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Will SA be among African countries to change central bankers in 2019? | The possible replacement of the governors of three key African central banks in 2019 could yield an unexpected surprise: policy stability. Time is running out on the first terms of SAs Lesetja Kganyago, Nigerias Godwin Emefiele and Kenyas Patrick Njoroge. While all three are eligible to serve another term at the helms of their central banks, this isnt guaranteed. Still, deepening institutional strength means there should be broad buy-in of the policies these governors have overseen, according to analysts including Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank. Here is a look at what the three governors have achieved, and how likely they are to remain in their positions: SA Reserve Bank | https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2019-01-10-will-sa-be-among-african-countries-to-change-central-bankers-in-2019/ |
Why is the Oscars not having a host this year? | The Oscars will proceed without a host this year (Picture: Getty Images) Hosting the Oscars is one of those sought-after jobs that only a tiny minority of stars have the honour of doing. This year however things are set to look a little different with no one person having the chance to present. Instead, its looking likely that the ceremony will go ahead without one single host for the first time since 1989. Comedian Kevin Hart pulled out of hosting under controversial circumstances (Picture: Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock) Well originally comedian Kevin Hart was chosen to front the biggest night in Hollywood. However the 39-year-old announced his decision to pull out of the show after a string of allegedly homophobic tweets and controversial comedy skits surfaced online last month. I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's.this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past. Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018 After apologising to the Academy and anyone he offended, he confirmed he would no longer host the show in February. I'm sorry that I hurt people.. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again. Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018 In a series of tweets from 2009-2010, Kevin was seen calling people f**s, and branding people gay as a slur. Kevins historic tweets came back to haunt him (Picture: Tilly Pearce) Ahead of his withdrawal, he posted a series of messages on Instagram saying that the world was going crazy and while he didnt apologise, instead told others they need to be more positive. With Kevin gone, producers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have reportedly decided not to replace him and instead give this years show a slightly different spin. Advertisement Advertisement Instead of one host, a bunch of A-list stars will be taking to the stage to introduce various segments with the shows central focus on a game-changing year of music in film. Itll be the first time in 30 years that the show has gone ahead without a presenter. The inaugural host-less telecast went down in history as an embarrassment when 17 leading Hollywood figures including Julie Andrews, Gregory Peck and Billy Wilder wrote an open letter to the Academy calling the show demeaning. The Oscars will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 24 February 2019. 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. MORE: Chances of Kevin Hart hosting Oscars remain slim as he continues to apologise for homophobic tweets MORE: Kevin Hart apologises to the LGBTQ community again for good measure following Oscars debacle | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/10/oscars-not-host-year-8329867/ |
Which Debenhams stores are closing as company faces restructure? | Debenhams store closures planned in the wake of huge financial looses. (Picture: TOLGA AKMEN/ AFP/Getty Images) Massive financial losses for Debenhams have led to 50 stores now at risk of being closed. Doctor gives CPR to juror who collapsed listening to evidence over death in custody Thats an expected loss of around 4,000 jobs. A group of lenders to Debenhams have reportedly started to draft the restructuring that could shape the companys future. With so much at stake, weve put together the latest on the Debenhams store closures and what you can expect. Advisers have been hired to help decide Debenhams future. One of the ways that the company is planning on cutting costs is by implementing store closures. Initially, the plan was to close 10 stores, but now the number is looking more like 50. They wont shut all at once, but over the next three to five years. Jaguar Land Rover to cut workforce by 4,500 This means that roughly 4,000 of the companys employees could lose their jobs by 2024. Advertisement Advertisement As yet however, it is unclear which Debenhams stores will be lost. The only thing we have to go off of is that well be losing stores where financial performance is likely to deteriorate over time. Despite this, Mr Bucher maintains that Debenhams remains a strong and trusted brand with 19 million customers shopping with us over the past year. With a strengthened balance sheet, we will focus investment behind our strategic priorities and ensure that Debenhams has a sustainable and profitable future. Meanwhile some people are wondering if Debenhams will end up going the way of its rival, House of Fraser, which ended up in administration last year. In the end, Sports Direct snapped it up for a tidy 90 million, but only time will tell if Debenhams will face a similar fate. These possible store closures are on the table because, last year, the company announced a huge 491.5 million loss, compared to the 59 million profit they saw the year before that. Chief Executive Sergio Bucher has said that these are exceptionally difficult times in UK retail. Bucher, who joined the company in 2016, began a turnaround plan which involved beefing up Debanhams online presence and putting more emphasis on food and beauty. However it appears not to have had the desired effect, as lenders to Debenhams have hired FTI to advise them on how to proceed with this restructuring. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/10/which-debenhams-stores-are-closing-8329286/ |
Whats BYOC (And Why Should I Care)? | The concept of bring your own carrier, or BYOC, has turned the corner from telecom buzzword to full-blown credentialed solution thats revolutionizing the way businesses structure and scale telephony. BYOC enables enterprises to choose the carrier they want to plug into and power their unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) or contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solutions. With flexible, cloud-native communications platforms, such as those available from Bandwidth , theres no reason for enterprises to tie themselves to legacy telecom carriers that limit their options. The BYOC revolution was kick-started by tech giants, like Microsoft and Cisco, that first saw the value of allowing customers to choose their own carriers. Theyve now taken it to the next level with formal programs, like Microsofts Skype for Business Certified SIP Trunking Services , that enable customers to plug in pre-approved vendors with confidence. As enterprises move their telephony into the cloud with the rest of their IT stack, the need for a flexible, SIP-based infrastructure is starting to bubble up more and more. By making the move to the cloud and replacing old Primary Rate Interface (PRI) and time-division multiplexing (TDM) circuits with SIP, organizations are realizing increased agility, a higher degree of scalability, and greater cost efficiencies. BYOC eliminates no you cant and replaces it with sure! by giving enterprises the power to choose which carrier they plug in. When enterprises arent able to choose the vendors that make sense for their business and individual migration needs, that lack of choice can become a liability to success. When businesses adopt a BYOC solution they can choose the platform and underlying service provider that work best for their telephony stack, business objectives, and cloud migration plans. That power of choice is oh so sweet. | https://www.nojitter.com/apis-embedded-communications/what%E2%80%99s-byoc-and-why-should-i-care |
Will backing anti-BDS bills be a liability for 2020 Democratic hopefuls? | WASHINGTON April 14, 2016. The day Democratic Party officials might have realized something was brewing on the American left. In the middle of a fiery primary debate between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the two were asked about the 2014 Gazan conflict, also known as Operation Protective Edge. Clinton defended Israel, which she said did not invite Hamas relentless rocket attacks. She further excoriated the terror organization, which she said had squandered an opportunity to rebuild Gaza. For this blazing defense of the Jewish state, she received mild applause. Jewish maverick politician Sanders, meanwhile, castigated Israel for what he deemed its excessive use of force during the 51-day offensive. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up We had in the Gaza area some 10,000 civilians who were wounded and some 1,5000 that were killed. If youre asking not just me but countries all over the world, was that was a disproportionate attack, the answer is yes, I believe it was, Sanders said, to uproarious applause. In the long run, he continued, if we are ever going to bring peace to that region, which has seen so much hatred and so much war, we are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity. That line brought down the house. According to long-time member of the Democratic National Committee James Zogby, the founder and president of the Arab American Institute, that moment sent a message to Democrats. I think Sanders discovered at the Brooklyn debate that there is a constituency that wants to hear about this, Zogby recently told The Times of Israel. Today in the Senate, most of the partys leading 2020 prospective candidates seem to want to avoid creating a vulnerability with the pro-Palestinian constituency Zogby described. While two new Democratic members of the new Congress Michigans Rashida Tlaib and Minnesotas Ilhan Omar support the contentious anti-occupation Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, the party at large still appears to be steadfastly against it. Efforts to use government legislation to target the BDS movements adherents, however, are much more controversial. The vast majority of the Democratic senators eyeing a 2020 bid have, as of this writing, either opposed or refused to support the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, legislation that would criminalize boycotting the Jewish state. Likewise, there was a fierce left-wing resistance to the Combatting BDS Act, a second piece of legislation on the issue which would grant federal protection to states that pass anti-BDS laws. Florida Senator Marco Rubio sought to push it through as the first Senate bill introduced under the new Congress, but the Senate voted it down for further consideration Tuesday. Sanders, who claimed the Combatting BDS Act would trample free speech rights, called the proposal absurd. The liberal Middle East advocacy group J Street also put out a blistering statement on the Rubio bill. Not a single Democrat should vote to enable this farce, it said. Democratic 2020 hopefuls keeping their distance The Israel Anti-Boycott Act is widely supported by Republicans: In the Senate alone, 43 of the 50 GOP senators (86 percent) in the last Congress co-sponsored it, versus just 15 of their 44 Democratic counterparts (34%). Yet a close look at the list at the Democrats who co-sponsored that legislation is more noteworthy for which names are missing than those included: Ohios Sherrod Brown, New Yorks Kirsten Gillibrand, Californias Kamala Harris, Minnesotas Amy Klobuchar, Massachusettss Elizabeth Warren and Sanders did not sponsor the legislation. (Gillibrand was an original sponsor but withdrew after facing a backlash from progressive constituents. Brown supports the legislation he helped revise an amended version but his name is conspicuously absent as a co-sponsor.) A number of those senators who are preparing a 2020 presidential bid have been vociferous opponents of the the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. Sanders recently urged his colleagues to not include the legislation in an appropriations bill, while Warren announced her opposition to it in 2017. I do not support the boycott, I think the boycott is wrong, Warren said. But, she added, I think outlawing protected free speech activity violates our basic constitutional rights. Sanders and Gillibrand have echoed the same sentiment, opposing the bill on the grounds that it restricts the speech rights of Americans expressing a political viewpoint. Others, such as Harris and Klobuchar, have stayed quiet on the measure. The only Democratic senators considering a 2020 run who was willing to sponsor the Israel Anti-Boycott Act is New Jerseys Cory Booker, who said that changes made to the bill last spring to address speech concerns were sufficient. In March, lawmakers revised the text to make clear that Americans could not be imprisoned for participating in Israel boycotts, and that criticism of the Jewish state could not be grounds for opening an investigation against any individual. Initial concerns that this bill unintentionally infringed on individuals First Amendment rights have now been addressed by changes agreed upon earlier this year, Booker told Jewish Insider in November 2018. I feel confident that those modifications safeguard Americans constitutional right to free speech. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for its part, said the law would still be unconstitutional despite those changes. The bill suffers from the same fundamental flaw as the original draft by criminalizing participation in constitutionally protected boycotts, ACLU staff attorney Brian Hauss said. In fact, the bills sponsors openly admit that it was designed for this purpose. Other potential candidates who are not in the Senate, including former vice president Joe Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have not yet been forced to take a position. They may only ever have to if they run and are asked by a niche audience, Zogby said. The Israel Anti-Boycott Act is being intensely opposed by J Street and the ACLU, both of which argue that the measure, if implemented, would unconstitutionally wield the power of the state to suppress a political movement. Advocates for the Israel Anti-Boycott Acts, including its author, Senator Ben Cardin, claim that its an anti-discrimination effort meant to prevent Israeli individuals and businesses from being victimized because of their national origin. But with a growing contingency of the left more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, in tandem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus unequivocal alignment with US President Donald Trump, supporting the Israel Anti-Boycott Act could become a minor fault line between Booker and Brown and the other contenders who oppose the bill in the 2020 Democratic primary. A split on the left The legislation has been alarming and deeply unpopular with Democratic activists, liberal pundits and advocacy groups, said Logan Bayroff, J Streets director of communications. But the Israel Anti-Boycott Act started to gain more attention last month, when lawmakers tried to slip it into a last-minute spending bill. It may yet gain more attention if Cardin and others are successful at including it in a spending package to reopen the government. Its one thing to try to quietly pass legislation, smuggling it into a much larger appropriations fight, Bayroff recently told The Times of Israel. Its something else entirely to have to really own and defend that kind of legislation on the national political stage when trying to appeal to Democratic voters. I dont think youre going to want to see many, if any, Democratic candidates standing behind legislation that is so strongly opposed by the ACLU and which has the real possibility of infringing on free-speech rights, Bayroff said. The Israel Anti-Boycott Act does have some supporters on the left. The Jewish Democratic Council of America, an advocacy organization, has urged its passage. The groups executive director, Halie Soifer, told The Times of Israel she doesnt think the bill will inflame Democrats in 2020. I dont think that this will be a determining issue in the 2020 election, Soifer said. I think this will continue to be a component of the platform where the Democratic Party comes out against BDS. I dont see any shifts within the party on this issue. Nevertheless, opposing the Israel Anti-Boycott Act is largely seen, according to multiple Democratic operatives, as an effective way to win over progressives who feel that Palestinian voices have been historically marginalized in American politics. No one is going to go to Iowa and stump on this, but it will become an issue when they are asked about it, said Zogby, who was a Sanders supporter in 2016. I think there will be. The extent to which Israeli-Palestinian issues will be litigated in 2020 is unknown, but one thing that progressive activists feel sure about is that Democrats are not going to want to be bogged down in a primary fight by supporting the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. Its hard to say what will or will not be an issue in the primary, said Bayroff of J Street. But I do think that presidential contenders on the Democratic side are going to try to distance themselves from this legislation. | https://www.timesofisrael.com/will-backing-anti-bds-bills-be-a-liability-for-2020-democratic-hopefuls/ |
Should Nigeria emulate Rwanda and ban bleaching products? | In 2017, a 2002 survey by Zero Hg, Mercury Working Group which placed Nigeria second on a list of bleaching product consumption with a staggering 99 million users, underlining the effects of colorism in Nigeria and the need to be the societal standard for beautiful resurfaced - India is first with 735 million users. Pulse then proceeded to ask why so many Nigerians are bleaching, and in particular, why we choose to blame this worrying rate of consumption on colorism and how Nigeria appreciates the lighter skin tone as an effect of colonialism and internalized racism, instead of blaming the vanity behind it all. But even with the debates around the issue, Nigeria still welcomed American model and socialite, Blac Chyna who came to promote bleaching products. We also knew the health risks of consuming bleaching products, which are sometimes available on prescription by medical professionals. ALSO READ: Blac Chyna gets in trouble on her first visit to Nigeria Due to these health risks, The New York Times reports that countries like Rwanda have followed in the footsteps of Cote DIvoire to ban bleaching products from the shelves due to the numerous health risks they pose to the populace. Thus any shelf still carrying bleaching products in those regions carries contraband goods. Bleaching products usually contain hydroquinone, corticosteroids or mercury as key ingredients and those have a range of harmful side effects when they get used too much. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that of the three substances, youre likely to find that mercury is more dangerous. It can cause kidney damage, skin rashes, scarring, anxiety, depression, psychosis, and peripheral neuropathy, as well as reduce the skins resistance to bacterial and fungal infections. Some of these side effects include; skin irritation and inflammation (redness and swelling) a burning or stinging sensation itchy and flaky skin The health risks include; skin turning dark or too light thinning of the skin visible blood vessels in the skin scarring kidney, liver or nerve damage abnormalities in a newborn baby (if used during pregnancy) Thus, while announcing the new decision, Simeon Kwizera, a spokesman for the Rwanda Standards Board, said in a phone interview on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, said We have been conducting inspections on cosmetics to ensure that they are hydroquinone - and mercury-free. We are seizing some cosmetics, inspecting the shops and markets and advising the sellers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 61 percent of the skincare market in India consists of skin lightening products. The WHO also reports that 77 percent and 59 percent of Nigerian women and South African women respectively use skin bleaching creams on a regular. Mentally, skin bleaching is also wrong because it devalues the dark skin and promotes the intuitive inferiority of black skin to lighter skin. It also fuels the vanity that in turn fuels colorism by making women especially - uncomfortable in their own skins unless they bleach when dark-skinned people also succeed and make waves in several fields. The idea of colorism is a systemic problem and allowing bleaching creams to thrive only promotes its infamy. Mostly, bleaching products should only be used on prescription by medical professionals who have an idea for the need and the necessary rate of use. Lest, people turn harm into normalcy and continue to subject their bodies to the rigors of radical changes that in turn subject these bodies to the possibility of the above mentioned health risks which might include skin cancer by implication. Even when you have to use skin bleaching products on prescription, follow the doctors directions of use or follow these provisions by the National Health Service (NHS) UK; use it sparingly once or twice a day on the darkened area of skin only avoid getting the cream on the surrounding skin or in your eyes, mouth, and nose apply the cream with a cotton bud, or wash your hands thoroughly before and after applying the cream avoid touching the treated area against another person's skin for at least a few hours after applying the cream use sun cream to protect your skin from the aggravating effects of sunlight Rwanda follows the steps of Cote DIvoire that banned all skin whitening creams, following South Africa that in 1983 - banning all but 2 percent hydroquinone creams. In 2016, Ghana also began a ban on certain skin whitening products that include hydroquinone. While Rwanda had banned these substances in 2013, they are enforcing the laws in 2019. The bleaching products industry is worth a billion dollars as reported by The New York Times. Yes, but its not just about banning skin bleaching products, its about publicizing the ban and attaching serious punishment to open or secret sale or promotion of bleaching products. Despite the ban in South Africa, people still sell the products because a lot of them are unaware of the severity of their actions. Even worse, a lot of people simply restock their seized bleaching product and carry on their business as revealed in a January 2018 documentary by Unreported World. The problem we, however, face with the ban of such popular business is making things worse and creating a criminal underground like America did with The prohibition. Coming with the ban should be a thought-out plan to curtail all criminal undergrounds that spring up and reduce their activities to the barest minimum. | https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/should-nigeria-emulate-rwanda-and-ban-bleaching-products/2lbt21l |
Who is The Greatest Dancer receptionist Amelia Wilson? | Simon Cowells new Saturday night talent contest The Greatest Dancer is in full swing on BBC1, with dance captains Cheryl, Oti Mabuse and Matthew Morrison banding together to find the nations favourite dance star. Advertisement Many of Cowells trademarks are evident throughout hugely evocative stories with emotional pulls, an inspirational Coldplay song to signify a tear-jerking moment, Gogglebox-style commentary from the audience. But Cowells new foray into Saturday night entertainment has also borrowed heavily from other contemporary reality shows particularly the Celebs Go Dating-cum-Tattoo Fixers format of a cheeky receptionist. Before our hopefuls face the fateful two-way mirror (and if theyre lucky, the dance captains), they enter the waiting area where they are greeted by the friendly Amelia Wilson, who chats to them about their backgrounds and what theyre going to be doing to impress the judges. Amelia works as part of production company Thames TV, who make the show, being credited as both a development researcher and assistant producer. She also wrote on her now private Talent Manager profile that she has experience casting, story producing and dealing with contributors, as well as some basic shooting skills (filming, not with a gun). But for those of you (and according to Twitter, there are quite a few) hoping to find her on social media, prepare to be disappointed, as Amelia has decided to step out the spotlight for now. Shes a very shy person in real life, an insider told the Mirror. In the same ilk as Paisley Billings from Tattoo Fixers or Tom Read Wilson from Celebs Go Dating, Amelia acts as a bit of a warm-up for the contestants (and in turn, the viewers) asking them what sort of style of dance style theyre into, who would they want as their dance captain, and how theyll react if they get the required 75% of the audience vote and the dance studio mirror opens. Shes sort of like a pre-interview interview, to ease people into the show. When approached for comment by RadioTimes.com, a spokesperson for The Greatest Dancer said that Amelias role in later shows is yet to be finalised. i guess i wasnt the only one trying to find who the receptionist was last night on the greatest dancer kaitlyn 's dianne |153 (@devotedianne) January 6, 2019 I love the receptionist in the Greatest Dancer- you dont need AIisha(I love her too) Mary Broadhead (@broadhead_mary) January 5, 2019 Loving the greatest dancer on bbc1. Love the receptionist mark (@marksteps24) January 5, 2019 The receptionist on the greatest dancer Nick Kenshole (@lil_nicky87) January 6, 2019 But we expect to see more from Amelia in the future, as her natural warmth and on-screen presence has already made her such a hit with audiences. Advertisement The Greatest Dancer continues on Saturdays on BBC1 | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-10/who-is-the-greatest-dancer-receptionist-amelia-wilson/ |
Why do teachers play favorites? | Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus. Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. In addition to our traditional advice, every Thursday we feature an assortment of teachers from around the country answering your education questions. Email [email protected] or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group. This weeks Ask a Teacher panel: Amy Scott, eighth grade, North Carolina Brandon Hersey, second grade, Washington Katie Holbrook, high school, Texas Cassy Sarnell, preschool special education, New York I know the standard line is that teachers dont have favorites. But you must have favorites. My child is lovelysweet, smart, and dutifulbut hes got a tough exterior to crack, and he doesnt let many people in. Hes in third grade now at public school, and since preschool, hes only had one teacher who really got him. That was a great year. This year, hes telling me that his teacher plays favorites, and I can see that hes hurt hes not one of them. (She tends to favor stereotypical teachers pet types.) His grades are good, but I can tell this is really getting him down. Desperately Seeking Reassurance Dear DSR, Of course we have favoriteswere human. Human beings tend to like some people more than other people. Thats why were friends with some people but not other people. My favorite students are the brash but good-hearted students, the square pegs, and those who snicker at my sarcastic remarks and deliver their own. Yes, we absolutely have favorites. Whatever happens, your son is going to learn some important lessons this year about peopleand those can be some of the most valuable lessons there are. That being said, no teacher should play favorites. Teachers should not treat some students as if they are better than others. No favors should be given. No valid criticisms should be withheld. I cant fault her for that. Some people derisively call those teacher-pleasing behaviors, but those kids do make running a class easier. Even though I like the oddballs, I prefer when they follow the rules and procedures. So I cant fault her for that either. Id have a talk with your son. First, tell him that teachers are people. They will have favorites, and some years hell be one of themyay! Other years, he wontboo. But that isnt a reflection of him. Remind him that he doesnt adore every single kid he meets. Then dig in a bitask him why he wants to be a favorite. If not, let him know he can still have a great year without being the teachers pet. There are friends to make and things to learn and fun to have! Or, if it is, he can try to be the teachers pet. Suggest an experiment. Tell him to watch the favorites and emulate them. See what happens. Also, talk to the teacher about your sons tough exterior. Were not mind-readers. She may not know that he seeks validation from her in that way. She may think he wants to be left at arms length. You can let her know about the teacher he really connected with and some strategies that worked for them. She may use them; she may not. Whatever happens, your son is going to learn some important lessons this year about people, DSRand those can be some of the most valuable lessons there are. Ms. Scott My 12-year-old is drowning in homework this year. I know middle school is a step up from elementary school, but Im just not sure how to help her navigate this. Shes bright, responsible, and has always been a good student. Shes also always liked school, but this is really starting to affect her. She has different teachers making different assignments, and theyre doing nothing to coordinate efforts to make things more manageable for students. Drowning Over Here Dear Drowning, Tell her to suck it up! All this homework is preparing her for the drudgery of adult life! Just kidding. I realize homework can stress out students and put a strain on families. You mention that your daughter is responsible. However, some kids abandon their formerly responsible selves as they enter their tween years and get Snapchat. Conversely, some are not distracted by devices but struggle to prioritize and self-monitor while studying, taking too long on tasks that could be done more quickly. If you havent really paid attention to how she is working, observe her and help her reflect on this. The long nights spent on homework could be a symptom of a larger problem. You described her as a good student, but middle school is a different beast from elementary. If you suspect it is, reach out to her teachers to find out how she is doing in class and whether she needs interventions. Of course, its possible that theres just too much work, even for a bright, responsible student who loves school. A generally accepted principle is 10 minutes a night per grade level. For a middle schooler, approximately one hour of homework is reasonable. You said that teachers are not coordinatingperhaps they dont realize the toll their combined assignments are taking on students. Reach out and let them know! Ask them, politely, if they would consider coordinating to alleviate the load. The most effective way to share your concerns and brainstorm solutions is a face-to-face meeting, though I realize this can be hard for busy parents and teachers to schedule. A carefully worded email could open up the conversation. Your tone should convey that you want to help your daughter and believe they do, too. I hate to say this, but you might not find an enthusiastic audience. Sometimes, teachers are heavily invested in their curriculum and balk at outside interference. Other times, theyre just so overworked that being asked to do one more thing feels impossible. (Confession: I feel that way a lot.) If you still wish to take this issue on, bring it up at the next PTA meeting. Its likely other parents share your concern and would organize with you to advance a healthy homework policy at your school. If youd rather not rock the boat, the Department of Education has additional tips for helping your child with homework. Its a tough issue. (Im bracing myself for a backlash of indignant teachers.) Best of luck! Ms. Holbrook My husband and I left America and moved to a non-English-speaking country that is filled with expats. Our 3-year-old was born here. We speak only English at home, and our friend group is made up of English speakers. Our son was in a private English day care last year, and he recently started public pre-K, taught in the native language here. The staff does not speak English beyond a few words here and there, nor do I want them to speak to him in English. I would say 20 percent of his class is native English speakers who come from English-speaking homes. I feel strongly about giving him a mother tongue comfort level with English, but I also feel guilty for throwing him into this total language immersion without doing any of the heavy lifting myself. Dear Native or New, Absolutely! Many of my scholars here in Washington state are English language learners who speak English at school but their native tongue at home. There is a wealth of research that shows students who grow up bilingual perform better on standardized tests and are more competitive candidates for college and the ever-evolving job market. I highly suggest that you speak English to him at home, especially if you want English to be his mother tongue. He will get all the exposure to the second language he needs through his daily interactions with his teachers and classmates. You can, however, support his learning by selectively choosing when to speak the second language at home. For example, a bilingual couple we know has a toddler, and the father only speaks to her in Spanish while the mother speaks to her in English. This provides predictable speech patterns that help kids develop an understanding for two languages simultaneously. You could replicate this by speaking primarily in English at home but switching to the second language when speaking to your son about school or helping him with his homework. Young children are incredibly resilient when it comes to learning multiple languages. I have confidence your son will become fluent in both languages, with the right amount of support and consistency, as he continues to grow. Best of luck! Mr. Hersey I taught elementary and middle school for several years right after college. Shortly after 9/11, I joined the military as an officer. Im still in the military, but I am planning on going back to teaching eventually. My conundrum is that since teaching, I have gotten quite a few tattoos, including a full sleeve. Even while wearing long sleeves, the bottom of the tattoos is visible on my wrist. Fully Decorated Officer Dear Fully Decorated Officer, I dont think youre delusional at all. Youre a military officer who has prior teaching experience, life experience, and a desire and willingness to work with middle-schoolersall highly admirable qualities. That doesnt mean every school will embrace your sleeve. A more conservative school, a Catholic school, a fancy private schoolthese may not be happy about the tattoos. On the other hand, a more liberal school or a charter school will likely have no trouble at all. I dont have any tattoos (needle-phobic chicken that I am), but Im young, queer, and blue-haired. When I applied to a previous job teaching middle school, I dyed my hair navy blue, banking on poor school lighting to hide the fact that it wasnt my natural brown. A week before school started, I asked my principal if it was all right that my hair was an unnatural color, and she said, We want you to be your authentic self. Yes, that is cheesy-New-York-charter-school speak, but it also showed me the school culture she intended to create. As for parents, there will always be parents who find reasons to judge you, and those parents might find something else to dislike about you even if you removed your tattoos. Fortunately for you, youre not teaching those parents. Youre teaching their children. And at the end of the day, those judge-y parents will come around if you can do a good job teaching their children, because thats what really matters. Ms. Sarnell | https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/01/ask-teacher-playing-favorites-teachers-pet.html |
Is Gonzalo Higuain the man to save Sarri-ball at Chelsea? | At the end of 2015-16 Leicester City were crowned champions of England, Brexit remained an unlikely prospect and Gonzalo Higuain was reflecting on a record-breaking Serie A season in which he plundered 36 goals for Maurizio Sarri's Napoli. Much can change in two-and-a-half years. Claudio Ranieri, who masterminded the Foxes' miracle, is now fighting relegation at Fulham after being unceremoniously shown the door at the King Power Stadium. Departure from the European Union now rapidly approaches with the government in a state of panic. And Higuain has as many goals as red cards (one) in his last 10 matches in the midst of a loan spell at AC Milan, having been jettisoned by Juventus, who paid Napoli 75m for his services. And yet, if reports in Spain are to be believed, Sarri now in charge of Chelsea - thinks the 31-year-old is the man to answer the Blues' goalscoring blues. Gonzalo Higuain is currently on loan at AC Milan but Chelsea are hoping to prise him away Blues boss Maurizio Sarri hopes his old charge at Napoli (right) can solve his striker headache Whether he can get him is another matter. The terms of Higuain's loan move may prove problematic and Brazil legend Leonardo, Milan's sporting director, has urged him to focus on delivering for the Rossoneri. 'He had a tough moment, he has to put it behind him and get to work,' Leonardo implored. 'There's no point following rumours and gossip. He is here right now. Seeing as he is here, he needs to get down and actually do something for this team.' There have also been indications that Chelsea's top brass are not convinced that bringing someone of Higuain's age to the Bridge is a worthwhile investment. Sarri may well beg to differ. After an impressive start, questions are beginning to be raised of his short reign. Fourth place, 10 points behind Liverpool, is not the end of the world, considering where Chelsea were when the Italian finally arrived. Higuain smashes home a goal for AC Milan against SPAL at the San Siro last month Juventus have let him leave on loan, but he demolished Tottenham last season in Europe Higuain once scored 36 goals in a single season for Napoli before Juve paid 75m for him GONZALO HIGUAIN Age: 31 Position: Striker Clubs: River Plate (2005-06), Real Madrid (2007-13), Napoli (2013-16), Juventus (2016-present), AC Milan (2018-present, loan) International: Argentina 75 caps, 31 goals Honours: 3x La Liga, 1x Copa del Rey, 2x Serie A, 3x Coppa Italia Goal record: River Plate 31 games, 13 goals Real Madrid 264 games, 122 goals Napoli 147 games, 92 goals Juventus 105 games, 55 goals AC Milan 20 games, 8 goals He has been backed in the transfer market but the strikers remain the ones he inherited. Alvaro Morata looks like a player waiting to be put out of his misery. Olivier Giroud will not score you the goals to win a Premier League. Manchester City have scored 18 more goals than Chelsea, Liverpool 11. There is an itch which needs to be scratched. Sarri will feel he can revive Higuain, and can get the best out of a player who scored 71 league goals in 94 matches for Napoli. It would be a tough ask. While his clinical finishing will probably never leave him, Higuain's ability to tirelessly lead the line may be tougher to keep hold of as the years advance. When Juventus paid an Italian-record fee eyebrows were raised. There are things that will never change. Higuain's former Napoli team-mate Dries Mertens once said that the Argentine wakes up every morning with goals in his eyes. This season he has eight in 20 matches, which may be causing sleepless nights. While it would be hard to criticise his departure from Juventus (Cristiano Ronaldo would probably prove difficult to dislodge), Higuain has failed to have the impact Milan wanted, with his current employers fifth in Serie A and out of the Europa League. A move to west London would be a risk for Chelsea, but with the season apparently at tipping point, it is one Sarri would find worth taking. Good strikers in January are as rare as rocking horse droppings. Higuain may well be the best toy left in the shop. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6577449/Is-Gonzalo-Higuain-man-save-Sarri-ball-Chelsea.html |
Is the 'Beast from the East' making a return to the UK in January? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures are on the way, as weather forecasters predict that last year's 'Beast from the East' could make a return. In February 2018, regions up and down the country were affected by strong blasts of snow, leading to school closures and transport delays. Forecasters have said that the same weather pattern - which sparked last year's severe weather conditions - are likely to make a return at the end of this month. Speaking to the Daily Express, Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden said: January still looks like delivering some significant bouts of cold weather with widespread snowfall possible before the end of the month. (Image: Getty Images) Currently there are signs of a significant snow event just after the middle of January with another possible towards the end of the month. There are likely to be further lengthy, cold and wintry spells early in the year with temperatures for the month as a whole expected to come in below average. Unusually cold weather could hold out through February, which threatens further harsh winter conditions including snowfall, and into the meteorological spring. The country could see a sudden drop in temperatures, as well as snow, which is likely to last well into February. (Image: Manchester Evening News) The Beast from the East is a polar vortex. This is a mass of very cold air that sits above the Earth's north and south poles. The dense, cold air is controlled by a large pocket of low pressure, which rotates in an anti-clockwise direction at the north pole and clockwise at the south pole. When a polar vortex is weak, it can split into two or more freezing 'vortices', forcing wintry air from Siberia towards the UK. This sudden change in temperature is known as a Sudden Stratospheric Warming, according to the Met Office. The Met Office has issued advice on how you can keep warm during the cold weather: | https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/beast-east-making-return-uk-15657922 |
Is Baking a Raspberry Pi the Recipe for Magic Smoke? | No, Hackaday hasnt become a baking blog. Were just here to give you a bit of advice: if [MickMake] ever offers you one of his fresh-baked Pis, proceed with caution. While we have no doubt that there will be some interesting smells wafting out of his kitchen, these arent the tasty pies youre looking for. Theres no delicious home-baked treat when that timer dings, just a handful of Raspberry Pis that have had an exceptionally hard day. To properly explain the odd sight of some Raspberry Pis laid out on a cookie sheet, we need to take a step back. [MickMake] originally set out to see how everyones favorite Linux SBC would handle the harsh Australian heat, and thought that setting them up on his cars dashboard would be a suitable torture test. But as luck would have it, a storm rolled in while he was making the video which brought temperatures down to a cool 30 C (86 F); basically jacket weather at the bottom of the world. So naturally, he decided to put them in his oven instead. Placed on an insulating sheet and with a thermocouple between them to get an accurate idea of the temperature they were experiencing, an original Pi, a Pi 2, and a pair of Pi 3s were sent on the ride of their lives. In addition to monitoring them over the network, he also added a heartbeat LED to each Pi so hed be able to tell at a glance if any of them had given up the ghost. As if these poor little Pis didnt have it bad enough already, [MickMake] decided to take things a step farther and run sysbench on them while they took their trip through Hades. The Pis are actually rated for temperatures up to 85C, and all the participants of the experiment hit that point without any issues. At 87.3 C (~190 F) the original Pi dropped off the network, but its LED was seen bravely blinking on. At 105.7 C (~222 F) it finally breathed its last, followed by the pair of Pi 3s tapping out at 112 C (233 F). The Pi 2 fought on, but it fell right at the 119 C (246 F) mark. Somewhat surprisingly, [MickMake] successfully powered all four back up and was unable to find any damage to the Pis, either physically or operationally. Even the SD cards survived, and the Pis popped right back onto the network and were ready for another round of Silicon Chef. Not bad considering they were subjected to temperatures three times higher than the official limit. Testing electronics in your home oven might seem a bit suspect, and admittedly wed probably turn down a slice of the next few frozen pizzas [MickMake] runs through it, but its not really so far removed from how proper reliability testing is performed. [Thanks to BaldPower for the tip.] | https://hackaday.com/2019/01/10/is-baking-a-raspberry-pi-the-recipe-for-magic-smoke/ |
Does 'Merry Christmas' Matter? | The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com. We might not be there yet, but if current trends continue, we're not far off. If so, it's a shame, a further coarsening of the culture -- and worse. It is yet another an example of the removal of religion, specifically Christianity, from a country that has long been the most religious major industrialized democracy in the world. Proponents of "happy holidays" argue that this is no big deal. They say the advocates of saying "merry Christmas" are making a mountain out of a molehill. There is no "war on Christmas," they say. But the "happy holidays" advocates want it both ways. They dismiss promoters of "merry Christmas" as hysterical while simultaneously replacing "merry Christmas" with "happy holidays"; "Christmas vacation" with "winter vacation"; and "Christmas party" with "holiday party." The answer should be obvious. It's very important. That's why so much effort is devoted to substituting other words for "Christmas." And these efforts have been extraordinarily successful. In place of the universal "merry Christmas" of my youth, in recent decades I have been wished "happy holidays" by virtually every waiter and waitress in virtually every restaurant I have dined; by virtually everyone who welcomes me at any business; by flight attendants and pilots; and by just about everyone else. When I respond, "Merry Christmas!" I often sense I have created tension. I suspect many of those to whom I wish "Merry Christmas!" are probably relieved to hear someone utter what has become the "C" word, but all the sensitivity training they've had to undergo creates cognitive dissonance. The opponents of "merry Christmas" and other uses of the word "Christmas" know exactly what they're doing. They're disingenuous when they dismiss defenders of "merry Christmas" as "fabricating" some "war on Christmas." Of course there's a war on Christmas -- or, more precisely, a war on the religious nature of America. The left in America, like the left in Europe, wants to create a thoroughly secular society, not only a secular government -- which is a desirable goal and which, in any event, has been the case in America -- but a secular society. Most people do not realize that the left believes in secularism as fervently as religious Christians and Jews believe in the Bible. That's why "merry Christmas" bothers secular activists. It's a blatant reminder of how religious America is -- and always has been. That's why I predict activists on the left will sooner or later seek to remove Christmas as a national holiday. Now, the left doesn't announce that its agenda is to thoroughly secularize American and European societies. Instead, it camouflages what it is doing by offering the "inclusiveness" argument: "Merry Christmas" or "Christmas party" or "Christmas vacation" is not "inclusive." This inclusiveness argument plays on Americans' highly developed sense of decency. I'm a non-Christian. I'm a Jew. Christmas is not a religious holy day for me. But I'm an American, and Christmas is an American national holiday. Therefore, as an American, it is my holiday -- though not my holy day -- as much as it is for my fellow Americans who are Christian. It was a Jewish-American, Irving Berlin, who wrote "White Christmas," one of America's most popular Christmas songs. In fact, according to a Jewish musician writing in The New York Times, "almost all the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jews." Apparently, all these American Jews felt quite included in Christmas! It borders on the misanthropic, not to mention the mean-spirited, to want to deny nearly all of your fellow citizens the joy of having Christmas parties or being wished a merry Christmas. By not wishing me a merry Christmas, you are not being inclusive. You are excluding me from one of my nation's national holidays. But even if Christmas were not a national holiday, I would want pilots to wish their passengers a merry Christmas, companies to have Christmas parties and schools to continue to have Christmas vacations. The vast majority of Americans who celebrate Christmas -- and who treat non-Christians so well -- deserve better. Please say "merry Christmas" and "Christmas party" and "Christmas vacation." If you refuse to, you're not "inclusive." You're hurtful to most of your fellow Americans. Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in April 2018, is "The Rational Bible," a commentary on the book of Exodus. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com. | https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2018/12/11/does-merry-christmas-matter-n2537293 |
Will travel insurance cover cancelled flights after a no-deal Brexit? | We are planning to go on a big family trip to the US over the Easter holidays and ideally want to fly the weekend that Britain leaves the European Union. We hoped to fly out from London on either Saturday 30 March or Sunday 31 March, but are worried about disruption if there is a no-deal Brexit. George Nixon, This is Money, replies: The UK government says that flights to and from the UK from the US are currently provided for by an air service agreement by virtue of the UK's membership of the EU. This situation is the same for 16 other countries, including Canada, Israel, Norway and Switzerland. This means that these agreements would lapse after March 2019 in the case of a no-deal Brexit. However, the Government says 'replacement arrangements will be in place before exit day', while it already announced an agreement last November that would allow planes to continue to fly to and from the US. Flights are likely to operate as normal - but some travellers may feel anxious about booking trips in case there is any kind of disruption in the case of no-deal. The Association of British Travel Agents says: 'Going on holiday without travel insurance is a high risk and reminding holidaymakers of this is one of our most important campaigns.' Despite this, research this week from GoCompare found that 58 per cent of holidaymakers only arranged protection a week before they went away, and 31 per cent did so on the actual day of travel. Just 16 per cent arranged travel cover more than a month before they went on holiday. Nel Mooy, head of travel at insurance firm Axa, told This is Money that if there is major travel disruption as Britain leaves the EU, 'holidaymakers are unlikely to find themselves out of pocket'. 'Let's take the example that commonly occurs when there is travel disruption', she says, 'flights are grounded and holidaymakers are stuck at the airport. 'As in most cases, travel insurance is the fund of last resort if your airline cannot get you to your destination or there are major delays.' According to the latest figures from the Association of British Insurers, travel disruption claims amounted to 145million in 2017, up from 130million the year before. This was the second largest sum after claims for medical treatment. In this specific case, Nel says: 'If you booked your trip to the US with a packaged holiday provider (or bought your flight and hotel together through a travel comparison site), they will help you rearrange your journey or issue a refund. 'If you have booked your flights and hotel completely separately, it is best to speak to your airline and hotel first to see if they can help. 'If not, your insurance provider should be able to compensate you but it depends on the terms and conditions of your policy.' The Association of British Travel Agents recommends you always check the small print of any policy, but lists a number of common travel insurance exceptions: - Incidents that occur after drinking too much or taking drugs - Theft of unattended possessions - Sports, extreme sports and some leisure activities such as skiing, white water rafting or bungee jumping - Medical treatment resulting from existing medical conditions that you have not declared - Medical costs incurred if you stay abroad after your doctor advises you are fit to return to the UK - Strikes and industrial action, if the date of the strike/industrial action was known when you booked your trip - Rescheduled flights, where the airline has cancelled and then rescheduled your flight - Travel to destinations where the FCO advises against all but essential travel She adds that you would usually need travel disruption cover for this type of claim. This can be an add-on, but is sometimes included as standard within your policy, so check carefully before you buy. While your airline should refund you for any incidentals such as food, drink and accommodation during your delay, you should phone your travel insurer for help if they do not. 'Remember, it is always best that you buy your cover at the same time you book your holiday so you are fully protected if you need to cancel and, as always, don't forget to declare your medical conditions,' she says. 'It is also worth noting that insurance is designed to cover the unforeseen, so if you buy a policy after any disruption has started or becomes a certainty, you won't be covered.' The ABI adds: 'Given the unique circumstances of Brexit you should check with your insurer directly if you are unclear'. The ABTA has a section on its website dedicated to Brexit advice for travellers. A spokesperson added: 'While there's nothing to suggest a direct flight from the UK to America would be cancelled due to Brexit, we always say that the best way to protect yourself and the money that you spend on your holiday is to book a package. 'A package can be tailor-made and bespoke to your requirements and offers the greatest form of protection. 'If there is some sort of delay or cancellation whatever the reason your rights under the package holiday regulations would kick-in, meaning youll either be offered alternative arrangements or a full refund if your holiday cant go ahead. 'We always advise travellers to also make sure they have an adequate travel insurance policy which covers their specific needs, including any activities planned or known medical conditions. 'It is also worth checking the detail of the policy around travel disruption, including delays or cancellations.' | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/experts/article-6569839/Will-travel-insurance-cover-cancelled-flights-no-deal-Brexit.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490 |
Why is my lymph node swollen up? | Located underneath the skin, lymph nodes are small glands that store white blood cells, which are required to fight away the invading infections. You can find them in several places across your body such as in your armpits, under your jaw, on either side of your neck or groin and above your collarbone. In response to an infection or illness such as common cold, these lymph nodes tend to collect debris, bacteria or dead cells which causes them to swell up and is painful to touch. Lymph nodes help to cleanse the lymph of such organisms and move around in your lymphatic system in form of clear fluid. The swelling generally goes away in a few days but if you dont get it treated it may take up several weeks to return to its original size. While there are several reasons that can cause the lymph nodes to swell up, such as the cold or flu, ear infection, sinus infection, skin infections, an infected tooth, etc. seeing a doctor is important as it can help uncover other serious underlying culprits you cannot afford to ignore. Mononucleosis: Known as mono or kissing disease, mononucleosis is a viral infection caused by the Epstein- Barr virus and is commonly found in teenager and young adults. It manifests in form of the severe throat, feeling of fatigue, weakness, aches, dizziness, enlarged spleen and a swollen gland in the neck. Antibiotics are not successful in treating this condition. Individuals are majorly advised to hydrate themselves with plenty of liquids and bed rest. Other than this, infections such as tonsillitis or a strep infection are treated with corticosteroids and antibiotics. Hodgkins Lymphoma: Hodgkins Lymphoma is cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Its a type of cancer which is curable if prompt actions are taken in the initial stages. If it goes untreated, it limits the bodys capability to fight infections. It develops on your body in form of a painless lymph node, maybe in your neck, armpits or groin. As it spreads it attacks the spleen, liver, bone marrow and other organs gradually. It is reflected in form of loss of appetite, fever, chills, unexplained sweating in the night and itching all over your body along with considerable weight loss. It is treated by giving radiotherapy or chemotherapy or both. In some cases, a transplant of the stem cells is done. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma: Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system. It occurs when your body produces a lot of white blood cells and has been observed to affect individuals with a weak immunity system. Along with symptoms of Hodgkins lymphoma, other symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, abdominal pain, headaches, difficulty in concentrating, personality changes and even seizures in cases where it affects the brain. This condition either gets treated by receiving both chemotherapy and radiotherapy or no treatment at all. Some cases require stem cell transplant and if the blood count is low, blood transfusions or platelet transfusions is also required. Leukaemia: This is a type of cancer of blood-forming tissue and occurs in the bone marrow. Signs include painless swollen lymph nodes found in the armpit or neck accompanied with fever or sweating in the night, frequent infections, fatigue, easy bruising, abdomen inflammation, sudden weight loss and joint and bone pain. Depending on the age of the patient, the type of leukaemia (acute or chronic) and whether the cancer is stemming from the cerebrospinal fluid, the treatment can include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, stem cells transplantation and drugs. In some cases, surgery of the spleen is also required. HIV Infection: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection slowly damages your immunity system which makes it very difficult for your body to fight away invading infection. The virus gets transmitted after coming in contact with infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids, blood transfusion or needle sharing and from a pregnant mother to her foetus. After contracting the infection, flu-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, different types of rashes, mouth sores, and fatigue can be experienced. The disease mostly is asymptomatic until it progresses to AIDS. AIDS is marked by weight loss, fever, sweating in the night, fatigue, and recurrent infections. HIV is a chronic medical condition which can only be treated but cannot get cured. A combination of various anti-viral drugs is prescribed to treat the condition. Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Pulmonary Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a contagious, airborne infection that majorly attacks your lungs and can spread to other organs damaging your body tissues. The lymph nodes in the neck tend to swell up and become tender in pulmonary tuberculosis. It manifests in later stages in form of a cough (usually with mucus and blood), fatigue, fever, sweating profusely in the night, and weight loss. Combination of many drugs is prescribed to treat the condition. The medicines continue until the lab test detect which ones are effective. To keep the disease from spreading the patients are either advised to stay at home or get admitted to the hospital for about 2-4 weeks. Lymph Node Tuberculosis: Also known as tuberculosis lymphadenitis, lymph node tuberculosis is one of the most common extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis. It affects the lymph nodes in the neck but gets reflected in form of swelling all over the body. The lymph nodes start secreting fluid through the skin after a period. This condition leads to a gradual increase in painless swelling of one or more lymph nodes across a several week and months. Other symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue and sweating, especially in individuals suffering from an extensive disease or a co-existing disease. Patients bacterial infection decides the treatment to be provided. In some cases, infections may also require surgical excision. Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) responds well to surgery whereas antibiotics are used to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis. | https://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/why-is-my-lymph-node-swollen-up/ |
What Are Meghan Markle's Four Royal Patronages? | Meghan Markle has officially announced her royal patronages, and she has not one, but fourall of which are "issues with which she has long been associated including the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare." The patronages include the Association of Commonwealth Universities, becauseas Kensington Palace puts it, "Her Royal Highness is a strong advocate of accessible education for all." She'll also become a patron of animal organization Mayhew (because she "has long understood the connection between animals and community welfare") and Smart Works, which helps unemployed women regain skills. Meghan and Harry at the theater. Getty Images News previously broke about The Duchess' patronage at The National Theater, which Kensington Palace says she's taking on due to being a "believer in using the arts to bring people from different backgrounds and communities together." You can expect Meghan to attend events on behalf of these patronages from here on outexcept, of course, when she's on maternity leave this Spring and Summer. | https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a25841271/meghan-markle-announces-four-royal-patronages/ |
Was wird aus Online-Vertrgen? | Trotz des Todesfalles laufen Online-Vertrge zunchst weiter. Hat der Verstorbene beispielsweise Abos fr kostenpflichtige Dienste (Cloud-Speicher, E-Mail, Streaming-Dienste, Online-Zeitungsausgaben etc.) abgeschlossen, werden die Anbieter zunchst weiterhin Geld abbuchen und Rechnungen schicken, die meist als E-Mail zugestellt werden. Trotz des Todesfalles laufen Online-Vertrge zunchst weiter. Hat der Verstorbene beispielsweise Abos fr kostenpflichtige Dienste (Cloud-Speicher, E-Mail, Streaming-Dienste, Online-Zeitungsausgaben etc.) abgeschlossen, werden die Anbieter zunchst weiterhin Geld abbuchen und Rechnungen schicken, die meist als E-Mail zugestellt werden. Die Erben als Rechtsnachfolger mssen auch fr Vertragsaktivitten im Internet einstehen. Geschftliche Transaktionen im Web Von besonderer Bedeutung sind geschftliche Transaktionen im Web. Hat der Verstorbene bei eBay oder anderen Plattformen Gegenstnde versteigert, mssen die Erben diese Artikel auch an die Kufer bersenden. Umgekehrt mssen auch bestellte Waren angenommen und bezahlt werden. Denn generell gilt, dass die Erben die Vertragspflichten zunchst einmal erfllen mssen. Die Erben haben andererseits aber auch Anspruch auf eventuell vorhandene Guthaben, etwa bei Online-Bezahldiensten wie Paypal oder ClickandBuy und natrlich auch auf Konten bei Online-Banken. Mitunter wissen die Angehrigen bzw. Erben gar nicht, ber welche Konten der Verstorbene verfgte und haben daher auch keine Mglichkeiten, mit den Unternehmen in Kontakt zu treten. | https://www.haufe.de/recht/familien-erbrecht/digitaler-nachlass/was-wird-aus-online-vertraegen_220_311168.html |
Is History an Argument for the One Church Plan? | By By Thomas Lambrecht A recent newsletter published by Mainstream UMC argues that, just as the church changed its understanding and teaching about slavery, the role of women in the church, and divorced clergy, the church can change its understanding and teaching about marriage and homosexuality. The church got it wrong in the past, and now the church can get it right. Leaving aside the validity of comparing the past historical issues of slavery, the role of women, and divorce with the contemporary controversies surrounding marriage and homosexuality, I do not think this argument supports the One Church Plan. To me, this is an argument for the Simple Plan, which removes all prohibitions against same-sex marriage and the ordination of practicing homosexuals. If the churchs interpretation of Scripture is wrong on marriage and sexuality, then we ought to mandate a change in our interpretation. The One Church Plan, however, envisions staying united in one church but having two different understandings and two different teachings about marriage and homosexuality that will supposedly be equally valid and affirmed by the church. That is not what the church did with regard to slavery, the role of women, or with divorce. Essentially, the Methodist Episcopal Church in the early 1800s operated under a One Church Plan approach to the issue of slavery. Southern annual conferences condoned (and some even defended) slavery, while many northern annual conferences became increasingly opposed to slavery. The church stayed united in this way until the crisis of 1844, when the northern delegates outnumbered the southern delegates and voted to suspend a slave-holding bishop. That action precipitated a month-long General Conference that culminated in the North-South split in the Methodist Episcopal Church that foreshadowed the Civil War 17 years later. In the example of slavery, the moral imperative to end the practice overwhelmed the desire to preserve church unity, and the church split. A One Church Plan approach proved untenable in the long term (it lasted less than 50 years). When the Methodist Church removed the prohibition against ordaining women in 1956, it did not make provision for some annual conferences to ordain women while allowing other annual conferences not to ordain women. Instead, it removed the prohibition and expected that every annual conference would ordain women. There were central conferences outside the United States that would have preferred not to ordain women because of their cultural situation. The Judicial Council ruled that they did not have that option (see Decision 155). When the church changed its understanding and teaching regarding womens ordination, it mandated that all annual conferences follow the new interpretation. It did not adopt a One Church Plan approach to womens ordination. It is more difficult to pinpoint the timeline of how divorced clergy became accepted in The United Methodist Church. The bishop who ordained me, Bishop Marjorie Matthews, was the first divorced person elected bishop (she was also the first woman elected bishop). Nevertheless, divorce per se is not a barrier to ordained ministry today, whereas a generation ago, there was such a thing as a divorce review committee whose purpose was to determine if a clergy persons divorce was biblically justified. (See Judicial Council Decision 497). Here again, the idea of having two different standards regarding divorced clergy in the church at the same time has not proven to be tenable. A 2016 attempt by the Liberia Annual Conference to bar divorced clergy from being nominated for election as bishop of Liberia was not approved by the West Africa Central Conference. All these historical examples demonstrate a change in the churchs position on an issue. However, none of them shows the viability of a One Church Plan or local option approach to the issue. Rather, the church came to a united understanding of a new position that was then enforced throughout the church. But that may be what supporters of the One Church Plan intend. Many of them have said that they favor complete affirmation of same-sex relationships but regard the OCP as an interim step on the way to such full affirmation. History would tend to support the idea that the move toward a One Church Plan would ultimately result in a change of teaching and practice for the whole church, without exception. Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News. He is a member of the Commission on a Way Forward. | https://goodnewsmag.org/2019/01/is-history-an-argument-for-the-one-church-plan/ |
Which Way Forward in St. Louis? | By By Thomas Lambrecht The special called General Conference on February 23-26, 2019, is fast approaching. Over the next several weeks, delegates will be focusing on the proposals with singular and prayerful attention, hoping to find a solution to the 40-year conflict that has led to schism in The United Methodist Church. The Commission on a Way Forward has submitted three plans to General Conference. The One Church Plan (OCP) would change the definition of marriage to two adults, allow pastors to perform same-sex weddings, and allow annual conferences to ordain self-avowed practicing homosexuals as clergy. At the same time, the OCP maintains the validity of both traditional and progressive views toward marriage and sexuality, believing that both perspectives can co-exist in one denomination indefinitely. It contains protections for persons of both persuasions, so that under this plan (for the most part) no one would be forced to act counter to ones conscience. The Traditional Plan (TP) maintains the current position of the church that all persons are of sacred worth and loved by God, that sexual relations are to be reserved for marriage between one man and one woman, and that the practice of homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching. The TP continues the prohibition on pastors performing same-sex weddings and annual conferences ordaining self-avowed practicing homosexuals as clergy. It requires annual conferences and bishops to declare their willingness to uphold and enforce the Book of Discipline in all respects, and institutes other accountability measures in order to gain compliance with the Discipline. At the same time, it provides a gracious exit for annual conferences, local churches, bishops, and clergy who cannot abide by the requirements of the church. The Connectional Conference Plan (CCP) replaces our current five geographical jurisdictions in the U.S. with three theological connectional conferences Progressive, Traditional, and Unity. All three branches would continue to share some general church agencies, such as pensions, Publishing House, UMCOR, and missions. Other agencies would serve only those connectional conferences that desire to participate in them. Each connectional conference would have its own rules for clergy conduct and standards for ordination. Conferences outside the U.S. would be their own connectional conference or could join one of the three U.S. conferences. Bishops and clergy would serve only within their chosen connectional conference under that conferences rules. In addition to these three plans, individuals have submitted eight other plans for General Conference consideration. All but two of the plans are a variation of the One Church Plan. Most of them are not as well thought-out as the Commissions work and will probably not gain much traction. Because the Connectional Conference Plan requires constitutional amendments, meaning it needs a two-thirds vote at General Conference and a two-thirds vote of all the annual conference members to ratify it, most delegates are not considering the CCP as their first choice. The plans complexity and four-year implementation schedule are also drawbacks to that plan. So we are left with primarily the Traditional Plan (with a few modifications proposed by the Renewal and Reform Coalition) and the One Church Plan as the primary options under consideration. Scripture. For evangelicals, the Bible has to be the first consideration in determining a faithful way forward for the church. The OCP elevates unity and the teaching of John 17 as the primary scriptural value to pursue. The TP focuses instead on faithfulness to Scriptures teaching on the theological meaning of marriage and holiness in sexual relationships. Because of the deep chasm between the two perspectives over which scriptures take precedence and how they are to be interpreted, there is no agreed-upon foundation for making a biblically faithful decision. Lost in all of the back and forth is the bare fact that there is no credible interpretive framework that explains the biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality in a way that allows the church to approve the practice of homosexuality. Progressive biblical scholars do not agree on any one approach, and many of them have a vested interest in a non-traditional interpretation because they have a loved one who has come out as gay. Evangelicals regard faithfulness to Scripture as the beginning point and often the endpoint of discussion. The TP is the only plan that remains faithful to the scriptural teaching on marriage and sexuality. Most of the other plans adopt a position that contradicts Scripture. Conflict. The motivation for appointing the Commission on a Way Forward was to find a way to resolve the conflict that is disrupting the ministry of the denomination, sapping time and energy that could be more fruitfully spent on leading people to Christ and serving the poor and needy. Unfortunately, neither the TP nor the OCP is likely to bring a quick end to the conflict. Under the TP, bishops and annual conferences would be required to declare whether or not they would uphold and enforce the Book of Discipline, including on matters of marriage and sexuality. If not, they could be disciplined by the church and would be encouraged to withdraw and form a more progressive denomination that would operate according to their beliefs and values. If those not willing to abide by the Discipline act with integrity and withdraw from a denomination that they cannot support, the conflict would largely end. Many progressives, however, have stated that they will not voluntarily leave the denomination and would insist that the church kick them out. While the TP has enhanced accountability measures that should make discipline more certain, progressive insistence on continuing the fight will likely mean that some accountability actions will continue for some time. While the OCP insists there is room in the church for a variety of beliefs and practices around marriage and sexuality, its adoption promises to multiply the conflict, rather than end it. Every annual conference would have to decide whether to ordain self-avowed practicing homosexuals. Those that choose not to would face increasing pressure from both culture and the progressive wing of the church to capitulate. This would entail annual battles at recalcitrant conferences until they finally vote the right way. Local churches, too, would face increased conflict. Whenever a church member or friend would ask for their same-sex wedding to be performed in the church sanctuary, there would have to be a congregational meeting to vote whether or not to allow it. Instead of deciding based on principle alone, the local church would now need to consider the personalities requesting the same-sex wedding, making the decision that much more emotionally laden. Central Conferences. More than 40 percent of United Methodisms members exist in what we call central conferences outside the United States. The vast majority of the central conference members favor a traditional understanding of marriage and human sexuality. Many have told us that they strongly support the Traditional Plan. It would enable them to continue as part of a global denomination guided by a common identity and shared theology and ethics. The One Church Plan would pose great challenges to the central conferences, particularly in Africa and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. In many of those areas, the practice of homosexuality is strongly opposed and in some cases illegal. Being part of a global church where the practice of homosexuality is affirmed would place these central conference churches at a great disadvantage, and in some cases could even be life-threatening, particularly in Muslim areas of Africa. Although the central conferences could continue to operate according to traditional standards, they would be in active partnership with bishops and clergy from the U.S. who may be openly homosexual, which could jeopardize the partnership or the mission of the church in that area. Many central conference leaders have told us that they could not remain part of a global UM Church under a One Church Plan. Unity. Much has been made about the need to maintain the structural unity of the denomination. It must be acknowledged, however, that maintaining such unity in a denomination already riven by schism is an impossible task. The deeply felt convictions of progressives and evangelicals are incompatible with each other, however much we wish it were different. Because the Commission on a Way Forward was never allowed to consider an equitable plan of separation, we are left with two plans that would each bring about a somewhat unfair separation. The OCP would change the churchs position to affirm same-sex relationships and affirm the ordination of self-avowed practicing homosexuals in annual conferences that do not adopt a traditional position. For many evangelicals, that change in the churchs position is an unacceptable violation of our consciences. We have heard from hundreds of individual lay members and dozens of congregations that they would seek to leave The United Methodist Church if the OCP passes. And those are just the ones we have heard about. In a poll this year in North Georgia, fully one-fourth of the annual conference members said that they would leave the church if the OCP is adopted. I estimate that the U.S. part of our church could lose anywhere from ten to twenty-five percent of its membership in this scenario, and it is possible that up to a half-dozen annual conferences might seek to withdraw. On the other hand, the TP is straightforward about the fact that those who cannot live by the rules established by our denomination ought to withdraw and form a new church more in line with their beliefs and desired practices. The same North Georgia poll indicated about five percent of the annual conference members said they would leave the church if the TP were adopted. As many as a dozen annual conferences might seek to withdraw, and they represent about ten percent of the U.S. membership. Not all congregations in those conferences would want to leave, but some congregations in other annual conferences would want to join a more progressive church, meaning that the U.S. church might lose as much as ten percent of its membership. The TP believes that those who want to change the churchs historic teaching ought to be the ones to depart, not those who want to maintain it. At least the TP provides a gracious exit path for annual conferences, congregations, bishops, and clergy. The OCP as it stands provides no such exit path, although one could be added from the five different exit paths proposed by various individuals. This brings up the question of how we should define unity. The OCP stems from the belief that we can have unity around a common relationship with Jesus Christ, and that everything else can be up for negotiation. However, it is really only in this one area of sexuality that the compatibilists want to push for allowing different practices. No compatibilist that I know of is promoting that we should allow pastors to practice only believers baptism, that we should allow annual conferences not to ordain women, or that local churches could choose not to pay apportionments. In all these areas and many more, compatibilists expect everyone to have the same practice. And rightly so! These are the decisions we make as a denomination that fulfill our identity as United Methodists. This is the ethos or way of doing things that is uniquely United Methodist. So it is somewhat hypocritical of compatibilists to insist that only in this one area, where the church is in great danger of being influenced by our surrounding culture, we should allow variations of practice. The TP believes that we should have a much stronger unity around a common belief system and shared practices to which we all subscribe. This does not mean uniformity in every circumstance, but it means that there is conformity on those practices that the denomination determines are central to our identity. One cannot believably make the case that moral standards regarding sexuality and qualifications for ordained ministry are less central than whom we baptize or how we share in ministry through apportionments. The OCP local option approach makes no coherent sense theologically. It would weaken our connectionalism, another essential element of our United Methodist identity. And it would create a climate of congregationalism that would further dilute what it means to be United Methodist. These do not appear to be a recipe for greater unity, but rather for gradual centrifugal disintegration of the church. Where the OCP would lean toward a least common denominator form of unity, the TP would seek a more robust unity around shared doctrine and discipline. Those who could not conscientiously agree to that shared doctrine and discipline would be allowed to graciously exit the church. This kind of unity gives a sense of shared values, shared purpose and mission, and a shared way of doing things that can powerfully focus the passion, time, and resources of the church on making disciples of Jesus Christ. Instead of fighting each other over foundational matters of theology and ethics, we would be able to direct attention outward in evangelism and service. Resources now devoted to intra-church conflict could instead be channeled into ministry. Congregations now uncertain of who we are as United Methodists would gain a new sense of shared identity that could energize them toward health and vitality. No longer would there be confusion about what it means to be United Methodist. Each local church would be preaching the same gospel according to the same standards, with the freedom to do so in the most culturally appropriate way for that congregation. The Traditional Plan holds the greatest potential for unifying the church. It holds the greatest potential for ultimately resolving the conflict within our denomination, setting us free to focus on ministry and mission. The TP would open the door for further reforms that are needed to bring our mostly ineffective general church structure in line with a 21st century reality. Please continue praying for our General Conference delegates and for the work of the Renewal and Reform Coalition, as we seek to birth a new future direction for our church. Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergy person and vice president of Good News. He is a member of the Commission on a Way Forward. | https://goodnewsmag.org/2019/01/which-way-forward-in-st-louis/ |
Can the President Alone Build a Border Wall? | When Donald Trump was looking for a catchy phrase during his 2016 presidential campaign to address the issue of immigrants entering the United States unlawfully -- a line that would resonate with his supporters -- he came up with the phrase "build the wall." The reference, of course, is to what Trump advertised would be a 30-foot-tall, thousand-mile-long Mexico-financed physical wall along our border with Mexico. At first, most folks seemed to dismiss this a pie in the sky. The answer: It wouldn't. So President Trump changed his argument that Mexico would pay directly for his wall by arguing instead that the $5.7 billion down payment he wants -- on a $25 billion to $30 billion project -- would indirectly pay for itself in reduced government welfare and law enforcement expenses. The idea of the wall never took hold during the first two years of his presidency, when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. Even Republicans were leery of the cost and the imagery. The federal government is running about $1 trillion a year in the red, and Republicans are looking to offer comfort in their party to Hispanics. Adding to that debt to build a wall that would affront other Hispanics did not rest well with them. Until now. Now that the Democrats control the House of Representatives, where the idea of a wall is dead on arrival, it is easier for House Republicans to argue in favor of it. Because the Democrats numerically outnumber them, the House Republicans won't be forced to vote on it. The president is probably kicking himself for not calling in a few favors and addressing the wall before the Democrats took control of the House. So, faced with intractable opposition in the House and only lukewarm, mainly symbolic support in the Senate, Trump has threatened to bypass Congress, declare a national state of emergency and build the wall on his own. In a word: No. Here is the back story. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Everyone who works in government takes a public oath of fidelity to the Constitution; that means to its very words and to the values that those words represent. All federal powers come from the Constitution -- and from no other source. The states formed the federal government and limited its powers when they ratified the Constitution. These are all basic truisms of American government, yet we have veered so far from them that they bear repeating. Now, back to the president's wall. President Trump has no power to build a wall or a fence or a doghouse on private property without an express or implied congressional authorization to do so. The vast majority of the property in Texas on which he wants to build is private, according to Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, whose district contains a longer stretch of the border than anyone else's. Thus, the federal government must use eminent domain, which gives each landowner the right to a trial to challenge the government as to the worth of the property the government wants. Rep. Hurd, a former CIA agent and conservative Republican who opposes the wall, has articulated the views of most of his 800,000 constituents: Not in my backyard. We know from the plain wording of the Constitution and from history that all expenditures of money from the federal treasury and all federal use of private property must first be approved by Congress. In 1952, the Supreme Court ruled on this when President Harry Truman seized American steel mills during a labor strike and directed the secretary of commerce to hire folks to operate the mills, pursuant to his own emergency declaration that steel was vital to the war effort in Korea. The court held that only Congress could authorize the seizure or adverse government occupancy of private property and the expenditure of money needed to operate the mills. Then, in 1976, Congress provided a definition -- which, shortly thereafter, the courts refined -- of a national emergency: the existence of events truly beyond the ordinary, wherein there is a palpable and immediate threat to lives, safety or property that cannot be addressed by the employment of ordinary government assets or the exercise of ordinary governmental powers. That is hardly the case today with the former Central American caravan in Mexico now settled in and housed by the Mexican government away from the border. Nevertheless, the 1976 law requires that all ordinary assets -- our president prefers the military -- be determined useless before a lawful emergency can come into effect. Perhaps the answer is that his frustration with the Democratic House has reached a boiling point, but that boiling point cannot be a basis for a declaration of a national emergency. A valid emergency declaration streamlines the government to address the emergency, but it cannot authorize anything that the Constitution prohibits, nor can it authorize the president to avoid anything that the Constitution requires. The president has sworn not only fidelity to the Constitution but also to take care that federal laws be enforced. If he could disregard that oath, if he could ignore those laws, if he could spend money not authorized by Congress, if he could occupy private property not subject to eminent domain against the will of the owners -- in short, if he could (SET ITAL) make (END ITAL) the laws, as well as enforce them, then he would not be a president. He'd be a monarch. | https://www.timesexaminer.com/judge-napolitano/4224-can-the-president-alone-build-a-border-wall |
Will Texas Governor Keep Promise to Dying Teenager to Outlaw Abortion? | AUSTIN, Texas -- On June 17, 2018, Jeremiah Thomas, a terminally ill teenager, was granted his dying wish to talk with Texas governor Greg Abbott on the phone to ask him to end abortion in Texas. On the call, Jeremiah told Governor Abbott, "We just want you to treat abortion like an act of murder and it should be punished by law. For my wish, I just wanted to say that to you... I think we could rally with Texas, and we could end abortion here and now. Because, at least for me, this would make my wish complete before I pass." Governor Abbott replied, "Your wish is on the Republican Party platform positions, and it's what we're going to be pursuing this next legislative session. And that is to outlaw abortion altogether in the State of Texas, and so your wish is granted." The day before the governor's promise, the Republican Party of Texas had readopted a plank to its platform which it had first adopted in 2016: "We call upon the Texas Legislature to enact legislation stopping the murder of unborn children and to ignore and refuse to enforce any and all federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court rulings that would deprive an unborn child of the right to life." A proposition to abolish abortion also received the support of over 68% of Republican voters in last year's primaries. After Governor Abbott made his promise, videos of it went viral, gaining coverage by Fox News, the Daily Signal, Live Action, and many others. Jeremiah Thomas died of cancer two months after the governor's promise. Now, the legislative session in which Governor Abbott promised Jeremiah he would be pursuing to outlaw abortion altogether in Texas begins today, Tuesday, January 8. To carry on the legacy of their son, Jeremiah's parents have produced a video and thousands of Texans watching it are signing a petition to join Jeremiah's wish by urging Governor Abbott to keep his promise by making abolishing abortion an emergency item for the legislature. At the request of Jeremiah's parents, the petition is hosted by Abolish Abortion Texas. | https://www.timesexaminer.com/political/4209-will-texas-governor-keep-promise-to-dying-teenager-to-outlaw-abortion |
Which high street retailers in Britain closed shops in 2018? | House of Fraser nearly plunged into administration but was rescued at the eleventh hour by Mike Ashley Last year saw a bloodbath of Britain's high streets - with many of the nation's retailers shutting stores and axing jobs. Here are some of the big name retailers which lost out as they face fierce competition from the rise of online shopping Carpetright: The carpet retailer is closing 92 stores across the UK. These closures represent nearly a quarter of all UK Carpetright stores. Toys R' Us: The UK's largest toy shop went into administration in February 201, leading to an estimated 2,000 redundancies. House of Fraser: The department store chain was on the verge of heading into administration but was rescued at the eleventh hour by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. Maplin: The electronics giant has gone bust, closing shops across the country and putting thousands of jobs at risk. Mothercare: The baby and toddler chain is closing 60 shops across the UK putting up to 900 jobs at risk. Poundworld: Poundworld announced it was going into administration on June 11 after talks with potential buyer R Capital broke down, putting 5,100 jobs at risk. Homebase: The DIY chain set to close 42 DIY outlets shut, putting around 1,500 jobs at risk. Marks & Spencer: The retailer announced in May it plans to close 100 stores by 2022, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. In August stores in Northampton, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Stockton and Walsall all ceased trading. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/fb-6577719/Which-high-street-retailers-Britain-closed-shops-2018.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 |
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Are other state 529 plans better than N.J.'s? | Q. I have two kids, 8 and 2, and we would like to start college savings plans for them. -- Parent A. Absolutely. Virtually every state offers a 529 plan, said Betty Thomas, a financial planner with Lassus Wherley, a subsidiary of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, in New Providence. She said each plan may be unique to each state, with some offering incentives if students are residents and attend college in the state. Thomas said the NJBEST 529 plan offers a tax-free scholarship up to $1,500 if students attend a college or university in New Jersey. Some state plans offer tax deductions for residents who contribute to their state's plan, but neither New Jersey nor Alaska do. Thomas said a good starting point would be to review the investment options for the 529 plan to make sure they align with your risk tolerance. "Generally, 529 plans offer age-based portfolios, meaning the allocation will adjust based on the age of the child over time," she said. For example, she said, an age-based plan for your youngest could have a higher exposure to equities, then it would become more bond-based and conservative as the child approaches college. Your oldest would also have equity exposure, but it might not be as much as your youngest child. "Age-based portfolios are more common because the account portfolio adjusts over time automatically, providing a bit of relief for those more sensitive to market fluctuations because the 529 plan investment options are basically on auto-pilot," she said. Next, you'll want to look at fees. These can be complicated to sort through, but essentially, they break down to an advisor-sold plan or a direct-sold plan. For example, she said, the Alaska 529 plan can be purchased through T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (Direct) or through John Hancock Freedom 529 (Advisor). "Advisor plans may cost more because of expenses not typically incurred if the plan was a direct purchase; such as sales charges, program management fees, and account maintenance fees to name a few," Thomas said. "These additional fees may reduce the plan performance over time." That's why comparison shopping is an important part of the process when deciding on a 529 plan. Thomas said you should also consider plans with an experienced and reputable investment manager and plans that have historically had a strong performance. We recommend you dissect 529 plans with SavingForCollege.com, a site that makes it easy to compare costs, rankings and other concerns. Email your questions to [email protected]. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter. | https://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2019/01/are_other_state_529_plans_better_than_njs.html |
What If Huge NASA Mars Rover Crashes Sunday Night? | If NASA's newest Mars rover doesn't touch down safely Sunday night (Aug. 5), the future of Red Planet exploration could be thrown into serious doubt. The 1-ton Curiosity rover's main goal is to determine if Mars can, or ever could, support microbial life. But the huge robot is also carrying the hopes and dreams of NASA's venerable Mars program on its back to some extent, so a crash Sunday night could be devastating. "It could take the entire Mars program down with it," Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, which pushes for human settlement of the Red Planet, told SPACE.com's Leonard David. "It is victory or death." Big funding cuts President Barack Obama's 2013 federal budget request, which was released in February, slashes NASA's planetary science program funding from $1.5 billion to $1.2 billion, with further cuts expected in the coming years. Much of the money will come out of NASA's robotic Mars exploration program, which has enjoyed a string of successes in the past decade. After landing in January 2004, for example, the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity discovered plenty of evidence that Mars was once warmer and wetter than it is today. And the Phoenix lander found subsurface water ice near the planet's north pole in 2008. Nevertheless, the White House budget proposal cuts NASA's Mars funding from $587 million this year to $360 million in 2013, and then to just $189 million in 2015. [NASA's 2013 Budget: What Will It Buy?] As a result, NASA was forced to drop of out the European-led ExoMars mission, which aims to deliver an orbiter and a rover to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018, respectively. And the agency is fundamentally restructuring and downscaling its Mars program, in an attempt to figure out how to make the most out of every precious dollar. But NASA planetary science officials still hold out hope for a funding comeback, with the help of Curiosity. They think the rover's discoveries could loosen politicians' pursestrings and reinvigorate the agency's robotic exploration efforts. "What a tremendous opportunity it is for us," Jim Green, head of NASA's planetary science division, said at a conference in March. "I believe [Curiosity] will open up that new era of discovery that will compel this nation to invest more in planetary science." Sticking the landing So a successful landing on Sunday night is of paramount importance to the space agency, officials have said. Curiosity's touchdown "could arguably be the most important event most significant event in the history of planetary exploration," Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, said last month. But success is not a given. Landing a robot on another planet is never an easy task, and Curiosity's touchdown will perhaps involve more hand-wringing than usual. Because it's so heavy, engineers had to devise an entirely new landing method for the rover. A rocket-powered sky crane will lower Curiosity to the Martian surface on cables, then fly off to intentionally crash-land a short distance away. Such a maneuver has never before been tried on another world. If success over the course of the mission could bring great dividends to NASA's Mars program, then failure Sunday night could have a chilling effect. [How Curiosity's Nail-Biting Landing Works (Pictures)] "I think if we are fatal on landing, that will have a very negative influence," said Caltech's John Grotzinger, lead scientist for Curiosity's $2.5 billion mission, which is officially called the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). "It's going to force people to look back and ask if it's possible to achieve these very complex, more demanding missions from a technological perspective," Grotzinger told SPACE.com. "How can you talk about sample-return if you can't do MSL first?" Keeping the program vital NASA has one more Mars mission firmly on the books beyond MSL, an atmosphere-studying orbiter called Maven that's due to launch next year. The agency plans to launch another mission in 2018 or 2020, partly to keep the program vital. But a Curiosity crash could persuade some talented scientists and engineers that there's not much of a future at Mars, at least not for a while, researchers say. "If this thing were to fail, I think a lot of people would trickle away and do other things," said Ken Edgett, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. Edgett is principal investigator for Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager instrument, or MAHLI. He added that a crash might spark discussions within NASA about shifting resources from Mars to other promising destinations, such as Jupiter's moon Europa, which harbors a liquid-water ocean beneath its icy shell. "I don't like that either-or scenario, but I think that's where we're headed," Edgett told SPACE.com in April. Mars keeps calling us Edgett stressed, however, that he didn't think a landing mishap would be the end of the Mars program. Other experts echo that viewpoint, saying that Mars will continue to hold our interest and draw our scientific explorers back. "It's one of the most scientifically compelling objects in the solar system perhaps in terms of ease to get to, the most compelling," said Scott Hubbard of Stanford University. "And it's the place, ultimately, for human exploration. So I think Mars exploration will continue." Hubbard speaks from experience. He's the former "Mars Czar" who restructured NASA's Red Planet program after the agency's Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter both failed in 1999. Still, success would definitely be preferable for those who care about Red Planet exploration. A strong showing by Curiosity could lead to bigger things down the road at Mars, Hubbard said. "There's a window, I feel, with a successful mission particularly if it finds evidence of organics to give the scientific community even more stimulus and ammunition to ask for a re-look at the budget," Hubbard said. SPACE.com columnist Leonard David contributed to this story. Visit SPACE.com for complete coverage of NASA's Mars rover landing Sunday. Follow senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. | https://www.foxnews.com/science/what-if-huge-nasa-mars-rover-crashes-sunday-night |
Will Berkeley take back Marine snub? | This is a rush transcript from "The Big Story With John Gibson and Heather Nauert," February 12, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. JOHN GIBSON, CO-HOST: New developments now in a big outrage. Many of us could not believe it when we heard a city in our own country elected to vote against our United States Marines. The liberal Mecca of Berkeley, California, send a note to members of our Armed Forces last month, telling them they were, quote, "Uninvited and unwelcome intruders" in Berkeley if they tried to enlist citizens in that city. KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, GUEST CO-HOST: It's shocking all right. Tonight: Berkeley's is reconsidering it the anti-Marines stance after the brazen snob ignited an outcry across the nation. BIG STORY correspondent, Douglas Kennedy has been following this controversy closely and he joins us now with the very latest. DOUGLAS KENNEDY, BIG STORY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John and Kimberly, the city council will decide tonight whether the Marines are welcome or not welcome. It's a controversy that has sparked a major controversy across the country. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KENNEDY (voice over): In 2006, Navy SEAL, Mark Lee lost his life while fighting in Iraq. DEBBIE LEE, MOTHER OF FALLEN NAVY SEAL: He did that to save his buddies. He did that for you and for me. KENNEDY: But his mom says, Mark's ultimate sacrifice is now being dishonored by the city of Berkeley, which recently told the Marines, they're recruiting office was not welcome within city limits. D. LEE: For years, you know, the city of Berkeley and the crowd here have been saying that our troops are not welcome in Iraq, that they don't belong there. That's disgusting. KENNEDY: The city council is now reconsidering that controversial proclamation that called the Marines, quote, "Unwelcome intruders". They put the bayside city once again at ground zero in a war between pro-war and anti-war ideologies. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm against war but I think, if we didn't have any Marines, we'd probably all be speaking German. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a symbolic representation of a criminal and illegitimate war. And we're saying that it actually needs to leave and the whole war needs to stop. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Marines you can get out of Berkeley now. We don't need you anymore. KENNEDY: California's anti-war group, CodePink wants Berkeley to go even further, prohibiting any military recruitment offices near schools or residential areas. Still, the group maintains the controversy has sparked a much-needed debate. MEDEA BENJAMIN: We're delighted. We're excited about the whole thing. It just shines a much-needed light on the issue of the war. KENNEDY: Debbie Lee says, debate is fine, her problem, she says is with the government group going after the very people who are protecting the government. D. LEE: So, I'm here today to confront the city council, to stand in honor of our troops and that they also need to publicly apologize to our troops, to the Marine recruiting office here and to all our men and women who have served in the military. (END VIDEOTAPE) KENNEDY: The vote tonight will remove the language about unwelcome intruders, at the same time, it will say that the city of Berkeley emphatically opposes the war in Iraq. So, clearly, John and Kimberly, they are trying to walk a fine line. GIBSON: All right. KENNEDY: Obviously, they think so, because they wouldn't be taking a second vote. But you know, clearly, if you oppose the war in Iraq, you should not be going after the Marines, you should be going after the decision makers. The Marines are out fighting for our country. They're dying. They're just following orders. I think they realize they made a mistake. GIBSON: We will follow this and see what happens tonight. Douglas Kennedy, thank you, Douglas. Content and Programming Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2008 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation. | https://www.foxnews.com/story/will-berkeley-take-back-marine-snub |
How Are Senior Care Communities Caring For Couples? | Senior housing developers and designers are working to expand the housing and care options enjoyed by the oldest Americans, including couples. Demographics explain why. Only about 100,000 Americans lived to be 85 or older in 1900. Projections indicate there will be more than 19 million Americans 85 and older by 2050. People 85 and older will make up 24% of older adults and 5% of the overall American population. Providing couples multiple options and approaches within the same senior living community is important. Thats because many couples have acuity and other challenges that make it difficult if not impossible to remain living together in the same quarters. Among the companies at the forefront in affording different alternatives are Pathway to Living, CA Senior Living and KTGY Architecture and Planning. Different needs, different times At Pathway to Living communities, couples can share assisted living apartments. They can opt to each have their own assisted living apartment at the same community. They can have individual assisted living apartments in a companion suite. Or one spouse can remain in assisted living in the same community where another is in memory care. Couples have different needs and often at different times, so we try to offer as many flexible options and alternatives as possible to help them choose the right home for them, said Maria Oliva, COO of Chicago, Ill.-based Pathway to Living, with 32 Midwestern senior living communities. Often, spouses also have widely different socialization and activity needs, and these too can be accommodated at Pathway to Living communities. A case in point is provided by Anne Schmid and her husband Allan, who recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. The Schmids live in separate assisted living apartments connected within a companion suite at Pathway to Living-operated Alexian Village in Elk Grove Village, Ill. Our family thought it would be smart for us to live somewhere with medical staff on site, Anne says. The community is great for us because Im very social and Allan is a hermit. Ive met a lot of new friends, enjoy all the music programs, go on the outings and attend the exercise classes every morning. Allan likes to watch TV and rest in his apartment, and prefers to come down mainly for meals. Duplex cottage option Keeping couples together is a priority at CA Senior Living, the senior housing investment and development division of Chicago-based CA Ventures, with 22 U.S. senior communities operating or under construction. CA Senior Living offers traditional independent living, assisted living and memory care studios. In its communities in Lynwood, Wash. and Mayfield Heights, Oh. it also offers a new duplex cottage option. Togetherness for couples has been proven to boost quality of life, in part through the alleviation of stress associated with separation, said CA Senior Living president Ben Burke. While many couples want to continue living together, they often require varying levels of care, which prevents some from even considering alternative housing options despite the health benefits they provide. Weve made it our mission to educate older couples and in many cases their adult children about the various options that allow couples to live in the same community and, whenever possible, the same unit. Staying together through rehab The life plan communities (LPCs) designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning are expressly laid out to enable spouses to remain together as long as possible in the same place, surrounded by the same familiar friends. In the event of one spouse requiring rehabilitation, the designs enable movement between independent and assisted living areas. After the rehab is concluded, couples can reunite in their independent living apartments. The soon-to-open, KTGY Architecture + Planning-designed Reata Glen in South Orange County, Calif., for instance, will permit residents to transition from independent living to memory care and skilled nursing on the same site. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffsteele/2019/01/10/how-are-senior-care-communities-caring-for-couples/ |
Was hat der Regierungsrat mit Uster West vor? | Das Projekt Uster West steht auf der Kippe, seit der Kanton akzeptiert hat, dass er in Sachen Naturschutz noch einmal ber die Bcher muss. Ustermer Politikerinnen und Politiker aller Parteien sind deshalb offensichtlich besorgt ber die Zukunft der Verkehrs- und Stadtplanung in und um die Stadt. Die einen namentlich eine Gruppe um BPU-Gemeinderat Paul Stopper wollen den Moment nutzen, um das Strassenprojekt definitiv zu begraben. Andere wollen vom Kanton genauer wissen, was die Probleme mit Uster West fr die Stadt Uster bedeuten denn die Stadt Uster wird in den Planungsprozess zwar einbezogen, federfhrend ist aber die Baudirektion. Wichtig fr die Stadtentwicklung Die Ustermer Kantonsrtinnen Sabine Wettstein (FDP), Claudia Wyssen (SP) und Anita Borer (SVP) haben deshalb eine Anfrage an den Regierungsrat gerichtet. Unter dem Titel Uster West wie weiter? betonen sie, dass im Rahmen des Ustermer Stadtentwicklungsprojekts Stadtraum 2035 auch Verkehrsfragen von Bedeutung seien und damit eben insbesondere auch Uster West. Wie gedenkt der Regierungsrat bezglich des Projekts Uster West weiter vorzugehen? Anfrage an den Zrcher Regierungsrat Die drei Kantonsrtinnen von FDP, SP und SVP wollen ganz allgemein vom Regierungsrat wissen, ob er in Bezug auf die Verkehrsplanung in und um Uster eine Strategie verfolge. Konkret in Bezug auf das Projekt Uster West fragen die Politikerinnen, ob der Regierungsrat dieses noch fr realisierbar halte und welches weitere Vorgehen geplant sei. Die Baudirektion hatte im Dezember angekndigt, dass sie Anfang 2019 darber entscheiden werde, ob und in welcher Form es mit dem Strassenprojekt weitergeht. Weitere Fragen widmen sich dem Zusammenhang von Strassenverkehrs- und S-Bahn-Planung. So wollen Wettstein, Wyssen und Borer wissen, wie der Regierungsrat den geplanten Kapazittsausbau der S-Bahn in der Region beurteilt. Die Auswirkungen auf den Strassenverkehr in Uster beschftigen sie dies angesichts der heute schon bermssigen Schliessungszeiten der Bahnschranken. Und die Kantonsrtinnen wollen, dass sich der Regierungsrat dazu ussert, wie er die Leistungsfhigkeit der Kantonsstrassen in Uster generell sicherstellen wird. | https://zueriost.ch/news/2019-01-10/was-hat-der-regierungsrat-mit-uster-west-vor |
What Are We Working For? | by One also knows from his letters that nothing appeared more sacred to Van Gogh than work. John Berger, Vincent Van Gogh, Portraits Ever since I was a young boy, I have wondered why people do the kinds of work they do. I sensed early on that the economic system was a labyrinthine trap devised to imprison people in work they hated but needed for survival. It seemed like common sense to a child when you simply looked and listened to the adults around you. Karl Marx wasnt necessary for understanding the nature of alienated labor; hearing adults declaim Thank God Its Friday spoke volumes. In my Bronx working class neighborhood I saw people streaming to the subway in the mornings for their rides into the city and their forlorn trundles home in the evenings. It depressed me. Yet I knew the goal was to make it and move away as one moved up, something that many did. I wondered why, when some people had options, they rarely considered the moral nature of the jobs they pursued. I gradually realized that some people, by dint of family encouragement and schooling, had opportunities that others never received. For the unlucky ones, work would remain a life of toil and woe in which the search for meaning in their jobs was often elusive. Studs Terkel, in the introduction to his wonderful book of interviews, Working: People Talk About What They Do all Day and How They Feel About What They Do, puts it this way: This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is, above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us. Those words were confirmed for me when in the summer between high school and college I got a job through a relatives auspices as a clerk for General Motors in Manhattan. I dreaded taking it for the thought of being cooped up for the first time in an office building while a summer of my youth passed me by, but the money was too good to turn down (always the bait), and I wanted to save as much as possible for college spending money. So I bought a summer suit and joined the long line of trudgers going to and fro, down and up and out of the underground, adjusting our eyes to the darkness and light. It was a summer from hell. My boredom was so intense it felt like solitary confinement. Yet for me it was temporary; for the others it was a life sentence. But if this were life, I thought, it was a living death. All my co-workers looked forward to the mid-morning coffee wagon and lunch with a desperation so intense it was palpable. And then, as the minutes ticked away to 5 P.M., the agitated twitching that proceeded the mad rush to the elevators seemed to synchronize with the clocks movements. Were out of here! On my last day, I was eating my lunch on a park bench in Central Park when a bird shit on my suit jacket. The stain was apt, for I felt I had spent my days defiling my true self, and so I resolved never to spend another day of my life working in an office building in a suit for a pernicious corporation, a resolution I have kept. An angel is not far from someone who is sad, says Vincent Van Gogh in the new film, At Eternitys Gate. For somereason, recently hearing these words in the darkened theater where I was almost alone, brought me back to that summer and the sadness that hung around all the people that I worked with. I hoped Van Gogh was right and an angel visited them from time to time. Most of them had no options. The painter Julian Schnabels moving picture (moving on many levels since the film shakes and moves with its hand-held camera work and draws you into the act of drawing and painting that was Van Goghs work) is a meditation on work. For Vincent the answer was simple: reality. But reality is not given to us and is far from simple; we must create it in acts that penetrate the screens of clichs that wall us off from it. As John Berger writes, One is taught to oppose the real to the imaginary, as though the first were always at hand and the second, distant, far away. This opposition is false. Events are always to hand. But the coherence of these events which is what one means by reality is an imaginative construction. Reality always lies beyond and this is as true for materialists as for idealists. For Plato, for Marx. Reality, however one interprets it, lies beyond a screen of clichs. These screens serve to protect the interests of the ruling classes, who devise ways to trap regular people from seeing the reality of their condition. Yet while working can be a trap, it can also be a means of escape. For Vincent working was the way. For him work was not a noun but a verb. He drew and he painted as he does in this film to make people feel what it is to feel alive. To be alive is to act, to paint, to write. He tells his friend Gauguin that theres a reason its called the act of painting, the stroke of genius. For him painting is living and living is painting. The actual paintings that he made are almost beside the point, as all creative artists know too well. It is the doing wherein living is found. The completed canvas, essay, or book are what is done. They are nouns, still lifes, just as Van Goghs paintings have become commodities in the years since his death, dead things to be bought and sold by the rich in a culture of death where they can be hung in mausoleums isolated from the living. It is appropriate that the film ends with Vincent very still in his coffin as viewers pass him by and avidly now desire his paintings that encircle the room that they once rejected. The man has become a has-been and the funeral parlor the museum. Without painting I cant live, he says earlier. He didnt say without his paintings. God gave me the gift for painting, he said. Its the only gift he gave me. I am a born painter. But his gift has begotten gifts that are still-births that do not circulate and live and breathe to encourage people to find work that will not, by its very nature, [be] about violence, as Terkel said. His works, like people, have become commodities, brands to be bought and sold in a world where the accumulation of wealth is accomplished by the infliction of pain, suffering, and death on untold numbers of victims, invisible victims that allow the wealthy to maintain their bad-faith innocence. This is often achieved in the veiled shadows of intermediaries such as stock brokers, tax consultants, and financial managers; in the liberal and conservative boardrooms of mega-corporations or law offices; and in the planning sessions of the worlds great museums. Like drone killings that distance the killers from their victims, this wealth accumulation allows the wealthy to pretend they are on the side of the angels. Its called success, and everyone is innocent as they sing, Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to work we go. It is not enough to tell me you worked hard to get your gold, said Henry Thoreau, Van Goghs soul-mate. So does the Devil work hard. A few years ago there was a major exhibit of Van Goghs nature paintings at the Clark Museum in Williamstown, Massachusetts Van Gogh and Nature that aptly symbolized Van Gogh in his coffin. The paintings were exhibited encased in ornate gold frames. Van Gogh in gold. Just perfect. I am reminded of a scene in At Eternitys Gatewhere Vincent and Gauguin are talking about the need for a creative revolution what we sure as hell need and the two friends stand side by side with backs to the camera and piss into the wind. But pseudo-innocence dies hard. Not long ago I was sitting in a breakfast room in a bed-and-breakfast in Houston, Texas, sipping coffee and musing myself awake. Two men came in and the three of us got to talking. As people like to say, they were nice guys. Very pleasant and talkative, in Houston on business. Normal Americans. Stressed. Both were about fifty years old with wives and children. One sold drugs for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies that is known for its very popular anti-depressant drug and its aggressive sales pitches. He travelled a triangular route from Corpus Christi to Austin to Houston and back again, hawking his wares. He spoke about his work as being very lucrative and posing no ethical dilemmas. There were so many depressed people in need of his companys drugs, he said, as if the causes of their depression had nothing to do with inequality and the sorry state of the country as the rich rip off everyone else. I thought of recommending a book to him Deadly Medicines and OrganizedCrime: How big pharma has corrupted health care by Peter Gotzsche but held my tongue, appreciative as I was of the small but tasteful fare we were being served and not wishing to cause my companions dyspepsia. This guy seemed to be trying to convince me of the ethical nature of the way he panned gold, while I kept thinking of that quote attributed to Mark Twain: Denial aint just a river in Egypt. The other guy, originally from a small town in Nebraska and now living in Baton Rouge, was a former medevac helicopter pilot who had served in the 1stGulf War. He worked in finance for an equally large oil company. His attitude was a bit different, and he seemed sheepishly guilty about his work with this company as he told me how shocked he was the first time he saw so many oil, gas, and chemical plants lining the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and all the oil and chemicals being shipped down the river. So many toxins that reminded him of the toxic black smoke rising from all the bombed oil wells in Iraq. Something about it all left him uneasy, but he too said he made a very good living and that his wife also worked for the oil company back home. Having seen At Eternitys Gate, I now see what Van Gogh was trying to tell us and Julian Schnabel conveys through this moving picture. I see why these two perfectly normal guys I was breaking bread with in Houston are unable to penetrate the screen that lies between them and reality. They have never developed the imaginative tools to go beyond normal modes of perception and conception. Or perhaps they lack the faith to dare, to see the futility and violence in what they are working for and what their companies products are doing to the world. They think of themselves as hard at work, travelling hither and yon, doing their calculations, making their living, and collecting their pay. Its their work that has a payoff in gold, but its not working in the sense that painting was for Vincent, a way beyond the screen. They are mesmerized by the spectacle, as are so many Americans. Their jobs are perfectly logical and allow them a feeling of calm and control. But Vincent, responding to Gauguin, a former stock broker, when he urged him to paint slowly and methodically, said, I need to be out of control. I dont want to calm down. He knew that to be fully alive was to be vulnerable, to not hold back, to always be slipping away, and to be threatened with annihilation at any moment. When painting, he was intoxicated with a creative joy that belies the popular image of him as always depressed. I find joy in sorrow, he said, echoing in a paradoxical way Albert Camus, who said, I have always felt that I lived on the high seas, threatened, at the heart of a royal happiness. Both rebels, one in paint, the other in words: I rebel: therefore we exist, was how Camus put it, expressing the human solidarity that is fundamental to genuine work in our ephemeral world. Both nostalgic in the present for the future, creating freedom through vision and disclosing the way for others. And although my breakfast companions felt safe in their calmness on this side of the screen, it was an illusion. The only really calm ones are corpses. And perhaps thats why when you look around, as I did as a child, you see so many of the living dead carrying on as normal. I paint to stop thinking and feel I am a part of everything inside and outside me, says Vincent, a self-described exile and pilgrim. If we could make working a form of such painting, a path to human solidarity because a mode of rebelling, what a wonderful world it might be. That, I believe, is what working is for. | https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/10/what-are-we-working-for/ |
Could Sanctions Ground Russia's Next-Gen Passenger Jet? | Russia has high hopes for the new MC-21 medium-range jetliner, expecting it to become more than a match for competitors like the Boeing-737 and Airbus A-320. US sanctions against Aerocomposit and ORPE Technologiya, a pair of companies engaged in the development of the MC-21, have cut off access to US and Japanese components necessary for the production of the plane's revolutionary composite wing design, Russia's Kommersant business newspaper has reported, citing industry sources. According to the newspaper, components for the plane's wings and vertical stabiliser are produced by Hexcel, a US-based company and Toray Industries, a Japanese manufacturer. Russia currently has a stock of composite materials to build six more planes, and proposals to get around the problem are being actively discussed, one of Kommersant's sources added. "We will have to either take Chinese composite materials, which are two times thicker and heavier, or wait until Russian industry is able to create something similar," the source said. Sputnik / Roman Denisov Be-200 Amphibious Aircraft to Be Commissioned for Russian Navy by End of 2019 According to Kommersant, the Yelabuzhskiy Composite Materials Factory in Tatarstan, Russia is theoretically capable of creating the needed materials, but doing so will require time and resources for R&D and machine tools, which could push back the plane's mass production to "at least 2025." Another option is assistance from Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, which has an import substitution program and a composite materials division called Umatex, which has already agreed to participate in the development and testing of materials for the MC-21. However, according to Kommersant, Russia does not yet have enterprises capable of producing these materials. A third option, proposed by the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute and the Zhukovsky Institute, is to redesign the wing and vertical stabiliser using metal, which would reduce delays, but also threaten to "kill the composites, which were proposed as one of the main advantages of the airliner," one of Kommersant's sources said. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, whose portfolio includes defence and aerospace, stressed that there were no significant challenges to the MC-21 program caused by US sanctions. "The Russian government is aware of everything happening with the MC-21 project. Currently there are no problems threatening the project," the deputy prime minister's office said. Furthermore, Rostec, ORPE Technologiya's holding company, called the problem "far-fetched", adding that the Russian aviation industry faces no shortage of composite materials, sanctions notwithstanding. "There are reliable foreign suppliers of composites; there are our own developments. The aircraft industry will not remain without the necessary materials in any case, and the abandonment of the use of composites in the MC-21 is not even under consideration," Rostec explained. The MC-21, a new short and medium-haul jetliner built by Irkut Corporation, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation, is a major component in a broader effort by Russian aircraft builders to revive the country's once mighty civilian aircraft industry. Featuring a carrying capacity of between 130 and 220 passengers among its variants, the MC-21 has a range of 6,000 km. Developers, flight testers and industry officials have touted the aircraft's advantages over competitors, including superior fuel consumption stats, lower maintenance requirements, higher cruising speed, more comfortable cabin pressure, climate control and noise isolation, as well as a price tag millions of dollars below that of competitors. These characteristics are provided for by the planes airframe, engine and avionics systems design, including a composite wing design and the use of the PD-14 turbofan engine power plant, produced by Perm-based aircraft engine builder Aviadvigatel. The MC-21 made its maiden flight in May 2017, and has been engaged in extensive testing. Expecting to receive certification from Russian civil aviation authorities this year, producers are hoping to get European Aviation Safety Agency certification in 2020. Over 200 MC-21s have already been ordered by Russian airlines, including flag carrier Aeroflot. Hungary, Bangladesh and Syria have expressed interest in the aircraft, with India reportedly looking to domestically produce the airliner on license. Along with the domestic market, Irkut hopes to sell the plane extensively abroad, particularly among the BRICS group. | https://sputniknews.com/business/201901101071368647-mc-21-composite-materials-sanctions/ |
Can Science Save the Tasmanian Devil? | The Tasmanian devil is known for its powerful jaws, frightening screeches and foul temper. Lately, though, it has earned a more dubious claim to fame: A strange and devastating disease is ravaging its population, pushing the world's largest meat-eating marsupials to the edge of extinction. Now, an international team of scientists has sequenced the Tasmanian devil genome. The results of their study appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tasmanian devils once roamed Australia, but died out across most of their territory at least 400 years ago, probably due to changing local weather conditions and the spread of the dingo. Today the creatures survive only on the south Australian island of Tasmania -- for now. Since 1996, a new disease has decimated the devil population. As a result, Australia deemed the devil an endangered species in 2008. Known as DFTD, devil facial tumor disease causes cancerous tumors to sprout on the animals' mouths and heads. DFTD is no ordinary cancer. Unlike almost all other forms of cancer, DFTD is highly contagious. Deadly tumor cells are passed from animal to animal when they come together to mate or fight. Over the last 15 years the disease has spread across Tasmania. In the hardest-hit areas it has claimed as much as 90 percent of the devil population, according to Australian government estimates. "If nothing is done, the species will easily be wiped out within the next 10 years," said Stephan Schuster, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and a co-author of the new study. Schuster and colleagues deciphered the full genomes of two Tasmanian devils: a female that contracted DFTD in the wild, and a male that proved resistant to two strains of the cancer before dying from a third strain last year. The researchers also reviewed the DNA of 175 other devils to find out how much variation exists from animal to animal. They confirmed that genetic diversity was extremely low. "They're highly inbred," said Webb Miller, co-author of the study and professor of biology and computer science engineering at Penn State. That makes it all the more important to get a handle on the devils' genetic heritage, he said. The Australian government has already begun breeding healthy devils in captivity, keeping them in "protective custody" while the disease burns through the wild population. "Once there are no more carriers in the wild, you could repopulate Tasmania from this breeding stock," Schuster said. But instead of randomly choosing animals for protective custody, Schuster and Miller say, conservationists should test animals' genes to ensure the captive population contains as much diversity as possible. The more genetic diversity there is in the population, Miller said, the better the animals will withstand new diseases and other new threats in the future. George Amato, a conservation geneticist at the American Museum of Natural History, notes that it's not necessary to sequence an entire genome to preserve genetic diversity. Identifying key gene sequences -- rather than decoding the entire DNA of an endangered species -- is typically a better use of conservation dollars, Amato said. "Just because you can sequence a whole genome doesn't mean you should," Amato said. On the other hand, Amato said, the Tasmanian devil and its bizarre cancer are a special case. Having its entire genome sequence will be valuable for scientists working to understand DFTD. In fact, Miller said, his team has already identified spots on the genome that might be involved in resistance to DFTD. "We have lots of clues," he said. Genetics offers a powerful tool for understanding endangered animals and preserving their diversity. "In almost every case in conservation, there's an important role for genetics," Amato said. | https://www.foxnews.com/science/can-science-save-the-tasmanian-devil |
Where Have All the Kirks Gone? | By Heather SmithRadio and Documentary Producer Don't beam me up, Scotty. The Capt. James T. Kirk in the new "Star Trek" film is proof of how much ground men have lost in today's culture. Before you tell me it is just a movie, recall the words of series creator Gene Roddenberry: "I have no belief that Star Trek depicts the actual future," Roddenberry said, "it depicts us, now..." And right now, the latest Star Trek depicts men as insecure, impulsive lechs who need women and aliens to keep them out of trouble. Consider four attributes of the ideal man: self-control, bravery, confidence and sex appeal. In the original series, Kirk has supreme self-control. He sacrifices himself for the safety of his crew and, in more than one episode, even chooses duty over true love. In the latest "Star Trek," Kirk is Peter Pan, an irresponsible, reckless man-boy. (Warning: plot spoilers ahead.) The new Kirk tears down an empty Iowa highway in a stolen hot rod and drives off a cliff, jumping out to save himself, not the car. He gets into bar fights to serve his vanity, not some higher cause like rescuing the crew from aliens. While the original Kirk used reason, the new one mostly leaves that to Spock. To read Ms. Smith's complete post on Big Hollywood.com, click here. | https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/where-have-all-the-kirks-gone |
Was er sprake van uitlokking in de zaak tegen zes terreurverdachten? | Het Openbaar Ministerie herhaalde het vanmiddag nog maar eens tijdens de eerste zitting in de rechtszaak tegen zes terreurverdachten: Nederland is een grootschalige aanslag met mogelijk tientallen doden bespaard gebleven. De verdachten die vastzitten, hadden volgens justitie vergevorderde plannen toe te slaan op een evenement. Maar, voegde de officier van justitie daaraan toe: vanwege de infiltratieactie van politie en justitie is zon aanslag nooit echt dichtbij geweest. Lees verder na de advertentie De infiltratie begon snel nadat de geheime dienst AIVD het OM tipte dat hoofdverdachte Hardi N. (34) plannen maakte voor een terreurdaad. Er werd contact met hem gelegd om hulp aan te bieden. Daar ging hij op in. In verschillende ontmoetingen die volgden sprak N. over zijn plannen. Hij en zijn kompanen hadden naar festivals gezocht als doelwit. Ze hadden het idee opgevat om in een andere stad een autobom te laten ontploffen, en vrijwel tegelijkertijd een festival binnen te vallen, uitgerust met kalasjnikovs, bomgordels en handvuurwapens. Het doel: zoveel mogelijk slachtoffers maken en zelf martelaar worden. Wat de verdachten niet wisten was dat de man die hen wapens en grondstoffen voor een bom leverde, daadwerkelijk de politie-infiltrant was Wat de verdachten niet wisten was dat de man die hen wapens en grondstoffen voor een bom leverde, daadwerkelijk de politie-infiltrant was. De wapens en de 100 kilo kunstmest waren onklaar gemaakt. Uiteindelijk werden vijf verdachten afgelopen september opgepakt in een vakantiehuisje in Weert, waar zij aan het trainen waren om met de wapens om te leren gaan. Omdat n van hen, Wail el A. (21), tijdens zijn aanhouding op agenten probeerde te schieten met het onklaar gemaakte wapen, wordt hem ook poging tot moord ten laste gelegd. Beelden Op de eerste voorbereidende zitting in de rechtszaak tegen de terreurverdachten vandaag in Rotterdam, werd duidelijk dat die infiltratie het heikele punt wordt in deze zaak. Volgens de advocaten van de verdachten heeft justitie door contact te leggen met N., hulp aan te bieden en zelfs daadwerkelijk wapens te leveren, de verdachten uitgelokt over te gaan tot daden die ze anders niet begaan zouden hebben. De officier van justitie zei met grote stelligheid dat er geen sprake is geweest van uitlokking. Het was N. die met een plan kwam en hij was het die om wapens vroeg. Tijdens de inhoudelijke behandeling - nog niet bekend wanneer - wil het OM beelden tonen die dat zouden onderbouwen. Hoofdverdachte N. was niet aanwezig in de rechtszaal, drie van zijn medeverdachten wel. Zij zeiden niet veel tijdens de zitting, behalve dat ze naar huis willen. Ook in verhoren houden alle zes tot nu toe hun mond. Volgens hun advocaten zal dat zo blijven tot het volledige onderzoeksdossier klaar is. Een zevende verdachte is op vrije voeten. Hij lijkt geen actieve rol te hebben gehad in de groep, justitie heeft nog niet besloten of hij berhaupt vervolgd wordt. Lees ook: | https://www.trouw.nl/home/was-er-sprake-van-uitlokking-in-de-zaak-tegen-zes-terreurverdachten-~a7602c939/ |
Was tun bei einem Lawinenabgang? | Lawinen sind keine Seltenheit, werden aber unterschtzt. Pro Jahr gehen laut Schtzungen rund eine Millionen Lawinen weltweit ab. Die Schneebretter erreichen Geschwindigkeiten von ber 300 km/h. Zwei von drei Menschen, die von der Naturgewalt berrollt werden, berleben das Unglck nicht. Um nicht erst in eine Notsituation zu kommen, mssen Wintersportler die Risiken fr einen Lawinenabgang einschtzen knnen. Risikogebiete sind unbedingt zu meiden. Der Deutsche Wetterdienst und der Deutsche Alpenverein informieren tagesaktuell im Lawinenlagebericht. Wer regelmig Wintersport betreibt, kann sich zudem in Lawinenkursen schulen lassen. Skifahrer sollten es vermeiden, alleine in den Hochschnee aufzubrechen. Auerdem sollten sie niemals ausgewiesene Pisten verlassen, damit sich keine Lawinen lsen. Die wichtigsten Tipps: So erhht man die Chancen, eine Lawine zu berleben Die Kraft einer Lawine ist unberechenbar. Doch mit dem richtigen Verhalten lsst sich das Risiko fr einen tdlichen Ausgang reduzieren. Wer in eine Notsituation gert, sollte folgende 3 Grundregeln beachten: Wenn die Lawine abgeht, sollten Sie versuchen, stehenzubleiben. Wenn Sie mit der Lawine mitgleiten, versuchen Sie im 45-Grad-Winkel an den Rand der Lawine zu fahren. Machen Sie durch lautes Rufen auf sich aufmerksam. Sind Sie mit dem Schneebrett ins Rutschen gekommen, sollten Sie die Skistcke sofort wegwerfen, um sich nicht zu verletzen. Versuchen Sie, mit Schwimmbewegungen an die Oberflche der Lawine zu kommen. Halten Sie die Hnde gewlbt vor Mund und Nase, damit die Atemwege durch den dichten Schnee nicht verstopften. Durch Lawine verschttet: Auf die Tiefe kommt es an Ob ein Verschtteter bei einem Lawinenunglck ums Leben kommt, hngt davon ab, wie tief er verschttet ist. Die meisten Menschen liegen in einer Tiefe von 1 bis 1,5 Metern unter der Oberflche. Weil der schnell komprimiert ist, ist das lebensgefhrlich. Es fehlt an Sauerstoff, der Schnee lastet auf dem Brustkorb und der Druck verhindert die Durchblutung der Extremitten, weswegen Arme und Beine erfrieren. Die Betroffenen sollten mit ihren Krften haushalten, um bis zur Rettung bewegungslos ausharren zu knnen. Retter mssen bei einer Verschttung schnell sein Nach einem Lawinenabgang mssen Retter schnell handeln. Nach etwa 15 Minuten sind die meisten Lawinenopfer bereits erstickt. Doch die Rettung ist ein Kraftakt. Um einen Menschen aus einer Tiefe von einem Meter zu bergen, bewegen die Helfer etwa ein Gewicht von einer halben Tonne. | https://www.sat1.de/news/panorama/lebensgefahr-lawine-was-tun-bei-einem-lawinenabgang-103048 |
Should FUTA be named after Shagari? | Reactions have continued to trail the suggestion by eminent lawyer and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD),Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), that the Federal Government should rename 28-year-old institution, the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) after President Sheu Shagari. Shagari died December 28, at the National Hospital, Abuja. He was 92. His administration established FUTA in 1980, FUTA was established in 1980 in Ado-Ekiti, but was eventually relocated to Akure. Less than 24 hours after Babalolas statement,Representatives of the three groups Ibrahim Oluwasegun (SU); Bola Oniya (ASUU-FUTA) and Adesomiloju Olaitan (FUTA Alumni President) vowed to resist any move to change FUTAs name by massively mobilising stakeholders within and outside Akure community against the move. However, the university management has said it is losing no sleep over the matter since what the alumni, students, unions and others are reacting to was just an opinion of an individual and not official statement by government. | http://www.younewsng.com/2019/01/10/should-futa-be-named-after-shagari/ |
What should we do about single-use plastics? | Credit: Ames Laboratory Much of the growing global concern about the plastics polluting our oceans and clogging our landfills has focused on reducing consumption and reusing where we can. But there's a reason manufacturers and consumers struggle to substitute other materials for many uses, plastics are simply the best material available. When it comes to keeping our food and drugs clean and uncontaminated and our medical procedures reliably sterile and safe, the one-use-only disposability of plastics has been essential to our health. So while it's one thing to stop buying bottled water, a whole host of other critical plastic uses from the polypropylene syringes in your doctor's office to the polystyrene packaging around your chicken at the grocery store, probably aren't going away any time soon. "We certainly can and should be doing the things we can to reduce our consumption of some uses, but for others, we really can't," said Aaron Sadow, a scientist in the Division of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Ames Laboratory. "Not using plastic drinking straws is possible, but not using plastics in food packaging and medical devices is difficult and in some cases likely impossible, so we're kind of stuck. The question is, what do we do with this waste?" Unlike recycling of less-complex materials like aluminum or glass, plastic is a "down-cycle" material, meaning that the processes used to clean and re-form it into new raw material degrades the quality of it. "With polymers, what holds them together are carbon-carbon bonds or carbon-other element bonds," said Sadow. "When they're heated and melted for recycling, the carbon-carbon bonds break, typically degrading the material's properties. That's not okay for the performance requirements of food, drug, and medical packaging and supplies. The recycling process adds cost, and then you can only do that down-cycle so many times before you end up with material of no practical value. So, it's not really ever been economically feasible to recycle these plastics." In an effort to change that, Sadow and colleagues at Ames Laboratory are teaming up with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, UC Santa Barbara, University of South Carolina, Cornell University, and Northwestern University in an effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science to upcycle single-use plastics into more valuable chemicals that make recovery worthwhile. The inorganic chemistry challenge is finding a method to chemically "chop" long polymer chains into smaller pieces that can then be used to extract purified and new raw materials for the chemical industry, to produce things like nylon, fibers, coatings, and detergents. "Right now, we just don't have that kind of control over the process. But nature does," said Sadow. "Our inspiration is the enzymatically-controlled hydrolysis of cellulose, which is a bioorganic polymer composed of repeating, identical chemically linked glucose monomers. We believe we can create inorganic catalysts that perform like enzymes to break up the polymer chains of synthetic plastics into useful components." Sadow hopes that chemical upcycling will become one of many possible ways to address global plastics pollution. "We don't envision upcycling as the sole solution, but as part of a multi-faceted strategy." Explore further: 'Infinitely' recyclable polymer shows practical properties of plastics | https://phys.org/news/2019-01-single-use-plastics.html |
Can our forests survive the next drought? | Many trees in the Sierra have died in the past few years because of drought. Credit: UC Merced UC Merced researchers have evidence that California's forests are especially vulnerable to multi-year droughts because their health depends on water stored several feet below ground. "Each year our forests, grasslands and shrublands depend on water stored underground to survive the dry summers, but during multi-year dry periods there is not enough precipitation in the wet winter season to replenish that supply," said Joseph Rungee, UC Merced graduate student and lead author on a new paper published in the journal Hydrological Processes. Trees typically need about the same amount of water every yearmore in hotter years. During a drought, that subsurface store of water is gradually depleted, causing stress to trees and other vegetation. If the drought is long enough and especially hot, as was the case from fall 2011 through 2015, large numbers of trees run out of water and die. By analyzing data from the National Science Foundation's network of Critical Zone Observatories, Rungee worked with UC Merced professor Roger Bales, with the School of Engineering and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, to get a better understanding of where and to what extent the below-ground weathered bedrock provides multi-year drought resilience. The researchers delved into data from sites across the semi-arid West to determine the amount of water storage available in the root zones of different areas. Bales, Rungee and their colleagues wanted to know how dependent different areas in the West are on that subsurface water storage and how many dry years the plants can survive. Some areas will be able to tolerate one or two years, while others can weather five or six. However, when the weather is hotter, the plants need more water to live, and the climate is getting warmer. Bales explained that areas with Mediterranean climate, such as California, are especially vulnerable because of their climate variability, even though they have considerable subsurface storage. Areas with year-round precipitation, such as Colorado, are vulnerable, too, because they have less subsurface storage, even though their year-to-year precipitation is less variable than California's. "Usually the year-round precipitation would see those areas through drought years, but longer, hotter droughts are going to pose more problems," Bales said. "In some ways we're more vulnerable than areas with year-round precipitation because we depend on the storage so much," he said. "In California, more than half of the water use by forests, grasslands and shrublands comes during the dry season, and it comes from water stored in the root zone after rainfall and snowmelt end in spring." In contrast, less than one-third of water used by vegetation at sites they studied in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona was drawn from subsurface storage during dry periods. "Our wet seasons are getting shorter, which means that the dry seasons are getting longer and drierwe're getting less snow than rainand the wet seasons are warmer, meaning the stored water gets used earlier in the year, leaving less for the hottest parts of the year," Bales said. At one southern Sierra forested site, Rungee determined that the amount of water that trees drew from below ground during the 2011-15 drought is equivalent to that stored down to a depth of at least 25 feet below ground. One next step is to extend the calculations done by Rungee at research sites across the West, where the water balance can be accurately measured using satellite data, calibrated with detailed ground data. "This will provide a projection of relative drought vulnerability, which is especially of interest to land managers who need to prioritize where to thin overstocked forests before they suffer further widespread tree mortality during the next multi-year drought," Rungee explained. The key to forests surviving the next drought is to strike a balance between water use by the forest and the amount of over-year subsurface water storage that is available to make up for low precipitation during drought years. "In some areas, this means thinning overstocked forests to prevent further tree mortality," Bales said. Explore further: Trees change inside as drought persists More information: Joseph Rungee et al. Evapotranspiration response to multiyear dry periods in the semiarid western United States, Hydrological Processes (2018). DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13322 | https://phys.org/news/2019-01-forests-survive-drought.html |
Should cyber officials be required to tell victims of cyber crimes they've been hacked? | Credit: CC0 Public Domain In Germany this week, the legal limbo that defines cyberspace around the world was on full display. The country's Federal Office for IT Safety (BSI for its German initials) had been tracking a cyber attack targeting some of the country's parliamentarians since early December. It ultimately led to the public release of mobile phone numbers, credit card information and ID card details of hundreds of members of parliament, and other public figures. Only some MPs were informed by BSI about the attacks, while others learned about them only after the details were published in the media. MPs were outraged that BSI had failed to notify them that their personal data was being targeted, despite knowing about elements of the attack for up to four weeks. A deeper concern, raised by some MPs, was that over the same period, BSI (which is not a law enforcement agency) did not inform the German police that a political crime of this seriousness had possibly been committed. Once engaged, the police quickly found a suspect who reportedly confessed. Hacking, whether or not data is publicly compromised, is a crime in most countries. The crime is constituted simply by the unlawful accessing of data or machines. But few countries have laws that require their cyber agencies that monitor hacking to report the criminal acts either to third party victims or to the police. This legal vacuum needs to be addressed urgently. The challenge for cyber agencies or private sector firms which detect a hack is that these events are very common. Millions take place every day, and complex forensic information needs to be assembled in order to judge which incidents are serious enough to require notification. This sets up a defacto, but ill-defined, distinction between "petty crime" (most hacks) and "serious crime". What this means in reality can be illustrated by the practice in the Australian state of New South Wales. In NSW, there is an obligation under the Crimes Act to report serious crimes. These are defined as those attracting legal penalties of five years or more of imprisonment. But when it comes to cyber hacking, it's often not immediately clear whether the extent of a hack would trigger such a penalty threshold. This uncertainty was at play in the German hack, with BSI justifying its failure to notify with the claim it was still trying to analyse it, and did not know the full scale of it. Even after arresting the suspect and knowing the scale of the attack, the head of cyber security at the Federal Police Office (BKA) said it was still unclear whether the hack was a serious crime inspired by political motives. The suspicion that it may have been politically motivated arises from the fact that the only political party whose MPs were not targeted was the extreme right party, AfD. What 'mandatory reporting' means in Australia In 2018, after a long public debate, Australia introduced the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme as an amendment to the Privacy Act. The NDB requires companies to notify the Office of the Information Commissioner (not the police), as well as any victims, if personal data they hold is compromised in a way that constitutes a serious breach of privacy. This civil code provision is very weak due, in part, to the fact that it allows the firm or agency involved to self-assess the seriousness of the breach over a 30-day period before the obligation to notify kicks in. It is also weak because there is a blanket exemption for law enforcement activities, and for the secrecy needs of the government. Australian cyber agencies, such as the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Centre for Cyber Security, appear to have zero obligation to tell either the police or victims that there has been been a hack or a data breach. That means, if Australian cyber agencies learned that a foreign government had hacked an Australian citizen, the victim may never be told. Or if family photos of an unclothed child were hacked from a family computer by a paedophile, the victim's family might never know. In many countries, cyber agencies do notify large corporations of certain hack attacks, regardless of the kind or scale. There are several motivations for this mostly voluntary practice. One is to help corporations realise the seriousness of state-sponsored espionage against them. Another is to help the cyber agency itself coordinate an investigation of the hack, and figure out what might have been lost. That is not the same as the police investigating the crime. In most countries, only police agencies are authorised to investigate crimes for the purposes of court prosecution. Few jurisdictions, if any, have formally clarified the ways in which police and courts may rely on information on cyber hacks collected by cyber agencies or security companies. Australia is yet to have a serious debate about cyber crime reporting, and its forensic complexities: who is responsible for what, and where the priorities should lie. It's at least a decade overdue. While recognising that some distinction will need to be made between petty and serious cyber crimes, such a debate should recognise the right of citizens to be informed by our cyber agencies when they have been assaulted in cyber space and, if possible, by whom. Explore further: UK government report shows local police are not ready to fight cyber-crime | https://phys.org/news/2019-01-cyber-required-victims-crimes-theyve.html |
Is it ever okay for non-disabled actors to play disabled roles? | We are familiar with the repellent days of blacking up the disabled actors equivalent is cripping up, a term used by acting activists to highlight that it is not acceptable for a non-disabled actor to mimic impairments, then win an Oscar. The acting union Equity has said that in casting disabled roles, every avenue should be considered to cast a disabled actor. Yet the challenges for disabled actors and the representation of a disability experience in film are not isolated to casting. Fundamental barriers to auditioning limit spaces for disabled actors; for those who do get work, it is still mostly for disabled roles written by non-disabled writers, which may present stereotypical or unrepresentative characters. There is a need to think critically about how disability is being defined, writes academic Dr Alison Wilde in her book Film, Comedy and Disability, with representational and employment concerns deeply interwoven into the film industrys ideologies, practices and processes There are dangers we may thwart our own goals. The result of this self-perpetuating cycle is limited opportunities to tell the disabled story in all its dimensions. Disabled actor-writer Mat Fraser, who played crippled Richard III last year, summed it up: Ideally, anybody should be able to play any body, but only when there is a truly level playing field of opportunity. Every theatre should commission at least one disabled playwright and cast at least one disabled actor each year, he wrote, as a condition of arts funding. Dont tell me there are no disabled actors with talent. This week, I watched Silent Witness with Liz Carr, a disabled actor who, for seven years, has played disabled lab technician Clarissa Mullery. Carr, an alumni of Graeae Theatre Company, was excellent as usual, yet heres the rub she only got a handful of lines on Monday. Guardian | https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/is-it-ever-okay-for-non-disabled-actors-to-play-disabled-roles-1.3753662?localLinksEnabled=false |
What dictates how vitamin E supplements affect cancer risk? | There is a longstanding debate as to whether taking vitamin E supplements increases or decreases a person's risk of developing cancer. A new study suggests that both outcomes are a possibility and also explains why. A new study investigates. A new study investigates. Many people believe that taking supplements can improve their well-being and decrease their risk of developing numerous health problems. However, some recent research has suggested that supplements may not, in fact, bring any health benefits. Certain studies including this one that Medical News Today covered have gone so far as to suggest that particular dietary supplements could even harm health. Still, vitamin supplements remain popular. According to preliminary 2018 data that the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in the United States released, approximately 78 percent of people in the U.S. believe that the dietary supplement industry is "trustworthy." Moreover, as Brian Wommack, senior vice president of communications at CRN, reports, "Three-quarters of Americans take dietary supplements." A new study by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA has been looking into the effects of vitamin E on cancer risk both overall, and in relation to specific forms of cancer and asking what factors might influence that effect. "Observational studies of people taking vitamin E have reported benefits, and studies in animal models have suggested a protective effect, but when vitamin E supplements were brought into placebo-controlled clinical trials, the results were null," explains study author Kathryn Hall. "This made it easy to assume that vitamin E just doesn't work. But, what we've found is that it may have been protective in some and not in others, and that genetic variation is linked to these outcomes," she adds. Hall and team's aim was to understand why vitamin E can be beneficial in some cases, while it may have no effect or even have a negative impact in others. The investigators' findings appear in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Genetic makeup offers an explanation The researchers analyzed the data from the Women's Health Study (WHS), which looked at the "benefits and risks of low-dose aspirin and vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer" in thousands of women from the U.S. Additionally, the researchers took into account the Women's Genome Health Study, which allowed them to access relevant information about WHS participants' genetic makeup. Finally, the researchers verified their findings through the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study, which also looked into the effects of vitamin E on cancer risk. The researchers found that certain variations in a gene called "COMT" were responsible for vitamin E's impact on the risk of cancer whether it decreased or increased it for an individual. COMT encodes the production of an enzyme called "catechol-O-methyltransferase" (COMT), which influences the way in which a person's body processes vitamin E. Specifically, the investigators explain, the COMT variant that researchers know the most about has three different variants comprising different alleles: met/met, val/met, and val/val. The team notes that individuals who have the val/val variant of COMT tend to have a more active COMT enzyme compared with people with the met/met allele. In fact, the enzyme is three to four times more active. The researchers looked at the rates of cancer among participants in the WHS trial. They noted that in the 10 years of the study and the 10 years following it, the women with the met/met variant of COMT who took vitamin E supplements had 14 percent lower cancer rates than women with the met/met allele who took a placebo. At the same time, participants with the val/val variant of COMT who took vitamin E supplements had 15 percent higher cancer rates compared with participants with the same genetic variant who took a placebo. These rates remained similar in the case of specific types of cancer as well, including breast, lung, uterine, and colorectal cancer. | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324142.php |
Is Juul the Startup Worlds Greatest Long Con? | It was 25 years ago that executives at Philip Morris and six other American cigarette companies testified before Congress that nicotine was not addictive. Even under oath, the tobacco giants continued their decadeslong practice of gaslighting the public about the negative effects of cigarettes, which were once actually marketed by doctors. The image of seven CEOs being sworn in to answer for their companies misdeeds has endured as a powerful visual shorthand for modern corporate villainy. As the lethal effects of cigarettes were drilled into the minds of young would-be smokers by middle school counselors and aggressive ad campaigns, smoking entered an ongoing decline in usage. Big Tobacco had been felled. Or so it seemed. In late December a Virginia-based conglomerate called Altria bought a 35 percent stake in the San Francisco startup Juul Labs for almost $13 billion. Juul is a maker of e-cigarettes and says its goal is to help adults quit smoking. Altria is the rebranded version of Philip Morris, whose entire corporate directive is to get adults to keep smoking. Juul says its wild popularity among teens is an unfortunate accident. Philip Morris once wrote an internal memo that said, Todays teenager is tomorrows potential regular customer. This seems like a horrible corporate mismatch, unless you see it for what it is: the pairing of two scheming businesses deftly executing a long con. In the decades since Big Tobacco took so many PR lumps that its biggest player had to change its name, tech has emerged as the sector most likely to sell people a bill of goods. Phones that were supposed to make us more efficient have made us less so. Social networks that were supposed to bring us all together have repeatedly driven us apart. By joining forces with its professed enemy, Juul is skipping a bit ahead in the Silicon Valley startup timeline, which generally follows a three-step track: (1) Dont be evil; (2) be evil sometimes, but only when its in service of a greater societal good; (3) actually, being evil is fine. Juul is just one of many tech companies running a con that involves snookering people out of their money, their health, or their god-given right to go to the movies every day for virtually nothing. Heres a roundup of the most brazen long cons going, their unfortunate marks, and their likelihood to survive 2019 without getting exposed. Juul The Con Artists: Juul founders Adam Bowen and James Monsees, who developed their first vaping prototype while in a product-design program at Stanford. According to the pat startup narrative, Bowen and Monsees were both longtime smokers who started experimenting with vaping technology to help themselves and other adults kick the cigarette habit. The Mark: The constantly renewing supply of teens, who are now so hooked on Juuling that in September the Food and Drug Administration called it an epidemic. Juul says it doesnt want underage customers and doesnt market to them, but the companys early social media presence was clearly aimed at a young audience, as were its fruity flavors. The FDA is investigating whether Juul explicitly targeted teens with its marketing. The Flourishes: Staying a step ahead of FDA regulations by shutting down its social media accounts and limiting the sales of its flavored pods so that its fight against teen usage seems voluntary rather than the result of an inevitable government crackdown. The Moment We Should Have Known This Was a Con: Years before Juul even existed, when Bowen and Monsees sold a stake in their earlier vaping product, Ploom, to the Japanese version of Philip Morris. Juul owns three-fourths of the e-cigarette market and is now treated as a verb. While its products may be regulated further, an outright ban in a country where marijuana legalization is spreading rapidly seems unlikely. And now that Big Tobaccos lobbying heft is backing Juul, the company will be even tougher to topple. For those who feel guilty about getting kids hooked on nicotine hits, Altria reportedly offered $2 billion in bonuses to Juuls 1,500 employees, which comes out to an average of $1.3 million per worker. MoviePass The Con Artists: Mitch Lowe, the CEO of MoviePass, and Ted Farnsworth, the CEO of MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson. Lowe is the affable spokesperson with the established pedigree (he did stints at Netflix and Redbox). Farnsworth is the money man who was all too eager to lure customers by offering the promise of a movie per day for only $10 per month (he used to own a psychic hotline). The Mark: Americas largest theater chains. MoviePasss plan was essentially to buy up a bunch of movie tickets, sell them to moviegoers at reduced rates via the subscription model, and then use those moviegoers as leverage to force the theaters to offer MoviePass discounted tickets. It was a clever idea that probably would have worked if a wealthy company like Amazon had tried it. The problem was that MoviePass was being held together by a data analytics firm no one had previously heard of, word-of-mouth marketing, and some duct tape. The Flourishes: Using the phrase We are the Orbitz of the movie theater business as a flex; temporarily banning AMC from MoviePass before the theater chain could figure out how to ban MoviePass from AMC; thinking that producing the film Gotti would somehow keep the con going. MoviePass ended its all-you-can-watch subscription months ago. Now, it asks customers to pay about $15 per month to see three moviesbut only certain movies, and only at certain theaters. Meanwhile, instead of bowing to MoviePasss demands, AMC recently launched its own subscription app. MoviePass may wither on the vine, or it may go back to being a product for hardcore movie buffs like it was in its early years. Either way, the company is no longer going to disrupt the movie business at large. The Boring Company The Con Artist: Elon Musk, who invented his tunnelling transportation company while dicking around on Twitter, and is funding it in part by selling flamethrowers. The Mark: Cities, like Chicago, that are staking their transportation future on a charismatic out-of-town businessman who offers up a technological marvel that just might put them on the map. Yes, this is literally the plot of a Simpsons episode. The Flourishes: Musk once promised that the Boring Companys tunnels would be a mass transit solution, featuring eight-to-16-person pods hurtling along electric skates at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. But the first tunnel that opened last month featured normal electric cars moving in single-file fashion at 50 mph. Conveniently enough, the cars were Teslas, which Musk also happens to sell. The Moment We Should Have Known This Was a Con: When Musk said public transportation sucks back in December 2017, not only because its inefficient but also because riding between places with strangers is, in and of itself, repellant. Good thing the Boring Company tunnels now appear to be a Tesla transportation network. Probably not, but hell definitely sell a lot more merch while trying. Theranos The Con Artist: Elizabeth Holmes, the 34-year-old entrepreneur who went from lauded tech visionary to disgraced villain after Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou landed the journalistic equivalent of a killshot on Theranos and its unethical business practices. The Mark: Honestly an incredible number of people and organizations, including Walgreens, FDA lab inspectors, Fortune magazine, and Henry Kissinger. Theranos billed itself as a revolutionary bloodwork lab that could diagnose hundreds of conditions with a single prick of a finger. The thing that made its deception so damning was that its faulty blood analyzers were prone to giving people inaccurate diagnoses about the diseases they did or didnt have. The Flourishes: Holmes is an Apple obsessive who mimicked Steve Jobs right down to the black turtlenecks and the reality distortion field. The Moment We Should Have Known This Was a Con: When Theranos reached a $9 billion valuation in 2014 without attracting much interest from the top-flight venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. After the companys story started unraveling, VCs revealed that the company had been too secretive about its technology to trust. Theranos announced that it would be dissolved in September. Holmes was banned from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years to settle fraud charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And she is still expected to face a criminal case. Theranos was one of the most elaborate cons in Silicon Valley history. Its also had one of the most dramatic falls. Initial Coin Offerings The Con Artist: Initial coin offerings are a way for people to generate money by creating virtual currencies and selling digital tokens in them to investors. (Think Bitcoin meets crowdfunding.) The largely unregulated space is ripe with fraudsters; according to one study, almost 80 percent of initial coin offerings are scams. But well use the example of Maksim Zaslavskiy, a Brooklyn businessman born in Ukraine whose real estate and diamond ICOs landed him in trouble with the SEC. The Mark: About 1,000 investors who collectively gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Zaslavskiy based on the claim that his virtual currencies were backed by real-world investments in real estate and diamonds (they werent). The Flourishes: Zaslavskiy marketed himself as a global philanthropist who had a team of lawyers, accountants, and brokers managing his real estate cryptocurrency (he didnt). He claimed that 2.8 million tokens of his currency had been sold (they hadnt). The Moment We Should Have Known This Was a Con: When Zaslavskiy declared to his backers that he was shifting from investing in real estate to diamonds. Even though he never made an actual investment in either asset, pivot to diamonds is still an incredible turn of phrase that I hope enters the lexicon before the next recession hits. Pivots rarely do. In November Zaslavskiy became the first person in the United States to plead guilty to ICO fraud, establishing a precedent that will no doubt snare would-be digital hucksters in the future. He faces up to 37 months in prison for scamming too close to the sun. The Ultimate Con Lets recap: Theranos is dead and MoviePass, at least in its too-good-to-be-true iteration, is as well. The Boring Company still has a lot to prove, while ICO fraudsters will have a tougher time moving forward now that the SEC has settled on an enforcement strategy. That leaves Juul, the startup that knew just how long to market to young people before the feds came knocking. The company never claimed its product was good for you, only that it was less bad for you than the alternative; meanwhile, the scourge of smoking will always hold as a convenient distraction from the potential hazards of long-term vaping and nicotine addiction among people who were never going to smoke cigarettes. And now, as of last month, that company has ridden a partnership with the market leader it aims to disrupt to a huge payday and a valuation of $38 billion. Juul is going to save the world from cigarettes and make Big Tobacco a fortune doing it. Its almost too perfect a story to believe. | https://www.theringer.com/tech/2019/1/10/18167364/juul-big-tobacco-tech-startup-long-cons |
Could Krispy Kreme be set to open a new store in Edinburgh? | Krispy Kreme could be looking to open a second venue in the Capital after it was revealed that the popular firm has posted a job advert online looking for people for an exciting new opening in Edinburgh. The ad, which was posted on www.caterer.com, is for a retail manager position for the doughnut chain at a new opening in the city. The post, which lists the address as EH15 3RD, states: We are looking for a superstar Retail Store Manager with excellent customer service and people management experience to lead an energetic, high-performing team in one of our NEW OPENING Krispy Kreme stores! MC2, the company behind new Krispy Kreme store openings in UK, are remaining tight lipped over the ad but a spokesperson did respond with: Were actively looking for new sites to bring the joy of Krispy Kreme to more people across the UK especially in Scotland! As soon as new sites have been fully secured we will be delighted to announce these to you. A new store would only be the second in the Capital, after the opening of the first ever Scottish Krispy Kreme doughnut store at Hermiston Gait brought traffic chaos to commuters in 2013 as hundreds of sweet-toothed fans queued for up to two hours to get their sugary fix. More than 400 customers were served in the first hour, setting an all-time record for the chain. Join our Facebook group Our Edinburgh to share images and news from and around the Capital | https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/inspire-me/food-and-drink/could-krispy-kreme-be-set-to-open-a-new-store-in-edinburgh-1-4854645 |
Is Paul Whelan a Spy? | The media has a new bit of speculation that fits neatly into the flagging Russiagate narrative. It concerns Paul Whelan, a high school graduate Marine Corps dishonorable discharge, who is currently working in corporate security for a Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer. Whelan, who lives alone, is self-taught in Russian and has engaged in tourist travel to the country a number of times. He was reportedly arrested late last month in Moscow while ostensibly attending a friends wedding and charged with espionage. Forty-eight year-old Whelan is clearly an odd duck and is notable for having four passports Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and that of the United States. Press coverage of the incident has nearly unanimously decided that the spying charge against Whelan is phony and that he is being held as bait to arrange for an exchange with Maria Butina, who is in jail in Virginia after being charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government and engaging in conspiracy. The media and the usual pundits base their conclusion on absolutely no evidence whatsoever apart from their conviction that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bad man who would do almost anything to irritate the United States and overthrow its system of government. Oddly, the press watchdogs fail to note how the current federal government is doing a damned fine job destroying itself without any assistance from the Kremlin. If Putin really wanted to damage the US, he would be best advised to leave it alone and let Congress and the White House do the heavy lifting for him. Unlike the mainstream media, I rather expect that the charges against Whelan could be more-or-less correct, though not in the way the press has framed the story, which is that Whelan is such a flawed character that he could not possibly meet the requirements to be working for any sophisticated spy organization. The New York Times in its coverage of the story interviewed several former CIA officers who had served in Russia, but asked the wrong questions. The reporter wanted to know if Whelan could possibly be an employee of US intelligence. The ex-Agency officers replied no because of his criminal record while a Marine and other oddities in his career, which included some marginal involvement with low-level law enforcement. The former spooks were correct to state that Whelan would not pass the security hurdles for employment as a staff officer, but there is also a whole other level of possible engagement with the Agency, DIA or JSOC cooperating as one of the sources which intelligence organizations recruit and run to collect information. The flawed but nevertheless useful Whelan would be a perfect target for recruitment as an intelligence source, referred to in the business as agents. Unusually for a foreigner, Whelan has a social media account on Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, which is quite likely how he came to the attention of CIA or the Pentagon. And The New York Times, interestingly, describes his friends on the site as men with some sort of connection to academies run by the Russian Navy, the Defense Ministry or the Civil Aviation Authority. That alone would be enough to generate considerable interest in American intelligence circles as sources with that kind of access are hard to find. And the details of Whelans arrest, if true, are completely consistent with how a low- to mid-level source might be run and used by a US government case officer. According to Russian accounts published in Rosbalt, a news agency close to the Kremlin, an unidentified intelligence source revealed that Whelan was trying to recruit a Russian citizen to obtain classified information regarding employees at various government agencies when he was caught in flagrante. He was arrested five minutes later in what was clearly a sting operation after having received a USB stick that included a list of all of the employees that he apparently had requested. It may turn out that Paul Whelan is completely innocent and is merely a pawn in a tit-for-tat chess game being played by Washington and Moscow. If so, it is to be hoped that he will be proven innocent and released, but no one should rule out his having been recruited and exploited by a US government agency. Spying is not a game. It is a dangerous business, with serious consequences for those who are caught. | https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/01/10/is-paul-whelan-spy.html |
Would the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray with No. 1 pick and then try to trade Josh Rosen? | Kyler Murray is reportedly declaring for the NFL Draft, and that development understandably set off a chain of events that, some 12 hours later, already has us discussing Murray not only going in Round 1, but possibly going first overall. It started innocuously enough when then-Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said this back in October about Murray. "Kyler, I mean, he's a freak, man," Kingsbury said at the time, via Eric Kelly of KLBK. "Kyler is a freak. I've followed him since he was a sophomore in high school. Just think the world of him and what he can do on a football field. I've never seen one better in high school and he's starting to show it now at the college level. I don't have enough good things to say about him. He's phenomenal. "I've never seen him have a poor outing. Not one, which at quarterback is impossible to do but he's done it. I'd take him with the first pick of the draft if I could. I know he's signed up to play baseball but he is a dominant football player and I would take him with the first pick." So yeah, funny story. The Arizona Cardinals hired Kingsbury this week and, as it turns out, the Cardinals have the first-overall pick. We joked on Wednesday night during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ that Murray's impending announcement was horrible news for quarterback Josh Rosen, the Cardinals' first-round pick last April. Again, to be clear, we were joking. Which brings us to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who wasn't joking when he talked Thursday about the possibility of the Cardinals drafting Murray first overall. "The one thing about the NFL is that quarterbacks are currency," Schefter told ESPN's Mike Greenberg. "And i can tell you this: Last year, when the Cleveland Browns had the first and fourth-overall picks, at one point in time -- and I know people will be skeptical of this -- they considered taking quarterbacks at one AND four, and then auctioning off one of the quarterbacks that they liked less. "So if you're the Arizona Cardinals and you like Kyler Murray that much -- also, imagine him going No. 1 overall -- but maybe there's a scenario where you get him and you auction off Josh Rosen. If that's what the new [coach] likes, if that's what he wants, why would you not acquiesce to that when you could get a king's ransom for Josh Rosen, who some teams really like. Again, we're getting things started here really early, and really putting things out there, but it's not implausible that that scenario could unfold." That seems improbable, but a year ago no one was talking about Baker Mayfield as a first-round pick, let alone the first overall selection. He went nuts at the Senior Bowl and three months later, he was the first player to hear his name called in the 2018 NFL Draft. As it stands, Murray is the second-best quarterback in the 2019 draft class, behind only Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. And by the time it's all said and done, Murray not only could be the first quarterback taken, he could be the first player taken in this draft. | https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/would-the-cardinals-draft-kyler-murray-with-no-1-pick-and-then-try-to-trade-josh-rosen/ |
Was tun bei Problemen rund um die Schneemassen? | Der ADAC-Rechtsexperte Stefan Reinecke sagt, die Brger mssen es aus Grnden des Allgemeinwohls hinnehmen, wenn ihre Einfahrt oder ihre Parkpltze zugeschttet werden. Reinecke gibt aber den Tipp, in besonders nervigen Fllen mit dem Fahrer des Rumfahrzeugs oder mit der Gemeinde zu reden. In der Regel findet sich dann eine Lsung, so seine Erfahrung. Gehwege vor dem Haus mssen gerumt werden, das ist klar. Und das gilt laut Reinecke grundstzlich fr den gesamten Gehweg, also nicht nur fr einen schmalen Streifen, "aber man wird im Einzelfall sicherlich immer bercksichtigen, dass der Schnee ja irgendwohin muss," sagt Reinecke. Wie viel Schnee auf besonders breiten Wegen gerumt werden muss, regelt eine Satzung der jeweiligen Kommune, also auch hier gilt: Nachfragen bzw. nachlesen. Hier sagt der Rechtsexperte: "Das richtet sich nach der kommunalen Satzung." Es ist also unterschiedlich geregelt, je nachdem, wo man lebt. Reineckes Tipp auch hier: Bei der Gemeinde nachfragen, was die entsprechende Satzung vorschreibt. Besonders rgerlich ist es, wenn PKW-Fahrer nachts auf der Autobahn liegenbleiben, weil die Straen nicht gerumt sind. Zum Beispiel, weil die Rumfahrzeuge wegen der Schneemassen nicht mehr durchkommen. Hier ist das Gesetz eindeutig. Laut Stefan Reinecke hat niemand rechtliche Ansprche, der auf der Autobahn liegenbleibt, weil Rumfahrzeuge nicht schnell genug durchkommen. Viele Gemeinden knnen zurzeit nicht mehr alle Wege frei rumen. Reinecke sagt: "Grundstzlich meine ich, die Brger haften dann nicht dafr, weil sie nicht verpflichtet sind, einen ffentlichen Weg zu rumen." Aber wenn man den Weg rumt, muss man laut Reinecke darauf achten, dass man keine Gefahrenstellen schafft. Mit Salz streuen ist grundstzlich verboten, sagt Reinecke. Es gibt allerdings eine Menge erlaubter Mischgranulate. Womit genau die Brger streuen drfen, regeln dann auch wieder Satzungen der jeweiligen Gemeinde. In der Augsburger Straenreinigungs- und Versicherungsverordnung heit es beispielsweise, dass Wege "mit Splitt, Sand oder anderen abstumpfenden Mitteln zu bestreuen" sind. Zu spt in der Arbeit wegen der Schneemassen "Grundstzlich ist jeder Arbeitnehmer fr den Arbeitsweg, den er jeden Tag hat, selbst verantwortlich," sagt Reinecke. Kommt ein Arbeitnehmer also zu spt zur Arbeit, ist das also grundstzlich sein eigenes Problem. Der Arbeitgeber knnte ihm sogar den Lohn fr die versumten Stunden krzen. Abmahnen oder kndigen knnen die Chefs ihren Mitarbeitern aber nicht, sagt Reinecke. | https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/was-tun-bei-problemen-rund-um-die-schneemassen,REkqnTH |
What was that fireball that flew across the East Coast sky Wednesday morning? | Article Tools Font size + Share This A fireball is not a mere colloquialism. It is an actual astronomical term, and nearly 200 people on the East Coast reported seeing one in broad daylight Wednesday morning. The nonprofit American Meteor Society collected more than 190 reports in seven states, including Pennsylvania, of a fireball a meteor that burns brighter than the planet Venus rocketing across a small section of the sky above the Delaware coast around 11:35 a.m. From one vantage point in New Jersey, the fireball remained in sight for less than 10 seconds. all the way from western North Carolina to the tip of Long Island. By far the largest, brightest and fastest object I have seen, wrote observer Mike F. in Quakertown. Based on the reports, the AMS computed a trajectory that shows the meteor traveling from northeast to southwest, ending in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Norfolk, Va. There are significant clusters of reports from southeast Pennsylvania, the area of Richmond, Va., and all along the Maryland coast. Thousands of meteors bright enough to be considered fireballs grace the atmosphere every day, but usually over oceans and either masked by daylight or coming at night when most are sleeping. The brighter the fireball, the rarer the sighting. For example, an experienced observer might see one with a brightness magnitude of -4 thats about the brightness of Venus every 20 hours of observation. But a brighter magnitude fireball say -6 or better is likely to seen with 200 hours of observation. Thats still a little less bright than a first-quarter moon. The AMS hasnt reported whether this one reached the ground or ocean, making it a meteorite. A fireball generally needs a brightness of -8 to -10 to have enough mass to potentially make it to the ground. In other words, its rare. Good data have been collected on about 800 fireballs, according to the AMS, and only four of those have been recorded as meteorites on the ground. [email protected] Twitter @kayla_dwyer17 610-820-6554 Copyright 2019, The Morning Call | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/what-was-that-fireball-that-flew-across-the-east-coast-sky-wednesday-morning-1.2431718 |
Why does Man Utd star Alexis Sanchez always roll up his shorts? | Alexis Sanchez has endured a tough time since signing for Manchester United last January. It is almost a year to the day since the forward made the high-profile switch from Arsenal. Sanchez has attracted plenty of criticism over his performances since joining as Uniteds top earner and fans have been quick to scrutinise one particular ritual he likes to perform. Express Sport reveals several possible reasons why Sanchez rolls up his shorts while playing and training for Manchester United. Comfort Much of Sanchezs game involves weaving in and out of tight spaces. Rolling up his shorts would result in less material to interfere with his dribbling. Sanchez may think his has greater mobility when rolling up the shorts. Whether his game really is enhanced by his quirk remains anyones guess. Alexis Sanchez: He was spotted on United's warm weather training camp Superstition Often footballers simply dont have a motive for their pre-game, mid-game and post-game actions. John Terry used the same pair of shin pads for a decade while Tomas Rosicky never sang the Czech Republic national anthem as his youth team always lost when he did. The late great Johan Cruyff would slap Ajax goalkeeper Gert Bals in the stomach before every match and Petr Cech didnt shave during Euro 2012. Plenty of footballers have their rituals, habits and superstitions Sanchezs could be a simple case of hitching up his shorts. Alexis Sanchez: He hasn't commented on why he rolls up the shorts Alexis Sanchez: The Chilean used to do it at Arsenal too Iconic moments Weve all seen it from Cristiano Ronaldo. A last-minute penalty, a close-range free-kick, a last-gasp corner. The Portuguese star frequently stands proudly behind the ball, shorts rolled up high, arms spread to the side as he draws deep, long breaths. No matter what happened next, you will always remember the iconic Ronaldo pose. Being a set-piece taker, Sanchez could be trying to channel his inner Ronaldo and ramp up the drama for millions of fans around the world. Alexis Sanchez: Cristiano Ronaldo appears to be the trend-setter | https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1070141/Alexis-Sanchez-shorts-Man-Utd-news |
Is It Time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to Trade Nazem Kadri? | Branch Rickey was a very smart guy. The long-time president and general manager of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers is probably best noted as the sports executive who broke Major League Baseballs color barrier by signing and bringing Jackie Robinson to the majors. However, it didnt stop there. Rickey created the modern minor league farm system, warm-weather training facilities and even introduced the batting helmet to baseball. However, more to the point of this post is his rule of thumb that suggests a team should always trade a player one year too early rather than one year too late. And, heres where it matters to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This might be the season the Maple Leafs should consider trading its 28-year-old, third-line center Nazem Kadri. I really like Kadri. Hes brash, seems fearless, sticks up for teammates and is reliable. He usually plays against other teams top lines and still contributes offensively. His job with the Maple Leafs is to neutralize opposing top guns, and he is pretty effective at it. Still, it might be time. Hes a 30-goal per-season center whos in his prime. Reasons Not to Trade Kadri There are a number of reasons NOT to trade Kadri. Reason One: Kadri Is a Home-Grown Player Although London, ON, is further down the road than other Toronto suburbs, the effect is the same. He is an Ontario Guy, and as Don Cherry says, you cant have too many players from Ontario. I believe that too. Reason Two: Kadri Gives the Maple Leafs Enviable Depth at Center With Kadri, the Maple Leafs finally have the depth at center they have desired for so many years. In fact, he has been a project of coach Mike Babcock since Babcock came to Toronto, and Kadri has responded with two 30-goal seasons. In 2016-17, Kadri played all 82 games and scored 32 goals and 29 assists for 61 points. The following season, he scored 32 goals and 23 assists for 55 points. Hes been as effective as William Nylander, but ironically in a quieter way because he doesnt play a quiet game. Kadri has a proven history of success. He gives the team one less thing to worry about. Reasons to Trade Kadri Those reasons given, there are also good reasons to move Kadri this season. Reason One: Hes Older Than His Years Kadri does not play on the perimeter and because he doesnt, hes taken his cumulative lumps over the years. He plays the kind of physical game that eventually takes its toll. Using the example of the Dallas Stars, hes a Jamie Benn kind of guy who mixes skill with power. That game makes a player age more quickly in hockey years. In comparison to Benn, teammate Tyler Seguin plays a perimeter-oriented skill game that moves him further away from the rough stuff. Heres saying that, in the end, Seguin will have a longer NHL career than Benn. If you want to see how quickly a highly-valued physical player can fade, look at the Edmonton Oilers Milan Lucic. He is only 30 years old, but is not producing at all and suddenly carries an albatross of a contract. Kadri plays the kind of game coaches love, but because of it, hes the kind of player the Maple Leafs should consider trading one year too soon rather than one year too late. Reason Two: He Has a Contract Other Teams Would Love Kadri is a good candidate to be traded because he has the kind of contract another team could easily assume. Specifically, his six-year contract has an average annual value of $4.5 million, but its structured nicely for another team. He had a $5 million salary for the first two years, $4.5 in years three and four and finishes with a $4 million base salary in years five and six. Related Maple Leafs News: Rentals, Nylander, Hyman, the Cap & Offer Sheets This contract makes him a valuable trade chip. Hes a 30-goal scorer in his prime who can be a top-six player or, as hes currently playing, a highly-valued third line leader. Reason Three: Hes the Right Demographic and Has the Right History When trading, teams seek players between the ages of 27-30 because they show a reliable body of work. Theres no mystery: a team knows what its getting for its money. As noted, Kadri also has an affordable contract that gives a team multiple seasons without a large commitment. In fact, his contract structure ages well as it gets better as it progresses. Finally, a center who scores 30 goals is uncommon and is highly-prized. For these reasons, there is likely a good trade market for Kadri and he would probably return value if traded. I am thinking of trading a center for a defenseman, which is a need for the Maple Leafs. Reason Four: The Maple Leafs Already Have a Replacement Im certain I am not the only person to suggest this, but Nylander and his large contract should be playing at center and not wing. Hes the kind of player who makes others better on the ice, and perhaps moving him to the third-line center role would help the team. Finally, because the Maple Leafs signed Nylander to a six-year contract, its better to commit to a center than to a winger. Reason Five: It Offers an Opportunity for a Youngster to Move Up The Maple Leafs have younger players who could move into the space a Kadri trade would create. Im thinking of the offensive potential of Connor Brown, for example. His record in the minors suggests he might be better in a third-line role rather than on a fourth line. Making Nylander a center allows that move. Finally, trading Kadri for a reliable defenseman shapes the Maple Leafs roster in a way that is advantageous. The team is blessed with more good forwards than defensemen, and making that switch makes sense. In Summary Im not the first person to think of trading Kadri. Last summer, prior to the season beginning, Kurt Hill of Fansided suggested a similar idea. I bring it up now because I think the reasons for such a trade are starting to make more sense as the season progresses. Notice that I didnt suggest that trading Kadri opens up needed cap space. I am thinking that the Maple Leafs might leverage a Kadri trade to find the defenseman they need without trading a prospect for a rental. Perhaps an old-fashioned one-for-one trade, a center for a defenseman, would be better. Well see how that progresses as the Feb. 25 trade deadline nears. Related: Maple Leafs News & Notes: Andersen, Rumours & Pettersson Out | https://thehockeywriters.com/toronto-maple-leafs-trade-kadri-options/ |
How to calculate JEE Main 2019 score? | JEE Main 2019: This is the first time National Testing Agency (NTA) is conducting the Joint Entrance Main (JEE Main 2019) examinations in multiple sessions and therefore, the calculation of scores has also been changed. The marks of the candidates will be calculated on the basis of relative performance ranging from zero to 100 for each session of the examination. Advertising Around 9.5 lakh candidates are expected to appear for Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) 2019 examinations that will be conducted from January 8 to 12, 2019 in two phases. How to calculate scores The candidates can calculate the score on the basis of relative performance which is calculated on the basis of the scale ranging from 100 to 0 for each session of the examination. The candidates score equal to or below a percentile will be marked as a percentile score or the normalised score. Each topper of the session will get the same percentile of 100. Advertising Highest raw score and percentile score: All the highest raw scores will have normalised percentile score of 100 for their respective session. How to resolve ties The overall merit or ranking will be based on the percentile scores of the total raw scores. In the case of two or more candidates obtaining equal percentile scores in the test, the merit of such candidates shall be determined in order of preference as follows: Candidates obtaining higher percentile score in Mathematics in the test. Candidates obtaining higher Percentile score in Physics in the test. Candidates obtaining higher percentile score in Chemistry in the test. Candidates older in age to be preferred. Compilation of result for the first attempt : Since, the first attempt will be conducted in multi-sessions, NTA scores will be calculated corresponding to the raw marks obtained by a candidate in each session as per the above procedure. The calculated NTA scores for all the sessions will be merged for the declaration of result. The JEE Main result shall comprise the four NTA scores for each of the three subjects (Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry) and the total for the first attempt. Compilation of result for the second attempt: Similarly, the second attempt will be conducted in multi-session. NTA scores will be calculated corresponding to the raw marks obtained by a candidate in each session as per the above procedure. The calculated NTA scores for all the sessions will be merged for the declaration of result. The JEE Main result shall comprise the four NTA scores for each of the three subjects (Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry) and the total for the second attempt. Preparation of merit list or ranking: Advertising The four NTA scores for each of the candidates for the first attempt as well as for the second attempt will be merged for the compilation of result and preparation of overall merit list or ranking. | https://indianexpress.com/article/education/how-to-calculate-jee-main-2019-score-cut-off-result-nta-5527510/ |
Why is 250-year-old Harrogate tree to be axed? | A historic tree in Harrogate which may have stood since the reign of King George III is potentially under threat as part of plans to build a new homeless shelter. Having granted planning permission for the development last August, Harrogate Borough Council has been working to ensure damage to wildlife and natural habitat at the site off Spa Lane in Starbeck is kept to a minimum. But three trees are set to be lost in the plans, among them one of 1,014mm in diameter, a size which indicates it may belong to the era of King George III and the 1770 Enclosure Act which created the Stray partly by enclosing the Ancient Forest of Knaresborough. Although three replacements are proposed and careful landscaping of the site is also planned, local resident Andy Dennis, said more care was needed over the handling of the area. He said: I am personally in favour of the homeless accommodation development but believe that the developers should not destroy the habitats that surround the site. The site has long been home to an abundance of wildlife, squirrels have dreys in a number of the trees. Hedgehogs have nests in the border areas and a wide variety of birds nest in the trees and hedges. Part of a Conservation Area, the much-needed new homeless facility would provide temporary accommodation for 20 people, with the focus on single people sleeping rough in severe weather. The council has already conducted an ecology report and a bat survey at the site and has also employed the expertise of its own arboricultural section. As part of the planning process last July, Paul Casey, the councils arboricultural manager in the department of community services, said the size of one tree labelled T6 was important. He said: That is a significant stem diameter for a tree and attaches a level of historical value. Coun Rebecca Burnett, Harrogate Borough Councils cabinet member for planning, said: An ecological study on the area was done and formed part of the planning application. The permission given requires a landscaping scheme which retains boundary hedges, and an ecological mitigation scheme which protects existing wildlife. Were confident that wildlife and the environment has been considered, taken into account during the decision making process, and protected. The council is currently producing a 30-year woodland planting strategy for the Ancient Forest of Knaresborough, partly to mark the 250th anniversary in 2020 of the 1770 Enclosure Act. Harrogate nightmare: new roadworks for 6 months revealed | https://www.ripongazette.co.uk/news/environment/why-is-250-year-old-harrogate-tree-to-be-axed-1-9530887 |
Was 2018 the peak for internal-combustion car sales? | 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long-Range RWD Electric-car sales are growing. Total car sales around the world are shrinking. Put the two together, and the conclusion from many analysts is that sales of cars powered by internal combustion engines around the world have already peaked. From 2019 onward, they're likely to do nothing but shrink, according to several automotive analysts interviewed in the Financial Times (subscription required) for a piece published late last month. DON'T MISS: Leading the way: Tesla trounces luxury competitors in year-end sales tally The FT quotes several analytics firms forecasting that global auto sales will fall in 2019 compared with a record 95.5 million cars sold in 2018, according to Moody's Analytics. There are several factors at play: an international trade war among the U.S., China, and Europe; tighter consumer credit in the world's largest auto market, China; troubled Brexit negotiations; and tighter European restrictions on carbon-dioxide emissions. Other analytics firms, including Evercore ISI, Accenture, and Jato Dynamics told the FT that they expect a structural downturn in 2019, based on slower sales in the second half of 2018. READ MORE: Tesla cuts prices $2,000, almost hit 250,000 vehicles in 2018 At the same time, sales of electric cars are rising. AlixPartners, a British consulting service, says it expects electric car sales to grow by 1.5 million in 2019, reaching about 1.6 percent of the global market. "Peak ICE" may already have occurred at the end of 2018, Elmer Kades, global co-leader of AlixPartners' automotive practice told the FT. Its this slowing growth of the overall pie that the industry should be most concerned with, even as it has to ... pay for the continuing switchover to electric vehicles. CHECK OUT: Nothing comes close to Tesla: 2018 Q3 plug-in sales Sales of electric cars in China nearly doubled in 2018, from 405,000 to 793,000, while sales of internal-combustion cars dropped from 18.7 million to 18 million. The same thing is happening in the U.S., albeit not as dramatically. Total car sales in the U.S. fell from a peak of 17.5 million in 2016 to 17.3 million in 2018. In the meantime, the share of plug-in cars doubled. Electric cars have won more than 7 percent market share in California, and sales of plug-in cars are more than 10 percent of the California market. Sales of the Tesla Model 3 about doubled the number of electric cars sold in the U.S. in previous years. | https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1120827_was-2018-the-peak-for-internal-combustion-car-sales?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCarConnection-CarReviews+%28The+Car+Connection+-+Car+Reviews%29 |
Why the rush to name a New Orleans police chief? | With the sudden departure of New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison, Mayor LaToya Cantrell will finally get the chance to name her own top cop, which is likely what she wanted all along. Be careful what you wish for. There is nothing unusual or wrong with Cantrell wanting to name her own police chief. In most cities, its the most important and high-profile appointment that a mayor makes, sending a message about a commitment to public safety and taking ownership of the crime stats. But after the sudden announcement Monday (Jan. 7) of Harrisons resignation, Cantrell appears to be rushing to fill the gap with little or no public input or transparency. The process painfully brings to mind Cantrells still inexplicable decision to hire former NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley as the citys director of public safety and homeland security. She backed down reluctantly only after what she called an uptick in community resistance from those who criticized Rileys leadership following Hurricane Katrina and questioned his diligence in investigating accusations of police violence, including the shooting deaths of unarmed citizens after the storm. Searching for motives in the NOPD chiefs disappearance Naming a new police chief could be a defining moment for Cantrell. It could be argued that the greatest success of Mayor Marc Morials two terms was the hiring of Richard Pennington in October 1994 to take over an NOPD riddled with corruption and incompetence. New Orleans had the highest per capita murder rate in the country 424 homicides in 1994 alone and the highest rate of civil rights complaints against officers when Pennington took charge. Five years later, the number of murders was down to 158 and Pennington had instituted policies to clean up the internal malfeasance and to begin restoring public confidence in the force. Nothing would have redeemed Ray Nagins criminally dysfunctional time in office, but the performance of his NOPD superintendents, Eddie Compass and Riley, certainly didnt help. Compass lost control of the NOPD during the Katrina disaster and Rileys tenure was marred by continued chaos. Mayor Mitch Landrieus first choice for superintendent, Ronal Serpas, stepped down in the midst of controversy over a two-day delay in publicly disclosing an officer-involved shooting during an Algiers traffic stop. An inspector generals report also had criticized his department for the widespread misclassification of sexual assault reports. That led to the rise of Harrison, who is widely praised for boosting morale within the department and increasing confidence with the public in guiding the NOPD under a federal consent decree. He also is leaving after New Orleans made it through 2018 with 146 murders, the lowest number of homicides in the city since the early 1970s. But Cantrell never seemed to fully embrace Harrison. Throughout her campaign, she said she would mount a national search for a new chief and coldly allowed that Harrison could apply if he was so inclined. Even when she reversed course and kept him on, Cantrell said Harrison would be evaluated quarterly by a set of metrics she never made public. We may never know. The question now is how Cantrell moves forward. She has said she will announce her new chief Monday, just a week after the job came open. Perhaps she was prepared for this moment, either because she knew he was leaving or was planning to replace him. This Louisiana Republican could face tough votes in shutdown battle Either way, it would help if the public were better informed by how the decision was being made and an assurance that the candidate has been properly vetted. Act in haste, repent at leisure rarely works in politics or public policy. Sometimes you are fortunate to land a Pennington (think Sean Payton) and sometimes you get a Compass or a Riley (think Mike Ditka or Hank Stram). Tim Morris is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write to Tim at [email protected]. | https://www.nola.com/opinions/2019/01/why-the-rush-to-name-a-new-orleans-police-chief.html |
Can Celtics' draft picks top the Lakers in Anthony Davis trades? | If the New Orleans Pelicans decide to trade Davis this summer, most of the interested parties will be limited to offering their own draft picks. The Celtics' options are different by design. Boston has stockpiled future picks for a situation like this, and it could have as many as four first-round picks in the 2019 NBA draft. Let's take a look. How Boston can trade this year's first-rounders First, let's reconsider an important caveat for the Celtics with regard to Davis. The NBA's collective bargaining agreement prevents teams from acquiring more than one player currently signed to a designated rookie extension, which means Boston can't have both Davis and Kyrie Irving this season. That will change come July 1, when Irving is all but certain to decline his player option and become a free agent. Hypothetically, the Celtics could trade for Davis before the Feb. 7 deadline if they included Irving in the deal. Realistically, pairing Davis with Irving is a large part of the appeal of a trade. So a Boston deal for Davis would almost certainly not happen until after the July moratorium -- after this year's draft. However, the teams are free to negotiate and agree on terms before that, meaning the Pelicans could get their choice of picks at the draft and then complete the deal once Irving is officially a free agent. With that in mind, let's go through the picks the Celtics could have, using projections based on ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) to estimate their value. Projecting Boston's picks Boston first-round pick Chances: 100 percent | Most likely position: 28th The Celtics will, of course, have their own first-round pick. The bad news -- which is probably actually good news -- is that it's likely to fall at the end of the round. Because Boston should win more games in the second half of the season by living up to its strong point differential, BPI projects just two teams (the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors) with better records on average. That would mean picking 28th for the Celtics, who used the 27th pick in last June's draft to take Texas A&M center Robert Williams. Sacramento first-round pick (top-1 protected) Chances: 97 percent | Most likely position: 11th Entering the season, the Kings' first-round pick looked like the crown jewel of Boston's trade coffers. The Celtics get the pick unless it's No. 1 overall, in which case the Philadelphia 76ers would keep the pick (from the Markelle Fultz trade) and Boston would get Philadelphia's first-rounder instead. Alas, Sacramento has made its pick far less valuable by exceeding expectations and staying in the Western Conference playoff race. Because of the Kings' poor preseason projection -- which still retains predictive power this deep into the schedule -- and their relatively weak point differential (minus-1.4 points per game), BPI gives Sacramento little chance of making the playoffs in the West (the Kings do so in 1 percent of simulations). Nonetheless, Sacramento's pick is still most likely to land at the bottom of the lottery, and that's even without considering that the Kings will have no incentive to lose games late in the season. So while this is still a useful pick to trade, it's no longer the blue-chip trade piece it once appeared. Philadelphia first-round pick Chances: 3 percent | Most likely position: 23rd Again, the Celtics get the Sixers' pick only if Sacramento wins the lottery. That happens in just 3 percent of BPI simulations, which is good for Boston because swapping picks would mean a huge tumble. With Philadelphia firmly entrenched in the East's top five, this pick will most likely fall into the 20s. Memphis first-round pick (top-8 protected) Chances: 64 percent | Most likely position: 10th Having slumped since a strong start, the Grizzlies have fallen behind Sacramento in BPI's projections, meaning amazingly this could be the best pick the Celtics get this year. At the same time, there's a narrow window for Boston to get a top-10 pick because Memphis keeps it if it lands in the top eight. If they can no longer realistically make the playoffs, the Grizzlies might try to fall in the standings to improve their chances of keeping the pick. The good news for the Celtics is twofold. First, no matter how hard Memphis tries (or doesn't try), there will almost certainly be a chance for Boston to get the pick this year. Because the top four picks will be chosen by lottery under this year's changes, up from the previous three, only a team with a bottom-four record will be assured a top-eight pick. Given how bad the NBA's bottom five teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Phoenix) have been, it will be difficult for the Grizzlies to enter the lottery any higher than sixth. Second, if Memphis' pick rolls over to 2020, the protection drops to top-six before becoming unprotected in 2021. Given the age of Grizzlies stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, the 2020 or 2021 Memphis pick would probably be even more valuable as a trade chip than a pick in the back end of this year's top 10. Having that pick in reserve could become especially handy if Davis negotiations drag on past July 1, meaning the Celtics would have to draft this year instead of the Pelicans getting to control the picks. LA Clippers (top-14 protected) Chances: 73 percent | Most likely position: 18th The Clippers' pick, originally sent to the Grizzlies in exchange for Jeff Green before being rerouted to Boston during a 2016 draft-night trade, is lottery-protected each of the next two years before converting to a far less valuable 2022 second-round pick if not conveyed. Given the reasonable possibility the Celtics will never see the first-round pick, it's exciting for Boston that the Clippers are on track to likely make the playoffs this season. BPI projects them doing so nearly three-quarters of the time. Although the Clippers will probably fall near the bottom of the West playoff standings, they're not likely to pick any higher than 18th because of the weaker projected records of the East's last three playoff teams. Even if Boston doesn't get the top-five pick from the Kings that fans were dreaming of entering the season, the Celtics' extra first-rounders are still an edge no other team could match in dealing for Davis. After all, most teams have only their own first-round picks, which are likely to fall near the end of the round if they add the superstar big man. At the same time, it's unclear just how much New Orleans would covet draft picks in a possible Davis deal. Given their small market and poor ticket sales (they currently rank 26th in home attendance), the Pelicans might prioritize players who can keep them competitive even after Davis' departure. That's the approach that would open the door for a team like the Lakers, with its unusual cache of recent first-round picks on rookie contracts: Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Moritz Wagner, plus early second-round pick Ivica Zubac. Consider the original incarnation of New Orleans' Chris Paul trade, which brought back veterans Goran Dragic, Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom and Luis Scola in lieu of picks. Only after NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed that deal in his role as the Pelicans' owner rep did New Orleans instead get a quality draft pick (which ended up 10th overall, used on Austin Rivers) in the eventual trade sending Paul to the Clippers. While Davis is surely even more coveted, we've also seen recent trades involving star players entering the final year of their contract offer little in the way of draft picks. The Indiana Pacers got young players Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis instead of picks when they sent Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and players DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl were more important to the San Antonio Spurs' return for Kawhi Leonard than the Toronto Raptors' top-20 protected 2019 first-round pick. From that standpoint, Boston's own young talent might be the key in potential Davis trade negotiations rather than the Celtics' draft picks. Jaylen Brown is the kind of young player with playoff experience the Pelicans might target, while Boston agreeing to deal Jayson Tatum would presumably trump any other offer that could be made for Davis. So although the Celtics' draft picks can be useful sweeteners, they might not prove to be the core of a Davis deal. | https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/celtics-draft-picks-top-lakers-anthony-davis-trades/story?id=60285206 |
Did Amazon really try to buy Netflix for $12 million? | According to a new book, Amazon was keen to buy Netflix in 1999. Quite understandable given its potential. But it only offered $12 million for the then-startup. The derisory offer was rejected and the rest, as they say, is history; Netflix now has a market value of a cool $3.7 billion. The ingeniously-titled Netflixed is a history of the company that details the 1999 meeting between Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Netflix founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. And yes (haha), the book is available at Amazon. Hastings tried to sell to Blockbuster for $50 million, but it rejected the offer. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010 while Netflix has gone from strength to strength, though it has had recent problems of its own, not least when it attempted to sell off its DVD business and its share price declined. Dish Network has just announced it is to abandon US plans to relaunch Blockbuster as a Netflix rival. And just two weeks ago, Hastings called Amazon Prime Instant Video "a confusing mess", Hitting targets Netflix has undergone a successful international rollout over the last couple of years though, while its userbase is increasing, profits were down in the second quarter by a whopping 91 per cent and the company warned it may not hit its goal of seven million new subscribers this year. Amazon tried its own subscription services in various territories until it eventually decided it would buy LoveFilm outright in 2011 (it previously had a stake in the company) for around 200 million ($322 million USD). Via Cnet | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/internet/did-amazon-really-try-to-buy-netflix-for-12-million-1102785 |
What Makes the Perfect Roommate? | Steph has had several roommates, Randy never has. Anyway, a new survey looked at the top ten traits of the PERFECT roommate. And most of them also apply to living with a partner or spouse . . . 1. They pay their bills on time. 2. They do their fair share of the chores. 3. They always wash their dishes. 4. They take the trash out without being asked. 5. They dont spend forever in the bathroom. 6. They dont leave dirty plates sitting out. That ones basically the same as #3. So apparently dishes are doubly important. 7. They get along with your friends. 8. They dont eat your food. 9. If they want to throw a party, they run it by you first. 10. Theyre always there if you need to talk. The top 20 also include good taste in music . . . good taste in movies . . . not hogging the remote . . . occasionally cooking for you . . . and being GONE most of the time. | https://www.mix1069.com/what-makes-the-perfect-roommate/ |
Why Did AT&T Shares Lose 22% in 2018? | AT&T (NYSE: T) faces a fairly hostile and highly competitive market for its wireless, broadband, and pay-television services. The company has not lost ground in all of those segments, but it's struggled as DirecTV has cast a shadow over the entire company. What happened While AT&T has added wireless customers and its overall outlook remains positive, the company has no answer for stemming the declines in its satellite television business. In the third quarter alone, DirecTV lost 359,000 customers while its DirecTV Now streaming service added 49,000 and AT&T U-verse increased by 13,000. That's not an AT&T problem but, rather, a satellite television one. Satellite used to be the main competitor to traditional wired cable. Now, with streaming services and cord-cutting as lower-cost options, consumers have no reason to opt for satellite. In addition, DirecTV does not offer bundled broadband service and AT&T's U-verse (which does) lost 23,000 video customers in the third quarter. Again, that's due to customers shifting away from phone company-based internet preferring cable-based service and not a problem specific to AT&T. A person pointing a remote control at a television. More Cord-cutting and customers dropping satellite have become a problem for AT&T. Image source: Getty Images. So what AT&T faces problems with DirecTV and pay television in general that it has no answers for. The company will continue to lose satellite customers in large number,s and it's not going to make that up in streaming customers. It should, however, remain a strong player in wireless, but it will face pricing challenges in that market assuming the Sprint and T-Mobile merger gets approved. Concerns over the pay-television business were a drag on the shares of the company in 2018. After closing 2017 at $36.11 before closing the year at $28.07, a 22% drop, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Now what It's really a question of how AT&T manages its declines in satellite television and how it leverages its various assets. CEO Randall Stephenson understands that ongoing success will involve more than just providing services. "We are well positioned for success as the lines between entertainment and communications continue to blur," he said in a press release. "If you're a media company, you can no longer rely exclusively on wholesale distribution models. You must develop a direct relationship with your viewers. And if you're a communications company, you can no longer rely exclusively on oversized bundles of content." AT&T, of course, owns content through its acquisition of Time Warner. In theory, that content could be used to entice more customers to buy DirecTV Now or some sort of streaming service using the company's programming library. That's a possible but very challenging proposition for a company that's facing significant competition and changing consumer demand. More From The Motley Fool Daniel B. Kline has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. | https://news.yahoo.com/why-did-t-shares-lose-150500442.html |
Will Delta (DAL) Retain its Beat Streak in Q4 Earnings? | Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2018 results on Jan 15, before the market opens. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in the last reported quarter. In fact, it boasts an impressive earnings history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 4.2%. Things seem to be looking up for the company this soon-to-be-reported quarter as well with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings being revised 2.5% upward over the last 60 days. Our proven model shows that Delta is likely to beat on earnings in the fourth quarter of 2018 as well because it has the perfect combination of the following two key ingredients. Earnings ESP: Delta has an Earnings ESP of +1.26%, representing the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate (poised at $1.27 cents per share) and the Zacks Consensus Estimate (pegged lower at $1.25). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Zacks Rank: Delta currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Note that the stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 have a significantly higher chance of beating estimates. Conversely, the Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) should never be considered going into an earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions. Thus, the above combination makes us reasonably confident of a likely earnings surprise in the impending reporting cycle. Delta Air Lines, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Delta Air Lines, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Delta Air Lines, Inc. Quote Factors Likely at Play The current law, which cuts the corporate tax rate significantly, is anticipated to aid Deltas bottom-line growth in the fourth quarter. Notably, the carrier expects earnings per share between $1.25 and $1.30 in the period to be reported, much higher than 96 cents in the fourth quarter of 2017. Additionally, high passenger revenues owing to solid demand for air travel are anticipated to boost the companys top line. Delta expects total revenues to grow approximately 7% excluding third-party refinery sales in the quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue growth is pegged at 5.7%. Additionally, the pre-tax margin is predicted between 10% and 11%. Moreover, total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM: a key measure of unit revenue) is envisioned to increase approximately 3% on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter TRASM stands at 17.22 cents compared with 16.40 reported in the third quarter of 2018. Notably, the company has been reporting a healthy TRASM growth over the past few quarters. On another positive note, non-fuel unit costs are likely to slip approximately 0.5% in the to-be-reported quarter. This is another catalyst for bottom-line growth. However, high fuel expenses might partly offset earnings growth in the quarter. Fuel prices, although at a low level since the past few months, is still much higher when compared with the year-ago figure. The company forecasts fourth-quarter fuel cost per gallon in the range of $2.38-$2.43, much higher than $1.93 in the year-ago period. Other Stocks to Consider Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector may also consider American Airlines Group, Inc. AAL, ArcBest Corporation ARCB and JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU as these stocks too possess the right mix of elements to beat on earnings in the next releases. American Airlines has an Earnings ESP of +6.73% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The company is expected to release fourth-quarter earnings on Jan 24. ArcBest has an Earnings ESP of +0.14% and a Zacks Rank of 1. The company will report its fourth-quarter financial numbers on Jan 30. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. JetBlue has an Earnings ESP of +2.86% and is a Zacks #2 Ranked stock. The company is expected to announce fourth-quarter results on Jan 24. Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>> | https://news.yahoo.com/delta-dal-retain-beat-streak-145302994.html |
Did the Fed 'massage' December minutes? | The Federal Reserves recent market-easing message is raising concerns over whether the December minutes had been massaged. Continue Reading Below As a Fed chair, as somebody who came from the private sector, who understood how business was done, [Federal Chairman Jerome Powell] had not previously let the Fed minutes be doctored, former Dallas Fed adviser Danielle DiMartino Booth told FOX Business Lauren Simonetti on FBN: AM on Thursday. It was fairly apparent given yesterdays minutes release that they were definitely massaged, modified, call it what you will, after the fact. During its December meeting, the Fed signaled that it would take a more relaxed approach to interest rate hikes in 2019. The minutes followed Powells comments last week that the Fed would be more flexible on policy, depending on the economy. In the past, monetary policy was strictly based on austerity, but, in Booths opinion, investors have become too familiar with a Federal Reserve that placates the markets when stocks decline. Investors of this generation, they dont have any recollection of pre-[Alan] Greenspan days when monetary policy was simply made to reflect the situation in the economy, she said. That is no longer the case. Advertisement It had appeared that Powell would not follow in his predecessors footsteps, she added, but his actions have shown otherwise. I think that a lot of people were hoping that Jay Powell was going to break the mold of ... predecessors and not kowtow, not placate investors, she said. But hes clearly shown that that is not the path that hes going to do. He does appear now to be a [Janet] Yellen and a [Ben] Bernanke type of clone. Booth said Powell has changed his stance four times, leaving investors guessing. Whats hard for investors though is, What is he going to say today? she said. He was hawkish in October. He was dovish in November. He was hawkish in December. And he was dovish in January. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP According to Booth, the Fed also changed its message in the 2008 transcripts. Transcripts are released with a 5-year lag," she said. "Janet Yellen actually said if the markets do not like the message that was conveyed in the FOMC statement, then we can use the minutes as any other tool in our toolbox. Its a matter of public record that she said that. Powell is expected to reiterate his message from last week during an interview on Thursday with the Economic Club of Washingtons David Rubenstein. In Booths opinion, Powell has lost credibility. | https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/did-the-fed-massage-december-minutes |
Was bringen die Ankerzentren in Bayern? | vor 21 Min. Bayern Das Innenministerium spricht von einem Erfolg, die Lage im Ankerzentrum in Donauwrth ist aber eine andere. Seit knapp fnf Monaten gibt es die Asyl- und Abschiebezentren in Bayern. Die CSU spricht von einem Erfolg und findet dennoch kaum Nachahmer. Von Thomas Hilgendorf Die Lage in Donauwrth ist wohl nicht unbedingt jene, die man sich vorgestellt hatte im bayerischen Innenministerium. Im Ankerzentrum fr Asylbewerber in der Alfred-Delp-Kaserne sollten Asylantrge effektiver bearbeitet werden. Eigentlich. Die aktuellen Zahlen zu den Abschiebungen sprechen allerdings bislang eine andere Sprache. Thomas Scheuerer ist Inspektionsleiter der Polizei in Donauwrth. Hinsichtlich der tatschlich durchgefhrten Abschiebungen mache sich mitunter Resignation unter den Beamten breit, berichtet er. Der Grund lsst sich in der Statistik festmachen: Die Polizei musste im vergangenen Jahr 190 Mal zu Abschiebungsfahrten ausrcken um unanfechtbar abgelehnte Asylbewerber zum Mnchner Flughafen zu bringen. Insgesamt 16 Mal mussten Fahrten von der Kaserne zum Flughafen abgebrochen werden. 143 Mal haben die Beamten die Ausreisepflichtigen gar nicht erst angetroffen. Lediglich 31 angeordnete Abschiebungen wurden durchgefhrt. Innenministerium zieht positive Zwischenbilanz Die ersten Ankerzentren starteten im August 2018 in Bayern. Anker steht fr An(kunft), k(ommunale Verteilung), E(ntscheidung) und R(ckfhrung). Das CSU-gefhrte bayerische Innenministerium zieht eine positive erste Zwischenbilanz fr die Zentren mit rund 8600 Bewohnern. Die durchschnittliche Dauer fr Neuverfahren liege nun im Schnitt gerade bei rund drei Monaten. Die Bndelung der wichtigen Behrden schaffe die Voraussetzung fr schnellere Klarheit ber den Ausgang des Asylverfahrens. Von der nochmaligen Verbesserung der Arbeitsablufe profitieren insbesondere auch die Asylbewerber in den Einrichtungen. Laut schwarz-rotem Koalitionsvertrag sollten weitere Zentren bundesweit entstehen. Aber nur Sachsen und das Saarland folgten bisher mit Einrichtungen in Dresden und Lebach der Idee. Die meisten Lnder verweisen darauf, dass sie Einrichtungen mit vergleichbaren Strukturen haben. Alexander Thal vom Bayerischen Flchtlingsrat sieht zwar eine Beschleunigung von Neuverfahren. Viele Menschen sen aber lange in den Zentren, etwa weil sie gegen die Asylentscheidung klagten oder aus anderen Grnden nicht abgeschoben werden knnten. Wir haben Unterbringungsdauern von zwei Jahren und lnger und sie steigen weiter an, weil viele Menschen hier stecken bleiben. Laut Asylgesetz sollen Menschen maximal sechs Monate in Erstaufnahmeeinrichtungen bleiben. Das kann auf 24 Monate verlngert werden. In Bayern geschah das schon; andere Lnder berlegen. Caritas sieht keinen greifbaren Fortschritt Die Caritas, deren Helfer in einigen bayerischen Ankerzentren beratend mithelfen, sieht bisher keinen greifbaren Fortschritt. Es ist restriktiver geworden, sagt der Referent fr Migration beim Caritasverband der Erzdizese Mnchen und Freising, Willi Drxler. In Frstenfeldbruck etwa gebe es anstelle einer Schranke nun ein Eisentor. Die meisten sagen, es hat sich kaum etwas verndert. Man hat nur ein anderes Schild an die Tre geklebt, findet Drxler und fgt hinzu: Das alte Dilemma bleibt bestehen: Die Menschen haben keine Perspektive, drfen nicht arbeiten und sitzen dauernd auf Kohlen, ob sie vielleicht abgeschoben werden. Fr Kinder, die meist keine regulre Schule besuchen, sei der Aufenthalt schlicht eine Katastrophe. Immer wieder Polizeirazzien und das meist mitten in der Nacht. Fr Kinder, und nicht nur fr diese, wirkt das traumatisierend. (mit dpa) Das Grundrecht auf Asyl in Deutschland 1 / 3 Zurck Vorwrts In Deutschland ist das Recht auf Asyl im Grundgesetz verankert. Festgelegt ist dies in Artikel 16a. Dort heit es in Absatz eins: Politisch Verfolgte genieen Asylrecht. Tatschlich wird das Asylrecht in der Bundesrepublik damit - anders als in vielen anderen Staaten - nicht allein aufgrund der vlkerrechtlichen Verpflichtung aus der Genfer Flchtlingskonvention gewhrt, sondern hat Verfassungsrang. Mit dem sogenannten Asylkompromiss von 1993 wurde dieses Grundrecht allerdings deutlich eingeschrnkt. Unter dem Eindruck stark gestiegener Asylbewerberzahlen vor allem aus dem damaligen Jugoslawien setzten Union, FDP und SPD damals eine Grundgesetznderung durch. Eine Folge: Wer ber einen sicheren Drittstaat einreist, konnte sich seither nicht mehr auf das Asylgrundrecht berufen. In der Praxis bekommen Menschen, die heute vor Krieg und Krisen nach Deutschland fliehen, nur selten eine Asylberechtigung nach Artikel 16a des Grundgesetzes. Die meisten erhalten Flchtlingsschutz nach der Genfer Flchtlingskonvention oder einen eingeschrnkten (subsidiren) Schutz. Das gilt fr Menschen, die nicht als politisch verfolgt gelten, aber trotzdem bleiben drfen, weil ihnen in der Heimat ernsthafter Schaden droht - wie Folter, Todesstrafe oder willkrliche Gewalt in einem bewaffneten Konflikt. Themen Folgen | https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/bayern/Was-bringen-die-Ankerzentren-in-Bayern-id53128811.html |
Haven't there always been libraries? | History tells us that there have always been libraries of some sort, like stories engraved in stone, the Dead Sea scrolls, and buildings containing mile-high stacks of musty books. So it seems to me that our local library has always been part of my life in one way or another, for I have memories of going there back nigh onto ninety years ago. Now just let me think MOM AND ME AND MISS MOSS My mother would plunk me in my go-cart along with two or three books, and off we would go to 3rd Street SW. Apparently she and Granny liked to read novels, and when a book was finished, it was an emergency situation. It was about 1929. The library was in a dark-looking mansion, and run, I believe, by the Womens Institute. It had once been the residence of one Billy Richardson, a local real estate dealer. Inside there were rows and rows of books on shelves; a huge brick fireplace that never had a fire in it; and Miss Moss. She was a little old lady who kept track of who took out and returned which books. How I recall how she looked down at little me and said, Now dont you touch anything. For goodness sake, I was too small to reach anything It was still there when I short-cutted past it on the way to The Collegiate and graduated in 1944. But it was in the late 1940s that the adjacent old Central School was demolished and replaced by the spanking-new Prince Charles School right there. ON THE MOVE So the books got moved to Portages old City Hall. My daughter, who was born in 1950, tells of when she was still pre-school, of her Aunty Gwen taking her to the library there, and getting her first library card. Then it was in the 1950s that the old City Hall was torn down and we got our new post office on the site, and in return, acquired the old majestic post office in return. So for a while, the library found a new home here in our new City Hall. At the same time, the Bank of Montreal built anew at its present location, where the ancient fire hall once sat. In return, the city now became owner of their old red brick bank building, and the library was on the move again. My daughter, now a teenager, worked there as a volunteer. THE NEW HYDRO BUILDING When rural electrification came to Manitoba, Hydro built a showroom in Portage, the idea being to demonstrate to the farmers the wonders of using electricity. In due time it was decided that it was no longer needed, so the city took it over and it became the home of the library and also the art centre. I know it was up and running well, for I did volunteer work at both places after I had so-called retired in the early 1980s. HOME AT LAST Now Canada Safeway built their third store downtown, but when the mall opened, it left city-centre and moved far out to the west. Again, the city had a building to make use of, and after a lot of thought, made it the home of the library on one side and the Herman Prior Centre on the other. LETS CELEBRATE! They tell me that on January 19, the library will be celebrating an anniversary and we are all invited to the party. So watch for further announcements, and I will see you there. | https://www.thegraphicleader.com/opinion/columnists/havent-there-always-been-libraries |
What is 5G? | 5G is coming, but most of us aren't really sure what it is or why we want it. A big part of the reason is that 5G means more than one thing, and depending on who you ask you'll get different answers. That makes it a lot like 4G, which was equal part marketing term as well as real technology. Technically speaking, 5G is the next generation of broadband connection. At first, 5G will live beside and enhance your current 4G service, but soon enough 5G-only networks will be complete and stand-alone 5G devices will be available. With any type of 5G connection, you'll see faster network speeds, but the biggest changes will happen when carriers have all deployed high-frequency millimeter wave technology to tap radio wavelengths that have been unusable in the past. We're already seeing carriers put 5G networks into place for testing and evaluation. Both "real" 5G networks and fake 5G networks like AT&T's 5G Evolution network that's really just 4G with extra bandwidth. But because of how 4G LTE is going to be enhanced by and eventually replaced with 5G, it will be a while until everything is up and running and "real" 5G is everywhere. All about the frequency Think of 5G as broken into two parts I'll call them low-frequency 5G and high-frequency 5G. Low-frequency networks will use the same radio bands that current technology uses, but changes to signal encoding (primarily channel polarization which Huawei used to obtain 27Gbps speeds using existing networks) and wider channel bands will allow for speeds up to 50% better than the best 4G LTE network has to offer today. Networks using these changes will also still be able to have the same range that they currently have, which means no additional cell sites are needed to maintain the same network footprint. Some new equipment will need to be installed at existing sites, though, and carriers are getting everything 5G-ready in preparation. New ways to compress and send data can make 4G seem as fast as 5G, but the real innovation requires microwaves. But the newer and better technology behind 5G is using higher-frequency spectrum. Spectrum available in wavelengths like 28GHz allows for very fast and very "wide" channels for broadband service to communicate over because they aren't congested and clogged by devices that use it today. Known as millimeter wave frequency, these channels have one significant drawback the signals don't travel nearly as far as the lower-frequency signals do. We see this in action today. Verizon's 4G LTE service uses lower frequencies than Sprint. When the network isn't crowded with plenty of customers, Verizon will have higher speeds further away from any cell site than Sprint will because Sprint's higher-frequency signal just doesn't travel as far or penetrate solid substances as well. Faster connections usually don't have much range. Your home Wi-Fi router is an even better example. 802.11 a/b/g 2.4GHz networks use narrow 20MHz channels to transmit and receive data. 802.11 n 5GHz networks use 40MHz wide channels, and 802.11 ac 5GHz networks use 80MHz wide channels. When you're connected to your wireless access point with a 2.4GHz connection on a much more narrow channel, the speeds are slower than when connecting at 5GHz when you're very close to the router but stay fairly consistent as you move further away. 5GHz connections, especially wireless ac connections, have a much more limited range because the signal strength drops off quickly. To offset this, millimeter wave 5G will require much small cell sites that are much closer to each other. This is the only way to keep the ultra-high frequencies safe enough to use, because if the signal gain was increased enough to allow for long-distances at those frequencies some serious health issues would occur. Communication over these radio bands isn't something new, so all the pitfalls are well known and the right precautions have been taken. AT&T says it will have a true 5G network live in 19 cities and has test sites up and running in 12 cities across the U.S. This is in addition to its "5G Enhanced" 4G LTE network the company is also pushing. Sprint is repurposing its current 2.5GHz network for 5G and is currently retrofitting its cell sites as well as making all new sites "5G-ready". T-Mobile is using both its 600MHz network and 28GHz network bands to have a 5G network in place sometime in 2019, with a complete nationwide rollout by 2020. Verizon is using millimeter wave 5G for its current home 5G broadband and says it will have a mobile network in place sometime during 2019. Of course, what all that really means is that you will need new devices in order to see any sort of 5G network for yourself. Qualcomm has designed chips that will be ready for 5G in its current form and will also be ready as the tech matures and minor changes are made. We also know that Samsung is making 5G phones for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint as well as carriers in Europe, OnePlus will have Europes first 5G-ready phone to launch on EE sometime this spring, and that Huawei is ready for 5G in Asia as well as the places in North America where the company still does business. By mid-2019 seeing every phone manufacturer talking about a 5G phone shouldn't surprise anyone. The 5G Moto Mod: Everything you need to know We've also seen a few mobile hotspots that can leverage these new (and in many cases unavailable) 5G networks by Netgear and others. This drives home one very important 5G feature that doesn't get enough attention it can compete with wired broadband internet. A fully built network in the millimeter wave range of the spectrum can have as much capacity as a wired network using today's tech. And unlike a fiber-based network, there won't be a group of workers with a backhoe in your yard installing it. What this all means right now | https://www.androidcentral.com/what-5g?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+androidcentral+%28Android+Central%29 |
Is the US right to cry foul about forced technology transfer to do business in China and what is Beijings position? | As the trade war between China and the United States rumbles on, its focus has shifted from deficits and surpluses towards more technological matters. Washington is not only demanding Beijing end its practice of forcing foreign joint venture partners to transfer technologies to their Chinese collaborators, but also scrutinising the work of Chinese researchers based in the US. In the second of a series of reports on these issues, we look at the allegations of forced technology transfer. Of the many criticisms of China from the Donald Trump administration, those on forced technology transfer have been among the fiercest. It is a chronic and prevalent problem that Beijing uses a variety of tools to pressure the transfer of technologies to Chinese companies, the United States argues, and more tolerance of it would cause heavier losses to the US, especially with Beijing pursuing world dominance in many industries. The Chinese government has rejected such accusations both publicly and in government-to-government communications. Forced technology transfer (FTT) means that when a foreign company wants to enter the Chinese market, it has to surrender its technology to Chinese companies through a joint venture agreement or in some cases regulations. Some foreign companies have said they were forced to do so. US pushes needed structural changes on forced technology transfers and IP protection during China trade talks, but no sign if any new agreements were made If there were coercion, Chinese officials claim, foreign companies could choose not to invest in China. If multinationals make hefty profits on the mainland then they benefit from investing in China under terms which are neither discriminatory nor coercive, they have said. As China and the US hold talks after agreeing a 90-day truce in their trade war in December, their wide differences on how China acquires technology is threatening to help catalyse a broader rivalry between the two powers. According to the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Chinas foreign ownership restrictions, such as those for joint ventures and equity, and various administrative review and licensing processes, require or push for technology transfer from US companies. In an update in November, the USTR said Chinas practices relating to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation were unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce. US puts verification of Chinas commitment to industrial reform at heart of next trade war talks Evidence it cited was mainly surveys conducted by business chambers in China. Last July, the 2018 China Business Report of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai stated that 21 per cent of 434 respondent member companies had felt pressure to transfer technology in exchange for market access. This pressure was particularly evident in hi-tech industries, with 44 per cent of aerospace and 41 per cent of chemical companies having reported facing notable pressure to transfer technology. Among other surveys cited by the USTR, the Business Confidence Survey 2018 of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China indicated similar concerns. It found that unfair technology transfers continue despite government assurances, with 19 per cent of 532 respondent chamber members reporting that they had felt compelled to engage in unfair technology transfers to maintain market access in China. The USTR has acknowledged the unlikelihood of a company accusing China directly, because there would be concerns about possible retaliation against their business in China. That reticence could be driven by the value of Chinas huge market and the barriers at Beijings disposal, regarding market access, administrative reviews and its licensing process, for instance. Dan Prudhomme, associate professor at Ple Universitaire Lonard De Vinci in Paris, classifies Chinas FTT policies into three categories, based on their consequences. The consequence of one kind of FTT is losing the market. The most well-known requirements imposed on foreign firms to transfer their technology to a foreign-Sino joint venture as a precondition for market access in China have been found in the traditional auto industry and high-speed trains industry. There have also been local government procurement requirements in the wind power industry for products or a percentage of them to be made domestically, and excessive disclosure of trade secrets to government authorities required in industries such as the chemicals and pharmaceutical industries in exchange for licensing and other regulatory approvals, Prudhomme said. US lacks evidence for forced tech transfers claim against China at WTO The second kind of consequence is violating the law. It has been written into Chinas technology import-export regulations that local Chinese firms must own improvements they make to technology involved in foreign-contracted research. If the foreign partner does not comply with the policy, it will be breaking the law. Under the third FTT circumstance defined by Prudhomme, foreign companies find they are left with no choice. When the letter of Chinese law is not followed in practice, unfair court rulings in civil intellectual property litigation will result in unexpected losses of technological knowledge, he said. With the exception of the no choice circumstances, foreign firms have some choice about whether or not they want to comply with the so-called FTT policies, said Prudhomme, who wrote a paper released last year, co-authored with three European researchers, based on surveys and interviews with executives in multinationals China operations from 2013 to 2016. So forced may not be the most accurate word to describe those policies, he said. However, in all cases, the choice not to comply with the policies is met with consequences some of which are quite significant. A Chinese executive who has worked with two automotive joint ventures in Shanghai said foreign partners had largely tolerated forced transfer of non-key technologies because they wanted to maintain a good relationship with Chinese government. When Beijing allowed foreign carmakers to set up in China in the early 1980s, they were required to enter joint ventures with local manufacturers so that the latter could learn and grasp key technologies. A requirement that foreign partners hold a stake no higher than 50 per cent in their Chinese joint ventures is to be abolished by 2022, it was announced last year under the pressure from the US. How Chinas rampant intellectual property theft, long overlooked by US, sparked trade war Developing a strong auto sector has been a national industry strategy, with the focus on grasping key technologies, the executive said on the condition of anonymity. Guided by that goal, joint ventures Chinese partners and local governments are motivated to get as many technologies as they can. While inferior Chinese carmakers bluntly copy car designs, skilled players try to learn details from their foreign partners in day-to-day operations, she said. However, foreign partners have been so shrewd that they keep key technologies and know-how top-secret and do not release new models until the last minute, which has generally helped prevent technology leakage or theft, she said. The auto industry may be an example of a failure of FTT policies for China, as foreign companies have earned hefty royalties and profits in a prosperous market and China has failed to grasp key technologies. However, there are other cases in which China has been a winner. Forced technology transfer is very real. I face the issue every day, said Steve Dickinson, a lawyer with international law firm Harris Bricken who has represented many US companies in China. A well-known case is high-speed rail, Dickinson said, and Chinese government called the theft the paradigm example of indigenous innovation. In 2004, Chinas Ministry of Railways tendered for bids to make high-speed trains reaching 200km/h. To win the contracts, foreign companies had to form joint ventures with significant transfers of technology required to their Chinese partners. Alstom of France, a Japanese consortium led by Kawasaki, and Bombardiers German subsidiary won parts of the contract. Bombardier-Sifang and Kawasaki-Sifang transferred technology to subsidiaries of China South Rail and Alstom-Changchun transferred technology to China North Rail. Both China South Rail and China North Rail were state-owned enterprises. In 2005, Siemens of Germany won a contract with China North Rails Tangshan Railway Vehicle Company to supply technology to build 60 passenger trains for the high-speed railway linking Beijing and Tianjin. The rst three trains were constructed in Siemens German plant, while the remaining 57 trains were made at China North Rails Tangshan plant in Hebei, China. Over a thousand of China North Rails technical staff were trained at Siemens facilities in Germany as part of the deal. EU expands WTO case against Chinas alleged forced technology transfers With all the technologies acquired and learned, China has become a strong rival to the worlds high-speed train producers. While Beijing attributed that success to peoples intelligence in absorbing the technologies, Western countries are aggrieved about the loss of cutting-edge technology and have criticised the FTT practices involved in significant Chinese government procurement contracts. The Chinese buy one or two token items, insist on full training for the item, and then they copy the item using that training or using information that they have hacked off the internet, Dickinson said. The system is the standard in China and at the core of the Chinese indigenous innovation programme. If a foreign entity comes to us before they give everything away, we give advice and draft agreements that prevent the forced transfer and the resulting theft. This normally means that the deal does not go through. Peter Drysdale, a professor at the Australian National University, said: All catching-up economies, including in the US, have acquired the technologies of more technologically advanced economies to engineer their industrial growth. Most of it is not stolen. Alfred Dunhill awarded 10 million yuan in groundbreaking trademark infringement case against Chinese clothing firm Danhuoli Most technology is purchased directly or through purchasing advanced machinery and equipment and it is learned. In the process, technology is adapted and it is also created. China is no different. Chinese firms are spending around US$40 billion a year on technology purchases. The amount spent on licence fees and royalties has been increasing rapidly in recent years, with year-on-year growth of this exceeding 30 per cent in the first half of 2018. Foreign firms enter into these arrangements because they are profitable, Drysdale said. While there are successes and failures, the average growth of the profits of foreign firms in China is very strong. Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the US was exaggerating the FTT issue. There has been a problem for years that firms dont want to supply the information on forced tech transfer that the USTR needs to bring a World Trade Organisation [WTO] case, because they fear retaliation by the Chinese government, Lardy said. My view is that if firms dont want to supply the information, maybe they arent really being that disadvantaged by tech transfer. American companies China operations posted US$36 billion in profits in 2015, which rose to US$39 billion in 2016, data released by the Chinese government showed. From a narrow perspective, performance requirements which include technology transfer are specifically barred by Chinas WTO accession protocol, said Sourabh Gupta, a senior policy specialist with the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington. If Chinas policies in this regard are out of line, the US could easily have brought a case to the WTO, Gupta said. On this specific issue of technology transfers, USTR did not acknowledging that Chinas policies are consistent with its international legal commitments. The [FTT] accusation is by and large invalid, but there are grounds to believe that at the margins there might be some suspect practices. And because of the top-down and intertwined executive branch and judicial branch of a one-party system, it rests on Beijings shoulders to supply the assurance that these practices, however marginal, are in no way systemic. Regardless of the validity of the accusations, China has promised to change. Huo Jianguo, former research head with the Ministry of Commerce, said: China has always claimed forced technology transfer does not exist. The latest development is Beijing recognises the problem may exist at local government levels as part of preconditions for market access, so it is addressing the issue through legislation. A draft foreign investment law was revealed last month as pressure mounted on Beijing. It states that forced technology transfer through administrative measures is prohibited, and technology cooperation should be based on voluntarily agreed terms and business practices. Chinese analysts said this was a potential guarantee for multinationals, but foreign businesses are sceptical about enforcement of the law. Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre on American Studies at Renmin University, said China was likely to agree to set up a monitoring mechanism so that the US could keep an eye on enforcement. If the US does not press too hard for a radical change, China is likely to make concessions, Shi said. Such promises are not expected to dispel fears and distrust from the US that have built as China has become a threat to it, while the involvement of Chinas government in its economy remains heavy, analysts said. China drafts law protecting foreign intellectual property and prohibiting forced technology transfer The US has cause to complain in the first place largely because a disproportionate share of US investment flows into China are in hi-tech manufacturing: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, automobiles, etc, said William Ridley, a researcher at the University of Colorado. These are sectors where proprietary intellectual property is particularly important and in which China is eager to get its hands on advanced foreign technology. Whether Trump was president or not, US authorities would not tolerate a large economy one that is rapidly catching up on the technology frontier continuing to force technology transfer as China does, particularly as Chinese firms like Huawei get closer to their American counterparts. Chad Ohlandt, senior engineer with the Rand Corporation, an American research organisation, said distrust stemmed from Chinas intellectual property (IP) management system. In China, it is essentially a centrally managed IP system, party-controlled scientific institutes, and companies create IP and party-controlled courts selectively enforce IP laws, Ohlandt said. How China hopes to play a leading role in developing next-generation nuclear reactors IP is managed for the benefit of those in power, not for the creators or the public. While China takes advantage of the US open and innovative environment to actively invest in American start-ups and innovative companies, Chinas own market is closed off and state-run, said Lee Branstetter, professor with Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. The state-driven Made in China 2025 initiative to take on Western tech giants in cutting-edge technologies, unveiled in 2015, has intensified US fears, said Cheong Kee Cheok, senior adviser with the Asia-Europe Institute at the University of Malaya. It is not just US businesses that are concerned, he said. The US strategic community is also alarmed by Chinas rise. As the trade war between China and the US rumbles on, its focus has shifted from deficits and surpluses towards more technological matters. Washington is not only demanding Beijing end its practice of forcing foreign joint venture partners to transfer technologies to their Chinese collaborators, but also scrutinising the work of Chinese researchers based in the US. In the second of a series of reports on these issues, we look at the allegations of forced technology transfer. | https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2181528/us-right-cry-foul-about-forced-technology-transfer-do-business |
Is the traditional wine bottle no longer fit for purpose? | It is sometimes said that the size of the first wine bottles was determined by the lung capacity of a glass blower, though bottles were made in a variety of sizes from early times, writes Robin Butler in the Oxford Companion to Wine. Over the years wine bottle size converged roughly around the 75cl mark albeit with some exceptions, such as Winston Churchills imperial pint of Pol Roger champagne and 75cl is the standard size now enshrined in EU weights and measures legislation. Its what wine racks and cellars are designed to fit, and it means winemakers get a round 300 bottles out of the standard 225l barrel. Or is the 75cl bottle beginning... | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/wine/traditional-wine-bottle-get-canned/ |
How did Farhan Akhtar celebrate his birthday? | January 10, 2019 14:18 IST No sighting of Shibani Dandekar though... Farhan Akhtar hosted a birthday party at his Bandra home on Wednesday, January 9, the day he turned 45. The Birthday Boy lives with his mom Honey Irani and his sister Zoya Akhtar in the sea facing home, which is close to Mannat, where Shah Rukh Khan lives. The legendary Rekha is Farhan's neighbour. Riteish Siddhwani, Farhan's buddy from the Maneckji Cooper school, and now his business partner at Excel Entertainment. Reema Kagti has directed all her films for Excel Entertainment. Aarti Patkar with husband Shaad Ali. How cute! Ranveer Singh rapped a birthday song for Farhan at the Gully Boy trailer launch. Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar | https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/how-did-farhan-akhtar-celebrate-his-birthday/20190110.htm |
Is Instagram finally coming to Windows Phone later this month? | Instagram will be a huge boon to Windows Phone 8 if it does arrive Instagram could finally arrive on Windows Phone 8 handsets this month, but it will come with some caveats, a new rumor claims. Chinese site WPDang - the same site that yesterday leaked previously unseen photos of the Nokia EOS - claimed today that Facebook-owned Instagram will come to WP8 on June 26. Rumor has it the app will even have a photo exclusive filter for Microsoft's OS. The catch: It will only be available on Nokia phones like the recent Lumia 928, the site says. That's not surprising, considering the Windows Phone powerhouse that Nokia is, not to mention the fact that it may prove to have been the driving force behind Instagram's arrival on the entire OS. But it will come as a blow to anyone using a non-Nokia WP8 handset like HTC's Windows Phone 8X. Windows Phone 8 woes Windows Phone 8 is a fine mobile operating system, but it hasn't been embraced to anywhere near the degree that Apple's iOS and Google's Android have. Granted, those two have had a head start, but with only 5.6 percent of the U.S. market compared to Android's 51.7 percent and iOS's 41.4 percent, Windows Phone 8 has some catching up to do. Part of the blame certainly lies with some key apps missing from the WP8 ecosystem - not least of which is Instagram. Instagram's appearance on Windows Phone 8 would be a major boon to Microsoft if it does come to pass. After that all the OS will need is Vine - which finally arrived on Android this week - for avid social media users to start taking it more seriously. Meanwhile, a native Instagram app may never make it to BlackBerry 10 - another struggling mobile OS - at all. Your silly face prowess may pay off if Google has its way Via BGR | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/software/applications/is-instagram-finally-coming-to-windows-phone-june-26-1157072 |
Whats Next for Red-Carpet Activism? | Catt Sadler did not at all expect to be part of the 2018 Golden Globes red carpet. The former E! host had quit the network the previous December, after hearing her male co-host was allegedly making nearly twice her salary. As her former co-workers gathered outside the Beverly Hilton that night, Sadler was at home in her pajamas. So when Debra Messingwearing black, like nearly every woman on the red carpet, to support intersectional gender parity and protest the kind of equal-pay issues that had led Sadler to leavetold Giuliana Rancic, I miss Catt Sadler, and we stand with her, Sadler was genuinely in awe. Disbelief. Complete and utter shock, she says. And honestly, discomfort. I had been with that network for more than a decade, had been on those carpets working during awards season, Sadler says. The on-air talent were my friends. The crew was like family. I know it was an excruciatingly hard day for them. The people on the ground working werent the problem. At the same time, I was so humbled by these extraordinary women coming to my defense. I knew at that moment this issue was much bigger than my singular story. As we continue through another awards season, its fascinating to look back at what Sadlers Golden Globes 2018 night portended thenand might yet for the years to come. In its near-century as a showcase for Hollywood stars, and even in its more recent incarnation as a media free-for-all, the red carpet has never served as stage for as much real-life conflict as it did in the last year. Under normal circumstances, the awards-show carpet is a pure distillation of the entertainment industrys most superficial impulses, practically designed to thwart sober reflection and moments of self-awareness. The last year, though, has tested the form. The New York Times and New Yorker exposs on Harvey Weinstein ran in October 2017; in the months that followed, more reporters spoke with more victims, who named their own alleged abusers, in Hollywood and beyond. By the time of the Globes in early January, the first major awards show of the year, no one seemed in the mood for the customary grand entrance. Times Up, launched on New Years Day, less than a week before the awards, offered one solution: they worked with attendees to wear black, to show their objection to systemic harassment and inequality in Hollywood and blue-collar workplaces nationwide. Several actresses brought gender-equality activists as dates, like Tarana Burke, who had created Me Too a decade prior and joined Michelle Williams at the Globes. The cultural momentum was there, and the message was clear and unified: sexual harassment and exploitation in this industry and others would no longer be tolerated. While #MeToo provided a catalyst, in truth the red carpet had been evolving before its full-on transformation post-Weinstein. The Reese Witherspoon-backed #AskHerMore campaign began in 2014, and succeeded in getting the Rancics and Seacrests of the world to ask women questions beyond fashion. In 2014 Elisabeth Moss raised what turned out to be a highly symbolic middle finger to Mani Cam, E!s divisive invention that provided its home audience with a tortuously close shot of the stars nail polish. It was retired a year later. Fashion Police, E!s after-the-ceremony digestif, which had adopted the brassy, dishy tone of lead anchor Joan Rivers as its house voice, pivoted to a gentler point of view after she died, in 2014. It was canceled in 2017, before the next awards season started in earnest. The Trump era just brought a sense of urgency to the whole affair, as it did elsewhere. With the constant creep of Muslim bans (a hot topic at the Oscars ceremony in 2017), the ongoing border crisis, and Trumps own sexual-assault allegations (which he, too, denies), each red carpet since November 2016 had felt like an opportunity to air righteous rage and for catharsis. It was probably impossible to keep that energy going, or to forever reconcile the cognitive dissonance of putting on lavish formal wear to speak truth to power. After the all-black Golden Globes came the BAFTAs, in London, where the black dress code prevailed. At the Oscars, pins for Times Up and for the prevention of gun violence (the Parkland shootings had happened weeks earlier) flooded the carpet; in June, A.C.L.U. ribbons sat next to Times Up pins at the Tony Awards in New York. Then came summer vacations and hiatuses, and by the time the Emmys came back around in September, political ribbons and activists-as-dates were out; cheery questions about inspiration and outfits were back in. Red-carpet activism is certainly not overlapel ribbons and political statements will linger as long as there are cameras and celebrities have opinions. But the Emmys seemed to suggest that the fever pitch of last years awards season had, perhaps inevitably, cooled, even as protest-worthy news continued. Shortly before the Emmys red carpet began, Times Up announced in an e-mail that some Emmys attendees might wear buttons that read I Believe Christine Blasey Ford and I Still Believe Anita Hill (Ford had come forward as Brett Kavanaughs accuser just a day before). The turnaround time might have simply been too fast; the buttons didnt take over the Emmys red carpet, even on several of the stars who had worn all black at the Globes just eight months earlier. Photograph by Elizabeth Lippman. Marc Malkin, of Variety, included advocacy questions to the likes of Issa Rae and Jenifer Lewis, an outlier in head-to-toe Nike in support of Colin Kaepernick. Most red-carpet telecasts, meanwhile, depicted an event that was essentially a glamorous office party, where almost everyone was talking about work. Malkin gets it. He covered red carpets with E! for more than a decade, and for other lifestyle outlets as well. Sometimes you just want to breathe, and put on a pretty dress or a tux, and walk down the red carpet, and wave to the fans. And theres nothing wrong with that. Youve got to have balance in your life, he said. For the Times Up Legal Defense Fund, which is housed and administered by the National Womens Law Center Fund and raised $22 million in its first nine months of existence, the Golden Globes blackout was an effective introductionbut perhaps a limiting one. People see the organization as one that has a lot of well-known actresses who are involved with it, says Nithya Raman, who founded and ran an initiative in India to advocate for, and with, those living in slum and informal settlements before recently being named the executive director of Times Up Entertainment. That perception is not wrong. . . . Its not a wrong face, its just part of the work and the world that weve been involved with. Another person close to Times Up added that the organization was never meant to be a red-carpet campaign. One of our goals that we set out to do at the Golden Globes was make the loudest noise, they said. We just dont want people to think that if its not at the Globes, if youre not seeing it on the Grammys or the Emmys or what have you, that its losing steam, because theres people around this country and around the world that are doing really important things outside of entertainment. . . . People look at that and are like, Are we losing steam? Its like, No, were just getting started. As Sadler put it, the Golden Globes were extraordinary because of the number of people involved. Theres no ignoring that much force behind a message, she said. But that red-carpet blackout was probably a one-time event, even as #MeToo-inspired action continues in and out of Hollywood. The work goes on, but the step-and-repeat, for now, is not the right place to show it. I think the intention is commendable, but as someone who has been on both sides of the microphone, I think theres a limited amount of progress that can be made for causes on a carpet, Sadler says. Awareness is valuable, but real change doesnt happen here alone. | https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/01/whats-next-for-red-carpet-activism |
Why Is Pongal Prepared In Sankranti? | India is a land of festivals, with each festival having its own special significance. With over a dozen festivals being celebrated round the year, it is important that each of them does not lose out on its significance. One of the easiest ways to ensure that such a thing does not happen is to accord a special food item to each of these festivals. That is exactly what our ancestors did and today most of us are able to associate any Indian festival (particularly the one we celebrated as a child) with a particular taste and flavour. This concept is all the way more correct in the case of Makar Sankranti. One of the most widely celebrated festivals of the country, Makar Sankranti is celebrated in over 16 states. Called Bihu in the eastern state of Assam, Lohri in the Northern states of Punjab and Haryana, Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Makar Sankranti in Gujarat, it is fair to say that this is one of the major festivals of India. With a festival that is so widely celebrated, it is obvious that the food habits associated with it differ across the states. In the southern states, celebration of this festival is deemed to be unfit without eating the customary pongal. So, read on to know more about the significance of the same. This year Makar Sankranti 2019 will be observed on 15 January 2019. The sun will enter Capricorn at 7.50 pm on 14 January. Thus, the festival will begin post the evening of this day and will continue on the entire day of 15 January. Punya Kala will begin at 1.26 pm on 14 January itself. | https://www.boldsky.com/yoga-spirituality/festivals/2018/why-is-pongal-prepared-in-sankranti-119837.html |
Does Jeff Bezos' divorce have to do with an affair? | Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announcement of divorce from author MacKenzie Bezos was a shocker to many. The couple, who have been married for 25-years, decided to dissolve their marriage and part ways. In a shocking development within 48 hours of their announcement, it has come to light that Jeffs affair with a TV show host is responsible for the couples divorce. It has been reported that the Amazon billionaire has been secretly having a relationship with Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor and ex-wife of Patrick Whitesell, a Hollywood talent mogul. 54-year-old Jeff took to Twitter to inform the world about the couples decision to call off their marriage. "We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends. We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. f we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again. We've had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures. Thought the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain, cherished friends, Jeff and Mackenzie." Reportedly, post her split with Patrick Whitesell, 49-year old Lauren Sanchez started seeing Jeff. The two have known each other for quite some time and were introduced by Patrick himself. It is being speculated that Lauren became closer to Jeff after she separated from Whitesell. Whereas Jeff, through his tweet, had revealed that he and his wife have been going through a trial separation. The news of the Bezos divorce came to light as they released a joint statement on Twitter. Jeff and Mackenzie got married when he was vice president of a hedge fund. The two met when Mackenzie came for a job interview at the company. | https://www.in.com/business/does-jeff-bezos-divorce-have-to-do-with-an-affair-284935.htm |
What To Do When Baby Kicks In Womb? | Pregnancy is a heavenly feeling, till the body starts giving symptoms of morning sickness and nausea. Once the baby gets bigger, it starts moving around and the discomfort gets real. As the mother starts moving through different phases of pregnancy, the baby in the womb gets more playful. Movement of the baby during these stages is a very normal occurrence. In the first three months, there will be no movement. The next trimester will involve a minimal restlessness. In the last three months, the first half will be very active with lots of kicks and shifts now and then. The baby tries to make the mother aware of its presence. The second half is usually without much movement as the baby has no space to stretch around in uterus. Every baby comes with its own unique personality and kicks freely according to its energy level. A close look at all the factors relating to this exciting part of motherhood, can reveal a lot about the health of the baby. The researchers observed that brainwaves movement in foetus inside the womb is pretty fast. If it shakes its right hand, the brainwaves are signalled in left hemisphere to feel the touch sensation in the right hand. Babies that are born prematurely stay active with fast brainwave impulses till the period of few weeks. As soon as they become old by a few weeks, this natural instinct of fast brainwaves automatically dies down. [1] Kicks are very important for the foetus in the last three months. It develops the connection of brain with sensory input; it also helps the baby to get the perception of their own body. Random body movements and subsequent feedback from the environment helps the baby in effective brain mapping. Sleep and movements are highly essential for the foetus and premature babies, as they contribute to cortical mapping and makes the babies feel protected. With the development of the brain, the foetus starts getting sensitive to its own brain activity and kicks in response to such brainwaves. They also start picking up on external factors like sound, temperature, a certain change in the mother's movement, maternal mood swings, etc. When the baby kicks, it helps to stretch all the muscles and limbs, and also provide a conscious connection to stimuli. However, doctors stay unsure about the difference in the frequency of movements, in different babies. Some babies have a longer duration of inactivity. Decreased to negligible activity during last trimester often leads to stillborn infants. It is considered healthy if the mother feels around ten movements in the duration of two hours. However, there is no solid proof from any system that guarantees a healthy pregnancy based on the number of kick counts. Some mothers may not feel it much even if the baby moves. 1. Keep a count of the number of kicks There are frequent movements by the baby in the last trimester. Many healthy mothers might not feel the kicks at all because of her being busy with other household work. However, it is recommended for her to sit and observe the baby kicks at a free time, probably afternoon after chores or evening. However, all babies are different. Some spend their time sleeping all day long and stay active during the night. Others might be hyperactive all the time. Babies sleep for almost seventeen hours in a day, where one nap lasts for about 50 minutes. If the baby kicks less than 15- 20 times in a day, and it has happened a few times already, the mother should immediately consult the doctor and seek advice. 2. Have a light snack If the baby has slept in for too long and the mother cannot feel the movement, she should snack a little or have some juice. This creates a trigger in the bowel system and uterus and causes the baby to kick. It is one of the helpful tips for pregnancy in the last trimester. However, diabetic women should take care of what foods they consume. Any disease they carry can be passed on to the baby, if not taken appropriate prevention. 3. Do some light exercise Many times babies are too shy to appear on camera during the ultrasound. A little jog or light exercises like jumping jacks could give them a mild jolt, and they might move to a new position. 4. Flash the tummy with torchlight The baby can easily feel the changes in light and darkness in the outside world by the 23rd week. If the mother flashes the light over her tummy, they are very likely to turn and face away from it. That is an effective method to sense their movement. 5. Communicate with the foetus The foetal hearing onsets during 16th week and gets fully mature by 22nd week. Babies can hear the sound of mother's voice, her blood pumping, and even loud noises in the external environment[5]. It is a beautiful feeling to communicate with the foetus; sometimes they might even react as part of their reflex actions by wriggling, jolting or turning around. 6. Act a little nervous, within a certain limit When moms crave some signal from their little ones, getting some butterflies in their bellies certainly helps. They could treat themselves with a horror movie or imagine a little panicky situation, to get the baby excited. However, a complete anxiety attack should be avoided as it won't be good for both the mother and her baby. 7. Sing soft lullaby or play gentle music Babies inside a mother's womb love hearing soft lullabies or soothing instrumentals and songs. Sometimes can even react to it with little jiggle around the baby[5] . If the baby is not moving for a while, this tip can surely help to get some enthusiastic response from the little one. 8. Take time to play with the baby It would be an exhilarating feeling for the mother to play with the baby, when they kick. If the baby stretches out its arms or legs and gives a gentle punt, the mother can press back a little to show her awareness. If the baby is in a cheerful and lively mood, it can even respond back by kicking again. 9. Shift position frequently The mothers might feel hurt by certain postures in which the baby sleeps. Moving towards 9th month, the baby keeps getting bigger and does not get much space to protrude. Their head shifts eventually towards pelvis region and the legs above in rib cage. Their slight movement can cause discomfort and pain for the expecting mother. She can take care to change her positions often when she feels these movements. 10. Enjoy of the phase Although it might be painful for the mother in the 9th month, foetal kicks are an important part of its development. If she nurtures this feeling of carrying a new life and accepts this gratefully, this will provide her necessary strength to go through this phase. It is important for a mother to maintain herself internally as well as externally to give a healthy birth. If there are no foetal movements, it shows that the baby is not active and immediately needs to be consulted with a doctor. After 28 weeks of pregnancy, it is normally suggested to women to become attuned with the baby's movements. A time should be chosen when the baby stays most active, or when the mother can rest and focus herself properly. [2] Consistency is the key; almost the same time should be inculcated in routine to count baby's movements. This helps to understand the patterns in which the foetus responds. It is possible to miss baby's movements because of active life. Nevertheless, doctor should be immediately consulted in case of any reduction in kicks. It is suggested usually to lie down on the left side with the support of cushion and make oneself comfortable. The mothers should then keep a track of the number of times the baby moves within two hours; it should be noted down. Gradually, the mother comes to know the natural movement of her baby. If the baby shows less than 10 kicks over an extended time, it is a better call to take the advice of care provider. It might not be necessarily something major, but reduced foetal kicks can suggest a lack of oxygen or proper nutrition; this can put the baby in pain. A thorough foetal and maternal check-up is done to find out the cause of fewer movements. An ultrasound is performed to observe placenta's blood flow and baby's reflex response to external stimuli. [3] Any problem found out is discussed in details to avoid any further complications. Movement Of Babies Post 8 Months Although the babies are supposed to move all the time, after eight months, they are left with very little room for big stretch and rolls[6] . Regardless, they will still play around with umbilical cord, and move gently to feel their faces and arms in the congested environment. Some babies even follow a natural rhythm in their hiccups, and experience it around the same time every day. Somehow, the pattern of the foetal movements forms the basis to analyse their behaviour post birth. [4] A link has been discovered between their kicks and early childhood disciplinary behaviour. Mostly, babies who are active in the womb, also keep their mothers on toes by being super active and lively. Babies who kick mostly active at night and sleep the entire day, turn out to be nocturnal at a later stage. Foetal kicks are the first beautiful communication the baby establishes. Keeping all the above tips in mind can certainly ensure a stress-free pregnancy and delivery. | https://www.boldsky.com/pregnancy-parenting/prenatal/2014/what-to-do-when-baby-kicks-in-womb-040933.html |
Which former N.J. high school football stars will play in college football's biggest all-star games? | Josh Allen, Sr. OLB, Kentucky Speaking of the 2019 NFL Draft, Allen had this to say following Kentucky's Citrus Bowl Win over Penn State on Jan. 1. You all record this, he told reporters. If I dont go No. 1, I dont know who is. The Montclair product boosted his draft stock by playing in his team's bowl game and now has a legitimate shot at going No. 1 overall. The 6-5, 260-pounder has won the Chuck Bednarik, Jack Lambert and Bronko Nagurski awards in 2018. He's the SEC's defensive player of the year, voted on by the AP, and has drawn comparisons to All-World Chicago Bears defender Khalil Mack. What stands out most about Allen is that despite his God-given gifts, he's a competitor. He didn't have to play in the Citrus Bowl, but he did. He doesn't have to play in the Senior Bowl, but he will. He doesn't need to attend the 2019 NFL Combine, either. But he will. | https://www.nj.com/expo/sports/g66l-2019/01/18e7fea6a02832/which-former-nj-high-school-fo.html |
Whats Next For New Japan Pro Wrestling? | When the legendary Antonio Inoki sold his share of New Japan Pro Wrestling to Yukes, a division of THQ in 2005, the promotion that he founded over thirty years earlier was on the brink of collapse. The pro wrestling landscape in the country became over saturated, and the rise of Pride MMA saw a decline in the wrestling business in the early 2000s. Inokis failed MMA experiment that included the clumsy Bob Sapp as IWGP heavyweight champion completely flopped, putting the future of one of Japans most established companies in serious jeopardy. Prior to THQs bankruptcy in 2013, New Japan was sold to Bushiroad, the parent company of a trading card game, the previous year. Bushiroad modernized the NJPW product, and Jado and Gedo as bookers brought some of the best foreign talent in the world to compliment the solid base of native athletes. In many ways, the resurgence of New Japan worked very similar to the way business boosted during other eras in the history of the industry. The pieces of the puzzle had spontaneously and organically fit in place to present shows that sparked business. The Bullet Club was started by Prince Devitt with a group of gaijin as a throwback to the New World Order, which was a spinoff of the New Japan/UWFI angle before that. Within the past five years, Okada, one of the greatest in the history of Japanese pro wrestling, entered the prime of his career at the same time that the company had its most foreign exposure of all time. Tanahashi, who carried the company when its future was in doubt, remained a big match performer despite several injuries. Tremendous athletes like Ricochet, Ospreay, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and many others offered a stacked roster during the past few years. At the same time, New Japan formed a working agreement with Ring Of Honor, a move that allowed ROH to provide a boost to their shows and was also a way for NJPW to expand its reach into the North American market. This American partnership provided the foundation for the NJPW World streaming service that became an important part of the Japanese leagues global expansion. Bushiroad improved the merchandising of the product and knew the importance of increased distribution. The popularity of the Bullet Club surged to become the most popular stable in the world, and the use of social media made many of the New Japan roster stars to the American market, a rare achievement for sports entertainment without the WWE machine behind it. Names like The Young Bucks, Cody, Kenny Omega, Okada etc. are legitimate money drawing stars, which was proven with the success of the All In event just a few months ago. In fact, that success was the launching pad for All Elite Wrestling, the promotion owned by the Khan family, but produced by Cody and the Bucks. As I wrote in an article last week, the hype and funding behind AEW has the potential to really change the landscape. All Elite could provide an alternative to the WWE for the first time since WCW closed. However, for AEW to make an impact, there could be several changes within the wrestling business this year and some of those could have a direct effect on New Japan. Toward the end of this year, the WWE will begin its mega TV deal, contracts that will bring the company a combined $2.4 billion during the next five years. In some ways, the company is completely secure as it will make more money during that time than any other point in history, but to maintain its stock value, there will always be the pressure to deliver ratings. Make no mistake about it, Vince McMahon maintained his sports entertainment empire against Ted Turner, the federal government, and other competition for the entertainment dollar because he always looks for ways to defend his turf. Vince will never casually relinquish any of the market share that WWE dominates in the United States. So, the WWE will undoubtedly sign the talent that they can in an effort to keep AEW or elsewhere from adding depth to the roster. For example, stellar jr. heavyweight, Kushida announced that he will leave NJPW when his contract expires at the end of the month, an indication that he will sign a WWE deal. As much as some fans dont want to see some New Japan talent make the jump because of how a competitor might be hindered within the system, it actually makes sense for Kushida to ink a WWE contract in 2019. Hes already a multiple-time champion and has done basically everything he can done in NJPW, especially considering that it didnt seem like he would be booked to move up to the heavyweight division. Despite the physical Japanese style, Kushida hasnt sustained many injuries, and a WWE run gives him the chance to make the most money in his career. Theoretically, the 35-year old could have a solid run in the WWE and retire early or decide to return to Japan for a fresh run after his time in the United States. As reported by Tokyo Sports, Kenny Omega, who had an incredible IWGP title match at the Tokyo Dome last week, has said that he will depart New Japan. This is also where the situation gets more complex and could have a major effect on the direction of New Japan. According to The Wrestling Observers Dave Meltzer, NJPW decided to continue its working agreement with ROH, which was expected since the two groups are scheduled to co-promote the Madison Square Garden card in April, but for now, New Japan isnt scheduled to work with AEW. Assuming that Omega will exit NJPW, that must be considered a major departure for them, as he was arguably the most popularly foreigner on the roster and one of the key athletes of the North American expansion. Again, assuming that the ROH agreement prevents New Japan from working with All Elite, that will also translate to the exit of Cody and The Young Bucks, a trio that played a major role for the Japanese group, both in its native country and America. For Omega, at this point in his career, it makes sense for him to take the best money he can get because he already cemented his legacy with his incredible New Japan run, but he suffered a lot of injuries in the past year so it would be wise for him to cash-in for the most money he can get to provide financial security as well as options for an eventual retirement. Still, New Japan has ambitious plans for 2019, including the start of the G1 in July at the 20,000 seat American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Dont get me wrong, its great to see this type of expansion that can make NJPW a truly global product and despite the exits, theres still a stacked roster, but Im skeptical that the company can sell thousands of tickets in the United States after the departure of some of the key North American talent. As I wrote last week, I think the best scenario would be for each promotion to work together because its possible that the crowded market in the United States could spread the talent too thin and thus prevent any particular company from reaching the level of a true alternative to WWE in the next few years. Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised. Until next week -Jim LaMotta E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta | http://www.pwmania.com/whats-next-for-new-japan-pro-wrestling |
Has the iPhone screwed over the UMPC? | When the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) was launched in the middle of 2006, it didn't exactly meet with an enthusiastic reception. Whilst the idea of a paperback book-sized PC you could use with a pen like a notepad sounded promising, the first generation of UMPCs just didn't hit the mark. They were too bulky, with too short a battery life. And they were too expensive. Yes, they were fun to try (as a lot of new technology ideas are) but not particularly useful to own. However, just because the first UMPCs didn't quite get portable computing right didn't mean the idea of a full Windows PC you could carry around you like a Filofax was a bad one. This is the question asked by the latest breed of all-singing mobile phones, in particular Apple's iPhone. The iPhone claims to be almost a full computer, too. It runs Mac OS X, although on an Xscale PDA processor rather than a notebook CPU. Both can play music and video, and you can get UMPCs with built-in GPS, such as Asus's R50A, which can give you a map showing exactly where you are. Let's forget the size difference for now - although this is clearly a major factor. The iPhone may be pocket friendly, where the UMPC would require trousers baggier than MC Hammer's to accommodate it. The obvious difference is that Apple realises that the battle to be the people's everyday computing device was won some years ago. And it was won by the mobile phone. Sure, Microsoft has Windows Mobile, and that's not doing too badly. You can buy quite a few decent phones running it nowadays, although pure PDAs appear to be dying out, with Dell killing its Axim range in April. But Windows Mobile is not really Windows, anyway, it's Windows CE, which is an entirely different codebase and can't run the same applications. Well, no, not really. You definitely can't run desktop MacOS X apps on it. In fact, you can't officially run third-party apps on the iPhone at all, just unofficial hacks, although in October Apple did announce it would be releasing the SDK for this in February 2008. So the iPhone's success is not about the extra software you can run on it, which is the primary selling point for the UMPC. Despite the fact that the iPhone is basically a large PDA phone, it focuses on fun and style, not processing power and extensibility. After initial reports to the contrary, the iPhone has arrived with Exchange email support and Office compatibility. But it's really the funky iPod features and built-in Google Maps which make the iPhone more than just a phone. The UMPC, on the other hand, is a device designed by people who only begrudgingly know what leisure is. It's a laptop without a keyboard; another incarnation of the Tablet PC concept. It has some fun abilities, but its big selling point is that it can run Windows apps, in particular MS Office. In other words, you will have even fewer excuses for not working 24 hours a day. Well, some of us do. But most of us don't. Most of us just want an all-in-one mobile entertainment device you can actually fit in a pocket. And that's why so many people have gotten all hot and bothered about the iPhone, even queued up for hours to buy one, where the UMPC has come and gone with very little fanfare. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/mobile-computing/tablets/has-the-iphone-screwed-over-the-umpc-180348 |
Which cloud storage has the best value? | Best Answer: Overall, Microsoft OneDrive has the best value if you're going to pay, at 1TB for $6.99 a month, and that includes an Office 365 subscription. For the most space and versatility without having to ever pay a dime, then you can't go wrong with Google Drive's free 15GB. Mega is another good option for the most free storage right out of the gate (50GB), however, while it offers end-to-end encryption on your files, it's not as versatile with third-party integrations like other services. Apple's iCloud comes with your Apple ID, and is probably what you're using by default on your iPhone or iPad for things like device backups, photos, documents, and other data. Apple only gives you 5GB for free, which is barely anything. The pricing for more iCloud storage is: 5GB free 50GB $0.99/mo 200GB $2.99/mo 2TB $9.99/mo iCloud is certainly not very expensive when you look at it on paper, and it's the easiest option out of all of these, but you don't get the best value from it. If you don't mind going with Microsoft, then Microsoft OneDrive is a great value if you plan on paying. Signing up for an account is free, but it will only net you 5GB of space by default, just like Apple iCloud. However, if you go for at least 1TB with OneDrive, then it's the best bang for your buck. Here's the breakdown with Microsoft OneDrive pricing: 5GB free 50GB $1.99/mo 1TB $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr, includes Office 365 Personal 6TB $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr, includes Office 365 Home With the 6TB Microsoft OneDrive plan, that is a total of 6TB split up among 6 users, so 1TB each. You can share your total storage and have certain accounts with more than 1TB by sharing folders and adding shared folders to your own OneDrive. So while the 6TB option is still a pretty good value, you'll need to do a bit of folder juggling if you don't want to use six accounts. Google Drive is a good option if you're already invested in the Google ecosystem. Chances are you already have a Google account and are already using it, but if you're not, then creating an account is free and nets you 15GB of space to start with. Google storage takes into account all of your stuff from Gmail, Photos, and Drive, so depending on how you're using Google services, it may fill up quick (Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides don't count). Google Drive's pricing tiers are as follows: 15GB free 100GB $1.99/mo 200GB $2.99/mo 2TB $9.99/mo 10TB $99.99/mo 20TB $199.99/mo 30TB $299.99/mo As you can see, Google Drive keeps it at $10 per TB, so even if you go with the higher TB plans, you aren't saving any money. Mega was created in 2013 by the Kim Dotcom, who founded the now-defunct Megaupload. With Mega, they promise ultimate security with your files by offering end-to-end encryption. They claim that your files are encrypted before they even reach the Mega servers, so you should have nothing to worry about. They also give you 50GB for free, which is the most storage you can get without paying a dime. This alone makes it worth checking out, but if you're looking at paying, its value falls a bit. Personally, I have been using Dropbox for years and it's the one that I pay for, but it definitely isn't the best value (it matches with Google Drive pricing). However, it's so ubiquitous with integrations in third-party apps and services that it's hard to stop using it. A free Dropbox account gets you a measly 2GB of free space, which is the smallest amount out of all of your options. However, you can bump that up to around 16GB if you max out the number of referral bonuses and activities, such as installing it on multiple devices. Yes, Amazon has its own cloud storage solution, aptly named Amazon Drive. You can sign up for this with your existing Amazon account (who doesn't use Amazon these days?) and you'll get a 3-month trial. This should be more than enough time to determine if Amazon Drive is for you. After that trial is up, you have three options, and none of them are free, unfortunately. Prime Photos : unlimited photo storage, 5GB for video, music, and other files, included with Amazon Prime membership ($12.99/mo or $119/yr) : unlimited photo storage, 5GB for video, music, and other files, included with Amazon Prime membership ($12.99/mo or $119/yr) 100GB $11.99/yr 1TB $59.99/yr The two paid options for more storage are separate from your existing Amazon Prime account, which includes Prime Photos. So even if you already pay for Amazon Prime, you'll need to pay extra for more non-photo storage. Ah yes, Box. This one should be considered more of a business tool rather than something you use for personal cloud storage. It offers a fairly reasonable amount of space for free, but once you start paying, the value drops significantly. 10GB free 100GB $10/mo As you can see, Box offers the worst value when you look at what you're getting for your money. That's a lot of services! There are a ton of cloud storage solutions out there, but the ones we've covered here are the most well-known options. Again, the best bang for your buck is definitely with Microsoft OneDrive, if you are looking to pay for something. You get 1TB for $6.99/mo, which is the cheapest one. You also get an Office 365 Personal subscription with your storage, which may come in handy if you need it for school or work. Google Drive is our runner-up because it offers a modest amount of storage for free that should work for most people. The only caveat is that it's Google, so you may not trust it fully for private or sensitive documents, which is understandable. Mega is not as popular as the other ones, but it gives you an ample amount of space for free, which makes it worth creating an account for. | https://www.imore.com/which-cloud-storage-has-best-value?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheIphoneBlog+%28iMore%29 |
Is China scouting for inter-planetary fuel on the far side of the moon? | China landed a probe on the far side of the moon on Thursday with remarkably little fanfare, yet the feat is one giant leap for a nation thats long been regarded as an also-ran in the space race. With Elon Musk tweeting pictures of starships and NASA targeting a manned mission to the Mars one day in the distant future, the moon might seem a less exciting destination. But space experts quickly applauded Chinas technical mastery in the probe landing, and said that while short-term opportunities to mine the moon for minerals might be minimal, long-term implications for space exploration are real. China thinks in decades, said Clive Neal, a lunar expert at the University of Notre Dame. The U.S. thinks in presidential terms. Last year, for the first time, China passed the U.S. in orbital launches, most of them for satellites. With the moon landing, its now positioned as a contender for exploration, communications and space commerce. The stated goal for the Change-4 sitting on the dark side: Collect samples and identify what minerals are there. Space observers said humanity was more likely to find gold, silver, iridium and platinum on asteroids. That doesnt rule out a moon-mining endeavor in the far future that could serve as a lunar gas station to the stars. The primary material on the moon is helium-3, which for now is too expensive to haul back to Earth. In theory, the non-radioactive isotope could be used as fuel for the next generations of spacecraft to explore deeper into space. Imagine driving from NYC to L.A. without gas stations along the way, said Peter Diamandis, the entrepreneur who founded the XPrize to encourage private spaceships. If you can get the fuel from space, it reduces the cost. As for those whod mine asteroids, the moon may be the better option if materials are discovered under the surface. Alex Ellery, of Carleton University, says the moons treasures are easier to retrieve because it has gravity and is close to Earth. The next step is bringing mankind back to the moon. Theres debate in the U.S. over whether to do a direct landing as soon as possible, or build a lunar base that takes longer. NASAs top administrator has committed to the latter option. Some people in the U.S. are saying, We want to get humans back there before China, according to David Todd, of space research firm Seradata. Other people are saying weve already run that race, and America needs to be careful of rushing up alleys. Todd said he expects there will be a genuine market for space tourism, and that the moon may win out. Elon Musk senses there could be government money involved and commercial opportunity, Todd said. I can see people going to the moon on a two-week holiday, but not to spend two years on Mars. China may be testing its ability for more sophisticated missions, according to Neal of Notre Dame. That poses the question of why China chose its particular landing place, at one of the moons oldest and deepest craters. The answer could be simple, he said. From the far side of the moon, Chinese scientists can see farther into space because Earths radio waves cant get in the way. | https://nationalpost.com/news/world/is-china-scouting-for-inter-planetary-fuel-on-the-far-side-of-the-moon |
Will We See Anthony Joshua Take on Tyson Fury? | Both fighters are with different promoters and different UK PPV channels so trying to put the fight together could prove problematic. Furys promoter, Frank Warren has suggested that both Sky and BT Sport could show the fight as a PPV. In the UK. You could go to Cardiff, they have a roof on the stadium. That should be summer, outdoors at a football stadium and would sell it out 10 times over, Warren told the BBC recently. It would grip the country one of those events that transcends the back pages. Everybody would be talking about it. It will be a pay-per-view event because the fighters will want to maximise their income, you can understand that. Its very easy (to make) this fight (if its 50-50). When I say 50/50, let Sky and BT Sport Box Office both have it. Take all the obstacles away like they do in the States. The fans want the fight. If both TV channels are showing it, that means the boxers incomes are going to be more. Its a no-brainer. However an other obstacle is the rivalry between Warren and Joshuas promoters, father and son team, Barry and Eddie Hearn who run Matchroom Boxing. Warren continues, Anthony Joshua is a business. He makes money. It doesnt matter who he fights, they can fill up Wembley. They (Matchroom Boxing) have a seven year business plan, which is filling up Wembley twice a year and its a cash cow. I get that! Barry (Hearn) is an accountant by trade. Thats not what the fans want! There is no doubt that UK fans would love an all British clash between the two heavyweights however as always politics may stop the fight from ever happening. With an April date already booked by Matchroom Boxing for Wembley, its unlikely we will see Joshua take on either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. In fact we might not even see Joshua appearing at Wembley, with reports now suggesting a fight with Jarrell Miller will take place Stateside to introduce Joshua to the U.S market. This could leave a Wilder Fury 2 fight to take place and once again overshadow Anthony Joshua who has been the beacon for British and Heavyweight boxing in recent years. | https://www.boxinginsider.com/columns/will-we-see-anthony-joshua-take-on-tyson-fury/ |
When is the Kingdom Hearts III release date and how to pre-order? | Kingdom Hearts III is nearly here (Square Enix) Kingdom Hearts III will be launching on consoles later this month, over ten years since the second game was released. Game review: Tales Of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a quality JRPG remaster The new instalment will be the twelfth part of the overall series and it it will conclude the Dark Seeker and Xehanort saga. Its story will follow directly on from the Dream Drop Distance game that was released on Nintendo 3DS in 2012. The last time a full console version of the game was released was back in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, but a remaster of the game was then produced for the PS3 in 2014 and PS4 in 2017. Players should expect new gameplay elements to be introduced but Sora will return as the main character alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. There will also be the option in Kingdom Hearts III to take your party of players up to five by adding two more characters. Advertisement Advertisement Here is everything that you need to know about the Kingdom Hearts game and how you can pre-order a copy. Kingdom Hearts III will be available worldwide from Tuesday 29 January. The game will be available on both the PS4 and Xbox One and there are three different versions that you can buy. How to pre-order the game Kingdom Hearts III is available to pre-order from various retailers including Game and Amazon where the standard version of the game is currently available for 49.99. You can also order your copy directly from the Kingdom Hearts website, or if you prefer to just buy a digital copy then you can get it straight from the PlayStation Store or Xbox Store on your console. A deluxe edition of Kingdom Hearts III is available to pre-order for around 69.99. This version of the game comes with an exclusive pin, as well as a steelbook case and artbook featuring various game designs. Its not a necessity to play the game and it doesnt include any in-game bonuses that you will want to get your hands on. Its only really worth getting if youre a big fan of the series and want to get your hands on as much Kingdom Hearts content as possible. MORE: Games Inbox: RDR2: gameplay vs. story, Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom success, and Below failure MORE: Metro GameCentral video game preview of 2019 release dates for every new game | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/10/kingdom-hearts-iii-release-date-pre-order-8329161/ |
How Much Does FHA Mortgage Insurance Cost in 2018? | If you want FHA financing, youll have to pay FHA mortgage insurance. This insurance protects the lender should you default on the loan. The FHA requires both upfront and annual mortgage insurance for each of its loans. It doesnt matter how much you put down on the home or how much you owe, you will always pay mortgage insurance on it. Click Here. The Upfront Mortgage Insurance The first mortgage insurance youll pay when you take out an FHA loan is the upfront mortgage insurance. Today, this premium is 1.75% of your loan amount. You pay this amount at the closing unless you have the room in the homes value to wrap it into the loan. You pay this upfront mortgage insurance every time that you take out an FHA loan. This includes when you use the FHA streamline refinance program. The only difference with the FHA streamline refinance is that you can get a refund on the upfront mortgage insurance you paid on your original FHA loan if you refinance within the first three years of having the loan. The FHA provides a refund based on the length of time that has passed since you took out your FHA loan. You can refinance your FHA loan as soon as youve made six payments on it. If you do refinance at that point, youll receive the largest refund. The amount of your refund then decreases with every passing month until you hit 36 months. There is no more refund after 36 months. Click to See the Latest Mortgage Rates. The Annual Mortgage Insurance The FHA also charges annual mortgage insurance. While this is an annual charge, your lender will break the payment up by charging you 1/12th of the amount every month. Right now, the FHA charges 0.85% of the loan amount for most loans. This charge is for borrowers that put down less than 5% on the home. If you put more than 5% down on an FHA loan, your annual mortgage insurance will decrease. If you make a down payment greater than 5%, you will pay 0.80% of the loan amount in annual mortgage insurance. These figures are both for 30-year loans. If you take out a 15-year FHA loan, youll pay 0.70% for down payments less than 10%. If you make a down payment greater than 10%, youll pay just 0.45% in mortgage insurance. The FHA mortgage insurance may seem like a pain, but its there to keep the FHA in business. Without the insurance, the FHA wouldnt be able to guarantee the large number of loans that they guarantee. This would make it harder for you to get a loan with flexible guidelines and a small down payment of just 3.5% of the purchase price of the home. Click Here to Get Matched With a Lender. Click to See the Latest Mortgage Rates | https://www.blownmortgage.com/much-fha-mortgage-insurance-cost-2018/ |
Is the Kratom Natures Answer to Opioids? | The hype: Kratom, an ancient medicinal leaf from Southeast Asia, is the most recent cure-all to rise from the wellness fringes, particularly among those who frequent head shops for the latest medical breakthroughs. Its kind of like herbal Valium. Or maybe herbal Tylenol. Elevator pitch: Kratom leaf, which is related to the coffee family, is touted as a plant-based alternative to Big Pharma. Popped in capsule form or prepared as tea, kratom can produce a mild psychotropic effect, though its more of a gentle sense of well-being than a so-called trip. Some use kratom as a mood booster, while others say it alleviates chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. It has also been used to treat opioid addiction, though some government authorities say that kratom can be as dangerous as the opioids themselves. Adopters: Despite its smoke-shop association, kratom is not limited to denizens of the Burning Man playa. As the recent Netflix documentary A Leaf of Faith makes clear, kratom has struck a chord with many, including war veterans, pain-addled athletes and professional wrestlers, as an alternative to opioid painkillers. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/style/kratom-what-is-it.html |
What Is Going On In Matthew McConaugheys New Lincoln Commercial? | Share This Video Facebook Twitter EMAIL This isnt the weirdest Matthew McConaughey Lincoln commercial. Its not even top three, really. Those honors probably go to, in some order, Matthew McConaughey encounters a bull on an empty desert road, Matthew McConaughey talks to himself as he sits in the backseat and drivers seat of a car that appears to be parked somewhere on the astral plane, and Matthew McConaughey takes his dogs out and asks them where they want to go for dinner, like they are people. This new one might not even crack the top five, to be honest, because at some point wed need to address the one where he sends everyone home from a party and then does a backflop into his swimming pool while wearing an expensive designer suit. I think about these commercials a lot. Too much, some would say and have said. Someone needs to address them, though. And if that someone has to be me, so be it. It should be noted, though: Even though this one doesnt crack the upper echelon of weird Matthew McConaughey Lincoln commercials, it is still super weird. So weird. Weirder than most other commercials by a factor of 10. Im fascinated by it. Maybe you will be too by the time Im done. Yes, we are getting into this. Youre welcome and Im sorry. LINCOLN We open on an overhead shot of a mansion and a quick cut to a group of people enjoying an outdoor dinner party. The first option is interesting, of course, because it tells us so much about the man and his beautiful brain, but the second option is game-changing. I would, no joke, watch a full limited series about this. The party ends and people begin filing out toward the door. But then BUT THEN Matthew spots the pool table and freezes like he just saw a clue that solves a murder hes been investigating for 18 months. LINCOLN Now, I also have a few questions about this. Do you think there are board games and stuff scattered throughout the house in various stages of completion, with multiple stations set up for multiple players, and hell just sit down as one every now and then, take the turn, and say something like Well well well, kemosabe. I choose to believe each game lasts for months. | https://uproxx.com/tv/matthew-mcconaughey-lincoln-commercial-pool-table/ |
Why Is the National Enquirer So Obsessed With Jeff Bezos? | Read: Saturday Night Lives confusing celebration of Jeff Bezos Then, a few hours later, in barges the National Enquirer, asserting that Bezos had a long-running affair with Lauren Sanchez, which they knew because they tailed them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates, and quality time in hidden love nests. Somehow, they claim to have come into the possession of messages that Bezos sent to Sanchez. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail claims that a source close to the Bezos family says that his relationship with Sanchez began after the couples separation. Entertainment Tonight claims two sources who say the same of Sanchez and her marriage to the Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell. The different versions are all grimly believable. It is a celebrity divorce, with the gleeful crowd and toxic cloud that entails. But it is the 2010s, and the National Enquirer is not just any old news outlet. And Jeff Bezos is the owner of The Washington Post, which frequently draws ire from Donald Trump, who dislikes its coverage of his presidency. Theres more. American Media, the Enquirers parent company, under its CEO, David Pecker, admitted that it worked with the Trump campaign to pay Karen McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to her story about an affair with Donald Trump, which it then killed. At times, it seemed like the Enquirer operated as a de facto arm of the campaign, wrote Gabriel Sherman in Vanity Fair. So, its not surprising that the MSNBC host Chris Hayes pointed out another angle on Twitter. Given everything we know about how Peckers National Enquirer has functioned as essentially an arm of Trumpworld, [the story] prompts some questions, Hayes tweeted. The implication, it would seem, is that Trump or Trumps team hit Bezos, a perceived rival, through his longtime friends paper, the National Enquirer. Which: Who knows, and I wont speculate. But lets just say that it is not outside the long-established character of the National Enquirer to attempt to out a possibly cheating celebrity. Read: The other way the National Enquirer helped elect Trump In Leon Neyfakhs Slow Burn podcast series on how Watergate happened, his sixth episode traces how conspiratorial thinking came to dominate the early 70s. The details of Nixons downfall made Americans more suspicious than theyve ever been and more desperate to uncover the secrets their government was keeping from them, Neyfakh says. Basically, Watergate turned everyone into a conspiracy theorist. In our times, the same disease has taken hold, but through the million muted post horns of the internet. For every theory thats spittle flecked with Alex Jones conspiracism, theres another one that connects it to an extended diagram of the Mueller investigation. Not even a dirtbag celebrity tabloid can publish regular dirtbag celebrity things without somehow touching a federal investigation. | https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/anatomy-of-a-gross-media-moment/579967/?utm_source=feed |
Cant afford to go to Conference? | I expect you think that it provides resources for people with disabilities and that is indeed true, because, amongst other things, it funds the BSL signers. But it also offers grants to individual members who cant afford the full cost of Conference. It can cover childcare costs and also accommodation and travel. The deadline for applications to the Access Fund for Spring Conference was a couple of days ago, but not many applications had been received by that date so they are happy to receive late submissions this year. Full details are to be found on the Conference Access Fund page. Although the Fund was set up by the Federal Conference Committee (and clearly ring-fenced for that purpose) the FCC members do not see any of the applications they are treated in strict confidence in the Conference Office. Many thanks to all conference goers who have contributed to the Fund. And I have to say that includes thanks to Lib Dem Voice for some generous donations. * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames and is a member of Federal Conference Committee. | https://www.libdemvoice.org/cant-afford-to-go-to-conference-59650.html |
Did Opus Dei Lie to Protect Priest Who Baptized Newt Gingrich? | For many years, Father John McCloskey was a sort of priest to the stars, especially to high-profile and often Republican converts to Catholicism like Newt Gingrich and the current White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow. He would shepherd them through their conversion and then baptize them in flower-laden cathedrals. He was a regular on television in the early 2000s, often appearing on NBCs Meet the Press to talk about the clerical sex-abuse scandal that was then just coming to light, and he was even featured in a glowing New York Times piece about ministering to the mighty. But as his star was rising, Father McCloskey was harboring a secretand an expensive one at thatthat he kept with members of the ultraconservative Catholic order Opus Dei, to which he belonged. In 2005, his order paid nearly $1 million to a prominent D.C.-area woman to silence sexual-assault allegations that he repeatedly groped her during the time he was her spiritual counselor as she struggled with depression brought on by marital issues, according to The Washington Post, which first broke the story on Monday. I love Opus Dei, but I was caught up in this coverup, the woman told the paper. I went to confession thinking I did something to tempt this holy man to cross boundaries. The woman, unnamed because of the sensitivity of sexual-assault allegations, met Father McCloskey when he led the Catholic Information Center on K Street in downtown D.C. She went directly to the Opus Dei hierarchy with her complaint after the groping started. Soon she was offered a handsome settlement of $977,000 and a promise that McCloskey would be removed from ministry with women. McCloskey then dropped out of the D.C. circuit, serving in Chicago and Palo Alto, California, with a short stint in the United Kingdom. He made rare appearances on television and largely kept a low profile. The victim told her story to The Washington Post after it was revealed that despite assurances that Father McCloskey would never get the chance to fondle another faithful, the priest was never actually punished and was allowed access to other vulnerable women. But days after the Post first revealed the massive payout, the Chicago Archdiocese was forced to admit that there had been no restrictions at all placed on McCloskey while he served the archdiocese, despite a call the woman said she made to warn them. I went to confession thinking I did something to tempt this holy man to cross boundaries. Opus Dei is unique among Catholic orders in that it controls the movements of its members and places them in hand-picked dioceses around the world after the acceptance of the bishops who run them. Because of that, these coverup allegations stand out from prior coverups that have been exposed, because those have been generally carried out by church officials who are in charge of a particular geographical area. In the case of Opus Dei, the onus is strictly on them. McCloskeys alleged crimes were not part of the public record because complaints went directly to Opus Dei, not to the diocese itself. The woman told the Post that she had spoken to Cardinal Francis George shortly after McCloskey was transferred there and the cardinal assured her that he would make sure the abuse never happened again. Cardinal Francis died in 2015 and his files apparently do not have a reference to the womans telephone call or any information from Opus Dei regarding McCloskey or the payout, the Chicago Archdiocese says. Opus Dei spokesman Brian Finnerty says the order did notify the Chicago Archdiocese and admitted that at least two other women have also complained about McCloskeys misconduct, the Post reports. One woman lodged a complaint with the religious community that she was made uncomfortable by how he was hugging her, and another is potentially even more serious, if confirmed. The whereabouts of these women has not been made public. On Monday, in response to the Post article, Opus Dei said it had instructed McCloskey that his only contact with women was to be through the confessional wall divider and not directly. But a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Chicago, itself under heavy scrutiny for its handling of clerical sex abuse of minors, said it has no record that McCloskey was under any kind of restriction at all, despite the victims persistent calls. Opus Dei also insists that the Chicago Archdiocese had been told. We thought that Father McCloskey would be capable of exercising his ministry as a priest, Finnerty said in a statement after the Post expos. I think the point to remember is that Cardinal George was fully aware of what happened. Of course there is no way to confirm that now. Opus Dei says McCloskey left active ministry in 2017 when it became clear he was succumbing to advanced Alzheimers disease and could no longer serve the public or, for that matter, comment on the allegations against him. | https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-opus-dei-lie-to-protect-priest-who-baptized-newt-gingrich?source=articles&via=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29 |
Which Generation Spreads The Most Fake News On The Internet? | Fake news is a term that is commonly used by President Donald Trump, but in an errant way. Trump has co-opted the term to include any news he deems as being unsatisfactory or overly critical of his policies or statements, according to reporting from PolitiFact in 2017. The news itself could be entirely accurate, but if Trump doesnt like it, he may still call it fake news despite its veracity. Real fake news (pardon the oxymoron) includes news reports that arent actually produced by legitimate news sites or publications. These articles contain content that do not conform to reality, and instead are used to propagate ideas about people that are harmful to their image. Although Trump isnt using the term in the most accurate of ways, the generation to which he belongs (the Baby Boomers) is spreading fake news at a faster rate than any other age group on the internet, per reporting from Motherboard. A study conducted by researchers at Princeton University and New York University found that individuals who were older than age 65 were more likely to share fake news than any other generation. The youngest generation examined by the study individuals between ages 18 to 29 shared the least amount of fake news on their social media. Blame the baby boomers for fake news on Facebook https://t.co/MMHZuOmPoQ Vox (@voxdotcom) January 10, 2019 In fact, individuals in the oldest generation looked at were seven times more likely to share fake news than were their youngest counterparts in the study, researchers found. Age seemed to be the common factor indicating whether a person was more or less likely to disseminate questionable content. Millennials shared less fake news than did Gen X-ers, who in turn shared less fake news than did Baby Boomers, for example. One theory postulated by the studys authors is that aging may hamper a resistance to illusions of truth, meaning that older people are having a harder time determining whether stories online are fake or not because theyre more likely to be unfamiliar with the medium than are younger people. There is some good news from the study: the researchers discovered that fake news isnt as shared as some people may think it is. About 90 percent of individuals from the sample that the study looked at didnt spread fake news regularly on their social media timelines. Still, the other 10 percent who did spread the fake stories may have been enough to influence the presidential election in 2016, in favor of now-President Donald Trump, according to reporting from the Washington Post. | https://www.inquisitr.com/5243620/which-generation-spreads-the-most-fake-news-on-the-internet/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheInquisitrTechnology+%28The+Inquisitr+%C2%BB+Technology%29 |
Is a dog's personality ingrained in his DNA? | When we think of certain dog breeds, key characteristics come to mind. Golden retrievers are jovial and family-friendly. Border collies are smart and need a job to do. Dobermans are fierce protectors of their homes and people. In a new study, researchers suggest that certain distinctive breed behaviors are anchored in a dog's genes. The findings may help scientists one day better understand the link between genetic markers and human behaviors. A research team led by Evan MacLean, a comparative psychologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, started by studying data on behavior from the Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a survey that allows people to report on their pet's personality and behaviors. Dog owners answer questions about how their pet responds to commands, squirrels and triggers that might prompt anxiety like thunderstorms or strangers. The data allowed researchers to look at information for more than 14,000 dogs from 101 breeds. The researchers then compared this behavioral data for the breeds to genetic breed data from a different group of dogs. It wasn't an exact matchup since they weren't comparing the behavior to the genetics of the same dog. The researchers identified 131 sites in a dog's DNA that appeared to be connected to 14 behavioral traits. These DNA regions account for about 15 percent of a dog's personality. The findings suggest that trainability, chasing, a tendency to be aggressive toward strangers, and attachment and attention-seeking are the most heritable traits. More work is needed The results may help researchers make strides in human behavioral research, too. MacLean and his team suggest that the same genes are responsible for guiding behavior across species. So learning about the genetic relationship between anxiety and dogs could help toward developing treatments for anxiety in humans, Science points out. "This is interesting and it also supports a lot of what people think, but a lot more work is needed at this point," Elinor K. Karlsson, professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and founder of Darwin's Ark, a citizen science project centering around genetics and pets. "In general, defining dogs based on their breeds isnt very fair to dogs as individuals. It needs more validation." The study was posted in the preprint server bioRxiv and has yet to be peer reviewed, meaning other researchers in the field have yet to provide feedback on the study and it has yet to be published in a scientific journal. Study suggests a dog's behavior traits are anchored in his genes. | https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/dogs-personality-ingrained-his-dna |
Why did so many Detroit residents turn down free trees? | Over the last several years, you've no doubt heard about or even participated in one of the many tree-planting campaigns embraced by cities like New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The benefits are numerous, with trees responsible for lowering higher urban temperatures, reducing storm runoff, creating cleaner air and improving the natural beauty of neighborhoods. As it turns out, a sizable portion of Detroit's urban residents. From 2011 to 2014, during a tree campaign spearheaded by the non-profit The Greening of Detroit, more than 1,800 of 7,425 eligible Detroit residents roughly 25 percent submitted "no-tree requests." The size of the negative number was so surprising that it inspired Christine Carmichael, a researcher at the University of Vermont, to take a closer look. In a new study published in the journal Science and Natural Resources, Carmichael says people didn't reject trees out of some ill will towards nature, but from a lack of say in the re-planting initiatives. "This research shows how local government actions can cause residents to reject environmental efforts in this case, street trees that would otherwise be in people's interests," she said in a statement. The City of Trees At the turn of the 20th century, Detroit had more trees per capita than any industrialized city in the world. (Photo: xiquinhosilva/Flickr) From the late 19th century until the mid-20th, Detroit was proudly known as the "City of Trees," with an estimated 250,000 shade trees towering over its streets. Over the decades that followed, however, budget cuts to tree services, as well as diseases such as Dutch elm and insects like the emerald ash borer, led to untold losses. Dead trees and all the dangerous issues that come with them were suddenly the remainder of a once-proud legacy that few, including the city's strapped budget, had the financial resources to remedy. As The New York Times notes: Of the 20,000 trees marked dead or hazardous in 2014, when Dr. Carmichaels study began, the city had removed only 2,000 or so. So it's understandable that of the more than 150 Detroit residents that Carmichael interviewed, many of them viewed the trees as something that they themselves would have to one day take responsibility for. "Even though it's city property, we're gonna end up having to care for it and raking leaves and God knows whatever else we might have to do," said one woman interviewed for the study. Additional factors discovered by Carmichael over the course of her three-year study included distrust of any program tied to the city government as well as a lack of participation extended to residents by organizers of the tree planting initiative. "What this study shows is why meaningful involvement is so important to making sure these tree-planting efforts are environmentally just," she told Earther. "And realizing that trees are living things. In urban environments, they do need care to live in some harmony with people." Lessons for positive growth After presenting her finding to officials at The Greening of Detroit, the group put in motion changes that included a focus on greater community engagement, choice and follow-up communication. "As a result of our refined focus, [our program] has brought thousands of residents together to not only plant trees, but gain a greater understanding of the benefits of trees in their communities," Monica Tabares of The Greening of Detroit said. Carmichael's study also offers important lessons for other municipalities considering launching their own tree-planting initiatives. The real success won't come from the number of young trees in the ground, but from the communities that embrace and nourish them in the decades and even centuries to come. "Healthy urban forests cannot be measured just by the number of trees planted," she said. "We also have to capture who is involved, and how that involvement affects the well-being of people and trees in the long-term." It has to do with civic involvement and not an issue with nature. | https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/why-so-many-detroit-residents-said-no-free-trees |
Is Jeff Bezos $137 Billion Divorce The Most Expensive In History? | Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie are calling it quits after 25 years of marriage and after Bezos was officially crowned as the richest man in the world last year, it may turn into the most expensive divorce EVER. Bezos wrote on Twitter Wednesday, We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again. Now, Bezos lives in a state where all assets and debts are accrued during the marriage then they are considered equally owned by both spouses unless there was a prenuptial agreement. Its unaware if Bezos and his wife had a pre-up but if they didnt, she may be entitled to half of his $137 billion fortune! Among the richest divorces in celebrity couple history, Michael Jordan split from his wife Juanita after 17 years of marriage and she was awarded $168 million. One of the largest Hollywood divorce payouts ever came from Mel Gibson after he and his wife split in 2011 after being married nearly 30 years. The two split half of his $850 million fortune at $425 million apiece. MacKenzie could walk away with $68.5 billion! was originally published on theboxhouston.com Also On Foxy 107.1-104.3: | https://foxync.com/3632477/is-jeff-bezos-137-billion-divorce-the-most-expensive-in-history/ |
What three traits do the most successful interns share? | There are lots of qualities that make up great interns and workers in any company. As an intern youre there, not only to benefit and assist the department youre working for, but to improve your skills and grow personally as a young professional. As a former intern, and now a hiring manager, I can safely say, these three traits will help you stand out from the crowd, be appreciated, respected and ultimately valued. Having a strong initiative A great intern is one that isnt always told what to do. Of course that doesnt mean running before you can walk. This is a trait that will develop as you become more comfortable and confident in a department where you are learning the systems and processes of how the team works and how the department is run. You will inevitably spot areas and opportunities where you can offer your assistance without being told or asked. There is nothing better when an intern can spot a problem, offer a solution or notices that someone needs help. It shows you are sharp and aware of whats going on around you and have the confidence to get involved! Showing lots of curiosity Being curious is a great asset. It means you wont always settle for the obvious and will always be keen to extend your knowledge and understanding. It shows you are genuinely interested in the job and the company and industry. Dont be afraid to ask questions and undertake research in your own time. Raise your hand at the appropriate opportunity and try to learn about the bigger picture even when the discussion doesnt involve your role or department. Willingness to learn and listen As an intern, you arent expected to know everything! You dont, so just accept that. Thats what youre there to do, learn and develop skills for the role. However, as described above, you should be ready to soak in all important and needed knowledge in order for you to do the job effectively. This involves not only asking questions but very importantly, listening. Not just listening carefully to instructions, but also to advice and guidance and those all important discussions and conversations that are going on around you. Watch, observe and listen to those around you. The best thing about these characteristics is that they can easily be worked on! You may wonder whether you have those qualities. Of course you do. However, we can all improve on them by keeping them in the forefront of our minds when on the job. Think about the professional qualities you would like to be remembered for when you leave your internship, the very things that you hope would appear in your reference for a job. Those are the things you can work towards on a daily basis in order to be the best version of yourself. Go get em! By contributing guest editor Hannah Rafter, founder and Editor In Chief of The Intern 247, a website dedicated to giving real insights into the world of fashion internships. @theintern247 theintern247.com | https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/what-three-traits-do-the-most-successful-interns-share/2019011040939 |
What are social media companies doing about suicidal posts? | Rapper CupcakKe was hospitalised this week after worrying tweets, highlighting the increasing frequency of posts that need urgent responses The Chicago rapper CupcakKe prompted alarm this week after tweeting that she was suicidal. Fortunately, the 21-year-olds followers were quick to spot the tweet and inundated her with messages of concern while authorities were alerted. She thanked them for their support the following day, writing on Twitter that she was finally getting the help that I need for depression after being taken to hospital. Social media and celebrity culture 'harming young people' Read more It follows a similar incident in December where authorities were alerted after Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson posted a worrying message on Instagram. These high-profile cases raise the challenges social media companies face when a post suggests someone could be a danger to themselves. Studies have linked social media to worsening mental health among young people, and it has even been blamed for an increasing rate of teen suicide in the US. But mental health charities say that as people spend more and more time on social media, people are increasingly turning to the platforms as a place to go for help. People are living their lives out online and thats true for their mental health as well, Dr Daniel J Reidenberg, executive director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (Save), told the Guardian. Incidents of people sharing their suicidal thoughts online are becoming far more frequent, he said. Protocol for reporting potentially at risk users varies between tech companies. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all have reporting mechanisms that differ slightly. Twitter has a team that assesses the self-harm reporting forms sent by people worried about someones mental health. They then contact the reported user and let him or her know that someone who cares about them identified that they might be at risk, according to the companys blog. The Twitter team then provides the reported user with available online and hotline resources [the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the US] and encourage them to seek help. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Twitters page for reporting self-harm. Photograph: Twitter Other measures include a prompt encouraging people to seek help if they search for terms associated with suicide or self-harm. A Twitter spokesperson said: Our priority is ensuring our service is healthy, and free of abuse or other types of content that can make others afraid to speak up, or put themselves in vulnerable situations. Facebooks protocol involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan Facebook posts, comments and videos for suicide risk. Content linked to immediate self-harm or imminent risk of killing oneself is reviewed by Facebook employees. Users can also file reports which will be prioritised using AI before being reviewed by their community operations team, which includes specialists trained in suicide and self-harm. Facebook says it prompts people who have expressed suicidal thoughts to contact a friend and even offers them suggested words to help them to start a conversation. If they detect a potential imminent risk or harm, a special team trained to liaise with first responders will review the situation and decide whether to refer the user for a wellness check. This is not an option it uses often: among Facebooks 2.2 billion users, AI has been used to help first responders reach around 3,500 people worldwide. A spokesperson for Facebook and Instagram said: Facebook and Instagram are in a unique position to help because of the friendships people have on our platforms we can connect those in distress with friends (and also organisations) who can offer support. Instagram, owned by Facebook, also has teams that review and respond to reports and a support page that users will be directed to if they search for hashtags relating to self-harm. Hannah Kwawu, engagement coordinator at Crisis Text Line, which offers free counseling by text message, said social media can be used positively to help peoples mental health. She cited Davidson who received a wellness check last month after raising alarm on Instagram and the Twitter movement #MyMentalHealthIn5Words as examples. But, she said, sometimes it backfires. Despite all the progress weve made, mental health is still a taboo topic for many people. Celebrities like [singers] Kehlani and Demi Lovato have been viciously attacked online for the ways theyve dealt with their mental health. Reidenberg recommends that in the first instance, if anybody sees a post theyre worried about a fellow social media user they should contact the person in question immediately offering them your time and listening and to be there for them. People should then alert the technology company, so that they can offer their support and their connections to that person. | https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/10/cupcakke-hospitalised-twitter-social-media-suicidal-posts |
Who shared the most fake news on Facebook during 2016 election? | Amid continued concerns about the online sharing of disinformation, a new study about fake news during the 2016 election shows who was most likely to share it on Facebook: seniors and conservatives. Researchers from Princeton and New York University said in a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances that sharing of fake news on Facebook by users of the social network was quite rare (8.5 percent of those surveyed), but that those who did share fake news were older, regardless of political affiliation. Following research in sociology and media studies, it is possible that an entire cohort of Americans, now in their 60s and beyond, lacks the level of digital media literacy necessary to reliably determine the trustworthiness of news encountered online, the researchers wrote. They also suggested that according to cognitive and social psychology, memory deteriorates with age in a way that particularly undermines resistance to illusions of truth. More than 11 percent of people over age 65 shared links from fake news sites, compared with 3 percent of those ages 18 to 29 who did so. When political affiliation was taken into account, the most frequent sharers of fake news were conservatives and Republicans, according to the study. Eighteen percent of Republicans shared fake news, compared with 3.5 percent of Democrats who did so. In addition, those who identified themselves as conservative or very conservative shared more stories from fake news domains than did those who identified themselves as moderate, liberal or very liberal. Conservatives may have shared more fake news stories than liberals because most fake news sites offered pro-Trump or anti-Clinton content, aimed specifically at Republicans and conservatives, wrote researchers Andy Guess, assistant professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University, and Jonathan Nagler and Joshua Tucker, professors of politics at NYU, in an explanation of their research in the Washington Post. With support from the National Science Foundation, the researchers conducted waves of surveys during the 2016 U.S. elections. Afterward, respondents were asked whether they would share with researchers their timeline posts on Facebook, and about 1,300 of them agreed to do so. The researchers defined fake news as knowingly false or misleading content created largely for the purpose of generating ad revenue, and relied on lists of fake news domains generated by journalists and academics. The spread of disinformation on Facebook appears to continue. The social networking giant said this week it is investigating whether a left-leaning group backed by Democratic donor and tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman misled right-leaning voters during the midterm election. | https://www.siliconvalley.com/2019/01/10/who-shared-the-most-fake-news-on-facebook-during-2016-election/ |
Should the NFL allow one-and-done players? | NFL dreams are going to come true in the NFL Draft, but studs like Clemson freshman Trevor Lawrence have to wait. Many people think it's unfair that the NFL requires athletes to be three years removed from high school before they're eligible to play. We let people over the age of 18 join the military and work anywhere else without restrictions. But pundits argue we are still talking about young adults who are not prepared for the physical and mental toll of the NFL. They should stay in college instead. There's something wrong with that. Some freshman football players are ready to make the jump to the NFL. Even if they aren't starting, they can hone their craft in a professional setting without the distraction of schoolwork they have no interest in. Forcing players to play three years in college only hurts NCAA schools that have to deal with student-athletes who have zero interest in the student part of student-athlete and have proven themselves ready for the big stage. Even if they aren't ready, freshman players who feel they're ready should be able to make that mistake as an adult. They should be able to go straight to the NFL if they want. Freshman footballers who think they can hang in the NFL will get beaten down by both the real world and grown men at the same time. No matter how big or strong freshmen are, they are nowhere near ready to take on the physical toll of an NFL schedule. Not only do they have to condition and work out constantly, but opponents are also looking to hurt them with more force than they have ever encountered. Mentally, NFL athletes have to memorize huge playbooks, analyze tape and deal with failure on a professional level where there are no excuses. There's a reason the NFL only allows players three years removed from high school to play in the league. Kids that young just aren't ready. Much as I would like to see Trev Lawrence in the NFL next yr,not prudent,2 yrs is cool. One and done ain't happening,and probably shouldn't!Lol -- dean smith (@deansmith729) January 8, 2019 The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | https://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/should_the_nfl_allow_one-and-d.html |
What Of Free Will? | Rabbi Shlomo Goren gives a novel explanation, which was apparently inspired by the miraculous events he experienced with the rise of the State of Israel. There are times, he maintains, when God must introduce His will into the hearts of people, but this is limited to monarchs, emperors and pharaohs. Rabbi Goren suggests that we have to distinguish between an individual and the leader of a nation. Individuals always have free choice. However, because God has a master plan with Israel as the catalyst, the Almighty may sometimes be moved to control the choices of leaders of key nations during critical and fateful historical periods. Such a situation occurred at the very dawn of history with the confrontation between Pharaoh and the Hebrew slaves, and the Almighty had to step in. The obstinacy on the part of Pharaoh provides a means for solving the tension between the notion of free will and Gods initial declaration regarding hardening his heart. Pharaoh had already been given five opportunities to repent, five opportunities to hear the voice of God demanding that His people shall be released from slavery and still refused. God is now effectively saying to Pharaoh: You stiffened your neck; you hardened your heart; now I am going to add stubbornness to your own inner stubbornness. The result is that Pharaoh himself became frozen, locked into a conception of how to behave; once that happens, it becomes exceedingly difficult for anyone to change his mind. It seems to me that had Pharaoh come to the conclusion that it was wrong to enslave the Hebrews based on his own new-found convictions about the true God of the universe who guarantees freedom to all, his repentance would have emanated from love and would have been accepted. Since, ironically enough, it would have been his former sinful acts and obstinacy that led him to such a conclusion, even his prior transgressions could now be seen as merits. After all, had it not been for them, he would never have switched positions and arrived at his new awareness and religio-ethical consciousness. This is clearly not the position in which we find Pharaoh. Were he to release the Jews after the fifth plague, it would have nothing to do with a transformed and ennobled moral sensitivity and everything to do with his having been bludgeoned over the head by the power of the plagues. Such repentance out of fear is hardly true repentance and cannot be accepted by God to atone for previous sins. Because Pharaoh is not truly repenting in any shape or form, God hardens his heart to the suffering of the plagues and allows him to continue to do what he really believes in doing: enslaving the Hebrews, who must wait until the Almighty deems it the proper time for redemption. Parshat Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16; Jeremiah 46:13-28. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel. Like this: Like Loading... | https://thejewishnews.com/2019/01/10/what-of-free-will/ |
Why are people waiting in line to reserve a Tesla Model 3? | Tesla is unveiling the Model 3 later tonight, but without knowing what the car will look like, its options or official driving range, thousands have lined up to reserve one across the globe. While online reservations won't open up until the 7:30pm PDT tonight, anyone can walk into a Tesla Store and plop down $1,000 (1000) to reserve a car. Think about that for a sec -- buyers are ready to hand over $1,000 to Tesla Motors for a car with an expected base price of $35,000 (30,000) that they know very little about, except it's anticipated to have 200 miles of pure electric range. Even with the latest Apple device releases, people wait in line in hopes to buy a device that was already announced. The reservation line at Tesla in Hamburg, Germany this morning The Tesla Model 3 reservation consists of putting down a $1,000 deposit for a promise of an affordable 200-mile range electric vehicle (EV) that starts production in late 2017. Of course, the fee is completely refundable, or can be applied towards a Model S or X at any point in time. But it still seemed crazy to me, at first. I spoke to a handful of people who were planning on reserving a Model 3 to figure out why they have so much faith and trust in Tesla, ranging from existing EV, Tesla owners to first-time buyers. The Tesla effect Buyers trust Tesla to produce a car that will deliver on its promises, sight unseen. The same wouldn't happen for any other brand. "Their commitment to EVs is unparalleled, their customer support is beyond acceptable," said Ryan Wallace, a Nissan Leaf owner passionate about EVs. "Tesla puts their money where their mouth is with the Supercharger network and is always trying out new features, like battery swapping." Tesla's Supercharger network currently consists of 613 stations with 3,628 total chargers across North America, while CHAdeMO, a quick charge connector used by the Nissan Leaf, Kia Soul and Mitsubishi i-Miev, only has 1,530 chargers, as of January of this year. Tesla's Supercharger network But CHAdeMO is only one of the quick charging standards used by mainstream EVs, there's also the SAE Combo plug that's used by Volkswagen (VW), BMW, Ford, General Motors and the cost of public charging. Nissan provides free charging through select networks with its No Charge to Charge program for new Leaf buyers, but its only for the first two years. The cost varies by charging station afterwards, but not every charging station is free only select networks that opt-in whereas the Tesla Superchargers are free for the lifetime of the vehicle. I started the day thinking it was crazy to wait in line and give Tesla money for a car that you might not see for at least 2 years. After speaking with these potential Tesla Model 3 buyers, it didn't seem as crazy to reserve a Tesla Model 3 anymore. You're putting down a deposit that's completely refundable at any given time, so if you change your mind, it's still your money. Half-way through the day, my mind changed and I contemplated reserving one myself. I bought my wife a 2015 Nissan Leaf towards the end of 2014 and it's been a great car. However, it lacks driver assist technologies, the infotainment system is terrible, the 84 miles of rated range is limiting for longer trips and NissanConnect EV telematics service is still unavailable from the phone app. By the time the Model 3 would arrive, if I reserved one, the Leaf will be paid off, so I wouldn't have to worry about trade-in value and can sell it outright. Tesla has managed to provide software updates to the Model S that fix and improve features in a timely manner, while I have to schedule an appointment and spend time at a Nissan dealership for a recall on the Leaf that requires a software update. The Tesla Model S The Chevy Bolt is also coming later this year with 200 miles of range and a starting price of around $37,000, but the first car I bought out of college was a 2008 HHR SS and the dealership experience soured my trust for the company. Hyundai has the Ioniq EV coming, but 110 miles of electric range isn't worth the added costs to me. So I started the day thinking it was crazy to reserve a car to mulling it over, but I'm very impatient and I don't really want to wait two years for a car. Whether or not I get one may come down to how easy it is to accidentally fill in all of my financial information on Tesla's pre-order page. Oops. | https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/car-tech/why-are-people-waiting-in-line-to-reserve-a-tesla-model-3-1318132 |
Why must the NFL continue to sell lame womens clothing? | Just as soon as the final minutes ticked away on the clock for the New Orleans Saints 28-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 9, the celebratory hats and T-shirts came flying out for the cameras. Reppin the South! the shirts declared. Naturally, I immediately looked online for where to buy one of my own. Yall, its a good line, and the marketing worked on me. But then, as soon as I queued up the website, I was bummed to see every shirt option that declared the Saints champions of the NFC South was covered in unnecessary logos and block letters explaining the title. It was a little over the top, so nah, hard pass for me, thanks. The disconnect on the Saints Reppin the South shirt is the same as the one thats led the NFL to continue producing gear thats, well, uncool for women for years. While weve mostly moved on from the leagues pink it and shrink it mentality, there are still better ways for the NFL to connect with women, who comprise nearly half its audience and its most attentive one. (During the last Super Bowl broadcast, 49 percent of the audience was female but, according to metrics reported by Forbes, women were 27 percent more likely to keep their eyes on the game. They were also more likely to pay attention to the commercials and the halftime show.) The few minutes I went looking for and discarding an NFC South shirt was not my first visit to NFLShop.com this year. In case youve been living under a black and gold rock, the Saints are pretty darn good right now and, earlier in the season, I hoped to have some new swag to underscore my fandom, even if I do watch most games at home alone on the couch. Thanks in large part to actress Alyssa Milanos unfortunately named Touch line of clothing thats been officially licensed by various pro sports leagues, including the NFL, much of whats available in womens clothing is kind of ridiculous. There are curlicue fonts, excessive lace-ups, too many logos or just boring designs. Thankfully, the NFL in recent years has partnered with other brands to help bring some design diversity to its roster. Those partnerships have included Old Navy, Levis, Forever 21, Junk Food and Victorias Secret (not that this is exactly the brand you go to for an under-abundance of rhinestones and pink hues). The NFL started rethinking how its shop appealed to female fans around 2000, which, as of 2013, had resulted in multiple years of double-digit growth in womens apparel sales, according to Fashionista. And things are better: Its actually possible to find a womens sized jersey in the teams colors and without extra ribbons or baubles. Trouble is, overall, the NFL is still not nailing it. While the name brands offering officially licensed gear are helpful when youre looking for something thats relatively affordable and actually fashionable if you know to look for it I just dont get why the NFL Shop itself is so devoid of hipness. Youd think the league could make some serious cash off fans if it had a little more ingenuity when it came to creating clever shirts and gear. Obviously, the NFLs attempt at claiming it owned Who dat was ill-advised and generally kind of nuts, but coming up with something that appeals to how we actually celebrate our team makes sense. It is how beloved local companies are able to have their clothing as much a part of game-day tradition think of Dirty Coast and Fleurty Girl as tailgating. The league itself could use some of that vibe, too. The league would do well to think of Coco Chanels famous quote, which she said while draped in black and gold on her way into Tulane Stadium: Before you finalize a T-shirt design, take one thing off. (I think thats how it went.) Well, I know Id buy that. Chelsea Brasted is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write to Chelsea at [email protected]. You can also call or text with story ideas, tips and complaints 225.460.1350. | https://www.nola.com/opinions/2019/01/why-must-the-nfl-continue-to-sell-lame-womens-clothing.html |
How many games will Son Heung-min miss for Spurs at Asian Cup? | The timing of the tournament is not ideal from Spurs' perspective and they will selfishly hope to have the forward back sooner rather than later Tottenham are still fighting on four fronts at the beginning of 2019 and the games are piling up as they compete for glory. Mauricio Pochettino's men are challenging for the Premier League title, the FA Cup and are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, with Champions League last 16 action against Borussia Dortmund to come in February. After a busy festive schedule, there is no let up for Spurs, but their task has been made somewhat more difficult due to the fact that one of their best players, Heung-min Son, will be unavailable for a number of weeks. The forward, who already missed a number of games in August due to his participation in the 2018 Asian Games, has been selected by South Korea for the 2019 Asian Cup, meaning he could potentially miss six games in what is a crucial period of Pochettino's charges. How many games Son will miss exactly depends entirely on how well South Korea fare at the continental tournament, which concludes on February 1. He missed his country's first match against the Philippines as he helped Spurs to a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, but he will be available for their upcoming bouts with Kyrgyzstan and China, which take place on January 11 and 16. Games Son will miss for Tottenham Date Game Competition Jan 13 Tottenham vs Manchester United Premier League Jan 20 Fulham vs Tottenham* Premier League Jan 24 Chelsea vs Tottenham* Carabao Cup Jan 26 Crystal Palace vs Tottenham* FA Cup Jan 30 Tottenham vs Watford* Premier League Feb 2 Tottenham vs Newcastle* Premier League *Depending on how South Korea perform Son will definitely be unavailable for Spurs' crunch clash against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's resurgent Manchester United at Wembley on January 13. If South Korea qualify from Group C and reach the knockout stage of the Asian Cup, he will also miss the Premier League game against Fulham on January 20. Should they reach the quarter-final, the 26-year-old will be absent for the decisive second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea and, most likely, the FA Cup fourth-round tie with Crystal Palace. A place in the semi-final of the Asian Cup for South Korea will keep Son out of Spurs' league game at home to Watford and reaching the final will rule the forward out of the Premier League encounter with Newcastle United. In the worst possible scenario from a Spurs perspective, Son will be back for the Premier League game against Leicester City on February 10. The best possible scenario (aside from withdrawal from the squad) would be a failure by South Korea to escape their group, which would potentially see Son return to action for his club on January 20 against Fulham. Son is not the only high profile star who will be competing at the Asian Cup and thus potentially missing a sizeable period of club football. Article continues below Newcastle United will be without Ki Sung-yeung, who is also in the South Korea squad, and Yoshinori Muto, who has been called up by Japan. Brighton have to make do without their first-choice goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who is representing Australia and they will also be unable to call upon Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who is playing for Iran. PSV duo Trent Sainsbury and Aziz Behich are also in the Australia squad, as is Celtic star Tom Rogic. Southampton must make do without Japan captain Maya Yoshida. | https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/how-many-games-will-son-heung-min-miss-for-spurs-at-asian/m9n6zwuiguc317jlrf692vgrs |
Do Costco's December Comps Indicate a Solid Run in 2019? | Favorable job scenario, increasing disposable income and improved consumer confidence are responsible for a favorable retail environment. And Costco Wholesale Corporation COST has been a beneficiary of the same. Certainly, the companys better price management, strong membership trends and increasing penetration of e-commerce business are also leading to impressive comparable sales (comps) run that may continue in 2019. This operator of membership warehouses reported comps for the month of December. The metric increased 6.1% for the five-week period ended Jan 6, 2019. This follows an increase of 9.2% in November, 8.6% in October, 8.4% in September, 9.2% in August and 8.3% in July. Comps for December reflect an increase of 7.5%, 2% and 2.8% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, gasoline prices and accounting change concerning revenue recognition (ASC 606), comps for the month rose 7%, while the same increased 7.1%, 8.1% and 5.7% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively. Meanwhile, net sales improved 7.8% to $15.42 billion in the month under review, following an increase of 9.8%, 10.6%, 10.3%, 12.2%, and 10.1% in November, October, September, August and July, respectively. For the 18 weeks ended Jan 6, 2019, net sales came in at $52.99 billion, up about 9.5% from $48.39 billion reported in the year-ago period. Comps for the period grew 7.9%, while the same increased 10%, 2.1% and 3.3% in the United States, Canada and Other International locations, respectively. Costco is also steadily expanding e-commerce capabilities in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea and Taiwan. E-commerce comparable sales rose 13.6%, 46.1%, 20%, 28.6%, 23.8% and 20.9% in the months of December, November, October, September, August and July, respectively. Costco, which shares space with Walmart WMT, Target TGT and Ross Stores ROST, continues to be one of the dominant warehouse retailers based on the breadth and quality of merchandise offered. In fact, its strategy of selling products at heavily discounted prices has helped it to remain on growth track. In a year, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have increased 10.8%, outperforming the industrys rise of 9.3%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) : Free Stock Analysis Report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report Target Corporation (TGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Walmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research | https://news.yahoo.com/costcos-december-comps-indicate-solid-161304639.html |
Did Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan walk out of Anurag Kashyaps Gulab Jamun? | MUMBAI: Fans of Abhishek and Aishwarya were very happy when the news broke that the actors are going to team up once again in Sarvesh Mewaras film titled Gulab Jamun. However, there are reports doing the rounds that the duo has walked out of the movie, as they had some pressing issues with the script. According to media reports, the couple asked the makers to make some changes in the script but decided to quit the film while the changes were being made. Anurag Kashyap was producing the film. The film was supposed to go on floors later this month, and Aishwarya in an earlier interview had spoken about signing it. She had said that Abhishek and she had agreed to do Gulab Jamun. However, now, fans of the power couple will have to wait for some more time before they eventually get to see them together on the big screen once again. | http://www.tellychakkar.com/movie/movie-news/did-aishwarya-rai-bachchan-and-abhishek-bachchan-walk-out-of-anurag-kashyap-s-gulab |
Was sind die heimischen Vereine der Stadt Schweich wert? | Die Frderantrge des Sportvereins Mosella und der Benin-Hilfsorganisation Brcke Schweich-Kaboua sorgen fr kontroverse Diskussion im Ausschuss. Ihr Name Zwei Bittgesuche von Vereinen haben im Haupt- und Finanzausschuss in Schweich eine Grundsatzdebatte darber ausgelst, wie die Stadt mit Frderantrgen von Vereinen umgehen soll. Der Sportverein TuS Mosella Schweich hatte beantragt, die Stadt Schweich mge Kosten von knapp 8000 Euro brutto fr die Ausleuchtung eines Weges bernehmen. Es handelt sich um die Strecke vom Sportplatz in Alt-Schweich zu einem Parkplatz auf dem ehemaligen Readymix-Gelnde unweit der Autobahnbrcke. Diesen Parkplatz benutzen Sportplatzbesucher vermehrt, seit ein Halteverbot in der Mathenstrae gilt und die wenigen Einstellpltze am Winzerkeller meist von Bewohnern der angrenzenden neuen Mehrfamilienhuser besetzt sind. Johannes Lehnert (FWG) und Achim Schmitt (SPD) pldierten fr eine Drittel-Frderung. So behandele die Stadt auch andere Vereine. Beide sagten, es drfe nicht zu einer Schieflage bei der Vereinsfrderung kommen. Es gebe schon Vereine, die sich beschwert htten. Nils Reh und Beigeordneter Engelbert Meisberger (beide CDU) hielten eine hhere Frderung fr die Mosella, den grten Verein in Schweich, gerechtfertigt. Schlielich einigte sich der Ausschuss auf einen Kompromiss: Die Hlfte der Nettokosten der Beleuchtung soll bernommen werden, das sind rund 3300 Euro. Noch nicht entschieden wurde ber den Antrag des gemeinntzigen Vereins Brcke Schweich-Kaboua, der humanitre Projekte in Benin (Afrika) untersttzt. Der Bau einer Schule in Kaboua wurde bereits durch zahlreiche Spenden aus der Pfarreiengemeinschaft Schweich gefrdert (der TV berichtete). Der neue Verein mchte Kinder von der Strae in die Schule holen, um ihnen eine Ausbildung zu ermglichen. Fr Waisenkinder werden Internatspltze eingerichtet. Im Ausschuss herrschte Klrungsbedarf. Die Mitglieder beschlossen, die Stadt Schweich mge Mitglied im Frderverein werden und sich mit der Vereinssatzung vertraut machen. Bei konkreten Projekten oder Frdergesuchen soll dann von Fall zu Fall ber eine mgliche finanzielle Untersttzung entschieden werden. | https://www.volksfreund.de/region/trierer-land/was-sind-die-heimischen-vereine-der-stadt-schweich-wert_aid-35570055 |
Who got the most snow in Upstate NY lake effect storm? | Syracuse, N.Y. -- Preliminary totals from a lake effect snowstorm over the past two days show -- no surprise here -- the most snow fell just downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario. The biggest number so far is 16.6 inches, in the Oswego County town of Redfield. Redfield sits about 1,100 feet above sea level just to the east of Lake Ontario, so it acts like a snow fence, catching the the snow blown to shore by western winds whipping across the lake. Several locations in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, which perch on hills just east of Lake Erie, had 10 inches of snow or more. This storm packed a one-two punch: Moisture swirling counterclockwise from the Atlantic Ocean through Ontario combined with moisture picked up from the lakes by the strong, cold winds. The blowing snow led to school closings and numerous traffic accidents. A travel advisory has been issued for Cayuga County. The snow isnt over yet; a few more inches could fall today, and winter storm warnings are still in place in Central New York until 7 p.m. Even as the snow winds down, though, strong winds will keep it blowing across and onto roadways, reducing visibility and creating slick spots. Lake effect snow tends to be very light, so its easily blown around by the wind. Heres a look at snowfall totals so far, compiled by the four National Weather Service offices that cover Upstate New York. Snowfall totals, Jan. 9/10 County Location Inches Source Oswego Redfield 8 N 16.6 Co-Op Observer Chautauqua Celoron 3 N 16.5 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Jamestown 2 N 15.3 Trained Spotter Cattaraugus Cattaraugus 13.5 Co-Op Observer Chautauqua Jamestown 4 ENE 11.4 Co-Op Observer Cattaraugus Little Valley 11 Co-Op Observer Chautauqua Kennedy NE 10 CoCoRaHS Lewis Osceola 1 E 10 Co-Op Observer Erie Sardinia 9.5 Trained Spotter Cattaraugus Randolph 1 ENE 9 CoCoRaHS Cayuga Port Byron 9 Social Media Essex Lake Placid 9 Co-Op Observer Cayuga Auburn 1 E 9 Social Media Cattaraugus Humphrey 8.8 Trained Spotter Cattaraugus Franklinville 1 NNE 8.5 CoCoRaHS Franklin Duane Center 8.3 Law Enforcement Jefferson West Carthage ENE 8.1 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Jamestown 4 E 8 Social Media Wyoming Wyoming 3 W 7.6 Co-Op Observer Wayne Macedon 3 ESE 7.4 CoCoRaHS Cattaraugus Ischua SSE 7.2 CoCoRaHS Franklin Gabriels 1 ESE 7.2 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Frewsburg 3 SSE 7 CoCoRaHS Onondaga Jamesville 7 Trained Spotter Franklin Saranac Lake 6 N 6.9 CoCoRaHS Onondaga Elbridge 6.8 Trained Spotter Erie Akron 6.5 CoCoRaHS Herkimer Dolgeville 4 NNW 6.5 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Falconer 6.4 CoCoRaHS Wyoming Warsaw 6.3 Co-Op Observer Cattaraugus Perrysburg 6 Co-Op Observer Genesee Batavia 3 WSW 6 CoCoRaHS Otsego Milford 6 Social Media Madison Nelson 2 NW 6 Trained Spotter Herkimer Beaver River 6 Public Monroe Rochester Airport 5.9 ASOS Erie Clarence Center ESE 5.7 CoCoRaHS Fulton GLOVERSVILLE 7 NW 5.6 Co-Op Observer Lewis Chases Lake 5.4 Co-Op Observer Genesee Batavia 1 NW 5 CoCoRaHS Cortland Homer 5 Trained Spotter Cortland Marathon 1 N 5 Trained Spotter Madison Chittenango 5 Trained Spotter Steuben Bloomerville 1 E 5 Trained Spotter Delaware Franklin 4.9 Social Media Tioga Berkshire 4.8 Social Media Genesee Alden 3 E 4.7 CoCoRaHS Wayne Walworth 2 SW 4.5 CoCoRaHS Franklin Malone 4.5 Co-Op Observer Onondaga Syracuse 4.5 Social Media Otsego Laurens 4.5 Social Media Essex Olmstedville 5 NNE 4.4 CoCoRaHS Wayne Palmyra 2 NW 4.3 CoCoRaHS Hamilton Indian Lake 2 SW 4.3 Co-Op Observer Monroe Scottsville 5 NNW 4.2 CoCoRaHS Cortland South Cortland 4.1 Trained Spotter Jefferson Watertown 1 ESE 4 CoCoRaHS Oneida Paris 4 Trained Spotter Washington Hebron 1 N 4 Trained Spotter Wyoming Silver Springs 3 N 3.8 Co-Op Observer Genesee Le Roy 1 E 3.7 Co-Op Observer Niagara Lockport 1 NE 3.7 CoCoRaHS Erie Cheektowaga 3 NE 3.6 CoCoRaHS Erie Buffalo Airport 3.6 ASOS Genesee Stafford 2 NE 3.5 CoCoRaHS Delaware Delhi 2 S 3.5 Co-Op Observer Schoharie Jefferson 3.5 WeatherNet6 Washington NORTH HEBRON 5 SW 3.5 Co-Op Observer Lewis Lowville 3.4 Co-Op Observer Broome Nws Binghamton 3.4 Official NWS Obs Erie North Boston 4 ESE 3.3 CoCoRaHS Erie Boston 3.3 Trained Spotter Lewis Highmarket 3.3 Co-Op Observer Monroe Pittsford 4 SSE 3.3 CoCoRaHS Niagara Lockport 3 ESE 3.3 CoCoRaHS Madison Kirkville 3 E 3.3 Trained Spotter Allegany Rushford 3.2 Co-Op Observer Erie Williamsville 1 NW 3.2 Trained Spotter Niagara Sanborn 4 NE 3.2 Co-Op Observer Wyoming Attica 7 SW 3.2 Co-Op Observer Erie Kenmore 1 NW 3.1 CoCoRaHS Monroe Honeoye Falls 2 NE 3.1 CoCoRaHS Erie Glenwood 2 SE 3 CoCoRaHS Steuben Kanona 3 Trained Spotter Niagara North Tonawanda 2.9 Co-Op Observer Niagara North Tonawanda 1 NNE 2.9 CoCoRaHS Saratoga Edinburg 2.9 CoCoRaHS Erie Amherst 5 NNE 2.8 CoCoRaHS Montgomery Ephratah 4 ESE 2.8 CoCoRaHS Monroe Brockport 2.6 Co-Op Observer Niagara Lockport 3 WNW 2.6 CoCoRaHS Orleans Medina 2.6 Co-Op Observer Erie Alden 2.5 Trained Spotter Monroe Greece 1 N 2.5 Social Media Warren Queensbury 2.5 CoCoRaHS Allegany Angelica 2.3 Co-Op Observer Oswego Fulton 2.2 Co-Op Observer Allegany Wellsville 2 Co-Op Observer Erie Cheektowaga 2 NW 2 CoCoRaHS Erie Tonawanda 3 NE 2 CoCoRaHS Genesee Batavia 1 W 2 CoCoRaHS Lewis Constableville 1 NW 2 CoCoRaHS Ontario Honeoye 2 Co-Op Observer Schenectady Delanson 2 WeatherNet6 Erie East Aurora 2 SSE 1.9 CoCoRaHS Oswego Oswego 5 ESE 1.9 CoCoRaHS Montgomery Amsterdam 1 NW 1.9 CoCoRaHS Erie West Seneca 1 W 1.8 CoCoRaHS Erie Kenmore ESE 1.8 CoCoRaHS Erie Williamsville 3 E 1.6 CoCoRaHS Albany Altamont 2 SSW 1.6 CoCoRaHS Washington Whitehall 1.6 Co-Op Observer Ontario Geneva 2 WNW 1.5 CoCoRaHS Schenectady Pattersonville 4 SSW 1.5 CoCoRaHS Erie Colden 1 W 1.4 Co-Op Observer Erie East Aurora 3 NNE 1.4 CoCoRaHS Clinton Peru 4 ESE 1.4 CoCoRaHS Sullivan Callicoon Center 1 SSW 1.4 Co-Op Observer Warren North Creek 5 SE 1.3 Co-Op Observer Allegany Whitesville 1.2 Co-Op Observer Livingston Dansville 1 ENE 1.2 CoCoRaHS Chemung Swartwood 3 N 1.1 Social Media Erie West Seneca 2 WNW 1 CoCoRaHS Livingston Avon 1 Co-Op Observer Livingston Mount Morris 2 W 1 Co-Op Observer Niagara Niagara Falls 6 E 1 CoCoRaHS Ontario Canandaigua 3 S 1 Co-Op Observer Oneida Marcy 1 Trained Spotter Schenectady Duanesburg 1 WeatherNet6 Schoharie North Blenheim 7 N 1 Co-Op Observer Warren Lake Luzerne 1 Co-Op Observer Washington Hebron 1 WeatherNet6 Erie Boston 2 NE 0.9 CoCoRaHS Greene East Jewett 0.9 Co-Op Observer Rensselaer Waterford 5 E 0.8 CoCoRaHS Ulster Phoenicia 0.8 Co-Op Observer Montgomery East Springfield 4 ENE 0.7 CoCoRaHS Allegany Alfred 0.6 Co-Op Observer Oswego Pulaski 1 NE 0.6 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Dunkirk 1 SW 0.5 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Dunkirk 1 S 0.5 Co-Op Observer Niagara Niagara Falls Airport 0.5 Co-Op Observer Niagara Youngstown 2 NE 0.5 Co-Op Observer Orleans Medina WNW 0.5 CoCoRaHS Rensselaer Averill Park 0.5 CoCoRaHS Saratoga Gansevoort 1 W 0.5 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Silver Creek 0.4 Co-Op Observer Erie Eden 1 SSE 0.4 CoCoRaHS Greene Tannersville 4 SE 0.4 CoCoRaHS Erie Blasdell 2 SSW 0.3 CoCoRaHS Albany Westerlo 5 WNW 0.3 CoCoRaHS Erie Hamburg WSW 0.2 CoCoRaHS Saratoga Day Center 3 W 0.2 CoCoRaHS Schoharie Cobleskill 2 ESE 0.2 Co-Op Observer Warren Warrensburg 2 WNW 0.2 CoCoRaHS Chautauqua Fredonia 1 WNW 0.1 CoCoRaHS Dutchess Millbrook 2 NE 0.1 CoCoRaHS Herkimer Ilion 0.1 CoCoRaHS Source: National Weather Service | https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/01/who-got-the-most-snow-in-upstate-ny-lake-effect-storm.html |
Does Remgro have a taste for RCL Foods? | Listed investment holdings group Remgro could buy out minorities in its operating subsidiary RCL Foods after the group bought about seven-million shares in the owner of Yum Yum, Selati and Nola brands in December. RCL Foods share price rose 12.4% in early trade on Thursday before it retreated, closing 8.77% up at R15, the highest in three weeks. The decision to buy the shares in the open market could be a precursor to Remgros buyout of minority shareholders in its listed operating subsidiary, according to Brendon Hubbard, a portfolio manager at ClucasGray. RCL, which has a market capitalisation of R13.6bn, is one of the largest processors and marketers of chicken in Africa, with around 24-million chickens on the ground at any time on over 180 farms countrywide. Hubbard said on Thursday the move, which takes Remgros interest in RCL to about 78%, could be part of a broader strategy by Remgro to clean up its portfolio of investments, while also on the look-out for attractive investment options. Food is a priority area for them, he said, pointing out Remgros acquisition of Unilevers Spread business in 2018. | https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/industrials/2019-01-10-does-remgro-have-a-taste-for-rcl-foods/ |
How dangerous is microplastic? | After early reports of microplastic pollution in our oceans and beaches sounded the alarm, the global scientific community intensified its focus into this area. Researchers have since found evidence of microplastic contamination seemingly everywhere - also in our lakes and rivers, beverages and food supplies. Dr. Natalia Ivleva, a researcher with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has developed new analytical methods for the identification and quantification of microplastic. In this interview, she shares her latest findings. According to current definitions, microplastic is any piece of plastic measuring five millimeters in size down to one micrometer, that is one-thousandth of a millimeter. Plastic particles that are smaller - from one micrometer down to 100 nanometers - are defined as sub-microplastic. Particles below 100 nm are called nanoplastic. Studies show, that most of the plastic particles possess sizes in lower micrometer range. Both microplastics and nanoplastics are usually formed by the breakdown of larger pieces of plastic - for example, from shopping bags to the wear and tear on a car's tires or when we wash an article of microfiber clothing. And since some manufacturers are still adding microplastics to personal care products like toothpaste and scrubs - they are a source of microplastic pollution, too. Actually, it's not yet totally clear just how dangerous microplastics are for living organisms. What is known: aquatic organisms and other species, including humans, can absorb microplastic particles. But that alone doesn't prove toxicity. However, we have also ascertained that smaller-sized particles might have the ability to be absorbed in certain types of body tissue in aquatic organisms. Each year, humans produce around 400 million tons of plastic worldwide. A significant proportion of this plastic ends up in the environment as litter, and most types of plastic take several hundred years to completely degrade. Over the next few decades, we will probably be facing a massive increase in the amount of microplastic pollution in the environment. We all know that even inert and non-toxic substances can have unforeseen effects once they reach a certain level of concentration in the environment. Early on, when researchers first realized that microplastic was entering the environment as a result of human activity, optical methods were used to distinguish plastic from other particles in a given sample. Unfortunately, this method is not very reliable. When you are looking at a particle that is smaller than a millimeter in size, it's difficult to discern whether it is a grain of sand or a piece of plastic. They look very similar at that size. One good example of this: under the auspices of the research project "MiWa," funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), we did a chemical analysis of around 3,000 particles from a water sample taken from the Elbe River. We ascertained that only one in a thousand particles in the sample was actually plastic. Alongside limestone and other mineral particles, the water sample also contained a lot of organic material. That is why it's of the utmost importance to develop reliable and standardized analysis methods - otherwise, there is no way to accurately compare different sample values with one another. I want to emphasize here that we're talking about extremely low concentrations of microplastics in the samples we have analyzed - which we would expect would have a correspondingly small effect on the health of a living organism. In some experiments testing for high concentrations of microplastic, negative effects have been measured - while in others, no negative effects have been found. This research is still very much in its infancy - which doesn't mean that we should take a 'wait and see' approach.. If we consider the slow rate at which plastic degrades, it is an urgent priority for us to find strategies for reducing the amount of plastic waste we're producing in the first place. Depending on what questions you're asking, there are several different methods currently being employed to analyze samples for microplastic. For example, thermal analysis paired with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is employed to determine the quantity and types of plastic particles and additives that might be present. But these methods cannot be used to determine particle sizes. Spectroscopic methods can be used to determine both the chemical fingerprint as well as the size and shape of microplastic particles. And infrared micro-spectroscopy can even be used to automatically analyze particles down to the size of 20 micrometers. At the TUM Institute of Hydrochemistry, we predominantly employ Raman microscopic analysis in our research. Raman is a non-destructive spectroscopic method that makes it possible to conduct both a signature spectrum analysis as well as facilitate reliable particle identification. Using this method, we can determine whether a particle is made of synthetic polymers -- or if it's a natural substance such as cellulose or quartz. Additionally, this method allows us to precisely determine the type of plastic in a sample. And coupling the power of a Raman spectrometer with a regular optical microscope, we can analyze particles down to one micrometer or even smaller. The result: we have the ability to clearly define the number of particles, the range of particle sizes and the polymer types of the microplastics in any given sample. We have been able to confirm the presence of microplastic particles in the digestive tracts of water fleas. Furthermore, in a project funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Environment and Consumer Protection, we have found that mussels ingest especially small microplastic particles - deposits of which we have found throughout their bodies. To develop representative and statistically reliable conclusions about the level of microplastic contamination in any given sample, we will need to analyze a lot of particles per sample. That is why we are also currently working on the automation of Raman-based methods in the project "MiPAq," which is being funded by the Bavarian Research Foundation (BFS). As plastic particles degrade to ever-smaller sizes in the environment, they present an increasingly higher potential for environmental toxicity. That is why our institute is collaborating with other TUM chairs to develop more accurate methods for analyzing very small particles within the BMBF-funded "SubTrack" project. First, we'll need to collect enough comparable sample results - using standardized analysis methods - which will show us just how much microplastic or nanoplastic is actually present in any given sample. Only then we can begin to analyze the negative effects that might be caused by a certain level of microplastic or nanoplastic contamination in the environment - or in humans and other species. It will also be necessary for researchers to determine which types, particle sizes and shapes - and especially which concentrations of microplastics and nanoplastics - have which toxic effects. Absolutely not - plastic is an incredibly versatile material and has a lot of advantages over other materials. That said - it is of paramount importance for us to drastically reduce the amount of plastic we are introducing into the environment. And it's not just the companies manufacturing plastic that need to shoulder the sole responsibility and burden for this - it is also up to us as consumers to become more responsible in how we use, reuse, recycle and dispose of plastic in the future. ### Further information: Dr. Natalia P. Ivleva is a group leader at the Institute for Hydrochemistry (IWC), Chair for Analytical Chemistry and Hydrochemistry (Prof. Martin Elsner), at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The work mentioned in the interview was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Project "Microplastics in the Water Cycle", MiWa, MSc Philipp M. Anger and Project "Tracking of (Sub) Microplastics of Different Identity", SubTrack, MSc Christian Schwaferts) and the Bavarian Research Foundation (project "Microparticles in the Aquatic Environment and Food", MiPAq, MSc Elisabeth von der Esch). Cooperation partners at the Technical University of Munich include the professorships of Urban Water Systems Engineering (Prof. J. E. Drewes, PD Dr. T. Letzel, PD Dr. J. Grassmann), Animal Physiology and Immunology (Prof. M. Pfaffl), Aquatic Systems Biology (Prof. J. Geist), Science and Technology Policy (Prof. R. Mller), Food Packaging Technology (Prof. H. C. Langowski) and Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science (Prof. T. Hofmann, Dr.-Ing. Karl Glass) as well as the Institute of Groundwater Ecology (PD Dr. Griebler, PD Dr. Stumpp) at the Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen. Publications: Christian Schwaferts, Reinhard Niessner, Martin Elsner, Natalia P. Ivleva Methods for the analysis of submicrometer- and nanoplastic particles in the environment Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2019 - DOI:10.1016/j.trac.2018.12.014 Philipp M. Anger, Elisabeth von der Esch, Thomas Baumann, Martin Elsner, Reinhard Niessner, Natalia P. Ivleva: Raman microspectroscopy as a tool for microplastic particle analysis Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2018, 109 214-226 - DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2018.10.010 Janina Domogalla-Urbansky, Philipp M. Anger, Hermann Ferling, Florian Rager, Alexandra C. Wiesheu, Reinhard Niessner, Natalia P. Ivleva, Julia Schwaiger Raman microspectroscopic identification of microplastic particles in freshwater bivalves (Unio pictorum) exposed to sewage treatment plant effluents under different exposure scenarios Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2018 - DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3609-3 Natalia P. Ivleva, Alexandra C. Wiesheu und Reinhard Niessner Mikroplastik in aquatischen kosystemen Angewandte Chemie 2016,128, 2-23 - DOI: 10.1002/ange.201606957 | https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/tuom-hdi011019.php |
Can Elon Musk's Tesla Bestride the Chinese Automobile Market? | January 10, 2019 3 min read It has been a good start of 2019 for Tesla founder and chief executive officer Elon Musk. The billionaire entrepreneur has been hogging the limelight after he spoke at the launch of his new Tesla factory project called Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. The factory is currently under construction and will start producing battery cells by the end of 2019 along with Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y cars, at an initial production rate target of 250,000 electric cars per year. Affordable Cars for China The Shanghai regional government approved the agreement to build the production facility in July 2018, and a long-term lease of land was signed for 210 acres (85 ha) in October 2018. The construction for the factory began in December, three months after Tesla won the long-term lease for 210 acres (85 ha) of land in Lingang, Shanghai, with the installation of secure fencing and site offices. A construction permit was granted by the Shanghai municipal government authorizing work to begin after 29 December 2018, for a period of 180 days. The project contractor is China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd. part of China State Construction Engineering, a large state-owned construction company Aiming to finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of the year and reach high volume production next year. Shanghai Giga production of Model 3/Y will serve greater China region, Musk tweeted. For Tesla, the factory will be the first manufacturing plant outside the US. Musk also tweeted ahead of the event, Shanghai Giga output is just for greater China, not North America. Affordable cars must be made on the same continent as customers. Looks like the new plant will produce affordable cars for Chinese consumers. Eyeing the Chinese Market For Tesla, cracking the Chinese automobile market wont be easy. China, the world's biggest car market, is home to some big players like AIC, FAW, GAC Group, Dongfeng, Geely, Changan etc. According to a study by Bain & Company, China has quickly emerged as the worlds largest mobility market. Innovations in automotive, technology and e-commerce are rapidly converging in new, unexpected ways. Chinese consumers, who lead most other countries in digital adoption, are willing to try new options that are becoming available at a record pace and are upending the definition of mobility. "The mobility ecosystem is growing and taking shape, and as it does, one message is becoming clear. Outpacing rivals will mean creating the right alliances to build the needed capabilities while carefully managing the risks that are inherent with any new and dynamic industry. In the worlds largest mobility market, no company will be able to win alone," the report states. It will be interesting to see if Musk's Tesla will have a successful debut in China's booming automobile market. | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326057 |
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