-viable-option.html |
Which Coffee Has the Most Caffeine? | Some people like coffee just for the taste, but most of us drink it because we rely on it to wake us up in the morning. With that being said, not all java was created equal in the sense that certain types contain more caffeine than others. Were so glad you asked. The Healthiest and Unhealthiest Creamers for Your Coffee As a general rule of thumb, the lighter the bean, the more caffeine it has. If you take Starbucks for example, its blonde roast has 360 milligrams per 16 ounces in comparison to the chains medium roast, Pike Place, which has 310. The dark roast has significantly less caffeine content than both, ringing in at 260. Beyond traditional drip coffee, nitro cold brew has the next most caffeine per serving. This drink starts as a cold brew thats then infused with nitrogen, creating a naturally sweet flavor and velvety texture. Starbucks lists its version as having 280 milligrams of caffeine, whereas its regular cold brew contains 205 and a plain-Jane iced coffee has just 165. The former is made by brewing hot coffee, letting it cool and then pouring it over ice. The whole process is pretty quick. Contrarily, cold brew is made by steeping ground coffee in cool, filtered water for hours at a time. Because its made without heat, its not as acidic and the end result is naturally sweeter and smoother. For the sake of our point here, if you find yourself reaching for multiple cups of coffee into the afternoon, you may want to switch from iced coffee to cold brew, cold brew to nitro, dark roast to medium roast, or medium roast to light roast. Now if you really need a proper wake up call, there are specific brands that mega-caffeinate their coffee. According to Caffeine Informer, the strongest (and most dangerous) coffee is Devil Mountains Black Label. It has 2,073 milligrams of caffeine per 16 ounces. The company claims it will keep you going all day, without giving you the coffee jitters, but yeah right. This type of coffee should be consumed only by those with a high tolerance for caffeine because although its rare, you can overdose. But not all coffee is that hardcore, though, and it can be good for you in moderation. In fact, there are 14 reasons you should drink more of it. | https://www.thedailymeal.com/drink/coffee-most-caffeine |
Is A Coalition Government In Place? | 97 SHARES Share Tweet QUESTION OF THE DAY Coalition 2016 comprises, in alphabetical order, GMC, GPDP, NCP, NRP, PDOIS PPP, and UDP plus the Independent presidential aspirant, Dr Isatou Touray, Independent National Assembly members, Mohammed Magasi and Buba Ayi Sanneh and independent civil society representative, Fatoumatta Tambajang. The fact that Cabinet reshuffle has taken place and many of the personalities who were part and parcel of the founding members of the Coalition are not holding Cabinet posts clearly confirms that presidential appointments are no longer being guided by coalition considerations. The Coalition period differs much from the periods of campaign for the National Assembly and councils. President Barrow needs to hold a press conference and explain what is guiding him to establish the government he has established. The executive presidency now prevails over the coalition presidency. This is how matters stand. | https://foroyaa.gm/is-a-coalition-government-in-place/ |
Will 2019 Be the Year Cleveland-Cliffs' Investors Have Been Waiting For? | Four years ago, Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) brought in CEO Lourenco Goncalves to salvage a company that was on the brink of bankruptcy. The price of iron ore, its principal product, had been declining since 2010 as the Chinese commodity boom started to wane. To make matters worse, the previous management team had made some poor decisions to acquire questionable assets at top-of-the-market valuations. With loads of unprofitable businesses and a bloated balance sheet, Goncalves and current management began cleaning house. Today, after years of selling and shuttering assets and trimming its balance sheet, the company is back on much-surer footing. Its net debt is less than half what it once was, and focusing on its high-margin operations in the U.S. has restored profitability. Despite these changes, the company's stock trades as though nothing has changed. Long-term investors have been waiting for Wall Street to catch on and start valuing this stock for what it is today instead of what it used to be. Let's take a look at the things working in favor of and against Cleveland-Cliffs, and whether the stock is a buy today. A dump truck and a crane near a heap of ore at a mine. More Image source: Getty Images. Cleveland-Cliffs' business barely resembles what it was a few years ago. Instead of assets in multiple countries and investments in iron ore, metallurgical coal, and alloys commonly used in the steelmaking process, the company has been stripped down to its core activity: producing iron ore in the U.S. to sell to local steelmakers. Even the company's name is different -- it changed in 2017 from Cliffs Natural Resources. Iron ore is a relatively cheap commodity on a per-ton basis, but it is heavy, and transportation costs can be significant. With mines in the U.S. that produce a quality grade of iron ore relatively close to centers of demand, Cleveland-Cliffs is able to realize higher prices per ton sold for the same ore that would come from places such as Brazil. It also signs customers up for annual contracts that ensure volumes are consistent. Having contracts that ensure volume commitments and charging a slight premium to reflect lower transportation costs help explain how the company has churned out steady operating profits over the past few years. Unfortunately, those operating profits were quickly eaten up by debt-servicing costs. This is another aspect of the business where Cleveland-Cliffs' management has changed things considerably. In less than five years, the company has trimmed its debt load by more than half and now carries a considerable amount of cash on the balance sheet. At the end of the most recent quarter, Cleveland-Cliffs had close to $900 million in cash on the books, and net debt of around $1.4 billion. The combination of focusing operations on its profitable U.S. business and cleaning up the balance sheet has done wonders for the income statement. Management is comfortable enough with its current position that it's investing in growth and has reinstated a $0.20-per-share annualized dividend that, at current stock prices, yields 2.6%. All of the things mentioned above show that what's under the hood at Cleveland-Cliffs is wildly different from the way things were before the new management team took over. But despite the engine tune-up, it's still an ugly investment on the outside. Iron ore is still a commodity business in which demand and prices are incredibly sensitive to economic cycles. If there were a decline in economic output relatively soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Cleveland-Cliffs' profitability decline significantly. | https://news.yahoo.com/2019-cleveland-cliffs-apos-investors-230600023.html |
What would happen if Amelia Earhart disappeared today? | When Amelia Earhart took off in 1937 to fly around the world, people had been flying airplanes for only about 35 years. When she tried to fly across the Pacific, she and the world knew it was risky. She didnt make it, and was declared dead in January 1939. In the 80 years since then, many other planes have been lost around the world and never found again including the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, over the Indian Ocean. As flight instructors and aviation industry professionals, we know that increasingly advanced technologies are getting better at tracking planes, even across great expanses of water far from land. These systems allow aircraft to navigate much more easily, and many allow real-time flight tracking across much of the globe. On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. (Library of Congress) Getting from place to place From the early years of aviation up until about 2000, the main way pilots navigated was by playing connect-the-dots across a map. Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: They would use radio direction-finding equipment to follow a route from an airport to a radio-transmitting beacon at a fixed location, and then from beacon to beacon until reaching the destination airport. Various technologies made that process easier, but the concept was still the same. That system is still in use, but decreasingly so as new technologies replace it. In the first few years of the 21st century, pilots for major airlines began to use the United States Global Positioning System and other similar systems that use signals from orbiting satellites to calculate the planes position. GPS is more accurate, letting pilots land easily in bad weather conditions, without the need for expensive ground-based radio transmitters. Satellite navigation also lets pilots fly more directly between destinations, because they need not follow the routes from one radio beacon to the next. There are six satellite-based navigation systems in operation: GPS, run by the United States; Galileo, run by the European Union and the European Space Agency; and the Russian GLONASS cover the whole planet, and Chinas BeiDou system is expected to span the globe by 2020. Indias NAVIC covers the Indian Ocean and nearby areas; Japan has begun operating the QZSS system to improve navigation in the Pacific. The systems operate independently of each other, but some satellite navigation receivers can merge data from more than one of them simultaneously, providing pilots with extremely accurate information about where they are. That can help them get where theyre going, rather than going missing. In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly a solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. (Library of Congress) Tracking aircraft When planes do get lost, the company or country responsible for them often starts searching; some efforts, like the search for MH 370, include many nations and businesses. When all is going well, most planes are tracked by radar, which can also help air traffic controllers prevent midair collisions and give pilots directions around severe weather. When planes fly beyond the range of land-based radar, like on long-haul trips over oceans, though, theyre tracked using a method devised more than 70 years ago: Pilots periodically radio air traffic control with reports on where they are, what altitude theyre flying at and what their next navigation landmark is. Over the past few years, a new method has been rolling out around the world. At the moment, though, ADS-B flight tracking doesnt cover remote areas of the world because it depends on ground-based receivers to collect the information from planes. A space-based receiver system is being tested, which could eventually cover the entire planet. In addition, many airplane manufacturers sell equipment that includes monitoring and tracking software: for instance, to analyze engine performance and spot problems before they become severe. Some of this equipment can transmit real-time data on the location of the aircraft while its in flight. Data from those systems were used in the search for MH 370, and also gave investigators early insight into the 2015 Germanwings 9525 crash in the French Alps, before the planes black box flight data recorder was found. GPS, ADS-B and other navigation and tracking systems might have helped save, or at least find, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan either by preventing them from getting lost in the first place or by directing rescuers to their location after the plane went down. Eight decades later, planes still go missing but its getting harder to fly off the map. On April 26, 2014, the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 submerged into the Indian Ocean after being launched from the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield. The submersible was looking for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370. Joint Task Force 658 supported Operation Southern Indian Ocean, searching for the Boeing 777. (Navy) | https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/01/05/what-would-happen-if-amelia-earhart-disappeared-today/ |
Will new fees turn Venice into a theme park? | In Italy they call them the mordi e fuggi or bite and run tourists. The hordes who arrive by coach, train or cruise ship, flood the city like a spring tide, then retreat, leaving just their detritus behind. They spend little money at the destination, make the locals feel like theme-park extras and are almost universally resented. But now Venice thinks it has the answer: an entrance fee, exactly like the one you pay in, well, a theme park. By some estimates, 15m day-trippers poured into Venice last year, but from this Easter going there will cost 2.50 (2.25) per person per day in low season, rising to 10 in high season. The citys outspoken right-wing mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, said the estimated 50m | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-new-fees-turn-venice-into-a-theme-park-fllrqvn3w |
Is the East Midlands becoming the new hotspot for million pound homes? | It may not be not a region renowned for glitz and glamour but the East Midlands is emerging as an unlikely hotbed for million pound homes, figures suggest. Sales of homes worth a million pounds or over in the region rose by 67 per cent in the first half of last year (up to 40 from 24), as the number being sold in London and the South fell, new house price data from Lloyds Bank Private Banking has revealed. The data shows a widening regional divide across the county in sales of million pound homes, with the East Midlands and Wales emerging as millionaire hot spots, while Brexit uncertainty is putting investors off London property. Over the same period there was a 100 per cent increase in the number of million pound plus homes sold in Wales during the first half of 2018, (up to 18 from 9 in 2017). Meanwhile the sale of million pound plus homes in London continued to decline, down by 8 per cent from 3,940 homes in the first half of 2017 to 3,628 in the first half of this year. The capitals market share of million pound homes also decreased to 57 per cent, down by 3 per cent from 60 per cent in 2017. | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/06/east-midlands-becoming-new-hotspot-million-pound-homes/ |
Who wants to be a PLC in 2019? | Shortly before Christmas, Maurice Pratt dropped an update to shareholders in Uniphar, a pharmaceutical wholesaler and services group. The previous 12 months had been transformative for the Dublin group, said Pratt, the chairman of Uniphar and former chief executive of drinks group C&C. The highlights of 2018 included setting up a European unit and bolstering its Irish supply chain business, which supplies almost 180 pharmacies including its Allcare and Life symbol groups. Helped by acquisitions, including the 65m takeover of Sisk Healthcare, Uniphar made 40m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for 2018, double its earnings in 2017. In 2018, we left behind many of the constraints that limited our potential in the past, said Pratt, an understated reference to financial challenges | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/who-wants-to-be-a-plc-in-2019-ggdgstpzr |
Are Stablecoins the New and Improved Bitcoin? | PwC, the global consulting and assurance firm, recently signalled its entrance into the cryptocurrency world by announcing a partnership with decentralized lending platform Cred. Cred (previously Libra Credit) was founded by PayPal technology veterans and intends to produce an entire suite of crypto assets, including a US dollar stablecoina digital asset pegged to the price of the US dollar. Over the past two years, there has been increasing interest in blockchain as a technology for data sharing and traceability in industries ranging from shipping to food to diamonds. There has also been a rush of initial coin offerings, a form of capital raising based on digit assets, with over $20.6 billion raised this year. With these different use cases competing for attention, it is easy to forget that the original application for blockchain technology was Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency described by Satoshi Nakamoto, in the now ten-year old white paper as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Bitcoin has turned out to be a highly volatile asset. There is no central bank for Bitcoin working to keep its value relatively stable, and the worth of one Bitcoin went from less than $1,000 at the start of 2017 to almost $20,000 in mid-December of 2017 before dropping back to around $6,500 today. The recent volatility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has made it much harder for them to be actively used as a payment mechanism. Its difficult to imagine such an unpredictable asset being used to pay employee salaries, buy goods or services, or pay rent. But in addition to those examples, which today are managed fairly well by the traditional financial system, the demand for totally new forms of payment is increasing. Our devices will need to transact with each other, creating thing-to-thing payments, to effectively fulfill the function they were designed for, e.g. autonomous vehicles paying for charging, or artificially intelligent processes paying for computing power as needed. The friction inherent in the traditional payments systemthe cost and time needed to make a transactionmakes it unworkable for these types of value exchanges. But a stablecoin, a digital asset pegged to the price of the US dollar or another currency, can enable these transactions. It offers many of the advantages of a cryptocurrency but without the volatility associated with Bitcoin. Stablecoins come in three broad flavors, each of which has unique advantages and risks. Traditional Asset-Backed The first, and to date most popular, type of stablecoin is one backed by traditional assets such as fiat currency or gold. For example, if a coin is pegged to the US dollar, then for each coin issued $1 is held in a bank account. Or if the coin is pegged to the price of gold, then for each coin issued there is a set amount of gold held in a vault. This type of stablecoin is relatively easy to create and understand. But the risks of a traditional asset-backed coin are related to trust and centralization. For the stablecoin to hold its value, the market must believe that the total number of coins on issue are backed 100 percent by traditional assets held. This requires trust in the organization backing the coin and leaves the coin vulnerable to fraud perpetrated either by or against that organization. In addition, the market needs to trust that in the worst-case scenario, stable coin holders can swap their stablecoins for traditional assets. Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. With a market capitalization of over $1.75 billion and daily trading reaching well above that, it is easily the most valuable and widely-used stablecoin in existence today. Concerns about Tethers willingness to produce an audit of its bank accounts, persistent rumors of insufficient funds, and difficulties maintaining banking relationships have all contributed to some movements away from 1USDT = $1. Nevertheless, Tether has broadly maintained parity with the US dollar since it came into existence over three years ago. Crypto Asset-Backed Crypto-backed stablecoins are also reliant on the backing of another asset, but in this case the collateral is a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ether. This type of stablecoin is less centralized than a traditional asset-backed coin because the crypto assets being held as security can be locked in smart contracts. These crypto assets are not subject to the same vulnerabilities as traditional asset collateral. However, crypto assets are highly volatile, so the stablecoin needs a way to retain its asset backing, and therefore its stability even during times when the value of the underlying assets falls dramatically. MakerDAO produces the stablecoin Dai, which is pegged to the US dollar. The MakerDAO smart contracts allow people to deposit Ether and receive Dai up to a maximum of two Dai for every US $3 of Ether deposited. If the value of the Ether deposited falls and approaches this maximum ratio, the owner of the smart contract is incentivized to increase the amount of Ether depositedor risk having the contract taken over and closed out for them, along with an associated penalty fee. This mechanism has allowed Dai to keep broad parity to the US dollar since its creation in late 2017, even through the large falls in value of Ether in early 2018. Supply Algorithms The final type of stablecoin maintains its stability primarily by matching supply to demand. These are complex economic mechanisms, particularly for reducing supply if the price of the coin starts to fall. As a result, risk of the value of this coin decoupling from its peg is high,which happened this year with the US Dollar-pegged stablecoin NuBits. NuBits, created in 2014, is one of the oldest stablecoins in existence. In March of this year its value fell rapidly, dropping below 30 cents over the course of two weeks, and has continued to fall since. Growing Interest Over the past three years, payments company Circle, which holds a BitLicense from New Yorks Department of Financial Services and an electronic money license in the UK, has raised over $240 million. These funds notably include a $50m round led by Goldman Sachs. In late September of this year, Circle launched USDC, a US dollar-pegged, traditional asset-backed stablecoin. Also in September, $15 million was invested by Andreessen Horowitzs a16z crypto fund in MakerDAO, backing the stablecoin Dai. And finally, the recent announcement of the partnership between PwC and Cred opens up new possibilities for traditional asset-backed coins, with the addition of PwCs risk management, audit, and governance expertise to this fledgling industry. Strong institutional interest now exists in across a range of stablecoins, and the race is on to see who can achieve mass adoption. Image Credit: lucadp / Shutterstock.com | https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/05/are-stablecoins-the-new-and-improved-bitcoin/ |
Is veganism the future of food or a cynical marketing fad? | Plumes of pink smoke engulf men holding megaphones and women with purple hair. Fur trade, torture trade, they chant, marching down Londons Piccadilly in a blockade, sending pedestrians fleeing. Animal liberation! Now! Whistles screech, drums bang, placards punch the air. Fur is worn by repulsive heartless hags, Compassion not fashion, Your pompom had a face, read the slogans. Opposite Fortnum & Mason (where they sell 17 types of foie gras) the protesters stop. Some jeer a passing man, others heckle passengers on a bus. One group surrounds a heavily pregnant woman, Sarah, who is with her five-year-old son. She appears to be wearing a fur bobble hat. Berating her, they wave posters of a skinned rabbit | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-veganism-the-future-of-food-or-a-cynical-marketing-fad-p0ttmbc2m |
Can Apple stop the rot? | When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone on January 9, 2007, Mike Lazaridis was at home, working up a sweat on his treadmill. On the television, the co-founder and showman of Apple was waxing poetic about the elegant little rectangle with a touchscreen and full web browser. The founder of BlackBerry, which at the time controlled half the nascent smartphone market, wondered to himself: How did they do that? He spoke to Jim Balsillie, his co-chief executive, and he was not alarmed. Well be fine, he opined. BlackBerry, of course, was not fine. It quickly faded into irrelevance, its market share withering from 50% to less than 1%. The Canadian companys bosses had not realised the gravity of the moment, for it was Jobs who really | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-apple-stop-the-rot-8g73kjql9 |
Can yoga denier Lorraine Candy be converted? | Its a serious question, one I have just spent six weeks trying to answer. I need to know, because apparently if anyone should be doing yoga, I should. Work colleagues, zen friends, my personal trainer, my outdoor-swimming buddies, my surfing mate, lordy, even my 16-year-old daughter, have all told me Im a prime candidate for this ancient meditative practice. The problem is, Im a yoga denier. All those bendy, swingy-ponytailed women with small butts clad in Lululemon, looking like theyre auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, have put me off. Besides, Im a martyr about my exercise: I expect it to hurt, and Im addicted to the sweaty endorphin high of racing about manically. To me, swimming outside for an | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-yoga-denier-lorraine-candy-be-converted-hnh75wk58 |
Is guilt good? | (Photo: Unsplash/Jaelynn Castillo) I was (re)watching Marvel's "Daredevil" on Netflix the other night, when a really great quote came up, so I went to note it in my phone under my "writing ideas" heading. When I opened up the note, I realised I'd already written it there last time I watched the series! I figured that in that case, I'd better actually write about it. To set the scene, Daredevil's alter ego (Matt Murdock) is in confession with his priest, Father Lantom. Murdock is talking about right and wrong, and how he feels more guilty when he isn't Daredevil, when he isn't saving people (albeit in very violent ways). Father Lantom states: "Guilt can be a good thing. It's the soul's call to action. An indication that something is wrong." When I heard this, it reminded me of a conversation I had a few years ago with another Christian woman. Somehow we had started talking about guilt, and I had said something about how I often feel guilty right before God reveals to me either something I need to change in my life, or someone I need to forgive or some such revelation. The lady I was speaking with was adamant that that wasn't a "God thing". She countered that guilt was not from God, that he never made us feel guilty, and that there was "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans chapter 8verse 1). I remember sort of just ending the conversation because she seemed pretty worked up about it, but it definitely made me think. Obviously, she (and more originally, the apostle Paul), is right that once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour, we no longer stand condemned. In a mind blowing and wonderful turn of events, Jesus takes our sin, and we his righteousness (2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21). And yet, the more we follow (or in my case, stumble) after Jesus, the more we realise we are not much like him. Guilt can go either way In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul (the same Paul who said there is no condemnation in Christ) isn't at all bothered about having caused the church to "feel sorrow" about their actions and lifestyle. He wrote, "...now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" (2 Corinthians chapter seven, verses 9-10). It seems to be that guilt can bring life, or death. The kind of "worldly" guilt that Paul is referring to, is the kind when you are weighed down by feelings of guilt. You feel like nothing you could ever do would be good enough. It's the kind of guilt that takes hold when we forgot that we have been transferred Jesus' righteousness, and instead try to be righteous on our own. Nothing good comes from that guilt. Because we never can be righteous! "No one is righteous, not even one " (Romans chapter 3 verses 10 - 12, Psalm chapter 14 verses 1-3). That type of guilt doesn't lead to repentance, it leads to giving up. It's the type of guilt that makes us angry at God, because we no longer see him as kind and gracious, but as a harsh task master whom we will never please. Instead, we become afraid of him. On the other hand, "godly sorrow", or godly guilt, leads us straight towards our loving, gracious God. Look at the path Paul lays out: sorrow = repentance = salvation = no regrets! Now that is good guilt. Godly guilt is not intended to evoke fear, but rather, repentance. Not repentance from a big, scary god who wants to punish us, but repentance from the God who is love, perfect love, that drives out all fear (1 John chapter 4 verse 18). When we decide to follow Jesus, we no longer stand condemned. That is a fact, a wonderful fact! We need no longer fear God's wrath, and an eternity separated from him. When we decide to follow Jesus, God sees His righteousness in us, and we are brought into perfect unity with him, eternally. God is so good, and loves us so much, that he wants nothing but the best for us; now, and in the future. Before we get to eternity, we still have to live in the now, on this earth. And the reality is, godly guilt is actually a gift that points us toward a life of no regrets! I agree with Father Lantom, it definitely can be. Courtesy of Press Service International | https://www.christiantoday.com/article/is-guilt-good/131402.htm |
Is Hollywood about to crown Queen Olivia Colman? | She plays the Queen in Netflix drama The Crown, and tonight Olivia Colman is tipped to reign in Hollywood and pick up the prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Actress. Her success, however, is not likely to stop there because she is also heavily backed to pick up her first Oscar next month in the same category for her role of Queen Anne in comedy drama The Favourite. The Globes, which will be held tonight in Los Angeles, are the strongest indication of who will win the Academy Awards. Olivia Colman (left) is tipped to win an award for her role as the Queen in The Crown (right) Last year Frances McDormand won Best Actress for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in both ceremonies. In 2017 Emma Stone picked up the two gongs for her lead role in La La Land. Tonight Olivia is up against Mary Poppins Returns star Emily Blunt, 35, for the best actress in a comedy or musical gong a category which is being described as a Battle of the Brits. Meanwhile, Claire Foy, 34, who played the Queen in The Crown for the first two series, is nominated for Best Supporting actress in First Man along with Rachel Weisz, 48, from The Favourite. Olivias wait to become the Queen of Hollywood has been a long one. For many years her failure to crack America has been blamed on a lack of glitz and glamour. Claire Foy (pictured above) played the Queen in The Crown for the first two series In 2014, fans were furious when her Broadchurch role as detective Ellie Miller was given in the US version Gracepoint to blonde American Anna Gunn, while her Scottish co-star David Tennant was retained. Olivia, 44, married to writer Ed Sinclair, 45, whom she met while studying at Cambridge, has already been entertaining Hollywoods great and good. At the Palm Springs International Film Festival, she took a swipe at Donald Trump and Theresa May. Picking up an award, she told the audience: There is my character Queen Anne, someone in whom resides all the madness, frustration, confusion and instability of a powerful person unfit for their job I dont know if you know anyone like that. Laughing, as the audience cheered, she added: We have it in England as well. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6561303/Is-Hollywood-crown-Queen-Olivia-Colman.html |
Do Dogs Like To Be Cuddled? | Its a fact: Cuddling with a pet calms us down and lifts our mood by releasing the feel-good chemical oxytocin. According to research from the University of British Columbia, they arent crazy about it. The scientists looked at hundreds of pictures online, featuring a human hugging a dog. And in 82 percent of the dog pictures, the dogs were exhibiting visible signs of distress! Animal behavior expert Stanley Coren did the research. And he says dogs are cursorial animals, which means theyre built for running, and run as their first line of defense. But if the dog is being restrained in a hug, they cant run and thats when they start showing signs of stress. -Theyll turn their head away from whatever is worrisome. -Youll also see the whites of a dogs eyes when theyre stressed-out. Because wide-open eyes are better at seeing potential threats. Typically, dogs dont want to look directly at something thats bothering them but theyre afraid to look away, because theyre on guard. Trainers call this look whale eye because whales show the whites of their eyes when theyre feeling stressed and hemmed in and dogs do the same. Licking, yawning or raising a paw. Now, your dog may LOVE being hugged by you. But if you spot any of the signs we went over, there are other ways to show your dog love. Well go over them next. | https://www.kmxs.com/do-dogs-like-to-be-cuddled/ |
Do Fish Get Depressed? | Believe it or not, marine biologists have wondered the same thing and after conducting more than 100 experiments on fish in recent years, theyve come to a unanimous conclusion: Fish depression is REAL! In fact, researchers from Troy University in Alabama have come up with a reliable tank test for measuring fish depression. They say if you plop a fish in a NEW tank, and it immediately swims near the waters surface to explore, its mentally healthy. But if after five minutes the fish spends most of its time swimming near the bottom of the tank, its likely depressed! Thats because fish brains like our own are wired for novelty. Dr. Victoria Braithwaite is a biology professor at Penn State University and she says most fish are naturally curious. They love to socialize and explore new environments, because its mentally stimulating. So, a goldfish swimming in a plain glass bowl has the highest risk for fish depression simply because its bored! And by the way: These findings are a big deal because fish brains release neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine in a similar way that our brains do which explains why many scientists now used fish to develop and test new anti-depressants for humans! Dr. Braithwaite recommends filling your tank with new objects and plants for fish to explore, and change them up from time to time. Also, consider the size of your aquarium. Ideally, researchers recommend at least two square feet of tank for each 3-inch betta, zebra fish, or goldfish. | https://www.kmxs.com/do-fish-get-depressed/ |
Is er leven voor sterren en hun werk na #metoo misbruikzaak? | Kevin Spacey en Louis C.K. maakten de afgelopen week hun rentree na een jaar afwezigheid door #metoo-zaken. Geen enkele #metoo-zaak is hetzelfde. Dat is het eerste wat imagodeskundige Zabeth van Veen van bureau Imagomatch beklemtoont. "Je kan niet iedere ster die in zo'n situatie zit over n kam scheren", waarschuwt ze. "De n wordt beticht van het verkrachten van 26 minderjarigen, de ander heeft n keer in de billen van de secretaresse geknepen. Het kan allebei niet, maar het zijn wel twee zaken met een heel andere lading." Bij elke terugkeer in de spotlights past maatwerk, bepleit Van Veen. "Een belangrijke vraag is of er iets bewezen is. En er zijn bepaalde grenzen die voor het publiek lastig te vergeven zijn. Een bewezen verkrachting, al dan niet nadat je een vrouw hebt gedrogeerd, maakt je toch al snel persona non grata. Het wordt heel ingewikkeld om je uit zo'n situatie te redden." 'Bill Cosby maakt geen schijn van kans meer' Het geval Kevin Spacey vindt ze lastig. "Er is officieel nog niets bewezen", analyseert ze. "Hij is geen Bill Cosby, die maakt geen enkele kans meer op enige vorm van terugkeer in het vak na zijn veroordeling en die enorme waslijst aan aanklachten. Maar ook bij Spacey lijkt het met zoveel beschuldigingen heel onwaarschijnlijk dat hij helemaal niets fout heeft gedaan. Bij n aanklacht kun je nog denken dat er sprake kan zijn van een lastercampagne." De vraag is volgens haar ook niet zozeer of de fans Spacey in de toekomst nog pikken, maar of studio's, producenten en regisseurs hem nog wel willen inhuren als acteur. "Ik snap de keuze van Netflix wel om hem uit House of Cards te zetten", stelt Van Veen. "Als je iemand die besmet is door seksueel misbruik een platform biedt, kan zo'n vlek je hele film of serie kapotmaken. Bovendien heb je kans dat er andere goede mensen afhaken, omdat je iemand met een flink #metoo-dossier op de set haalt." Sterren doen er goed aan na #metoo-rel geduld te betrachten Het is een andere zaak als Spacey uiteindelijk helemaal wordt gezuiverd van alle blaam. "In dat geval wordt hij namelijk het slachtoffer en dan zijn mensen snel geneigd het voor iemand op te nemen. Slachtoffers wekken doorgaans sympathie." Etiquette-expert Beatrijs Ritsema adviseert bekendheden die onder vuur hebben gelegen in de eerste plaats geduld te hebben. "Je moet niet drie weken na een #metoo-rel weer vooraan willen staan", stelt ze. "Louis C.K. had er denk ik beter aan gedaan nog een half jaartje te wachten. En dan past vooral flinke nederigheid. Maak excuses, strooi as op je hoofd, bezweer vooral dat je het nooit meer zal doen." Om het filmpje van Spacey, waarin hij als zijn doortrapte House of Cards-personage Frank Underwood zijn eigen schuld in twijfel trok, moest Ritsema vooral lachen. "Hij laat zien dat hij in elk geval vechtlustig is en niet in een hoekje gaat zitten kniezen. Dat wekt wel een zekere bewondering. Ik kijk in elk geval nog met plezier naar zijn films en series, vooralsnog is hij nergens voor veroordeeld. Maar die keus zal iedereen natuurlijk voor zichzelf moeten maken." 'Gedraag je als een heilige, vertel altijd de waarheid' Sowieso is het cruciaal dat een ster met een besmet blazoen na een rentree erg op zijn of haar stappen let, waarschuwt imagodeskundige Van Veen. "Zeker de media zullen elk aspect van je leven onder een vergrootglas leggen", stelt ze. "Je moet uitkijken met je afspraakjes, met je gedrag op feestjes, met de appjes die je stuurt. Gedraag je als een heilige, vertel geen leugens. En het kan zeker extra credits opleveren om je belangeloos in te zetten voor een charitatieve organisatie die seksueel misbruik de wereld uit wil helpen." Mediahistoricus Huub Wijfjes van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen en de UvA denkt dat het voor bekendheden die ernstig beschadigd zijn na een rel of affaire slim is om zich te bezinnen op een nieuwe afslag in hun carrire. Hij noemt als voorbeeld de voormalige VVD-staatssecretaris Charles Schwietert. Hij moest begin jaren tachtig na drie dagen aftreden, omdat hij zijn doctorandustitel en zijn loopbaan in het leger verzonnen bleek te hebben. "Als politicus en journalist was hij volstrekt ongeloofwaardig geworden", legt Wijfjes uit. "Maar na een paar jaar heeft hij zijn nadeel in een voordeel weten om te buigen. Hij is lezingen gaan geven over imagobeschadiging en imagoherstel en heeft daar uiteindelijk zelfs een handboek over geschreven." Mel Gibson kreeg paar jaar na zijn scheldtirades weer werk Voor acteurs is dat overigens lastiger, erkent de hoogleraar. "Als jij als bekende Hollywoodster onder vuur komt te liggen vanwege je morele gedrag, is aantonen dat de aantijgingen niet kloppen het beste dat je kunt doen. Bijvoorbeeld door vrijgesproken te worden door een rechter." En anders kan een beklaagde na een kleine misstap het beste sorry zeggen, beloven het nooit meer te doen en een nieuw bestaan als beter mens opbouwen. "Al is zoiets door de gigantische druk van met name sociale media op de publieke opinie veel moeilijker geworden", voegt Wijfjes daar meteen aan toe. Mediatrainer Johan Sponselee denkt dat zeker het publiek in de VS geneigd is gevallen sterren na een aantal jaar weer te omarmen. "Kijk naar Mel Gibson. Na een paar geweldsincidenten en dronken scheldkanonnades heeft hij zich een paar jaar in de luwte gehouden. Daarna betoonde hij zich een herboren christen en mocht hij weer gaan acteren en regisseren. Zolang je niet veroordeeld bent voor een moord of verkrachting, kan het publiek na enige tijd best vergevingsgezind zijn." 'Een verkrachting is iets anders dan een foute opmerking' Dit geldt dus niet voor mensen als Bill Cosby of Harvey Weinstein, tegen wie de rechtszaken, aanklachten en bewijzen van misbruik zich blijven opstapelen. "Die vallen in de categorie 'echte boeven'. Deze mensen zullen nooit meer in genade worden aangenomen", aldus Sponselee. "Dat is van een heel ander kaliber dan Louis C.K., die een paar foute grappen heeft gemaakt en zich in een ver verleden een keer heeft afgetrokken in het bijzijn van een vrouwelijke collega." De mediatrainer heeft ook het idee dat veel mensen in Europa toch vinden dat de #meoo-heksenjacht in Hollywood wat is doorgeschoten. "In het geval van verkrachting of machtsmisbruik, zoals in het geval van Weinstein, is er natuurlijk zonder enige twijfel sprake van grenzen die ver zijn overschreden. Maar het gaat erg ver om mensen na een verkeerde blik of n verkeerde opmerking al aan het kruis te nagelen. Ik heb het idee dat we daar in Nederland wat nuchterder tegen aan kijken." 'Raar om sterren na decennia oude misstappen te verwijten' Mediahistoricus Wijfjes vindt het ook erg ver gaan om mensen soms tientallen jaren na dato nog te veroordelen voor zaken die toentertijd weinig stof deden opwaaien. "Het is vrij bizar dat Disney na een publicatie op een rechtse website Guardians of the Galaxy-regisseur James Gunn ontslaat voor opmerkingen die hij tien jaar geleden maakte", noemt hij als voorbeeld. "Zeker niet als iemand inmiddels zijn leven heeft gebeterd en vervolgens prachtige films heeft gemaakt." In diezelfde categorie vallen volgens de hoogleraar Woody Allen, die door zijn kinderen al jaren zonder bewijs wordt beticht van misbruik, of de onlangs overleden regisseur Bernardo Bertolucci, die na bijna een halve eeuw onder vuur kwam te liggen vanwege een te realistische penetratie in een scne in Last Tango in Paris. "Het is wat vreemd om na n beschuldiging filmmakers met zo'n staat van dienst opeens alleen maar weg te zetten als verkrachters." 'Publiek moet werk en privleven kunnen scheiden' Sponselee denkt ook dat Europeanen wat beter zijn in het scheiden van het werk van een kunstenaar die onder vuur ligt en zijn of haar persoonlijke misstappen. "Ik heb nog niemand gesproken die de oude seizoenen van House of Cards opeens slecht vindt, omdat Spacey wordt beticht van seksueel wangedrag", stelt hij. "Maar misschien dat bekende Engelsen of Amerikanen toch verder van ons af staan en wij Spacey meer zien als acteur dan als bekend mens. Wellicht zouden we anders reageren als - puur hypothetisch natuurlijk - zoiets een BN'er van het kaliber Linda de Mol of Wendy van Dijk zou overkomen." Etiquette-expert Beatrijs Ritsema vindt dat het publiek het werk van een kunstenaar en zijn privleven zou moeten kunnen scheiden. "Als je iedere bekendheid gaat afserveren die zich ooit onprettig gedragen heeft, blijven er maar weinig mensen overeind staan", stelt ze. "Neem de Italiaanse schilder Caravaggio: zijn leven was een aaneenschakeling van schandalen. Hij was een heethoofd dat voortdurend in aanraking kwam met justitie en uiteindelijk zelfs Rome moest ontvluchten nadat hij iemand had vermoord. Dat is gelukkig geen reden geweest om zijn geweldige werk te vergeten." | https://www.nu.nl/weekend/5663015/is-er-leven-voor-sterren-en-hun-werk-na-metoo-misbruikzaak.html |
What Does a Multibillion-Dollar Corporation Want With Crowdfunding? | August 1, 2014 2 min read As of this morning, consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson was worth almost $300 billion. Ideas. New, innovative product ideas. And access to entrepreneurs that are building those ideas into companies, so that it can ostensibly buy those companies. In a deal announced yesterday, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with CircleUp, an equity-crowdfunding platform geared toward startups in the consumer products space. Related: Crowdfunding Platform Connects Entrepreneurs With Consumer-Product Giants The move gives Johnson & Johnson a way to keep its pulse on new and emerging products in its markets. CircleUp, which helps private companies raise money by connecting them with accredited investors, focuses primarily on startups in the food, beverage, apparel and personal care industries. New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson wants access to that pipeline of new and innovative products so that if and when it wants, it can acquire the smaller companies and add those products to its own roster. Related: Staples Wants You to Crowdfund Your Way Onto Its Shelves Crowdfunding represents an entirely new pathway for building a company with innovative products and services, and CircleUp is at the forefront of this new movement, Ben Wiegand, vice president of consumer R&D strategy at Johnson & Johnson, wrote in a blog post. This strategy is particularly interesting to us as we like to provide entrepreneurs with a broad array of resources to help them be successful, and to increase the potential of working together to find ways to commercialize their product or service. For entrepreneurs raising money on CircleUp, the partnership will give them entry to Johnson & Johnson incubator days and direct access to mentors within the company. This is not CircleUps only partnership with a giant corporate behemoth. Its also partnered with Procter & Gamble and General Mills. Related: Crowdfunding's Next Hot Frontier: Real Estate | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236140 |
Should I Hire a Contractor or an Employee? | September 10, 2014 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Hiring the right person for the right job, whether a contractor or an employee, is a task that all employers will find themselves doing again and again. Here are some typical questions that might arise in handling staffing issues at professional services businesses, with my answers, based on my experience: Related: 3 Major Pitfalls for Professional-Services Firms to Navigate 1. Scalability, by definition, is the ability to change in size. Services companies and other knowledge-based businesses are unique from other firms in that they scale by adding people. With a services business, the fundamental revenue driver is payment for the delivery of services by people at the firm. The business probably falls into one of two categories: The workforce is scaled for growth, fluctuating depending on how many projects are acquired. Or the workforce remains steady, regardless of the number of projects in the pipeline. If the company can scale its business for growth, it becomes more flexible in being able to accept a large opportunity that comes along by quickly adding more resources (such as independent contractors). This solves the problem of having to turn away work due to limited resources. If the company has a slow month, then managers can easily slim down the workforce and scale back costs. 2. Tapping into a network of providers is a really strong strategy for growing a business. Then it's always possible to say yes to more work. Keeping a reliable, trustworthy, solid base of contractors who can be hired on an ad-hoc basis is a good idea. Small business owners should also focus on empowering their managers to oversee the delivery of projects, keep an ear to the ground for additional projects and continually look for opportunities to provide fresh services to clients. Managers need to have a keen sense of providing value and keeping client needs in mind to provide exceptional service. Related: 3 Legal Precautions in Hiring Freelancer 3. Keep a budget for hiring contractors as needed. Here are some indications that a project might be better suited for a contractor: a) The business does not have employees available to perform the tasks. b) Demand is uncertain. c) The job requires a specialized skill that the company lacks or the business owner doesn't plan to specialize in. 4. The decision to hire full-time employees doesn't have anything to do with the size of the organization as much as its profit margins. If the billable time of current full-time employees is at or above 85 percent and the profit margins are at least 50 percent, those are good indicators that the company is ready to add another full-time employee. A company makes less of a profit margin on contractors, so it's important to factor in their workload. If these numbers aren't being reached, the company is better off keeping its costs variable (by using contractors) until the firm can reach these margins. 5. The answer will depend on each company's unique circumstances, but a 30 percent contractor base is generally a good number for a small services business. The 85 percent chargeability is the magic number to hit before bringing on additional employees. If the company is not there yet, work on increasing the profit margins and use the network of contractors to take on more work. 6. Its OK to scale the business by tapping into contractors and customers wont care as long as the company owns the quality of the work. This is why its so important to develop a network of trustworthy contractors. Sourcing quality talent is a skill on its own and theres great value in knowing where the best talent is and how to manage it. Related: 5 Things You Never Should Say to a Client | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237288 |
Is Entrepreneurship Education Weakening in America? | September 11, 2014 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Americans no longer perceive that their schools and universities are training them to become entrepreneurs the way they did only a few years ago. Between 2009 and 2012, the percentage of Americans who believe that their education made them more interested in becoming an entrepreneur; helped them to develop an entrepreneurial attitude; improved their understanding of the role of entrepreneurs in society; and gave them the skills needed to open a business, has dropped substantially, a survey by TNS Custom Research reveals. The telephone survey of a representative sample of approximately 3,000 Americans was conducted as part of a broader study of people in the 27 member states of the European Union and in Brazil, China, Croatia, Iceland, India, Israel, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, Japan and South Korea in the summer of 2012 on behalf of the European Commission. Because the survey followed up a similar one conducted in 2009, we can see how Americans views of education have changed over the past three years. Fewer Americans reported that their education increased their interest in becoming an entrepreneur. In 2009, 51 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that my school education is making/has made me interested in becoming an entrepreneur. In 2012, only 39 percent agreed. Related: Small Business Credit Still Not Back to Pre-Recession Levels A smaller fraction of Americans said that their education helped them to develop an entrepreneurial attitude. In 2009, 74 percent of Americans said that my school education is helping/has helped me to develop my sense of initiative and a sort of entrepreneurial attitude. By 2012, the fraction had declined 15 percentage points, to 59 percent. Fewer U.S. residents said that their education helped them to understand what entrepreneurs do. In 2009, 71 percent of Americans agreed with the statement my school education is helping/has helped me to better understand the role of entrepreneurs in society. By 2012, the share had dropped 12 percentage points to 59 percent. A lower proportion of Americans said that their schooling gave them the skills to run a company. In 2009, 67 percent of Americans said my school education is giving/has given me skills and know-how to enable me to run a business. By 2012, the share had fallen to 54 percent. Related: Entrepreneurs are Weakening as Job Creators, But Don't Blame Washington The decline in the fraction of Americans reporting that their schooling contributed to their understanding of entrepreneurship was not shared across the pond. Between 2009 and 2012, the proportion of Europeans agreeing with all four statements about the contribution of their education to their development of entrepreneurial attitudes and skills went up. Americans remain slightly more likely than Europeans to take entrepreneurship courses or undertake entrepreneurship activities at school or in university. According to the Flash Euro Barometer, 26 percent of Americans reported that they had taken part in such a course or activity when they were asked in 2012, as compared with 23 percent of the residents of the 27 countries of the European Union. While the European Commission did not report demographic differences among Americans in their view of the contribution that education made to the development of entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, they did indicate those differences for Europeans. Among residents of the 27 countries of the European Union, women were less likely than men to agree with the four statements about the role of education in the development of entrepreneurial attitudes and skills, with the gap being largest for the skills to run a company. In addition, those under the age of 25; those who viewed self-employment as more feasible and desirable; and those who had already begun the entrepreneurial process, were more likely than others to agree with all four statements. Related: Tread Lightly on Regulating the Sharing Economy | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237324 |
Is Stress Subjective? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by James Porter, Author of the book STOP STRESS THIS MINUTE and President of StressStop.com, on Quora: You could make a very good case for why stress is entirely subjective. Almost ALL stress is measured based on self-reporting. In other words, whether someone says an event is stressful or not. And obviously, thats entirely subjective. There are some very official sounding organizations that conduct surveys like the The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Harris Poll, that essentially codify this information making it sound very objective. So, for example, you can go on the APA website and look up statistics on what people find most stressful and youll see their annual Stress in America Survey. The APA has been tracking stress in the US for about ten years now and during that entire time job stress and financial stress have ranked 1 and 2 on the list. But this data is entirely based on peoples opinions of what they find to be most stressful. In her TED TALK, How to Make Stress Your Friend, Dr. Kelly McGonigal, a health psychology professor at Stanford, raised quite a stir when she quoted a study that said stress isn't harmful to your health: Only having the belief that stress is harmful is what makes it harmful. How the researchers that conducted this (retrospective) study arrived at that startling conclusion was a data crunching exercise in parsing out peoples opinions about stress from the 1990s and then looking up death records from then until now. So here you have a study - that runs contrary to pretty much everything that has ever been written about stress - that is based on a combination of peoples very subjective opinions about stress PLUS very objective lists of whether they died or not. Dr. McGonigal, who wrote a book entitled THE UPSIDE OF STRESS, built her whole thesis for the book around the idea that subjectivity is the very root cause of the problem we call stress. But there are some fairly objective ways we can measure stress as well. Biofeedback devices measure all kinds of internal states including: skin temperature, perspiration, heart rate and brainwave frequencies. You can show someone a scary scene from a film and monitor their heart rate or skin temperature, or perspiration and most peoples internal states will change in a predictable way that correlates with their stress. Cortisol levels are probably the most objective way to measure stress. Cortisol, which is a hormone released into the body during a stressful event, can be measured by taking saliva samples. But theres one small problem with this mostly reliable way to measure stress. Peoples cortisol levels vary throughout the day and the only way to get an approximation of where they should be, is to test them for several days prior to running the experiment. Sarah Damaske, a professor at Penn State, conducted just such a study. She wanted to find out if work was really more stressful than being at home as most people would surmise if asked. She checked her study participants cortisol levels for several days before conducting the experiment. After establishing a baseline, Dr. Damaske compared levels of cortisol for these subjects when they were home and at work. (Each subject took their own saliva samples at certain times during the day.) Across the board she found that peoples cortisol levels (for the most part) went down when they were at work and were elevated when they got home. So this last test tells us something very interesting. While most people would subjectively say that work was more stressful than home, in this OBJECTIVE measure of cortisol levels, home turned out to be more stressful than work. To answer your question. Id have to say, that for the most part (but not ALWAYS), stress is subjective. James Porter is CEO of StressStop and author of The Stress Profiler and Stop Stress This Minute. He also has presented seminars on stress management for The CIA, The FBI, Time Life, Blue Cross Blue Shield and The American Heart Association. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/05/is-stress-subjective/ |
What's happening around CQ today? | FLAVOUR BITE: Here's a "taste' of what to espect at Rockhampton's Great Australian Bites event on Australia Day. Canadian tourists Sam McColman (left) and David Shaw getting around all things Australia at the Great Australian Bites Festival in Airlie Beach, 2018. FLAVOUR BITE: Here's a "taste' of what to espect at Rockhampton's Great Australian Bites event on Australia Day. Canadian tourists Sam McColman (left) and David Shaw getting around all things Australia at the Great Australian Bites Festival in Airlie Beach, 2018. Tamera Francis 7am: Fig Tree Markets. Merv Anderson Park, Yeppoon. 8am: New Year's Market. Markets on Quay. 375 Quay St, Rockhampton. 9am: Bonsai Exhibition. The first exhibition hosted by Bonsai Art Rockhampton. Kern Arcade, Rockhampton. 9am: Archer Park Rail Museum. The Archer Park Rail Museum in Denison Street, Rockhampton will be open this Sunday 9am-1pm. Bring the family along to look through the carriages and steam and diesel engines, change the train signals, see the Morse Code Table and lots more. You can also enjoy a morning tea in the Refreshment Room. 3pm: Keppel Coast Blues & Music Club Jam Session. Pie Alley Blues, 1/14 Normanby St Yeppoon. 4pm: Summer Sundays: Kate Trenerry. Beach Club Cafe, Anzac Parade Yeppoon. UPCOMING January 11: Taylor Henderson - Love Somebody Tour. The multi-platinum selling artist will be hitting the road this January 2019 to continue his National "Love Somebody Tour." Taylor will be serenading you with all the hits and the yet to be released music off his upcoming album. These shows are going to be intimate and very personal, which will see Taylor in his shining element. Venue: Headricks Lane. Time: 5pm Cost: From $43.60 - $64 Phone: 4922 1985 12: Happy Belated New Years: ViperSnatch, Cane Toad, The Ruse, Devil. If you like new and original music from local bands make sure you get your booties to O'Dowd's on January 12. Venue: O'Dowd's Hotel Time: 6pm Cost: Free entry Phone: 4927 0344. 26: Great Australian Bites. Kershaw Gardens, Moores Creek Rd North Rockhampton. With events across Queensland, enjoy an energetic line-up of local entertainment and a mouth-watering array of tasting plates in Rockhampton. | https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/Whats-happening-across-the-region/3614809/ |
Are DVRs still relevant? | There was a time not so long ago, when DVRs Digital Video Recorders, the digital replacement for VCRs that were also known as PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) were considered a standard piece of equipment in the home theatre. However, their relevance has slowly been eroding and they are now more often than not an extra feature bolted onto general purpose video players. And I'm cool with that. Ever since pay TV providers started integrating digital recording into their set top boxes, there's been little need for consumers to go and buy their own unit. Indeed, with the latest version of Foxtel's IQ set top box (IQ3), with its ability to in addition to recording your chosen content stream the entirety of some series, browse recently aired programs, rent movies and TV shows, offer suggestions based on viewing habits, be controlled from your mobile, and more, there is seemingly no reason for Foxtel subscribers to buy a DVR. Those jealous of these features, but not interested in subscribing to Foxtel, will be happy to know that many DVRs out there now provide much more than just the ability to record free to air (FTA) TV. Indeed, companies including Samsung, Panasonic, and others are releasing new digital video recorders that act more like a video hub than just a recorder. With features like internet apps, streaming of your recorded programs to mobile or local devices, playback from USB and network storage, mirroring your mobile device's screen, web-browsing, as well as Blu-ray playback and, of course, recording free-to-air TV, perhaps there is still room in the A/V cabinet for one of these units. | https://www.techradar.com/au/how-to/video/are-dvrs-still-relevant-1300747 |
What Drives Floridas Meteoric Growth? | Editors note: Contributing columnist, Steve Nicklas, expresses his views and insight on various topics in Marketplace column. ___STEVES MARKETPLACE___ Floridas meteoric growth is being driven by imports of people, businesses, industries. Just look around Nassau County as an example. Neighborhoods are popping up like kernels of popcorn at the comfortable B&B Amelia 7 Theatre. New and innovative businesses like B&B theatre are moving or opening here to service a sophisticated, newfound population. And more is to come. The growth is real, tangible. Floridas economy topped $1 trillion in 2018 (as measured by the goods and services it produces). Florida would be the 17th-largest economy in the world, if it was its own nation. Larger than Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Argentina. And the future is so bright that you need sunglasses for more than the sun. One of the big economic distinctions between Florida and states in the northern Rust Belt is our growing population, says Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. In a published report, Snaith went on to say, More people in a states economy means more economic activity. Within 30 years, Floridas economy will more than quadruple to $4 trillion in size, due in large part to a steadily growing population (and its burgeoning tourism industry). Snaith asserts that our state will have more than 29 million residents by then up from 21 million today. Here in Nassau County, the population should at least double over a similar time period, as the massive Rayonier developments in Yulee reach full bloom with 20,000 new homes. This does not include growth in the east and the west sides of the county. Strong growth helps a states infrastructure, public services, education. A good economy benefits everyone, rich and poor. Gov. Rich Scott deserves some of the credit for it, especially coming out of the horrific 2008 recession. Scotts 7-7-7 campaign aimed to create 700,000 jobs over seven years in seven specific steps. It was initially met with disbelief from political opponents and the media alike, Snaith says. But the recovery of Floridas labor market during his administration has been remarkable. In addition, Florida has been recognized as the healthiest state in terms of finances (the state has produced a $3 billion budget surplus for three consecutive years now). Ironically, many people are moving to Florida from the Northeast. From indebted states like New Jersey and Connecticut with little growth, high taxes and few opportunities. People are essentially voting with their feet, leaving there and coming here. Floridas low-tax/less regulation equation obviously works. But the big-government, exorbitant-tax policies of northern states contradict what is being done here. These failed disciplines produce anemic growth and do not have to be imported with our cherished new residents. ____________ Steve Nicklas is a financial advisor and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor with a regional brokerage firm who lives and works on Amelia Island. He is also an award-winning columnist. His business columns also appear in several newspapers in North Florida and Southeast Georgia and on his website: SteveNicklasMarketplace.com. He has also published a book of columns he has written over the past 20 years, All About Money. The book is available at local stores and on Amazon. He can be reached by phone at 904-753-0236 or by email at [email protected] | https://ameliaislandliving.com/fernandinabeach/2019/01/what-drives-floridas-meteoric-growth/ |
Where's the Line on State-Sponsored Censorship? | From Reader Supported News - Advertisement - Americans have a Constitutional right to freedom of speech. That's what we're taught in school, at least. That's what a lot of us believe. But we don't really have a completely uninhibited right to freedom of speech. The conventional wisdom is that Americans are free to say anything they want (short of yelling "fire" in a crowded theater) except with very specific exceptions. For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that one exception is "advocacy of the use of force when it is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action." You can thus advocate violence, just not violence to begin right now. Other exceptions include obscenity, child pornography, encouraging suicide, and (commercial) speech owned by others. It's not legal, according to two of America's police departments. Look at example number one. James Ross, 20, is a gun control supporter and is active on Facebook. One day a friend of his posted a meme on Facebook entitled, "Why I Need a Gun." Below the title were photos of various firearms and an explanation of what each could be used for. The shotgun, for example, was for "burglars and home invasions;" the rifle and scope were for "putting food on the table;" and the assault rifle was for "self-defense against enemies foreign and domestic, for preservation of freedom and liberty, and to prevent government atrocities." Ross didn't like the meme, so he wrote in the comment section, "Which one do I need to shoot up a kindergarten?" He then went to bed. - Advertisement - The original poster deleted Ross's comment and the post, but not before a Facebook friend forwarded it to another friend who happened to be a cop. That cop in turn forwarded it to two more cops who, without conducting any investigation whatsoever, showed up at Ross's place of employment the next day and arrested him for "disturbing the peace," a misdemeanor. Ross attempted to explain himself, but the police were having none of it. They read him his Miranda rights and locked him up for four days. The county prosecutor quickly dropped the charges, but Ross sued the police, saying that his civil rights had been violated. He hadn't posed any threat to anybody and the police knew it. A federal district court judge, however, threw the suit out, writing that the police had "qualified immunity" that prohibited private citizens from suing them while they were in the process of carrying out their duties. An appeals court, however, recently reversed the district court, saying that the officers could not have qualified immunity because Ross's post was not a "true threat" and the police had not carried out even "minimal investigation." It was a close call for Ross and for the rest of us. The basis of the judgment was the First Amendment. Ross had not met any of the criteria for controlling his freedom of speech. It was as simple as that. The cops knew it, but charged him anyway. The judge did the right thing. - Advertisement - Similarly, Robert Frese, 62, of Exeter, New Hampshire, had an ongoing problem with one local police officer after being arrested and convicted of purposely running over a highway construction flagger. He allegedly shouted at the man, "If you don't move out of my way, I'm going to run over you," before doing just that. He was convicted of felony assault and sentenced to two-to-four years in prison, with all but 67 days suspended. He was later accused of stalking the officer who arrested him and, later still, of rummaging through a private garbage dumpster, apparently looking for information on the cop. When the officer retired, a story that was carried in the local paper, Frese took to the online comment section and wrote, "Chief (William) Shupe covered up for a dirty cop." Frese was arrested the next day and charged with "criminal defamation of character," a class B misdemeanor. Frese maintained that the police just wanted to silence him because even a misdemeanor conviction would send him to prison for the remainder of the two-to-four years on the assault charge. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) saw the case in a completely different way. Two weeks ago, the ACLU filed a federal suit against the Exeter Police Department arguing that the criminal defamation law violates the First Amendment. The suit says that the Supreme Court recognized in a landmark 1964 decision, New York Times v. Sullivan, "the profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials." Indeed, the Court added, the complaints didn't even have to be true to still be legal. So there it is. We Americans can pretty much say whatever we want, within very clearly defined (yet few) limits. It may not stop the cops from harassing us. It may not stop the FBI from surveilling us. But tough luck for them. We're going to keep on fighting. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News. - Advertisement - | https://www.opednews.com/articles/Where-s-the-Line-on-State-by-John-Kiriakou-ACLU_Firearms_Freedom_Liberty-190105-73.html |
Is The Wire on Netflix? | The Wire is a tense American crime drama that hosts a wealth of acting talent from a cast that includes the likes of Idris Elba, Michael K Williams and Dominic West. Advertisement Written by former police reporter David Simon, every series follows a different institution in Baltimore and examines its relationship with law enforcement. These include, the drug trade, the government, schools and the media. The 5 series show was originally broadcast by HBO from 2002-2008 and subscribers in the US can still catch all the episodes on their website via HBO Go. Alternatively, NOW TV and Amazon Prime Video users can currently access the multi-award-winning show. Advertisement But its bad news for Netflix users right now. The streaming service does not currently show The Wire, which may leave fans who are anxious to know what will happen next, feeling wired. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-06/is-the-wire-on-netflix/ |
How has Confidence in Americas Institutions Changed over the Last 40 Years? | Visualization Data Notes The General Social Survey has been publishing a vast array of data since the 1970s. Recently, I decided I wanted to use some of that data to create a visualization that shows how confidence in U.S. institutions differs by political party preference. I decided to take a historical look at how confidence in Americas institutions has changed over time. I used the GSS Explorer website to download the data they have on the subject. Once I had the data, I used Tableau to create the visualization. If you want to keep up with our surveys and data analysis, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | http://overflow.solutions/special-projects/how-has-confidence-in-americas-institutions-changed-over-the-last-40-years/ |
Why did British prime minister Attlee think Bengal was going to be an independent country in 1947? | On December 28, Pakistan newspaper Dawn published a somewhat curious bit of news. UK PM Attlee believed Bengal may opt to be a separate country, read the headline. As per recently declassified documents, Clement Attlee had briefed the US ambassador in the United Kingdom on June 2, 1947, about the plan to partition India. A division of Punjab is likely, said Attlee, but he added there was a distinct possibility Bengal might decide against partition and against joining either Hindustan or Pakistan. The news caused some buzz on social media, which is not unexpected: This is a little discussed facet of Indias partition. What Attlee was speaking about was a plan to have not two but three successor states to British India: India, Pakistan and Bengal. Rather than divide Bengal and apportion each half to India and Pakistan, a third option held that Bengal would be kept united and be given the status of a dominion alongside India and Pakistan. Looming partition As 1946 drew to a close, India was in shreds. The British were desperate to leave but, somewhat tragicomically after two centuries of a colonial occupation, did not know how to. The 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan, a scheme to transfer power to a united India had been rejected by the Congress, wary of how little power it gave the Centre. Some form of partition now seemed to be emerging as a Hobsons choice. British Bengal roughly consisted of modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Like North Indias Muslims, Hindus in Bengal were wary of the British exiting, leaving them a minority. Since 1937, ever since democratic government had been introduced in the provinces of British India, Muslim-majority Bengal had seen Hindus out of power. Matters were exacerbated by horrific communal rioting in August, 1946, in Kolkata. By the end of the year, there was a growing acceptance that, as historian Joya Chatterji wrote, Bengal must be divided and that Hindus must carve out for themselves a Hindu-majority province. A Bengal Partition League was set up, but most of the grunt work to prepare public opinion was done by the Bengal Congress as well as the Hindu Mahasabha. As could be expected, there was a distinct geographical split to this demand, with the Hindu-majority western districts and specifically Kolkata most enthusiastic. Also providing crucial support was the citys Marwari business community. I am in favour of separation, and I do not think it is impracticable or against the interest of Hindus, GD Birla said as early as 1942. The campaign was an instant success. A poll in April, 1947, conducted by Amrita Bazar Patrika, a newspaper influential amongst elite Bengali Hindus, saw 98% in favour of Partition. All of 0.6% of respondents supported any scheme for a united Bengal. The United Bengal plan It was against these odds that HS Suhrawardy, the then premier of Bengal, addressed a press conference in Delhi on April 27, 1947, in order to make the case for an independent, undivided and sovereign Bengal: Let us pause for a moment to consider what Bengal can be if it remains united. It will be a great country, indeed the richest and the most prosperous in India capable of giving to its people a high standard of living, where a great people will be able to rise to the fullest height of their stature, a land that will truly be plentiful. It will be rich in agriculture, rich in industry and commerce and in course of time it will be one of the powerful and progressive states of the world. If Bengal remains united this will be no dream, no fantasy. Apart from an appeal to Bengali exceptionalism, there was also an undercurrent of left-wing populism, with Bengals ills being blamed on non-Bengali capitalists. Abdul Hashim, the socialist ideologue who was secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and a strong opponent of Partition argued that Cent percent alien capital, both Indian and Anglo-American exploiting Bengalvisualise difficulties in a free and united Bengal. The plan did attract some support. The British saw in it a way to better protect their commercial stakes in Kolkata. On May 8, 1947, Viceroy Louis Mountbatten cabled the British government with a partition plan that made an exception for Bengal: it was the only province that would be allowed to remain independent should it so chose to. On May 23, in a cabinet meeting Prime Minister Attlee also hoped that Bengal would remain united. However, by far the most-influential supporter of the plan was Sarat Chandra Bose, senior Congressman and elder brother of Subhas Chandra Bose (who was abroad, unreachable probably dead). On May 20, 1947, a plan for a United Bengal was thrashed out between Suhrawardy and Bose. The proposed country would have joint electorates and universal adult franchise. Hindus and Muslims would have equal quotas in the military and the police which would be indigenised and manned by Bengalis. A Hindu-Muslim coalition government would be set up with parity between the communities in the cabinet. The prime minister would be Muslim and the home minister a Hindu. The plan was made public on May 24, 1947, ten days before the final partition plan was announced. Supporters and detractors MA Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, was not averse to the idea since, as he said in his talks with Mountbatten, What is the use of Bengal without Calcutta. However, the Bengal Muslim League itself pulled in every direction. A sub-committee set up by the Bengal League to discuss the plan itself saw four out of six oppose a Bengal that was not part of Pakistan. Much of this was split along linguistic lines. While Urdu-speaking Muslims in Bengal did not want Bengal partitioned they also desired union with Pakistan. Muslim Bengalis, on the other hand, were fine with a free Bengal. Similar to Hindu Bengalis, there was also an East-West split. Speaking to Jinnah, one Calcutta League member accused East Bengali Muslims of being happy to see this partition. In the Congress, Mohandas Gandhi was an initial supporter of United Bengal but then backtracked given that the Congress Working Committee had taken him to task for supporting Sarat Babus move. Both Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel were implacably opposed to a United Bengal, seeing in it a possibility that every province might get similar ideas. On May 27, Nehru formally announced that the Congress would agree to Bengal remaining united only if it remains in the [Indian] Union, leading to Bengal governor Burrows announcing that Bengal will be sacrificed at the altar of Nehrus all-India outlook. Nehrus opposition to the proposal was enough for Mountbatten to backtrack on pushing the plan any more with London. Failure and Partition But Bose did not back down. It is not a fact that Bengali Hindus unanimously demand partition, Sarat Bose wrote to Vallabhbhai Patel on May 27, 1947. The demand for partition is more or less confined to the middle classes. Bose also pointed out the conundrum of partitioning a region that was as contiguous as the Bengal delta: a West Bengal province would have only about half of the total Hindu population in Bengal leaving East Bengali Hindus in the lurch. Sarat Boses plan, however, did not attract much backing. Hindu Mahasabha leader SP Mookerjee was not very far off the mark when he wrote to Patel on May 11, saying: Sarat Babu has no support whatsoever from the Hindus and he does not dare address one single meeting. Eventually, the United Bengal plan came a cropper. On June 3, 1947, when Mountbatten announced his plan to transfer power to native hands, there were only two contenders: India and Pakistan. Bengal was partitioned, the western part joining the Indian Union and the east, Pakistan. The mass upheavals and the population transfers it caused is still buffeting the politics of Assam. However, Attlees prediction wasnt completey off the mark: within just 24 years of the British transfering power, East Bengal broke from Pakistan to emerge as Bangladesh. | https://scroll.in/article/907754/why-did-british-prime-minister-attlee-think-bengal-was-going-to-be-an-independent-country-in-1947 |
How is the New York Public Library preserving its famed lion statues? | Dear John: Im writing to you about the deterioration of the lions at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. In November 2017, I was sitting below Fortitude, the lion on the right as you face the library. I noticed a large chunk missing from the left hind leg. There is a crack along the backside and another chunk missing from the right underbelly. I reported this to the staff, called a number given to me and filled out a form. To date no repairs have been made. A higher-up at the library came outside and took pictures. They know about the problem. I checked Patience, the lion on the left, and it has a crack up the back. As of November 2018, Fortitude has gotten worse. Now a piece is missing from the front paw. It was Mayor Fiorello La Guardia who named the lions. If he were alive today, he would be in an uproar about their condition. Maybe your paper can do a story on them and speed up the repair process. W.P. Dear W.P. : I aint lyin, its being worked on. And the repairs will probably start in spring. Says a spokesperson for the NYPL: The Librarys beloved lions Patience and Fortitude who face the elements daily and are made of porous Tennessee marble require conservation every decade or so. As such, we will engage a conservator to examine the issue and develop a plan for restoration. As all conservation work is weather-dependent, it will likely take place in the spring, by necessity. Dear John: First, I want to be crystal-clear. I am no fan of the Quantitative Easing. I think they went too far, and it was poorly designed. I am also no fan of the Federal Reserve in general. That being said, I think you may be missing the point of the QE programs. The QEs did help create a massive global wealth effect, which helped stop the global financial system meltdown. True, the US economy did not grow briskly due to QE. But helping to save the global economy from financial Armageddon is the crucial point. Had the QE programs not been instituted, the world would still be in the grips of global Great Depression II with no end in sight! But please dont misunderstand me. Yes, the Fed helped save the world with the QEs. But that was only after the Fed created the global financial meltdown in the first place by failing to do its job on so many fronts! The Fed should have started raising interest rates at the first sign of abnormal housing inflation and stopped the subprime mortgage debacle and other financial abuses/crimes. Instead, it watched the abuses grow for years while doing nothing to curb them, and then threw fuel onto the fire by raising rates at exactly the wrong time and exacerbating the crash. A.M. Dear A.M.: I agree with almost everything you said. The Fed kept interest rates too low for too long and created a bubble in housing. When that bubble busted, the Fed came up with the wild scheme called QE to make rates even lower, and it kept it going for too long. Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, I believe, were influenced by politics. They wanted to be liked. They wanted to be invited as guests to the White House. Now Jerome Powell is trying to fight off pressure from the new guy in the White House and do his job. And the stock market, which has become accustomed to malfeasance at the Fed, is throwing a tantrum. | https://nypost.com/2019/01/05/what-is-the-nypl-doing-to-preserve-its-famed-lion-statues/ |
Who Is Talking Politics? | Having read the two books written by Nigerias former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the recent book by the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, I have come to an un-researched conclusion that Nigerian politicians do not know how to talk politics. Talking politics means talking good because politics is about the goodness of society. That is why political philosophers devoted all their lives in looking for the good of the state. One of the reasons Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election is because none of his followers took quality time to explain to Nigerians the good works of his administration. It was after he had left office and these books were written that I got to know that he initiated the treasury single account (TSA) policy that was geared towards fighting corruption in the public service. Indeed most Nigerians never knew that he fought corruption, no matter how small. When President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, he continued it on a more aggressive manner that ministries, departments and agencies of government now have access to less public funds to steal. Goodluck Jonathan should hold his lieutenants and followers responsible for losing the 2015 election: because they refused to tell Nigerians the good things he was doing, instead of quarrelling with the then opposition party. President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) is about to suffer the same faith. Whenever I hear or listen to his lieutenants and followers, all I deduce is reactionary responses to the distracting allegations from the opposition political parties. From the Ministry of Information to the National Orientation Agency (NOA), PMBs media chiefs, his political partys publicity chiefs and all the rest behind him, they are merely quarrelling with the opposition political parties. They are not initiating, talking or telling Nigerians details of the good works PMB is doing in Nigeria today. I am yet to be convinced that this retinue of followers is doing a good work in talking and explaining what PMB has done with the Nigerian economy in the last four years. Things like the petrol scarcity and subsidy and the price of petrol, unemployment, inflation, exchange rate, food importation, foreign debts and the standard of living of Nigerians. Such explanation should also include funds released to states to enable them settle backlog of salaries and pensions, stoppage of states-debt related deductions, the reasons for the tradermoni, YESSO, and other interventions of government to reduce hardship in the land. Nigerians need to know in details the effect of governments actions in the agricultural sector. On security, the opposition claims that insecurity has been the worst harvest by Nigerians due to the terror activities of the herdsmen and Boko Haram. Someone should take out quality and quantum time to prepare a detailed documentary on how PMB is tackling these terrorists. That documentary should be used to explain to Nigerians in simple languages and fora about the causes, origin, membership, operations and the extent of damage they have done to Nigeria. It should cover the issues of security expenditure; joint operations; military posting, training, facilities and allowances; police killing of Yusuf and many of his followers leading to the open operation of the Boko Haram, police abscondment from training to fight Boko Haram; all the issues about displaced persons and the official stealing of the funds released to care for the displaced persons and so on. It is instructive to state here that the biggest tool against the PMB government is his handling of the continuous killing of Nigerians in the North Central region especially in Benue and Plateau States. If this is not well explained to Nigerians, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government may lose substantial votes from this region and other states affected by the herdsmen killings (Adamawa, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa). On some miscellaneous issues, Nigerians need to know in details why the National Assembly (NASS) increased the 2018 budget by N500 billion and PMB allowed it. Nigerians need to know how really the TSA works. The work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) needs to be explained to Nigerians because it appears EFCC is more interested in showcasing accused persons than successfully prosecuting them. From May 2015, how many people have been accused, how many have been prosecuted and jailed (besides Dariye and few others) or released, how much has been recovered from accused persons and who are they, how many properties have been confiscated and who owns them, how has the government utilized the recovered funds, etc. Another issue is that of appointments into top government offices by PMB. Nigerians have been saturated with the feeling that appointments by PMB are skewed in favour of the North. If the government does not agree with this position, it should provide alternative explanations to prove the critics wrong. Provide convincing reasons why some obvious cases should be so: for example the replacement of the former Minister of Finance who is from the South by another person from the North. It is the duty of his political party and those who are responsible for talking about the works of his government that should talk the politics of President Muhammadu Buhari. This has become immensely essential in this election and New Year seasons. Okachikwu Dibia, Abuja. | https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/06/who-is-talking-politics/ |
Are the Colts Quietly the Best Team in the AFC? | Michael Wyke/Associated Press A little luck is helpful. A lot of luck will take someone far. A dominant Andrew Luck turns the Indianapolis Colts from a dangerous postseason opponent into the AFC's most complete squad. The healthy and calm-in-the-pocket version of Luck seen during Saturday's 21-7 victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium harkens back to the once-in-a-lifetime quarterback prospect who took the league by storm. Luck no longer needs to be the franchise's focal point behind a dominant offensive line, a potent running game and a fundamentally sound defense. But he still can be if needed. All of these factors coalescing at the same time make this arguably the best Colts team in the post-Peyton Manning era, which is surprising when you consider this year's squad started 1-5 before winning 10 of its next 11 contests. The fact the Colts even reached this point is amazing. No one knew if Luck was even capable of playing this season after missing all of the 2017 campaign with a shoulder injury. Frank Reich wasn't supposed to be the head coach, either. A last-minute change of heart from Josh McDaniels forced the franchise to change direction and hire Reich. The organization had already signed three assistant coaches at McDaniels' request, and they had to be assimilated into Reich's staff. "When we hired (Frank Reich) I said, 'How could we have be so stupid?' owner Jim Irsay said, per the Indianapolis Star's Zak Keefer. "He should've been our first choice. Somehow, it all worked out in the Colts' favor. And it's only getting better. Luck, in particular, is living up to what could have been considered unfair expectations after being touted as the best quarterback since Manning or John Elway. He played extremely well before his bum shoulder but developed bad habits due to poor protection, lack of a running game and injuries. Now, Luck's best version fits into a young and talented roster. The 29-year-old signal-caller posted career highs this season in completion percentage (67.3) and quarterback rating (98.7). He completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 222 yards, two touchdowns and an interception Saturday. His improved efficiency can be seen in the precise nature of his throws from the pocket or on the move. Two specific throws highlight both areas. Luck set up the Colts' first touchdown with a 38-yard pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, courtesy of the NFL: The end-zone angle shows how Luck makes a difficult throw look easy. First, he adjusted his launch point to avoid pressure. He still took the hit, but not before he uncorked the pass. The ball landed gently as a feather in the awaiting arms of Hilton between three Texans defenders. Now, watch as Luck rolls to his left to avoid pressure and allow his receiver to become available: Neither results in a touchdown, yet both helped extend drives. Sometimes a quarterback just needs to drop, hit his back step, rip a pass to the sideline from the opposite hash and stop the opponent's momentum like Luck did in the fourth quarter to Hilton: Two major differences exist in Luck's game today compared to ghosts of seasons past. His throwing motion is much tighter after reteaching himself how to throw a football as part of the rehabilitation process. Also, the quarterback is far more comfortable with his offensive line, and his footwork is greatly improved, as former offensive line coach Paul Alexander noted: A confident quarterback in the pocket tends to be the result of a reliable offensive front. The Colts' offensive line developed throughout the season into one of the league's best. The ripple effects can be felt throughout the team's entire approach. Everything starts with All-Pro rookie Quenton Nelson. The fact a guard deserves so much recognition says it all, but a closer inspection shows a truly special talent. Former NFL offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger succinctly summed up Nelson's year-long performance with one play: Nelson's greatest asset isn't overwhelming upper-body strength, advanced technique or movement skills; it's that his attitude is infectious. For years, the Colts featured one of the league's softest fronts. He's now must-watch television. However, he added to an offensive line with a few pieces already in place. Former first-round pick Ryan Kelly (who returned from injury Saturday), left tackle Anthony Castonzo and right guard Mark Glowinski all had significant starting experience. The final piece fell into place when fellow rookie Braden Smith took over at right tackle. This group can impose its will even against a defense featuring J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. The Colts set two franchise postseason rushing records Saturday, with Marlon Mack running for 148 yards and the team managing 200 yards. More importantly, the Colts put the game away by keeping it on the ground with six straight running plays. The Texans didn't allow a single 100-yard rusher all season and led the league by allowing a paltry 3.4 yards per carry. Indianapolis came in and averaged 5.7 yards. "In playoff football, how do you win games?" Reich asked in his postgame speech. "You dominate up front. That's playoff football ... It's complementary. Tim Warner/Getty Images Efficient quarterback play behind a strong offensive line and capable ground-and-pound approach is even more successful if the defense isn't a sieve. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has been a wizard working with the available talent and converting a 3-4 scheme under Chuck Pagano into a sound Cover 2-inspired approach as one of the league's most prolific zone schemes. The Colts were second to only the Los Angeles Chargers in using zone coverage on 74 percent of regular-season plays, according to the telecast. Eberflus forced Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to beat the Colts. The second-year signal-caller couldn't do it. He dinked and dunked throughout the contest and relied more on his athleticism to get anything going in the second half. Strong fundamentals coupled with taking opportune risks helped shut down the Texans offense. During Houston's final fourth-down play, the Colts employed a five-man blitz. Linebacker Anthony Walker came on a delayed A-gap dog, which drew the offensive interior's attention. Cornerback Kenny Moore blitzed from the slot, drove Texans running back Lamar Miller into Watson, knocked the quarterback off balance and the ball fell short of its intended target. The league's 11th-ranked defense isn't littered with recognizable talent, but they fly to the football while playing with sound fundamentals. All of these factors are in the Colts' favor and the entire package can't be found on any other AFC squad. The Chiefs, whom Indianapolis faces next weekend at Arrowhead Stadium, aren't nearly as good on defense. Philip Rivers isn't as mobile playing behind a more susceptible offensive front. The Ravens don't have much of a downfield passing attack. The Patriots aren't as explosive, either, after losing Josh Gordon to an indefinite suspension. Luck will lead the way, but he no longer needs to shoulder the load. Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski. | https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2814154-are-the-colts-quietly-the-best-team-in-the-afc |
How much of the Texans' 21-7 playoff loss to Colts was Bill O'Brien's fault? | Answer: all of it. The Texans came out flat against the Colts. With the way Indianapolis took it to Houston to start out the game, one would have thought playoff-beard Frank Reich was the gray wizard of the AFC South with three division titles and OBrien the rookie coach who led an improbable team into the postseason. There may be something to the stat that OBrien is now 4-6 against rookie coaches. In the first half, they surrendered 276 yards and 20 first downs to Indianapolis. Quarterback Andrew Luck completed 16 passes on 22 attempts for 191 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Running back Marlon Mack produced 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Of course, the stat that matters is the 21-0 score. Houstons offense could get nothing going in the first half with quarterback Deshaun Watson completing 11-of-18 for 90 yards and an interception. The leading rusher was none other than the star quarterback, who Houston gave up draft picks to get in 2017, as he gained 23 yards on three carries. Two carries for eight yards. Three carries for five yards. There was no answer. It wasnt so much that Houston was uninspired; no one among the final 12 teams in the tournament is taking the field without inspiration. Rather, it was that the Texans came out without any instant execution. There was the sense that they felt it would click eventually, and by the time they looked up, they were down 14-0. The old line about OBrien being too conservative wasnt necessarily true. The fifth-year coach went for it twice in the first half. Try fourth-and-4 from the Colts 45-yard line. Try fourth-and-1 from the Colts 9-yard line. He responded to the finality and momentous occasion of the playoffs with big gambles. They didnt pay off, but he did endeavor to go for it and not stay conservative. Where OBrien failed the Texans was with not getting receiver Keke Coutee involved in the game early. Coutee had six targets throughout the first half. With the pressure that Watson was under, Coutee should have had more targets, especially considering he was a relief valve for Watson later in the game. As Watson took a sack and was under constant pressure, there should have been more options available. Heres the thing: OBrien knows he failed the team today, too. I stood up there and said, Look, I just didnt do a good enough job getting you guys ready to play, OBrien told reporters after the game. That type of accountability is what will help the Texans improve as they retool their roster and their coaching personnel in the off-season. Watson took 62 sacks in 2018, the third-most in franchise history. Factor in quarterback hits, and the second-year signal caller probably endured 150 hits at a conservative number. Houston lost its way after the nine-game winning streak. Whatever it was, the Texans have to address the pains of December and that lone January weekend so they dont come out flat in 2019. | https://texanswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/05/how-much-texans-21-7-playoff-exit-bill-obrien-fault/ |
Did the U.S. Cover Up a Civilian Massacre Before Black Hawk Down? | Christian was nodding off in the back of a Black Hawk helicopter when he heard the first explosion. I remember thinking to myself, that was big...it had to be Americans, he told The Daily Beast. Nobody else had that kind of fire power in Somalia. Hed been orbiting the skies above Mogadishu since 2 a.m. on July 12, 1993, a pretty uneventful day for his unit until he saw thick smoke billowing in the near distance. Christian felt more explosions pound his chest. Ten U.S. attack helicopters pumped 16 missiles and over 2,000 rounds of cannon fire into the second floor of a house, the Abdi house, blowing out the stairwell that prevented people from escaping, and then blasting the building apart. It blew the whole goddamn building, said Christian, who requested anonymity even now because aspects of the operation remain classified and he has no authorization to speak about them. I dont think whoever ordered that strike could have reasonably expected not to have [civilian] casualties. It was 10:18 a.m. and Operation Michigan was under way. U.S. forces were hunting General Mohammad Aidid, a Somali warlord on whose head the United Nations and the United States had just put a $25,000 bounty. They wanted him arrested on charges he was responsible for the June 5 ambush and killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers assigned to the U.N. Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II), a peace enforcement mission involving active combat and nation-building. The midsummer aerial attack, which was lauded as highly successful by the U.S. military, was seen as retaliation for the recent escalating violence. But instead of the Aidid war council they sought, U.S. forces attacked a peace meeting. The disproportionate use of force and the violation of human rights and humanitarian law resulted in overwhelming civilian casualties at a time when the U.N. and U.S. were not at war with Somalia. The Abdi house attack became widely regarded as a symbol of the U.N./U.S. loss of direction in Somalia, from humanitarian champion to mass murderer. Today, as the Trump administration dramatically steps up its drone strikes in undeclared battlefields that still include Somalia, accountability and legal consequences are still virtually non-existent. There has also been a growing record of U.S. Special Operators under this administration getting themselves and those they work with into dangerous and deadly situations. The Operation Michigan experience holds vital lessons for the present, but this is the first time someone from the inside has acknowledged it did not hit any of its putative targets and attacked civilians instead, corroborating what journalists, academics, and Somalis have been reporting over the years. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Somalia suffered over 200 casualties that day. Following the raid, four Western journalists were stoned to death by an angry Somali mob. The operation, carried out by the U.S. Quick Reaction Force air and ground elements, became known to Somalis as Bloody Monday, a day in which U.S. troops unilaterally conducted an aggressive military operation against Somali citizens, mostly elders meeting to discuss how to pressure Aidid into pursuing peace. Journalists who covered Somalia say the July 12 attack turned Somalis, both civilians and clansmen, against the U.S. While previous attempts at capturing Aidid were made, July 12 was the bloodiest, solidifying Aidids power and heralding a turning point when the hearts and minds on the streets of Somalia were lost. Thats the part when we started losing Somalia and didnt even know it, said Christian. After the massacre, clan members took up arms to follow Aidid, creating a larger enemy for U.S. forces to face on October 3, 1993 during the Battle of Mogadishu, the disastrous military mission led by U.S. special forces to capture Aidid that saw two Black Hawk helicopters shot down and the bodies of several U.S. soldiers dragged through the streets on television. The disaster was immortalized in Mark Bowdens book, Black Hawk Down, and a 2001 movie by the same name. "There is no question that the raid provoked rage among Aidids clan, said Scott Peterson, the first journalist who arrived on the scene on Bloody Monday and suffered a machete wound to the head after a mob chased him. There is no doubt that the anger there helped fuel the volcanic violence Somalis showed toward U.S. troops afterwards, most notably during the infamous Black Hawk Down incidents. Overshadowed by the journalists deaths and by the 18 U.S. soldiers who died three months later, Bloody Monday resembled mass murder, according to the 1995 Human Rights Watch report on Somalia. Yet U.S. military officials never investigated the attack or announced a mea culpa. The number of dead Somalis never seemed to matter to anyone, wrote Keith Richburg, a former foreign correspondent for The Washington Post in Mogadishu, in his book Out of America. A mile and a half away from the carnage unfolding on July 12, chief of the Justice Division of UNOSOM II Ann Wright and staffers ran outside their U.S. compound to high ground after hearing rockets and machine guns firing. We knew something bad was happening because of all the noise, she said. Nobody knew what was going on until they got word that the journalists were killed by Somali crowds, angry about the deaths of their elders, she said. Why? The more we heard, the more concerned I was, she said. A day later, Wright wrote a confidential memo to her boss, the U.N. special envoy to Somalia, U.S. Admiral Jonathan Howe, about how the attack was nothing less than murder committed in the name of the United Nations. Four minutes after the airstrike, U.S. ground troops descended onto the scene to confirm the hit. Then, the radio chatter came in. Christian remembers early reports from ground troops. N.E. he heard them say for not effective. Someone asked for clarity over the static. Target not present. Target not present, a ground soldier radioed in. We had an asset list. Nobody on the asset list was killed or captured that day, said Christian. Ive always felt like there was basically an assassination attempt gone wrong that ultimately led to innocent deaths. Following the attack and for years later, Howe and Maj. Gen. Thomas Montgomery, who commanded the U.S. troops in Somalia and was overhead in a helicopter during the operation, have maintained the operation was flawless. They got their targets and didnt kill any innocent civilians. They disputed the numbers of casualties and insisted it was a war meeting. According to the after action report on Somalia prepared by Montgomery and others, among those killed were a number of top financiers and military planners, including the overall planner of the June 5 ambush of Pakistani soldiers. Montgomery declined an interview with The Daily Beast. The official number of casualties by UNOSOM II was 20 (13 dead, seven wounded). But the ICRC reported 54 dead and 161 wounded. Aidid claimed 73 Somalis died, including women and children, and over 200 wounded. U.S. forces suffered no casualties. Howe told The Daily Beast that Aidids Somali National Alliance (SNA) claim was seemingly exaggerated and included some individuals who had died several weeks prior to the raid. There was [also] no evidence of non-combatant casualties from the raid itself, Howe said. But Ann Wright, who served 29 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a colonel, said the ground troops didnt stick around long enough to identify the dead or count them. It wasnt like [the soldiers] went through the wreckage and took out bodies. They just left, said Wright. The raid was conducted in lightning speed. Christian and his team circled the site over a dozen times, each time, getting a closer look at the collateral damage below. Part of his mission meant assessing the threat below him. I was looking for threats and I didn't see any, he said. What he did see as they touched down to load the ground troops were bodies. Flower print shorts, colorful sarongs, bare feet, sandals, he said. According to the official version of the attack detailed in the U.N. Blue Book, it took nine minutes for troops to clear the area, search the Abdi house, and depart. And troops left earlier than expected. Christian said his unit was called in closer for backup. The troops barely made it out before the crowds arrived, he said. Wright and journalists covering the story at the time insist not only were there innocent civilian lives lost but the military planners must have known the meeting would have non-combatants attending. They were relying on the information a paid informant gave them that General Aidid would be at the meeting with tribal elders so they knew elders were going to be there, said Wright. Sebastian Kaempf, a senior lecturer in peace and conflict studies at the University of Queensland in Australia, wrote about Operation Michigan and interviewed Howe and Montgomery in 2005. He said that U.S. forces must have known about the presence of civilians at such gatherings. Aidid always had a significant civilian presence at meetings; Somali tradition includes women cooking meals and serving tea; and the neighborhood where the attack took place was densely populated. According to Kaempf, Howe, Montgomery and U.N. military planners knew about the presence of civilians prior to the raid. In a meeting, they decided to drop the advance warning to civilians in the building, an engagement policy that had been normal procedure until the Abdi attack. Scott Peterson wrote in his book Me Against My Brother that the meeting was publicized a day earlier in the Somali newspapers as a peace gathering. There is considerable evidence that it was a hardline war planning session going on at the Abdi center, Howe told The Daily Beast. The meeting of clan elders seeking peaceful solutions was several blocks away [from the Abdi house meeting]. But journalists who interviewed eyewitnesses and saw a video of the aftermath to the attack described the attendees at the Abdi house as religious leaders, former judges, professors, a well-known poet, the clans most senior leader in his 90s, younger men, women and children. There were also some hardliners, but all were present to discuss a peace initiative. Survivors of the attack spoke to them about a chaotic scene after the raid in which piles of bloody bodies and body parts blocked their way as survivors struggled to find the stairs to escape in the dark smoke. In a 1995 interview with Frontline, Montgomery said it was a very precise and very decisive operation with the intention of killing bad guys. As I recall, it went quite well from the standpoint of what we wanted to do at the time. Put the pressure on Aidid, who was acting up, said Howe. Theres a huge picture going on during these events. Thats one day, one attack. Seventeen minutes after Christian heard the first explosion, the raid was over. Beyond it, the scars remain. Christian, who lost faith in the overall mission after Operation Michigan and the Battle of Mogadishu, left his career in the military and suffered from PTSD for years after it. Twenty-five years later, Christian said he still thinks about July 12, 1993. I saw people get hurt before and we lost men before but everything seemed so pointless there, he said. Ann Wright called the attack a slaughter and said it violated the Geneva Conventions as published by the U.S. Army in Field Manual 27-10 Law of Land Warfare (PDF). I was furious...You just blew up a building and you werent even sure who was in it? she said. In the memo she hand-delivered to Adm. Howe, Wright warned against applying tactical methods usually found in declared wars without a U.N. declaration of war or combat. She also questioned the U.N. Security Council resolution directive authorizing UNOSOM to to take all necessary measures against those responsible for the attack on the 24 Pakistani military officers. UNSC Resolution 837 reaffirmed the U.N. Secretary-Generals authority to take all necessary measures, including to secure the investigation of [those responsible for the armed] actions and their arrest and detention or prosecution, trial and punishment. Wright advocated for the opportunity of surrender and detainment and the right to be judged in a neutral court of law. In previous attacks, people were given the option to either stay in the building or exit by broadcasting a warning, she said. This is the first incident where no option was given, she wrote in the memo. The military operation undercuts U.N. credibility when we can not with accuracy state how many persons were killed or injured, who they were and why they were in the facility. Wright said there was little interest at the time in analyzing the legal grounds for such an operation. It resonated for one month and then it was swept under the carpet, she said. Nobody was held accountable for anything. There should have been an honest investigation into what happened and the chain of command should have been held responsible... Its kind of the way the U.S. does business now, which is totally wrong. Shes not the only one who thought it was wrong. Among journalists who expressed similar sentiments, Aidan Hartley who spoke to survivors and eyewitnesses of the attack said, Howe and Montgomery have much to answer for but they disappeared from history. Thirty minutes after the raid ended, foreign journalists arrived on the scene to report on the aftermath. Four of them were quickly surrounded by an angry Somali mob that chased and beat them to death. I said, American in peril, Christian recalled. At the time, he and his unit thought all the journalists were American. Their Black Hawk hovered over Reuters photojournalist Dan Eldon, the 22-year-old British-American journalist referred to as the Mayor of Mogadishu for the way he won Somalis over with his humor and compassion. In 2017, a movie was made about his life called Journey Is the Destination. They just kept saying negative, negative. I was confused. I didnt understand. I couldnt land the helicopter. I couldnt say, fuck this, get me down there. There was nothing I could do, said Christian who watched Eldon get beaten to death as their Black Hawk drummed away. Christian said he believes he could have saved the journalists: He would have first used smoke to secure the area and then an extraction by helicopter. He had done it so many times before. At 11:46 a.m., another Black Hawk spotted Eldon. The helicopter landed under cover of a Cobra, dived to scatter the crowd, and recovered Eldons body. He was pronounced dead at the U.S. military hospital. Killed alongside Eldon were German Associated Press photojournalist Hans Kraus, Reuters photojournalist Hos Maina, and Reuters soundman Anthony Macharia, both Kenyans. No story is worth this, Peterson wrote in his book, including Eldon, the young talent whose Mogged Out T-shirt design said the most about the chronic fatigue that all of us experienced covering Somalia. For Christian, the image of spotting then abandoning Eldon as he ran for his life only to get beaten to death by Somalis angry at what Christians unit had just done to their people is something he cant forget. We were considering people that I previously considered not expendable, expendable, he said. | https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-the-us-cover-up-a-civilian-massacre-before-black-hawk-down?source=articles&via=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29 |
Is the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia? | Ethiopia throbs with religious fervor. On Sundays in Lalibela, Aksum and Gondar, I was alone in thousand-strong crowds of monks and nuns, hermits and business owners, energetic children and bent-double grandmothers. They wrapped themselves in white or burnt orange and poured into the churches that dot the landscape. It is a society with a more profound spirituality than anywhere else I have been to one where worship is woven into nearly every aspect of life. And during my trip, it became clear that this veneration of the church was born from a belief that Ethiopia has been chosen by God as the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. There is only one man alive who has seen the alleged Ark in all its biblical glory. It is, according to Ethiopian lore, hidden in a church in Aksum a small city in the northern highlands and guarded by a single monk. Nobody else enters the room and only after his death will the monk leave the grounds. The Ark itself is central to Christian and Jewish religious history. According to the Bible, Moses placed stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments into a box made of acacia wood, aka the Ark. King Solomon then built the First Temple in Jerusalem to house it, where it was venerated for hundreds of years. And then it disappeared. Jewish tradition says it was lost when the Babylonians sacked Solomons temple in the 4 th century BC. But for millennia, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the Ark was actually taken to Ethiopia for safekeeping. And while it was mostly in Aksum, for 400 years it was hidden on two different lakes to protect it from invading tribes. Ethiopia is a landlocked country, but north of Addis Ababa is a lake so vast, it feels like the sort of clear blue sea the Ancient Mariner would be at home on. Here on Lake Tana is a tiny island in swimming distance of the shore, where Ethiopian priests supposedly left their precious Ark for 350 years. And then there is Lake Ziway. South of Addis and home to the Zay people, Ziway was a rumoured shelter for the Ark for 70 years when it was hidden amid the pelicans and flamingos of the Great Rift Valley. I visited lakes Tana and Ziway to see if there was any trace of the Arks journey in these shorefront towns and to understand how the belief that they were communities chosen by God has impacted the lives of the local people. Lake Tana feels like a place untouched by modernity. Dhows elegant, elongated Indian Ocean boats made from wood with billowing lanteed sails drift past 14th century monasteries and territorial hippos rear their heads out of the glassy water. It is where acacia trees shade medieval churches, and orthodox Christianity and skulking hyenas have both found a home. We set sail on on a blindingly bright morning from the city of Bahir Dar. It would take three hours on a rickety boat to get to Tana Kirkos, where the Ark was allegedly kept. We hugged the coastline, which changed from dry, over-farmed fields to rich groves of palm trees. Throughout the journey, we spotted brightly colored churches, which looked freshly painted and were dotted like Smarties amid the wooden huts the locals lived in. Any money we earn is spent on the churches, said Dawit, who captained our boat. It is part of our tradition to give everything we dont need to survive to the local church. The silvery bulge of a particularly magnificent dome glinted in the sunlight for the last half hour of our journey. As we got closer, it came into focus above a canopy of leaves, partly obscuring a smaller orange dome beside it. That was Tana Kirkos. But I would soon discover a not-insignificant spanner in the works my gender. Women are still regarded with profound suspicion by the Ethiopian church, largely because of our ability to ignite a dangerous passion in the monks who guard the Ark. The safest solution, they decided, was to ban all women from most Ark-related religious sites. This inexplicably includes female animals, with only roosters, billy goats and male pigs allowed near certain sites. We juddered to a stop on the sandy beach and a priest kindly allowed me off the boat but motioned for me to sit on a rock while the men explored. There are many young monks on the island, and they are still learning, he explained in Amharic. Women cannot be allowed to inflame their passions. This is a very special place. The Ark came here from Aksum for safekeeping many years before Jesus was born, he continued. But during King Ezanas time, which was 1,600 years ago, he took it north again. This is a holy island. The baby Jesus and Mary spent time here during their exile. None of this is verifiable but as I watched the men climb higher to see this world-renowned chapel and monastery, filled with scrolls, books and paintings on the Ark, I was filled with envy. I leaned back on the rock and stared at an eagle circling overhead, idly wondering if it was female. They came back and told me about the replica of the Ark, known as the Tabot, which is paraded around the island during the festival of Timkat, and a shrine on the patch of land where Mary and Jesus allegedly slept. From there, we set sail for Dek Island in the heart of the lake, where we camped amid fruit groves on the edge of a small, dilapidated village. We were woken 4am by the haunting Christian calls to prayer and later that morning, sailed to the northern tip of the island to Narga Selassie one of Ethiopias least visited and most beautiful churches. Watched over by a thin guard wearing a single loincloth and clutching a machine gun, we climbed up through Jungle Book -like ruins to a round, cream-colored church. There, a white-robed priest opened a set of engraved wooden doors to a room covered in floor-to ceiling murals depicting the journey of the Ark. It was unmistakably African the Madonna and Child were joined by a wandering lion and the Ark awaited its new home under a dry acacia tree. This place is blessed, the priest explained. No bad deeds can occur on the island as the magic of the Ark will last forever. That is why so many people live here still even when there is no work. We then sailed on to Gondar and flew down to Addis, where we picked up Eden Sahle a young Ethiopian journalist who would join us in the Great Rift Valley lakes. As we drove south, the road filled with Marabou storks that most unattractive of birds and women balancing plastic drums of water precariously on their heads. After a swim and a glass of thick, sweet mango juice, we climbed into our second boat this time for Tulu Gudo, an island in the middle of Ziway. The two lakes are not particularly alike Ziways water is mud brown and warm, with thousands of birds clustered around its edges and the occasional whip of a crocodiles tail disturbing its surface. But like Lake Tana, colorful churches cluster on the shoreline. This is a holy lake, explained Eden. During the 10th century, the Ark was going to be destroyed by the non-Christian Queen Gudit, so it had to be hidden on Ziway. Priests walked all the way to Ziway from Aksum carrying the Ark. It was there for 72 years until Queen Gudit was defeated in a war. I had the faintly ridiculous hope that Eden and I in an all-female recreation of Indiana Jones might find some relic of the Ark on the island. We climbed off the boat, sweating in the midday heat, and started walking uphill through thick leaves to the mountain-top church where the Ark had been kept. As we climbed, a distant hum of women singing became louder and turned into the unmistakable sound of an ululation. We had unwittingly stumbled upon a funeral march and hundreds of mourners shrouded in white began overtaking us and pouring into church. We tried to be inconspicuous in the shade of a tree, but eventually two priests approached us, offering to show us around their small museum. They unlocked the smudged glass cases to lift up heavy, illustrated parchment books detailing the trip the Ark took. Later, we walked around the church, which was still heady with incense from the funeral service but through the smoke I could make out murals of the Ark being carried 600 miles from Aksum to Ziway. Here too, the priest insisted its presence had kept their communities safe from drought, war and plague. It is, of course, impossible to say whether the Ark and its tour of the Ethiopian lakes has any basis in truth. People have debated its whereabouts for centuries some, such as British writer Graham Hancock, believe it has indeed been in Ethiopia since the 4th Century BC. Others, such as National Geographic Society fellow Fred Hiebert, says looking for the Ark is a quest that is ultimately doomed to failure. Lying as it does at the crossroads between myth and reality, whether the Ark even exists depends largely on your religious beliefs. But what is without doubt is the profound spirituality its journey has instilled in the Ethiopian people. It is as if the Ark has trailed a magic dust around the country, transforming these two lakes into almost mythical places. | https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-the-ark-of-the-covenant-in-ethiopia?source=articles&via=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29 |
Should police video be made public? | Events Thanksgiving night at the Galleria in Hoover proved tragic. Someone fired a gun in a crowded shopping mall. Two people were injured. As law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the shooting, they encountered an armed man; he was shot and killed. Initially, it was reported that he was the suspect, but authorities quickly learned he was not. He was a shopper at the mall, and had a concealed carry permit for his weapon. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating, and the shooting brought protests to the City of Hoover. Part of the protest has been a call to release body camera footage from the officers involved something the investigating agency has not done. For the most part, local police dont want to comment about the Hoover case, citing a lack of information about it. However, some were willing to talk about body cameras, their policies for using them and their place in modern policing. Most local agencies equip officers with cameras, and count them as essential equipment. The Gadsden Police Departments officers have used body cameras for years. Sgt. John Hallman said since the cameras have been in use, the number of citizen complaints against officers have dropped. Everyone knows they are being recorded, Training Officer Sgt. Jay Johnson said both the officers and the people they encounter. That knowledge can prevent people from claiming something was said or done that was not, and it also can make officers more mindful of what they say and do. It is important, Capt. Paul Cody said, to understand the limits of what is seen on camera. The view shown by the camera may not capture all that an officer sees and hears around him, or record all that creates an officers perception of a situation. There also can be malfunctions with the equipment, as with any technology. There have been cases some high-profile ones in other areas where there were problems in the way an officer reacts to a situation. Anything an officer does is reactive, Cody said. The camera captures whats in front of it, but an officer could be looking in another direction, he said. Regardless, it takes a second really 1.5 seconds, studies have shown to process and react to what you see. Thats something that can get lost when people look at body camera recordings like an action movie, where everything is scripted in advance. In local departments using body cameras, the policy is for patrol officers to turn on the camera at each encounter with the public for the taking of reports, for traffic stops, for any encounter. To me, the body cameras keep everybody honest, Glencoe Police Chief Alan Kelly said. I can remember when an officers word was everything. Now, if theres a image, people want to see it. Its evidence to every complaint voiced, Kelly said. They say there are three sides to every story. To me, the body camera is what falls between the two sides. Attalla Police Chief Dennis Walker said his department's officers are required to wear body cameras and to have the camera recording any interactions with the public. "We use them as evidence all the time," Walker said. Southside Chief Chris Jones said his department has used body cameras for about 10 years long enough to have upgraded to a much better version. Like Kelly, he remembers when an officers word and testimony in court was enough. Now, he said, people seem to expect video evidence to back it up. When high-profile incidents occurs, it might seem that rolling the film will resolve questions. But police say they have to be concerned with more than public relations in such cases that when digital evidence could be part of a court case, it should be guarded just as other evidence is. Hallman said in a case with many witnesses, it takes time to interview them all. He said if body camera footage is released publicly, what the camera saw could change witnesses perception or recollection of what they saw at the time from their own vantage point. A benefit to current body cam capabilities, both Gadsden officers and Rainbow City Chief Jonathon Horton said, is that the digital images recorded by body cams are stored in the Cloud. No one within a department can get to the images to alter them even if he or she wanted to, Horton said. Horton faced an incident where he decided to release body camera footage of an encounter between police and a man after a traffic stop in July 2017. Friends of the man involved took to social media accusing Rainbow City officers of throwing the man off a bridge on Black Creek Parkway near the Interstate 759 ramps. The man had injuries from falling onto the rocks below the bridge. With officers being bashed on social media, Horton decided to release body camera footage that showed what officers already explained: that the man fled from them after a traffic stop and jumped over the bridge to get away from them. It immediately quelled the outrage, he said, that people were expressing against the police. A lot of people came and apologized after seeing the footage. It was a unique circumstance, Horton said, not one that involved a fatality, or the potential for serious criminal charges. With an ongoing investigation, I completely understand (a department) trying to keep everything pulled together until they have answers, he said. You release the video when it exonerates your officer, one police officer said, but are you willing to release it when it doesnt? Hokes Bluff Police Chief Mitchell Hill said his department uses cameras, but has not had a serious incident where evidence from them came into play. Still, any encounter with the public could turn into a serious incident. Hill said the department policy is to turn cameras whenever there is contact, and if there is a problem with the camera, to report it to dispatchers so that it can be noted. Different chiefs have different ideas of where cameras should be worn. Johnson said Gadsdens officers have magnetic body cameras that can attach to their protective vests in the middle of the chest. Jones said Southside officers have the option to wear cameras where they see fit, but he believes positioning them on an officers chest is best. To me, that gives you the face-to-face view, he said. Kelly said Glencoe will likely update its cameras before long, and he would like to use a camera mounted on glasses. That shows what an officer sees, he said. If he turns his head to check traffic at an intersection, you see what he sees. In the years since body cameras have been in use locally, most departments are on a second generation of hardware and have seen tremendous upgrades in the quality of images the cameras provide. Like any technology, the equipment is expensive, and so is Cloud storage for the digital images recorded by the cameras. The higher the resolution of the images, the more storage space required. Cody said the GPD has been fortunate that the mayor and City Council have supported the department in keeping equipment up-to-date. Most chiefs echoes that sentiment; they, too, have the support of their muncipal governments. City leaders may see it as a wise investment an ounce of prevention to stave off paying for a pound of cure, should an officer be falsely accused of brutality or misconduct. You can pay now, Cody said, or pay later, in court. | https://www.gadsdentimes.com/news/20190105/should-police-video-be-made-public |
Have Australia fans become paranoid about opposition ball tampering yet? | Ball-chasing (via BT Sport) You already know that this is going to become a thing. The thought process is utterly predictable. It goes like this: Australia are no longer ball tampering and are no longer taking wickets with the old ball. The opposition are taking wickets with the old ball, ergo they must be ball-tampering. For a certain sort of fan, this is an entirely logical train of thought. The alternative that Australia are less good at batting or less good at bowling than the opposition simply doesnt chime with the long-established fact that Australians are the best at cricket. This isnt all Australia fans. Its just the ones who bleat about pitch doctoring whenever Australia lose overseas. (Their definition of a doctored pitch: one possessed of any characteristic that differs from a typical Australian pitch.) If opposition ball-tampering paranoia has not yet manifested itself, let us assure you that it will and let us also assure you that it is not going to go away any time soon. If you thought that being caught sandpaper-in-hand/pants would encourage a new spirit of humility, you havent been paying attention. The country that introduced us to the phrase elite humility quite clearly hasnt really got to grips with the concept. What we will instead be treated to in the wake of all future Australia defeats is a mega-dose of elite sanctimony. The reason we lost is because weyre the only ones who are playing fair. Australia are getting beaten. Let the thinly-veiled retaliatory mud-slinging commence! | https://www.kingcricket.co.uk/have-australia-fans-become-paranoid-about-opposition-ball-tampering-yet/2019/01/05/ |
Are we doing enough to reduce the road toll? | Targets have been set to reduce road trauma by 30 per cent by the end of the decade, and while the majority of states achieved a reduction in fatalities in 2018, road fatalities and serious injuries remain at rates above that needed to meet the target. Loading Despite a 50 per cent growth in population and a twofold increase in registered motor vehicles, Australia has achieved substantial reductions in road fatalities over the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 2010, the annual road fatality rate declined from 22.3 to 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people. Last year we recorded 4.58 deaths per 100,000 population. The NRMA is calling for safety upgrades on the Princes Highway to continue. Upgrades to sections of the highway have produced a 90 per cent drop in the number of car crashes. If we accept that what we are doing is enough and the current road fatality rate stays as it was in 2018 it is estimated that over the next five years, another 6000 lives will be lost on Australias roads. A shocking projection. But if we push the boundaries and multiplied our efforts to target a 30 per cent reduction over the next five years, some 1100 lives might be spared in that time. There is no silver bullet. There is no one factor which influences all road crashes. There is no one crash type. No one fatality type. We run off the road and hit a tree; we are T-boned at an intersection; we are struck while walking across the street; we are rear-ended in traffic; we are clipped while cycling to work. One fact is clear we are more mobile than ever. Mobility has increased and our means of mobility has also changed. The "road safety triangle" is one way to look at it. We need safe roads, safe road users and safe vehicles. Each of these aspects are fundamental to improving road safety. Take one of these away, and the other two should be there to support you. Loading As Australias independent vehicle safety advocate, ANCAP has always pushed the boundaries, with our initial efforts in the early 1990s met with strong resistance. But we persisted. As we gained further traction among consumers and vehicle brands in the 2000s, that resistance shifted to acceptance. Today, our position is one of influence. The automotive industry plays a crucial role in improving the safety of the Australian vehicle fleet as they spurred on by consumer influence are the ones bringing safer cars to the marketplace. Five star safety is now the expected standard, and increased market pressure can be borne through the introduction of new guidelines requiring the portrayal of vehicle safety information across advertising material. There needs to be focus on educating road users about the availability, function, benefits and limitations of collision avoidance technologies and to build their confidence. Driverless vehicles replacing the family car are some way off, but automated functions which can assist the driving task are already available in most new models. However, connected and automated safety technologies being built into today's "smarter" vehicles rely on consistent line markings and signage to work effectively. We must support regulatory change and encourage infrastructure providers to build roads that cars can "read". No longer must we communicate to drivers or vehicle owners in a changing mobility environment we must empower all road users to make safer vehicle choices and have them understand todays vehicles have the ability to prevent crashes. People who use a vehicle as a mobility service shouldnt accept a less safe vehicle. New cars, however, are just one part of the discussion. There are around 19 million registered vehicles on our roads with an average age of 10.1 years. If we can reduce the average age of our vehicle fleet by just one year over a four-year period, 1377 lives could be saved. This can only be achieved by increasing the accessibility and affordability of new cars. It is clear more of the same is not enough, so lets set ourselves ambitious targets, and show leadership and shared responsibility to work to reduce the road toll. | https://www.smh.com.au/national/are-we-doing-enough-to-reduce-the-road-toll-20190106-p50ptn.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national |
What is the citys longest period without snow cover? | Dear Tom, Weve had very little snow cover this season since our November snowfall. Al Dear Al, The citys snow cover records date back to the winter of 1884-85. Defining snow cover as a snow depth of at least 1 inch, the citys seasonal snow cover records range from 100 days in the blockbuster winter of 1978-79 that produced 89.7 inches of snow to just eight days in the winter of 1948-49 that logged 14.3 inches. We had Chicago climatologist Frank Wachowski check the archives and he found that the citys longest snow-free period spanned 342 days. It started on Feb. 27, 2012, after the last of a 3-inch snow cover melted and did not return until Feb. 3, 2013, when 2 inches covered the ground. In second place is a 313-day period from Feb. 28, 1939, to Jan. 6, 1940. The archives show that Chicagos longest snow-free period spanned 342 days. | https://wgntv.com/2019/01/05/what-is-the-citys-longest-period-without-snow-cover/ |
Could Venice go electric? | A new initiative to electrify all of Venices motorboats private and commercial has been launched Motorboat historian Kevin Desmond has launched a new initiative to electrify the watercraft of the floating city Venice. The idea has attracted the support of electric vehicle associations and environmental campaigners around the world. Other waterside cities have similar schemes in the pipeline Amsterdam aims to be fully electric by 2025. The team behind the initiative points to the fact that Venetian vaporetti (water buses) consume an estimated 21 million litres of diesel every year. The lagoons waters also play host to 550 water taxis, 800 or so workboats and 350 private craft. To learn more or join the campaign, email [email protected] | http://www.classicboat.co.uk/news/could-venice-go-electric/ |
What The Hell Is Jim Irsay Saying Here? | Heres my best attempt at transcribing the speech that maniacal Colts owner Jim Irsay gave after his teams wild-card win over the Texans: Yes, ah, guys, congratulations, tremendous job. As coach said, clean game. Love it when you guys play a clean game. No stupid penalties. [holds up hand in the universal zero symbol] Smart. You guys played smart. And coach and I talked a little bit before I came in hereyou know me, Im a rainmaker, you know, but its party time for you guys. The only thing I wanna saybecause we lose as a team and win as a team, as coach said. Dammit, men, we can play better! DAMMIT we can play better. I KNOW we can play better. But I am so proud of you guys. I cant evenwent in on the road, what you guys did, I mean, 14-point deficit, just incredible stuff. We win as a team, we lose as a team, like I said, ALWAYS! Win three phases of the game: were team, team, team. No one gets singled out for good, bad, or indifferent, like coach said. But you know me, Im a perfectionist, guyyyys. [Team breaks out laughing] Imma leave it at that, Im sorry, I dont want to be a Scrooge, Im not Scrooge, I love you guys. [Blows air kiss] | https://deadspin.com/what-the-hell-is-jim-irsay-saying-here-1831523134 |
Did Sam Sumana receive $2 million to lead APC? | Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 January 2019: There are unconfirmed reports of the former sacked Vice President of Sierra Leone in the Koroma-led APC government Chief Alhaji Sam Sumana, receiving $2 million from former President Ernest Bai Koroma in Makeni yesterday Friday, to take over the leadership of the opposition APC. APC lost the presidential election last March, which Sam Sumana himself contested as leader and presidential candidate of the Coalition for Change (C4C) party. Since losing the election, Sams relationship with C4C has hit rock bottom, after reports of the APC bribing Sam to help the APC win the 2018 election, which they lost. It is understood that the $2 million allegedly paid to Sam by former president Koroma is in consideration of Sam Sumanas return to the APC and to lead them into the 2023 elections. According to unconfirmed reports, Sam Sumana is now expected to resign from the C4C party in the next few months, and is to use some of the $2 million received from Koroma to lure C4C supporters in Kono to join the APC party. But not surprisingly, news of president Koromas $2 million payment to Sam Sumana is said to have angered supporters of Dr Samura Kamara the defeated 2018 presidential candidate of the APC, who is hoping to lead the party again into the 2023 elections. Neither Koroma nor Sam Sumana, or their staff, have so far commented on this story. But there have been angry reactions from supporters of both the APC and C4C, about the alleged payment of $2 million to Sam Sumana by the former president. They are accusing both men of behaving dishonourably, and of undermining the countrys democracy. Share this: Tumblr Email Print Pinterest Google Reddit LinkedIn Facebook Twitter WhatsApp | https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/did-sam-sumana-receive-2-million-to-lead-apc/ |
Is the Obama Campaign Trying to Keep Joe Biden Under Wraps? | Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Average Joe Time Magazine writes that one of the few things that could derail the Barack Obama campaign is his running mate, so it says the campaign is "hidin' Biden." Karen Tumulty compares traveling with Joe Biden to "reporting on a politician packaged in shrink-wrap" and that he is "leashed to a teleprompter even when he is talking in a high school gym that is three-quarters empty." Tumulty says the campaign is so cautious that when she requested an interview, a spokesman said Biden was suffering from a cold that made interviews difficult. Tumulty added, "I didn't glean evidence of any symptoms during the four speeches that I watched him give over two days." An al Qaeda leader is making his feelings known ahead of Tuesday's general election here. While he did not endorse either party, Abu Yahya al Libi, says in a video posted on the Internet, "O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the worlds, degrade and defy him." Al Libi is said to be living in Afghanistan or Pakistan. He also equates President Bush to past tyrants in history. His reference to the election is the first this season from a leading al Qaeda figure. Plumbing the Depths Background checks using state computers on Samuel Wurzelbacher better known as "Joe the plumber" by state employees in Ohio are more extensive than previously thought. The Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency is investigating an employee who allegedly accessed Wurzelbacher's driver's license and vehicle registration information. The Columbus Dispatch reports the director of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services says her agency also accessed Wurzelbacher's information to see if he was receiving welfare assistance or owed taxes. Helen Jones-Kelley says, "When a person behind in child support payments or receiving public assistance... appears to have available financial resources, the department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to take note and respond." But Wurzelbacher says he is not involved in any child support case, and there is no evidence that he owes taxes. Jones-Kelly called the checks "well-meaning" and insisted there is no connection between them and her support for Senator Obama. The Ohio inspector general is investigating. The McCain campaign's Connecticut co-chairman has serious doubts about his own candidate. Republican Congressman Chris Shays tells the Yale Daily News, "I just don't see how he McCain can win... he has lost his brand as a maverick he did not live up to his pledge to fight a clean campaign." And Shays says the mudslinging goes both ways. "Obama has four-times the amount of money McCain has, so for every negative ad he runs he can balance it with an upbeat one. McCain ... has been nearly 100 percent negative." FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report. | https://www.foxnews.com/story/is-the-obama-campaign-trying-to-keep-joe-biden-under-wraps |
How Green Is Bamboo-Based Clothing? | Bamboo is no longer just a delicacy for pandas or a collectible for sinophiles. The environmental movement is embracing bamboo it's actually a type of gigantic grass with hollow, jointed, woody stems as a raw material source for organic clothing. A number of manufacturers and retailers Sprout Kids Clothing, New Balance, Sameunderneath and Lela Designs, among others are offering underwear, T-shirts and other clothing made primarily of bamboo, targeting green-conscious consumers and advertising the products as all natural. Established clothing purveyors such as JC Penney and H&M are also joining the movement, touting their eco-friendly offerings. The market for organic clothing is expected to be worth at least $3 billion by the end of this year, according to research by Berkeley, Calif.-based Organic Exchange, an organic-cotton promotion group. "Companies around the world are looking at their product lines using organic fibers to step more lightly on the planet," says executive director LaRhea Pepper, who runs an organic-cotton farm in Texas with her husband and father. One might reasonably imagine bamboo-based clothing to be scratchy and uncomfortable, the modern-day version of a hair shirt, something one might don when making penance in a medieval monastery. Fabric made from bamboo has a silky texture, environmentalists say. According to the National Geographic Green Guide, bamboo is an "a priori" eco-friendly material because it's naturally pest-resistant, requires little water, is amazingly regenerative and known to grow a foot a day. Bamboo also has a much lighter environmental impact than pesticide-laden conventional cotton and petroleum-derived nylon and polyester synthetics. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), conventional cotton consumes more water than any other agricultural commodity. Nitrogen-heavy fertilizer runoff from cotton fields feeds oceanic "dead zones" that deprive water of oxygen and kill fish. Seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops are deemed by the EPA to be potential or known human carcinogens. Industrial production of synthetic fibers releases lung-damaging pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, particulates, carbon monoxide and heavy metals into the air. Manufacturing of most fabrics also releases climate-warming carbon dioxide into the air. Not so with bamboo. The president and founder of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Sprout Kids Clothing not to be confused with the online retailer Sprout Kids describes the bamboo clothing as "comfortable" as well as eco-friendly. "I wanted to create children's' clothing that was sustainable, but without sacrificing quality, or putting kids in burlap bags," says Maegan Harvey. "When I discovered bamboo that was it." The fabric used by Sprout Kids Clothing is made of 70 percent bamboo and 30 percent organic cotton, which is made without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. There's no polyester in the mix. Additionally, bamboo contains a natural element called "bamboo kun" which serves as a natural antibiotic, protecting the wearer from nasty germs as well as body odor, which is caused by bacteria living in our armpits. The clothing makers use non-industrial chemicals to dye the products, such as "low-impact, or vegetable dyes," says Daisy Hu, a spokeswoman for Under the Canopy, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based organic clothing developer. Other designers and retailers tout additional environmental benefits for their clothing. "I work with a wonderful eco-friendly women's line, Oxygen Required, and their line is made of bamboo, cotton," says Heather Wilbeck, a spokeswoman for the New York firm, whose lead designer is Vivian Fang. "The collection is breathable, biodegradable, anti-bacterial and eco-friendly." Both bamboo and organic cotton are big selling points for green consumers, says Jennifer Pearson, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver, B.C. environmentally-friendly clothing maker Lela Designs. Manufacturers of bamboo-based clothing are also trying to expand the infrastructure of organic farming around the globe and are working with suppliers in China, India, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Britain and the U.S. Bamboo may be the most popular "eco-friendly" material now, but others are emerging. Much of Boston-based athletic shoemaker New Balance's apparel collection utilizes charcoal derived from coconut shells, which is said to provide better evaporation and odor resistance, as well as protection from UV rays, says spokeswoman Kaitlin Kerns. The company also offers bamboo-based running jackets and T-shirts. Some worry, however, that all of this green talk is just that chatter. The clothes that are being offered may well be organic, but there are concerns that the packaging that contains the clothes is made out of cardboard or materials whose use offsets the green-friendliness of the clothing. "I love organic socks and bought quite a few sets online," says Michal Ann Strahilevitz, a marketing professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "When they arrived, I saw that every single pair had a relatively substantial-sized cardboard tag pinned to the socks, discussing the organic nature of the socks. "Why did they have to waste paper with those silly, huge tags?" she adds. "Any positive impact on the earth that came from wearing the cotton was probably more than cancelled out by all those silly, thick information tags that they attached to each pair." Given such criticisms, are the bamboo-based and organic clothes really "green?" We think so. The bamboo fiber serves as a natural antibiotic, and is biodegradable and comfortable. The fabric is silky smooth. And since it naturally "wicks" perspiration, it doesn't have to be washed as frequently as clothes made from polyester. Overall, bamboo clothing is definitely sustainable it's doing something better, rather than doing something less bad. | https://www.foxnews.com/story/how-green-is-bamboo-based-clothing |
Will Whitney Houston's Star Rise Again? | I do believe that Whitney Houston is ready to make her comeback. A beautiful color photo of the cherubic-looking Whitney is prominently featured in the booklet-sized invitation for Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy bash on Feb. 12. Houston is only one of four performers featured in the glossy invite. The others are Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Annie Lennox. Davis always keeps the names of the performers at his party a secret until the last minute, but we already know that Davis's J Records stars Jamie Foxx and Gavin DeGraw are scheduled to be in the show. A good guess would also include J's teen sensation R&B star Mario. But I wouldn't count on Jennifer Lopez or Ashlee Simpson getting on Clive's stage. Only the most confident singers need apply, because there's no augmentation. Since Davis always throws in some superstars from the past, this year could be particularly exciting. Available and ready are Mavis Staples, who's getting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and Billy Preston, who'll be collaborating in a Ray Charles tribute at the Grammy show with Bonnie Raitt. Last year, Alicia Keys sang with the legendary R&B group Ray, Goodman and Brown and Russell Thompkins, Jr. of the Stylistics. Davis's Grammy party continues to be a much hotter ticket than the Grammy show itself, since it is still held in a relatively small venue: the Beverly Hills Hotel ballroom. Sources tell me demand for seating is higher than ever this year, because many tables have gone to sponsors like L'Oreal and Sirius Radio. But you can still expect some regulars, with the exception, sadly, of mainstay Dick Clark. If he does put in an appearance, he might cause a bigger stir than Whitney. As for Whitney: Her return will be greeted with thunderous applause and ovations, if it happens. She is still the best voice of her generation. And no one can help her re-start her career better than the man who put her on the map in the first place. Travolta's Latest Turkey Basted by Mystery Man It's a good thing John Travolta has signed a rich deal to hawk Breitling watches, because his movies are just not selling tickets. The most recent in a chain of disappointments is the well-intentioned but misguided "A Love Song for Bobby Long." The Lions Gate release has taken in about $127,000 so far in limited release. With no awards or nominations to give it a boost, "Bobby Long" is headed for the video store shortly. The movie only cost about $10 million to make, according to executive producer Bob Yari. The Screen Gems division of Sony Pictures covered it domestically for about $3 million, and maybe Yari can make the rest back in video sales, rentals and TV airings. The movie is a character piece, so it probably doesn't have a big international audience, but surprisingly it's grossed about $821,000 in foreign markets. "Bobby Long" has an interesting story behind it. Travolta didn't take his usual $10 million fee, and skipped some of his usual perks package, which normally includes private chefs and grape peelers. Instead, he was a partner in the venture, and he's not the first name actor to cut such a deal with Yari. Keanu Reeves did something similar on "Thumbsucker," the Yari production that stole Sundance's heart and is about to be sold to Sony Pictures Classics. I told you about Yari and his movies "Thumbsucker" and "Chumscrubber" last week. The former was excellent; the latter was not so great and I'm being kind. They are just two of about 20 or so films Yari will have produced during a two-year period. He's arrived on the scene with a bang. No one knows who he is or how it happened. Yari who the trade papers suggested in recent stories is a mystery man is pretty out in the open. He's a shopping-mall and commercial-real-estate success story, albeit an unlikely one. Born in Westchester County, N.Y., he attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and got his B.A., he says, in cinematography from the Brooks Institute of Photography. He directed a flop in 1989 called "Mind Games," called his career quits and went off to make money. I spoke to Yari on the phone yesterday, in what I think is his first interview on the way to becoming a media mogul. Even though he's living in Malibu, he sounds fairly unaffected by the Hollywood scene. He's sorry "Bobby Long" didn't do better. "Between Screen Gems and Lions Gate, it kind of got lost in the shuffle," he said. He's not sweating it. Yari sold "The Matador" to Miramax for $7.5 million at Sundance, is finalizing the "Thumbsucker" deal with SPC, has a Bruce Willis thriller coming from Miramax shortly and a film called "Crash" later in the spring that he's excited about. "Travolta," he says, "is an icon. You will see another resurgence in his career." Let's hope so. Travolta has had a run of bad luck before. Prior to his resurrection in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" in 1994, he'd been reduced to doing cheesy sequels to the already cheesy "Look Who's Talking." After his comeback, the "Saturday Night Fever" Oscar nominee had a few actual hits with "Face/Off," "Phenomenon," "Broken Arrow" and "Get Shorty." But all good things must come to an end, and this moment in the sun did so around 1997. "Lucky Numbers," "Ladder 49," "Primary Colors" and the infamous "Battlefield: Earth." Even his next feature, "Be Cool," a sequel to "Get Shorty," is said to be pretty bad. Yari, meanwhile, says he has a budget of about $180-$200 million to make 15-20 films a year. He has a knack for signing stars, but he doesn't have consistent taste. Some of those 20-odd films coming off the line have included Matt Dillon in "Employee of the Month" and David Duchovny's ambitious but flawed directorial debut "House of D," both of which never got far beyond the film-festival circuit. He spent $32 million on the very bad "Laws of Attraction," with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore, and has more invested in some films sitting on the shelf that may follow "Bobby Long" and "Laws" down the tubes. One Yari project everyone would like to see, however, is something referred to so far only as the "Untitled Dave Chappelle/Michel Gondry Project." I told you about this in September, when the comedian and the iconoclastic director filmed a reunion of The Fugees for a film that combines comedy skits along with performances by other "positive" hip-hop and R&B acts such as the Roots, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Cody Chesnutt and Kanye West. Anything's possible, but Yari, who's building a hotel complex in Arizona and continues to make real estate his first priority, seems sensible at least for now. And the good news is: He's using his own money. "There's a whole history in Hollywood of slaughtered capital," he says. "And you're never supposed to use your own money. I kind of understand that. But I have a business background. There's not a lot of risk. We're very down-side protected." This from a man who's aiming to create the next New Line Cinema, he says. We'll cross our fingers for him. | https://www.foxnews.com/story/will-whitney-houstons-star-rise-again |
Will Meghan Markle RETURN to Hollywood acting roots in multi-MILLION deal? | Meghan Markle has been offered a cameo role in Suits for charity The US legal drama Suits wants the pregnant Duchess of Sussex to return for one last stint as character Rachel Zane. The cameo role would last less than two minutes but would see Meghan nab a huge cheque for a charity of her choice. To avoid any tax issues, Meghan would not take the cash herself but could nominate one of husband Harrys favourite causes. US TV Chiefs at entertainment giant NBC Universal hope that the sequence could be filmed in the UK to fit in with the Duchess busy schedule. A senior production source told the Daily Star Sunday: We could be done in half a day or less. He added: No final figure has yet been arrived at but negotiations are likely to be opened in the very near future. Ive heard sums ranging from two to six million being kicked around, and that sounds a lot but it would be one of the biggest marketing coups in TV history. READ MORE: Meghan Markle: Father Thomas Markle reveals plans for TELL-ALL book Meghan has been offered millions for a two-minute performance as her old character Rachel Zane After seven years on the show, Meghans final episode aired last spring just 24 days before her wedding at Windsor Castle. Season 7 saw Meghans character marry law firm partner Mike Ross, played by her colleague and friend Patrick J. Adams. He left the show at the same time. The source added: We could create a storyline where Rachel and Mike have created new lives for themselves and are starting a family, with Rachel showing an obvious baby bump. Despite her pregnancy, Meghan wishes to continue working The Duchess and Prince Harry prepare for the arrival of their first baby in the Spring | https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1067874/meghan-markle-news-duchess-sussex-suits-royal-news |
Was wird jetzt aus den Grnen? | Krzlich schlug der grne Brgermeister von Innsbruck Georg Willi vor, dass seine Partei mit der Liste von Peter Pilz zusammengeht. Nicht sofort, aber wenn die Wunden verheilt sind, die Pilz mit der Gegenkandidatur 2017 geschlagen hat. Zunchst steht die EU-Wahl im Mai an, bei der die Grnen mit Werner Kogler an der Spitze antreten. Einer Umfrage zufolge kommt er besser an als Othmar Karas (OEVP) und Andreas Schieder (SP). Sptter mag dies nicht berraschen, doch 1000 Personen wurden im Auftrag der Grnen befragt. Dafr hat die schwer verschuldete Partei also Geld, mag man sich fragen (und daran denken, dass die Erste Bank zu weniger prominenten Kunden auch weniger nett ist). Auch die jetzt Jetzt gerufene Pilz-Liste will antreten, verzgert ihre Entscheidung aber bis Ende Jnner. Im Gesprch sollen Hans Peter Martin und Johannes Voggenhuber sein, die beide den Vortril haben, bereits in Brssel und Straburg gearbeitet zu haben. Voggenhuber wird gerade in der Krone zerrissen, weil er in der Zeit zum zu Ende gegangenen sterreichischen Ratsvorsitz eine Orgie der Verbitterung zelebriere. Sucht man nach ihm in den Google News, findet man weit mehr zu seinem medial veranlagten Namensvetter Pascal Voggenhuber. Ironischerweise war es seine Nachfolgerin auf der grnen EU-Liste 2009 Ulrike Lunacek, die 2017 als Spitzenkandidatin auch an Pilz scheiterte. Was Hans Peter Martin betrifft, stellte ihn die SP (Parteichef war Viktor Klima) 1999 auf, und dann trat er 2004 gegen sie an. In seiner Version der Ereignisse war mageblich Parteichef Alfred Gusenbauer dafr verantwortlich, dass es nicht mehr klappte. Auch wenn man Martins Naturell in Betracht zieht, hat das etwas fr sich anbetracht dessen, was wir inzwischen ber Gusenbauer wissen. Es ist interessant, dass bei der bislang einzigen Veranstaltung der Jetzt-Parteiakademie im Dezember 2018 Martin sein neues Buch Game Over vorstellte. Wenigstens zwei Stunden laut Ankndigung so ziemlich alles sind, was mit der Akademiefrderung angestellt wurde, sollte es den Rechnungshof beschftigen. Maria Stern auf Twitter Ebenso aber, dass Parteienfrderung bezogen wird, nicht nur Pilz aber schon vor der Wahl sagte, dass man sich nur pro forma als Partei konstituierte. Bekanntlich trat der Listengrnder wegen Vorwrfen sexueller Belstigung im November 2017 zurck, stellte sch dann selber bei der Nicht-Partei zum Abgeordnetengehalt an und ging auf Tauchstation. als die Ermittlungen gegen ihn eingestellt wurden, was auch der Generealsekretr im Justizministerium Christian Pilnacek betrieben haben soll, wollte er ins Parlament zurckkehren. Doch niemand machte Platz, bis Peter Kolba zurcktrat und dann Maria Stern in einem zutiefst feministischen Akt nicht nachrckte. So konnte er doch noch einmal versuchen, die Rolle des Aufdeckers zu spielen, doch er fasste nie wieder richtig Tritt. Da werden mehrere Faktoren mitgeielt haben: dass er in eigener Sache knieweich, unglaubwrdig und aggressiv auch gegenber Journalistinnen ist und auch, dass andere inzwischen die Aufdeckerrolle bernommen haben. Es mag auch darum gehen, dass das Eurofighter-Narrativ auf immer schwcheren Beinen steht, auch wenn versucht wird, es via NEOS und SP aufrechtzuerhalten. Nun sind es aber die NEOS, die einen Zeugen wegen widersprchlicher Aussagen anzeigen und dazu den U-Ausschuss nutzten, als Eurofighter-Staatsanwalt Michael Radasztics geladen war. Und sie erhielten ein Papier zugeteilt, das sich mit der Schaffung einer Art Geheimdienst im BVT befasst (was nicht der Komik entbehrt, da Opposition und Medien den Verfassungsschutz gerne als unseren Geheimdienst bezeichnen). Im Sommer wurde Maria Stern fr ihren Verzicht mit dem Posten der Parteichefin belohnt, hat aber nun Ambitionen, doch ins Parlament einzuziehen. Fr sie will jedoch auch niemand Platz machen, obwohl es so einfach wre, denn Pilz bruchte ja nur einem zutiefst feministischen Akt auf sein Mandat verzichten. Noch hlt auch sie ihn fr unersetzbar, doch die Stimmen werden leiser, die ihn als wichtigen Aufdecker bezeichnen. Er verhlt sich anders als frher im Eurofighter-Ausschuss, wird berichtet, was besonders krass ist, Weinmann an den 1. Ausschuss 2006/7 denkt, den er noch dominieren konnte. Auch im zweiten Ausschuss 2017 wurde ber ihn die Richtung vorgegeben, warf er sich doch auf ein Packel mit dem damaligen Verteidigungsminister Hans Peter Doskozil und Christian Pilnacek vom BMJ. Google News Diesen beschreibt die FP jetzt treffend als eigentlichen Minister, was Probleme im BMLV erinnert. Von ihm sehe ich berhaupt nichts. Der ist untergetaucht, meint Landesrat Manfred Haimbuchner ber MInister Josef Moser. In der ffentlichkeit trete Generalsekretr Christian Pilnacek als eine Art Ersatzminister auf: Ein ehrenwerter Mann, aber wo bleibt Moser?, so der stellvertretende FP-Chef. Es trgt zum Zudecken von Altlasten im BMLV und zu den Eurofighter-Verfahren bei, weil Pilnacek nichts Schlimmes an einem Kabinettschef findet, der einen Minister abschottet. Doskozil/Pilz/Pilnacek zielten darauf ab, erstens Airbus anzuzeigen und auf dem amerikanischen Markt zu schaden. Und zweitens Ex-Verteidigungsminister Norbert Darabos wegen des Eurofighter-Vergleichs 2007 vor Gericht zu bringen, der ihm oktroyiert wurde. Die Karten knnen aber Sicht sowohl bei Jetzt als auch in der SP neu gemischt werden, wenn diese Strategie scheitert. 2017 hielten die meisten Pilz noch fr einen Aufdecker, was man auch daran erkannte, dass die Grnen noch einen gemeinsamen Bericht zum U-Ausschuss wollten, obwohl er ihnen schon in vielen Interviews den Mittelfinger gezeigt hatte. Doch viele waren enttuscht und geschockt, sodass Willis Vorschlag fr sie ein Affront ist. Andererseits ist sein Wahlerfolg einer von wenigen Highlights der letzten Monate, sodass sein Wort Gewicht hat. In Wien wollten sich die Grnrn neuen Schwung verpassen, indem Parteichefin Maria Vassilakou noch vor der Wahl fr einen Nachfolger oder eine Nachfolgerin Platz macht. Durch das verwendete Wahlsystem siegte nicht die Person mit der meisten Zustimmung, sondern diejenige, die am wenigsten aneckt, nmlich Sozialsprecherin Birgit Hebein. Denn damit es bei einem Wahlgang blieb, sollte man seinen Favoriten nennen und dann die verbleibenden vier Bewerber reihen. Mit linken Ansagen und einer mustergltigen Biografie von Sozialem ber Zivildienstberatung bis KZ-Verband passt Hebein gut zu denen, die beim Koalitionspartner SP langsam zurckgedrngt werden. Advertisements | https://alexandrabader.wordpress.com/2019/01/05/was-wird-jetzt-aus-den-gruenen/ |
Is a big tablet a big mistake? | The iPad mini, we think, is the best iPad yet - and I reckon the Nexus 7 is a better buy than the Nexus 10. If you're considering a Kindle Fire HD, I reckon the seven-inch is the one to go for there too. According to the spec sheets, I'm an idiot: the Nexus 10 is a much more impressive bit of kit than a Nexus 7, and an iPad 4 has a more powerful processor and a much better screen than the iPad mini. But in the real world, the bigger tablets aren't necessarily the better ones. For most people, when it comes to tablets seven is the magic number. Seven-ish, the magic number You may be thinking that I'm having a Damascene conversion: when Apple didn't make seven-inch tablets I said small tablets were rubbish, and now Apple does make a seven-ish-inch tablet I'm saying that small tablets are ace. But I've changed my mind because tablets have changed. We're three years into tablets now, and what's possible today wasn't possible then. Processors are better, batteries are better, ecosystems are better, OSes are better... look at the huge strides Android has made in three years. Compare an early Android crapper with a Nexus 7 and you'll see what I mean. The biggest obstacle to seven-inch tablet adoption was that seven-inch tablets were terrible. Now that they aren't, for most people they're the best choice. They're more portable than their bigger brothers. They're lighter to hold, easier to fit into a large pocket or handbag, easier for kids to handle - and they're much, much cheaper too. Today, 160 gets you a really nice tablet and 250ish gets you a nice Apple one; three years ago that wouldn't even have got you a bit of cardboard with a tablet drawn on it in crayon. That's important in terms of affordability, and it's important in terms of replaceability. Dropping a top-end iPad 4 on concrete is always going to be a traumatic experience; dropping a much cheaper one is a bit less horrible and considerably less expensive. Small tablets won't suit everyone, of course, but power users are a small minority. For example, a Retina Display (or equivalent) really matters to me, but it doesn't matter to most: when the new iPad, aka the iPad 3, came out, I was in an Apple Store as a staffer explained the new features to some prospective customers. It turns out that the most important thing wasn't the pixel density, but the price. They left with an iPad 2 - and had the iPad mini existed then, they'd have bought one of those. If the iPad mini doesn't account for the lion's share of iPad sales this quarter, I'll buy one and eat it. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/mobile-computing/is-a-big-tablet-a-big-mistake-1110398 |
Is Mitt Romney the man to lead a Republican rebellion against Trump? | Utah senators criticisms raise prospect of a challenge in a party that has all but reshaped itself in Trumps image At this weeks solemn swearing in of the Senate, Vice-President Mike Pence worked his way along a line that included Mitt Romney, a Republican stalwart, Bernie Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, and Kyrsten Sinema, the first openly bisexual senator. Just this once, Pence may have felt more at ease with Sanders or Sinema than with his fellow conservative. Shutdown over Trump wall demand threatens food, tax, transport and more Read more A day earlier, Romney had fired a broadside at the boss to whom Pence remains unswervingly loyal. The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December, the incoming Utah senator wrote in the Washington Post. His conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, added: The world is also watching. America has long been looked to for leadership Trumps words and actions have caused dismay around the world. Much was striking about the column, not least the way in which Romney bluntly made reference to Trump rather than President Trump. It was a rare stirring of rebellion in a party that has all but reshaped itself in Trumps image. The voice of dissent raised the question of whether the president will face a challenge in the Republican primaries ahead of the 2020 election. Romneys timing was a surprise, said strategist Kevin Madden, a senior adviser to and spokesman for his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. The big question is, is this part of larger plan he has to build a broader coalition of voices that are going to confront the president on policies and rhetoric? he said. Some of the backlash was a testament to the fact that there is a fight in the party, but right now Trump is winning it. Donald Trump is the manifestation of this era of Republicanism Michael Steele The party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan is now the party of Trump. A former Democrat with few ideological positions, Trump hijacked the primaries in 2016 as the ultimate outsider, tearing into the Bush family, House speaker Paul Ryan, Senator John McCain and Romney himself. Trump defeated 16 more conventional candidates with a mix of nationalism, populism, xenophobia and celebrity, then repeated the trick to beat Hillary Clinton to the presidency. He has arguably given Republicans bangs for their buck: two conservative justices on the supreme court, huge tax cuts for the rich, business regulations slashed. In return, many have turned a blind eye to his contempt for the free market, his willingness to run up the national debt and his embrace of foreign despots at the expense of allies. This week, for example, Trump randomly declared: The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there. The statement would have been shaken to Reagan to the core but there was barely a murmur from a party that has something approaching Stockholm syndrome. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump supporters at a rally in Missouri in November. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: Donald Trump is the manifestation of this era of Republicanism and, by and large, Republicans have bought into that narrative, that storyline, that style of leadership. They just have to await the fate of the voting gods, otherwise known as citizens, who will cast the final judgment. Ever fearful of the noisy Trump base, Republican opposition in the Senate has withered. McCain, a keeper of the flame of Americas postwar global leadership, died from brain cancer in August. Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona, both scathing critics who nevertheless generally voted for Trumps legislation, have retired. That leaves only Romney and Ben Sasse, a young senator from Nebraska who has proved willing to call out the president. There is then a second tier of senators, such as Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado and James Lankford of Oklahoma, who have been known to make their displeasure clear, though none appears likely to lead an uprising. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, once bitter opponents of Trump, are now among his most ardent cheerleaders, although Graham savaged the recent decision to withdraw troops from Syria. Majority leader Mitch McConnell expressed dismay at the departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, yet was careful to avoid directly rebuking the president. Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center think tank in Washington, said: A lot of people do the game of I disapprove of his tweets but, when push comes to shove, they dont openly disagree with him. Mitt Romney has now put himself in the Ben Sasse camp rather than the Mitch McConnell or Ted Cruz camp. Hes provided a possible way forward In the House of Representatives, Republicans are now in the minority but probably even more conservative and pro-Trump than before. Many moderates from suburban-heavy districts lost their seats in the midterms. Minority leader Kevin McCarthy has positioned himself as one of the presidents closest lieutenants. It won't be easy. But Trump will lose 'bigly' on immigration | Art Cullen Read more The Trump virus has spread to conservative media. Fox News not only lionises him and asks him soft questions but, in football terms, has become a feeder club for the White House. Rightwing broadcasters such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter have been influential in persuading Trump to keep the government partially shut down unless he gets money for a border wall. Conversely, the Weekly Standard, a neoconservative magazine that was a rallying point for Never Trumpers, closed down last month. That is why Romneys column in the Post was seen by some as a candle flickering in the dark. John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio and arch Trump critic, tweeted: Welcome to the fray, Mitt Romney. Bill Kristol, former editor of the Weekly Standard, wrote: For now at least Mitt Romney has become the leader of the Republican Resistance to Trump. Steele said: I thought it was more than just a shot across the presidents political bow. Essentially it created a crack in the wall that many inside the party have been creating around Trump that prevented members who would like to sidestep some of his crazy from doing it. Hes provided a possible way forward in drawing some clear line distinctions between the character of the man and the policies of the administration. But Steele cautioned against unrealistic expectations that Romneys conscience will spearhead a Republican rebellion any time soon. I think Ben Sasse will probably hold down that space largely by himself, he said. I dont anticipate Mitt Romney really being that vocal out of the box against the president. His problem, because he led off with this op-ed, is going to be when the president says something and God help us tweets something hes going to be the first one the press goes to for response. Thats going to get old for him very quickly. Hell be mobbed in the corridors. Others suggest that Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and business executive, is a flawed messenger. He launched a memorably stinging attack on Trump during the 2016 election but was subsequently photographed dining with him when in contention for the job of secretary of state. He was also content to accept Trumps support for his recent Senate run. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Romney was pictured dining with Trump in 2016 when in contention for the job of secretary of state. Photograph: John Angelillo/Pool/EPA Olsen said: It damages his credibility among people he would need to persuade. Hes moved back and forth. When he was up for secretary of state, Trumps character didnt seem to matter so much. Romney is also out of touch with Republican voters, Olsen argued. The Republican party on policy is largely behind or significantly open to the kind of innovations Trump has proposed. Mitt Romney tried to put himself on the broad Trump-suspicious track, but anyone who wants to lead the Republican party cant pretend we live in 2005. Romney fell into that trap. Somebody does need to challenge the president Trump claimed this week that he is the most popular president in the history of the Republican party. Eighty-nine percent of Republicans approve of his job performance, according to a Gallup survey last month, although just 39% of all Americans do, which is lower than any president in either party at this point in his presidency since at least 1954. Trumps grip on the 164-year-old party could be loosened in the coming year as a partial government shutdown drags on and he faces investigations and possible impeachment from a Democratic-controlled House, turbulence in the markets and the likely conclusion of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into alleged collusion with Russia. The president might face a challenge in the 2020 primaries, potentially from Flake, Kasich, Sasse or even Romney. Flake told CNN last week: Somebody does need to challenge the president. Im a long way from there, but somebody needs to and I think that the country needs to be reminded of what it means to be conservative, certainly on the Republican side, and what it means to be decent as well. If Trump were to die today, Republicans would still want a candidate who says many of the things he does Henry Olsen Olsen said: Id be shocked if the president didnt have a primary challenge; hes too controversial. If Trump were to die today, Republicans would still want a candidate who says many of the things he does and is willing to fight. The majority of the Republican party is broadly nationalistic and moderately populist. If Trump says, Ive achieved everything and Im not going to run again, Republicans would want someone with the same positions, not a Sasse or a Romney. As things stand, Trump would almost certainly win the primaries but could be mortally wounded. Primary challengers in 1980 and 1992 helped weaken incumbent presidents Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush, both of whom went on to lose. Charlie Sykes, a conservative author and broadcaster, said: Right now its Donald Trumps party but it would not be surprising if he did face a challenge from Republicans who are not drinking the Kool-Aid. It would be a tremendously difficult uphill climb. Trump would be overwhelmingly the favourite for the nomination. But that does not mean the case should not be made. | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/06/mitt-romney-republican-rebellion-trump |
What does the owner of Wells Made Co. keep in her fridge? | Andrea Wells owns Wells Made Co., which makes organic nut and seed butters out of the Chef Space kitchen incubator in the Russell neighborhood and sells at locations throughout the city. She lives in Glenview Manor. Vegetarian chili. Go open your refrigerator. Rest and lots of water. Blueberries, because I just love them. I eat fresh or frozen in salads, smoothies. Spinach. Very versatile to use in hot dishes, smoothies and cold salads. This originally appeared in the December 2018 issue of Louisville Magazine under the headline To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. To find us on newsstands, click here. | https://www.louisville.com/content/andrea-wells-made-company-nibbles-food-local-louisville |
How does Donald Trump stack up to master legislator Nancy Pelosi? | The president and the House speaker are at political odds, but they may have a thing or two in common Born Donald John Trump in New York, 14 June 1946, the son of Fred Trump, a property developer, and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. Nancy Patricia DAlesandro in Baltimore, Maryland, 26 March 1940, the daughter of Thomas DAlesandro Jr, a US congressman and Baltimore mayor, and Anunciata DAlesandro. Proud children Donald Trump Jr is a cheerleader for the president on the campaign trail and could be in hot water over alleged collusion with Russia. Alexandra Pelosi is a documentary film-maker who said of her mother this week: Shell cut your head off and you wont even know youre bleeding. 'Remarkable': the two photos revealing the divide in Washington Read more Claim to political fame Trump: First person without political or military experience to be elected US president. Pelosi: First woman to become speaker of the US House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, re-elected in 2019. Claim to infamy Trump: Rich man hated by Democrats (Were going to impeach the motherfucker, said newly elected congresswoman Rashida Tlaib). Pelosi: Rich woman hated by Republicans (Republican David Brat mentioned Pelosi and her liberal agenda 21 times at a debate). Blowing your own trumpet Trump: I would give myself an A+, is that enough? Pelosi: I am a master legislator. I just love it. Daily schedule Trump: Reportedly wakes at 5.30am and watches news in the White House master bedroom, then stays up beyond midnight. Pelosi: Reportedly wakes at 5.30am and works late into the night. Political acumen Trump responds to flattery from cabinet members and dictators and has no other discernible tactics or strategy. Pelosi played a blinder to quell a party rebellion more than 60 Democratic candidates campaigned on a pledge to oppose her speakership bid and ensure that she would reclaim the gavel. Oratory skills Trump: Incoherent, rambling, self-contradictory, zig-zagging, nonsensical. Pelosis speaking style is less tangential than cubist, full of unexpected angles, says the New York Times Magazine. At times, she seems to be carrying on three or four different conversations at once. Gaffes Trump: All the time, every day. Pelosi: Not quite so often, although her remark about Obamacare We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy was described by the New York Times Magazine as the most memorable gaffe of her political career. Where they stood on the 2003 Iraq war Trump was for it and then against it. Pelosi, then in Congress, spoke out against it. Where they stood on Obamacare Trump admitted in February 2017: Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated. Pelosi did know, having worked Congress with Lyndon B Johnson-like craft to get the Affordable Care Act passed. Where they stand on the media Trump: The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People. Pelosi: I think the press loves him [Trump] Mussolini, he didnt care what they said about him, as long as they were talking about him. Where they stand on impeachment Trump: You cant impeach a great president but lets talk about it and rally my base. Pelosi: Im secretly all for it but lets not talk about it so we dont rally his base. Romantic life Thrice married Trump was caught on video explaining his approaching to wooing: When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything Grab em by the pussy. Pelosi married financier Paul Pelosi and moved to New York, then San Francisco, where they had five children in six years. Religion Trump is a self-described Presbyterian who enjoys the backing of conservative evangelicals. Pelosi, of Italian descent, is a devout Catholic. Fashion taste Trump favours a red tie, usually worn too long. Last month Pelosi walked out of the White House in a bright red coat and put on sunglasses to address reporters. Food taste Trump: Cheeseburgers. Pelosi: Chocolate. (I dont know what it is. But some call it dedication, some call it an addiction, others call it an affliction. I knew I loved my husband when I said I would give up chocolate for him. But I also knew he loved me because hed never ask me to do such a thing.) Most likely to watch Trump: Fox News. Pelosi: MSNBC. Twitter followers Trump: 56.9m. Pelosi: 1.85m | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/06/trump-pelosi-comparison-political-background |
Is Dak Prescott Good? | Doff your cap if you think Dak Prescott is good. Tom Pennington/Getty Images If you were hoping for Americas Team to follow the lead of their namesake and flush themselves down the toilet, youre going to have to wait at least one more week. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks 24-22 on Saturday and secured a trip to the NFC Divisional Round. Dallas claimed its first playoff win since 2014 thanks to its stout defense and an effective run game. Third-year quarterback Dak Prescott was also key, and he made some big plays down the stretch. Maybe! Prescott was certainly pretty good when it mattered, like when he converted a huge third-down late in the game and set up the Cowboys for a two-score lead. Though, come to think of it, Prescott wasnt all sunshine and roses, like when he threw a red-zone interception in the fourth quarter. That could have been bad had the Seahawks not tripped over their own talons during the ensuing possession. Not pontoons or something?) They do say that defense wins championships... pic.twitter.com/hFHBrX2nO0 The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 6, 2019 Prescotts final stats are a good Rorschach test to find out what you think of the former Rookie of the Year. He completed 22 of his 33 pass attempts and threw for 226 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also ran for a touchdown and picked up that aforementioned huge first down. All that, combined with the win, seems decent, though theres enough wiggle room to disagree. Compare those numbers to his early season statistics, however, and Saturdays performance looks like the second coming of Joe Montana. Through the first five weeks of the season, Prescott passed for over 200 yards just once. He thew 5 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and was responsible for the leagues most anemic air attack. Considering his contract is up after next season, Prescott appeared to be playing his way out of Dallas, one 2-yard checkdown at a time. Prescotts performances greatly improved after the Cowboys traded for wide receiver Amari Cooper, and the two combined to put up big numbers and push Dallas into the playoffs. Prescotts finest hour came during a game that didnt matter, in Week 17, against the Giants. He threw for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a game-winning bomb to Cole Beasley on fourth-and-long. Saying the contest was of no consequence might not tell the whole story, as Prescott was able to bust out of a mini slump right before the postseason. Such is the see-saw of Dak Prescott. If you havent made your mind up yet, there is at least one more game this season to help you decide. | https://slate.com/culture/2019/01/dak-prescott-dallas-cowboys-seattle-seahawks-nfl-playoffs.html |
What were the most and least expensive house sales in Devon in November 2018? | Topping the most expensive list was a detached house in the South Hams. The Old Rectory in South Pool, Kingsbridge was sold by Knight Frank on November 12, 2018 for a huge 1,790,000 and was the only 1 million-plus sale in the county in the eleventh month of the year. The Old Rectory was described by the agent as a fabulous family home. Dating back to 1828, the Grade II listed property retained original Georgian features and offered five bedrooms, a one-bed annexe, an immaculate surrounding garden, and a four acre field. In East Devon a detached house in Dalwood, Axminster sold on November 9. Champerty was sold for 970,000. And in Budleigh Salterton, No.2B Copp Hill Lane was sold on November 15. The detached house sold for 875,000. Selling for the same price and on the same day was a detached house in West Devon. Broad Park at Coryton, Okehampton sold for 875,000 on November 15. On November 9, a detached house called Townsend at Galmpton, Kingsbridge also sold for 875,000. In Exeter, No.1 Holland Park, which is a detached house, sold for 837,500 on November 14. In North Devon, a detached house was sold on November 6. No.10 Langs Field at Croyde, Braunton sold for 825,400. Back in Exeter, a terraced house sold for 820,000. No.3A Heavitree Park was sold on November 22. On November 2, No.20 Ark Royal Avenue in Exeter, which is a detached house, sold for 801,000. (Image: Webbers Bideford) Ten days later, someone bought a detached house in North Devon for 786,667. No.88 Atlantic Way in Westward Ho! was sold by Webbers in Bideford on November 12. Offering stunning coastal and estuary views, the four to five bedroom three storey house was described by the agent as an extremely spacious and immaculately presented property with an impressive kitchen and dining room, annexe potential, and attractive landscaped gardens. Some bargain properties were snapped up across the county in November 2018 too. A Torbay flat was the cheapest Devon property to sell in that month. No.27 Merritt Flats on Merritt Road, Paignton sold for just 34,000 on November 15. This sale may have been a buy-to-let, a transfer to a company, or a repossession. (Image: Google Maps) The following day, a flat in the Mid Devon village of Uffculme was bought for 52,000. No.21 Trafalgar Court on Clay Lane sold on November 16. On November 19, Top Floor Flat at No.60 Wolsdon Street, Plymouth sold for 60,000. Two other Devon flats sold for just 1,000 more. On November 9, 61,000 was paid for Flat 5 at No.27 Market Street, Torquay. While on November 7, a flat at No.31 Stationfields, Halwill Junction, Beaworthy fetched 61,000. In Torbay, a flat at No.9 Stratheden Court at Market Street, Torquay sold on November 14 for 63,000. A North Devon flat was sold on November 8. No.58 Lenwood Country Club on Lenwood Road, Northam, Bideford, Torridge sold for 67,000. On November 15, Flat 6 at No.1 Barne Road, Plymouth sold for 69,000. Two bargain houses were sold for under 72,000 each. The first house to sell was a terraced property at No.67 Princes Road, Torquay, which sold for 71,000 on November 9. This sale may have been a buy-to-let, a transfer to a company, or a repossession. The second house was a Plymouth property which sold on November 16. No.41 Wall Street, which is a terraced house, sold for 71,600. According to the Land Registry, 29,592 residential sales have been registered from November 2018. Across England and Wales, there were 567 1 million or more sales, compared to 594 registered in October, including 95 at 2 million or more. The most expensive residential sale taking place in November 2018 was of a terraced property in the City of Westminster for 38,822,000. The cheapest residential sale in November 2018 was of a terraced property in Burnley, Lancashire for 16,700. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now The Land Registry lists the price paid for every property bought at market value. The data also includes sales under a power of sale/repossessions, buy-to-lets (where they can be identified by a Mortgage) and transfers to non-private individuals. It may take several weeks for sales to be registered after completion so some sales from later in November may not be listed yet. As the data relies on buyers, or their solicitors, registering the sale and the price paid with the Land Registry, mistakes in listings may happen. They are usually corrected at later date. Issues can include figures with too many digits or shared ownership prices paid for a part share listed as the whole price. Click here to find your new home. | https://www.devonlive.com/news/property/what-were-most-least-expensive-2385374 |
Should a mother leave her son with his father to take a far-flung job? | Serious, pensive woman looking away (Photo: Django, Getty Images) Dear Carolyn: I immigrated to marry a man Id dated for four years. It was an incredibly toxic and abusive relationship and I finally managed to leave after 11 years. After two years Ive found an amazing job and have done brilliant work in my community and my new country. Our 12-year-old child has not only adjusted but thrived. We co-parent well and actually maintain a very solid friendship. Im surrounded by loving friends and found family. Im in a loving, supportive relationship. All in all life is perfect. But. Ive been offered my dream job 12 hours away. During our divorce we agreed our child has a say in his living situation should I move. Im pretty confident he will choose to stay in his hometown, but hopeful he will choose to move with me. Ive made peace with it. But I feel guilty. Society judges absent mothers so harshly. Im worried about him having the support and compassion he needs. I feel justified after so many years of abuse and sacrifice that I deserve to chase my own dreams. Theyre your feelings to feel, of course, but I see room as in, pristine acres of rolling landscape - for you to reframe your view of your life, if you really wanted to do that. I also dont think its possible to make peace with it and feel guilty and be worried, all about the same move. Read more: After marriage and baby, friend wants his pal back Husband routinely makes plans without consulting his wife And you wont get a you-go-girl answer from me, because to treat this as an issue of society and judgments and misogyny, if thats what youre implying - sounds like a cynical dodge. Just facts: The price you pay for a bad decision here wont be charged to your public-image account itll come straight from your kids emotional health. Thats not a rhetorical question; my advice for you is to answer it. If you really are just talking about dream-fulfillment beyond your current perfection, then your decision feels heavily optional. Like, second-cherry-on-a-sundae optional. The chances youll have other dreamy career opportunities, especially if youre brilliant at it: excellent. The chances your child will have another crack at childhood: zero. And I cant believe Im only now getting to this: Youre also dumping a horrific choice on your child. Who, presumably, has just found stability after being put through a wringer by his parents relationship struggles. Of course, the only one whose vote counts is your son. For that? Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/life/advice/2019/01/06/parenting-job-career-mom/2472488002/ | https://www.freep.com/story/life/advice/2019/01/06/parenting-job-career-mom/2472488002/?from=new-cookie |
Will AI be the 21st-century nuclear threat? | Like a bookie, Nick Bostrom is an odds man. But it is humanitys form hes interested in. And because his calculations suggest the chances of machines soon destroying our species are not impossibly long, the sentiment for which he is celebrated is disconcertingly short: The End is Nigh. This characterisation of him as artificial intelligences leading man in the sandwich-board is one he disputes. The perception is that I am a doom monger, he says, his balding head illuminated by the array of lamps with which he attempts to defy Oxfords winter gloom. Actually, Im in the middle between doom and utopia. Certainly, the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI), which he runs, sounds upbeat... | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/will-ai-21st-century-nuclear-threat/ |
Should India change Census methods? | January 06, 2019 11:22 IST 'Is it time to think beyond the traditional questionnaire-based approach in India?' asks Atanu Biswas. IMAGE: People board a train at a railway station in New Delhi. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters Activities for the next decennial Census of India, falling due in 2021, will be spooled in no time. While it is likely to be another traditional census, there has been a remarkable transformation in census methods elsewhere in the world, mostly in Europe, within the last two decades or so. Instead of implementing the questionnaire-based method, attempts are being made to use data from various administrative data registers, mostly from government sources, to produce useful statistics. In 2000, the Austrian government decided that the 2001 census would be the last traditional one involving a high burden for respondents, and a huge cost (72 million). Consequently a register-based 'test census' was conducted in 2006, where the methods, data procedures and use of registers were successfully tested. The 2011 census was the first complete register-based one having no burden for respondents, and the cost declined to 10 million. Most of the data were already available in several registers like the Integrated Data Bases for persons, families, households, buildings and dwellings, and locations of work. Data was also available from municipalities, geo-information statistical databases and interactive maps. The difficult task of combining all large registers was done by using a special identification number for persons. Certainly, there were occasions where same variables featured in many registers. Also, some variables such as 'language mostly spoken' and 'religion' were not in any register; these were then collected by suitable sample surveys. While the Austrian population is less than 10 million, Germany also conducted a nationwide census in 2011 after a 20-year gap. This first register-based census was a multiple-source, mixed-mode method to collect data from administrative registers such as population registers, full enumerations and a sample survey. The structure of the Swiss Census also changed completely in 2010. The information is now primarily drawn from population registers and supplemented by sample surveys of about 5 per cent of the population. The Nordic countries have a long tradition of using administrative registers for producing official statistics. Countries such as Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark now conduct their population censuses using administrative data registers rather than through a nationwide survey of households. The Netherlands has held virtual censuses since 1981, using the Population Register and surveys. For example, in the 2011 census, they used the registers for population, jobs, self-employment, fiscal administration, social security administration, pensions and life insurance benefits, and housing, supplemented by a labour force survey. Estonia, perhaps the most advanced digital nation in the world, used a combined census methodology using several registers along with an e-census in 2011, the preparation for which was initiated in 2006. However, Estonia is now moving towards a completely register-based census for 2021. A trial census of the register-based population and housing was conducted in 2016 to test the quality of the registers to form the census characteristics, the functioning of the methodology, and readiness of the support software. The result confirmed that Statistics Estonia, the country's official statistical agency, is ready for the exercise in 2021. However, a second trial census in 2019 will test the effectiveness of the measures used to address weaknesses detected in the first one. In 2014, the UK government announced that the country will replace the decennial census beyond 2021 by statistics produced by more regular and timely administrative data, such as council tax records, school admission statistics, tax records or NHS data -- at a lower cost and on a more frequent basis. The executive director of the Royal Statistical Society has said the government had 'made the right call'. Greenland in North America and Singapore and Bahrain in Asia are also making effective use of registers for their censuses. Singapore had its first register-based census as early as 2000, and the second one in 2010, where administrative data for basic population count and profile like age, sex, ethnic group, place of birth and type of dwelling were supplemented by sample enumeration for additional topics like marital status and fertility, education, language and literacy. While the country's 2011 Census cost about Rs 22 billion, the 2021 Census could cost about Rs 46 billion, assuming $0.50 per person. Billions of rupees can be saved by making use of the administrative data of several available registers instead. However, what a country of 1.3 million (Estonia, for example) can easily do is a daunting task for a country of 1.3 billion. I believe that we have the statistical and technological expertise to combine several government registers along with tax, hospital and educational records to produce statistics similar to the census, saving lots of money in the process. The loss of information, if any, should be minimal, and can easily be compensated by suitable sample surveys. Let the 2021 exercise be the last traditional census in the history of India. If India aspires to step forward towards a register-based census system now, it might also be an act of great homage to P C Mahalanobis, India's 'Plan Man', whose 125th birth anniversary it was last year. Atanu Biswas is Professor of Statistics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. | https://www.rediff.com/news/column/should-india-change-census-methods/20190106.htm |
Do women that downplay their gender get ahead faster? | What is your preferred pronoun? is a fairly common question in LGBTIA+ community spaces and activist circles (and in some industries like tech). Its high time that being transparent and consensual about pronouns becomes part of the day-to-day culture of all workplaces. For transgender and non-binary individuals, changing pronouns is often a first step towards affirming gender identity in the public sphere. Since we cannot assume someones gender identity or pronoun preference, the best way to find out is to ask (its not rude). Asking creates a culture in which we dont presume one anothers gender on sight instead, we inquire. Asking coworkers their pronoun, even if you dont think they are trans, is a step towards creating a more inclusive workplace. I used both their and they to describe a single individual. People whose gender identities are non-binary often use the pronoun they to express their identity as neither male nor female, or as something in-between. If you think non-binary identities are a modern, American fad, you couldnt be more wrong. Cultures worldwide and throughout history recognize gender categories as more complex than our ill-conceived and oppressive either/or binary. But today we arent digging into the concepts of non-conforming gender identities heres a great primer to catch you up. Today Im specifically addressing pronouns. If someone tells you that their pronoun is different than what you assumed, or changes their (see, did it again) pronoun, it can take a little getting used to. Some find it even trickier when they arent used to using they to describe a single individual. It can take a little practice to accustom yourself to saying things like they are doing a great job when youre talking about one person. Until you get used to it, further clarification is sometimes required. Excuse me, do you mean Ellen, or Ellen and their partner? But this grammatical awkwardness is no excuse not to use the requested pronoun. Perhaps you do, but thats tactless. Even more so, if you refuse to acknowledge preferred gender pronouns. Times are tough right now for trans, intersex, and non-binary folk; and with no federal discrimination protection in place, for the time being its up to companies themselves to make sure that their workplaces are inclusive, provide equal opportunities for all, and help the entire team feel safe. My point is, even if using they as a singular pronoun were completely grammatically incorrect, it would still be inconsiderate to refuse to use it when requested. A generation ago googling wasnt a verb, and tweeting was something only songbirds did. So lets not try to pretend that the English language is immutable. This is ultimately about respect, not grammar. However, for you grammar geeks and proofreaders out there, I will break this down. They has been used as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun for literal centuries. There have always been sentences in which we dont know the gender of the subject, or the subject is a general anyone and not a specific person. Oxford English Dictionary listed singular they in 1531. More recently it has been approved by the AP Style Guide, the Chicago Manual of Style, and most mainstream publications (including ours). You officially have permission from the grammar police to use they as a singular pronoun! Lets take this quote from 19th century writer George Bernard Shaw, Its enough to drive anyone out of their senses! Using his as a universal pronoun is out of the question. His or her is a little more gender-inclusive, but cumbersome. Truly, trying to avoid they as a singular pronoun is enough to drive anyone out of their senses. So just use they, and move on. I promise it wont always feel awkward. Lastly, Ill clarify for folks that are still confused that you dont need to use singular verbs with singular they. They is doing a great job is a subject-verb agreement nightmare, so its okay to flow with the easier they are doing a great job. Hopefully this settles the issue once and for all using they as a pronoun when someone requests it is the respectful, inclusive, and yes, grammatically correct thing to do. To quote poet Tom Chivers, if someone tells you that singular they is wrong, you can firmly tell them to go to hell. Personal note: When I was first offered a position as a staff writer for The American Genius, there wasnt much mainstream awareness around non-binary identity and pronoun preference. At the time, I was nervous that if I asked my editors to refer to me by my preferred pronoun of they, I might have to do some awkward explaining at best, and might not land the job, at worst. As part of this article, Ive requested that my bio reflect my preferred pronoun. TheAmerican Genius, being the forward-thinking and inclusive company that it is, swiftly and supportively consented. This story was first published on November 05, 2018. | https://theamericangenius.com/editorials/downplay-gender/ |
Is China still haunted by century of humiliation? | By Western accounts, China is a country that is easily provoked. Foreign companies doing business in China have to tread cautiously to avoid many cultural mine fields. Crossing political red lines will incur more serious consequences. Last year alone, from Brooklyn Beckham to Marriott International, not to mention D&G, learned their lessons. Repeated backlash caused by these culturally and politically insensitive actions seems to cast doubts on the seriousness foreign celebrities and companies attach to Chinese people's feelings. Some Western people attribute this sensitivity to the effects of a century of humiliation. It is a period roughly starting from the Opium War in the 40s of the 19th century to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. China suffered semi-colonization, multiple foreign aggressions and severe poverty during this century. Chinese civilization was at the lowest point during the time. To some extent, it also shaped China's relations with the world, particularly with the West. After Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) sent the world's largest fleet then on exploration voyages, as far as to the coast of Africa, China adopted a closed-door policy and shut itself out from the rest of the world. It missed the time capitalism and industrialization were budding in Europe and America. The giant agricultural country was later forced to open the door and involve itself in the global trade by gun and cannon. China learnt its lessons from this period of time. Lagging leaves you vulnerable to bullying. But China also learnt through its development later that opening-up is the only way to drawing in development momentum. The most valuable experience of China's four decades of reform and opening-up is that it unleashed its potential by integrating into the global system. Integrating means more cross-cultural engagement, which is delicate and can be tricky. Controversies strike from time to time. Some are not funny to Chinese but at the same time not annoying. For example, a gesture of slanting eyes. Some were outraged, like saying the country is a shit. Definitely. Maybe. It is expected that such unfortunate episodes will gradually reduce with more cultural exchanges that make foreigners and foreign companies understand more of local cultural norms, and the Chinese become more resilient toward cultural offense. But still a mistake, even a careless one, can come at the cost of business. But political provocations are different in nature and can't be tolerated. Rising national strength of China has inevitably brought about more conflicts with some countries. Countries that deem China a rival or hold prejudice against its political system are tempted to make provocative moves on issues that China regards as core interests, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty. Chinese authorities are bound to express their firm opposition or take necessary countermeasures, because doing nothing will invite bolder provocations. Chinese authorities' reaction is often stereotypically viewed as China's bluffing. Still haunted by century of national humiliation, the Western elites think, China cannot deal with the Western world finely. Worse, it may eventually seek its revenge for past suffering, according to their logic. This mind-set typecasts China as a potential threat to peace and stability. It needs to be pointed out that China didn't launch a single war during the period of its development in recent decades. It seeks a conciliatory approach of talks to solve disputes. As wars are raging in many parts of the world, and flashpoints lurk dangerously, China advocates discarding geopolitical obsessions and seeking joint development. It also needs to be pointed out that many of today's deep-rooted disputes between countries are legacies of Western colonialism. Chinese people have walked out of the pathos of century of humiliation, though the West seemingly wants its century of bullying to continue. Ironically, those Western powers that used to force countries to open their market are now embracing populism and protectionism against globalization and regard foreign culture a form of sinister invasive force. The author is Deputy Editor of the Global Times. [email protected] | http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1134710.shtml |
Did China's Moon Landing Just Launch a New Space Race? | China became the third country to land a probe on the Moon on Jan. 2. But, more importantly, it became the first to do so on the far side of the moon, often called the dark side. The ability to land on the far side of the moon is a technical achievement in its own right, one that neither Russia nor the United States has pursued. The probe, Chang'e 4, is symbolic of the growth of the Chinese space program and the capabilities it has amassed, significant for China and for relations among the great power across the world. The consequences extend to the United States as the Trump administration considers global competition in space as well as the future of space exploration. One of the major drivers of U.S. space policy historically has been competition with Russia particularly in the context of the Cold War. China's achievements in space Like the U.S. and Russia, the People's Republic of China first engaged in space activities during the development of ballistic missiles in the 1950s. While they did benefit from some assistance from the Soviet Union, China developed its space program largely on its own. Far from smooth sailing, Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution disrupted this early programs. The Chinese launched their first satellite in 1970. Following this, an early human spaceflight program was put on hold to focus on commercial satellite applications. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping articulated China's space policy noting that, as a developing country, China would not take part in a space race. Instead, China's space efforts have focused on both launch vehicles and satellites - including communications, remote sensing and meteorology. This does not mean the Chinese were not concerned about the global power space efforts can generate. In 1992, they concluded that having a space station would be a major sign and source of prestige in the 21st century. As such, a human spaceflight program was re-established leading to the development of the Shenzhou spacecraft. The first Chinese astronaut, or taikonaut, Yang Liwei, was launched in 2003. In total, six Shenzhou missions have carried 12 taikonauts into low earth orbit, including two to China's first space station, Tiangong-1. In addition to human spaceflight, the Chinese have also undertaken scientific missions like Chang'e 4. Its first lunar mission, Chang'e 1, orbited the moon in October 2007 and a rover landed on the moon in 2013. China's future plans include a new space station, a lunar base and possible sample return missions from Mars. The most notable feature of the Chinese space program, especially compared to the early American and Russian programs, is its slow and steady pace. Because of the secrecy that surrounds many aspects of the Chinese space program, its exact capabilities are unknown. However, the program is likely on par with its counterparts. In terms of military applications, China has also demonstrated significant skills. In 2007, it undertook an anti-satellite test, launching a ground-based missile to destroy a failed weather satellite. While successful, the test created a cloud of orbital debris that continues to threaten other satellites. The movie "Gravity" illustrated the dangers space debris poses to both satellites and humans. In its 2018 report on the Chinese military, the Department of Defense reported that China's military space program "continues to mature rapidly." Despite its capabilities, the U.S., unlike other countries, has not engaged in any substantial cooperation with China because of national security concerns. In fact, a 2011 law bans official contact with Chinese space officials. As a space policy researcher, I can say the answer is yes and no. Some U.S. officials, including Scott Pace, the executive secretary for the National Space Council, are cautiously optimistic about the potential for cooperation and do not see the beginning of a new space race. NASA Administrator Jim Brindenstine recently met with the head of the Chinese space program at the International Astronautical Conference in Germany and discussed areas where China and the U.S. can work together. However, increased military presence in space might spark increased competition. The Trump administration has used the threat posed by China and Russia to support its argument for a new independent military branch, a Space Force. Regardless, China's abilities in space are growing to the extent that is reflected in popular culture. In Andy Weir's 2011 novel The Martian and its later film version, NASA turns to China to help rescue its stranded astronaut. While competition can lead to advances in technology, as the first space race demonstrated, a greater global capacity for space exploration can also be beneficial not only for saving stranded astronauts but increasing knowledge about the universe where we all live. Even if China's rise heralds a new space race, not all consequences will be negative. Wendy Whitman Cobb, Associate Professor of Political Science, Cameron University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. | https://www.sciencealert.com/did-china-s-moon-landing-just-launch-a-new-space-race |
Will a Druze man run with the Jewish Home? | Eyal Asad, chairman of the Druze Forum of the Jewish Home party, is planning to compete for a spot on the partys list for the next Knesset, which will be determined in elections that will be held within the Jewish Home Central Committee. "In both Druze and Jewish tradition, it is clear to everyone that one does not leave his home," Asad wrote in a letter to Central Committee members. "The values of religious Zionism and the unity that has formed between us are a guiding light in our eyes. "We will continue to open the ranks of the Jewish Home, together with the MKs, and especially with the rooted public that is connected to the land as we are connected to it, a public that values the tradition of its forefathers as we value it," he added. Asad noted that the percentage of enlistment to the IDF is among the highest in the country in both the Druze community as well as the religious Zionist community. "In both sectors, the challenge of normalizing construction is mutual, and therefore MK Motti Yogev established, at my request, the lobby for promoting construction in the Druze sector. "I know the value of the members of the Jewish Home and I trust them that they will know how to advance the party to the front and lead the State of Israel forward as our predecessors have done in the last 70 years. There are crises and we will overcome them together and prove our contribution to the state and to Israeli society as a whole, wrote Asad. "I intend to ask for the trust of the members of the Central Committee for my candidacy on the party's list for the 21st Knesset and to prove that the historic partnership of the descendants of Yitro and the Jewish people will last forever." | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257209 |
Who Shot The Sheriff? | This is utterly fantastic. Solters has been bugging me for weeks to watch this, but Ive been too caught up in my life, and my streaming queuetheres Mrs. Maisel and Roma and the Boss on Broadway, but I dont think any of those can capture the zeitgeist, can focus my attention as much as this documentary on Bob Marley. Were getting to the age where theres footage of everything. And for a while, those who were there are still alive. Marley has become the lord of the Trustafarians more than the Rastafarians. You can have a neck tattoo, but if youre wearing dreads youre labeled an outcast. Maybe a harmless outcast Probably somebody with too much money into reggae and Thats so far from the origin. Marley truly came from Trenchtown. And when you see the footage of the neighborhood youll be horrified, its full of shacks. But somehow, Bob found his musical path and became a legend. But what many dont know is embedded in those famous songs is a diary of what happened when, with Bobs attitudes about it. After being shot, after moving to London, Bob cut Exodus, possibly his most famous album, and when they match the lyrics to the events, your hair stands on end. You see there was a political tug of war in Jamaica. Between the establishment, ultimately connected to Cuba, and the insurgents. The insurgents were supported by the CIA. Jimmy Cliff talks about being questioned by the CIAHES A MUSICIAN! But this was the Reagan era. Maybe thats what killed music, Reagan, who legitimized greed and put music in the back seat. Given a choice of riches and truth, many baby boomers chose riches, and the United States has never been the same. Back then, the story in D.C. was how the government was interfering all over the world, now in the Trump era, its about the pulling back. And the irony is a new cold war is beginning. Putin takes countries and we dont say a word. Angering China is against our interests, theyve got more people. As does India, where the best and the brightest used to come work in Silicon Valley, but now since immigrants are the enemy and visas are restricted, they stay home and innovate. History is prologue and its usually ignored. We are sliding backwards, we are a divided country, but unlike in Jamaica, we do not have a Bob Marley to unite us. Thats what Bob tried to do, then he was shot. And theres a bit of an answer at the end, but the journey is more important. Marley refuses to be criticized for moving uptown where the rich are, he says hes bringing Trenchtown to the respected area, hes not selling out. And not only are there the two political parties, there are the Dons, thats right, just like in the Mafia. And the U.S. government is afraid of musicians, like Ivan played by Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come. That film played in Boston for years, today college students are infatuated with The Avengers. Its the culture I tell you. America has become cutthroat. With the haves and the have-nots. And the truth is the haves want to protect what theyve got. Used to be only the rich Republicans, now its the rich Democrats, they worked hard to get where they are and they dont want to sacrifice. But being a musician is different. You live on your talent, you live by your wits. You need no degree, in fact a degree wont help. You wander the world experiencing, thinking, and then you make your statement. Bob certainly made his. You think the Marley legend cannot get any bigger. But then you see this ReMastered documentary and you see what a giant he was, how much there was behind the music. And this is not a VH1 program to set up a tour. Marleys been dead for decades. But it is a visitation to what once was, when musicians were kingpins and the establishment didnt like it. Hell, every election has some right-winger employing a classic rock song until theyre sued. You see those who wrote those songs dont want to be ripped-off, whereas todays artists would love to be ripped-off, as long as you pay them. Theyre the children of Reagan, even if they dont know it. And Ronald Reagan has been portrayed as a genius saint, they dont stop naming buildings and highways after him, if you didnt live through that era youd think he was Lincoln. But its all part of the plan, with the Federalist Society, and the negative portrayal of taxes, which are needed to pave our roads, school our kids and update our infrastructure, they say its all about freedom, but really its about chaos and bondage. And no one can rise above, the only person with total mindshare is Trump. And the news outlets adore him, theyve never been this profitable. And challengers are not only negatively portrayed by the right, but the left too, to show the right theyre not biased, what a country! Kinda like Jamaica. Used to be art came from unrest. But that was before tax cuts eviscerated school music programs, before intellectuals pooh-poohed the popular and the poor did whatever their handlers told them to. Were all in our own silos, believing were right. What we need is a leader, someone not in it for personal gain, just an arbiter speaking the truth. Like Bob Marley. P.S. You might want to watch this with the subtitles on. | https://ritholtz.com/2019/01/who-shot-the-sheriff/ |
Why did Trump's love affair with US generals turn sour? | Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Trump's initial picks for his administration heavily relied on high-profile military men Apparently, among President Trump's favourite movies is the Second World War epic Patton: Lust for Glory. General George Patton was a charismatic, no nonsense and hard-fighting kind of officer. He got results but he was also self-absorbed and controversial - he once struck a soldier suffering from combat stress. If so, then he will have been deeply disappointed by the raft of generals whom he appointed to his administration. Indeed, we know that he was because he has said so, most recently castigating General James Mattis - his defence secretary - as a failure, who he had "effectively fired". General Mattis, of course, actually resigned. Let's set aside Mr Trump's first national security adviser, General Michael Flynn, who did indeed have to fall on his sword. He was forced to resign in February 2017 after lying to Vice-President Mike Pence over his contacts with the Russians. The most noteworthy aspects of Mr Trump's initial picks for his administration were his heavy reliance upon high-profile military men. Retired Marine Corps General John Kelly was appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security, before subsequently becoming the White House chief-of-staff. Another senior Marine General, James Mattis, became defence secretary, and the errant Michael Flynn was replaced as national security adviser by the widely respected and innovative military thinker, Army General HR McMaster. Image copyright AFP Image caption Chief of Staff John Kelly (r) is the 28th person to resign or be fired during Mr Trump's administration Fast forward to the end of December 2018 - all three men, first Gen McMaster in March, then Gen Kelly and finally Gen Mattis, have all gone. This is no surprise. It was seen as being almost inevitable when I spoke to a raft of experts a year or so into the Trump administration's tenure. Their argument was that the president would prove impossible to brief and ignorant of detail. Ultimately the military men would be forced to choose between the code of values that they had followed during their professional careers rather than adopting those of the property magnate and reality TV show star who now sat in the White House. And so it has proved. It should be remembered that it was the context that made the generals' roles so significant in this administration, not that they came from the military as such. It is often forgotten that President Obama too had his raft of former military appointees, among them his first national security adviser and secretary of veterans affairs, both of whom were ex-generals. But what made the Trump team so different was the fact that many Republican-leaning foreign policy experts refused at the outset to have anything to do with it. Mr Trump himself of course has never served in the military. The closest he came to the armed forces was during part of his education at a military-style academy. He received five draft deferments (four for education and one on medical grounds) that meant he did not have to serve in Vietnam. But his fascination with military men is almost palpable. In his recent televised cabinet session he spoke admiringly of the military's upper echelons. "When I became president," he noted, "I had a meeting at the Pentagon with lots of generals. They were like from a movie. Better looking than Tom Cruise, and stronger." No wonder then he sought to fill out key posts with military men. Image copyright AFP Image caption Army Lieutenant General HR McMaster (l) was replaced as national security adviser after just over a year in the job The trio of Mattis, Kelly and McMaster were part of a small group dubbed by some as "the adults in the room". They were supposed to speak truth to power; to curb the president's excesses; reassure allies and so on. And for a period they did. The president for example may have castigated his Nato allies in public while Defence Secretary Mattis tried, as far as he was able, to reassure them that at a practical level it was pretty much business as usual. The generals went into this knowing that it was almost mission impossible and one by one they have fallen by the wayside. Serving Donald Trump could be explained away for a time as serving the nation. But as his behaviour remained erratic and his policy decisions mercurial, for each of these men there came a moment when they could no longer remain in their posts. For James Mattis, for example, it was the decision to unilaterally pull US ground troops out of Syria that was the last straw. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mr Trump has previously described Gen Mattis, 66, as "a true general's general" President Trump's Syria decision has been widely criticised by the experts. Some say it is too rapid; others that it lacks any guiding strategy. But - and this is a crucial "but" - it may be popular among ordinary voters. America's military campaigns in places like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have merged in the general imagination into what some call "the Forever Wars" and many Americans are sick and tired of it. On this issue, as on one or two others, Mr Trump's rationalisation of policy may be adrift but his gut instincts may not. In choosing military men for such high profile positions, President Trump did not then get what he expected. As the leading expert on US civil-military relations, Professor Eliot Cohen of Johns Hopkins University, told me, "the most interesting thing in all of this is the fact that the military so deeply embodies the post-World War II American foreign policy consensus." This means, he explained, that "they believe in our alliance system, in global engagement, in persistent policies (including the Forever Wars), and in preserving the social values of the last half century (note their stand on transgender service personnel). This was not in tune with the president's own outlook." Eliot Cohen is no fan of Mr Trump. But his expertise is such that he gave evidence before the Senate Armed Services Committee when it met to decide if long-standing restrictions might be waived to allow the relatively recently retired James Mattis to take up the post of defence secretary. "Mr Trump", he says, "has an adolescent view of the military as a bunch of tough guys who, moreover, would be personally loyal to him. Again and again, he has found out that they really aren't that way." | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46766271 |
Who is the next Steeler to go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? | For the fourth year, former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Alan Faneca is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He, along with wide receiver Hines Ward was among the pool of semi-finalists but Ward didnt make it through. The odds of Faneca making it into the HOF in a very loaded class. So this got us thinking. You all might be looking at this poll and wonder why Ive included Troy Polamalu since hes not even eligible for the HOF yet. Reason being, Polamalu is a near-lock for the HOF on the first ballot. And no matter how much we all love Faneca and Ward, they have a long road ahead of them to deal with the logjam at their respective positions. But I want to hear it from you. Cast your vote and tell us who you think the next former Steeler in the Hall of Fame is going to be. Related 2018 Steelers end of the year awards | https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/06/who-is-the-next-steeler-to-go-into-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame/ |
Could Craig Kimbrel's return to Red Sox be "a foregone conclusion"? | originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com He may not get that six-year deal his agent said he was initially looking for, but Craig Kimbrel is likely headed back to the Red Sox after finding a surprisingly tepid free agent market for a 30-year-old closer who's 14th on the all-time saves list with 333. Scroll to continue with content Ad That's the conclusion of veteran baseball writer Richard Justice of MLB.com. In his rundown of potential landing spots for the seven remaining high-profile, free-agent relievers, Justice writes of Kimbrel: He might not get the six-year deal the Red Sox have resisted giving the 30-year-old right-hander. But he could still match the largest contract ever given a closer, that being the five-year, $86 million deal Aroldis Chapman got from the Yankees two offseasons ago. With the loss of Kelly and the lack of a proven closer being the only real question for the defending champions, Kimbrel's destination seems a foregone conclusion. Joe Kelly signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving the Sox closer options dwindling, though Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Alex Cora have expressed faith in setup men Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes to close. Dombrowski also stated publicly at the winter meetings that the team wasn't planning on "big expenditures on an elite closer." Still, if Kimbrel's price comes down and a veteran closer is preferred, a Kimbrel reunion could make sense, as NBC Sports Boston Red Sox Insider Evan Drellich reported earlier this winter. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device. NBC SPORTS BOSTON SCHEDULE | https://sports.yahoo.com/could-craig-kimbrels-return-red-222753053.html?src=rss |
Was bedeutet heute christlich-sozial? | Die Parteifarbe der alten VP war Schwarz. Schwarz wie die Soutanen der Priester. Das war nicht selbstgewhlt, sondern wurde der Partei schon in der Ersten Republik vom politischen Gegner aufgedrckt. Aber es blieb. Die Parteifarbe der neuen VP unter Sebastian Kurz ist Trkis. Das ist keine Kirchenfarbe und das ist selbstgewhlt. Die sterreichische Volkspartei hat ihre Wurzeln in der christlich-sozialen Bewegung, die schon in der zweiten Hlfte des 19. Jahrhunderts entstand. Sie hie auch so bis in die 30er-Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ihr geistiges Fundament war ein Gedankengebude katholischer Denker als Antwort auf die Herausforderungen der Industrialisierung, die Ausbeutung der Arbeiter, ihr wichtigstes Dokument eine ppstliche Enzyklika aus dem Jahre 1891. foto: apa/georg hochmuth Das steht jetzt ernsthaft zur Debatte. Sebastian Kurz sagt zwar, seine Politik sei christlich-sozial, aber namhafte, auch katholisch und kirchlich motivierte Kritiker sagen, das sei nicht (mehr) wahr. Vor allem, seit die neue VP gemeinsam mit einer rechtspopulistischen bis rechtsextremen Partei harsch gegen Flchtlinge vorgeht; und seit sie soziale Mittel so krzt, dass der Prsident der katholischen humanitren Organisation Caritas, der Priester Michael Landau, meint, die Bundesregierung sei "erstaunlich weit weg von der Lebensrealitt armer Menschen". Andere prominente Katholiken, wie der ehemalige VP-Politiker Heinrich Neisser oder der ehemalige Raiffeisenchef Christian Konrad, sagen, die VP unter Kurz sei "keine christlich-soziale Partei" mehr. Unter manchen katholischen Vorfeldorganisationen, aber auch unter evangelischen Verbnden macht sich Unruhe ber die Politik von Kurz und Co breit. Kardinal Christoph Schnborn selbst hlt die Krzungen "bei den Schwchsten fr ein falsches Signal". Die VP versteht sich seit langem als brgerliche Sammelpartei, mit einem Wirtschafts- und einem agrarischen Flgel zustzlich zum christlich-sozialen. Aber Sebastian Kurz kommt aus keinem traditionellen Flgel, sondern aus der Jungen VP. Dort hat er sich mit einem Trupp sehr motivierter junger Konservativer umgeben, die die klassische Konsenspolitik sterreichs (Sozialpartnerschaft) nicht schtzen und den Staat umbauen wollen. Zu den auslndischen Vorbildern von Kurz gehrte frher der britische Konservative David Cameron, der den Sozialstaat krzte; heute der niederlndische Rechtsliberale Mark Rutte, der sagt: "Der Staat muss klein und krftig sein, keine Glcksmaschine, die den Menschen das gesamte Leben aus der Hand nimmt." Weder Camerons Tories noch Ruttes Brgerliche koalieren allerdings mit rechtspopulistischen Parteien. Keine Ausbeutung mehr Die trkise VP argumentiert, heute gebe es keine ausgebeuteten Arbeiter mehr, daher habe sich der Schwerpunkt der christlich-sozialen Arbeit (zu sehr) auf reine Untersttzung der rmsten und der Flchtlinge konzentriert. Man msse aber, so Kurz, "die Menschen starkmachen und nicht in Abhngigkeit halten". Indem man ihnen Untersttzung krzt. Kurz geht fter in die Kirche. Die Kritik des Kardinals trifft ihn "sehr hart" nach Auskunft von Leuten, die ihn gut kennen. Zu Landau habe er ein gutes Verhltnis, obwohl er sich nicht sicher ist, dass der berhaupt VP whlt. Er habe auch die drei Prinzipien der christlich-sozialen Lehre Personalitt, Solidaritt, Subsidiaritt verinnerlicht. foto: nb-bildarchiv Aber die ffentliche Kritik der Caritas "nimmt er nur bedingt ernst" (ein Vertrauter). Und wenn man mit seinem Vertrauten und Kanzleramtsminister Gernot Blmel ber die christlich-soziale Lehre spricht, so erklrt der khl, die Kirche habe mit deren politischer Umsetzung heute nichts zu tun. Das sei eben eine Weltanschauung, die sich die VP zugelegt habe, da lasse man sich von der Kirche eigentlich nichts dreinreden (siehe Interview unten). Die trkise VP knnte man daher am ehesten als neokonservativ einordnen: Effizienz, Leistung, Wettbewerb, keine Almosen, sondern "Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe". "Unser Gerechtigkeitsbegriff stellt jene in den Mittelpunkt, die Leistungen erbringen", sagt die neue Chefin der politischen Akademie der VP, Bettina Rausch. Der Begriff "Humanitt" taucht relativ selten auf. Dass sich die Caritas und die protestantische Diakonie und viele private, auch religis oder nur humanitr motivierte Hilfsorganisationen um Flchtlinge kmmern und dass ohne sie der berforderte Staat aufgeschmissen wre das will die Kurz-Truppe nur bedingt anerkennen. Kurz sei zwar der Meinung, die Caritas sei als Organisation "unverzichtbar", aber wenn der Koalitionspartner FP mit wstester Aggression auf die Caritas losgeht ("Profitgier", "Asylindustrie"), dann fllt die Verteidigung bescheiden aus. "Tuts nicht streiten" ist das hchste der Gefhle. foto: nb-bildarchiv Das geschieht auch in dem Wissen, dass ein nicht unbetrchtlicher Teil der Whler NGOs wie die Caritas ohnehin fr subventionsgeftterte Konzerne hlt, die gutmenschlich "unser Steuergeld" den Migranten hineinschieben. Dass Caritas und Co mit zum Teil ehrenamtlichen Mitarbeitern unverzichtbare Sozialarbeit fr alle Armen und Benachteiligten leisten, die viel, viel teurer kme, wenn der Staat dazu eigenes Personal aufnehmen msste, ist dem Neidkomplex nicht vermittelbar. Die Lehre war ursprnglich der Versuch einer Antwort auf die Exzesse der Industrialisierung und der Massenproduktion. Man versuchte, zwischen dem schrankenlosen Liberalismus/Kapitalismus und dem "seelenlosen", kollektivistischen Sozialismus einen dritten Weg zu finden. Karl von Vogelsang war einer der Vordenker des politischen Katholizismus in sterreich. Die drei Prinzipien lauteten: 1. Personalitt, die auf sozusagen private gegenseitige Hilfe und weniger auf Organisationen aufbaute. 2. Solidaritt, die aber keine Almosen, sondern eben Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe bedeutete. 3. Subsidiaritt: besser in kleineren lokalen Einheiten operieren statt in groen staatlichen. foto: caritas socialis Obwohl etwa die Grnderin der "Caritas Socialis" und christlich-soziale "Mutter der Heimarbeiterinen", die Abgeordnete Hildegard Burjan, einen jdischen Familienhintergrund hatte, war die christlich-soziale Bewegung in sterreich von Anfang an stark antisemitisch konnotiert. Die alten "Christusmrder"-Klischees waren noch voll im Schwange, andererseits wurde aber die Industrialisierung zu einem Groteil von jdischen Unternehmern getragen. Das ist eine Erklrung, keine Entschuldigung fr die offen antisemitische Linie der Christlich-Sozialen, besonders ihres erfolgreichsten Vertreters, des spteren Wiener Brgermeisters Karl Lueger. Antisemitisches Erbe 1895 brach Lueger die langjhrige Dominanz des Liberalismus in Wien mit einer Zweidrittelmehrheit, und die Christlich-Sozialen regierten bis 1919. Der Grnder des christlich-sozialen Arbeitervereins, Leopold Kunschak, war ein rabiater Antisemit. Relativ spt, nmlich 1891, entschloss sich die hchste kirchliche Autoritt, Papst Leo XIII., mit einer Enzyklika namens "Rerum Novarum" ("Die neuen Dinge") dem christlich-sozialen Gedanken ein sozusagen hochoffizielles Fundament zu geben. Der Papst betonte das Recht auf gerechten Lohn und auf soziale Hilfe durch den Staat, legte aber gleich eingangs fest, dass Religion und Kirche in der sozialen Frage unverzichtbar seien, denn Letztere sei dafr zustndig, "die Ordnung der menschlichen Gesellschaft mitzugestalten". foto: picturedesk In der Ersten Republik stellten die Christlich-Sozialen zunchst sogar einen Priester (Ignaz Seipel) als Kanzler. Mit fortschreitender Verschrfung der politischen Gegenstze wurden sie immer autoritrer, bis Engelbert Dollfu schlielich die Demokratie abschaffte und ein berufsstndisches Zwangssystem entwarf. Nach den Erfahrungen der gemeinsamen Lagerhaft im Dritten Reich fanden die sozialdemokratischen und christlich-sozialen Grndervter der Republik zu einer Konsenspolitik, wobei die Christlich-Sozialen vom Wirtschaftsflgel oft sogar als "Herz-Jesu-Kommunisten" angefeindet wurden. Die Kirche gab mit der "Mariazeller Erklrung" de facto die Bindung an eine Partei auf. Nach der Obmannschaft von Alois Mock verlor jedoch der Arbeitnehmerflgel (AAB) zusehends an Einfluss, wenn er auch besonders bei Beamten sehr stark blieb, fr die der Gewerkschafter Fritz Neugebauer viel erreichte. Der danach wichtigste VP-Politiker, Wolfgang Schssel, kam aus dem Wirtschaftsbund, Kurz ist ber die bis dahin belchelte Junge VP gro geworden. Kurz versteht sich als moderner, stromlinienfrmiger Konservativer, dessen Prioritten eher beim "Slim-fit-Machen" sterreichs liegen als im Kmmern um die Mhseligen und Beladenen. Nicht, dass er und die Seinen taub wren fr soziale Fragen, aber das "gewisse Empathiedefizit", das Landau bei ihm und seiner Regierung ortet, ist sprbar. Etwa wenn er ber die Schlieung von Flchtlingsrouten redet. foto: picturedesk Fr Detailfragen scheint sich Kurz auch weniger zu interessieren. Die neue Diakonie-Direktorin rechnete ihm etwa bei einer gemeinsamen Protestpressekonferenz der sozialen NGOs vor, dass "die Unterscheidung zwischen Faulen und Fleiigen nicht stimmt". Die Mehrzahl der Bezieher der Mindestsicherungsbezieher gehe sehr wohl arbeiten, verdiene aber zu wenig und falle somit unter die "Aufstocker". Auch der Chef des Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitutes, Christoph Badelt, bte fachliche Kritik. Die wahre Kraftprobe zwischen Regierung und humanitren NGOs kommt erst. Durch die neue Bundesbetreuungsagentur (BBU) soll die Flchtlingsbetreuung "Standardisiert" werden. FP-Hardliner wie Klubobmann Johann Gudenus und Generalsekretr Christian Hafenecker drohen bereits damit, dass der "finanzielle Kuchen an der Asylindustrie" anders verteilt werde. Zweifellos hat sich der Fokus des christlich-sozialen Gedankens heute verschoben. Der Schutz fr ausgebeutete Arbeiter und bedrohte "kleine Leute" ist heute weniger aktuell (wird es aber vielleicht wieder, so wie sich die Arbeitswelt entwickelt). Stattdessen konzentriert sich heute die christlich-humanitre Frsorge auf die allerunterste Schicht, von denen aber viele auch bei bester "Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe" einfach nicht mehr hochkommen knnen und auf lebenslange Hilfe angewiesen sind. Der zweite Fokus liegt auf Flchtlingen, die unter Todesgefahr aus fernsten Lndern und Kulturen kommen. Vor allem mit der Abwehr Letzterer hat der Aufstieg von Kurz begonnen. Aber die Frage ist, ob auch eine moderne konservative "Leistungspartei" auf ihre christlich-sozialen Wurzeln weitgehend verzichten kann. * Blmel: "Das hat mit der Kirche nichts zu tun" Kanzleramtsminister Gernot Blmel ber die heutige VP und die katholische Soziallehre, die Rolle der Kirche und die Aggression des Koalitionspartners FP gegen katholische NGOs wie die Caritas foto: apa/punz STANDARD: Herr Minister, Sie haben eine Diplomarbeit zum Thema "christliche Soziallehre" geschrieben*. Die basiert auf einer ppstlichen Enzyklika ("Rerum Novarum") aus dem Jahre 1891. Fr Papst Leo XIII. war die Kirche dafr zustndig, "die Ordnung der menschlichen Gesellschaft mitzugestalten". Das bedeutet, ohne Kirche geht eine christliche oder katholische Soziallehre nicht. Blmel: Da muss ich fundamental widersprechen. Es war in der christlichen Sozialphilosophie schon immer legitim, zwei Erkenntniswege zu gehen den Offenbarungsweg oder den durch Vernunft begrndeten. Die christliche Soziallehre ist eindeutig eine Philosophie und keine Religion. Blmel: Ich sage nur, dass die christliche Soziallehre Philosophie ist und keine Religion darstellt. Die Kirche ist die Vertretung einer bestimmten Religion, da kann man sich zugehrig fhlen oder nicht das kann man glauben oder nicht. Eine Weltanschauung hat auch die Grundvoraussetzung, dass sie den Eigenanspruch hat, rational begrndbar zu sein. Das Bild des Menschen in der christlichen Soziallehre ist in einer Zeit entstanden, in der es groe soziale Fragen gegeben hat in der Folge der industriellen Revolution. Massen an Arbeitern haben gearbeitet bis zum Umfallen und konnten nicht davon leben. Das steht heute zum Glck in einem anderen Kontext, weil die groen Probleme von damals gelst wurden. STANDARD: Man hat aber den Eindruck, dass die Weltanschauung christliche Zge trgt. Blmel: Wir sprechen hier aber von einer weltanschaulichen Grundlage fr eine Partei, die in einer demokratischen Republik kandidiert. Das hat per Definition nichts mit der Kirche zu tun. Das ist eine Grundlage, die wir uns geben, fr ein Parteiprogramm. Blmel: Die Mindestsicherung war immer gedacht als Wiedereinstiegshilfe in den Arbeitsmarkt. An diesem kann man nur teilnehmen, wenn man der Sprache mchtig ist. Deswegen braucht es so etwas wie einen Qualifizierungsbonus, damit ein Anreiz besteht, die Sprache zu lernen, damit danach und das ist die Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe die Mglichkeit besteht, wieder in den Arbeitsmarkt einzusteigen. Wir machen das, als was die Mindestsicherung immer geplant war als Sprungbrett, keine Hngematte. Das hat brigens der seinerzeitige Sozialminister Hundstorfer so gesagt. STANDARD: In der Argumentation der VP taucht aber der "Leistungsgedanke" auf. Blmel: Nein, Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe muss immer gegeben werden. Aber wenn wer etwas leistet, so soll er auch etwas davon haben. Die Menschen, die arbeiten, sollen sich Wohlstand aufbauen und somit eben Steuersenkungen. STANDARD: Katholische Persnlichkeiten wie Heinrich Neisser und Christian Konrad sagen, die VP sei nicht mehr christlich-sozial. Blmel: Das will ich nicht kommentieren. STANDARD: Ihr Koalitionspartner FP attackiert wst die Caritas. Blmel: Das ist begrndet in der gegenseitigen Antipathie. Das hilft niemandem. Auch hier kann ich nur aufrufen, dass alle einen anderen Stil an den Tag legen. STANDARD: Abgesehen davon, dass die FP hier der Aggressor ist, will sie ja die Caritas und die anderen humanitren Organisationen beschneiden und ihnen Ressourcen wegnehmen. Dann msste der Staat tausende Leute aufnehmen. Blmel: Ich kenne kein konkretes Konzept, schon gar nicht bezglich Finanzierung. Wenn es eine Gesetzesnderung dazu geben wird, dann wird es ein Fall fr die Koordinierung in der Koalition. *Gernot Blmel, Diplomarbeit 2009: "Der Personenbegriff in der Christlichen Soziallehre und -philosophie unter der besonderen Bercksichtigung von Vogelsang, Lugmayer und Messner". | https://derstandard.at/2000095389409/Was-bedeutet-heute-christlich-sozial?ref=rss |
Is 'Catcher in the Rye' still relevant on Salinger's 100th birthday? | "The Catcher in the Rye" (Little, Brown) by J.D. Salinger Tuesday was J.D. Salinger's 100th birthday, but Holden Caulfield is still 17. The iconic teenager of "The Catcher in the Rye" is forever suspended in the amber of our youthful alienation. Although a few pious schools continue to ban Salinger's only published novel, for millions of adults, a faded copy of "The Catcher in the Rye" is a sweet teenage treasure, as transgressive as a trophy from band camp. Ninth-graders who secretly read the book with a flashlight when it came out in 1951 are now in their 80s. To read it again as an adult is to feel Holden's pain lingering like a phantom limb. His righteous cynicism is adolescence distilled into a sweet liquor. But the novel also feels like revisiting your first house. The familiarity is enchanting but discombobulating. The story is smaller than you remember, and some details you had completely wrong. But what's most striking is how common the novel's tone has become over the intervening decades. Holden is Patient Zero for generations infected by his misanthropy. We live in a world overpopulated by privileged white guys who mistake their depression for existential wisdom, their narcissism for superior vision. We have met the phonies and they are us. "The Catcher in the Rye" was not originally marketed as a book for teens, but they responded to it as their anthem: More than 65 million copies have been sold. I suspect, though, that the novel wouldn't be such a phenomenon if it debuted today. We're in the middle of a long-overdue renaissance in young-adult literature, and it looks nothing like the monochromatic shelf of titles that came before. The current hot novels are by Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Thomas and other writers who tell stories that reflect the vast diversity of our culture. It's no longer tenable to imagine that the anxieties of a white heterosexual young man expelled from an expensive prep school capture the spirit of our era. Today's snarky young anti-hero instead looks like Norris, the black French Canadian boy who moves to Texas in Ben Philippe's forthcoming young-adult novel, "The Field Guide to the North American Teenager." Salinger himself, the legendary recluse, would fare even worse in our age of social media. "I've borne all the exploitation and loss of privacy I can possibly bear in a single lifetime," he wrote to Ian Hamilton in the early 1980s, long before anybody had a Facebook account. (When Hamilton persisted with his biography, Salinger effectively crippled the book in court.) But nowadays, publishers expect writers to participate actively in the marketing process and so do readers. Consider that in 1961, two months after the publication of "Franny and Zooey," Time magazine ran a 6,000-word cover story on Salinger a publisher's dream but the piece included no direct quotations from the author and no recent photos. That sounds tragic in an era when writers feel compelled to Instagram every moment of their lives, from the death of a spouse to the consumption of a salad. If two hours go by without a tweet from Roxane Gay, we all start to worry. Against that standard, Salinger's insistence on eschewing publicity feels exotic, possibly the symptom of some mental illness. But our demand for personal access to writers isn't the only challenge Salinger would face in today's publishing market. In 1998, when Joyce Maynard first detailed her teenage relationship with Salinger, it was fashionable to make allowances for the abusive behavior of manipulative men, particularly if they had written popular books. (In a vile column that could have appeared in 1899, Maureen Dowd dismissed Maynard as a "Leech Woman.") Fortunately, the #MeToo movement has shifted the parameters of what's acceptable, as Maynard pointed out this fall in a stinging critique of the way Salinger and the press treated her. At the moment, it's not clear how Salinger's reputation will evolve in the new century. As usual, time helps, e.g., we can ignore Ernest Hemingway's behavior; we can't ignore Sherman Alexie's. The biographies have tended to leave two impressions: Salinger's fiction is even more autobiographical than we thought, and Salinger himself was even loonier than we suspected. Homeopathy! Acupuncture! Dianetics! In 2013, David Shields and Shane Salerno suggested that Salinger's undescended testicle could help explain his entire life. "Surely," they wrote, "one of the many reasons he stayed out of the media glare was to reduce the likelihood that this information about his anatomy would emerge." (Someone asked on Twitter, "Why didn't he just wear pants?") Toward the end of "The Catcher in the Rye," Holden starts obsessing, "Don't let me disappear. Don't let me disappear." That's not likely anytime soon. Like the dioramas in the Natural History Museum that Holden adores, Salinger's books never change. The author went to extraordinary lengths to prohibit adaptations or continuations of "The Catcher in the Rye," and his heirs have honored his wishes. There are no e-book or audio versions of any of the books he published. Even an austere boxed set released this fall required his son, Matthew, to admit that his father would never have approved these modestly redesigned editions: "He'd certainly hate this centennial." Salinger reportedly kept writing long after he stopped publishing in 1965, which has fed rumors about unknown stories and even a novel awaiting exaltation. Yet almost 10 years after his death in 2010, the silence continues. The New York Public Library is planning a special exhibition of manuscripts, letters, books and artifacts for October 2019, but no new work is expected to be revealed there. The tomb raiders can't be put off forever, though. The copyright on "The Catcher in the Rye" expires in 2046. Even before that, it could fall into the hands of trustees who feel less beholden to the author's prohibitions. As one legal scholar noted, "Their emotional commitments, principles and financial interests may diverge over time." Indeed, large amounts of money have a way of encouraging such divergence. In 2013, a CPA in Forbes estimated that the J.D. Salinger Literary Trust could be sitting on material worth $50 million, and as Holden knows, "People are always ruining things for you." It wouldn't be shocking if someone eventually tried to bend the trust's restrictions and exploit the canon's maximum value. Then we'd finally see "Catcher in the Rye" starring Tyler Posey, "The Glass Family" series on HBO and the thrilling Broadway musical "Zooey!" Don't think it won't happen. All Salinger wants on his 100th birthday is to be left alone, but that's the only thing he still can't have. | https://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20190106/is-catcher-in-rye-still-relevant-on-salingers-100th-birthday |
Is Working On Computers Really Causing Some Pain In The Neck? | Our postures while working on the computer are the real cause of our nagging neck pain. In the study, they found that trapezius muscle tension increased in the scrunched, head forward position, which is the normal position adopted y most of the computer users. Dont adapt your posture to the computer but adapt the computer to your posture It's a posture so common we almost don't notice it anymore: someone sitting at a computer jutting his or her head forward to look more closely at the screen. But this seemingly harmless position compresses the neck and can lead to fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, increased muscle tension and even injury to the vertebrae over time. It can even limit the ability to turn your head. "When your posture is tall and erect, the muscles of your back can easily support the weight of your head and neck -- as much as 12 pounds," explains San Francisco State University Professor of Holistic Health Erik Peper. "But when your head juts forward at a 45-degree angle, your neck acts like a fulcrum, like a long lever lifting a heavy object. Now the muscle weight of your head and neck is the equivalent of about 45 pounds. It is not surprising people get stiff necks and shoulder and back pain. "Peper, Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey and their colleagues, including two student researchers, tested the effects of head and neck position in a recent study published in the journal Biofeedback. First, they asked 87 students to sit upright with their heads properly aligned on their necks and asked them to turn their heads. Then the students were asked to "scrunch" their necks and jut their heads forward.Ninety-two percent reported being able to turn their heads much farther when not scrunching. In the second test, 125 students scrunched their necks for 30 seconds. Afterward, 98 percent reported some level of pain in their head, neck or eyes.The researchers also monitored 12 students with electromyography equipment and found that trapezius muscle tension increased in the scrunched, head forward position.So if you suffer from headaches or neck and backaches from computer work, check your posture and make sure your head is aligned on top of your neck, as if held by an invisible thread from the ceiling. "You can do something about this poor posture very quickly," said Peper. To increase body awareness, Peper advises purposefully replicating the head-forward/neck scrunched position. "You can exaggerate the position and experience the symptoms. Then when you find yourself doing it, you can become aware and stop. "Other solutions he offers include increasing the font on your computer screen, wearing computer reading glasses or placing your computer on a stand at eye level, all to make the screen easier to read without strain.Source: Eurekalert | https://www.medindia.net/news/is-working-on-computers-really-causing-some-pain-in-the-neck-184926-1.htm |
What time is Dancing on Ice on ITV tonight? | Phillip and Holly are back for more Dancing On Ice, bringing some sparkle to January (Picture: ITV) Christmas might be over and the long dark January nights lie ahead but you can always count on Dancing On Ice to bring a little sparkle to proceedings. And sure enough 12 new celebrities are getting their skates on and preparing to make their debut on the rink as the show returns for its 2019 series. Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are also back as the search for this years celebrity skating champion begins. Well the new series of Dancing On Ice begins on ITV on Sunday night at 6pm. Find out on Sunday, 6pm on @ITV and @wearestv! #DancingOnIce pic.twitter.com/orpz0tNfVv Dancing On Ice (@dancingonice) January 4, 2019 The two-hour series opener will see the first six of this years celebrities take to the ice for their skating debut. Advertisement Advertisement They include Gemma Collins, who will perform to Beyonces Crazy In Love with skaring partner Matt Evers, while James Jordan swaps dancing shoes for skates as he performs to Michael Bubles I Wont Dance with pro partner Alexandra Schauman. During a break in #DancingOnIce rehearsals yesterday @TheDidiConn took to the ice to show the audience that this Pink Lady still knows the moves! pic.twitter.com/AV2SaOvQqz Dancing On Ice (@dancingonice) January 5, 2019 Former X Factor finalist and Eurovision star Saara Aalto also makes her skating debut on Sunday to Lady Gagas Born This Way, and Corries Jane Danson steps out to Dean Martins On The Street Where You Live. Sundays line-up is completed by former Neighbours star Mark Little skating to Men At Works Down Under, and Grease legend Didi Conn performing to We Go Together from that very musical. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/06/time-dancing-ice-itv-tonight-8314100/ |
Why is Victoria the far-right protest capital of Australia? | In early 2018, far-right groups changed their main message as experts believe far-right groups began targeting African crime, with gangs as their focus. While the groups have relatively low support and are insignificant when it comes to impacting policy, various political statements, some media reporting and extreme tactics used by the groups helps explain the airtime they receive. As does the fact that Erikson and Cottrell are based in Victoria. Erikson believes their notoriety stems from being under "siege" in Victoria. "Nationalist groups are the strongest in Victoria and are more active than interstate because Victoria is so far left, meaning you get a counter ideology coming back," he said. "The more they [the left] push the more we push back in Victoria," he said. "I have been doing this for 15 years and we had more people coming to protests after the Lindt siege." He said those espousing neo-Nazi symbols and salutes on Saturday at St Kilda do not help their cause, but claimed they were doing so to "troll the left". "They try to do the most offensive thing ... they weren't Nazis in my opinion," he said. Online Hate Prevention Insitute chief executive and La Trobe Law School senior lecturer Dr Andre Oboler believes far-right groups will increase publicity efforts leading into Australia Day and then towards the 2019 federal election. Erikson said more protests were being planned. "They exist all over Australia but are loudest in Victoria, but they're not strong," Dr Oboler said. "Although protests happen in Melbourne a number of them attend from interstate, and that's always been the case. "There's a few right-wing leaders [Cottrell and Erikson] who are based in Victoria who are trying to activate their networks here and their activities on things that are local to them. That's why they make so much noise in Victoria." Online radialisation expert Professor Andrew Jakubowicz from the University of Sydney agreed far-right groups were not strong or significant, but that they still easily attracted attention in Victoria. "The tolerance and diversity that Victoria is used to gives these characters the space they might not have elsewhere," Professor Jakubowicz said. Far-right activists in St Kilda on Saturday. Credit:Darrian Traynor Flemington and Kensington Legal Centre chief executive Anthony Kelly pointed the finger at politicians who he said hadn't been strong enough in denouncing far-right sentiment in Australia. "There was a nexus between the rhetoric from politicians in the lead up to the Victorian election, to what the media covered and then to what the white nat groups said. They all fed into each other," Mr Kelly said. "In January 2018 we saw a lot of the online crime groups that were infiltrated by far-right supporters pressure politicians and police to 'admit' there were African gangs. "Journalists took that on board and wanted to get police and politicians to say the phrase and eventually that worked despite the police's reluctance." Debbie Brennan is an organiser for the group Radical Women, and she helped set up the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism. Ms Brennan was a counter protester at St Kilda on Saturday and said Victoria's strong protest history gave rise to far-right resistance. "The far-right and fascist little grouplets have been trying to build a toehold in Victoria," she said. "This state, historically, has been very organised via the left and the union movement and movements generally like LGBTQI advocacy and Indigenous Australians. "The right is trying to break that militancy." | https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/why-is-victoria-the-far-right-protest-capital-of-australia-20190106-p50pue.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |
Is the tide at last on the turn for the worlds strongman leaders? | The trial of 11 people charged with the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi opened and was quickly adjourned in Riyadh last week. It may be that the outcome is fixed in advance. Yet that the hearing took place at all could be seen as progress of a kind. It suggests even a state as autocratic, inward-looking and undemocratic as Saudi Arabia is not immune to international opinion and can be forced, in extremis, to respect the human right to justice. The Khashoggi affair has provided a chastening lesson for Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, who is widely believed to have ordered the journalists slaying in Istanbul in October. Until then, Salman was riding high, courted by Donald Trump, lauded at home for modest social reform and feared, if not respected, across the Arab Middle East for his war of attrition in Yemen and determination to face down Iran. Salmans subsequent fall from grace was swift. His reversal of fortune confounded the accepted narrative of an inexorable, global rise of like-minded, authoritarian strongman figures, riding waves of reviving nationalism and intolerant, rightwing populist and unilateralist sentiment. Yet there were signs elsewhere, too, that this toxic surge may be nearing its high point. CIA Khashoggi findings 'highly damaging' to Mohammed bin Salman Read more While the evidence for this incipient shift can be exaggerated, the extreme political trajectories that sent some governments and leaders veering off wildly into the far-right blue yonder from 2016 to 2018 may be beginning to self-correct. In other words, the wheel is turning and a more traditional, moderating left-right cycle could reassert itself. A critical turning point approaches, at which the conduct of global affairs may begin to normalise or will become yet more dangerous and chaotic. Viktor Orbn, long viewed as the standard bearer of anti-migrant, anti-EU, nationalist revanchism in Europe, is a case in point. Hungarys prime minister remains firmly in control at home for now. But his hard-right policies, particularly a so-called slave law undermining workers rights, are increasingly under attack. Last month saw large street protests in Budapest in support of opposition demands for the laws repeal and the restoration of an independent judiciary and media. The enduring Europe-wide appeal of Orbns ideas, and those of kindred rightwing populists in Germany, Italy and France, faces a crucial test in May, when a new EU parliament will be elected. Denmark, Poland, Portugal and Greece will also hold national polls this year. Predictions of additional successes for populist parties appear to be supported by the most recent Eurobarometer survey. Overall, only 42% of Europeans trust the EU, and even fewer (35% on average) trust their national governments. But this level of voter alienation is nothing new and may actually be decreasing, according to the survey. Britains Brexit trauma appears to have had a cautionary effect, with fewer Europeans than previously favouring similar national action. Mainstream voters may also be more conscious that far-right politicians, even when they gain decisive power as in Italy last year, do not have better answers to their problems and may make matters worse. Kickback against overly authoritarian or anti-democratic leaders is more problematic in states suffering extreme forms of strongman governance, such as Egypt under Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Sisi won a rigged presidential election last year, and there is talk of abolishing term limits so he can remain in office indefinitely. But many Egyptians have other ideas, as a predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, discovered to his cost. Rule by fear, aggravated by utter incompetence, can only last so long. Similar considerations apply to Recep Tayyip Erdoan in Turkey, who finally succeeded last year in taking all the reins of power. Now the blame for numerous national problems the economy, security, corruption, censorship, abuse of power lies with him. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Turks are voting with their feet, taking talents, money and businesses abroad. Its clear that in Erdoans boundless hubris lie the seeds of his destruction. Downfall could come sooner rather than later. This theory of nationalist strongmen fatally faltering may also be applied to Indias Narendra Modi, who faces a tough re-election challenge this year, and even to Chinas formidable Xi Jinping, who promised a better life for all and now appears clueless in the face of an economic slowdown. And theres Trump, the ultimate strongman wannabe, who clearly believes he is entitled to do anything he wants, including building a wall with Mexico, but is slowly and painfully discovering he is not. How Trump reacts to tougher Congressional resistance and deepening legal entanglements is the story of the next two years. He may play it by the constitutional book, but that seems unlikely. If, like failing authoritarian leaders everywhere, he tries instead to impose his will by any available means such as declaring a bogus national emergency the resulting domestic and global disruption will be severe. | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/06/strongman-authoritarian-leaders-days-numbered-jamal-khashoggi-saudi-prince |
Will Samsungs foldable smartphone be game-changer in 2019? | BUSINESS (Yonhap) The year 2019 will witness a revolutionary change in the form factor of smartphones, led by South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics launch of its first foldable display phone that could be a game-changer for the stalled global smartphone market.According to announcements by Samsung so far, the so-called Galaxy F is likely to feature an organic light-emitting diode screen dubbed Infinity Flex Display that measures 7.3 inches diagonally when its opened.When folded in half, the size of the smartphone is reduced to 4.58 inches.The unfolded screen will split into three active areas that can run three different applications at once to facilitate multitasking. Samsung also announced One UI, a new interface design that will be used with the foldable display.Samsung plans to release 1 million foldable phones within the first half of this year, and consider churning out more, if market reaction turns out favorable.Samsung is targeting consumers in their 40s with purchasing power, considering that the first foldable phone would come with a high price tag of between 1.5 million and 2 million won, an industry source said.Samsung is not the only one that is currently developing the foldables.Earlier than Samsungs announcement in November, Chinas display startup Royole unexpectedly unveiled a 7.8-inch foldable Android smartphone called FlexPai with a starting price of $1,318. The company said it will showcase the industrys first foldable phone at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 opening on Tuesday.Its archrival Apple seems to be brainstorming different ways to make a foldable iPhone, according to a patent that was filed in March and publicly posted by the USTPO in late December.The patent image showed Apple seems to be considering using an OLED panel, too.The US smartphone maker is presumed to be thinking a device that folds both inwards and outwards in comparison with Samsungs inwards-folding one, the patent showed.Chinese phone manufacturers are also joining the new race for foldables.Chinas biggest smartphone vendor Huawei is rumored to unveil an 8-inch foldable display phone at the Mobile World Congress in Spain in late February, although nothing has been confirmed by the company yet.ZTE, another Chinese vendor, has filed a patent for a foldable phone, too, which looks similar to Samsungs.Another ZTE patent application showed it is developing a double-sided smartphone with a display that wraps around the device.By Song Su-hyun ([email protected]) | http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190106000081 |
Should Trump withdraw from Afghanistan? | Almost immediately after President Trump directed the Pentagon withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, he ordered a reduction of U.S. forces in Afghanistanmore than 7,000 soldiers, which is about half of the current force. Given the hysterical reaction of Washingtons foreign policy establishment about the presidents Syria decision, there will certainly be an even more shrill the sky is falling chorus regarding Afghanistan. But whatever one thinks of the presidents temperament, his management style, and the decision-making process (or lack thereof), his decision about Syria was the right thing to do, and so is his decision to pull back in Afghanistan. After more than 17 years, its well past time to wind down Americas longest war. It is important to remember the original mission in Afghanistan authorized by Congress was to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons. In other words, Usama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and the then Taliban-led government in Afghanistan (because they gave safe haven to bin Laden and al Qaeda.) The Taliban was driven from power in a matter of weeks. Over the next few years, al Qaedas senior leadership was disrupted and scatteredlargely to neighboring Pakistan. And in May 2011, Usama bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. Special Operations Forces. So the original mission has been long since accomplished. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON AFGHANISTAN AT FOXNEWS.COM Yet along the way, well before bin Laden was killed, the mission morphed into propping up the fledgling Karzai government in Kabul. As such, the U.S. military effort was no longer about going after those who were responsible for 9/11, but became an exercise in democratic nation-building. Buthowever desirable a representative, multiethnic, democratic government in Afghanistan would beit is not an absolute necessity for U.S. national security. The overriding requirement is that whatever government controls Afghanistan, it understands that the United States will not tolerate support for or the harboring of any terrorist group with global reach that directly threatens the United Stateseven if such a government is not a friendly government. Al Qaeda and ISIS are terrorist threats in Afghanistan, but neither are a direct, existential threat to the American homeland. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Moreover, we cant commit the military resources required to fight a war in Afghanistan, a fact that policymakers have been unwilling to acknowledge or discuss with the American public. According to FM3-24, the U.S. Army's counterinsurgency manual, "Twenty counterinsurgents per 1000 residents is often considered the minimum troop density required for effective COIN [counterinsurgency] operations." With a population of over 33 million, a force of 660,000 troops would be needed in Afghanistan. For a sense of scale, the total U.S. Army active duty force is less than 500,000 soldiers. It's also worth noting that peak U.S. troop deployment during the Vietnam War was more than 500,000 soldiers and we did not win that counterinsurgent operation. Even if the whole of Afghanistan doesn't need to be secured, it is still a bridge too far. According to the most recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) quarterly report, 11.6 million Afghans live in areas either under the control of, or contested by, insurgents. That would require 232,000 troops, which is more than double the peak U.S. troop deployment in Afghanistan of roughly 100,000 soldiers and some 15 times more than the current force in Afghanistan. Finally, cost cannot be ignored. According to the Pentagon, the war in Afghanistan is costing $45 billion per year. A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies concluded that Department of Defense (DoD) Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding for the Afghan conflict from Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 to FY 2018 would be more than $840 billion. However, one estimate has the war costing more than $1 trillion to date and another estimates total war spending for Afghanistan at roughly $2 trillion when other war-related costs are included. No wonder a recent survey found that 57 percent of Americans, including 69 percent of military veterans, said they would support a decision by the president to remove all troops from Afghanistan. It would be easy to dismiss President Trumps decision to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan as simply a political decision in which Trump is making good on a campaign promise. The reality is that it reflects what Americans want because they understand that a continued U.S. military presence Afghanistan no longer is in our national security interest its a conflict we dont need to fight, cant win, and cant afford. | https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/should-trump-withdraw-from-afghanistan |
Why Did Governor Cuomo Reverse NYCs L Train Shutdown? | No way in 'L': New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that the long-impending plan to shut down the L train subway in April was cancelled. Mark Lennihan/AP Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the MTAs much-dreaded 15-month tunnel closure isnt needed. But this twist raises disconcerting questions. Well, this is no way to run a railroad. In a press conference on Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo surprised New York City by cancelling the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys plan to close the subways L train tunnel for 15 months of repairs, a much-dreaded infrastructure fix that promised to aggravate commuters with untold delays and stress. If all goes according to a hastily sketched plan that MTA board members must still approve, the tunnel will remain mostly open throughout the construction period, which remains set to begin in April. New Yorks transit users and observers greeted the announcement with a mix of relief and disbeliefand a lot of questions. First: the details. The L train tunnel connects Manhattan to Brooklyn starting in Williamsburg, and it was badly damaged by flooding from Superstorm Sandy. After extensive deliberation, in 2016 the MTA announced plans to shutter the tunnel completely for 15 months, starting in 2019. This was chosen over an alternative, partial shutdown plan which would have dragged out the repair timeline further. The impending shutdown has since been a boogeyman for any New Yorker who commutes. The L line moves a mid-sized citys worth of people every weekdayabout 400,000 passenger trips. Even if your commute isnt one of them, the overflow from the displaced masses was destined to effect every subway line in the vicinity, plus surface traffic, plus ferries. City and state officials had spent years planning for this misery, arguing bitterly for new bike lanes, bus routes, and protected bus corridors to help absorb the victims of L-pocalypse. New private mobility services (including a van shuttle service dubbed The New L) appeared to pick up deep-pocketed subway refugees. And the anticipated gap in transportation to and from Williamsburg, a famous neighborhood with hefty economic clout, seemed to depress market rents as home-seekers looked to other parts of Brooklyn and Queens. The business community there has been trying to mitigate the effects of the neighborhoods perceived loss of accessibility, according to Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a local interest group for the citys private sector employers. [Theyve offered] reduced rents, special offers, and deals on for-hire vehicles to compensate for what was perceived to be a huge economic threat, she told CityLab. Through it all, the MTA had defended, again and again, its decision to move forward with a full shutdown, arguing that this was the best of all possible options. Now, less than four months before the shutdown was due to take effect, Governor Cuomo has stepped in with a plan that was developed by a panel of academic engineering experts, reportedly in a matter of weeks. Now, instead of 15 months of total L-train blackout, commuters can expect 15 to 20 months of construction requiring only night and weekend service outages, with regular service during peak hours on weekdays, MTA officials said. (Cuomo later told reporters that promising a concrete timeline would be silly.) Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Based on the details presented thus far, the game-changer in this new plan is that a concrete bench wall will no longer need to be torn down to replace old power cables. Now, new cables will be attached directly to the wall in a special fireproof fiberglass pipes. It sounds simple enough, but this is a process that has never been used in a tunnel rehabilitation project in the United States, according to Cuomo, who touted the plan as using many new innovations that are new to the rail industry in this country. The MTA had previously argued that the structural integrity of the subway tunnel required that the wall in question be fully replaced. But on Thursday, officials made no such claim. MTA board members still need to approve the changes; Cuomo is now calling for an emergency public meeting for the board to review the new plan. But at Thursdays press conference, MTA acting chairman Fernando Ferrer boosted the new plan alongside Cuomo. You might ask, Well why wasnt this approach considered earlier? Ferrer said at the presser. The answer is that the integration of these approachesthere are severaland the technology had not previously been applied in the context of a rehabilitation project. Its innovative, creative, and we deem it a sound plan. Certainly, throwing the L-train shutdown plans out the window should come as a relief for the citys commuters and employers. Its hard to fathom how disruptive this was going to be, Jon Orcutt, the policy and communications director of TransitCenter, a local transportation advocacy group, told CityLab. So to not have that facing us for more than a year is great. It may be difficult to expect New Yorkers, or their elected representatives, to accept at face value any future plans devised by the MTA. But this abrupt reversal raises new and troubling questions. Having an MTA official approve a plan that appears to have been devised over the holidays by two external researchersat the bidding of a powerful leader known for his micro-managerial tendencies on infrastructure projects and keen sense of political opportunismdoesnt read as good governance. It could undermine what public trust in the MTA as an authority on transit still remained, after so many years of declining service and inadequate excuses from the agency. From a policy and institutional point of view, there are a lot of questions and strangenesses that this raises, Orcutt said. Its a bad look for the MTA, and disconcerting for riders, that Cuomo has jumped in and called an audible on the MTAs hard-fought plan, he added. But its not out of line with whats known about the agencys culture of decision-making, where the status quo tends to be prioritized. In that way, Orcutt said, it is a good outcome to blow the lid off that. Adam Rahbee, a researcher and consultant whos gone deep into the weeds of institutional culture and decision-making at transit agencies around the world, including at the MTA, agreed that this twist in the L-train story comes as little surprise. In mid-level management at large bureaucracies, workers can be disincentivized to present ideas that go against accepted wisdom and inherited processes, he said. The proposed changes to the L trains construction plan dont sound like rocket science, Rahbee said. But someone just had to say it. Within the MTA, that might have been the hard part. More details about Cuomos new engineering plan still need to surface to vet its reliability, and to determine whether it will in fact produce a better commuting experience. But the L-train shutdown-shutdown will surely be remembered as a watershed moment in the recent decline of New Yorks subway system. It may be difficult to expect New Yorkers, or their elected representatives, to accept at face value construction plans devised by the MTA in the near future. Whether thats good or bad for the agencys progress on billions of dollars in needed upgrades remains to be seen. But if bolting fireproof pipes to tunnel walls were all that stood between millions of commuters and 15-plus months of hellacious inconvenience, the city deserved to know. But it also deserves to know why this savior-train of an idea has arrived so late. | https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/nyc-subway-l-train-shutdown-reversal-cuomo-mta-williamsburg/579412/ |
Wheres God at the very end? | On the day when everything changed, I woke up determined to go into the office. This was not my normal routine for Saturdays, and I could not figure out what was calling melesson plans to edit for childrens chapel or maybe resources to gather for the youth leadersbut I felt strangely compelled to head over to the church. I had been puttering contentedly in my office for a couple of hours when Mary Ellen appeared at my door, drawn perhaps by the rotation of Taiz chants, Amy Grant songs, and classical hymns blaring from my computer. Of course, I replied. This would be my second most important conversation that day. Sensing my work was complete, I called my husband and asked if he wanted to go to lunch, and I was glad when he said yes. The truth was that our 40-year marriage was coming apart at the seams, unraveling under the weight of long-term unemployment, financial stress, his resultant sadness and withdrawal, my compounding anxiety and anger. In recent months my anger had begun to frighten me, and so I had made an intention to be kind in the face of uncertainty. I picked him up and we enjoyed some Chipotle and then browsed at Home Depot, just another long-time married couple on a Saturday afternoon. On the drive home I related my conversation with Mary Ellen, and he was intrigued. For the remaining miles we talked of heaven and what we thought it might be like, and for the first time in a while I was overjoyed to be with him, to relax in his familiar presence, to savor the intimacy of spirit built over 40 years. And as we were walking from the garage to our house he collapsed, stricken with a massive heart attack. He was pronounced dead within the hour. I remember almost nothing we said to each other on that ride. The content of the conversation does not matter to me as much as the fact that it took place. In the early days after his death, friends would ask if I was angry. I was not, but I wanted to understand how God was present at this death that was too sudden and too soon. I did not believe, and do not believe, in a magic-wand God or a God of granted wishes. I did, and continue to, believe that God was with my husband as he faded away from me and that God is with him now. Five years of reflection have brought me to believe this as well about how God acts in our world: I believe God does not override our genetic predispositions or repair an artificial valve. But I am certain that on that day, God arranged a series of small coincidences in order to set up one singular conversation that allowed two old, lost lovers to be right with each other at the end. For that, I am grateful. This essay is part of a series of reflections on conversations that left an impact on the authors lives. You can read the rest of the essays here. Image: Matthew Bennett on Unsplash | https://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201901/wheres-god-very-end-31603 |
Where Did Cowboys WR Cole Beasley Play in College? | Had the Cowboys not traded for Amari Cooper earlier in the season, seven-year veteran Cole Beasley would be Dallas leading receiver. Targeted 87 times, Beasley has corralled 65 receptions for 672 yards and three touchdowns. Obviously, the Cowboys (and their fans) should be very pleased with the Cooper trade. Beasley has shown flashes of brilliance himself though, catching nine passes for 101 yards against Jacksonville and six passes for 94 yards against the thriller against the Giants in week 17. The reliable receiver will certainly be in the mix when the Cowboys host the Seahawks at 8:15 p.m. ET in the first NFC Wild-card game. Standing in at 5 ft 8 in, Beasley isnt a prototypical NFL wide receiver, and his journey to the NFL demonstrates that truth. Regardless, Beasley has carved out a productive NFL career that has lasted longer than many players who were expected to be stars in the league. Beasley Played QB in High School Before Switching to Wide Receiver at SMU A two-star prospect coming out of Little Elm High School in 2008, his size likely prevented him from being recruited as a Division I QB. He received offers from SMU and Air Force. Ultimately, he chose to commit to SMU (Southern Methodist University) in Dallas. He switched to wide receiver immediately as a freshman. Beasley appeared in eleven games as a freshman, catching 42 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. He fared a bit better in his sophomore season, catching 40 passes for 493 yards and three touchdowns. Beasley had Back-to-Back 1,000 Yard Seasons in His Final Two Seasons at SMU Beasleys production skyrocketed when he entered his junior season. During his 2010 campaign, Beasley caught 87 passes for 1,060 yards and six touchdowns. His big season led to him being named Second-Team All-C-USA (Conference USA). Beasley carried the momentum from his junior season into his final year in college. He caught 86 passes for 1,040 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He punched in a rushing touchdown as a senior as well. Though undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys signed him and he has remained on the 53-man roster ever since. Beasley is proof that you dont always have to put up ridiculous numbers in college to get a shot at a long NFL career. READ NEXT: Amari Cooper Contract Extension: Latest on Talks With Cowboys | https://heavy.com/sports/2019/01/where-did-cowboys-wr-cole-beasley-play-in-college/ |
Who won Dancing On Ice in 2018? | Jake Quickenden was your Dancing On Ice 2018 champion (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Dancing On Ice is back on screens for 2019, with 12 new celebrities set to brighten up those dark post-Christmas nights with their skating efforts. The show returned to screens last year after a four-year break, with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby once again hosting. The 2018 series of Dancing On Ice was won by Jake Quickenden, who teamed up with skating partner Vanessa Bauer. Jake originally found fame on The X Factor which he didnt win despite getting to the live shows while he finished second in the 2014 series of Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here behind winner Carl Fogarty. Advertisement Advertisement So Dancing On Ice marked the first time the reality show regular had taken a series title. Jake was one of the favourites throughout the competition also becoming the first contestant to nab a perfect 40 from the judges last series with an emotional routine to Shakespears Sisters Stay. The new series of Dancing On Ice begins on ITV on Sunday night at 6pm. Find out on Sunday, 6pm on @ITV and @wearestv! #DancingOnIce pic.twitter.com/orpz0tNfVv Dancing On Ice (@dancingonice) January 4, 2019 The two-hour series opener will see the first six of this years celebrities take to the ice for their skating debut. They include Gemma Collins, who will perform to Beyonces Crazy In Love with skaring partner Matt Evers, while James Jordan swaps dancing shoes for skates as he performs to Michael Bubles I Wont Dance with pro partner Alexandra Schauman. During a break in #DancingOnIce rehearsals yesterday @TheDidiConn took to the ice to show the audience that this Pink Lady still knows the moves! pic.twitter.com/AV2SaOvQqz Dancing On Ice (@dancingonice) January 5, 2019 Former X Factor finalist and Eurovision star Saara Aalto also makes her skating debut on Sunday to Lady Gagas Born This Way, and Corries Jane Danson steps out to Dean Martins On The Street Where You Live. Advertisement Advertisement Sundays line-up is completed by former Neighbours star Mark Little skating to Men At Works Down Under, and Grease legend Didi Conn performing to We Go Together from that very musical. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/06/won-dancing-ice-2018-8314141/ |
Will Utah recognize same-sex marriages performed before SCOTUS stay? | Please enable Javascript to watch this video SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Attorney General's Office is preparing a legal opinion on whether the state should recognize same-sex marriages performed in the state before the Supreme Court halted them. The opinion, which is expected to be presented to Governor Gary Herbert on Wednesday, will determine if the state provides services to legally wed same-sex couples pending the appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to stay same-sex marriages in Utah pending an appeal of Amendment 3 has placed hundreds of couples in a legal gray area. After the Dec. 20 decision declaring it unconstitutional, Governor Gary Herbert directed state agencies to offer services in compliance with a federal judge's order. But now that the Supreme Court justices have stayed the request, many agencies are wondering if they still must comply. "Many couples are calling me wondering if they're still married and wondering what the legal implications are for their tax returns," said Clifford Rosky, a University of Utah law professor and chairman of the board of the gay rights group Equality Utah. "Some of them have already begun adoption proceedings and they don't know whether to go forward. It's a complicated and stressful situation for more than 1,000 families." Since Utah's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman was overturned, a FOX 13 survey of county clerks statewide found approximately 1,360 same-sex couples have wed. In court filings, the state has sought to invalidate the marriages should it prevail on appeal. On Tuesday, some state agencies sought advice from the governor's office on whether to offer services despite the stay. The Utah State Tax Commission is meeting Thursday to decide if legally wed same-sex couples can file joint tax returns in the state. The IRS is allowing it on a federal level, but Utah's Amendment 3 defines marriage as between a man and a woman and does not recognize anything else. State tax commission spokesman Charlie Roberts said the agency was urging people to wait. "You're unable to file your federal taxes until January 31 anyway, so we just ask that, even though it's an inconvenience, you hang tight," he said. Some attorneys have said that if Utah attempts to declare the marriages invalid, it could trigger a new round of litigation against the state. Meanwhile, Utah was moving ahead with its appeal of Judge Robert Shelby's decision declaring Amendment 3 unconstitutional. The attorney general's office had a deadline Tuesday night for law firms to bid to represent Utah in the appeals process. That deadline was extended to January 14 "to increase competition," spokeswoman Missy Larsen told FOX 13. She would not say how many firms had applied, but said a committee would meet to select the outside counsel. The state has suggested it would spend as much as $2 million to defend Amendment 3 before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and, possibly, the U.S. Supreme Court. | https://fox13now.com/2014/01/07/will-utah-recognize-same-sex-marriages-performed-before-scotus-stay/ |
Is Kylie Jenner engaged? | hollywood Following 'The Keeping Up With the Kardashian's star's 21st birthday celebration, the couple spent an hour shopping at Polacheck's Jewelers in Calabasas, California Kylie Jenner Kylie Jenner's sparkling ring has once again sparked rumours of her being engaged. Taking to her Instagram, the reality star shared a picture in which she was seen sporting a ring on her ring finger, which did not go unnoticed by her fans. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) onJan 5, 2019 at 1:04pm PST "I see that ring boo," wrote one fan. "Engagement ring?" asked another. Rumours of Kylie being engaged to beau Travis Scott surfaced in August last year following their trip to a jewellery store. Following 'The Keeping Up With the Kardashian's star's 21st birthday celebration, the couple spent an hour shopping at Polacheck's Jewelers in Calabasas, California. Moreover, the rapper referred to Jenner as his 'wifey' in a birthday message. "Happy bday wifey I love u mommy you my heart rib toes and all. May GOD continue to bless u and ur spirit. This mark in your life is the start to more greatness," read the post. The couple share a baby girl, Stormi Webster. Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever | https://www.mid-day.com/articles/is-kylie-jenner-engaged/20203156 |
Will Mabala Noise bounce back? | We've heard that 2018 wasn't the year many of y'all hoped it would be, but it really couldn't have been worse than the year Mabala Noise had. At least not when compared to the previous two years. Back in 2016 the stable made a "one of a kind" announcement that they had added 12 artists to their family. At the time the media was told that they signed 12 new artists: rapper Nasty C, Pro, Gigi Lamayne, Zakwe, Jay Spitter, Major League DJs, DJ Finzo, Khanyi Mbau, actor Kay Sibiya, Letoya Makhene, Mbali Nkosi and Zola 7. Now fast forward to 2019, we now know that the phrase "signed the artists" was loosely used and that even though there may have been contracts signed they were not all the same and they definitely weren't what they were hyped up to be. The stable quickly crumbled. Not only did the truth about the contracts unfold just months after the huge announcement but three years after the company's formation and two years after the big hooha and mass signings, the company has turned into liquid... almost literally. Isolezwe reported that Mabala Noises assets were to be liquidated after owner Reggie disinvested from the label hoping to focus on politics. Then one by one artists started dropping out of the stable. Nasty C left. Then Gigi Lamayne left. Even Zandie Khumalo left. The rest of the nation, like Major League DJs explained that they had "partnership" kind of contracts that meant that they worked together with the label but were not "under" the label. Like we said fam... Mabala saw flames! | https://www.timeslive.co.za/tshisa-live/tshisa-live/2019-01-06-will-mabala-noise-bounce-back/ |
Should Donald Trump be impeached? | That he will be seems likely as Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, the chamber where impeachment proceedings begin. That he deserves to be is similarly self-evident. President Andrew Johnson was impeached after firing a member of his Cabinet without congressional approval. President Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a sexual affair with an intern. To say nothing of charges that his campaign coordinated with Russia to get him elected. Or the fact that he seems to have obstructed justice in plain sight. Not to mention that he gave away state secrets in the Oval Office. Surely Trump hurdles the bar -- "high crimes and misdemeanors" -- set by the Constitution with room to spare. So, yes, he may well be impeached and surely deserves to be. That's a trickier question. As you may recall from civics class, removal by impeachment is a two-step process: The House produces articles of impeachment, the Senate conducts a trial to determine if a president should be kicked out of office. Given that the Republican-dominated Senate has heretofore shown all the moral fiber of algae, there is little prospect it will dismiss Trump. Even assuming for the sake of argument that it did, there's no reason to believe his removal would be a panacea for the disunion, disharmony and dyspepsia that afflict this country. Indeed, it could easily make matters worse. Remember: 63 million people voted for this guy, even knowing what he is. Remember, too, that his latest Gallup approval rating stands at 39 percent. Though no elected president since Eisenhower has polled that low at a similar point in his term, that figure still seems stunningly high. As flagrantly awful a president as Trump has been, four in 10 Americans think he's doing a bang-up job. To overturn the will of that many people, especially in today's charged environment, is to fracture an already fractured union. None of which is to say it shouldn't be done, but only to point out the consequences thereof. But again, the argument is academic. As noted, Trump will probably be impeached (though not removed). And the six in 10 of us who see his awfulness for what it is surely will exult. Which is fine so long as we realize that impeachment will very likely change very little of what actually ails America. Perhaps that's as it should be. One gets the sense sometimes that people think of impeachment as a magic trick. Abracadabra and presto! Trump disappears in a cloud of Cheetos dust, America is saved. It's a great fantasy, but only that. Because Trump is not the problem, only a symptom. And America doesn't need to be saved. No, for its own mental and moral health, America needs to save itself, needs to clearly and emphatically reject what it has become. Impeachment does not do that. Voting the awfulness out, does. Consider this new Congress, with its record number of women, including its first Native-American women, its first Muslim women and its youngest woman ever, this Congress that looks so much more like the country it serves. Consider the organizing, the canvassing, the fundraising, the putting lives on hold, the stop-complaining-about-it-and-getting-involved it took to produce this result. Then roll up your sleeves and forget about magic. That's not what got us into this mess. It's not what will get us out. (Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him via e-mail at [email protected].) (c) 2019 THE MIAMI HERALD DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC. | https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/sns-201901040000--tms--lpittsctnwl-a20190106-20190106-column.html |
How Cells Gain Antibiotic Resistance? | New study helps understand how cells gain resistance to antibiotics. Through the Future Agriculture and Science Taskforce Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (FAST REEU) fellowship program, Kincade worked on the project, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Nicholas Butzin. Persister cells hide out but also get DNA from other organisms that can give them resistance, Butzin said. Theyre like sleeper cellsthey wait until the antibiotics are gone and start growing again. A summer undergraduate research fellowship has helped South Dakota State University sophomore Caroline Kincade figure out her career path.She was among the first group of students to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded program, which provided qualifying students a 10-week summer laboratory experience at SDSU. In summer 2019, each student will do an industry internship.Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology Madhav Nepal, who coordinates the program, said "We want to get our students excited about science and agriculture." Students interested in FAST REEU fellowship can find more information at https://www.sdstate.edu/biology-and-microbiology/fast-reeu-fellowships. Applications are due March 15. "FAST made me realize I need to figure out what I am doing after graduation," said Kincade, a microbiology major with a chemistry minor and a member of the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College. The Otsego, Minnesota, native transferred to SDSU in fall 2017 after earning an associate degree in veterinary technology at Ridgewater College in Minnesota. "I am very impressed by Caroline," said Butzin, who is faculty researcher in the Department of Biology and Microbiology in the College of Natural Sciences. He also does research through the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. "She's been a great help in the lab this summer," added doctoral student Heather Deter, who is studying how changes in the genome allow cells, known as persisters, to gain resistance to antibiotics. "Antibiotic resistance happens because of a change in DNA. "To study this phenomenon, the researchers use bacteria called Mycoplasma mycoides, which have a small genome. "Life is generally complex, so we want to start with something simple," Butzin explained. The researchers begin with cells that cannot survive exposure to antibiotics and "add synthetic circuits that will allow us to test what actually causes persistence and how." As part of the research team, Kincade helped figure out how to grow the cells, including what type of media and buffer to use. "Doing research taught me a lot of patience," she said. E coli cells, for instance, grow in 24 hours. "These minimal genome cells take a lot longer to grow. "In a lab class, we have a procedure. If the experiment does not work, we go to the next one," Kincade explained. "In research, we have to figure out why it did not work and redo it until it works"Once cells are treated, the researchers count the persister cells on each plate. Kincade scanned the plates and then used a computer program Deter created to count the persister cells. "This produces highly accurate quantitative data to understand what's going on," said Butzin, whose goal has been to challenge Kincade and thus increase her research skills. "I've learned a lot about techniques, plus the computer stuff," Kincade said. As she contemplated her career path, Kincade said, "Always in the back of my head I kept thinking that what I am most passionate about is animal anatomy and parasitology. "Though she has decided to combine microbiology with veterinary medicine, Kincade will continue to use the skills she learned last summer. "The experience set me up for success," she added.Source: Newswise | https://www.medindia.net/news/how-cells-gain-antibiotic-resistance-184930-1.htm |
Can I Ever Recover From Diverticulitis? | Q. A. The answer depends on the severity of your diverticulitis. The mildest end of the spectrum of diverticular disease is diverticulosis. Diverticulosis is simply a collection of outpouchings, or diverticula, in the wall of the colon. Aside from being an occasional source of blood in the stool, diverticulosis usually does not cause symptoms. Diverticulitis the suffix itis indicates inflammation typically occurs when a diverticulum becomes blocked by a piece of hard stool, called a fecalith. This localized blockage leads to bacterial overgrowth, followed by inflammation, infection and abscess formation. At the most severe end of the spectrum, the abscess can rupture and stool may enter the abdominal cavity, which may result in sepsis, a dangerous blood infection. But severe disease is not the norm. Most people with diverticulosis do not progress to diverticulitis. Only 10 percent to 20 percent go on to have pain or bleeding. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/well/live/can-i-ever-recover-from-diverticulitis.html?partner=rss&emc=rss |
When is series six of Endeavour on TV? Who is in the cast? What will happen? | ITV series Endeavour has long been popular with drama fans but writer Russell Lewis left many of the shows ardent followers in shock at the end of series five with the death of George Fancy (played by Lewis Peek) who was the unlucky victim of gang warfare. Theres not long to wait the new episodes of Endeavour are expected to land on ITV in early 2019. 2018 delivered six episodes of Endeavour, but for the 2019 series ITV has dropped the number back down to four films. The tragic murder of George Fancy was one of many dramatic twists in the final episode. The young copper who was introduced at the start of the series was gunned down in a shock killing, before Cowley police station was shuttered and the team all headed off to separate postings. There were some major changes for some of the dramas main characters WPC Trewlove (played by Dakota Blue Richards) set out for pastures new, with executive producer Damien Timmer confirming to RadioTimes.com that the character has departed the series. Meanwhile, Roger Allams DCI Fred Thursday was forced to put off the retirement that loomed for much of series five after losing his life savings to his brother. Suffice to say, theres plenty to catch up on when the series returns. A glance at the first picture of Endeavour series six (above) reveals at least one major change for the new series you dont have to be eagle-eyed to spot Shaun Evans significant facial furniture, perhaps signifying the move towards the 1970s (the new series is set in 1969). Naturally, DC Fancys death looms over the characters as Thursday adjusts to working with new boss DI Ronnie Box (Simon Harrison) and junior DS Alan Jago (Richard Riddell). Meanwhile, Thursdays daughter Joan (whom Endeavour is in love with) is training to work in social services in Oxford under the mentorship of new boss Viv Wall (Alison Newman). Shaun Evans is, of course, back as Endeavour Morse, along with Allam as Thursday. Evans will also direct an episode in the upcoming series. Anton Lesser plays CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby is DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw is Dr Max DeBryn and Sara Vickers is Joan Thursday. The main cast are rounded out by Abigail Thaw (daughter of Morse legend John) as Dorothea Frazil and Caroline ONeill as Win Thursday. There are also a host of guest stars joining series six, including Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show), Blake Ritson (Indian Summers), Matthew Cottle (Unforgotten), Oliver Chris (King Charles III), Sargon Yelda (Strike), Alice Orr-Ewing (A Very English Scandal) and Ross Boatman (Mum). Series one of Endeavour is currently available on the ITV Hub. You can also purchase episodes from the dramas full run through Amazon Prime Video. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-06/endeavour-series-six-air-date-time-cast-plot/ |
Where is Dancing On Ice filmed? | Dancing On Ice has a custom-built set (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) The celebrities are getting their skates on as Dancing On Ice returns for its 2019 series. The show kicks off on ITV on Sunday night, with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby once again hosting and the stars hoping to impress skating legends Torvill and Dean as well as fellow panellists Jason Gardiner and Ashley Banjo. Once again the skating couples will be taking to the shows purpose built ice rink in their bid to be crowned series champion. Well since its return last year Dancing On Ice has moved out to Hertfordshire, and is filmed on a specially constructed rink at RAF Bovingdon, near Hemel Hempstead. (Picture: ITV) The airfield is no stranger to TV and film, having also played host to such blockbusters as Rogue One, as well as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Advertisement Advertisement Phillip Schofield said of the new set last year: Yes it has ice in the centre of it and there is a competition but it will look and feel different. There is a new studio, Jayne and Chris are on the panel and that frees up our professional dancers to choreograph. Sunday nights show will see the first six of this years celebrities make their skating debut with the next six to follow next week. Gemma Collins, James Jordan, Mark Little, Jane Danson, Didi Conn and Saara Aalto are the lucky six who will kick off the series, as they make their first bid to impress the judges and show off the results of all that training. Dancing On Ice is on ITV on Sunday night at 6pm. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/06/dancing-ice-filmed-8314266/ |
Should we all be having nightcaps? | What exactly is a nightcap, anyway? As the author of a new book on the topic, I get asked this all the time. My standard response is that its your last drink of the evening its the pour that caps off your night. But thats a little flip. The longer answer is to first explain what a nightcap isnt. It isnt an aperitivo, designed to rev up your appetite for a meal; it isnt a drink thats overly stimulating, which is why I usually put perky gin martinis in the not-a-nightcap column; it isnt a drink thats too fussy and distracting. And it sure isnt multiple drinks thats called having another round, not a singular, final nightcap. A proper nightcap can be a cocktail or straight pour of a spirit. But beyond that, what youre drinking isnt the point. As I found by talking with bartenders, the nightcap is defined by when youre drinking it end of night, of course (although I have a friend who argues in favor of the prenap afternoon-cap) as well as how and why and, sometimes, where youre enjoying it. I think there are a few different reasons someone would enjoy a nightcap, says Ryan Lotz, proprietor of newly opened Boston tiki bar Shore Leave, who favors a funky, complex aged rum as his nightcap. Basically, youre looking to finish off your evening and its an excuse to have one more drink. I think that one more can be something on the stronger side to send you off to sleep. The tired wink-wink trope that the point of a nightcap is to lure the object of ones affection back to the boudoir. Hey baby, ya wanna come up to my place for a nightcap? Thats not the role of the modern nightcap, at least not in the age of Tinder and the like. These days, the role of the nightcap is more akin to self-care, say bar pros such as Amie Ward, beverage director at Baltimores R.Bar. For me, having a nightcap is something of a ritual, signifying the close of a very long day, Ward says. My perfect nightcap is dry and astringent, either a pour of amaro or rye whiskey. A two-ounce pour is all I need to unwind and put the day to rest. For others, that last drink marks a transition between on- and off-duty. Natasha David, proprietor of Nitecap gave her bar that name because she wanted it to be a bartenders bar, the bar you go to at the end of your shift. Its your last drink. She adds: I wanted the bar to be a place where you could come and forget about the rest of the day, be transported, have a little treat. Although Nitecap also offers plenty of aperitivo-style drinks (such as appetite-inducing spritzes), the cocktail menu features a strong roster of closers. Its a way to ease into rest and relaxation, even though you may not be quite ready for lights out yet. Weve always made the nightcap decadent, indulgent, David says. It doesnt have to have cream, but it often has a component thats rich or velvety. Maybe its brandy-based or citrus-based, but mixed in with cacao. Theres always something a little naughty about the drinks. After all, the point of a nightcap is to recount your evening and relax, says Shannon Ponche, head bartender at Leyenda in Brooklyn, New York. If youre not quite ready for bed and over the party, a nightcap is what you need. You shouldnt have to think too hard to pour or order one, Ponche says. Her go-to drinks: a mezcal at home or a boulevardier at her local bar on the corner. Either way, she says, a nightcap is best enjoyed in a place where youre most comfortable. At this point, most of us are in the mind-set that we survived the holiday season, or at least the day. Theres little agreement as to what an ideal end-of-night drink should be frankly, I contend theres room for the low-alcohol and no-alcohol nightcap, where its more about the ritual and the company than the booze. Were never all going to agree about politics or anything else dominating headlines. But if theres one thing we can agree upon, its that we all deserve to chill with a nightcap. Heres two: Coperta Da Sci The name translates to ski lodge blanket, says Kellie Thorn, of Empire State South in Birmingham, Alabama, who created the drink. Calvados, the famed apple brandy of Normandy, creates a rich, round backdrop, while the alpine notes of Braulio amaro really pop. Ingredients: About 20 milliliters each of apple brandy, Braulio amaro, Cocchi vermouth di Torino (or sweet vermouth); 7 milliliters of creme de cacao; some orange peel, for garnish. In a mixing glass, stir the brandy, amaro, vermouth, and creme de cacao together with ice. Strain into a small, chilled cocktail glass or brandy tulip. Twist the orange peel over the top of the drink to express the oils. Garnish with the peel. Snake Oil This (was) our house nightcap, says Benjamin Krick, who created this for Juniper Tar, a San Antonio bar that has since closed. Its a little edgy, he warns. Ingredients: 60 milliliters of bonded (100-proof) bourbon; 15 milliliters of sherry; 1 minibottle (0.67 oz.) Underberg bitters. In a mixing glass, stir all the ingredients together with ice. Strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Serve with no garnish | https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life&p=1679219&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+%28The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories%29 |
Is It A Nasty Cold Or The Flu? | It's that time of year again. You wake up with a scratchy throat, stuffy nose, a little achy maybe a fever. "There's lots of confusion out there, because both are viral respiratory illnesses," says Dr. Yul Ejnes, an internal medicine specialist in private practice in Rhode Island and spokesperson for the American College of Physicians. "No one likes to get a cold, but people are more fearful of the flu." And rightly so. Last year's influenza season was particularly severe, resulting in an unusually high number of hospitalizations and deaths from flu complications. So, if you do have the flu, it's important to consult with your health care provider about treatment. And distinguishing between a cold and flu may be easier than you think, Ejnes says. There are some clear distinctions between the two similar types of viral illness in terms of symptoms how quickly they appear and how severe they become. Think flu Flu symptoms, Ejnes says, usually start abruptly though you can spread the virus before symptoms surface. "Patients can pretty much tell you when the symptoms hit them after lunch, for example, or yesterday afternoon," says Ejnes. A cold, on the other hand, takes a couple of days to build up. You may have a scratchy throat one day and then the nose starts to get stuffy the next day. You may also develop a fever with a cold. But typically, it's a "low-grade" rise in temperature, hovering around 99 or 100 degrees Farenheit. With flu, that fever is usually significantly higher at least 101 degrees. Chills and body aches are another flu hallmark or, as Ejnes says, "feeling like a truck ran you over where you can't even move a muscle." Dragging yourself out of bed can seem impossible when you have the flu. "You're just wiped out with total body fatigue," he says, whereas with a cold, people often "soldier on" and get out of bed for work or social activities. Heading to work isn't a good idea, of course, even with a mild cold, because it exposes others to the virus -- but lots of people do it. (Colds tend to be most contagious in the first several days of illness.) There can be congestion and cough from the postnasal drip of a head cold, but it's not nearly as severe as with flu. Influenza can trigger long bouts of coughing and even trouble breathing. So, when patients tell Ejnes that their symptoms developed suddenly, their fever is high and their body aches severe, he assumes flu, he says. That depends, Ejnes says. If you're a healthy adult without any chronic health problems, you may instead do fine with merely phoning your doctor, who can quickly prescribe any of several antiviral medications. That medicine is most effective when given within two days of symptoms. "It's not a miracle drug by any stretch," cautions Ejnes, but it can offer some relief by reducing the severity of symptoms and the duration of the illness by a day or so. Ejnes says he prefers a phone chat to a visit in such cases partly to limit the number of people in his waiting room who have the flu. "I've had the most ironic scenarios, where somebody's coming into the office to get a flu shot and while they're waiting to be called in they're sitting next to someone who's coming in with symptoms that might be the flu." So call first. 'Red flags' that escalate risk However, doctors do want people who are at high risk of developing complications to be seen by the health team when flu is suspected, says infectious disease physician Dr. Matthew Zahn. He's the medical director of the Division of Epidemiology and Assessment for the Orange County Health Care Agency, in Southern California, and spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America. This at-risk group includes children under age 5, whose immune systems are still developing; adults 65 and older, whose immune systems are waning; pregnant women; and individuals who have certain underlying medical conditions. These pre-existing conditions include asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, kidney disorders and liver disorders all are known to diminish the strength of the immune system and the ability to fight off influenza. Antiviral medicine can be helpful for this group, he says, even if it is given more than two days after flu symptoms appear. And whether you get treatment or not, there are some important "red flags" to be aware of with the flu, says Zahn. Watch for "any sort of breathing problems," he says. Coughing occasionally is one thing, but if you're having trouble catching your breath, go see your doctor "really quickly." Breathing problems can be symptomatic of pneumonia, a common and serious complication of the flu, in which the air sacs of one or both lungs become clogged. A sudden and significant change in mental health status with the respiratory symptoms is also a red flag, Zahn says. If you or a loved one have trouble focusing or are not as alert as normal, make your way to a doctor right away. Flu shots aren't just for the kids and grandpa While antiviral medication can reduce symptoms, infectious disease specialists agree that the best way to prevent the flu is to get the flu vaccine. "Each year we have tens of thousands of people die of flu," Zahn says, and the vaccine can help prevent that. While flu seasons are unpredictable and strains of the virus mutate from year to year, vaccines can still be anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent effective in preventing severe complications and hospitalization. Vaccination rates against flu are highest among Americans 65 and older and among children 4 and younger, he says, but most others could benefit from a flu shot, too. And that's not happening among American adults aged 18 to 64, typically less than half get immunized. Of course, it's best to get your flu vaccine at the beginning of flu season in the fall but it's not too late. The influenza season runs throughout winter. As for treating a cold, well, you're pretty much out of luck. "The reality is nothing is available to shorten the duration of a head cold," says internist Ejnes. Over-the-counter medication can ease symptoms, he says. Decongestants can help reduce cough, nasal sprays can help reduce stuffiness, and lozenges can help relieve a sore throat. "Some folks have more luck with these OTC remedies than others," Ejnes says. Then there is the ever-popular chicken soup, which can help you feel better especially if there's lots of steam, which can help clear up nasal congestion. But, bottom line, Ejnes says patients just have to do whatever they can to ease symptoms until the cold runs its course usually in seven to 10 days. "There's nothing we can do to speed that process up." | http://www.wncw.org/post/it-nasty-cold-or-flu |
Where do old hens go when they die? | One of my strategies for putting the decadence of the holidays (and the corresponding weight gain) behind me is to have soup for at least one meal a day. Good soups start with good stock. The best stocks come from old ladies. Im talking about stewing hens. A stewing hen is a retired egg layer. If you partake in the local egg supply, using stewing hens in your cooking honors the life cycle of local farms. Local eggs are so lovely because the chickens who produce them spend most of their days eating grass and bugs. But after a couple of years even in the happiest of living conditions, an aging hen isnt able to lay as many eggs. To keep up with the demand for eggs and make space for new, more productive layers, farms cull these older hens. Butchering and selling these hens provides a revenue source for farms, while eaters get high-quality pastured meat and the raw material to make great stock. Most chickens raised as roasting birds are butchered at about 12 weeks of age. Theyve not had a chance to work their muscles for long, and so, the meat is very tender. Conversely, the meat from stewing hens is quite lean and contains a lot of connective tissue, which must be broken down through low, slow cooking. There isnt a specific season during which local farmers sell stewing hens, said Jake Galle, who raises certified organic eggs and poultry (as well as grass-fed beef, lamb and goat) on Apple Creek Farm in Bowdoinham. So to find one, youve got to ask the farmer from whom you buy your eggs. Galle bought new laying hens last spring, which led to him culling his flock of non-productive hens. He still has plenty of frozen three-pound stewing hens available for $10 each. Other local farms that advertise on their websites that they have stewing hens include Misty Brook Farm in Albion and Willow Pond Farm in Sabattus. But its worth asking any local egg supplier if they also sell stewing hens. It is more likely that farmers who sell other meats alongside their eggs and therefore have an established relationship with a local processor will have stewing hens available. For example, Maine-ly Poultry doesnt bring such hens to the Brunswick Winter Farmer Market at Fort Andross in Brunswick, where I shop, as a matter of course, but you can call the farm and order a few to be brought to the market as a special order. I like to buy two at a time. I remove the legs and thighs and save them to be braised according to Julia Childs Coq au Vin recipe. I throw the remainder of the birds into a pot with standard chicken stock ingredients (onion, shallot and carrot peels, celery ends and fennel stalks, parsley and thyme stems, black peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and lots of cold water) and slowly simmer them for 6 to 8 hours until the broth is well-flavored and the breast meat falls off the bone. I strain the stock and pick the meat from the bones for use in future soups, chicken salads and enchiladas. One of these hens will yield about 6 ounces of cooked breast meat. I then skim (and save for future sauting and baking adventures) the yellow solidified fat from the cooled stock before freezing the latter in ice cube trays, 1-cup, 2-cup and quart-sized reusable containers. When Im done with this process, Im pretty sure Ive duly honored the lives of these particular old ladies. Christine Burns Rudalevige is a food writer, recipe developer and tester and cooking teacher in Brunswick, and the author of Green Plate Special, a cookbook from Islandport based on these columns. She can be contacted at: [email protected] Share < Previous Next > filed under: | https://www.pressherald.com/2019/01/06/where-do-old-hens-go-when-they-die/ |
Can 2019 normalise personal lives of women politicians? | Politics will dominate this years discourse and, hopefully with that, the role of women in this arena. That women voters have become a force to reckon with is a sign that things will change for the better. Of course, there will be usual lament that there are not enough women in politics and what can be done to bring more into the fold. But, we should also look at why women perhaps dont want to come into politics. Unlike many other professions, it requires extreme sacrifices for women to make it to the top, or so it would appear. A British woman politician like Margaret Thatcher or for that matter German chancellor Angela Merkel were considered iron ladies but they had and were seen to have perfectly normal family lives. Their power was not diminished by the fact that they had spouses who would appear in public with them and had views of their own. It is almost as though a woman politician is not permitted to have a normal family life or indeed interests other than her profession. We did know a bit about Indira Gandhi, but that information came in dribs and drabs over a long career. We saw glimpses of her family but little else to suggest a gentler side of her while she was alive. Similarly, our women politicians dont seem to want to or are not encouraged to speak of their families or other interests while in office. Occasionally, we hear that one or the other has a vast saree collection or some such thing but nothing of any consequence. If they do speak of their families, or show some concern for them, howsoever misplaced, they are treated with a certain amount of condescension. Which explains why years ago, when Rabri Devi was installed in office after Lalu had to give up office, an entire article in a leading weekly was devoted to how quickly she could chop a cabbage. While she did not come into office on her own merit, surely the chief minister of a state like Bihar deserved a little more consideration than to be dismissed as someone who had no talent outside the kitchen. At least the reporter concerned could have asked her a few tough questions. The late J Jayalalithaa displayed a gentle side of herself in her affection for her foster son. But as soon as he was thought to be flawed, she was expected to and she did, give up all ties with him. A male politician in a similar situation would not have been expected to renounce all family ties for a tainted relative. It is as though women politicians become less effective and powerful if they deign to be human. This is possibly one reason why women dont want to come into such positions of power. The price is far too high even if you do get there. If a woman politician shows any affection for her child, that is thought of as a sign of weakness, a vulnerability which might lead her to take faulty decisions. They have to dress in as conservative a manner as possible. Jayalalithaa in her voluminous cape, Mamata Banerjee in her careless couture, Mayawati in her uniform salwar kameez, Sonia Gandhi in her trademark handloom sarees. There was shock when Priya Dutt turned up in Parliament in trousers, and this in a country where the majority of the population is below 35. Even the younger politicians like Smriti Irani are rarely seen with their families or talk about them. If this was changed, and I hope it will, politics will become a little more like other professions where you can be terrific at your work but also enjoy other pursuits and your family life. The very thought of having to be bereft of all family life and other interests is likely to put off many women. I hope 2019 will normalise politics and committing yourself to public life does not mean that you give up on your personal life altogether if you are a woman. Maybe the women politicians we have and who are easily recognisable should show the public that it is possible to be an effective representative of the people and still be as normal as you and I. [email protected] First Published: Jan 06, 2019 16:41 IST | https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/can-2019-normalise-personal-lives-of-women-politicians/story-o3xaAdtG80WobbZOQXwtjN.html |
Who will be Graham Coughlan's assistant at Bristol Rovers? | Get Weekday Bristol Rovers 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 The announcement that Graham Coughlan has been appointed Bristol Rovers boss on a permanent basis has been greeted warmly. Yet one thing that is not yet clear is who Coughlan's assistant manager at the Gas will be. As caretaker boss, Coughlan was working with a fairly basic set up at Rovers, with assistant manager Marcus Stewart also departing along with Darrell Clarke last month. Instead, under-21s boss Chris Hargreaves stepped up to help out with first-team duties - and it appears he will continue in this role. On confirming Coughlan as manager, Gas CEO Martyn Starnes said he had spoken with the new manager, Hargreaves and head of recruitment Tommy Widdrington about January plans. That suggests Hargreaves will still be involved in Coughlan's first-team set-up. Other than that, goalkeeper coach Stuart Naylor was the other man in the Gas' coaching set up and, with no announcement over his future, it seems he will also continue in this role. One thing is for sure, though - we are likely to see Coughlan make some additions to his coaching staff in order to counter both the loss of Stewart and also his promotion from coach to manager. | https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/who-graham-coughlans-assistant-bristol-2394785 |
Is AT&T Inc. a Buy? | AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) is unloved on Wall Street, with the stock down by roughly a third since early 2016. That, however, has pushed the yield up over 7%, more than three times what you'd get from owning an S&P 500 Index fund. Changing with the times The AT&T of today isn't the same as the one that existed 100 years ago. The government broke that company up in the 1980s, forcing it to spin off the so-called Baby Bells. Although a bit of a simplification, the Baby Bells owned the local phone side of the business while AT&T was left with the long distance side. That wasn't enough to keep AT&T going, as competition and technology quickly eroded margins in the space. AT&T tried to turn things around, but in the end, SBC, one of the Baby Bells, ended up buying the company in 2005 and taking its name. Today's AT&T is not the AT&T of old -- it is SBC under a different name. Red phone receivers hanging by their cords. More Image source: Getty Images. Using the AT&T name, however, was clearly the right move for SBC. And the acquisition aided the telecom in its transition away from copper telephone lines as it worked to become one of the largest cellular-phone companies in the United States. It's only major rival at this point is Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). However, smaller rivals are using aggressive pricing to attract customers and forcing their larger brethren to compete on price. AT&T's cellphone business still is desirable, but growth prospects are muted. The market is largely saturated, there's another round of capital spending on tap as the industry switches to 5G service, and gaining and maintaining market share is a fierce daily battle. This is part of the reason why AT&T purchased DirecTV in 2015 in a nearly $50 billion transaction. The idea was pretty logical: DirecTV owned a system (satellites in this case) with which people connected to visual content -- roughly similar to the way a cellphone connects people to video, the internet, and each other. The problem with the purchase is that customers are increasingly opting to cut video services like DirecTV in favor of streaming content provided by companies like Netflix and Amazon (through its Prime service). That choice on the part of customers is backed by the fact that they can acquire content in ways that were unavailable before (notably on their cellphones). This is an obvious statement, but it underscores the reason why AT&T purchased Time Warner for $110 billion in 2018. That gave AT&T control of media assets like HBO and Warner Brothers. Now, AT&T controls key ways in which customers connect to highly valued content. The goal is to provide that content in a way that keeps customers under the the AT&T umbrella. The only problem here is that streaming providers, notably Netflix and Amazon, are increasingly focused on creating original content, potentially reducing the value of the content AT&T just spent so much to buy. The moves aren't wrong, but... None of this is to suggest that AT&T is making poor choices, per se, only that it owns a collection of businesses that are all facing some sort of headwind. And while the content push is still early, it has a better shot at success than Verizon's attempt to turn internet has-beens Yahoo! and AOL into a successful media operation. Verizon, for reference, just wrote down the value of those assets by $4.6 Billion, effectively conceding defeat on the idea of being a content company. | https://news.yahoo.com/t-inc-buy-120300639.html |
What time is Dancing on Ice on tonight and how long is the ITV series 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 Chilly, dark winter nights mean one thing cosying up on the sofa under a blanket and watching the telly. Add a Sunday night into that mix and its basically the law. For what should be the harshest part of winter, Beasts from the East permitting, Dancing on Ice 2019 should just about see us into the spring - almost. Twelve celebrities, including a soap star, reality TV legend and Loose Women panelist are risking their limbs and pride in the name of our entertainment as they take to the ice along with their figure skating pro partners. Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are returning to host the show, along with judges Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean themselves Olympic figure skating champions - catty Jason Gardiner and Diversitys Ashley Banjo. Heres all the details you need about when to snuggle down and how long you can do it for. (Image: PA) The show launches on Sunday January 6 at 6pm until 8pm on ITV1. Well get to see all the celebrities in their Spandex glory performing for the first time, so it will quickly become apparent who has the natural balancing skills and who is Bambi on ice. Viewers who miss the show can watch on plus 1 or catch up on the ITVPlayer. The last three series have run for ten episodes (nine weeks) and this one follows the same pattern, meaning it will finish on Sunday March 10, when the daffodils will be out! | https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/what-time-dancing-ice-tonight-13811955 |
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