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Why Magufuli is spying on his ministers and government officials? | Thursday January 10 2019 Tanzanian President John Magufuli revealed on Wednesday that he monitors the phone conversations of his government appointees and urged them to improve their working relations. The President said that, to some extent, his recent decision to move Dr Zainab Chaula to the Ministry of Health as permanent secretary from the Local Government ministry where she was a deputy PS was informed by his tracking of conversations between her and the Health minister Ms In his mini-reshuffle announced on Tuesday, the President promoted Mr Dotto Biteko to head the Minerals ministry where he was serving as its deputy. Mr Biteko replaced Ms Angella Kairuki who was moved to the Office of the Prime Minister as the Minister of State for Investment. Dr Chaula replaced Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya as the Health PS while the latter has now been appointed as an ambassador. Ummy Mwalimu. When I tracked the telephone message communication between the Minister of Health and Dr Chaula, I noticed a strain in their working relationship. So to make their quarrels come to a stop, I decided to place them under the same ministry," Dr Magufuli said. He was speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed cabinet members, permanent secretaries and other senior officials at State House, Dar es Salaam. He cautioned the new appointees saying he had noted that there were quarrels on decisions made by his government. I am watching them. This should stop," he warned. Dr Magufuli also revealed that in his watch-list. Source: The East African | https://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/why-magufuli-is-spying-on-his-ministers-and-government-officials.1534107/ |
Why did Bollywood stars meet Modi? | January 10, 2019 19:52 IST Actors Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Rajkummar Rao, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Sidharth Malhotraa, led by film-maker Karan Johar, met Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi to discuss how the industry can contribute towards 'nation building'. The meeting comes weeks after Modi met Bollywood producers and discussed issues faced by the industry, which led to the reduction in GST on film tickets by the government. The delegation also included Directors Rohit Shetty and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Producers Ekta Kapoor and Mahaveer Jain. Johar later took to Instagram to share a group selfie with Modi. 'Powerful and timely conversations can bring about change and this was one of what we hope will become a regular conversation. Meeting the Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi today was an incredible opportunity,' Johar captioned it. Johar claimed the meeting would ignite positive changes. 'As a community, there is a huge interest to contribute to nation building. There is so much that we want to do. And can do and this dialogue was towards how and what ways we can do that. When the youngest country (in demography) joins hands with the largest movie industry in the world, we hope to be a force to reckon with. Together we would love to inspire and ignite positive changes to a transformative India,' Johar stated. The producers meeting with Modi in December had drawn flak on social media for lack of female representation on the panel. Thursday's panel had Bhumi, Alia, Ekta and Ashwini. Photograph: Kind courtesy Karan Johar/Instagram | https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/why-did-bollywood-stars-meet-modi/20190110.htm |
Will Jeff Bezos top the list of the most expensive divorces ever? | On Wednesday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Mackenzie announced theyre divorcing. Bezos, 54, is putting his $137 billion fortune at stake since the couple didnt sign a prenup agreement, TMZ reported. And because Amazon was founded a year after they were married in 1995, Mackenzie, a 48-year-old writer, could get as much as $66 billion from the split, according to CNBC. While the financial terms of their parting is still up in the air, the Bezos split could make history as the most expensive divorce ever. From the Wildensteins to the Wynns, heres a look at the priciest divorce settlements in the world. | https://nypost.com/2019/01/10/will-jeff-bezos-top-the-list-of-the-most-expensive-divorces-ever/ |
Does Lauren Daigle still consider herself to be a Christian artist? | (YouTube)Singer Lauren Daigle performs on Good Morning America, December 20, 2018. Grammy-nominated singer Lauren Daigle, who had a successful 2018 with her album Look Up Child, recently discussed whether she still considers herself to be a Christian artist. During an interview with 104.3 MYFM the popular singer was asked what she "called herself," specifically if she still considers herself to be a Christian artist as her music goes mainstream. "I feel like those labels get put on you by other people," Daigle said during the interview on Friday. "I was reading articles, I read them here in there, and one of them said Christian artist and the other ones said just artist. But I think part of me is just an artist because it encompasses everything. That's kind of how I see myself." When asked if she's more "cautious" now as she gains notoriety with mainstream listeners, she replied: "No," adding that in her opinion "risk is the best" and "a beautiful thing." Look Up Child debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart following its release in September 2018, beating out popular secular musicians such as Drake, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B that week. Since its success, she was also featured on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Jimmy Fallon's late night NBC show and had one of her song's played on the hit series "Grey's Anatomy." "Why we were making this record we were constantly studying the greats that came before Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Andre Crouch, Lauren Hill there's just a plethora of artists that we listened to, over and over," Daigle told 104.3 MYFM. "I remember talking so much about, 'Let's just make sure that we make music that we believe in that's pure, true sound and something that we love, and it'll transcend wherever it's supposed to go. But let's make sure that it's pure authentic to who we are,'" she added. The Louisiana native said she believes her music is connecting to so many people because of the sincerity behind it. Adding that she hopes people are opening up to what she's about because of the messages in her music. "I chose the same producers and the same writers for the first record that I did for the second, so that goes to show that I'm not necessarily changing, but it's beautiful to see how wide these songs are going and how much it's covering," Daigle said last week. Continue reading about Lauren Daigle on The Christian Post. | https://www.christianexaminer.com/article/does-lauren-daigle-still-consider-herself-to-be-a-christian-artist/52511.htm |
Why are so many New Brunswick doctors prescribing a potentially deadly drug combo? | Some people have known for decades that benzodiazepines and opioids are a potentially deadly combination of drugs. A 2012 article from the Journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence called "Polydrug abuse: A review of opioid and benzodiazepine combination use," cites research dating back to the 1980s, which found that together they caused breathing problems, and clinical studies dating back to 1996 that linked them to overdoses. There have been recommendations against prescribing them together since before 2009, according to Dr. Tom Evans, the director of the Atlantic Pain Clinic in Moncton. Yet, about 40 per cent of the patients who end up there are still taking the dangerous cocktail often without realizing the risks. "I suppose I'm kind of jaded by now," said Evans. "I mean, it's just more of the same the surprising thing is, week after week, this comes as news to patients. I didn't know.'" Dr. Tom Evans says 40 per cent of the patients who end up at the Atlantic Pain Clinic in Moncton have been prescribed both opioids and benzodiazepines, a potentially deadly combination. (CBC) In 50 of 82 opioid-related deaths in New Brunswick in the last three years, the deceased also had benzodiazepines in their system, according to figures from the Department of Justice and Public Safety. Evans said he's not sure why the two types of drug are so often prescribed together, but said it could be due to anything from a lack of training in pharmacology to overly busy physicians who find it a challenge to keep track of prescriptions. New Brunswick does have a prescription monitoring program. However, that system is designed to pick up on "double-doctoring" by patients who are getting controlled substances from multiple physicians. It doesn't detect "bad prescribing," Evans said. If a pharmacist happens to notice combined benzodiazepine and opioid prescriptions and tries to intervene, it doesn't always go well. The New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons says cutting off opioid prescriptions could prompt some patients to seek out illicit drugs instead. (CBC) "There's still a hierarchy. It's not collaborative practice out there ... There's a very defensive reaction. It's, 'I know what I'm doing. It's my patient. I know them better than you.' ... After a few of those phone calls, they just stop making them. ... They just dispense." To top it off, Evans said the available information is hard to decipher. "We ask for a complete pharmacy list on everyone who comes in to see us. I can't make sense of many of them. I have to have pharmacists go through them line by line. So, if I'm having a hard time to see it quickly from a comprehensive list, I'm wondering what pharmacists see on their screen and if they're able to keep track of these folks." One solution Evans proposed in order to cut down on the dangerous combination is to require special certification for any doctor who wishes to prescribe opioids. "That's a good point," said Dr. Ed Schollenberg, registrar of the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Ed Schollenberg says methadone or other alternatives should be more readily available before patients are cut off from opioids. However, Schollenberg cautioned that cutting down on the number of prescribing physicians would have a "significant impact" on the province's long-term opioid users, many of whom are already addicted. To quit, he said their options are limited to either going cold turkey or trying a therapy such as methadone. But few patients want methadone, and access is limited because few doctors want to prescribe it. "Until we have greater access to alternatives like methadone and other drugs, I think we have to be very, very cautious about cutting people off," he said. When benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax are combined with opioids, the consequences can be lethal. Dr. Tom Evans is the director of the Atlantic Pain Clinic in Moncton and he says that this combination of drugs is getting prescribed far too often in New Brunswick. 9:22 "It's hoped that eventually this alternative will be better available and maybe down the road there will be some process which puts restrictions on the ability of physicians to prescribe narcotics." The college published guidelines a couple of years ago that call for extreme caution in prescribing opioids and recommend against prescribing them in combination with benzodiazepines, but Schollenberg admits that message hasn't gotten through to everyone. "When they are prescribing narcotics they are in essence handling plutonium and they should do it as carefully as possible." He recommends a similar level of caution in prescribing benzodiazepines, which may not have the severe withdrawal effects of opioids, but can still result in strong dependencies. "I've spoken to physicians who tried to cut patients back and just had huge fights." But the executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association said there's good reason to keep making the effort. "A study in Quebec ... indicates that if a prescriber mentions to the patient that they should stop taking benzodiazepines ... 71 per cent of them will do it," said Paul Blanchard. However, Blanchard agreed with Evans that doctors aren't always receptive to pharmacists who question their prescribing. Pharmacists are allowed to "adapt" most prescriptions if they feel the dosage is too high, but that's not the case for narcotics and other federally regulated drugs such as benzodiazepines, he said. "They do have to call the physician and say, 'Look, are you sure you want to prescribe this much?'" he said. "So, yeah, that can lead to some confrontation. ... Physicians will have their reasons for prescribing." New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association executive director Paul Blanchard says there is research suggesting patients on benzodiazepines will stop using them if they are educated about the risks. (CBC) There's also a chance that some combination prescriptions are simply going unnoticed because of the shortcomings of the prescription monitoring program. "It's sort of working, but it's not generating the information we need," said Schollenberg. Users are able to log into the external government website to seek out a patient's full profile, but the system doesn't issue automatic red flags. And they have to manually look for drug interactions. "That just takes too much time," said Blanchard. The pharmacists' association is asking the province to implement a system similar to Nova Scotia's, where a pharmacist at any given store can see a patient's complete drug profile and potential adverse reactions. "We're working with the province to try to upgrade or improve the prescription monitoring program, but we're not quite there yet," he said. Schollenberg said the next issue will be what to do with the information once they get it. "The response and what you want to happen has to be a lot clearer and we just really don't have that set up well," he said. "Obviously there's other things we could be doing, but those resources are limited. Yes, but then they'll have to pay for it. And on and on it goes." | https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/doctors-prescribing-deadly-combination-1.4971695?cmp=rss |
What Will Cause The Next Recession? | Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, J. Bradford Delong wrote a very interesting article discussing the trigger for the next recession. Three of the last four US recessions stemmed from unforeseen shocks in financial markets. Most likely, the next downturn will be no different: the revelation of some underlying weakness will trigger a retrenchment of investment, and the government will fail to pursue counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Over the past 40 years, the US economy has experienced four recessions. Among the four, only the extended downturn of 1979-1982 had a conventional cause. The US Federal Reserve thought that inflation was too high, so it hit the economy on the head with the brick of interest-rate hikes. As a result, workers moderated their demands for wage increases, and firms cut back on planned price increases. The other three recessions were each caused by derangements in financial markets. After the savings-and-loan crisis of 1991-1992 came the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000-2002, followed by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in 2007, which triggered the global financial crisis the following year. While I agree with Bradfords point, I think there is a disconnect between the crises he points out and repeated behaviors which lead to those events. Lets review some basic realities about the economy that seems to be lost on the mainstream media. First, this is NOT an economic cycle: This is: Despite the hopes the economy will continue into an everlasting expansion, such has historically never been the case. The current economic expansion, which has been driven by massive infusions of liquidity, extremely accommodative interest rate policy, and a surge in debt accumulation, is just 4-months away from setting a new record. Secondly, while the recession prior to 1980 was driven by a super-aggressive Fed rate tightening policy, since 1950 we can find fingerprints of monetary policy in every event. I am not saying that just because the Fed hikes rates, that a recession, or crisis, will be triggered. What I am saying is that over the entire rate cycle, the Fed has fostered the credit driven expansion and laid the groundwork necessary for a crisis to be born. Lets revisit Bradfords three specific crises. The S&L Crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of 1,043 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States from 1986 to 1995. However, just looking at the event we miss the bigger picture. If we go back in time before the crisis began, we find an environment where the Federal Reserve had drastically lowered the overnight lending rates in order to spur more borrowing and economic activity coming out of the back-to-back recessions of the late 70s and early 80s. Of course, in a capitalist-driven economy, as demand for loans for cars, housing, businesses, etc. rose; bankers figured out ways to continue to extend credit in order to maximize their profitability. As is always the case, greed over took prudence and many bankers relaxed risk management protocols which would ultimately cost them their jobs and in many cases the bank. Of course, in 1979, when the Federal Reserve hiked the discount rate from 9.5% to 12%, ostensibly to quell inflation pressures, it also slowed the economy. Since the S&Ls had issued long-term loans at fixed rates lower than the now higher rate at which they could borrow the rise in rates combined with rising default rates, led to insolvency. Probably the most famous example from the S&L Crisis period was that of financier Charles Keating, who paid $51 million financed through Michael Milkens junk bond operation, for his Lincoln Savings and Loan Association which at the time had a negative net worth exceeding $100 million. The Dot.Com Bubble While the dot.com bubble is often thought of as a one-off event caused by speculative excess, there was actually much more going on at the time. Many have forgotten the names of Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and other booming tech companies which were riff with financial shenanigans at the time which ultimately led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. However, again, we cant look at just the event itself but need to go back prior to the event to understand the groundwork that was laid. Following the recession of 1991, the Federal Reserve drastically lowered interest rates to spur economic growth. However, the two events which laid the foundation for the dot.com crisis was the rule-change which allowed the nations pension funds to own equities and the repeal of Glass-Steagall which unleashed Wall Street upon a nation of unsuspecting investors. The major banks could now use their massive balance sheet to engage in investment-banking, market-making, and proprietary trading. The markets exploded as money flooded the financial markets. Of course, since there were not enough legitimate deals to fill demand and Wall Street bankers are paid to produce deals, Wall Street floated any offering it could despite the risk to investors. Of course, it wasnt long until the Federal Reserve, again concerned about the prospect of rising inflation and an overheating economy, started hiking rates. As monetary policy became more restrictive, the cost of capital rose, and the economy slowed. It wasnt long before the system came unglued. The Great Financial Crisis In response to the Dot.com crisis, the Federal Reserve once again drastically lowered interest rates to spur economic growth. This was also the point where the Bush Administration, along with the Alan Greenspan headed Federal Reserve, decided that everyone should own a home. Lending standards were relaxed and a variety of new mortgage structures were introduced by Wall Street in the quest to make money. Over the next several years, as lending rates declined, and everyone wanted to buy into the surging housing market, Wall Street packaged mortgages into exotic instruments allowing them to sell the mortgages to investors. The cycle continued with ever increasing demand from home buyers and demand from investors. As the housing market boomed, the stock market fully recovered from the dot.com crash, and with the economy booming, the Federal Reserve, now under the leadership of Ben Bernanke, decided to start tightening monetary policy in the belief that inflation was an imminent threat from an overheating economy. But there were no pressing concerns as it was believed that subprime mortgage loans were contained and the ongoing Goldilocks economy would continue uninterrupted. They werent and it didnt. If you are interested in this crisis we urge you to read or watch The Big Short by Michael Lewis The Common Threads While each of these events were much more complex than what I have outlined here, there were many others along the way like the Russian Debt Default, The Asian Contagion, and Long-Term Capital Management, which all shared important commonalities between them. In each case we find that prior to the event the Federal Reserve was loosening monetary policy to spur economic growth following a preceding economic downturn. They did this to halt the downturn but in doing so failed to allow the system to clear itself over time. Looser monetary policy, and continuing relaxation of regulations led to excessive greed by the primary players in the market which was supported by a rising level of speculative frenzy and easy access to capital by investors. In other words, instead allowing the system to clear the previous build up of excesses, the Federal Reserve intervened to keep that process from happening. As a result, each crisis has been worse than the one before it because the debt and leverage in the system continues to mount. As shown in the chart below, whenever the Federal Reserve previously loosened monetary policy, debt as a percentage of the economy surged. Naturally, when monetary policy was reversed, things tended to go badand generally very quickly. Since 1980, the eventual and inevitable unwind of an overly levered system was met by a drastic drop in the Fed Funds rate to stimulate debt induced consumption and spur economic activity. The problem, is that each effort by the Fed to limit the impact to the system has required a lower interest rate than the one that preceded. With rates near the lowest level on record still, the next event will once again require dramatic measures to stem the unwinding of a decade long, debt supported, economic cycle. But this is where Bradford gets it absolutely right about the cause of the next recession. Specifically, the culprit will probably be a sudden, sharp flight to safety following the revelation of a fundamental weakness in financial markets. Of course, such has always been the case when it comes to the financial markets. However, the risk of a recession has continued to rise in recent months with plenty of warnings already showing up from a near-inverted yield curve, declining economic momentum, low nominal and real bond yields, and struggling stock prices The problem, as Bradford notes, is the next financial cataclysm may well fall outside of the capability of the Federal Reserve and Government to neutralize. If a recession comes anytime soon, the US government will not have the tools to fight it. The White House and Congress will once again prove inept at deploying fiscal policy as a counter-cyclical stabilizer; and the Fed will not have enough room to provide adequate stimulus through interest-rate cuts. As for more unconventional policies, the Fed most likely will not have the nerve, let alone the power, to pursue such measures. As a result, for the first time in a decade, Americans and investors cannot rule out a downturn. At a minimum, they must prepare for the possibility of a deep and prolonged recession, which could arrive whenever the next financial shock comes. He is absolutely correct in his assessment of the impact of the next fiscal problem. When it comes, it will be totally unexpected, unanticipated, and unprepared for by investors. Such has always been the case through out history. But there is one thing that all these crises have in common. A belief by the Federal Reserve that inflation is going to be problem and that they can control inflation through monetary policy. This time will be no different. | https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-10/what-will-cause-next-recession?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 |
Should Hyping Edible Bugs Focus On The Experience Instead Of The Environment? | Enlarge this image toggle caption Oliver Brachat/for NPR Oliver Brachat/for NPR Farming insects may be more sustainable than raising meat, but so far that hasn't been quite enough to convince most Westerners to eat them. That might do the trick. The global demand for meat drives environmental decline, from forest depletion and soil erosion to increased water use and the release of greenhouse gases. Insect farming is easier on the environment, says Joost Van Itterbeeck, visiting scientist at Rikkyo University in Tokyo and co-author of the book Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security. And, he adds, "The nutritional benefits are very obvious in terms of proteins, minerals and vitamins." But as nice as that all sounds, Westerners are just plain disgusted by bugs on the dinner plate. And save-the-planet discussions don't seem to be changing their minds. Current marketing tactics for eating insects tend to point out environmental and health benefits. But a new study published in Frontiers in Nutrition suggests it might be better to focus on taste and experience, such as highlighting how much dragonflies taste like soft-shelled crabs. Hiding crickets in cookies This doesn't come as a surprise to Kathy Rolin, who knows something about getting people to try edible insects. She and her husband, James, originally started their business, Cowboy Cricket Farms, to sell whole frozen crickets to food manufacturers. After finding that more first-time bug eaters opt for cookies baked with cricket flour instead of a whole cricket, they decided to expand their business to sell Chocolate Chirp Cookies directly to consumers. They found the Chocolate Chirps had better profit margins. "We mainly market the cookies, because who doesn't like a chocolate cookie?" says Kathy Rolin. There have been calls to appeal to consumers' tastes before, but now there is evidence that appealing to the senses might actually work. The study shows that a willingness to try edible insects in this case, a chocolate-covered mealworm depends on what advertisement a person reads before deciding whether to eat it. When the ad focused on taste and experience, rather than environmental or health claims, more people would try the worms. In the study, 180 volunteers reviewed informational flyers on an edible insect start-up company. The wording differed only in one sentence: "Eating meat has never been so _______," meat referring to the meaty part of the insect in this case. The sentence ended with either "good for the environment," "good for the body," "exotic" or "delicious." The latter two were considered by the researchers as hedonic marketing that appealed to the senses. After reflecting on the ad, participants were then given the option to try a chocolate mealworm truffle, which contained whole and visible worms. Participants who read the hedonic marketing claims were more likely to try the truffle, which the researchers attributed to higher-quality expectations suggested by the advertisements. Fighting disgust Promoting taste may convince more people to try insects because it veers our reaction away from disgust. "It's not a rational response," says Val Curtis, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of the book Don't Look, Don't Touch, the Science Behind Revulsion. "We have an innate response to things that might make us sick by feeling disgusted and, therefore, don't want to consume them." Disgust can be easily generalized, and bugs on the dinner plate trigger the "ick" reaction because we associate them with the cockroach scurrying across the floor. A ruined appetite. Telling people to eat insects for the sake of the planet, the researchers argue, won't convince a stomach that has already said "no." "Saving the planet is not something we've evolved to do," notes Curtis. Instead, the researchers suggest that hedonic advertising is a better way to entice would-be diners to eat bugs, because it helps prevent the disgust response. The cockroach rises If we can clear that hurdle, insects could potentially become as common as lobster which was once referred to as the "cockroach of the sea" and fed to prisoners and servants. But when railways began to spread across America and lobster was served to unsuspecting travelers who didn't know that the crustaceans were considered "trash food" the passengers took a liking to the taste, and lobster began to soar in popularity. A related story surrounds sushi, which didn't start gaining widespread acceptance in the U.S. until the mid-'60s. When high-end restaurants started serving raw fish, it went from unpalatable to popular. Now, both lobster and sushi are considered delicacies, a trend that was propelled by another effective form of advertising: status appeal. Rolin thinks insects could follow the same trend. "We've noticed that there's been quite a few celebrities that have endorsed the idea of [eating] insects." Recently, actress Nicole Kidman revealed her "secret talent" of bug consumption in a Vanity Fair video by eating a four-course insect meal complete with fried grasshopper dessert, and singer Justin Timberlake served up bug dishes at a recent album release party. Marketing campaigns that focus on a favorable bug-eating experience, perhaps by showing celebrities eating them, might be enough to distract people from the disgust response long enough to get them to try it. Reframing the bug "I would say if you're going to market insects, you take them as far away from anything slimy or crawling or creepy or too leggy," says Curtis. "Meat is sold as a tasty product, and all pictures of animals have been taken off the packaging. I would say just do exactly the same with insects." One way to do this is by changing the name of the dish. We've done this with other foods: We eat pork, not pig; and beef, not cow. When serving ant larvae, it may be better to use their alternative food name: escamoles, a delicacy served in Mexico City. While taste and experience may prove to be a good way to promote eating insects, that shouldn't discount environmental claims. Eco-friendly campaigns do get people to think more about food sustainability; they're just not quite enough to get most people to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. It just might. Berly McCoy is a freelance science writer living in Northwest Montana. Follow her on Twitter: @travlinscientst | https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/01/10/677826823/should-hyping-edible-bugs-focus-on-the-experience-instead-of-the-environment?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr |
How did Alabama HS D-lineman go from unknown to multiple Power 5 offers? | A year ago, Huffmans Michael Lockhart had never played in a high school football game. This weekend, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman is making an official visit to North Carolina and more than half a dozen Power 5 schools -- including Nebraska, TCU, Kansas, Iowa and Virginia --- have extended football scholarship offers. "Football recruiting definitely has been life-changing," Lockhart said. "I never expected anything like this. This is going to be one of the toughest decisions in my life." Lockhart has emerged as of one of the Deep Souths most intriguing late-rising prospects, thanks to a combination of so many prospects signing during college footballs early signing period in December and Lockharts anonymity after playing football only as a high school senior. Until 2018, Lockhart played basketball exclusively, but major offers never came. That prompted him to finally give football a try. "We've been trying to get him to play since his sophomore year," Huffman football coach Alex Wilson said. Lockhart excelled as a defensive lineman in 2018, logging 37 tackles, including 10 for a loss, and four sacks while also moonlighting as a tight end. "He has size and speed," Wilson said. "You can't teach that." How Birminghams future Clemson LB celebrated national title in heart of Alabama country https://t.co/zYKLnbEbM6 pic.twitter.com/MVRRgr45hh AL.com H.S. Sports (@aldotcomPreps) January 9, 2019 Lockhart initially committed to UAB, which at the time was his only offer, but later decommitted and chose not to sign in December. He's been flooded with offers in the last month and said he's also receivered contact, but no offers, from Oregon, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and UCLA. Neither Alabama nor Auburn has shown interest, and Wilson said he's no longer seriously considering UAB. "He's a diamond in the rough," Ward said. "Mike is as strong as an ox. I'm not sure he realizes how strong he is, but he's starting to." "I fell in love with it," he said. In separate interviews, Wilson and Huffman basketball coach Steve Ward said they're "not surprised" by Lockhart's recruiting rise. He is not normal: Central-Phenix City coach not surprised with Justyn Ross Clemson heroics https://t.co/SflQNUPx4F pic.twitter.com/fBSH5uL8uT AL.com H.S. Sports (@aldotcomPreps) January 8, 2019 Basketball helped Lockhart hone nimble football and agility, traits that impressed college scouts. He projects as a defensive end in college. Wilson said Lockhart has dealt with the late recruiting rise extremely well. I told him to be a patient, Wilson said, and God would work it all out. Hes reaping the benefits. | https://www.al.com/sports/2019/01/how-did-alabama-hs-d-lineman-go-from-unknown-to-multiple-power-5-offers.html |
Has Tilbury become a dumping ground for London's problems? | Get Daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Tilbury and London are extremely close neighbours but these days they have started to share much more than just geography. The town of Tilbury - known for its docks and being part of the Port of London - along with much of Thurrock and other areas of the county takes on a lot of Londons homeless. Last month leaders of Essex councils - including Thurrock leader Rob Gledhill - sent a letter Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. In that letter they expressed concerns over the placement of families and individuals, to meet the housing need, and specifically the placement of people. Tilbury is one such place which has a lot of temporary housing that's used by London councils and, according to some residents, the capital citys problems are coming with them. 'It's going downhill' Its going downhill with all the crime and everything, said one local. Where I live used to be really quiet with no trouble but now we have shootings, we have stabbings and everything down there. Ive lived in Tilbury for nearly nine years. It worries me with the way its going but my children dont go out on their own as theyre still only little. By the time they can go out on their own I wont be living round here. Its that bad I wouldnt let them go out. She added: You need to get rid of all the drug dealers. There are a lot of drugs right now around this area. Because theres a lot of temporary housing for London boroughs here, I think its coming from them. They bring their way of life up here and we are getting tampered with Londons problems. There was a gang in Basildon just up the road that was burgling a shop and they travelled on the train up from London just to do it. 'We are writing to express our concerns' The letter from council leaders to Sadiq Khan on December 14 raised a number of concerns regarding the placement of families from the capital. In it the council leaders, as well as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex Roger Hirst, said they were worried the use of homes outside the London area by London Boroughs presented a number of housing and safeguarding issues. The concerns related to fewer private homes being available to rent or buy for local people in need, as well as the social and economic issues any applicants may be bringing to their area. The councillors also said they were worried about the migration of housing applicants from high rent areas to low rent areas, many of whom will be unable to continue working due to the distance. The letter also stated that families deprived of their local and family support network that are placed in unfamiliar surroundings will face significant challenges and that they may not be able to maintain their employment. There were also concerns raised over placing households in inappropriate areas or buildings leading to wider safeguarding risks especially to children. It is clear from recent ONS figures that there is already a drift from central to outer London Boroughs of new claimants and it is inevitable that a ripple effect will follow of claimants being pushed out into the home county areas, many of which already struggle with their own difficulties, the letter reads. London has an array of criminal issues to contend with at the moment - knife crime is rarely out of the news. However, while some believe people from the city are bringing their problems with them, others are not so sure. If someone hears something bad then thats it, it spreads and everybody is bad, said a woman who asked to remain anonymous. 'No respect' By talking to some people in Tilbury you might get the impression that problems start a little closer to home. The kids cant have anything around here, one woman explained. The council refurbished the park last year and within a month they had set fire to it all. Theyve got no respect. Ive had kids vandalise my car and scratch it - things like that - and they wont even say sorry. On Bonfire Night I had a firework put underneath my car so lucky enough I wasnt driving it but thats not the point. If it had hit the fuel tank then who knows. Its respect, the kids have got no respect. 'They would move their bag from you' Rightly or wrongly Tilbury has earned itself a less-than-positive reputation from people outside of the town and it can be a hard one to shake off. When we first moved down here the people of Tilbury used to be a little bit rough but they were lovely, said a woman whod lived in the town for 31 years. Tilburys had a bad reputation and every time we said to someone Oh I live in Tilbury they would move their bag away from you. Its still got a little bit of a bad name but I think people are more accepting of people coming from Tilbury. Join our WhatsApp messaging service To receive one WhatsApp message a day with the main headlines, as well as breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07557 893797. Then add the number to your phone contacts book as 'Essex Live'. Your phone number won't be shared with other members of the group. The above mobile number can't be used for phone calls. She continued: One time we were in Gran Canaria and my husband was in the pool playing with my son, and this woman was playing with her little boy, and he said, Where do you come from then? She said Gravesend and she asked, Where do you come from and he said Tilbury. She swam away from him over to the other side of the pool. 'Were now getting all these flats' With an influx of people into Tilbury, and other areas of Thurrock, house building has become a big talking point. It's hard not to notice the flats that have either been built or are being built. But it is also perhaps a sign of the growing migration into the town. When we first moved we had a butchers and a greengrocers and people used to be so friendly, said one resident. Then they all closed and we are now getting all these flats and the green belt is all being built on. Yes we are getting a lot of people coming in here but whether they are causing trouble I dont know. They seem to be friendly enough but I dont know if thats a good thing keeping themselves to themselves. She added: Tilburys the same as anywhere else you get your good areas and you get your bad areas. The bit in the middle we used to call it Alcatraz because it was so bad. You walked round it rather than through it but we havent any big problems in Tilbury. | https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/tilbury-becoming-dumping-ground-londons-2416294 |
Does Hockey Have Any Damn Business In Texas? | Illustration: Elena Scotti (GMG) Funbag Time for your weekly edition of the Deadspin Funbag. [Email the Funbag](mailto:[email protected]). This week were talking about Notre Dame, New Years resolutions, whether you too can be a Football Man, and of course, Mitsubishi. Our colleague Drew Magary is still recovering, so this weeks Funbag will be hosted by us, a couple of Real Car Guys: Patrick George and Michael Ballaban of Jalopnik. Please do keep sending Deadspin all your beautiful questions. Advertisement Now then: Its the Sports Time! Ken: Question 1. Question 2. Ballaban, stab him before he steals your hockey team for Houston. Question 3. Question 4. Seriously Ballaban, stop him before it is too late. Patrick George: Fuck no. History will absolve me. Future generations will realize that I was merely liberating those MTA buses, not stealing them, and that I was justified in doing so every time the F train was bad on weekends. Michael Ballaban: Im not even sure theres a question in here, but Im glad that this terrible sporpsball blog will finally focus on the greatest game humanity has ever created, some old-time HUKKEY. And of course, that clearly means theres some old-time whining about the NHLs vaunted Southern Strategy, which, whatever. I think weve finally reached some equilibrium there. Get outta here it doesnt exist), but there wont ever be a team in Atlanta, either. Fine. Whatever. Advertisement And with the Dallas Stars in total meltdown mode, complete with the CEO phoning media outlets himself out of the blue to call his own players fucking horseshit, itll be many many decades before we see a team in Houston. So whatever there, too. Well then I am IN. While the NHL somehow got outdoor ice to work in Los Angeles a few years ago, outdoor ice in general is an absolute crapshoot. It can be anywhere from perfect to a cruel arbiter of pure chaos, with pucks flying in bizarre directions and knees exploding left and right. Thats the sort of entertainment you dont normally get from a Dallas Stars game, especially with its two most prominent players being fucking horseshit. Yeah, theyll probably turn it around by next year, but I refuse to stop this. Jeff: Ive recently noticed that while Im filling my tank at gas stations, more and more people are pumping their gas with their cars still running. I had thought this was a big no-no and that there was potential for a spark and massive explosion. Ive looked for instructions or stickers at the pump indicating that you should turn off your car while refueling, but I cant find any (though I still see the no smoking signs). Please help! Advertisement PG: Let me start by saying that as a former crime reporter Ive seen just about all the ways a person can die, but thats never been one of them. The only gas fill-up explosions Im aware of are when people do stupid shit like this, or when a Lamborghini or Ferrari catch fire. And thats supposed to happen on those cars. You want them to catch fire. Its part of the authentic high-end exotic ownership experience. I think this is very rare especially on modern carsold ones can have all kinds of leaks or wiring issues you may not know aboutbut to be safe I believe you should turn your engine off. And touch the metal of the car to discharge any static electricity. When you arent on fire later, youll be glad you erred on the side of caution. Ballaban: Just accept that the explosion of your car is inevitable, and embrace fiery death. Advertisement Alex: I put sports questions in the subject line to try and fool spam detection. The Lancer Evolutions and Sportbacks still hold up stylistically even if they look a little Fast & Furious. Anyway, have fun talking to Gritty or whatever it is the Deadspin guys do. PG: I love that you think our daddy, Univision, is investing any sort of resources into things like spam detection. Advertisement As for your question: Its because Mitsubishi is a jamoke-ass company that never, ever has its shit together. Were talking about an automaker that had a gigantic clusterfuck fuel economy cheating scandal in Japan not with some sophisticated, top secret high-tech engineering trickery like Volkswagen, but by over-inflating their tires for better results. That was it! And they still got caught! Carlos Ghosn had to step in and save their ass, but now hes maybe going to prison. Theyre especially fucked now. When Elon Musk starts dating Lindsay Lohan later this year and she introduces him to cocaine, hell get annihilated on the white stuff and then announce hes buying out Mitsubishi in a tweet that gets him sued by the SEC again. The Lancer Evo was and is a kickass car, though always the slightly more hard-edged choice over the WRX STIwhich is really saying something because even the stock suspension on a WRX STI does to your spine what a root canal does to your face. But the real problem is that to attract The Youths, Mitsubishi had this bad habit in the 90s and 2000s of financing anyone who walked into a dealership and had a pulse. Needless to say this bit them in the ass later, so now theyre too broke to do anything rad like the Evo again, even if Elon shows up. I legit dont know why any American car dealers still put up with them unless theyre all somehow tax dodges or fronts for the mob. Anyway, the Evo will probably come back as a hybrid seven-seat crossover, and all of us who saw 2 Fast 2 Furious on opening night can drink paint thinner together to celebrate. At least we have the Honda Civic Type R in America now. Advertisement Gritty sends his regards. Ballaban: On the extremely rare occasion that I see a new Mitsubishi on the road, Im always like holy shit, a new Mitsubishi, both because I need to be reminded that it still exists, and because I am shocked that anyone would buy one. Theres literally zero reason to buy one in a world where you can just get whatever equivalent Honda or Toyota and its fine and you know theyre not completely pulling out of the American market in the next five or ten years. The Lancer Evolution, specifically, didnt catch on as well as the WRX because Mitsubishi gave up on it. You can see that in big ways, mostly in that Mitsubishi doesnt make it anymore, but in smaller ways, such as Mitsubishi basically selling a car from 2007 right up until the cars demise in 2016. There was the VIII and IX in quick order before that, but Evo X lingered on a long-ass time until it was irrelevant. Advertisement (For those unfamiliar with the cars and just stumbling upon todays Jalopnik-edition FUNBAG, first and foremost let me say hi, hello, welcome, and Im sorry; and also that selling a car thats essentially untouched for nine years is definitively weird.) Mitsubishi used to sell fun, interesting cars like the Montero, Eclipse, 3000GT and Lancer Evolution. Now it sells cars that are like Hondas and Toyotas and Nissans in every way, except slightly worse. It will probably die in the U.S. soon. Jake: Im 25, so Ive never seen Notre Dame win a national championship. Ive only ever known them as a middling team with an inexplicable fan base. Fighting Irish is the perfect moniker for my drunk and racist relatives (most of whom have never been to Indiana) to get behind. Advertisement PG: Notre Dame is pointless, yes. I also have never understood the appeal of this school or its football team. Hell, I didnt even know the school was in Indiana until I was in, like, my late 20s. I thought it was in Boston, same as the rest of Americas worst white people, usually the ones seen sporting those horrific Fighting Irish stickers on the back windows of their Chevy Cavaliers. Shit, that makes me feel good about being a Texas fan, something that I couldnt even safely talk about in public until about a week ago. Its not the name or the mascot, thoughthe school owes so much misplaced prestige and mythology to a football movie where the main character is bad at football. Like Rudy, and the Catholic Church as an institution just to be safe, Notre Dame probably shouldnt be a thing anymore. Advertisement In fact, Notre Dame is canceled for 2019. Its time. You heard it here first, on Deadspin.com. This is the official stance of this sports blog now. Please send any thoughts on this matter to Megan Greenwell. The Whites love a good ethnic stereotype, especially if it involves a fighty Irishman (anything youre reading into it about hurtful notions involving the Irish and alcohol are on you, bud, not me, I didnt say that, thats on YOU), and fighty Irishman is the last stereotypes the Whites will ever have left. Hell, the Italians cant even claim Columbus anymore, since everyone knows what a piece of shit he was now. Without the Fighting Irish moniker, Notre Dame would be exposed for what it is. It would just be another middling school in the Big East that never wins anything and nobody cares about and has no reason to care about. It would be Rutgers. YOU CANNOT. Go Notre Dame Lions. HALFTIME! Miles: Im an above average 6'2 180 pound 29 year old male. Advertisement PG: Its good to have a healthy fantasy about how good you are at sports, like how I feel like I could at least keep up with a couple of these spoiled petrostate billionaire teens who dominate Formula One in a go-karting race. But lets break this down and look at some of the best running backs in the game right now: LeVeon Bell: 6-foot-1, 225 pounds Ezekiel Elliott: 6-foot-0, 225 pounds Todd Gurley: 6-foot-1, 231 pounds David Johnson: 6-foot-1, 225 pounds What Im saying is all these dudes outweigh you by a good 40 to 50 pounds, so no, I do not think you have anywhere close to the bulk needed to break through a defensive line if needed. You would probably be dismembered instead. Sorry. Advertisement If you dont believe me, march to your nearest local National Football League (NFL) stadium, loudly proclaim: I am the one true Football Man! Permit me to play! and then demand to be put in. Its basically what Rudy did, and look where that shit got him. Ballaban: You will not score that touchdown. Never. Ever. Never ever never never ever. At 29 not only are you too old and decrepit to be beginning your NFL career, but its nearly impossible to overstate the ability of your average NFL defensive back or lineman compared to even the above-average 6-foot-2, 180-pound 29-year-old male. The average defensive tackle alone is 6-foot-3 and over 300 pounds. That is a lot of man to run through right there, and theres more than one of them. Even the backs are monstrous and huge compared to a normal human being. And unless you are running marathons at the gym, these professionals are doing massive amounts of work just to make sure they can play the entirety of a football game. Despite their mass, you will run out of steam before they do. Advertisement If you want to know what this would be like, now is as good an opportunity as ever to re-watch kicker Pat McAfee tell the story of that one time he tackled a guy in a game: McAfee was subsequently drug tested, which the NFL would tell you is random, but that We All Know is because no mere mortal (and an NFL kicker, while still a professional athlete, is as close as youre going to get to a mere mortal in an NFL game) should ever be able to get through any NFL player. Advertisement Keep in mind that McAfee hurled his body so hard that he himself went flying, and just barely managed to take down a guy who was completely not expecting it. This will not be your case. The only chance youd have is with some gimmick-y trick play. Id watch that. Jake: Watching a Lakers game, and Lonzo Balls free throw percentage is 49%. There no goalie, no wind, no intangibles. Literally every free throw is a guy, a line and a hoop. These are incredible athletes who train their entire lives to hone a specific set of skills, why are some of them still missing so many free throws when the old man from that GIF has perfected the art? Advertisement PG: I dont think you should be allowed into the National Basketball Association (NBA) unless you can regularly nail, like, 82 percent of free throw shots. I would get my ass beat even harder than Football Man up there if I tried that, but I guaran-fucking-tee you I could sink at 49 percent of my free throw shots in a basketball game. And Im terrible at basketball. Forty-nine percent isnt good! Ballaban: These ARE incredible athletes who train their entire lives to hone a specific set of skills, and that set of skills is not just play basketball. Its to do different things in basketball. Steph Curry will be great at shooting threes, because that is what he has specifically trained himself to do, likely at the expense of awe-inspiring dunks. The same goes with free throws, even if it is just a guy and a line and a hoop. The Hack-a-Shaq strategy worked because Shaq concentrated all his energies on being the big man in the post, which he was good at, instead of practicing free throws, which he was not. Shaq is still in the Hall. Hes fine. Hes a living testament to the ability of Just Being Very Large above all else, without being perfect at anything. I get that no one likes the Pro Bowl, but how can we be sure those midseason exhibitions actually feature the years best players when the whole season hasnt even been played yet? Ballaban: Oh, I totally get the NFLs rationale here. All of these all-star games are pretty irrelevant, so you might as well embrace death and tack it on at the end of the season when nothing matters anyway. If it came in the middle of the season youd get situations like Alex Ovechkin skipping the festivities altogether. Advertisement Which, I get. Its in the middle of the season, and the players are worried that if they get hurt in a stupid meaningless exhibition game, theyll be out for the rest of the games that matter. And while youre off doing all the all star game shit, all your competitors who ARENT fancy-shmancy all-stars are resting. So they come back from the break all rested, and youre tired and you suck, theoretically. But if we all embrace death as we should, because none of these all-star games matter, and none of this matters, then it follows that it doesnt really matter if the years best players are in it or not. In fact, it might be better that way. Just throw Some Guys in the slam dunk competition, see what happens. It worked with Nate Robinson and Spud Webb. Advertisement Theres no way this can go wrong. PG: I cant say Ive ever watched any of these end-of-year all star games. Theres no stakes, and stakes are what make sports really fun to watch. These are usually just ratings grabs during quiet TV seasons andas Mike notedset up so nobody can get needlessly injured. Key to what you said is Nobody likes the Pro Bowl, so to me the issue is less one of scheduling and more of making the Pro Bowl good and awesome. Id pay good money to see Antonio Brown punt Tom Brady into a wall in a NASCAR truck, to watch Cam Newton literally dunk on Drew Brees. Advertisement And the sports gotta be different every year. One year its ice hockey, the other its a three-man sack race. Truly the person who can succeed in all of those, and repeatedly, is the greatest athlete of their time. Now you have stakes, my friend. Now you have a game worth watching. I know there is an obvious marking of a new year but it should be your own personal new year as an earthling when you resolve to change or learn things. Who gives a shit what you resolved to do in 2012. Its when you start hitting or approaching certain age milestones that you should be doing the introspection. Advertisement PG: This is a question of accountability, really. Almost everyone likes to set goals for the new year, but Id say most of us rarely follow through with them. In 2019 I am probably not going to take a screenwriting class, get in better shape, start on a book, go to Japan, and personally restore my old BMW to near-showroom condition. I can tell you that I *am* going to sit on my couch every night trying to get to 100 percent on Metal Gear Solid V. Everyone can get away with this because everyone does it. But if we had birthday resolutions instead, you, individually, will be singled out once a day each year by your friends, your family and yourself, asking Did you accomplish all the shit you wanted to last year? And you know the answer will be no, because we cant all be astronauts, really. Keep resolutions for New Years, so we can all collectively keep getting away with not accomplishing them. Advertisement Ballaban: The ENTIRE POINT of New Years Resolutions isnt to make yourself better. Its to make yourself feel better than other people. I cant believe I even have to explain this right now. Everyone KNOWS how hard a New Years resolution is to keep, which is why its so much more impressive for everyone else when you actually do drop 50 pounds in the first two weeks. The convenience of having it start at Jan. 1, rather than on your birthday, is so that everyone has the same starting line, for which to judge yourself by your peers. Unless you fail. Which you will. In which case you can just blame it on the fact that everyone KNOWS these resolutions are dumb and impossible to keep anyway, and no gives you shit for it. WIN-WIN. He used to be an entertainment tonight junkie so he probably knows of it. I think he has the poster just because its a picture of him. Advertisement PG: If you havent, I encourage you to read The New Yorkers profile of Mark Burnett, the producer of The Apprentice, and thus a man we have to thank as much as anyone for Trump. It is he who turned Trump from a neer-do-well real estate tycoon everyone in New York City roundly and correctly knew to be a fraud, to a national symbol of business and deals and success. But behind the scenes Trump was so clueless and unprepared when it came to his role on the show that producers had to re-engineer entire episodes in editing to make it even resemble something coherent. They made a court jester into a king, turning his crumbling offices into gilded palaces for the sake of television. All of this is to say that Trump probably isnt very good at anything, except stiffing drywall contractors in Atlantic City and shameless self-promotion. I dont expect he even has interests like television or books, and I highly doubt he could tell you anything about Game of Thrones or the wall, whichas its been pointed out repeatedlydidnt work. My guess is the wall thing and its terrible metaphor was the work of some fifth-tier White House intern, because everyone else in the administration with anything close to talent has either been fired, quit or indicted. Advertisement Ballaban: He knows absolutely nothing about the actual show, and we know this both because he doesnt have the attention span to follow an entire hour of anything, let alone 50-plus hours of anything, but because he compulsively tweets about everything. He cannot stop. Whenever he gets a minute of Executive Time you know about it because he tweets about whatever detritus has slagged off of Laura Ingrahams head that day. If he was watching GoT theres absolutely no way you would NOT hear about it, as youd see a tweet about how so many people are saying that Joffrey is actually just a tremendous king, the best. He definitely loves that poster because it has a picture of him on it, though. You just know that whatever mutant flunkie that still works there (Miller?) showed it to him and tried to be like oh its this great show thats all about a BIG WALL and theres this prince who doesnt know hes a prince and Peter Dinklage is in it giving an absolutely career-defining performance and Emilia Clarke is punching way above her weight but to be honest the writing as a whole has never really achieved the greatness that it peaked with during season four... and blah blah blah he hasnt heard any of it. All he knows is WALL and the big picture of himself and thats enough. Such a scene is preposterous. You cannot imagine it. Advertisement Email of the week! Dan: One fine day the topic of the Real Doll came up in conversation. If you dont know what that is, Google is your friend (sorta). Yes, it is what you think - a four-thousand dollar lifelike sex doll - and the website is extremely creepy. Being happily married and not rich, I cant imagine being someone whod buy one of the damn things. Throwing a corpse-shaped article in the trash or hauling it to the dump is bound to attract attention. Disposing of it piece by piece might not work so well either. Procrastinating by leaving it in the attic is a no-go, unless you want to leave it for the next person to inhabit your place, or for your relatives to discover after youre dead. (That sounds awful on many levels. Imagine having it entered as an asset in probate court.) PG: Take it to Goodwill. Then write an Adequate Man blog about what happens next. Advertisement Ballaban: There is no judgment here, Dan, about you and your real doll. This blog is welcoming of all kinds. Im sure your spouse loves you dearly, and will be totally understanding of your real doll, as they see you dragging its lifeless corpse to a dumpster. However you choose to dispose of it will be fine, Im sure. There are no problems with this. | https://adequateman.deadspin.com/does-hockey-have-any-damn-business-in-texas-1831433943 |
Will Swedish furniture retailer IKEA be able to operate iconic business model in New Zealand? | IKEA is known for its enormous store footprints, huge car parks and endless options of furniture but that may not be the case for its New Zealand presence. While there are locations that can house such stores, such as Westgate or South Auckland, New Zealand's population size means it is unclear whether the Swedish furniture retailer will replicate its big-box stores, albeit what Kiwis are expecting. Later this morning, IKEA will reveal details of its planned entrance into the New Zealand market. RCG associate director Andy Florkowski said Kiwis would be expecting IKEA to launch its classic big-box style stores. Advertisement "There is a lot of expectation around their arrival so they need to ensure that customers expectations are met, while ensuring that their entry is commercially viable within an already competitive market," Florkowski said. "This may mean a smaller concept model that is tailored to the New Zealand market, whilst providing access to a much larger range of goods - making effective use of their digital channels. "This would definitely open up a lot more opportunities with locations, and would be more risk-adverse for them to test the waters - although may not be what Kiwis would be anticipating." Both are critical to a successful entry into the market, Florkowski said. "There are a large number of expats and travelled Kiwis who are already brand champions for IKEA, and whom will be the percentage looking for the replicated model in New Zealand with the food hall and all. However, a large number of new customers for IKEA here, will not have had this exposure, so simply offering furniture at competitive price points, albeit with a smaller flavour of the larger model, may be enough to convert them." John Polkinghorne, another associate director at RCG, said he believed there was space for IKEA to operate its big-box style stores in New Zealand. The retailer's stores in Europe and North America are hundreds of square metres in size and most house an in-store restaurant. "There's definitely a big enough market for IKEA to succeed with a large format store here, even notwithstanding that they are several times bigger than most Warehouse stores - double the size of even the largest ones," Polkinghorne said. IKEA has three types of store: big-box, mid-range and the small concept store. Auckland is touted for the first IKEA store, with analysts split between West or South Auckland for first the location. "The market size in Auckland is definitely comparable to some of the markets they operate in Australia so that's a good entry to New Zealand," Polkinghorne said. "It's good timing in terms of we've got strong population growth and housing growth and those are all things that relate back to them from a furniture and homeware perspective." Long term, Polkinghorne believes IKEA would introduce "click and collect points" which it already operates across the Tasman. "It's a good way for them to get access to towns that are too small for a store. Across Australia, they have 10 stores and 40 'click and collect' points." IKEA global CEO Jesper Brodin during the IKEA launch in India in August. Photo / AP Retail analyst Chris Wilkinson said he believed IKEA would enter New Zealand with a large format store. "A large format store would need to anchor their entry. And it won't necessarily need to be in a traditional location either," Wilkinson said. "There's been a lot of speculation that it will be in one centre because that area is already populated with retail but the reality is that IKEA overseas has been able to establish themselves pretty much anywhere there are good road connections." South Auckland was the most logical location for its first store because of its reach to the Waikato market and within a comfortable driving time of the Bay of Plenty, Wilkinson said. "IKEA will be a destination in its own right and you will find that those people from the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga drive across." Wilkinson said he expected IKEA to bring its restaurant feature to New Zealand stores. IKEA global CEO Jesper Brodin will announce the first details on the arrival of IKEA to New Zealand at 9.30 this morning. | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12188207&ref=rss |
Why has Frank Rijkaard disappeared from football? | Sometime an iconic football figure simply drops off the radar. For every Pele pushing Mastercard and for each David Beckham swanning around in underpants, there are plenty of great players who simply exit the stage and disappears from view, as though they had ticked the 'no publicity' box in their email response. Even so the case of Frank Rijkaard is curious. Here is a man who scaled the heights both playing and coaching, winning the Champions League as a player twice with AC Milan and once with Ajax (both sublime teams) and as a coach leading Barcelona in 2006. At the time only Miguel Munoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff and Carlo Ancelotti had achieved that; since then Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane have added their names to that list and that is illustrious company to be keeping. Frank Rijkaard pictured smoking a cigarette while Barcelona manager in China in 2007 It's also easy to forget now, in this era in which Barca and Real Madrid share out Europe's most prestigious trophy, that at the time it was only Barcelona's second victory in the competition in history. For many their memory of Rijkaard will be as the coach who struggled to get the best out of Andres Ineista, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Xavi before Guardiola came along and revolutionised Barcelona. That is, of course, only half the story. It is true that in 2007-08, Rijkaard had one of the most-talented squads in history. And that increasingly in that final season they looked a hopeless bunch of leaderless layabouts, Ronaldinho the chief culprit, his waistline expanding as rapidly as his bank balance as he enjoyed the nightclubs of Castelldefels, the swanky beach-side district just south of the city where many of the players live. By the end Rijkaard looked a beaten man. Journalist Guillem Balague recounts a story of Guardiola taking his Barca B team of 2007-08 to play Rijkaard's first team in a training match. 'He [Pep] finally came to the conclusion that Barcelona needed a change [that day],' wrote Balague. 'He discovered Rijkaard smoking a cigarette... Ronaldinho was taken off after 10 minutes, Deco was clearly tired and the reserve boys, still in the third division, were running the first team ragged.' (From right) Dutch stars Marco van Basten, Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit inspired AC Milan to glory Van Basten, coach Arrigo Sacchi, captain Franco Baresi, president Silvio Berlusconi, Rijkaard and Gullit celebrate with the European Cup after AC Milan's triumph in 1990 He also graced Ajax over two spells, retiring after winning the Champions League in 1995 Rijkaard in action for Holland By then Rijkaard knew the end was coming at Barca and had accepted his fate. It wasn't quite the end of his coaching career. He had 16 months at Galatasaray and a short spell with Saudi Arabia. But these days you're more likely to find him hanging out with his wife, Stefanie, and their children in Amsterdam. Part of his desire not to engage in public life may be because of the huge fall-out in Holland when he split from his former wife Monique to in 2009 to move in with Stefanie, who had been the family nanny. The backlash was considerable. Wise investments in the Amsterdam property market mean that he is financially secure, the Dutch city having enjoyed a rental boom in recent years. Those close to him say the offers still roll in periodically, particularly when Chinese clubs came calling for the great and the good of European football a few years ago. But Rijkaard's agent doesn't even bother asking. No club in Holland would try to tempt him out of retirement. They know he is done with the game. He once fell out with Johan Cruyff, but later owed his managerial break to the Holland legend His first job was with Holland and (from left) Marc Overmars, Jaap Stam and Dennis Bergkamp FRANK RIJKAARD'S CAREER (SO FAR?) Age: 56 Born: Amsterdam Player: Position: Centre midfield/centre back Clubs: Ajax (1980-87), Sporting Lisbon (1987-88), Real Zaragoza (1977-78 loan), AC Milan (1988-93), Ajax (1993-95) Honours: European Cup/Champions League x3, European Cup Winners Cup x1, Eredivisie x5, Dutch Cup x3, Serie A x2 International: Holland 73 caps, 10 goals Honours: European Championship 1988 Manager: Holland (1998-2000) Sparta Rotterdam (2001-02) Barcelona (2003-08) Galatasaray (2009-10) Saudi Arabia (2011-13) Honours: 1x Champions League, 2x La Liga It's not entirely surprising. As a player - Rijkaard was made for the role of ball-playing centre-half-cum-midfielder so beloved by Cruyff - he never conformed to the norm. It's unusual for someone in the Dutch football establishment to have survived a run-in with Cruyff unscathed. But in 1987, Rijkaard, then 24, simply walked out of the Ajax team which Cruyff coached. 'F*** you and your eternal whining,' he is said to have shouted at Cruyff, according to Jonathan Wilson's new book, 'The Barcelona Legacy'. Rijkaard refused to turn up for training. There is TV footage of a bemused reporter outside Rijkaard's house questioning him on what was a major ruckus at the time while the player calmly replies that he won't be going in anymore and is simply staying at home. That defiance might have seen him cast into the football wilderness. He resurfaced but at Real Zaragoza. It was at AC Milan that he found his level, his axis with fellow Dutchmen Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten being the triumvirate which formed the backbone of one of the great teams. It is of course the team most frequently compared to Guardiola's Barca in the debate over the greatest ever club sides. Such was the equanimity with which Rijkaard conducted himself after his initial break-up with Cruyff that they had managed to make up to such an extent that Cruyff recommended him as national team manager for Euro 2000, a tournament Holland would be co-hosting with Belgium. Rijkaard always said that he would quit if the team didn't win. When they lost on penalties to Italy in the semis having enthused the nation en route, you might have thought he would give it another go in the 2002 World Cup. After all, he had Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin van der Sar, the De Boer twins, and (though he wouldn't travel thereafter, for fear of flying) Dennis Bergkamp at his disposal. Yet he remained true to his word and quit. He reached the pinnacle at Barcelona, working with Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi (right) Thierry Henry was another stellar talent under his charge during five successful years Rijkaard and Barca captain Carles Puyol hold the Champions League trophy aloft in 2006 He took over at Sparta Rotterdam and led them to their first relegation in history, a sign perhaps that his gilded playing career might not be replicated. As such, it was an extraordinary act of faith by Cruyff (especially given their history) to give him his next break. When Joan Laporta won the Barca presidency in 2003, backed by Cruyff, he first turned to Guus Hiddink and then to Ronald Koeman but failed to recruit them. Cruyff lobbied for Rijkaard and he got the job. When Barca won just two of their first seven games under Rijkaard it looked like going the way of Sparta and board member Sandro Rosell plotted to have him replaced by World Cup-winning Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. But the arrival of Edgar Davids and a reversion to Cruyffian 4-3-3 formation saw them finish second in his first season, enough to sustain him in the job. A Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o-inspired Barca won the 2005 and 2006 titles and the 2006 Champions League. He begun the integration of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi into the team (though the former two were on the bench for the Champions League final and Messi bitterly disappointed not to be involved through injury). His personal life, including his marriage to his third wife Stefanie, caused controversy back home in Holland, contributing to him withdrawing from the public eye in recent years It is true that his Barca side never reached the heights of Guardiola's. Perhaps his finest moment came in November 2005, when, so good was Ronaldinho, that he was afforded a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu after Rijkaard's Barca beat Real Madrid 3-0. Surely May 2008 in the same stadium. Real Madrid had won the league and honour dictated Barca would have to perform a guard of honour for their hated rivals. The humiliation continued on field with a 4-1 defeat. In the press conference after, Rijkaard looked a broken man, unable to fend off questions and unwilling to fight his corner. He looked as though he had been hunted to the point of exhaustion and the following day he was sacked. He would only briefly be seen at the elite end of football again. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6433405/Why-Frank-Rijkaard-disappeared-football.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490 |
Have Xbox price cuts undermined Elite? | Microsoft is set to slash the cost of the Xbox 360's 120GB hard drive in the US from $179 (80) down to $159 (70) this week, with no word as yet on a concurrent price cut in Europe and the US. A Microsoft rep told GameDaily BIZ: "We reduced the price of the Xbox 360 120GB Hard Drive to $149 in conjunction with the recent Xbox 360 console price drop. "We believe this offers consumers even greater value when selecting accessories that meet their individual gaming and entertainment needs." Arcade versus Elite GameDaily does the math and works out that it is cheaper to buy the Arcade SKU for $199 and a separate 120GB hard drive, rather than splashing out on the Elite SKU (priced at $399, though that also comes packaged with an HDMI cable, for lazy consumers that can't be bothered to go and buy a separate one from Maplin). "It does seem a little bizarre," says Rob Taylor, deputy editor on Xbox World 360 magazine. "Then again, MS are plainly torn down the middle when it comes to the next-gen war using their Arcade model to compete with the Wii's casual appeal and low RRP while simultaneously battling the feature-packed PS3 with the flagship Elite. "It appears as if somebody at Microsoft US has gotten a little confused amid all the excitement; either that or they genuinely believe it's worth paying a little extra for that slick matt black finish..." TechRadar has contacted Microsoft UK for further updates on plans for price cuts of the 360 120GB hard drive in the UK. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/gaming/have-xbox-price-cuts-undermined-elite-464588 |
Is it time to eliminate 'Kiss Cam' at sporting events forever? | Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Cooler, where nobody likes unwanted attention. Lets get to it: *If youve been to a few sporting events this century, theres a very good chance youve seen a timeout promotion called Kiss Cam. For the uninitiated, the premise is simple: In-arena camera operators zoom in on two people in the stands, and they are encouraged to kiss while being shown on the big screen for tens of thousands of other fans to see. There are probably three basic camps when it comes to Kiss Cam: Those who go to games excited by the prospect of being on the Kiss Cam and/or watching it on a Jumbotron; those who go to games actively seeking to avoid being on the Kiss Cam and who are uneasy just watching the stunt unfold even without them; and a likely majority of people largely ambivalent about it ranging from vaguely annoyed to vaguely amused who probably dont give it much thought either way. In a long story published Thursday, The Ringers Britni de la Cretaz takes a deeper look at the in-arena promotion and builds a case for whether it needs to be eliminated or at least re-examined. This has the potential to be a very 2019 argument I have a right to be offended vs. I cant believe this small minority of people is offended and could affect change but it doesnt have to be. The piece brings up several good points via anecdotes from fans horrified to be put on the spot particularly those who wind up on the big screen next to someone who is not a date or partner (like, say, a sibling or other relative). Theres even a local angle! Minneapolis own Dan Wade is quoted from an experience he had at a Twins game several years ago at the Dome; the Twins still did Kiss Cam at Target Field in 2018, by the way. The piece also delves nicely into the subject of the heterosexual norms often perpetuated by Kiss Cams. It might not be the most pressing thing for us to think about this year, but its worth reading and considering. *If youre looking for a more lighthearted read, ESPNs Emily Kaplan takes on the task of hockey players having a hard time finding pants that fit because of they have big butts and thighs. Wild center Eric Staal says he gets custom jeans. *These feel like oddly specific benchmarks specifically tailored to statistical minimums achieved by Kirk Cousins this season, but the Vikings tweeted out that the QB in his first year in Minnesota became the first QB in NFL history to have a season with at least 30 TD passes, 10 INTs or fewer, 4,000 yards passing and at least a 70 percent completion mark. *Basketball Reference and Hockey Reference currently project the Wolves and Wild to each finish with 41.1 victories (lets round down to 41, exactly half of both 82-game schedules). But the Wolves have just a 16.6 percent chance of making the playoffs, while the Wild are at 59.9 percent. | http://www.startribune.com/is-it-time-to-eliminate-kiss-cam-at-sporting-events-forever/504162242/ |
Why does Bob Woodward want to talk about Watergate with Elder D. Todd Christofferson? | "Integrity & Trust: Lessons From Watergate and Today," a Deseret News event featuring legendary journalist Bob Woodward and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be livestreamed from Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. MST). Follow the event on Facebook. SALT LAKE CITY Bob Woodward literally wrote the book on Watergate. Five books, in fact, including "All the President's Men" with Carl Bernstein, his partner in the landmark reporting on the presidential scandal that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. So what now, after 45 years and all that reporting, does Woodward hope to learn about Watergate from Elder D. Todd Christofferson, who once called it "a scandal's scandal?" On Monday, the Deseret News will host a discussion between the legendary investigative journalist and the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The roots of the reason Woodward, 75, and Elder Christofferson, 73, will meet (for the first time) date back to February 1971, when Nixon ordered his deputy assistant to install a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office of the White House. Alexander Butterfield and Secret Service agents installed five microphones in Nixon's desk, two in lamps over the office's mantelpiece and others in Nixon's phones. Associated Press FILE - Reporters Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting of the Watergate case won them a Pulitzer Prize, sit in the newsroom of the Washington Post on May 7, 1973. The existence of the taping system was a closely held secret known only to Nixon, his chief of staff, the chief of staff's assistant and those who installed it. The system remained under wraps for more than a year after five burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee office in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., in June 1972. Woodward and Bernstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting soon implicated White House officials in a cover-up of the burglary, which was designed to remove wiretaps previously placed in the Watergate office. On a Friday in July 1973, Butterfield revealed the existence of the tapes to a small group of members of the Senate Watergate Committee. The committee members swore each other to secrecy, but Woodward learned about the tapes on that Friday night. "Two people had told me that Butterfield had come in for a confidential interview and disclosed this taping system," Woodward said this week on "Therefore, What?," a Deseret News podcast hosted by Opinion Editor Boyd Matheson. "I was stunned. I finally called Ben Bradlee on Saturday night and said, 'Nixon taped himself.' Should we pursue it?'" Bradlee said no, adding. "I think its just a B-plus." Woodward took Sunday off, but on Monday, Butterfield "electrified Washington and triggered a constitutional crisis," in the words of one historian. He revealed the taping system live on national television during testimony before the committee. "It was an explosion," Woodward said. "Talk about a bombshell. Bradlee came by my desk and knocked it and said, 'OK, its more than a B-plus.'" The bigger bombshell loomed in what was on the tapes. A young Todd Christofferson would wind up right at the center of that revelation. Nixon went to court to block a subpoena to produce all tapes relevant to Watergate. The legal argument landed in the courtroom of Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. " The whole role of Judge Sirica in this was incredibly significant. He was very tough when he sentenced the Watergate burglars and others who at the middle level were involved in this. He was the one who said, no, Nixon had to turn over the tapes. " Bob Woodward on "Therefore, What?" Elder Christofferson was then Judge Sirica's 28-year-old law clerk. He began his clerkship two weeks before the Watergate burglars were indicted in Sirica's courtroom. Due to events and the clerk's contributions, Sirica asked him to extend his one-year clerkship to what eventually became 28 months. "Both the judge and I were really surprised to hear that tapes existed," Elder Christofferson said. "We didn't have the initial sense there would be a subpoena he would have to rule on. But just the fact they existed ... if the meetings between John Dean (Nixon's White House counsel) and the president were taped, this would tell us who was telling the truth, because they had directly opposite recollections." Intellectual Reserve, Inc. FILE - Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with Judge John Sirica of the United States District Court in Washington, D.C. in the early 1970s. Sirica ruled that the Senate Watergate Committee couldnt subpoena the tapes but the special prosecutor could, according to "Watergate," a six-part History Channel series that aired in November. "The whole role of Judge Sirica in this was incredibly significant," Woodward said on the podcast. "He was very tough when he sentenced the Watergate burglars and others who at the middle level were involved in this. He was the one who said, no, Nixon had to turn over the tapes." Nixon appealed Sirica's ruling, citing both executive privilege and national security Nixon was worried that he might look weak to Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in the midst of the Arab-Israeli War. A compromise emerged: Judge Sirica would screen the tapes. Sirica asked his law clerk to join him and listen to the tapes. They borrowed one of the Oval Office tape recorders. In a jury room next to the judge's chambers, the law clerk slipped a tape into the machine and stuffed paper under the record button to protect against an accident that might erase evidence. He and Sirica slipped on headphones and listened in stunned silence as the president of the United States engaged in criminal conduct by instructing Dean that payments to the Watergate burglars for their silence should continue. Nixon agreed to pay the blackmail and acknowledged it was obstruction of justice. "On the money," he told Dean, "if you need the money ... you can get $1 million and you can get it in cash. I know where it can be gotten." This is what Woodward wants to talk about with Elder Christofferson. Alex Brandon, AP FILE - This June 11, 2012, file photo shows former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward speaking during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Watergate in Washington. Woodward and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be part of the "Truth & Integrity" event on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Woodward spoke to Sirica, who died in 1992, but he has never received a firsthand account of the moment when the two men listened to the tapes. He said he wants to ask Elder Christofferson, "what was it like?" "Ive heard stories of the first moment Judge Sirica heard some of these tapes, and what his reaction was. His reaction was, as I understand it, he was appalled that the president of the United States was ordering all kinds of illegal activity. He said, 'we cant have this.' There was a trial subpoena for the tapes, and Sirica said it had to go forward." " Up to this point we both still hoped that the president was not really involved, but this was indisputable. " Elder D. Todd Christofferson on listening to the Nixon White House tapes Elder Christofferson spoke about the experience in 2017 at Oxford University. The Deseret News covered the talk and interviewed him about what happened. "Judge Sirica and I were shocked," he said, adding, "The judge and I couldnt believe, didnt want to believe what we were hearing, and he passed me a note suggesting we rewind the tape and listen again. Up to this point we both still hoped that the president was not really involved, but this was indisputable." Sirica told his clerk it felt like punch in the gut. They finished listening to the conversation, put the tape away and went home early. "Even now, I remember the sense of disillusionment and sadness," Elder Christofferson told the Deseret News at Oxford. "This was some months before Nixons resignation, but we knew then that the president would be impeached if he did not resign first." In fact, Woodward said, "It was just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in Judge Siricas favor that Nixon resigned." Sirica and his law clerk guarded the tapes carefully. Editorial pages said the tapes would leak if given to the judge. They didn't. "We kept the tapes in a metal filing cabinet like a safe," Elder Christofferson said. "It had a dial on it for a combination lock. Only the judge and I knew the code. It was his wife's birthday backward. Instead of day-month-year, it was year-month-day." Elder Christofferson said he followed the reporting of Woodward and Bernstein as the Watergate story unfolded. "They didn't get everything right, but they got it mostly right," he said. Chris Usher, CBS FILE - In this Sunday, March 3, 2013, photograph provided by CBS News, Bob Woodward is interviewed on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington. Woodward and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be part of the "Truth & Integrity" event on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Washington, D.C. He looks forward to talking with the famed journalist. "He's obviously a very thorough and intellectually curious individual who wants to get to the bottom of things and learn all he can about things," Elder Christofferson said. "That's an admirable trait." Woodward said Sirica praised the reporters in the aftermath and said their reporting prompted him to ask his own questions of witnesses during the Watergate trials. "He of course presided at the first Watergate trial where the prosecutor said it was the five burglars and their two operation directors, Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt, who did all this on their own and Gordon Liddy was the mastermind," Woodward said this week. "Carl Bernstein and I had written in the Post before this trial that no, higher ups were involved, were approving the money, including the former attorney general, people in the White House, people in the Nixon campaign. "Sirica said to me it was very important as he saw the total contradiction of what was appearing in his courtroom (and) what we were writing in the Washington Post. So he started questioning people as judge in the case, and eventually one of the burglars, the lead burglar, James McCord, wrote his famous letter to Judge Sirica saying there was a cover-up, higher ups were indeed involved." Woodward concluded, "The pressure that he applied was critical to getting to the truth here." | https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900049962/bob-woodward-to-talk-about-watergate-with-mormon-chuch-apostle-elder-d-todd-christofferson.html |
What is a national emergency and could Trump use one to build his wall? | Over the past week, Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to declare a national emergency if he does not get funding for his US-Mexico border wall. As the president set off for Texas on a visit to the border, he made a series of typically garbled statements on border security, but the message was clear: if Democrats dont agree to give Trump $5bn for the wall as part of a deal to end the partial government shutdown, he could invoke emergency powers. It is typically described as a crisis, such as a national security issue, which threatens the safety of the country. The National Emergencies Act of 1976 allows presidents to redirect government money without approval from Congress. The act also allows a president to circumnavigate some laws while the emergency is addressed. If Trump does declare a national emergency he would have to specify exactly which powers he intends to use, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. He has threatened to declare the national emergency to build a wall along a stretch of the US-Mexico border, and has provided no further detail. Currently the president and Democratic leaders are at a standoff over funding for the wall, which has shutdown 25% of the government for 20 days. More than 800,000 federal workers have either gone without pay or been put on unpaid leave. Trump says he will not sign a congressional budget proposal to reopen the government unless it includes $5bn for the wall. In his first televised address to the nation from the Oval Office this week, Trump gave a speech full of false claims and misleading statistics to paint a portrait of a crisis at the US-Mexico border, even as the rate of illegal immigration has steadily fallen over the years and in 2018 reached its lowest point in more than a decade. The president says the wall is needed to prevent drug trafficking and undocumented immigration, but most drug trafficking and migration into the US occurs at legal points of entry not across unwalled parts of the border. Six key things to know about Trump's border wall speech Read more Democrats say the wall is a waste of money, and have accused Trump of using rhetoric full of misinformation and even malice. Probably from funding set aside for military construction projects such as building army barracks and other improvements to bases used by the armed forces. Bruce Ackerman, a Yale law professor, wrote in the New York Times that Trump would likely use money from the military budget for the wall, and use military personnel to build it. Possibly not. There is widespread doubt over whether the situation at the border can be classified as an emergency. That means any declaration could become mired in months-long court proceedings. Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed skepticism about whether it would work. The House armed services committees Democratic chairman, Adam Smith, told ABC that the president would be wide open to a court challenge saying, wheres the emergency? Republican Senator John Thune echoed that on CNN. Congress would also be able to pass a resolution blocking the emergency declaration. Yes. There are actually 30 national emergencies currently in effect. But the national emergencies have not been used for what some would say is a politically-motivated wall. George W Bush declared a national emergency after the 9/11 attacks, and Barack Obama did the same during the swine flu outbreak in 2009. The majority of the other emergencies suspend or withhold money from foreign nationals or countries. | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/10/national-emergency-trump-shutdown-q-and-a |
Will Trumps New Attorney General Interfere With the Mueller Investigation? | When it was reported on Wednesday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will leave the Justice Department once William Barr is confirmed at the new attorney general, many took it to mean that Rosenstein has faith that Barr will protect the integrity of the Mueller investigation. This may be true, but Democrats are concerned. Though he met with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Wednesday, President Trumps pick to take the reins of the probe into his campaigns relationship Russia refused to meet with Democratic senators prior to his confirmation hearing, citing the partial government shutdown. I tried (as did Blumenthal) to get meeting w/AG nominee Barr and was told he couldnt meet until AFTER the hearing, wrote Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be able to formally vet Barr beginning January 15th. The shutdown. Yet shutdown didnt stop him from other mtgs. This is a 1st for me w/any nominee as a member of judiciary. #Uncool #BadSign, added Klobuchar. I tried (as did Blumenthal) to get meeting w/AG nominee Barr and was told he couldnt meet until AFTER the hearing. The shutdown. Yet shutdown didnt stop him from other mtgs. This is a 1st for me w/any nominee as a member of judiciary. #Uncool #BadSign Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 10, 2019 Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also was not happy. William Barrs refusal to meet with Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee is entirely unprecedented and unacceptable, he said in a statement. The Department of Justices attempt to excuse this gross break in the norms by citing a truncated schedule is galling when they are the ones who have rushed it. My Republican colleagues should share my outrage at this appalling violation of the Senates independent authority. But Blumenthals Republican colleagues brace yourself for this do not share his outrage. Four of them met with Barr on Wednesday, and they want Democrats to know theres nothing to worry about. I can assure you, based on what I heard, he has a high opinion of Mr. Mueller, believes that Mr. Mueller is doing a professional job, will do a professional job and will be fair to the president and the country as a whole and has no reason for Mr. Mueller to stop doing is job and is committed to letting Mr. Mueller finish, said Graham, adding that there is absolutely no indication he was going to tell Bob Mueller what to do, or how to do it. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) described Barr as a judicial law-and-order attorney general and not a politician, who is going to allow Mueller to complete his work. There are plenty of reasons these assurances ring hollow to Democrats, who are seeking what Blumenthal described on Twitter as specific ironclad commitments that Barr will protect the integrity of the investigation. For one, Barr has been critical of the Mueller investigation, most notably in an unsolicited 20-page memo he sent to the Justice Department last year. In that memo, Barr alleged that the probe arose out of a fatally misconceived theory. We need answers as to why William Barr proactively drafted a memo against Special Counsel Muellers investigation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who is scheduled to meet with Barr on Thursday, tweeted last month. Theres no reason for a lawyer in private practice to do this unless he was attempting to curry favor with President Trump. Barr has also demonstrated extreme views regarding executive privilege, and has argued that a president should be able to fire whomever he pleases. While serving as attorney general under George H.W. Bush, he sought to end the special counsel investigation into Iran-contra. While speaking to the New York Times in 2017, he argued that the Justice Department should be looking into Hillary Clintons sale of Uranium One rather than the Trumps campaigns connection to Russia. Trump knew about all of this prior to nominating Barr, just as he knew about the bizarre 20-page memo sent to the Justice Department condemning the investigation. On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) went a step further than Klobuchar and Blumenthal, citing Barrs history of criticizing the investigation as he called for Trump to find a new nominee. I still believe, after the revelations about Mr. Barrs unsolicited memo, President Trump ought to withdraw this nomination, he said on the Senate floor. More troubling than Barrs past is that Trump effectively fired Jeff Sessions as attorney general because he didnt interfere in the Mueller investigation. Prior to his dismissal, Trump routinely belittled Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the investigation tweeting that he should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, highlighting a quote calling his recusal a betrayal of the President of the United States, pestering him to start investigating James Comey and Hillary Clinton. Theres little doubt that Trump was drawn to Barr specifically because of his opposition Muellers investigation, and theres no reason to believe he wont expect his new attorney general to do what he dismissed Sessions for failing to do: exercising his authority over Mueller to serve the interests of the president rather than those of the United States. Lindsey Graham telling reporters everything is going to be fine is anything but an ironclad assurance to the contrary. Regardless of whether Barr intends to preserve the integrity of the Mueller investigation, Republicans holds a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, all but guaranteeing his confirmation. | https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/william-barr-attorney-general-777041/ |
Will All The Political Parties Associated With The Coalition Reply To President Barrows Claims In Financing Their Candidates? | 1 SHARES Share Tweet QUESTION OF THE DAY Foroyaa yesterday published the views of Independent National Assembly Member Honourable Mohammed Magassy who chose to be on the side of the Coalition during the battle for change and Mr Edi Jallow the Administrative Secretary of PDOIS. Foroyaa has already contacted the Secretary General of the PPP, the administrative secretary of the UDP and we shall be sending reporters for interviews. A GMC party official has directed us to their headquarters and we shall also be sending a reporter there to get comments on President Barrows claim that he financed candidates of coalition parties. We will proceed with the rest of the political parties that are willing to make comments. | https://foroyaa.gm/will-all-the-political-parties-associated-with-the-coalition-reply-to-president-barrows-claims-in-financing-their-candidates/ |
What was hold-up in playing Justise Winslow at point guard? | The weekly Miami Herald Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions. If you werent able to ask a question this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email me at [email protected]. Anthony Chiang: Because the Heat also has Goran Dragic, who was an All-Star last season. It took an injury to Dragic, who is Miamis usual starting point guard, for Winslow to get extended court time at the one. Yes, Winslow was also playing some minutes at point guard before Dragics right knee became an issue, but it wasnt for extended stretches like he is now. Plus, there were also moments that Dwyane Wade, Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson and James Johnson initiated offense with Dragic on the bench. Digital Access For Only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. But with Dragic out until the mid-February All-Star break, its allowed Winslow to play as the Heats primary point guard and hes excelled in the role. Hes averaging 14.1 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 17 games since the start of December. Its undoubtedly the best stretch of Winslows career. Remember, Winslow is only 22 years old. Hes in his fourth NBA season, but its almost like his third because his second was ended early after just 18 games due to a shoulder injury. Winslow is still learning and growing his game, and the Heat is still learning how to use him. Anthony: With Waiters at 27 years old, sure. But to be considered a part of the Heats young core, he has to stay healthy and remain a part of the teams long-term plans. For so long, Waiters was unavailable because of ankle surgery. For so long, we saw this team without Waiters in the picture because of his injury. Theres still a question of how he fits in after recently returning from a year-long absence. Waiters has a chance to reestablish himself as a part of the Heats future, though, with his contract running until the end of the 2020-21 season. Only thing I can figure. Anthony: I mean, theres something to that with others now incorporating three-point shooting into their games. But it also just has to do with the Heats crowded rotation. Erik Spoelstra can only play so many guys, and Waiters return adds another option who needs minutes. Last season, Waiters was unavailable, Derrick Jones Jr. wasnt as good and Rodney McGruder missed a huge chunk of games. There are just more players to play this year. Ellington still has a unique skill set thats useful, so I wouldnt be surprised to see him play in spots moving forward. | https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article224220070.html |
What Will Happen to U.S. Military Bases in Syria? | by Nick Turse The U.S. military is finally withdrawing (or not) from its base at al-Tanf. You know, the place that the Syrian government long claimed was a training ground for Islamic State (ISIS) fighters; the land corridor just inside Syria, near both the Iraqi and Jordanian borders, that Russia has called a terrorist hotbed (while floating the idea of jointly administering it with the United States); the location of a camp where hundreds of U.S. Marines joined Special Operations forces last year; an outpost that U.S. officials claimed was the key not only to defeating ISIS, but also, according to General Joseph Votel, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, to countering the malign activities that Iran and their various proxies and surrogates would like to pursue. You know, that al-Tanf. Within hours of President Trumps announcement of a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, equipment at that base was already being inventoried for removal. And just like that, arguably the most important American garrison in Syria was (maybe) being struck from the Pentagons books except, as it happens, al-Tanf was never actually on the Pentagons books. Opened in 2015 and, until recently, home to hundreds of U.S. troops, it was one of the many military bases that exist somewhere between light and shadow, an acknowledged foreign outpost that somehow never actually made it onto the Pentagons official inventory of bases. Officially, the Department of Defense (DoD) maintains 4,775 sites, spread across all 50 states, eight U.S. territories, and 45 foreign countries. A total of 514 of these outposts are located overseas, according to the Pentagons worldwide property portfolio. Just to start down a long list, these include bases on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, as well as in Peru and Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. But the most recent version of that portfolio, issued in early 2018 and known as the Base Structure Report (BSR), doesnt include any mention of al-Tanf. Or, for that matter, any other base in Syria. Or Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or Niger. Or Tunisia. Or Cameroon. Or Somalia. Or any number of locales where such military outposts are known to exist and even, unlike in Syria, to be expanding. According to David Vine, author of Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World, there could be hundreds of similar off-the-books bases around the world. The missing sites are a reflection of the lack of transparency involved in the system of what I still estimate to be around 800 U.S. bases outside the 50 states and Washington, D.C., that have been encircling the globe since World War II, says Vine, who is also a founding member of the recently established Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition, a group of military analysts from across the ideological spectrum who advocate shrinking the U.S. militarys global footprint. Such off-the-books bases are off the books for a reason. The Pentagon doesnt want to talk about them. I spoke to the press officer who is responsible for the Base Structure Report and she has nothing to add and no one available to discuss further at this time, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza told TomDispatch when asked about the Defense Departments many mystery bases. Undocumented bases are immune to oversight by the public and often even Congress, Vine explains. The Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition notes that the United States possesses up to 95% of the worlds foreign military bases, while countries like France, Russia, and the United Kingdom have perhaps 10-20 foreign outposts each. China has just one. The Department of Defense even boasts that its locations include 164 countries. Put another way, it has a military presence of some sort in approximately 84% of the nations on this planet or at least the DoD briefly claimed this. After TomDispatch inquired about the number on a new webpage designed to tell the Pentagons story to the general public, it was quickly changed. We appreciate your diligence in getting to the bottom of this, said Lieutenant Colonel Baldanza. Thanks to your observations, we have updated defense.gov to say more than 160. The progressive changes made to the Defense Departments Our Story webpage as a result of questions from TomDispatch. What the Pentagon still doesnt say is how it defines a location. The number 164 does roughly track with the Department of Defenses current manpower statistics, which show personnel deployments of varying sizes in 166 overseas locales including some nations with token numbers of U.S. military personnel and others, like Iraq and Syria, where the size of the force was obviously far larger, even if unlisted at the time of the assessment. (The Pentagon recently claimed that there were 5,200 troops in Iraq and at least 2,000 troops in Syria although that number should now markedly shrink.) The Defense Departments overseas tally, however, also lists troops in U.S. territories like American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wake Island. Dozens of soldiers, according to the Pentagon, are also deployed to the country of Akrotiri (which is actually a village on the island of Santorini in Greece) and thousands more are based in unknown locations. In the latest report, the number of those unknown troops exceeds 44,000. Official Defense Department manpower statistics show U.S. forces deployed to the nation of Akrotiri. The annual cost of deploying U.S. military personnel overseas, as well as maintaining and running those foreign bases, tops out at an estimated $150 billion annually, according to the Overseas Bases Realignment and Closure Coalition. The price tag for the outposts alone adds up to about one-third of that total. U.S. bases abroad cost upwards of $50 billion per year to build and maintain, which is money that could be used to address pressing needs at home in education, health care, housing, and infrastructure, Vine points out. Perhaps you wont be surprised to learn that the Pentagon is also somewhat fuzzy about just where its troops are stationed. The new Defense Department website, for instance, offered a count of 4,800+ defense sites around the world. After TomDispatch inquired about this total and how it related to the official count of 4,775 sites listed in the BSR, the website was changed to read approximately 4,800 Defense Sites. Thank you for pointing out the discrepancy. As we transition to the new site, we are working on updating information, wrote Lieutenant Colonel Baldanza. Please refer to the Base Structure Report which has the latest numbers. In the most literal sense, the Base Structure Report does indeed have the latest numbers but their accuracy is another matter. The number of bases listed in the BSR has long born little relation to the actual number of U.S. bases outside the United States, says Vine. Many, many well-known and secretive bases have long been left off the list. One prime example is the constellation of outposts that the U.S. has built across Africa. The official BSR inventory lists only a handful of sites there on Ascension Island as well as in Djibouti, Egypt, and Kenya. In reality, though, there are many more outposts in many more African countries. A recent investigation by the Intercept, based on documents obtained from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) via the Freedom of Information Act, revealed a network of 34 bases heavily clustered in the north and west of that continent as well as in the Horn of Africa. AFRICOMs strategic posture consists of larger enduring outposts, including two forward operating sites (FOSes), 12 cooperative security locations (CSLs), and 20 more austere sites known as contingency locations (CLs). The Pentagons official inventory does include the two FOSes: Ascension Island and the crown jewel of Washingtons African bases, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which expanded from 88 acres in the early 2000s to nearly 600 acres today. The Base Structure Report is, however, missing a CSL in that same country, Chabelley Airfield, a lower-profile outpost located about 10 kilometers away that has served as a drone hub for operations in Africa and the Middle East. The official Pentagon tally also mentions a site that goes by the confusing moniker of NSA Bahrain-Kenya. AFRICOM had previously described it as a collection of warehouses built in the 1980s at the airport and seaport of Mombasa, Kenya, but it now appears on that commands 2018 list as a CSL. Missing, however, is another Kenyan base, Camp Simba, mentioned in a 2013 internal Pentagon study of secret drone operations in Somalia and Yemen. At least two manned surveillance aircraft were based there at the time. Simba, a longtime Navy-run facility, is currently operated by the Air Forces 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, part of the 435th Air Expeditionary Wing. Personnel from that same air wing can be found at yet another outpost that doesnt appear in the Base Structure Report, this one on the opposite side of the continent. The BSR states that it doesnt list specific information on non-U.S. locations not at least 10 acres in size or worth at least $10 million. However, the base in question Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger already has a $100 million construction price tag, a sum soon to be eclipsed by the cost of operating the facility: about $30 million a year. By 2024, when the present 10-year agreement for use of the base ends, its construction and operating costs will have reached about $280 million. Also missing from the BSR are outposts in nearby Cameroon, including a longtime base in Douala, a drone airfield in the remote town of Garoua, and a facility known as Salak. That site, according to a 2017 investigation by the Intercept, the research firm Forensic Architecture, and Amnesty International, has been used by U.S. personnel and private contractors for drone surveillance and training missions and by allied Cameroonian forces for illegal imprisonment and torture. According to Vine, keeping Americas African bases secret is advantageous to Washington. It protects allies on that continent from possible domestic opposition to the presence of American troops, he points out, while helping to ensure that there will be no domestic debate in the U.S. over such spending and the military commitments involved. Its important for U.S. citizens to know where their troops are based in Africa and elsewhere around the world, he told TomDispatch, because that troop presence costs the U.S. billions of dollars every year and because the U.S. is involved, or potentially involved, in wars and conflicts that could spiral out of control. Those Missing Bases Africa is hardly the only place where the Pentagons official list doesnt match up well with reality. For close to two decades, the Base Structure Report has ignored bases of all sorts in Americas active war zones. At the height of the American occupation of Iraq, for instance, the United States had 505 bases there, ranging from small outposts to mega-sized facilities. None appeared on the Pentagons official rolls. In Afghanistan, the numbers were even higher. As TomDispatch reported in 2012, the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had about 550 bases in that country. If you had added ISAF checkpoints small baselets used to secure roads and villages to the count of mega-bases, forward operating bases, combat outposts, and patrol bases, the number reached an astounding 750. And counting all foreign military installations of every type including logistical, administrative, and support facilities hiked ISAF Joint Commands official count to 1,500 sites. Americas significant share of them was, however, also mysteriously absent from the Defense Departments official tally. There are now far fewer such facilities in Afghanistan and the numbers may drop further in the months ahead as troop levels decrease. But the existence of Camp Morehead, Forward Operating Base Fenty, Tarin Kowt Airfield, Camp Dahlke West, and Bost Airfield, as well as Camp Shorab, a small installation occupying what was once the site of much larger twin bases known as Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion, is indisputable. Yet none of them has ever appeared in the Base Structure Report. Similarly, while there are no longer 500-plus U.S. bases in Iraq, in recent years, as American troops returned to that country, some garrisons have either been reconstituted or built from scratch. These include the Besmaya Range Complex, Firebase Sakheem, Firebase Um Jorais, and Al Asad Air Base, as well as Qayyarah Airfield West a base 40 miles south of Mosul thats better known as Q-West. Again, you wont find any of them listed in the Pentagons official count. These days, its even difficult to obtain accurate manpower numbers for the military personnel in Americas war zones, let alone the number of bases in each of them. As Vine explains, The military keeps the figures secret to some extent to hide the base presence from its adversaries. Because it is probably not hard to spot these bases in places like Syria and Iraq, however, the secrecy is mostly to prevent domestic debate about the money, danger, and death involved, as well as to avoid diplomatic tensions and international inquiries. If stifling domestic debate through information control is the Pentagons aim, its been doing a fine job for years of deflecting questions about its global posture, or what the late TomDispatch regular Chalmers Johnson called Americas empire of bases. In mid-October, TomDispatch asked Heather Babb, another Pentagon spokesperson, for details about the outposts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria that were absent from the Base Structure Report, as well as about those missing African bases. October and November passed without answers. In December, in response to follow-up requests for information, Babb responded in a fashion firmly in line with the Pentagons well-worn policy of keeping American taxpayers in the dark about the bases they pay for no matter the theoretical difficulty of denying the existence of outposts that stretch from Agadez in Niger to Mosul in Iraq. I have nothing to add, she explained, to the information and criteria that is included in the report. President Trumps decision to withdraw American troops from Syria means that the 2019 Base Structure Report will likely be the most accurate in years. For the first time since 2015, the Pentagons inventory of outposts will no longer be missing the al-Tanf garrison (or then again, maybe it will). But that still potentially leaves hundreds of off-the-books bases absent from the official rolls. Consider it one outpost down and who knows how many to go. Reprinted, with permission, from TomDispatch. Nick Turse is the managing editor of TomDispatch and a contributing writer for the Intercept. His latest book is Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead: War and Survival in South Sudan.His website is NickTurse.com. Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffers new dystopian novel (the second in the Splinterlands series) Frostlands, Beverly Gologorskys novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardts A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoys In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power and John Dowers The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II. Copyright 2019 Nick Turse | https://lobelog.com/what-will-happen-to-u-s-military-bases-in-syria/ |
Does JK Rowling Have A History Of Transphobic Tweets? | According to LGBTQ Nation Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has a troubling history of transphobic tweets dating back to March of 2018. This has been a problem for fans as Rowling has a tendency to side with trans exclusionist commentators, a move that has alienated transgender and non-binary fans who identified strongly with the world she created, and were very supportive of her left-leaning platform. In March of 2018, Rowling liked another Twitter user identified on the platform as @racybearhold. The Tweet in question spoke to the users issues with misogyny within the UK Labor Party, but included the line Men in dresses get brocialist solidarity I never had. The Twitter user in question who has posted anti-transgender screeds to Twitter before, and identifies herself as gender critical, thats a euphemism often used by those who are essentially anti-transgender. In the wake of fan outrage over this incident, Rowlings publicist claimed the like was accidental in nature, telling PinkNews that, Im afraid J.K. Rowling had a clumsy and middle-aged moment and this is not the first time she has favorited by holding her phone incorrectly. The like was removed from Rowlings Twitter feed. Yet Rowling continues to like anti-transgender content: In October of 2017, she liked a Tweet linking to an article on Medium that argued that transgender women should be kept out of womens rooms due to rape fears. JK Rowling hitting that like button on a trans women are rapists piece, if you were wondering whether to relax as a trans person in the UK pic.twitter.com/W5JvBmylPW weak but not giving in (@sistersinead) October 24, 2017 Rowlings middle aged moment, wasnt the end of her affinity with trasnphobes, with the writer once again liking an anti-transgender tweet last September. One again, she approved of an anti-transgender pundit speaking out against transgender women in the media. I know everyone is obsessed with wizard turds or whatever but jk r*wling is doing a lot more damaging, insidious shit and pretending no one cares pic.twitter.com/aJs2PXxjYS Goth Ms. Frizzle (@spookperson) January 6, 2019 Rowling has penned a crime fiction series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and in one of the stories featuring detective Cormoran Strike, she introduces a transgender character. In the story, published in 1997, a trans woman named Pippa attempted to stab Strike. The detective traps Pippa, demanding identification. Her ID reveals her birth gender, leading to comments about Pippas Adams apple. Pippa, meanwhile, is trying to make a break from Strike out an office door. If you go for that door one more fucking time Im calling the police and Ill testify and be glad to watch you go down for attempted murder. And it wont be fun for you inside, Pippa, he added. Not pre-op, says Strike to Pippa. Rowling has never gone on record to make her views on transgender rights publicly known , until she does, we can only judge her by the company she keeps. | http://www.towleroad.com/2019/01/does-jk-rowling-have-a-history-of-transphobic-tweets/ |
Where did all the teachers go? | A large number of children in Balnigwar, a large town in Dasht, are struggling to get an education. Although many schools have been set up in the town, students are often seen outside their classrooms because there are no teachers at these institutions. A vast majority of teachers have been absent for long periods of time and this has adversely impacted students. Residents have repeatedly asked the Balochistan government to take action to ensure that teachers perform their duties with regularity and a sense of responsibility. However, suitable steps have yet to be taken in this regard. At this stage, the provincial government needs to make a concerted effort to hire new teachers. Since the relevant authorities have adopted a fairly lax attitude in ensuring that teachers perform their duties with care, many students in Balnigwar and adjoining areas have been lagging behind in their studies. The provincial administration needs to develop a more cohesive strategy to prevent teacher absenteeism. Ahmed Bashir Kech | https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/416754-where-did-all-the-teachers-go |
Why are we still logging forests? | Anyone who accepts true science realizes that todays big forest fires are driven far more by climate warming than by a lack of active forest management. Active forest management, more honestly called logging, has always been the timber industrys cure-all for every perceived problem in our forests. Until science confirmed the amazing diversity and value of our old forests, they were deemed to be decadent, badly in need of logging and replacement with more efficient tree farms. When there were budworm or bark beetle breakouts, industry said our forests were being decimated and needed logging to restore them. Science disagreed, noting that insects and disease were important components of healthy forest ecosystems. When our forests burn, industry claims quick logging and replanting is necessary to salvage their value. Science again exposed their myths, showing the value of leaving burned forests as critical habitat and how forests reseed and recover naturally from fires like the Biscuit. I kept a cabin within the huge weather-caused and weather-extinguished Biscuit Fire in Oregon. It was years of cutting and burning non-merchantable understories that saved my cabin, not logging. In the aftermath, I witnessed how little difference commercially thinned stands made to fire spread or intensity. I photographed sites where flames consumed thinned stands only to lie down when they hit the cooler, moister, unthinned forest. To me, as a timber cruiser and broker whos tracked timber data and sale prices for decades, its obvious why industry preaches logging for all that ails our forests. They make grossly unfair profits from logging public timber sales far more than the environmental attorneys who litigate them. Scorched old sugar pines and Douglas firs from Biscuit salvage sales sold at literally a dime to the dollar of real value. These sales were sold at a net loss to us as the forest owners, as are many federal timber sales. Of course not! They arent politically forced to sell mature timber at far below market value just to subsidize a few mills. Partly because theres little mature timber left in private forests, but mostly because regional private timber supplies are siphoned off by log exports. Private log exports from Oregon, though down from recent peaks, still exceed current federal timber harvests. In 2013, log exports were nearly triple Oregons federal harvest levels! Domestic mills could successfully compete with log premiums paid by Asian mills if export logs were taxed with a tariff. Unfortunately, however, if federal forests were taxed as little as private forests, the returns would be dismal. Private forest owners pay no tax on the value of their standing timber, even though its real property. They pay taxes on a pittance of the real market value of their land. This article has been excerpted from: Why are We Still Logging Our Forests?. Courtesy: Counterpunch.org | https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/416769-why-are-we-still-logging-forests |
Why Is There a Hole in the Middle of a Bagel? | If you look online, youll find quite a few explanations for the hole in the middle of a bagel. Things like if it didnt have hole it would be a roll and the holes mean more crust for the same amount of dough and this is how they made it in the old country! Why Long Island Has The Best Bagels in America However, while some of these are accurate facts about the carb that conquered American breakfast, none of them is the real reason why practically every bagel whether its from Thomas Breads or from your local bakery has a hole. One likely reason has to do with the way that bagels were originally sold. In the past, vendors threaded the circular breads onto dowels to hawk them on street corners. In fact, according to a 2009 Q&A about bagels in The New York Times, even up until the 70s most bagels were still distributed to American delis and supermarkets on rope or string. While that logistical reason for our bagels vacant centers seems likely, its still fun to consider the other stories. One piece in The Atlantic suggests that, for people in the old country (specifically the areas in Eastern Europe where bagels originated), the breads round shape was meant to bring good luck in childbirth and symbolize a long life. It was pretty lucky for America that those Eastern European immigrants brought bagels with them when they immigrated. Since then, bagels (holes and all) have become one of the most iconic foods in the United States! | https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/why-bagels-have-holes/010919 |
When is Pancake Day and how do I make the perfect pancake? | Get Daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email There's nothing better than scoffing lots and lots of pancakes on Pancake Day but, let's be honest, making them from scratch can be a bit of a faff. It's really not easy to whip up the perfect batter and get that lovely crispiness and fluffiness, so most of us just reach for the pancake mix instead. And even that doesn't necessarily guarantee you won't end up scraping burnt batter off the bottom of a pan - or worse, the ceiling. Luckily, we have this simple step-by-step video that will help you master the tasty treat on Shrove Tuesday (see above), as well as everything you could possibly need to know about Pancake Day 2019. Pancake Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, falls between February 2 and March 9, depending on the date for Easter. It's always the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the 40 days leading up to Easter. Pancake Day is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent is traditionally a time of fasting but the date changes because Easter changes every year. The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday started as a way to use up ingredients including butter, milk and eggs that were not supposed to be eaten and would go bad during the period of Lent. Pancakes, particularly thin and buttery crepes, were a great way to clear the cupboards in one easy and indulgent dish. Although Pancake Day is enshrined in Christian tradition, it is believed that it might originate in a pagan holiday, when eating warm, round pancakes - symbolising the sun - was a way of celebrating the arrival of spring. The ingredients for pancakes are said to symbolise four points of significance at Easter and spring time of the year. Eggs signify creation, flour is said to be the staff of life, salt is for wholesomeness and milk symbolises purity. The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and penance. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the custom for Christians to be 'shriven' before the start of Lent. A bell would be rung to call people to confession and this came to be known as the Pancake Bell. A pancake is a flat cake, often thin, and round, prepared from a starch-based batter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, but depending on where you live pancakes can look and taste different. In this country, pancakes are often unleavened, and resemble a crepe. The typical English pancake is thin and light and not dissimilar to a French crepe and usually eaten with sugar and lemon, or Golden Syrup - though many other toppings can and are used. In the USA, pancakes are similar to a Scotch pancake or drop scone. They are thicker and spongier and are often eaten with warm maple syrup and crispy fried bacon. In Scotland, Wales and Ireland, pancakes tend to be thicker, slightly risen and cooked on a griddle. In Scotland, they are (unsurprisingly) known as Scotch Pancakes. In Wales, pancakes are known as Cremopg. In Ireland, they are referred to as Griddle Cakes or Boxty, if made with potato. French crepes and Italian crespelle are not unlike each other. Both are ultra-thin, light pancakes and feature heavily in both cuisines as savoury and sweet dishes. (Image: SHARED CONTENT UNIT) How to make the perfect pancake Basic ingredients For any good pancake, you need to start with the basics. This recipe should serve four, so just double it if you've got more mouths to feed - or you're feeling really hungry. 2 eggs 100g plain flour 300ml milk 1 tsp vegetable oil Pinch of salt Method Lightly whisk the eggs Make a small well in the flour and add the salt and oil Pour the whisked eggs into the flour Add half of the milk Mix well then add the rest of the milk Warm the pan - and add a little oil (then tip away the excess) Pour the batter mixture into the pan and fry for a few seconds Flip it! Fry for a few seconds on the other side Add your favourite toppings and tuck in! Now it's time to flip your pancake - Add your batter to the pan (just under a ladle full is the perfect amount) and immediately start tilting the pan until you have an even layer. - Cook the pancake for approximately 30-40 seconds and when it is ready use a palette knife to lift the pancake carefully. - If the underside is golden-brown turn it over or toss it, if you're feeling brave - just be careful when you're doing this that you don't burn yourself. - Cook the other side for approximately 30-40 seconds and finally transfer to a serving plate and add toppings. | https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/when-is-pancake-day-2019-1154210 |
How are gifts taxed in India? | iStockphoto The word gift generally brings with it a feeling of reward and gratitude, without any obligation on part of the recipient. However, little does a recipient know that the gift could also have a tax incidence associated with it. Broadly speaking, the genesis of taxing gifts in India started with the introduction of the Gift Tax Act, 1958. The Gift Tax Act followed a donor based taxation, wherein the gifts were taxed in the hands of the donor at a flat rate of 30% with a basic exemption of Rs.30,000. The Gift Tax Act was repealed with effect from October 1998 and the donor as well as the recipient were not required to pay taxes on the gifts given / received. This was a big change in the tax regime vis--vis gifts. Reintroduction of Gift Tax in the Income Tax Act, 1961 Elimination of gift tax witnessed distribution of property (both movable and immovable) and income freely, resulting in tax planning and in some cases even tax avoidance. Accordingly, to curb incidents of tax avoidance, taxation of gifts was re-introduced in the Finance Act (No.2) 2004, with effect from 1 April 2005. This time, however, the emphasis shifted from donor-based taxation to a donee-based taxation, i.e. the income from gift(s) became taxable in the hands of the recipient. Over the years, the law related to taxation of gifts has undergone many changes and its scope has widened. Initially, only individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) were covered within the ambit of taxation under the Income Tax Act vis--vis gifts. Today, the scope is wide enough to cover all persons who are in receipt of specified gifts above the prescribed threshold limits. Interestingly, for tax purposes, person includes an individual, HUF, company, firm, an association of persons, a body of individuals, a local authority, an artificial juridical person, etc. Taxability of gifts under the I-T Act As per the current tax law, any person (donee / recipient) receiving a sum of money, or an immovable property or any other specified property from any other person (donor) without consideration or for an inadequate consideration i.e. less than the fair market value of the property or stamp duty value in case of an immovable property, is liable to be taxed on the value of such gift. In the above context the property includes immovable property being land or building or both, shares and securities, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures, any work of art and bullion, etc. Exemptions have been carved out for certain specified categories of persons / recipients from the purview of taxation from gifts. Companies under certain specified schemes of reorganization too have been exempted from the above incidence of tax. Exemptions from taxation Below is an illustrative list of types of receipts that are specifically exempted from qualifying as gifts and consequentially, from the incidence of tax thereon: Any sum of money or any property received from a specified relative on any occasion. In the above context, it has been clarified that relative, in case of an individual shall include his/her spouse, spouses siblings, siblings of either of the parents of the individual, any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individual, the individuals siblings, spouse of the individuals siblings, any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individuals spouse, spouse of the lineal ascendant or descendant of the spouse of the individual. In case of a HUF, relative includes any member of the HUF. Any sum of money or any property received from any person on the occasion of the marriage; Any sum of money or any property received under a will or by way of inheritance; Any sum of money or any property received in contemplation of death of the payer; Any sum of money or any property from an individual by a trust created or established solely for the benefit of relative of the individual; etc. FEMA regulations governing gifts It is pertinent to note that besides the income tax provisions, in case of any cross-border gifts like the ones involving non-resident Indians (NRI) or persons of Indian origin (PIO), the provisions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) should also be examined. One particular aspect that requires careful evaluation is the difference in the way relative is defined under the Income Tax Act vis--vis FEMA. While the Income Tax Act exempts gifts between relatives (as mentioned above), the meaning of the term relative under FEMA is much narrower and restricted to include spouse, father, mother, son, sons wife, daughter, daughters husband, brother and sister of the individual. To illustrate the above: If A and B are sisters and H, the husband of B, gifts any property to A, the same would not be taxable under the Income-tax Act in the hands of the recipient. However, it would not be permitted under FEMA considering the narrow definition of the term relative. While the principles vis--vis gifts are largely governed by domestic regulations, transactions with NRIs and PIOs need a more careful evaluation from a FEMA perspective. Very often ignorance of FEMA, being a specialized domain area, could lead to default in compliances which are simple to execute but have severe non-compliance consequences. Hence, while a comparison can be drawn between FEMA regulations and the Act vis--vis gifts laws, a presumption must be avoided. Another important consideration that is often overlooked due to the ignorance of FEMA regulations is the ceiling prescribed on remittances to and from the country. It is important to be aware of the amount of remittances that can be made/ received, especially outbound, as the ceilings could pose a serious challenge to the execution/ implementation of the Gift transactions. To elucidate, under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) of FEMA, a resident individual can remit up to $250,000 outside India in aggregate per financial year on account of permissible current and capital account transactions which include gifts (not necessarily to a relative). Anything not specifically permitted/amount beyond the specified limits under FEMA would require permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Implications in overseas jurisdiction In case of cross-border gifts, besides the tax and regulatory implications under the Indian laws, it is also important to evaluate the implications, if any, under the tax and regulatory laws in the overseas jurisdiction of the country of recipient i.e. whether the gift received would be taxable or needs to be disclosed to any authorities outside India. To sum up, while the evolution of law over the years has led to taxability of gifts, specific exemptions have been carved out to insulate genuine transactions like between the relatives, on the occasion of marriage, etc. It is important to be aware of laws and be compliant with regulations to de-risk from any exposure and implications and avoid long drawn disputes and litigations. Monetary gifts would include gifts in cash, cheques, bank deposits, draft, etc. Any such gift would be taxable in full in the hands of the recipient if it exceeds Rs.50,000 during the financial year. Income from gift is included in the income reported under the head income from other sources and forms part of the taxable income. Pallavi Talavlikar and Sameer Shah contributed to this article. Vikas Vasal is national leader taxGrant Thornton India LLP. You can send your queries to [email protected] | https://www.livemint.com/Money/jQoWpAhQxEZOA0KvMnfFkJ/How-are-gifts-taxed-in-India.html |
Has the UK parliament really taken back control of Brexit from Theresa May? | LONDON Theresa May's government was furious on Wednesday after the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow upended constitutional convention to let MPs vote on a motion which was designed to prevent the prime minister from "running down the clock" if she loses the vote on her Brexit deal next week. The motion, brought forward by the former Conservative Attorney General Dominic Grieve, was subsequently backed by a majority of MPs, leading to widespread reports that MPs had "taken back control" of the Brexit process from May's government. Well, not quite. While the intention of Grieve's amendment was to buy MPs an extra fortnight in which to shape the next stage of the process if, as expected, May's deal is voted down, Downing Street insisted on Thursday that this was a misreading of the amendment. They pointed to advice they had received suggesting that while the amendment does mean they must bring a new motion forward within three sitting days, it does not oblige them to "move" that motion. In other words, while Grieve's amendment will require the the government to set out what it plans to do if and when May's deal is voted down, it does not oblige them to put those plans immediately to a vote. This interpretation was confirmed by parliamentary procedure experts Business Insider spoke to on Thursday, who suggested that Grieve's amendment essentially leaves the original timetabling procedure for any second "meaningful vote" on the Brexit deal untouched. Technically, it changes nothing. Tory MP and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Under Section 13 of the EU Withdrawal Act, the UK government has not 3 days, but 21 days to bring forward a statement on its next move if May's deal is voted down by MPs on Tuesday. Once that statement has been made, the government has a further seven House of Commons sitting days to move a vote on it. Importantly, Grieve's amendment does not change that legally binding timetable. It's certainly possible. And in that sense the Grieve amendment technically doesn't change anything. However, doing so would go clearly against the spirit and intention of the amendment and be a provocation of the roughly 20 Remainer Conservative rebels MPs who have already demonstrated their willingness to vote against the government. It would also be a provocation of the Commons Speaker, who has already demonstrated his determination to hand maximum powers to MPs. And this is the crucial point. While technically Grieve's amendment may not have tied the government's hands, politically it is a clear demonstration of Parliament's will to shape the Brexit process. The point that is often lost is that the meaningful vote is just the first step to ratifying the Brexit deal. The meaningful vote may be important, but it is merely a precursor to the far more challenging process of passing the deal into legislation through the Withdrawal and Implementation Bil. It is perfectly possible to imagine May managing to squeak her deal through the meaningful vote process, only for it to fall once she attempts to turn it into legislation. And if she fails to pass that bill by March 29, then the withdrawal treaty she has agreed with the EU becomes null and void. UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor A useful comparison here is with the House of Lords Reform Bill brought forward by the Conservative-led coalition government in 2012. The bill, which would have made the UK Parliament's upper chamber mostly elected, was supported in principle by Conservative MPs and the Labour opposition at its Second Reading in the Commons. However, despite the Conservative and Liberal Democrat government having a clear parliamentary majority and despite all three major parties being committed to reform, the bill ultimately failed after MPs were unable to agree on the so-called Programme Motion for the bill. Getting a Brexit deal passed into legislation by MPs would be significantly harder than passing reform of the Lords, even if May had possession of a clear governing majority, which she does not. For this reason, any further attempt by May to "run down the clock" as her opponents accuse her of attempting, would only make the process of passing her deal even harder both in political and logistical terms. So Grieve's amendment, while technically not forcing May to speed up the process, is a clear demonstration of Parliament's political will to move on to debate and vote on possible alternatives to her deal. Were May to simply ignore that, then she would make the process of getting any Brexit Withdrawal bill through Parliament even more difficult than it already is. | https://www.businessinsider.com/has-the-dominic-grieve-meaningful-vote-brexit-amendment-changed-anything-2019-1 |
Is Munster centre Jaco Taute on Leicester Tigers' shopping list for 2019-20 season? | 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 Leicester Tigers have been linked in the Irish media with a move for Munster centre Jaco Taute, who will be out of contract at Thomond Park come the end of the season. Tigers need to address their midfield resources with centre Matt Toomua returning to Australia to play with Melbourne Rebels after the current Gallagher Premiership campaign. The 27-year-old Taute, who scored in Munster's European Cup win over Leicester at Thomond two years ago, would bring power and experience to Tigers having been capped three times by South Africa. However, Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy is staying tight-lipped about his targets. "We are looking at contracting some players from across the world and there are some bodies out there who we think will be a good fit for us," he said. "Until we have them nailed down it probably isn't very fair to talk about them. There are guys we are having a chat with and guys who we think will fit into our squad and what we want to do on quite a decent basis." | https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/munster-centre-jaco-taute-leicester-2414744 |
Why Does Everyone Want Their Crushes to Run Them Over? | From L to R: Sandra Oh, a car, Timothee Chalamet. Photo: Getty Images One of the most revolutionary features of the internet is that its provided a space in which people can broadcast their innermost desires, to large swaths of strangers, in a multitude of creative ways. Last year saw some magnificent examples, from flash fanfiction about Texas Congressman Beto ORourkes calf-cramping proficiency in bed to lust for the mom from the animated Pixar film Incredibles 2. Amidst all this unmitigated passion, one particularly wild form of expression has become increasingly common: People are begging their crushes to run them over. BTS and One Direction band members. Delicate man Timothe Chalamet. Large, less-delicate man Adam Driver. Even larger man Jason Momoa. Ariana Grande, especially after she posted a photo of herself in front of a car. Danny DeVito. YouTube star Seth Everman even pleaded, stop commenting run me over daddy i dont have a drivers license. The night of the Golden Globes, Twitter was lit up with people aching for celebrities to inflict grievous bodily harm on them, from one tweet that read: excuse me while I lie down in the street and wait for Sandra Oh to run me over with a car to a Taylor Swift fan wishing that the pop star would run me over with a tank and throw whats left in a wood chipper. wish she'd run me over with a tank and throw what's left in a wood chipper xxxx pic.twitter.com/PPRC8LuDOl Bryson (@taylmesomething) January 7, 2019 i want Rami Malek to run me over with a bus (@moonlightmalek) November 14, 2018 run me over, back up and run me over again maam pic.twitter.com/gPcw0Af8Ns d follow limit (@lMAGINARl) January 8, 2019 At its heart, run me over along with tangential longings, like throw me off a building is a curious sentiment. Its simultaneously over-the-top and relatively chaste. On a scale of I want Stanley Tucci to take me out to a nice pasta dinner to I want Colin Firth to choke me out during sex, its precisely in the middle; there is no actual sexual activity involved, but it conveys a catastrophic level of desire. Delaney Graves, 21, told me that shes been active in stan culture since she was 13 and first encountered similar phrasing on Tumblr shortly afterward, although it was more extreme. It was definitely intended to be shock humor, not some dark underbelly of the culture where they fantasize about being murdered by their faves, but even this form of the joke was a bit too much for me and I didnt participate, Graves said. It wasnt until I shifted onto Twitter and saw the more subtle versions of this joke run me over, punch me in the face, steal my money that I felt more comfortable posting my versions of it. (Some of the earliest iterations on Twitter are I WANT NIALL [Horan, of One Direction] TO RUN ME OVER WITH HIS CAR sent in January 2013 and Ed Sheeran could run me over with his car and I would still love him from December 2012.) Graves herself has tweeted, goodnight i want timothee chalamet to run me over with a car. She further explained that what were saying when we say wed like our favorite celebrity to run us over is that we love and admire them so much that they could do something terrible and wed still love them which of course isnt literally true. I think that this joke format is used a lot by stans because its a more creative way to say how much we love someone rather than just a wholesome Timothee is amazing! goodnight i want timothee chalamet to run me over with a car delaney (@del_graves) January 6, 2018 Although run me over may have originated within fandom communities, its become common internet parlance in the last couple of years. It also isnt strictly used to apply to celebrities. Writer and editor Brandy Jensen, 37, recently observed that everyone is suicidally horny these days my only reaction to seeing hot ppl is like back over me with a truck. I asked Jensen, who also once expressed that she wanted Natalie Dormer to hit her with a hammer, to elaborate. She pointed out that people constantly post both about being horny and about wanting to die, and those two have managed to converge. I think theres something about how the ideal resolution of a crush is to be completely obliterated by it and suffer no longer under the terrible demands of desire, she said. Plus, she added, Cary Fukunaga throw me off a building is just an objectively funny thing to say. While the phrase may have origins as a hyperbolic way to communicate the most extreme shades of celebrity worship online, the jokes popularity may also have to do with the fact that were living during a time when were constantly being reminded that the Earth is going to be virtually uninhabitable by the end of the century, that capitalism is wholly unsustainable, and that were just one push of a button away from perishing in a nuclear war. A breathless run me over matches our current fatalistic mood. Or, as writer Gretchen Felker-Martin, 29, poetically put it when asked at what point the masses started feeling this way, it was the moment we realized the scales had tipped, the world is doomed, and the best we can hope for is to look at someone beautiful who loves us while we die. | https://www.thecut.com/2019/01/people-tweeting-run-me-over-at-celebrities.html?utm_source=nym&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-part |
Are rewards cards and loyalty point schemes worth the effort? | Whether they're rewards cards for supermarkets and chemists, or credit cards linked to department stores and airlines, loyalty cards and apps can amass quickly. And most of us aren't getting much in return, says Gary Mortimer, Associate Professor at the Queensland University of Technology Business School, who specialises in advertising, marketing and public relations. "If you're a bit like me and habitually, passively scan your loyalty card without really thinking about what you're doing, then it's probably not worth your time having one," he says. "All you're doing is simply providing the retail with free information and free data on your shopping behaviour. "[But] if you're very clever about looking at all the terms and conditions, you can certainly accrue points and redeem those points for products and flights." Here are a few things to consider before signing up for your next points program. Supermarket and store loyalty cards Image Reward programs can entice people to spend more than they otherwise would to gain more points. ( Unsplash: Frankie Cordoba ) The idea of loyalty or reward programs is pretty simple a business wants to encourage you to spend money with them, so they offer you rewards for doing so. Each time you shop with a supermarket or chain and scan your card, you earn points which you can redeem for things like vouchers or goods. Or you might put them towards another point accrual scheme, like a frequent flyer program. Jason Pallant, lecturer in Marketing at Swinburne Business School, says retailers encourage people to join their loyalty programs so they can gather data and create shopper profiles, which allows marketing to be more targeted. He says if you're already spending money with a supermarket or chain because you like them, or they're the closest, then joining the loyalty program can be worth it. "If you're doing it anyway, get rewarded. But don't change your behaviour hugely because of a loyalty program," Dr Pallant says. "I certainly don't think there is often great value in changing your behaviour or deliberately buying something you didn't need or want just to get loyalty benefits." Pros Card holders can get special deals non-members can't, such as special offers or discounts. Card holders can get special deals non-members can't, such as special offers or discounts. Some can be combined with airline point programs, so your grocery points go to airline points. Cons You have to spend a lot to get a little back. For example, spend $2,000 for a $10 voucher. You have to spend a lot to get a little back. For example, spend $2,000 for a $10 voucher. If you're not a big spender, you may not accrue enough points to earn a reward. If you're not a big spender, you may not accrue enough points to earn a reward. Your spending habits are tracked by the supermarket, which some people don't like for privacy reasons. Credit card reward points (including cards offered by stores and airlines) Image To get the most out of a reward program, you really have to be on top of things and have a strategy in place. ( Unsplash: rawixel ) Having a free supermarket loyalty card that you hardly use might not give you much back, but it's not really taking anything away from you. The same can't always be said for credit cards with reward programs. Steve Worthington, Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University's Faculty of Business and Law, says credit card issuers (including bank, retail and airline issued cards) use reward programs to attract consumers. "You can divide credit card holders into two basic camps there's transactors, that is those who use their card and pay off in full every account period, so they never pay interest," Professor Worthington says. "Then there's the revolvers who do pay interest because they don't pay it off in full and they therefore have to pay interest. "If you're a transactor, you might be able to use a reward card and do fairly well out of it. But if you're a revolver, I would argue that you need to concentrate on not paying interest, rather than collecting reward points." Risking your credit score for points It might be tempting to take out a credit card connected to an airline points program for example, max out the points you can get from that card, then cancel it and move on to another one. It sounds simple in theory, but this behaviour comes with risks. "There's a thing called credit scoring," Professor Worthington says. "The banks now share what they [call] black and white information. "Black information is things like if you don't pay your bills. White information is just about your entire dealings with other banks. So they judge if you're worthy of being lent money or issued a credit card." If you've taken out three credit cards just to close them after six months or whenever the points are maximised, financial institutions will see that behaviour and may decide you're not the type of customer they want. Professor Worthington says if a credit card offers a reward program, double check the annual fees and interest rates of the card, because unless you use the card a lot and pay it off each pay period, you'll probably spend more in fees than you'll gain in points. "Unfortunately, because we've got a lack of financial literacy [in Australia], a lot of people look at the reward scheme when they should be looking at the annual fee and the interest rates," he says. "That's something we all fall for we look at the fripperies and not the basics. "If you're struggling to paydown your credit card debt, I would suggest you go for a low-fee card with no frills, with hopefully a very low annual fee and no reward scheme." Pros Points from some credit cards can be used to combine with airline point systems. Points from some credit cards can be used to combine with airline point systems. Some offer cashback when you reach a certain number of points, which can be used to pay off credit card debt. Some offer cashback when you reach a certain number of points, which can be used to pay off credit card debt. Some reward programs offer expensive electronics in exchange for points you've accrued. Cons Annual fees and interest charged on debt can be higher than cards not offering reward programs. Annual fees and interest charged on debt can be higher than cards not offering reward programs. Not all spending on the card is eligible for point collection. For example, rates and water bills usually don't count towards points. Not all spending on the card is eligible for point collection. For example, rates and water bills usually don't count towards points. Reward programs encourage you to use your credit card more to accrue points which can lead to overspending. Reward programs encourage you to use your credit card more to accrue points which can lead to overspending. Taking out a card to maximise points and then cancelling it can impact your credit score, making it harder to access credit from lenders. For more on credit cards, check out the ASIC MoneySmart website. Airline points, AKA frequent flyer programs Image Keeping track of your airline points can be tricky, as the airline can change what you can get for them whenever they want. ( Pexels: Roman Carey ) Airline points programs are perhaps the "holy grail" of loyalty schemes, with the promise of free travel and upgrades. But the points needed to claim a free trip are often so astronomical that you might as well be saving for a unicorn. "The biggest criticism [of loyalty programs] is points fatigue," Dr Mortimer says. "All we do is build these points up, we generally don't know how many points we have at any one time and we don't redeem [them] anyway." Because accruing points can be tedious, most of the bigger loyalty programs, including airlines, are using hierarchical memberships instead. "The hierarchical schemes tend to work more effectively [for businesses] than the linear schemes where everybody's treated the same," Dr Mortimer says. These memberships trade in status, and can include surprise offers and activities that aim to build a personal connection between the business and the consumer, taking the focus away from points. Dr Pallant says hierarchy programs encourage members to spend more than they otherwise might to achieve that next level of membership. "I know people who have taken trips because it was coming to the end of their 12-month cycle," he says. "It's interesting because you can pay for the things that having the higher status gives you, such as a seat choice and more luggage, and often it'll be cheaper [to purchase these with your own money] than all the money you spend to get the status." Pros Free flights when you accrue sufficient points. Free flights when you accrue sufficient points. Extra comfort offered depending on your "status" level access to airline lounges, upgrades on flights, priority boarding, for example. Extra comfort offered depending on your "status" level access to airline lounges, upgrades on flights, priority boarding, for example. Can accrue points for flights taken for work even when you haven't paid for them. Cons The value of points can be changed by the airline at any time. The value of points can be changed by the airline at any time. It can take thousands and thousands of points to be eligible for free flights. It can take thousands and thousands of points to be eligible for free flights. It can often be cheaper overall to pay for extras like additional leg room and extra baggage, than to spend enough to gain the same benefits through points. It can often be cheaper overall to pay for extras like additional leg room and extra baggage, than to spend enough to gain the same benefits through points. Point programs encourage you to spend more than you otherwise would to gain points or change the status. This article contains general information only. It should not be relied on as advice in relation to your particular circumstances and issues, for which you should obtain specific, independent professional advice. | https://www.abc.net.au/life/are-rewards-cards-and-loyalty-point-schemes-worth-it/10614040 |
What Makes Israel a Hotbed for Startups? | September 19, 2014 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Israel's startup scene is booming. In fact, its only second to Silicon Valley when it comes to producing startup companies. In 2013 alone, Israel produced 1,000 new startups, according to a survey by TerraLab Ventures. For every startup that failed, two more sprung up in its place. According to the book Startup Nation: The Story of Israels Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Israel has the highest density of tech startups in the world. Some of these startups achieve global success straight from Israel, such as Waze, and others achieve it after opening centers in places such as Silicon Valley, New York and Boston. According to Guy Franklin, who runs the website Israel Mapped in NY, about 10 new Israeli companies join the New York community every month. Related: The Secret to Israel's Startup Success Thanks to Israeli government programs spurring innovation and the depth of STEM talent in Israel, its not hard to see why Israel has become a startup hotbed. The country has built an ecosystem that continues to grow and create synergy and new opportunities for entrepreneurs. Here are just a few reasons why the startup scene is thriving and growing in Israel: 1. Necessity is the mother of invention -- and startups. Not long ago Israel was mostly a land of desert and swamps. Today, other than the Dead Sea, the country is very much alive, fertile and blossoming. Forced to find solutions to survive, the country became a hotbed for research and development in irrigation and water technology. Similarly, the fierce geopolitical conflicts in the volatile Middle East elicited advanced defense-related research and development efforts, which later became the basis for many non-defense innovations in the areas of healthcare, telecommunications, security, transportation, aviation and more. The need to fight and to innovate for survival made Israelis tough and resolute as individuals, and cohesive and united as a group. Israelis strive to progress together no matter what life throws their way. It is no surprise, then, that tenacity and experience in being calm under pressure has led to startup founders who arent likely to throw in the towel the first time they hit a bump in the road. A setback is an opportunity in disguise to these entrepreneurs. 2. Shareholders, not employees. A former prime minister of Israel once joked that "in Israel, there are 3 million prime ministers." (The countrys population at the time. Today, that number stands at 8 million.) Related: 5 Lessons From Silicon Valley for Developing Business Hubs In a small and young country that is fighting for survival and in which everyone serves and contributes, there is a strong sense of individual responsibility and accountability that compels people to voice their opinions, to take action, and, when needed, to challenge authority and the status quo. People dont feel a mere sense of belonging to the country -- they feel a deep and genuine sense of ownership over it. They see themselves as shareholders of the state, not its employees. Consequently, in the business world, Israelis are drawn to taking the "driver seat" and steering their company and team with conviction and resolve, even (and especially) amidst uncertainty, challenges and risks. Fear of failure is a very distant second to the fear of inaction and paralysis. 3. Bringing improvements to the world. In Judaism, there is a concept called "Tikkun Olam," which bears upon all people the responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world and to bring about better welfare for society at large. Entrepreneurs in Israel arent just driven by monetary payouts. They are inspired by bringing great new ideas and technologies to the world. They are eager to address burning challenges and solve big problems that can help and serves others. Entrepreneurs in Israel look at big hurdles as reasons to roll up their sleeves and get working. Israel is young and small in size and population. It has very little natural resources, and more than its share of perils. Yet, despite this, Israel has become a luminary tech city on a hill. In a world in which innovation plays an ever-increasing role, there is a potential lesson here for other countries and societies, as well. It is recommended to foster innovation around areas of necessity (everyone has these). Risk-taking and challenging of norms and status quos should be encouraged -- societies that discourage risk and failure inhibit innovation. There are great benefits to exercising compulsory drafts or social service -- it turns citizens from employees to shareholders, and elicits greater collaboration. Lastly, it is both rewarding for individuals and for the whole society to adopt the concept of "Tikkun Olam" -- we shall all be better for it. Related: In Mobile Push, Facebook Buys Israel-Based Data Analytics Startup Onavo | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237231 |
What Does Mark Cuban Do First Thing in the Morning? | September 18, 2014 3 min read No chakra-cleansing yoga. No brisk sunrise run. No steaming hot cuppa Joe. Not for Mark Cuban. Like Winston Churchill, the first thing the intrepid billionaire does after waking up is work, right from his bed. Then he works some more. Business is my morning meditation, Cuban told us on the Culver City, Calif. Shark Tank set between filming Season Six pitches last week. Business is what I like. I get up and I work immediately. I love doing this. Then he flashed his trademark million-watt smile, the one he says defines his success. [Success] is defined by waking up with a smile on your face, knowing its going to be a great day. The energetic, 6-foot-3 Dallas Mavericks owner and veteran tech mogul loves working so much, he says, that he also regularly does it in the middle of the night. If somethings on my mind, Ill get up several times at night and start hitting some Cyber Dust. Ill work. Related: Shark Tank Star Mark Cuban: 'Money Can't Buy Happiness' No, Cyber Dust isnt a tasty midnight snack. Its Cubans new Snapchat-like ephemeral app. He says he created the private mobile messaging tool to take back his privacy in the wake of his recent insider trading battle with the SEC, which he won. The one-time bartender and disco teacher, the first to attend college in his working-class family, says he checks Cyber Dust literally first thing after he opens his eyes in the morning (or at night) because thats where all of my most important messages are. We cant even begin to imagine how many jam his inbox. Related: How to Trick Yourself into Becoming a Morning Person Next, Cuban, whose family name was Chabenisky before his Russian immigrant grandfather changed it at Ellis Island, checks his emails. Then the richest Shark -- boasting a net worth of an estimated $2.6 billion -- starts putting out fires. I read, update and deal with whatever issues I have to address. First things first and the first thing for me is always work. You can watch Cuban work, and obviously have a ton of fun doing it, during Shark Tanks Season Six premiere on Friday, Sept. 26, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT on your local ABC station. Related: Mark Cuban: There's No Playing Nice With Your Competition | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237616 |
Is Oracle's Co-CEO Move a Trend or Just Something That Works for Oracle? | September 19, 2014 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. From the humble beginning in 1977 with 900 square feet of office space, Oracle has grown to a technology giant with a market capitalization of $185 billion. Doubtful. The co-leadership model is already a success at Oracle. Ellison, Hurd & Catz all echo there will be no significant changes. Sticking with what works. Hurd and Catz move into co-CEO roles with a history of working well together as co-presidents. At SeeItFit.com, we have followed the co-CEO path since inception - recognizing the wonderful gifts and challenges of co-leadership. Without question, the working relationship between the two individuals determines success or failure. Catz has a strong financial background having once served as CFO of Oracle. Her strengths are complemented by Hurds propensity for creating long-term strategy and impeccable execution. Given these facts, the future of Oracle looks as bright as ever. Sometimes its better when those founding visionaries get out of the boardroom and back to the drawing board to focus on new products and designing for the future. Related: Putting Two Leaders in Place Taking risks while focused on the mission. With Oracles growth in areas such as healthcare and life sciences, and continued innovation across industries, it is critical for Catz and Hurd to put a premium on communication and collaboration. They must balance this with a willingness to take risks. Doing so will ensure consistency in the execution and alignment with Oracles overall mission. The individual decisions made over their respective roles must feed directly into the common vision. Just as there is no I in team, there should be no me in the co-CEO structure. The focus is on we. We as a company. This holds true for start-ups as well as Fortune 100 corporations. For Hurd, Katz and Oracle, its not their first time at this co-leadership rodeo. There will be bumps on the journey, but Ellisons role can help offset any impasse and provide continuity of strategy. Instead of creating a two-headed monster, Oracle is likely to find good return for their co-leadership labor. Related: Billionaire Entrepreneur Larry Ellison Steps Down as CEO of Oracle | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237659 |
Why Books Fail? | Nuestro libro no est basado en la creencia ingenua de que una teora lo puede explicar todo. Acemoglu y Robinson (Why nations fail, p. 429) El mercadeo est en todo, hasta en la escritura de libros. Create Space, el departamento de libros de Amazon, insiste en la necesidad de una portada atractiva, y un ttulo todava ms. Porque no puede uno probarlo, como se prueba una camisa o un bombillo. No hay garanta, o la oferta de que puede devolverlo y recibir un reembolso completo si no es de su satisfaccin. Cuando todava existan las revistas Playboy, las envolvan en un plstico para que los consumidores no pudieran hojearlas en los estantes. Si su curiosidad era satisfecha antes de tiempo, no iban a comprar. He comprado cantidad de libros, ms que por la portada, por el ttulo. Por supuesto, he recibido numerosas decepciones. Los resmenes, las lecturas parciales, no es que hacen mejor el trabajo. Y las recensiones son muy pocas. Si el libro es muy malo, luego viene la decisin cruel de abandonarlo. A lo mejor lo bueno viene ms adelante Cuando lo adelante se convierte en doscientas pginas y todava no aparece nada que valga la pena, bueno, se pierde el entusiasmo. Aunque, como dije en otra ocasin, hay libros que se salvan por una sola oracin. Sucede con el panfleto Los Narcos Gringos, donde dice: si se acabara el narcotrfico, instituciones financieras como American Express o Citibank se iran a la quiebra. (Esquivel, J. Jess, p. 112) Por supuesto, la reputacin del o los autores es una recomendacin. Y la opinin de los especialistas igual. Aunque siempre es bueno saber cul es la especializacin de cada especialista, porque es un asunto que se deja en el aire. Las ms de las veces no es la que se piensa, aunque hay que reconocer que son buenos en ms de una cosa (sobre todo en las que les conviene). A la inversa, hay libros con un ttulo horroroso, quizs el autor sufre de lectores-fobia, miedo escnico o timidez clnica y quiera pasar absolutamente desapercibido. Y resulta que su libro es magnfico, merecedor, por supuesto, de un mejor nombre. A veces problemas de traduccin, que el timbre y sentido de las frases ms all de las palabras- no es el mismo en todos los cdigos. Sucede con el ttulo de Linda Schierse Leonard, La mujer herida. Un ttulo clich y cursi para lo que a la postre resulta la obra. Con esto caigo en el celebrado Por qu fallan las naciones, ttulo sugestivo apoyado con cintillo, contraportada y pginas completas de elogios y felicitaciones. La teora es bastante simple y sobre todo- vieja y, lo que es peor, no se reconocen viejas paternidades. Existen instituciones extractivas e instituciones inclusivas, habiendo en cada una un mecanismo de reproduccin: crculos viciosos, crculos virtuosos. Existen rupturas crticas, y el principio del xito es la destruccin creativa. Listo! En este molde grueso y cuadrado se mete la historia de la humanidad orbe et orbi-, ms o menos desde el neandertal para ac. La prueba concluyente del fracaso es frica, y la del xito Gran Bretaa y los EUA. Y hubo una relacin de explotacin instituciones inclusivas para unos pero extractivas para otros, que los autores olmpicamente pasan por alto- antes de que lleguemos al siglo XX, por ah del XVI esclavista y algo despus. Una visin a mil metros de altura hacia una distancia de diez kilmetros, un reporte de minucias repetitivas que slo demuestra la paciencia investigativa de los autores (y que exige la de los lectores). Lo de las rupturas crticas es marxismo bsico. Y la destruccin creativa es de Schumpeter. Inclusin-exclusin es la viejsima teora del desarrollo, que fracas debido a su falta de desarrollo. Y si a tomar prestado vamos, faltaron dos piezas clave mucho ms explicativas que otras con las que uno tropieza a cada paso: monopolio e imperialismo. Aunque le pongamos otros nombres menos feos. Hoy, por ejemplo, decimos pases en vas de desarrollo. Aquello de pases subdesarrollados se oye racista. Hay globalizacin pero no imperialismo, etc. Cambiar los nombres, buscar eufemismos, pues para eso tenemos a las instituciones multinacionales (y sus comisionados locales). Si cambiar los nombres resuelve los problemas, bueno eso es otra cosa. Seguramente resolver los problemas es mucho pedir. Quinientas pginas en las que no hay absolutamente nada nuevo, por mucha fanfarria y elogios con las que los presente la industria. A m me vendieron un Manual Prctico sobre cmo convertir un pas pobre y subdesarrollado (como la Repblica Dominicana) en un pas rico y desarrollado (como los EUA) Doce pasos prcticos, claros e infalibles, comprensibles por no expertos. Para nerds. Compr una cosa y me vendieron otra. Y ahora no puedo devolver el libro. Se lo regalo of-am | https://almomento.net/why-books-fail/ |
Are We Alienating a Population of Could Be Swimmers? | SwimSwam welcomes reader submissions about all topics aquatic, and if its well-written and well-thought, we might just post it under our Shouts from the Stands series. We dont necessarily endorse the content of the Shouts from the Stands posts, and the opinions remain those of their authors. If you have thoughts to share, please send [email protected] This Shouts from the Stands submission comes from Allissa Keoughan, a former swimmer and current high school head coach. When I was a kid (quite long ago), summer swim team days were the best. Waking up at dawn, riding your bike to the pool, hanging out with fellow swimmer besties at your favorite summer spot, green hair, those swimmer tans.And who can forget those all day Saturday swim meets with jello jigglers and facing your swimming foes from neighboring towns. So, of course, as soon as my kids got to the right age I was ecstatic to sign them up for our summer swim team. I was back!! Exceptswimming is now a little different than it was when I was a kid. 10 year olds swimming their 50 free in 26 seconds (oh ok. (Im sorry thats just ridiculous.) Also, youre simply not a true swimmer unless you belong to a year round swim club that charges close to, or well over $1000 a season (no traveling fees included.) Nevertheless, I loved the sport of swimming, and still do, so we were all in. Endless hours in the car driving to practice and meets, thousands of dollars on training fees and ridiculously expensive swim gear. It was all worth it to me to watch my kids practice their hearts out and show up at meets and get that PB, and heartbreaking when they had that really bad meet. But now they are in their teens and guess what, theyre burnt out. They dont want to spend all of their time in the car driving to swim practice every day after school. There are also no programs (at least I havent found any) for those who want to just practice 2-3 times per week. Your option is to pay the enormous club fees and commit to several hours of volunteering. The all or nothing approach makes me really sad. I respect those swim kids who are putting all of those hours in, it is tough work! About Allissa Keoughan I swam for my local swim team from the age of six until 18. I started coaching our summer swim team when my kids were little and have for the past eight years. I was assistant coach for the Newburgh Sea Creatures in Indiana for one season. Since my kids have drifted away from swimming I kind of have also but still enjoy going to watch all of my past swimmers and my nieces compete. I also take my kids to swim laps pretty regularly and Im head coach for our small high school team, which primarily consists of my kids. | https://swimswam.com/are-we-alienating-a-population-of-could-be-swimmers/ |
Which Songs Have Made Led Zeppelin the Most Money? | Just as "Stairway to Heaven" has regularly topped classic-rock radio countdowns of the greatest songs ever made, it's also Led Zeppelin 's most popular track in the digital age. A new ranking based on revenue generated from consumer requests estimates that the Led Zeppelin IV song has earned the band close to $3 million over the past 11 years. Billboard has taken data from Nielsen Media that computes online sales and on-demand streams of 94 Led Zeppelin songs from November 2007, when their catalog first became available on iTunes, through July 12, 2018, with streaming starting in December 2015. They applied per-song rates based on whether it was purchased or streamed (in both audio and video formats) and tabulated the results. Because the study wanted to measure the popularity of each individual song with fans, programmed streams, radio play, full-album sales and physical sales weren't included. Instead, it included only those moments when a customer decided which song they wanted to play. Billboard didn't distinguish among multiple recordings of the same song, like the original release, live takes, bonus tracks, etc., and combined all the versions into one. "Stairway to Heaven" blew away the competition, earning the band $2,903,223.42. That's more than twice as much as "Kashmir," which is No. 2 with $1,421,130.32. Coming in at the bottom of the list, with only $241.20 earned, is "Swan Song," a Physical Graffiti outtake that never got an official release, though it was reworked into the Firm's "Midnight Moonlight." The song appears on YouTube as a bootleg. You can see the Top 10 below. The rest of the song rankings are at Billboard 's site . Top 10 Led Zeppelin Song's Ranked by Fan-Chosen Online Revenue 1. "Stairway to Heaven" ($2,903,223.42) 2. "Kashmir" ($1,421,130.32) 3. "Immigrant Song" ($1,306,140.94) 4. "Black Dog" ($1,167,232.19) 5. "Whole Lotta Love" ($1,034,129.29) 6. "Ramble On" ($888,793.61) 7. "Over the Hills and Far Away" ($757,125.57) 8. "Goin' to California" ($694,689.56) 9. "Rock n' Roll" ($636,985.97) 10. "D'yer Mak'er" ($553,459.73) | http://wour.com/led-zeppelin-most-popular-song/ |
Is 'Dry January' even worth it? | The term "Dry January" was registered as a trademark by the charity Alcohol Concern in mid-2014, according to published reports. The first-ever Dry January campaign by Alcohol Concern took place in January 2013. But perhaps youre considering giving up alcohol next month, or sometime in the future, or youre wondering if it makes any difference in the long run, anyway. Its a valid question. We asked Dr. Frank McGeorge, a health reporter for Local 4 and an emergency room doctor, for some answers. One day we read that alcohol might help you live longer, and then were always hearing that a little red wine is good for your heart, but then this summer, researchers said there was NO safe level of alcohol consumption. McGeorge explained that in that last study were referring to, which was published in The Lancet, researchers said there was no safe level of alcohol consumption -- and drinking was bad at any quantity. The problem with that study, McGeorge said, is that it examined everyone across the globe, and looked at many statistics at once, all together. For example, researchers factored in the risk of drunk driving -- for everyone. Sure, if youre someone who goes out regularly and gets drunk, then gets behind the wheel of a car, your risk for drunk driving is likely high. But if youre a housewife who has an occasional drink with dinner, your risk is low, again, relative to drunk driving. The study factored in other risk factors as well, but it was almost too broad, overall. When it comes to risks involving alcohol, simply put, it all depends on the person whos drinking. Sure. It certainly couldnt hurt. Think of it like this, McGeorge said: A time to recalibrate. Its like youre taking inventory on your body. Cutting alcohol for a month will help you understand what your life is like with and without it. If you find that after, or even during, an experiment such as Dry January, that you have tremors, your mood is poor and youre snippier and more unhappy without alcohol, then perhaps you really do have a drinking problem. Maybe the alcohol was moderating your behavior. Longer term, if you stayed away from drinking, you might return to a more normal you. Because those symptoms we just mentioned sound like evidence of withdrawal, McGeorge said. Theres also evidence suggesting that people who did Dry January reduced their alcohol consumption overall, after cutting it for a month. It seems that they reset and realized what their most appropriate level of consumption really was. A month off can really recalibrate everything in your mind and body. Drinking also disrupts your sleep cycles, and affects your ability to get a good REM sleep. So maybe youll get a better nights sleep with alcohol completely out of your system. Pexels photo Just remember, alcohol isnt all bad, McGeorge said. Dont turn this into an all-or-nothing-type mentality. Its fair to say that drinking alcohol for your health is not a good recommendation, McGeorge said. I would not, as a physician, say, You should start drinking a glass a day. Its not a logical choice, because I cant weigh individual risk factors enough to know whats beneficial for certain. But it all comes down to those individual risk factors. Still, if you drink responsibly and you have a positive experience -- maybe there are certain social interactions where it helps you, or it helps you relax -- sure, theres no harm in continuing to do so, McGeorge said. Yes, some studies and schools of thought do contradict one another, but when were talking about alcohol, its a little different than talking about smoking, for example, the doctor pointed out. Theres no evidence that smoking is good for you -- zero, McGeorge said. Alcohol is not in the same vein. Theres a mixed risk benefit with alcohol. You just have to understand what your risk and your benefit is, and moderate your consumption accordingly. Its not all good or all bad, its something in between, depending on what your personal risk, behavioral patterns and factors are. ... Alcohol has made its way into society where an occasional drink in light to moderate use is more likely safe and beneficial than harmful. To avoid alcohol because you have some fear of it or because youre concerned its unhealthy -- thats probably not accurate. All or nothing in the case of drinking really shouldnt be your mindset, unless of course, youre an alcoholic, in which case, you really should be at "nothing." You dont want to risk your sobriety and relapse, McGeorge said. But cutting out alcohol just because is probably not necessary for the average person, McGeorge said. And a few final notes ... Keep in mind, alcohol does have a lot of calories, so factor that in too, if youre watching your calorie intake -- which many people tend to do with New Years resolutions and such. And if you crave alcohol, thats probably unhealthy. If youre ever at a point where you cant function unless youre intoxicated, thats clearly unhealthy. If your drinking causes a situation where youre behaving inappropriately or its harming your personal or work life, thats considered a disorder, the doctor said. But if youre curious or you want some more insight into your body and your health, sure, try Dry January. Maybe youll be exactly the same. Maybe youll realize you were buying two bottles a week, which might be a bit much, McGeorge said. But we'll add our interpretation to his answers, as well: Dont feel like you HAVE to do Dry January. And hey, if youre not concerned about your drinking, thats probably a good sign, too. Let us know in the comments. Graham Media Group 2019 | https://www.clickondetroit.com/health/is-dry-january-even-worth-it |
Could momager Kris be Kendall Jenners downfall? | It was revealed Kendall Jenner was the highest paid model of last year. This news came after the fact that despite the supermodel extraordinaire turned down walking in New York Fashion Week. The 23-year-old told W magazine she had decided to pass up on walking in the famous fashion capital due to a freak out. Kylie Jenner s big sister came-under-fire by her fellow peers in the modelling industry for her comments that followed to Love magazine. This latest comment has certainly been a slip-up Rochelle White, Director at Rochelle White PR Kendall who is managed by mum Kris Jenner; like the rest of the Kardashian/Jenner clan said she didnt know how models chose to walk in so many runway shows, as in comparison, she is hyper-selective. She explained: I was never one of those girls who would do, like, 30 shows a season or whatever the f*** those girls do. More power to em. Posting on her Instagram story, 27-year-old Russian model Daria Strokes wrote: Whatever the f*** those girls do is do their very best to make their way up and try to make some money so that they can provide for themselves and their families. (Pic: INSTAGRAM/ KRIS JENNER) UNDER FIRE: Kendall Jenner was criticised for her latest career move (Pic: INSTAGRAM/ KENDALL JENNER) Another one of Kendalls more notable blunders was her controversial Pepsi advert in 2017. The model was accused of undermining the Black Lives Matter movement after being seen to hand a can of the soft drink to a police officer during a protest in the pulled television ad. And her most recent move has offended people once more with people branding the stunt disgusting. Mum Kris, 63, was heavily promoting Kendalls tell-all video on her own Twitter page, saying how proud she was of her daughters deeply personal upcoming post and for showing her vulnerability. CRITICISM: Some of Kendall Jenner's career moves have been met with a backlash (Pic: INSTAGRAM/ KENDALL JENNER) MISJUDGED: Kendall Jenner's big announcement didn't go down well with fans (Pic: PROACTIV) | https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/752755/kendall-jenner-announcement-proactiv-big-news-kris-twitter |
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Right that Tax Justice is Key to our Democratic Prospect? | There is surprisingly widespread support for higher taxes on the rich. Americans have typically felt that one should keep what one earns. Many are also convinced that they will one day become rich, hence the popularity of lotteries, which reflect and help sustain that belief. Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy and Research, has argued repeatedly that the best egalitarian strategy is to remove the elements of monopoly power in the so called free market so that incomes might be fairly distributed. I believe this argument is sound, but ending such practices as patent monopolies for drugs might be an even harder reach now than enacting a more just tax structure. If you really want to grasp whats been happening, consider that, between 2009 and 2017, the number of billionaires whose combined wealth was greater than that of the worlds poorest 50% fell from 380 to just eight." The degree of inequality in both wealth and income is the most extreme in our history. Nomi Prins, former Goldman Sachs executive and long time critic of big finance puts it thus: i(I)fyou really want to grasp whats been happening, consider that, between 2009 and 2017, the number of billionaires whose combined wealth was greater than that of the worlds poorest 50% fell from 380 to just eight. And despite claims by the president that every other country is screwing America, the U.S. leads the pack when it comes to the growth of inequality. As Inequality.org notes, it has much greater shares of national wealth and income going to the richest 1% than any other country. The behavior of those at the top contradicts many of the ideological defenses of this obscenely inegalitarian capitalism. Reductions in the corporate income tax have been followed by stock buybacks rather than new investments. These enrich shareholders but fail to create jobs. Manufacturers have been downsizing. Nonetheless, Donald Trumps outrageous tax reform has had the inadvertent effect of stirring closer examination of the distributional impact of federal taxes. The Trump/Republican tax cut has been so unpopular that Republicans chose not to run on it. The quest for a just tax system is aided by the clarity and care with which it has been presented. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has explained that top marginal rate applies only to income above the threshold. Most progressive tax proposals apply the top rate only to incomes above several million dollars. This tax would have little effect on even the relatively high income level attorney or physician. There is so much wealth and income parked among a few at the top that sums in the neighborhood of 100 billion a year can be raised quite easily. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., stands during a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. President Donald Trump awarded the nations highest civilian honor to an eclectic group of seven recipients including living political allies and long-dead American icon and also political figures with close ties to the president. Perhaps the most compelling argument for serious tax reform is political. Still, we have to be careful in how we make these arguments. Even constructive policy agendas are supported in part by misleading or inaccurate assertions. Defenders have pointed out that the US economy enjoyed sound and rapid growth over many decades with top marginal rates far higher than today. True enough, but during those years the tax code had innumerable deductions and credits. Any executive paying anywhere near the tope marginal rate should have fired his accountant. Marginal rates surely can safely be increased well beyond todays, but attempts to reach Eisenhower Administration levels would invite a stampede to open up new deductions. Progressive must also avoid attributing too much causal significance to tax policy. The relative success of Capitalisms golden age, 1945 to 1970, depended heavily on a complex, hard to predict admixture of strong unions, infrastructure development, Cold War fears, and cheap natural resources. Equally important was the willingness of some segments of capital to accept limits to its wealth and power. In addition, fiscal policy, including the willingness to engage in deficit spending on behalf of those infrastructure investments both enhanced productivity and stimulated relatively high levels of employment. There are, in addition, some outright bad arguments being used on behalf of this tax reform. Government does not necessarily need to raise taxes in order to finance a Green New Deal or other worthy projects. For one thing the evidence is that green energy increasingly pays for itself and it is now cheaper to build and operate a new solar or wind farm in some states than to continue to operate a coal-fired electricity plant. Moreover, the US government prints its own currency and cannot go bankrupt. It does face constraints, those being the workers, resources, and technologies available. Despite all the talk of recovery, there is still much slack in the real economy. This is in part because the money from the Trump tax cut went into financial market speculation and stock buy- backs. Had these funds purchased real investment in plants, worker training, and new technologies we might be experiencing faster growth but more significant inflation. If the money spent on a Green New Deal does lead to some inflation (a fate far better than unemployment), then taxation of those at the top would be in order all the more. Nonetheless, activists should not wait around for progressive taxes to fund badly needed priorities. I can imagine a scenario in which Republicans and centrist Democrats derail these badly needed initiatives as good ideas but we cant afford them. The planet and poor and working class citizens worldwide are already paying too high a price for such procrastination. Perhaps the most compelling argument for serious tax reform is political. The vast accumulation of wealth at the top is matched by inordinate concentrations of political power. Even before Citizens United, money was speech. A little more equitable distribution of money might also re- energize and re-legitimize our democracy. | https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/10/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-right-tax-justice-key-our-democratic-prospect |
Who Is Shireen Mui on Deal or No Deal? | Deal or No Deal made its return to primetime television on CNBC, hosted by Howie Mandel and featuring 26 briefcase models carrying a money amount anywhere from one penny to one million dollars. Each new episode offers a lucky contestant the opportunity to win up to $1 million, and tonights episode features Shireen Mui, a poker-playing aerospace salesperson from Los Angeles, California. TV Guides description for Muis episode tonight reads Poker player Shireen Mui goes all in against The Banker. But its The Banker who calls her bluff with a specially crafted poker offer that puts Shireen on the ropes. According to promotional videos CNBC released ahead of the episode, when Howie Mandel invited Mui to the stage, she emerged from the audience in a bell-sleeved pink dress and excitedly greeted him. He asked her to tell him (and the viewers) a bit about herself, she revealed Im from Los Angeles, Ive been married for 13 years. I worked in aerospace sales. Elaborating on her job, she explained that she sells what holds the plane together the nuts, bolts, screws, little tiny rivets. Mandel asked her what she would do with the million dollars if she were to win it, to which Mui opened up that her dream is to have a safe home and to start a family with her husband. She said We live in Los Angeles. Earthquake country. Theyve decided that our home needs to be retrofitted, and also that we had mold and asbestos in our walls and they have to take everything out. After Mandel remarks that that kind of home construction is very expensive, she agreed, adding we were hoping to adopt a child, and unfortunately our home is not in a condition where we can. After knocking two low numbers off the board right off the bat, Mui revealed that though she does not have telepathy, she is a poker player, and she played in the World Series of poker last year. Due to that gambling background, she says that she takes risks. On IMDB, there is a Shireen Mui listed as an actress. Assuming this is the same Mui as the Deal or No Deal contestant, she has seven acting credits in films including Rice on White and Dead Trees. She also appeared as a contestant on two episodes of the TV karaoke singing competition Dont Forget the Lyrics! The IMDB page says her maiden name is Nomura, and thats shes been married to her husband Eddie since 2005. Join us tonight at 9p ET/PT for an all new episode!!! pic.twitter.com/jWsZr55Rwa Deal or No Deal (@DealNoDealCNBC) January 10, 2019 Deal or No Deals Twitter account asked fans how much money they think Mui will walk away with tonight everyone thinks shell win at least a few hundred thousand dollars, and two viewers think shell get the coveted $1,000,000. Tune in to CNBC to watch new episodes of Deal or No Deal on Wednesday nights at 9pm ET. | https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/01/deal-or-no-deal-contestant-shireen-mui/ |
Did Jeff Bezos Dine With Lauren Sanchez in DC Last Month? | Billionaire and DC homeowner Jeff Bezos was spotted at BLT Steak grabbing a late-night bite with an unidentified woman back in December. Its possible, a tipster tells Washingtonian. The source happened to be at the restaurant with a friend for a drink around 11 PM on December 13 when they spotted the Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner dining with a long-haired companion at the front of the power-lunch spot. It was dark in the room, the source tells us, and they didnt get a great look at Bezoss companion, but notes she had dark hair. Just really bizarre because the bar was full of journalists and politics operatives, and everyone would recognize who he was, the source says. Indeed, a photo of the pair landed in Politico Playbook last month. It shows a dark-haired woman wearing a gray sweater sitting in a corner booth with the mogul near a semi-busy crowd. If it was some kind of affair, the source says, it was a really strange place to be conducting it. When our tipsters friend took a photo of Bezos, a member of his team allegedly approached the onlooker and asked for the photo to be deleted. The source says Bezoss people asked other individuals at BLT to delete their photos of the billionaire as well. Representatives for Bezos did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Join the conversation! | https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/01/10/did-jeff-bezos-dine-with-lauren-sanchez-at-blt-steak-last-month/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=did-jeff-bezos-dine-with-lauren-sanchez-at-blt-steak-last-month |
Will Seahawks QB Russell Wilson join Yankees at spring training? | Manny Machado cant play quarterback. So the Yankees are bringing Russell Wilson around for another cameo. The Seahawks signal caller will attend his second spring training with the Yankees, his agent, Mark Rodgers, told MLB Network Radio on Thursday. Wilson struck out in his only spring at-bat last year. He spent a few days with the Yankees, taking grounders including one off the face and batting practice in a group with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Wilson, a second baseman, appeared at Rangers spring training in 2014 and 2015. He played 93 total games in the Rockies' organization, hitting just .229 with five home runs, over two seasons. Colorado took him in the fourth round in 2010 out of North Carolina State. He hit .306 with three homers, 1 RBI and nine stolen bases with a .929 OPS in 47 games in his age-21 season at NC State. Fan starts GoFundMe to pay for Machado Wilson has long been a Yankees fan. Heres what he said about attending spring last year with the Yankees: I think that when it comes to this, a lot of guys know already, its a successful organization already. Its been a success for a long, long time. Theres an aroma in the air, a type of feel when you come here and theres no mistaking that. I think for me, the thing that I try to bring every day wherever I go is having a championship mindset is an everyday thing. Youve got to think it. Youve got to dream it. Youve got to work it and go after it. You can tell thats here already. Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook. | https://www.nj.com/sports/2019/01/will-seahawks-qb-russell-wilson-join-yankees-at-spring-training.html |
Is Marie Kondo Wrong About Books? | Screenshot: Netflix Theres been a lot of backlash to Marie Kondos attitude toward books, thanks to her new Netflix show. In her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, she encourages readers to get rid of all their unread books. She says that she personally only owns 30 titles. Her critics say thats ridiculous, and in fact you should cover your home in books. But in reacting against Kondo, her critics end up making her case: one writer says, My friends often trip over my novels when they come over...I recently moved a heap next to my bed to serve as a secondary nightstand. This is in an article meant to make book-hoarding sound good. Novelist Anakana Schofield says every human needs a v extensive library. No, every human needs Vitamin D. While a big library can be very satisfying, do not get bullied into it. Thats as bad as being bullied into getting rid of it. Advertisement On her show, Kondo doesnt always enforce her 30-book rule. Heres a shot from episode 6, taken after a couple has finished winnowing their books: Screenshot: Netflix Thats not a huge stockpile of books, but its a lot more than 30, and it doesnt even include the childrens books. So in practice, Kondo leaves a lot of wiggle room. Advertisement Thats great, because her rules are flawed. In her book, she claims there is no meaning in [books] just being on your shelves. She is wrong. The books you read convey meaning to you; the books you keep convey meaning to others. The best reason to keep books in your home is to show them off to other people. This sounds vain. It is, a bit. But think about clothing. Beyond a few basics, most of our clothing choices are about what we signal to others, not our physical needs. This is why we dress to look professional, or with the logo of our favorite band, or to signal that we dont care how we look. We care what other people think, usually within reason. Like clothing, your personal library is a set of choices youve made, and its not ridiculous for people to make assumptions about you based on those choices. Theyll assume youre interested in the books youve kept, whether or not youve read them. Theyll also assume youve read some of these books. If they spot Mein Kampf on your shelf, they might want to know whether you have a really good reason. And if you have very few books, people will at least unconsciously assume that you dont read a lotunless you give them a reason to think otherwise. Advertisement If you truly dont care what people think, go ahead and get rid of all the books you want. Or keep your three shelves of self-help books and movie novelizations and every book you were assigned in college. But if you do care, that is also OK! Dont keep books that you have no intention of reading, or books you actually hate or wouldnt like to talk about. But do hang onto the ones you liked or hope to read. Pick up used copies of books you liked years ago. Books are a conversation piece. Advertisement The correct number of books to own is whatever feels comfortable, whatever projects the image you want to project, and whatever fills the space youve allocated. If anyone tells you otherwise, theyre selling something. | https://lifehacker.com/is-marie-kondo-wrong-about-books-1831615300 |
Will Yasmani Grandal lose big after turning down $60 million offer? | The Milwaukee Brewers found a bargain Wednesday night, and in the process landed the best catcher available on the open market. Yasmani Grandal, the switch-hitting veteran who slugged 73 home runs over the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reached a one-year agreement to join the defending National League Central champions. Scroll to continue with content Ad As Yahoo Sports Tim Brown first reported, the deal is worth $18.25 million. Grandal deal with Brewers worth $18.25m. One year. Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 10, 2019 Its no small chunk of change by any stretch. However, it represents a steep decline in Grandals market value just in the last few weeks. On Dec. 28, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reported that Grandal turned down a four-year, $60 million contract from the New York Mets earlier in the offseason. His deal with Milwaukee does barely exceed the $17.9 million qualifying offer he turned down from the Dodgers, which we suppose is a silver lining. If nothing else, its rare under the circumstances. On Grandal's $18.25 mil with Brewers, very few players have rejected QO and then gotten more than QO in a one-year deal. Bautista and Kuroda come to mind. Grandal may be only one to get more on a one-year deal with new team. Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 10, 2019 But it is fair to question if Grandals decision during a time when teams are taking a more tight-pocketed approach to free agency will end up costing him. The potential upside of Yasmani Grandals decision Story continues Theres no way to sugarcoat it: Grandals market didnt develop as he anticipated. There would be no shame in admitting that either, because no one on the outside looking in figured hed end up with a one-year deal. However, that doesnt necessarily mean hell lose big. The gamble he took on himself could still pay off, but that could largely hinge on his production in Milwaukee. On the plus side, the opportunity will be there. The recently turned 30-year-old will serve as a notable offensive upgrade for a Brewers team that relied on a Manny Pina and Erik Kratz platoon last season. Over the last three seasons, Grandals averaged a .239/.332/.467 slashline. More importantly, hes averaged 24 homers and 21 doubles. Thats excellent pop from the catchers position. Something the Brewers havent had since trading Jonathan Lucroy in 2016, and something that will make it easier for Milwaukee to overlook his at times sloppy defense. More on that later. A strong season could find Grandal right back on the market staring at several multiple-year offers. The big difference next winter would be the lack of a qualifying offer attached to his name. To sign Grandal this winter, the Brewers are giving up a compensatory draft pick. Its well worth it to them considering they are postseason contenders. Other teams were surely more reluctant to spend the money and part with a draft pick. All Grandal would need next winter is a three-year offer worth around $14 million per season to make up the reported Mets offer in full. Its not unreasonable to think he could surpass that with an All-Star caliber season and a handful more teams involved. After passing up $60 million offer from the Mets, free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal signs one-year, $18.25 million deal with Brewers. (AP) The potential downside of Yasmani Grandals decision Its baseball. Nothing is guaranteed. Injuries happen. Performance declines, sometimes quickly and without warning. A good bet on ones self today can look completely different one week from now. Beyond that, Grandal isnt without his flaws. While he provides top-level power and run production from his position, and while hes viewed as one of baseballs best pitch framers, there are still moments when his defense is a liability. Then there are moments when his defense is a disaster, which was displayed during the last postseason. Grandal led the league in passed balls during the 2017 season. He allowed nine more in the 2018 regular season, and then an additional three in National League Championship Series alone. The Dodgers managed to overcome it, and while the Brewers had a front row seat for the meltdown, they clearly werent spooked by it. Grandals offense should still trump the defensive concerns next winter. That is, unless he continues bottoming out in October. His career playoff batting average sits at .107 after he went 4-for-29 during the 2018 postseason. The poor postseason performance could give potential suitors reason for pause. What Yasmani Grandals deal says about baseball When we look back at the free agent signings from this offseason a few months down the line, Grandals contract could be the most interesting to examine. It may also be the most telling in regard to a free agent system that is clearly crumbling more each year. Yes, Grandal left a lot of money on the table. That was his call, and it could end up costing him a lot of money. But its still difficult to understand or justify the top free agent at any position, let alone a top-10 free agent on nearly everyones board, having to navigate such a limited market. More from Yahoo Sports: Cowboys owner spends more for yacht than he did for team Florida man arrested after late superfans family threatened Driver in hockey tragedy pleads guilty Cardinals hiring move: What is pro football coming to? | https://sports.yahoo.com/will-yasmani-grandal-lose-big-turning-60-million-offer-060107945.html?src=rss |
Will Apple Succeed In The Video Streaming Business? | With sales of iPhones and other hardware cooling off, Apple has been turning to its Services business to drive growth. The company is expected to launch its own streaming video service this year, taking on the likes of Netflix and others. In this note, we take a look at what the service could mean for the company. We have created an interactive dashboard analysis on Breaking Down Apples Services Revenue. You can modify the various drivers to arrive at your own estimates for Services revenue. Services Business Has Largely Been Commission-Driven Thus Far While Apples Services business has recently been the biggest driver of the companys growth, growing at about 20% over the last few years, we estimate that about two-thirds of Services revenues come in the form of commissions from third parties, for app sales, licensing and other services. However, this business faces some challenges as some developers and digital service providers are pushing back on the cut Apple takes. For instance, Netflix indicated that it would be stopping in-app subscriptions on Apple devices, as it looks to bypass the commission that Apple charges on subscriptions made via iOS apps (related: How Much Does Apple Stand To Lose As Netflix Stops In-App Subscriptions?). Apple typically takes a 30% commission from subscriptions initiated on its platform over the first year, with the number dropping to 15% from the second year onward. The company takes a 30% cut on app sales. While we dont see a decline in these commission-based revenues, Apple could be looking to hedge its bets by providing more of its own services along the lines of iCloud and Apple Music. Content Will Determine The Uptake Of The Service While Apple has a large installed base and the technology required to drive its streaming foray, the quality of content will ultimately decide the uptake of the new service. Competition in the streaming market has been heating up; while over half of U.S. households have a Netflix subscription, Disney has plans for its own streaming service and AT&T is also prepping to launch its own offering. These companies are likely to significantly outspend Apple in terms of content. Netflix spent upwards of $8 billion over the first 9 months of 2018, compared to Apples estimated $1 billion in content spending last year. However, Apple is apparently looking to create a niche for itself, sticking to family-oriented fare, focusing on high-quality shows with a broad appeal. While original content could make up a large part of the titles, we believe that Apple may have to leverage programming from other media players as well. For instance, the company could buy content from the likes of MGM, Paramount or Lionsgate. Apple Is Opening Up To Providing Its Services On Other Platforms Apple has shown some signs that it was open to expanding its Services business via partnerships over the last few months. In November, the company announced that its Apple Music service would be available on Amazons Echo devices. The company also recently said that Samsung would start including an iTunes app in its Smart TVs, allowing users to buy and rent movies and videos. These moves could indicate that the company is setting the stage for its streaming business, which could be hampered if it were limited to just the Apple TV device, which still has relatively low penetration. Its not clear what business model Apple will follow for the streaming service. While its most likely that the company will make it a paid service with a monthly subscription, we also believe that Apple may begin by offering it as a free perk that comes with its devices or with Apple Music subscription. Apple could also opt for an ad-supported model, although this is less likely. To be sure, it could take a few years for the service to scale up meaningfully. If we assume that the company is able to garner 50 million subscribers (under 5% of its total device installed base) who pay on average about $7.50 per month, the streaming service could add about $4.5 billion to the companys top line by 2022. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/10/will-apple-succeed-in-the-video-streaming-business/ |
What Would Be The 49ers' Breaking Point In A Trade For Antonio Brown? | Now that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will likely find himself on the trade block when the new NFL year begins in March, were starting to hear rumors about a potential landing spot. Brown didnt quiet these rumors with recent social media activity linking him to the San Francisco 49ers. For their part, the 49ers would certainly entertain the idea of adding one of the games most-productive receivers at the right cost. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has said in the past that if a team can add a receiver of Browns ilk, it does everything possible. There arent many (elite guys), Shanahan said back in March, via the 49ers official website. If theres a Julio (Jones) available and you have the opportunity to get him, you go get him. Its worth it. Whatever the price is, whatever the draft pick is, go get him. There arent too many Julios on this planet. But you dont have to have that to be successful. Brown certainly qualifies as a receiver in the same group as Jones. While Shanahans statement is ambiguous in the grand scheme of things, these 49ers have proven to be proactive on the trade market under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. This included trading out of the No. 2 spot in the 2017 NFL Draft, dealing for Jimmy Garoppolo that October and offering more for then-Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack than the Chicago Bears prior to this past regular season. If the 49ers recent MO is any indication, theyll be engaged with Pittsburgh in talks about the boisterous and often enigmatic Brown. The idea of adding Brown to the mix with record-breaking tight end George Kittle and talented youngster Dante Pettis has to be enticing for the 49ers. It would create a tremendous trio at the skill positions, and set the 49ers up with a likely top-five offense over the short term. Brown, 30, has legitimately been the most-productive receiver in the NFL since jumping on to the scene back in 2013. During that span, hes hauled in 686 receptions for 9,145 yards and 67 touchdowns en route to earning Pro Bowl honors all six seasons. To put this into perspective, Browns reception and yardage totals over these past six years would rank second in 49ers franchise history behind the great Jerry Rice. Thats some incredible stuff. Despite all of this, Shanahans stance of doing whatever it takes to land a receiver of Browns ilk cant be taken literally. For example, theres absolutely no way San Francisco yields the No. 2 overall pick in this years NFL Draft for a receiver entering his Age-31 season. In fact, the 49ers wouldnt even bite if Pittsburgh offered up its first-round pick (20th overall) as part of the package. This leads us to our overriding point. As noted above, the second pick is strictly off limits. Following Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins decision to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft, San Francisco is set up well in terms of a potential trade down with quarterback-needy teams. Should Arizona stand pat at No. 1 and select a defensive linemen, Lynchs phone would then be ringing off the hook. Even if its Nick Bosa as the top available player at second overall, he would draw a ton of interest in trade-down scenarios for the 49ers. This is the easiest path for San Francisco to add Brown without exhausting too much capital as the team looks to further its rebuild. The 2018 NFL Draft could very well act as a case study here. The Jets moved up from No. 6 overall to the third selection in order to select USC quarterback Sam Darnold. It did so without a guarantee that Darnold would even be available with the third pick. In the process, New York yielded three second-round picks to the Colts. Of the teams selecting in the top 10 of the 2019 NFL Draft, the New York Giants (sixth), Jacksonville Jaguars (seventh) and Denver Broncos (10th) are all in need of franchise quarterbacks. A scenario that includes the 49ers moving down to one of these spots would still enable them to add the edge pass rusher they desperately need while building up the draft capital to both expedite their rebuild and add Brown without much of a long-term draft cost. In a draft where the drop off between Haskins and other quarterbacks is pretty darn steep, teams will pay a premium to add the record-setting former Buckeyes quarterback. In a vacuum, San Francisco should jump on that possibility. Now take into the account the possibility of being able to add a player like Brown or New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. with some of the stockpile of picks, and thats magnified further. Lets spell it out for you in hypothetical terms. San Francisco deals the second overall pick to Jacksonville for the seventh pick, a second-round pick and third-round pick in 2019 and a first-round pick in 2020. Again, this is hypothetical and not based on anything weve heard. A package of selections similar to this would set San Francisco up well to win a potential Brown sweepstakes. Similar deals with the Giants and Broncos would do the same. Outside of that convoluted possibility, a straight-up trade for Brown with picks San Francisco either possesses in 2019 or down the road could also be in the cards. Under this scenario, San Franciscos limit would likely have to be two second-round picks one in 2019 and another in 2020. Given that its pick this year is 36th overall, that would allow the Steelers to feel like they received the value of a top-20 pick in return for Brown. Its probably the best they can do for a guy thats been a headache this season, is on the trade block and will be entering his Age-31 season. Draft picks and value are the only things that will matter to San Francisco in likely negotiations for Brown. Signed to a four-year, $68 million extension back in February of 2017, Browns contract wouldnt hinder the 49ers cap or rebuild plans. Hes set to count a combined $35.2 million against the cap over the next two seasons with an out that includes a $12 million cap savings in 2021. Set to be north of $70 million under the cap once everything is concluded heading into March, San Francisco has the financial resources to add Brown without even blinking. Theres not a lot of teams that can say that. So its now all about what the 49ers cap is when it comes to offering a bounty for Brown. Thats where this will get interesting in the coming months. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/vincentfrank/2019/01/10/what-would-be-the-49ers-breaking-point-in-a-trade-for-antonio-brown/ |
Can Federal Workers Collect Unemployment During the Shutdown? | As the government shutdown wanes on, federal employees that have been furloughed are dealing with their first missed paycheck. While for some that might not be a tremendous problem, for others that money is much needed to cover their mortgage, electricity, food, and other household bills. Now, some federal workers are filing for unemployment as a way to make ends meet. Around 380,000 federal workers are currently furloughed, and 420,000 employees are working as essential personnel without pay. While only a small percentage of those workers have filed for unemployment thus far, the number is expected to grow as the shutdown continues. For instance, in D.C, 3,745 federal workers and an estimated 822 federal contractors have applied for benefits, and in Maryland 1,328 workers have filed an unemployment claim, The Huffington Post reports. CNBC says that more than 4,700 federal employees filed for unemployment in the last week of December, compared with 929 the week prior. But not everyone qualifies. In order to qualify for unemployment, a federal employee has to be one of the 380,000 employees that are currently furloughed, not one of the 420,000 working without pay. Those working without pay are still considered employed even though they arent seeing a paycheck. And workers who do receive unemployment will be required to pay that unemployment back when theyre granted backpay after the shutdown. If they dont, their future wages could even be garnished. And to receive unemployment federal employees have to prove theyre applying for jobs while theyre receiving payments, jobs that they theoretically dont need or want. | http://fortune.com/2019/01/10/can-federal-workers-collect-unemployment-during-the-shutdown-some-of-them/ |
What team would actually draft Kyler Murray in the first round? | According to reports, it looks like Kyler Murray may enter the 2019 NFL Draft. Well, if Murray is seriously considering entering the NFL Draft, that means he has to be pretty confident that hes going to be a first-round pick. Otherwise, it wouldnt make sense for Murray to give up his MLB signing bonus from the Oakland As. Yes, there are now rumors that maybe the Cardinals could be interested in Murray with the top pick, but those rumors are only here because of an off the cuff compliment delivered by new Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury while he was at Texas Tech. Arizona cant possibly be considering Murray with their first pick when they used their first-round pick last year on Josh Rosen. They have too many other holes to fill. Lets move through the rest of the draft board. Niners: Nope, they just signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a huge deal. Hes coming off knee surgery, but its doubtful they would pick Murray even though it would be fun to watch Murray work in Kyle Shanahans offense. Jets: Just drafted Sam Darnold last year with the No. 3 pick. Raiders: Murray doesnt exactly fit Jon Grudens offense. The Raiders need help on defense anyways. Bucs: The Bucs are going to give it a go with Jameis Winston. Also, Murray doesnt project well in an Arians vertical offense where a big quarterback with a strong arm is the prototype. Giants: Heres the first real option, but I dont know if Pat Shurmur is a guy who will change his offense to best use Murray. This feels like Dwayne Haskins destination. A Saquon Barkley and Kyler Murray duo would be insanely scary. Jaguars: Maybe, but again, I dont see the fit in the current offense the Jaguars run. It doesnt feel like Tom Coughlin is going to green light taking Murray because the Jaguars feel like a more traditional team. Theyd rather go for Joe Flacco. Lions: Nope. Its still Matt Staffords team. Bills: Just chose Josh Allen. Broncos: This could be an option if John Elway was willing to change offensive coordinators and not use Gary Kubiak, but that aint happening folks. Bengals: A definite option. Please dont let Hue Jackson ruin Murray. Packers: Nope. Dolphins: We need to know who their coach will be next year, but this seems like the stopping point. Thats 13 picks into the draft and we have four viable options five if we include the Redskins at 15. Its the Giants probably not the Jaguars most likely no the Bengals, Dolphins, and Redskins. If Murray were to slip below the Redskins, there is a good chance that he doesnt even get picked in the first round. Think about that. There is all this hype around Murray, but he isnt a lock for a first-round pick. The draft process is not going to be kind to Murray. Hes listed at five feet eleven inches. That means hes probably close to five feet nine inches. I know the NFL is moving towards a college style of play, but thats still pretty small for the NFL. Hes not stalky like lets say, Russell Wilson. He just looks small. If he doesnt test extremely well in other areas, the draft process could hurt his projections and his draftability. The problem of scheme fit is a serious one as well. It isnt as if Doug Marrone or Gary Kubiak is willing and able to make a shift from what theyve done throughout history to an air raid RPO spread attack. Its tough to see the Giants making Murray the choice when Haskins is far less risky of a pick. The Bengals are an option. They are one of the only serious options outside of Miami depending on their coach and the Redskins depending on who is making the pick in Washington. If Murray truly has a first-round grade his options are limited if he slides past the Dolphins. Maybe a team is willing to change its entire scheme, but its tough to find a spot where a young quarterback isnt already at the helm or the coaches would change what theyve done for their entire careers. Congrats Kyler, youre probably a Bengal, Dolphin, or Redskin. Those arent exactly teams with a great track record. | https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2019/01/10/kyler-murray-2019-nfl-draft-bengals-dolphins-redskins/ |
Is NYC's New Plan Actually a Health Care Guarantee? | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaking at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx on Tuesday. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Bill de Blasios new health care for all plan targets in the national fight over universal coverage and immigration. All New York City residents, regardless of immigration status, will be eligible for comprehensive health care starting this summer, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday morning. Health care is a human right, said de Blasio at a news conference at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. In this city were going to make that a reality. The move positions the city as a leader in the national fight over universal health coverage. Below, we break it down. Some 8 million New York City residentsthe vast majorityare covered by some form of health insurance. This is thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act and NYCs enrollment efforts, which according to the mayors office has shrunk the uninsured rate in New York City to half its 2013 size. Another half a million residents are covered by the citys existing public health insurance plan, called MetroPlus, which provides free or affordable insurance for residents on Medicaid, Medicare, or who purchase private insurance. But there are still 600,000 New Yorkers who go uninsured. Some of them are young invincibles, as de Blasio described them on Morning Joe: Low- or middle-income people who think they dont need health insuranceuntil they do. Others are people who cant afford the minimum payments for MetroPlus, or simply dont know how to access it. More than half are undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for any of the existing affordable health insurance options. According to an Immigrant Health Task Force Report commissioned for the city in 2015, 63.9 percent of the 540,000-person-strong undocumented NYC populationor 345,000were uninsured in 2013, and the greatest concentration of uninsured non-citizens live in parts of Queens and Brooklyn. Not exactly. The plan doesnt guarantee an insurance plan for all New Yorkers, but it will create some new options to subsidize health coverage for those 600,000 New York City residents without insurance plans, which, according to NYC, will effectively guarantee basic, universal care. In many ways, the citys existing Metroplus program was originally designed to do something similar. But it left a few gaps. Thats why part one of de Blasios new plan involves strengthening the existing system, by doubling down on MetroPlus enrollment outreach, and simplifying customer service. The young invincibles, he hopes, will be inspired to come forward; along with anyone else too intimidated to apply. Some critics have panned this MetroPlus expansion announcement as more about political grandstanding than real revolution. here's the @BilldeBlasio playbook, he introduces proposals designed to make him appear as a "leading progressive" but when u drill down they are generally half measures with follow up & details mangled. Sal Albanese (@SalAlbaneseNYC) January 8, 2019 Again, [the] city does this already, wrote Gloria Pazmino, a reporter for Politico NY, on Twitter. Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... But while MetroPlus is offered to most New Yorkers, it isntand cant beaccessed by all, including undocumented immigrants and other insurance-ineligible populations. Thats the population the second prong of the citys program is meant to serve: The uninsured New Yorkers who are eligible for insurance but who cant afford a Metroplus plan, and those who are ineligible because they are undocumented. Dubbed NYC Care, the program, which is unprecedented in scope, will connect anyone without an affordable insurance option in the city with comprehensive care across all NYC Health + Hospitals locations. Like the existing MetroPlus public option, people would need to sign up first to get set up, a spokesperson for the mayors office told CityLab. Theyll be able to do that easily, on the citys website, or by calling 311. Once enrolled, NYC Care will offer the same services as Metroplus, like access to primary care physicians, specialty care, and OB-GYNs. The program also emphasizes access to mental health and rehabilitation services. The pricing will be set on a sliding scale, but the city has not yet determined what that range will look like. After launching NYC Care in the Bronx this summerwhere the need for health services is greatest, according to city public health officialsthe NYC Care program will expand to all five boroughs by 2021. No, but it joins a very small crowd. San Francisco is the only other major city with a comprehensive local health coverage plan. The California citys version, called Healthy San Francisco, was launched in 2007 under then-mayor (now-California Governor) Gavin Newsom. It, too, targets all uninsured residents of the city, and has reached 148,000 of San Franciscos uninsured residents since its implementation, the majority of whom stayed in the program for 10 to 12 months. But as of the end of 2017, only 13,615 remained enrolledgiving it a disenrollment rate of 91 percent. And other states are considering similar measures. Yesterday, in one of his first moves as California Governor, Newsom announced a proposal to expand the states Medi-Cal health care plan, after campaigning on a universal healthcare platform. His announcement on Monday stopped short of the single-payer system demanded by activists that would cover all residents healthcare costs, according to the Los Angeles Times, but was characterized as the first step down that path. It would require all consumers to have health insurance, and expands coverage for undocumented immigrants who are up to 26 years old. Also on Tuesday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee proposed another expansive public health insurance option for the state. There, 800,000 people have gained coverage through the Affordable Care Actbut in 14 counties, consumers have only one provider option, Inslee wrote. If passed, the legislation would create a public option, according to the Seattle Times, which every county across the state would be mandated to carry. It will cost the city at least $100 million each year to fund the NYC Care plan, and its not clear whether that includes the costs to MetroPlus enhancements. Still, de Blasio promises he wont be raising any new city taxes to pay for it. Instead, he says, the money can come from the funds saved in emergency room costswhich, as they mount, have strained the citys hospitals. The 2018 budget shortfalls for New York Citys municipal health system, H+H, are projected to be over $156 million in 2018, according to the Independent Budget Office, and could reach $1.8 billion by 2022. Going to the emergency room is the default health care provider for so many people in this country, de Blasio said on Morning Joe. We're already paying an exorbitant amount to pay for health care the wrong way when what we should be doing is helping them get the primary care. If uninsured New Yorkers go to the doctor instead of the ER, the thinking goes, the public hospital system will be more sustainable. We'll put the money in to make it work; it's going to save us money down the line, de Blasio added. De Blasio framed New York Citys progressive health care strategy in the context of a national reality on Morning Joe Tuesday morning, taking jabs at the Republicans opposition to national health care reform. The Republicans in Washington have been trying to tear down the universality of health care coverage and get rid of Obamacare, he said. Were doing the opposite. Its the latest way the mayor has attempted to set himself up as a liberal foil to President Donald Trump, which some have read as positioning himself for a 2020 presidential bid. But the announcement is also a more direct challenge to New York State, whose Democrat-majority state legislature is deciding on a statewide universal health insurance plan that has been killed five times by previous , Republican-controlled Senates. The spate of health care proposals this weekplus the passage of state ballot initiatives that expanded Medicaid in three red states this Novembercould be an indication that, despite federal inaction, health care is framing local agendas this year. | https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/01/de-blasio-new-york-city-health-care-plan-universal-coverage/579787/ |
What Does a Sober Assessment of the Pa. Grand Jury Report Reveal? | COMMENTARY: The report triggered an explosion of law enforcement activity, but failed to inspire a broader campaign to address a national epidemic of sexual abuse in public schools and other settings. Gerard V. Bradley The 2018 report of the special Pennsylvania grand jury, which investigated sexual abuse by Catholic priests, triggered a riot of law enforcement activity. Since the reports Aug. 14 release, more than a dozen states have launched their own investigations of the Church. The federal government took the first step of its own nationwide abuse inquiry by notice to the national Catholic bishops conference. Abuse victims recently sued the Vatican on racketeering charges for its alleged role in a conspiracy to victimize our nations children. This burst of activity indicates that there may be energy enough to finally confront our national epidemic of child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, as things now stand, that energy is misdirected: All of the law enforcement initiatives listed above are, as was the Pennsylvania investigation, limited to misconduct within the Catholic Church. This narrow focus promises to expend scarce law-enforcement resources on one of the few institutions in America that has largely reformed itself after so grievously failing to protect minors from clerical predators. Increasingly, the new focus in the Church should be, and to a significant extent has already become, bishop accountability and misconduct with adults in the seminary and other Catholic institutions. All the while, the epidemic of child abuse elsewhere is downplayed, if not neglected or even ignored. The Pennsylvania report is the epicenter of todays outcry against the Church. The report depicts a gross pattern of priestly abuse and episcopal malfeasance and details several particularly nauseating criminal encounters that make one grateful for Dantes images of hell. The vast bulk of the incidents reported occurred, however, between 1960 and 1990. Of the 680 alleged victims in the Pennsylvania report whose claims are tied to a specific year, only 23 claimed that they had been abused since 2002. The report did not identify any priest with a substantiated claim of abuse who was still in active ministry. Of the five priests accused in the report of abuse since 2010, four have been criminally prosecuted. The fifth was not indicted by the grand jury, even though the criminal statute of limitations had not expired against him. The most recent incident of alleged abuse for which the grand jury specified a date occurred more than five years ago. The incident was reported to law enforcement, and the priest was suspended from his priestly duties. On the other hand, there is still a flood of child sexual abuse outside the Church. Apart from the almost unbelievable depravity in public institutions of higher learning, such as that affecting gymnasts at Michigan State and within the football program at Penn State, there are these sober statistics: Since 2002, more than 600 schoolteachers in non-Catholic schools in Pennsylvania have been disciplined for abusive or other inappropriate behavior with children. Chicago public schools alone have investigated 430 cases of employee sexual abuse of children since 2011. Nationally, insurance companies receive around 260 reports per year of sexual abuse of a minor in Protestant churches. By way of contrast, the average age (if you will) of all the Pennsylvania report cases is 40 years old. The Catholic Churchs independent national audit for 2017 found only 24 allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Only six of these were substantiated. The retroactive repeal of criminal statutes of limitation is unconstitutional. But importantly this isnt necessarily so with civil statutes. Thus, some state attorneys general and prosecutors seek legislation opening a look-back civil window of opportunity to litigate very old cases of abuse and financially punish perpetrators and institutions. These proposals should be considered sympathetically, but also critically, for there are good reasons why lawsuits should be filed in a timely fashion. Not least among these reasons is the fact that human memories fade over time, evidence is lost, and some witnesses become unavailable due to death or disability. Even so: If criminal statutes of limitation for child abuse are to be extended prospectively, and civil statutes changed retroactively, they should in no case prejudicially target the Catholic Church or any other religious body. Justice, as well as First Amendment guarantees of fairness to religious communities, require instead that they be applied with equal force and equal penalties and conditions across the board, including other public and private institutions. The sex-abuse epidemic is not a political toy, nor a career tool for ambitious prosecutors and attorneys general. It is a countrywide human catastrophe. The unpleasant truth is that, by hyperfocusing on the Church, the energy available for finally facing up to the national abuse crisis will be dissipated, without taking up the very hard work of instigating reforms in public schools and other institutions, similar to those enacted by the Church in 2002 which, however late they may be, do work. Gerard Bradley is a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame and a former assistant district attorney in New York County, New York. | http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-does-a-sober-assessment-of-the-pa.-grand-jury-report-reveal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register |
Is Dell ditching Windows RT with XPS 10 sale stoppage? | The Dell XPS 10 isn't the best tablet on the market, and Windows RT didn't do it any favors in gaining traction. It seems like Dell has noticed this and decided to discontinue the 8-inch slate, but whether this move is for good is still up in the air. When visiting the XPS 10 purchase page on Dell's site, users are confronted with the message, "This product is unavailable. Below we have suggested a comparable system," pointing to the Dell Latitude 10, which runs the full Windows 8. We asked Dell for a comment on the missing XPS 10, and though they wouldn't confirm or deny the permanence of the tablet's disappearance. However, the rep did say, "We're going to be announcing our full tablet portfolio at our event in New York next week [Oct. 2] and will be providing full details then." It looks like we'll have to wait until October to find out the tablet's fate, plus where it stands on Windows RT. During IDF a few weeks ago, Dell outed a new tablet, the Venue 8 Pro, running the latest Windows 8.1 OS. We're in for more next week, but it looks like Dell is shifting its focus to newer, and better, OSes. Via Engadget | https://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/dell-xps-10-discontinued-to-ditch-windows-rt-1183960 |
Should we be feeding our dogs insects to help save the environment? | If you worry that your dogs diet could be destroying the planet then fear no more scientists may have found a rather unusual alternative. The UKs first dog food made from insects is set to hit the shelves this week, and its manufacturers claim it will help reduce your pets carbon pawprint. Globally, pets consume around 20% of the worlds meat and fish, and pet food is estimated to be responsible for around 25% of meat productions environmental impact. (Picture: Shutterstock) One of the concerns surrounding meat production, specifically beef, is that cattle are fed on soya, which plantations are responsible for the release of greenhouse gases in significant quantities. To tackle this, food manufacturer Yora claims that 40% of its product is black soldier flies. They feed the flies grubs on food waste in the Netherlands, and the insects are still a valuable source of protein. Advertisement Advertisement Royal Veterinary College pet diet expert Aarti Kathrani hesitantly thinks it could be. She told the BBC: Insects can be a very useful source of protein. Food made for insects will go on the market this week (Picture: Yora Dog Food) More studies are needed to show how much of these nutrients can actually be absorbed by a dogs body but some studies suggest that insects can provide nutrients for dogs. Traditionally, dog food is made from offal, but when societies start earning more, some dog owners overlook offal in favour of pricier cuts of meat for their beloved pet. If you have a story for our news team, email us at [email protected]. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/10/should-we-be-feeding-our-dogs-insects-to-help-save-the-environment-8331654/ |
When does the 2019 Pa. Farm Show end? | The 2019 Pennsylvania Farm Show is coming to a close. But the good news is you still have time to visit the annual agricultural extravaganza at the Pennsylvania Farm Show & Expo Center in Harrisburg. The show runs until 5 p.m. Jan. 12. And, theres plenty to do. Stop in the food court for a smorgasbord of fair foods, from Smokey Cyclones and baked potatoes to deep-fried vegetables and Blended mushroom bugers. Check out the butter sculpture, hard-cider garden, farmers market and The Calving Corner. One of the biggest events during the Farm Shows final weekend is the First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo in the New Holland Arena. The rodeo will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 10-11 and 5 p.m. Jan. 12. Tickets start at $15 for adults. The Pa. Preferred Culinary Connection stage will continue its lineup of cooking demonstrations with chefs. Friday is pork day with a full-slate of demonstrations. On Saturday, stop at 11 a.m. for a milkshake competition. Also, on Saturday will be a lumberjack competition at 2 p.m. in the Equine Arena. A full schedule can be found on the Farm Shows website. | https://www.pennlive.com/farm-show/2019/01/when-does-the-2019-pa-farm-show-end.html |
Whats a trophy like the Chrysler Building worth? | One Thursday in the spring of 1978, an advertisement in The New York Times caught the attention of Manhattans real estate industry. THE CHRYSLER BUILDING it said in bold letters above a sketch of the skyscraper. So celebrated, that no other address is necessary. The ad signaled a rebirth for the iconic Art Deco tower with its shining spire and signature eagle gargoyles. The building had fallen on hard times in the 1970s grappling with mounting vacancies, competition from more modern towers downtown, and foreclosure proceedings against an owner. Now, four decades later, the Chrysler building is in search of another rebirth as its owners seek a buyer and its midtown neighborhood undergoes its own transformation. Theres little doubt that the landmark property will lure investors with big pocketbooks. For someone, that is an absolute trophy its right up there with Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building, said Thomas Birnbaum, president of NYC Realty Advisors. It will always be a successful building, although it doesnt compete head-on with the new product today. Midtown rezoning Abu Dhabi, the Persian Gulf Emirate thats the Chrysler Buildings majority owner, is considering a sale of the 77-story tower after about a decade of ownership, people with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday. Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the governments sovereign wealth fund, paid $800 million for a 90 percent stake in 2008. The owners have hired CBRE Group Inc. to market the property. A 2017 rezoning of the Midtown East area that would allow for taller buildings and finance improvements of public spaces and transit, including Grand Central, increases the attractiveness of the area, said Darcy Stacom, head of CBREs New York City capital markets group. The Chrysler building sale will show the strength of Midtown and how smart it was of the administration and real estate groups to get together and do the Midtown East rezoning, she said. With new high-end properties to move into, Midtown East could recapture some of its old glory, and the Chrysler building would get a boost from the improving neighborhood, said Jeffrey Langbaum, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. The owners would have to improve the property to keep up with new construction, he said. The skyscraper, completed in 1930, was for a short time the tallest building in the world, only to be surpassed when the Empire State Building opened in 1931. Its one of the most recognizable symbols of the Manhattan skyline, with its sunburst-patterned stainless steel spire. The wood, glass and marble lobby is among the most ornate in the city. Edward Trumbulls massive ceiling mural, Transport and Human Endeavor, nods at the towers carmaker connections. Chrysler Corp. founder Walter Chrysler bankrolled construction of the skyscraper, which was in a race to become the worlds tallest building. Designed by architect William Van Alen, the tower features a number of automotive touches including radiator caps, and at one point served as the headquarters for the car company. Full price There are buyers out there that would pay absolutely full market price, Birnbaum said. Theres a wide spectrum of international buyers that would love to own that property. While the skyscrapers acclaim may attract some potential buyers willing to pay a trophy premium, the cost of maintaining it could be substantial. Empire State Realty Trust Inc. has spent millions on improvements for the Empire State Building to compete with newer offices catering to tech-reliant financial firms. New Yorks supply of offices is increasing, including SL Green Realty Corp.s One Vanderbilt, under construction on the west side of Grand Central. Between now and the end of the year, 6 million square feet of new developments are set to be delivered, with another 5.8 million square feet by 2022, according to a report from BTIG. Tricky valuation The stock of office buildings in midtown is very old, and new state-of-the-art buildings are in very high demand because they offer things that older properties dont offer, said Bob Knakal, chairman of New York investment sales at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Those are things like ceiling heights, fewer columns or column-free spaces, and the ability to integrate new technologies in an extremely efficient way. Arriving at a valuation for the skyscraper involves several moving parts, including complex air rights and ground-lease terms. Recent sales of other large office buildings nearby have gone for around $1,000 per square foot to $1,500 per square foot, according to Jim Costello, senior vice president of Real Capital Analytics. Applying that math to the 1.2 million-square-foot Chrysler Building would lead to a valuation of $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion, though it could be worth less since a deal probably wouldnt include the land, Costello said. The tower faces increasing expenses tied to its ground lease. The land under the Chrysler Building is owned by the Cooper Union school, which raised the annual fee to $32.5 million last year from $7.75 million in 2017, Stacom confirmed. More increases are scheduled in coming years. The question here is the degree to which the leasehold interest can support the increased ground rent, which will be the determinant factor in establishing its value, said Woody Heller, vice chairman and co-head of the capital markets group at Savills Studley. Heller represented a consortium of banks that in 1997 sold the Chrysler Building to Tishman Speyer, which spent $100 million on renovations when it bought the building and still owns a small stake. Buildings that enjoy this extraordinary level of notoriety will always enjoy a substantial emotional premium and therefore the arithmetic is only a portion of the valuation equation, Heller said. Gain access to all of our great content with a month-to-month subscription. Start your subscription here. | https://finance-commerce.com/2019/01/whats-a-trophy-like-the-chrysler-building-worth/ |
Is Trump causing the crisis at the border? | Trump was right: What's happening on the southern border is a crisis. But it is his choices that have created it, says the writer. Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin Washington - President Donald Trump tried to claim Tuesday night that shutting down the federal government over his demand for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is a compassionate action - that he is taking a stand on behalf of the American public and even immigrants in response to what he called a "humanitarian and security crisis" on the border. Trump was right about one thing: What's happening on the southern border is a crisis. But it is his choices that have created it, and his wall will not solve anything. Trump would have us believe that there is a "crisis" of criminals, terrorists, drugs, child smugglers and "illegal immigrants" flooding across the southern border into the country. While there are legitimate security issues at the southern border, Trump's assertions simply are not true. Unauthorized migration has been declining for years; there is no wave of terrorist operatives waiting to cross into the United States by land; by far, most drugs entering the country are smuggled through ports of entry; and, between April and September last year, only .25 percent of all family units apprehended involved children who were not related to the adults with whom they were travelling. In fact, many of the men, women and children at our southern border have fled their native Central American countries in fear of persecution, torture and death. Rather than criminals and terrorists themselves, they are persecuted innocents, fleeing those same problems that Trump says they're bringing with them. They have arrived at our border to exercise their legal right to seek safe harbour through the asylum process. But rather than safe harbour, these asylum seekers have encountered the administration's relentless efforts to demonise, criminalise and dehumanise immigrants through sweeping stereotypes and hate-filled rhetoric. Asylum seekers at our southern border are being met with abusive and unlawful practices by border officers, forced separation from their children, pretextual criminal prosecutions, lengthy detention in abhorrent conditions, unilaterally rewritten legal standards, unlawful restrictions on seeking protection based on where a person entered, and efforts to keep asylum seekers in Mexico while they are processed through US legal systems. For example, my law firm represents one family - a mother, two teenagers and three toddlers - from Honduras who fled gang violence and efforts by the MS-13 gang to recruit the teenage children. This family was directly hit by tear gas canisters while seeking to apply to enter the United States after waiting for weeks in Mexico. After in-person advocacy at the border, they were finally permitted to enter for the purpose of seeking asylum. They were then detained for four days with very little food before finally being placed in removal proceedings, where they will eventually present their asylum cases before an immigration judge. We also represent a Honduran woman, a successful small-business owner, who fled MS-13, which had been extorting and threatening her. When she reported these death threats to the Honduran police, they did nothing. The threats escalated when MS-13 learned that she had gone to the police, forcing her to flee in fear for her life. Upon entering the United States for the legal purpose of seeking asylum protection, she was arrested, incarcerated and criminally prosecuted on charges of illegal reentry to the United States. She has been in federal custody for over two months, awaiting resolution of the criminal prosecution before she will even have an opportunity to present her fears to a U.S. asylum officer. These are only two examples of this administration's border security policies that, rather than addressing real security problems, have created, or at best exacerbated, the "humanitarian crisis" at the border. Yet now, Trump claims to be acting on behalf of immigrants, describing the problem on Tuesday night as a "crisis of the heart and crisis of the soul." If he truly feels that, he's not doing anything to resolve it. His administration is disseminating misinformation about and dehumanizing immigrants; it is tearing immigrant families apart when they need each other the most; it is incarcerating innocent children, creating lifelong captivity trauma at best and, at worst, death; it is, without legal authority, categorically declaring people fleeing domestic and gang violence as not eligible for asylum protection; it is blatantly ignoring U.S. law, which says that anyone "who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival . . .). . .may apply for asylum"; it is keeping asylum seekers in dangerous conditions in Mexico as they attempt to navigate the labyrinth of the U.S. asylum system; it is keeping our immigration courts shut down, allowing the backlog of over 800,000 cases to continue to grow; it is returning refugees to the clutches of their persecutors. All of these policies have combined to shut the door to asylum seekers at our southern border, leaving them living in squalor and as sitting ducks for further harm as they desperately await an opportunity to ask for protection, all the while being used as political props to appeal to Trump's political base. That is the real crisis on the border - and Trump isn't doing anything to solve it. The Washington Post | https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/is-trump-causing-the-crisis-at-the-border-18770479 |
What is the Dhingra Commission that probed land deals linked to Vadra? | Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday restrained the Haryana government from publishing the report of the Justice S N Dhingra Commission, and stayed action on its findings on the grounds of procedural lapses committed by the panel. While this provided temporary relief to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the decisions of whose government the Commission probed, the Division Bench of Justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and Anupinder Singh Grewal upheld the setting up of the inquiry itself ruling that Hoodas allegation of mala fide against his successor Manohar Lal Khattar and Khattars government hadnt been proven. The Commission Advertising An investigation of the allegedly shady land deals in Gurgaon on Hoodas watch including that between Robert Vadras Sky Light Hospitality and DLF Universal Ltd was one of the BJPs major election campaign promises in 2014. Khattars government set up the Justice Dhingra Commission of Inquiry on May 14, 2015. The one-man Commission submitted its 182-page report to the state government on August 31, 2016. Inquirys mandate The initial May 2015 notification on the terms of reference of the Dhingra Commission asked it to inquire into: circumstances in which licences for development of commercial colonies were granted to entities in Gurgaons Sector 83, whether these entities were eligible for the licences, whether transfer of licences by the original licencee to other entities within a short time violated laws, rules, notifications, etc., whether the Department of Town & Country Planning had contemplated the transactions that had taken place before or after the grant of licence, especially with reference to the governments losses. The Commission was also asked for recommendations on corrective action to prevent the loss of revenue; to consider related matters including complaints by individuals, magazines, parties and the CAG; to give findings and recommendations regarding allegations of criminal conspiracy, criminal misconduct and undue private enrichment, and the role of public servants and private individuals; and to recommend remedial steps for systemic improvement in the future. The Commissions terms of reference were amended in August 18, 2015. It was asked to look at, among other matters, the grant of licences to some entities by the Department of Town & Country Planning for developing colonies in villages Sihi, Shikohpur, Kherki Daula and Sikandarpur Bada in Gurgaon district Gurgaon, and their subsequent transfer/disposal, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of the beneficiaries under the rules, etc. A secret report Nearly two and a half years after its submission, the report remains secret. In November 2016, Hooda moved Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the decision to set up the Commission of Inquiry. On the first day of the hearing on November 23, 2016, the government gave an undertaking that the report shall not be published. Hoodas argument Hooda was represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, H S Hooda and Narender Hooda. The main challenge focussed on the procedure followed in summoning Hooda under the provisions of The Commissions of Inquiry Act his counsel said Section 8B of the Act (which allows persons likely to be prejudicially affected to be heard) was not followed, and no material was provided as to why he was being called. Hooda did not appear before the Commission, his counsel Pardeep Singh Punia said, as he was not informed under what provision he was being called. Sibal argued that the Haryana government did not have even prima facie evidence to constitute the Commission of Inquiry, and alleged mala fide intentions. He said the inquiry had been initiated only because of the grant of licences to Sky Light Hospitality, and on the basis of allegations that were already in the public domain. Mere allegations cannot form a basis for the Court of Inquiry. The terms of reference (of the Inquiry Commission) suggest there is no prima facie (evidence) Counsel for Hooda also argued there was no requisite reference before the Cabinet for issuance of notification setting up the Commission. The change in the terms of reference was also made a ground for challenge. Haryanas contention Advertising Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was then Additional Solicitor General, argued that documents including the CAG report, a report highlighting the irregularities sent by a recognised political party, news reports, and Assembly proceedings which form the basis for the constitution of the Commission were of public importance, and the material cannot be subject to a judicial review. | https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-is-the-dhingra-commission-that-probed-land-deals-linked-to-vadra-5532726/ |
Will fans be able to bet on Saints in La. next year? | CLOSE USA Today Network is your eyes and ears in the Louisiana State Capitol. Greg Hilburn/USA Today Network Fans who want to bet on the New Orleans Saints this weekend will have to travel to a Mississippi casino, but that could change if the team returns to the playoffs next season. Gov. John Bel Edwards said this week he's willing to support some form of legislation this year to legalize sports betting in Louisiana if voters agree. "I want to be in a position to do it in Louisiana because we know it's happening in Mississippi and it would allow our casinos to remain competitive with our sister states," Edwards said. Lawmakers here rejected a bill during last year's Regular Session that would have allowed sports betting in Louisiana contingent on the U.S. Supreme Court overturning a law that had previously banned it, which the court did in May. In this Dec. 18, 2018 photo, a woman walks by the Time Out Lounge at the Pearl River Resort, in Philadelphia, Miss. The sports book owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is the first to open on tribal lands outside of Nevada following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, a no-brainer business decision given the sports fans among its gambling clientele. (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP) But Mississippi lawmakers approved a similar bill and welcomed sport betting to its casinos to great fanfare in August. Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, who authored the sports betting bill last year, said he's been to Biloxi, Miss., casinos and often recognizes about one-third of the crowd from Louisiana. "We're fooling ourselves if we don't think our competitors are taking our business," Martiny said. "The New Orleans market is going to be severely impacted by Mississippi and the Shreveport market is gong to be severely impacted by the Arkansas racetracks and Oklahoma Indian casinos," Martiny said. Edwards said legalizing sports betting is less about generating new revenue that it is about preserving existing gaming revenue that's leaking out of the state. But Martiny said he has conservative estimates that sports betting could generate $40 million to $60 million of tax revenue annually. "I intend to bring the bill back this year," Martiny said. Edwards didn't offer specifics of what he will support, but Martiny said he envisions legislation that would allow sports betting at the state's land-based casino in New Orleans, its 15 riverboat casinos and its four horse racing tracks. "The people in those parishes would have to authorize i in a electiont," Martiny said., . Martiny had hoped to try again during the third Special Session of last year, but Edwards didn't include it as an option because he didn't want to distract lawmakers from passing new taxes to address the state's budget crisis, which they did with a 0.45-cent sales tax. "So far I haven't run into overwhelming opposition this time," Martiny said. "I'm optimistic if everything goes right it could be up and running by the first of (2020)." That would be just in time for next year's NFL playoffs. Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. Read or Share this story: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2019/01/10/fans-able-bet-saints-la-next-year/2535294002/ | https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2019/01/10/fans-able-bet-saints-la-next-year/2535294002/?from=new-cookie |
Has 3D peaked in the movies? | Pixar's latest 3D release, Toy Story 3, scooped record opening weekend box-office revenues of $109 million for the animation studio but a smaller proportion of punters saw it in 3D than they did Shrek Forever After, prompting fears that interest in 3D fatigue may be setting in. According to BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield, 3D represented 60 per cent of revenues for Toy Story 3 whilst the figure was 70 per cent for Alice in Wonderland and 61 per cent for Shrek Forever After. In addition Toy Story 3 revenue from IMAX 3D screenings declined two per cent compared with Alice and and three per cent against How to Train Your Dragon. It had however increased by one per cent compared with Shrek. Greenfield has said that the novelty of 3D has been surpassed by a more considered judgement about value for money with increasing numbers of families are weighing the value of spending money on premium priced 3D tickets against lower-priced 2D tickets. The national US average for a 2D ticket was $7.50 in 2009, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, whilst 3D prices are around $15 for a youth in New York City. UK stats are currently unavailable. "We believe movie exhibitors could generate higher box office results, especially on family films, by lowering the 3D ticket surcharges," said the analyst. The analyst added that lower ticket prices would drive more people to 3D, and mitigate the risk of alienating consumers when they see a "bad" movie in the format, underscoring sentiment they wasted money on the premium ticket. Disney CEO Bob Iger recently cautioned against flooding the market with 3D releases, insisting that 3D releases should be done strategically, and not as an afterthought. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/television/home-theatre-audio/high-definition/home-cinema/has-3d-peaked-in-the-movies-701119 |
When does the Age of Aquarius begin? | Moon lovers! The Age of Aquarius is not part of astronomy. Its an astrological age, which occurs because of a real motion of Earth known as the precession of the equinoxes, which, for example, causes the identity of the Pole Star to change over time. The cycle of precession lasts 25,800 years, and there are 12 constellations of the Zodiac. So, roughly every 2,150 years, the suns position at the time of the March, or vernal, equinox moves in front of a new Zodiac constellation. The Age of Aquarius begins when the March equinox point moves out of the constellation Pisces and into the constellation Aquarius. Theres no definitive answer. Various interpretations give different answers to this often-asked question. Age of Aquarius from astronomical perspective. First of all, we give the answer from an astronomical point of view. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) which in the 20th century assumed the duty of officially naming and defining all things astronomical created official constellation boundaries in 1930. From the perspective of astronomy, then, the beginning of the Age of Aquarius is based upon IAU constellation boundaries, which astrologers or New Age practitioners might or might not choose to use in their computations. According to the Belgian astronomer and mathematical wizard Jean Meeus (bio here), who does adhere to the IAUs definitions, the sun at the March equinox passed from being in front of the constellation Aries to being in front of the constellation Pisces in 68 B.C. Looking ahead, again according to Jean Meeus, the March equinox will cross over into the constellation Aquarius in 2597. Once again, these are the astronomical dates, based on IAU constellation boundaries established in 1930. Other interpretations for the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. The constellations as defined by the IAU are different sizes. Astrologers often like to divide the Zodiac into twelve equal sections. For example, the constellation Pisces as defined by the IAU spans more than 30 degrees along the ecliptic, or suns annual path in front of constellations of the Zodiac. Astrologers, though, might disregard the span of the constellation Pisces on the skys dome, and instead regard an astrological age as a precise 30 degree shift of the March equinox in front of the backdrop stars. But even if you equalize the size of the signs of the Zodiac, you need to consider when the Age of Pisces started to be able to know when the Age of Aquarius begins. Apparently, theres no firm consensus among astrologers as to when the Age of Pisces began, either. And thus there is no consensus as to when the Age of Aquarius begins. In The Book of World Horoscopes, Nicholas Campion suggests that approximated dates for entering the Age of Aquarius range from 1447 A.D. to 3597 A.D. Campion also reviewed published material on the subject from astrological sources. He says that most writers claim the Age of Aquarius arrived in the 20th century (29 claims). The 24th century is in second place (12 claims). Campion, by the way, is director of the Sophia Centre and Course Director of the M.A. in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales, Lampeter. See Campions credentials here. Some astrologers say the Age of Aquarius actually began in 2012. Thats because they believe the star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion marked the ancient border between the constellations Leo and Cancer. This star moved to within 30 degrees of the September equinox point in 2012, meaning that Regulus left the sign Leo to enter the sign Virgo in that year. Presuming equal-sized constellations in antiquity, that places the border of the constellations Pisces and Aquarius at 150 degrees west of Regulus, or at the March equinox point. By this reckoning, the Age of Aquarius started in 2012. But again, although there is firm reckoning by many for the beginning of this astrological age, there is no agreement. Wikipedia lists what various writers have claimed. To reiterate, we at EarthSky look at the subject from an astronomical perspective. If any knowledgeable astrologers out there would like to show us other ways of determining the Age of Aquarius, please do! We welcome your comments. Terry MacKinnell responded to our above request, claiming that in ancient Babylon a new zodiacal constellation rising over the eastern horizon before sunrise on the morning of the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox indicated the arrival of a new age. Read more at An Age Old Mistake That Still Haunts Astrologers. Definition of terms: March (or spring or vernal) equinox point. This is the point on the imaginary celestial sphere surrounding Earth at which the ecliptic or path of the sun across our sky intersects the celestial equator, or line around the sky directly above Earths equator. Its sometimes called the First Point in Aries, because the sun used to be located in front of the constellation Aries at the time of the vernal equinox. For the past two thousand years, though, the sun has been located in front of the constellation Pisces at the time of this equinox. Thats the significance of the so-called Piscean Age. At some point, the sun at the equinox will be in front of Aquarius. Thats when the Age of Aquarius begins. The Age of Aquarius in the U.S. is associated with the hippies of the 1960s and 70s, and now with the New Age movement. In both cases, the arrival of the Aquarian age has been associated with well, harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding. And that brings us to the 1967 smash-hit musical Hair, with its opening song Aquarius, by a musical group called the 5th Dimension. The song opened with the lines: When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius Its hard to describe how Hair, which seems daring even today, affected people when it opened on Broadway in 1968. It subsequently ran for 1,750 performances on Broadway and 1,997 performances in London, with simultaneous productions in cities across the United States and Europe, and with accompanying recordings (the original Broadway cast recording sold three million copies). Almost single-handedly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this Broadway musical brought the Aquarian Age concept into the popular culture. The video below isnt the original, but youll get the idea. Bottom line: The Age of Aquarius begins when the March equinox point moves out of the constellation Pisces and into the constellation Aquarius. But theres no definitive answer as to when that will be. | https://earthsky.org/human-world/when-will-the-age-of-aquarius-begin |
Is Saudi Arabia on the road to ending child marriage? | BEIRUT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Saudi Arabia is trying to ban child marriage through new regulations, but loopholes are leaving young girls in the deeply conservative kingdom unprotected, campaigners said on Thursday. The Shura Council, a top advisory body to the government, approved regulations on Wednesday to prohibit marriage for girls and boys under 15, and those under 18 will need approval from a specialized court, according to council member Lina Almaeena. Currently, the conservative Muslim country does not have a minimum legal age for marriage, and women live under a guardianship system where they must have permission from a male relative to marry, work and travel. Almaeena said the approval by the council, which does not have legislative powers but can propose laws to the king and the cabinet, is a great accomplishment for the kingdom in protecting its young citizens. There were no marriage limitations before, so for this to be passed and prohibit marriage for a child under 15 is a huge accomplishment because you will be protecting young boys and girls, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. Globally, 12 million girls marry before age 18 every year, according to Girls Not Brides, a coalition working to end child marriage. The United Nations regards the practice as a human rights violation. Heather Hamilton, deputy director of Girls Not Brides, said it is encouraging that the kingdom is setting age limits for marriage, but the rules are a far cry from protecting children under 18, who can still marry with court approval. Girls are still at risk of being forced into marriage if their parents can persuade a court to agree, she said in an emailed statement. We know that even in countries like the U.S. and U.K., courts offer little protection to girls who dont want to marry but risk alienation or retribution from their families if they tell court officials their real feelings. Child marriage - defined internationally as marriage under 18 - remains legal in Britain. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, teenagers can wed at 16 with parental consent. In Scotland, they do not need consent. The majority of U.S. states do not lay out a minimum age for marriage if statutory exceptions are met, such as parental or judicial consent or in case of pregnancy. Campaigners say children married young are more likely to leave school, get divorced, experience domestic abuse and mental health problems and live in poverty than those who marry later. There needs to be a complete ban on child marriage - with no exceptions. You have to make it clear to society that this is a negative social phenomenon and it should be stopped, said Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-child-marriage/is-saudi-arabia-on-the-road-to-ending-child-marriage-idUSKCN1P42CW |
When did NCAA tournament brackets become popular? | Each March, millions of college basketball fans fill out a bracket, hoping to pen the first ever perfect March Madness bracket (or at least beat their coworkers). Play the Capital One Bracket Challenge Game Lets start with the basics. According to Slate, the very first bracket in a sports tournament came in 1851, at a chess tournament in London. With the city hosting the Great Exhibition for British technology, English chess master Howard Staunton set out to organize the worlds first international chess tournament. In order to whittle the 16-player field down to one winner, Staunton decided to make eight pairs, with the losers of each being eliminated from contention. Instead of seeding players to decide pairings (like the modern NCAA tournament), Staunton had each draw a random lot. RELATED: What is March Madness: The NCAA tournament explained Eight white tickets and eight yellow ones numbered respectively, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, were put into the ballot-box, Staunton wrote in a book on the tournament. Whoever drew No. 1 of the white tickets had to play with the party who drew No. 1 of the yellow and so on throughout. After the first round, the eight winners drew tickets again for fresh adversaries, all the way to the championship match. The mode adopted for pairing the combatants, will, it is hoped, bring the two best players in the Tournament into collision for the chief prize. Staunton's first bracket fell short of achieving that goal, but we'll get to that in a minute. It's a fairly simple explanation: The shape of sports brackets highly resemble those of the punctuation symbols also known as brackets: ] [ and { }. Just look at the bracket from Stauntons 1851 chess tournament: Sure, that doesn't look much like a modern bracket (since second-round matchups in his tournament were decided by drawing new lots, only first-round matchups were listed), but you can certainly see why it would be called a bracket. Before we get into the specifics, let's take a look at what the modern NCAA Division I men's basketball championship bracket looks like (and here's a PDF): While the NCAA tournament bracket can likely trace its origin back to the 1851 chess tournament, a few problems that arose in that tournament helped shape the NCAA tournament bracket differently. After the chess tournament, Staunton admitted that there were a lot of complaints about the random drawing, with some players getting much easier routes through the tournament based on multiple lucky draws, and top players being paired against each other in the first round, forcing one to be eliminated very early two issues that are not conducive to a properly competitive or entertaining tournament. The modern NCAA tournament bracket solves these two complaints in two ways. First, it seeds all teams based on their skill level. Seeding is an official ranking compiled by the tournament's Selection Committee a 10-member group of school and conference administrators responsible for selecting, seeding and bracketing the field. The results of this process are made public when the tournament bracket is released on Selection Sunday. There are two types of seeding in the modern tournament. First is the region seed, which is most often what people are referring to when they mention a team's seed. The NCAA tournament bracket is split into four regions that correspond to the locations in the United States where the opening rounds are played: East, West, Midwest, and South. Each region has 16 teams, which are each ranked 1 (the highest) through 16 (the lowest). Second is the overall seed, which ranks each of the 68 teams in the tournament 1 (the highest) through 68 (the lowest). This is used to help determine which seeds are placed in which regions. For fairness, the committee tries not to place the best 1 seed in the same region as the best 2 seed, and so on. This process serves to reward teams that performed better in the regular season with easier routes to the championship and also spreads the best teams throughout the bracket so that no region is unfairly lopsided and competition is as fair as possible. Second, instead of having teams redraw for new competition after every round, the NCAA tournament brackets advancement is set before any team plays. All potential matchups in all rounds are established clearly before the first game tips off. The NCAA tournament is a single elimination bracket, meaning teams are eliminated from the tournament after a single loss. Win or go home. Other sports tournaments employ multiple-elimination brackets. For example, the College World Series is a double-elimination tournament, where teams are no longer in the running for the championship after they lose two games. Finally, the current NCAA tournament has 68 teams. Eight of the lowest-ranked teams play in the First Four eight games played before the first round of the tournament to narrow the field down to 64. From there, the bracket is very straightforward, with six rounds played, each one cutting the field in half until there is a champion. RELATED: Everything you need to know about the First Four For a little more background, let's take a quick look at how the NCAA men's basketball tournament field is compiled. Teams have two ways to earn an invitation to the tournament field: An automatic bid is awarded to any team that wins its conference tournament championship. There are 32 of these available. An at-large bid is awarded to any team chosen by the Selection Committee for its performance during the season. The Selection Committee looks at a wide range of statistics, from strength of schedule to the newly released NET rankings. But there is no set formula for which teams receive an at-large bid. Even a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll is not guaranteed an invitation. The public didn't always scramble to fill out brackets and join March Madness pools every March. In fact, it's a relatively new phenomenon in the scope of the tournament. The NCAA tournaments bracket was volatile through much of its first half-century, with the format and number of teams changing multiple times throughout, leading to some brackets that were far from user-friendly. For instance, in 1959, the tournament consisted of 23 teams, with nine receiving first-round byes. That certainly limits the appeal to the casual fan. Furthermore, in the 1960s and 70s, UCLA won 10 championships in a period of 12 years. There wasnt much thrill in picking a bracket when everyone knew who was going to win it. In 1975 what would be UCLAs last championship of that run the tournament expanded from 25 to 32 teams. In 1985, the tournament made another huge leap, from 53 teams to 64, adding more games and more chances for upsets. According to the Smithsonian, the first bracket pool started in 1977 in a Staten Island bar, where 88 people filled out brackets and pitted them against each other's. They were on to something. In 2018, tens of millions of brackets were filled out through major online bracket games, and while it's impossible to count the number of paper brackets filled out offline, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that group also ranks in the millions. And every one of those millions of brackets has one goal: To be perfect. Thats tough to say exactly, but we'll get two things out of the way quickly. One, no one has ever filled out a verifiably perfect bracket in the history of the modern NCAA tournament. Two, no one likely ever will, because the odds are infinitesimally small. So astronomically small that in reality they're practically zero. Let's take a look. MORE: The absurd odds of a perfect NCAA tournament bracket put into perspective Virtually all NCAA tournament brackets disregard the First Four and only pick games starting with the first round. Since there are 64 teams in those brackets, the most basic calculation is the number of possible outcomes for 63 games picked randomly. That would be 2 (the number of potential winners for each game) to the 63rd power (the number of games in the bracket). More simply, that's 2 times 2, 63 times, which is equal to roughly 9.2 quintillion. For reference, if you filled out 1 billion random brackets every single second for 100 straight years, you would still be 6 quintillion brackets shy of 9.2 quintillion. But that only applies if every game is a coin flip. In practice, theres a lot of information that usually goes into picking brackets. The most basic is seeding, which we discussed earlier. Since every team is seeded 1-16 in its region with the highest-ranked team receiving a 1 seed, and the lowest a 16 even someone who has no basketball knowledge at all can make a somewhat educated guess on which team is favored in each matchup. DePaul professor Jeff Bergen broke down the odds for someone making informed decisions for each game and came up with odds of 1 in 128 billion. Much better that 1 in 9 quintillion for sure, but still almost so low as to be negligible. If every single person in the U.S. had the basketball knowledge Bergen accounted for, and each filled out a bracket, the chance that one of those would be perfect is less than 0.25 percent. Whats more, a lot of the calculations for perfect brackets assumed that the 1-vs-16 matchup was an automatic win for the 1 seed, since before 2018, a 1 seed had never lost to a 16 seed in the history of the tournament. Since UMBC showed that upset was possible last year, the odds of a perfect bracket just got even worse. Sorry. We looked at millions of brackets from the largest online bracket games to find the longest a verifiable bracket had gone undefeated, and the best we have found went an incredible 39 games before getting one wrong. Thats ridiculous, but its still just 61.9 percent of the way to a perfect bracket. In 2018, the best bracket in our Capital One Bracket Challenge Game out of millions of entries picked 51 of 63 games correctly, for a percentage of 80.95. In the eight years that weve run a bracket game, the best weve ever seen is 54 picks (85.7 percent accuracy), which happened in both 2015 and 2017. Heres the breakdown for the winning brackets every year in our bracket challenge game, with the number of games correctly picked compare to the number of games per round: | https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2019-01-10/when-did-ncaa-tournament-brackets-become-popular |
What do St. Cloud's most popular baby names of 2018 mean? | CLOSE Everything from the more traditional Clementine to the unorthodox Kiwi and Kale are growing in popularity. Time ST. CLOUD If you're in the mood for good news, here it is: Babies! According to the Department of Health, over 2,400 babies were born at St. Cloud Hospital in 2018. Welcome to the world, little ones! Well, according to a St. Cloud Times analysis of Minnesota Department of Health data for births recorded at the hospital, Wyatt and Charlotte were 2018's most popular first names for boys and girls, respectively. Buy Photo Whoa, babies! Family Birthing Center staff get ready for a group photo Saturday, Dec. 15, at the St. Cloud Hospital. 30 staff members has 31 babies in 2018. (Photo: Jason Wachter, [email protected]) Wyatt is a Middle English form of the medieval surname "Wigheard," meaning "battle" and "brave." And Charlotte, the year's top choice for girls, is a diminutive of Charles, which stems from a Germanic word simply meaning "man." Maybe, but St. Cloud parents seem to love this sweet French name. More: St. Old standbys James and Marie take the highest marks for boys and girls, respectively. Interestingly, neither name broke into the top 10 lists for the year. Of note on the top 10 lists this year are modern English (a.k.a. made up recently) names Brynlee and Ryker. Brynlee is a female name believed to be a combination of the Welsh name "bryn," meaning "hill, mound" and the popular name suffix "lee." The name first appeared in the United States in 2008. Meanwhile, Ryker has even murkier origins, but may possibly be a variant of the German surname Riker, a derivative of a Low German word meaning "rich." It first appeared on the scene in the United States in 2003. Overall, Biblical names like Noah and Samuel are trending locally for boys' names, as well as names like Oliver ("warrior") and Mohamed ("praiseworthy") which call to mind strength and honor. The mother lode: Family Birthing Center baby boom sees 30 staff have 31 babies in 2018 And it seems St. Cloud parents want their little girls to revel in their uniqueness: Ella and Eleanor, both meaning "different" or "other," are in the top 10, as well as bright, sparkling names like Harper, meaning "one who makes or plays harps," and Stella, meaning "star." Buy Photo Twins Eleanor and Evelyn Strohmayer with their mother Dannielle were part of the group photos Saturday, Dec. 15, at the St. Cloud Hospital. "Eleanor" and "Evelyn" were both in the top 10 first names for girls born at St. Cloud Hospital in 2018, according to a St. Cloud Times analysis of Minnesota Department of Health data. (Photo: Jason Wachter, [email protected]) Read on for the top 10 most popular baby names and their meanings for boys and girls reported to the Minnesota Department of Health as born at St. Cloud Hospital in 2018: Top 10 baby names for girls, 2018 St. Cloud Hospital births reported to the Minnesota Department of Health 1. Charlotte "little man" 2. Amelia "work" 3. Harper "one who makes or plays harps" 4. Evelyn "desired" T5. Emma "whole, universal" T5. Ella "different, other" T5. Stella "star" T8. Brynlee "hill, mound" T8. Nora "honor" T8. Eleanor "different, other" Top 10 baby names for boys, 2018 St. Cloud Hospital births reported to the Minnesota Department of Health 1. Wyatt "battle, brave" 2. Oliver "warrior" T3. Mohamed "praiseworthy" T3. Noah "rest, repose" T5. Ryker "rich" T5. Nolan "noble, famous" T7. Mason "stoneworker" T7. Jack "gracious" T7. Abdirahman "servant of the merciful" 10. Samuel "name of God, God has heard" * * There was a tie for 10th place in the most popular boys' names. To break this tie, the St. Cloud Times compared those names against their popularity as middle names in addition to the standard measure of their popularity as first names. Name meanings sourced from www.behindthename.com. Follow Alyssa Zaczek on Twitter: @sctimesalyssa, email her at [email protected], or call her at (320) 255-8761. Read or Share this story: https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2019/01/10/st-cloud-most-popular-baby-names-2018-meanings/2537277002/ | https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2019/01/10/st-cloud-most-popular-baby-names-2018-meanings/2537277002/ |
Should we replace human contact with robot 'companions' or is there a better way? | I never had a specific imaginary friend growing up, but I spent hours creating worlds and characters. Not much has changed on that score and I still love getting lost in my imagination. Unfortunately imaginations are being curtailed because, thanks to robotics, children can now meet their imaginary friend in real life. 'Woobo' is an interactive toy that resembles the Furby of the 90s but has a screen for a face. It can play charades, tell a child how long to brush their teeth and when to wake up, and even teach mindfulness exercises. If a parent cannot make their child's bedtime, Woobo can. It answers their questions and is a companion that they can play games with. Pixabay Robots are going to change society. This toy is an extraordinary advancement in robotics, but without wanting to sound like a killjoy, I think it's is another step away from what children really need. Play is important in children's development as it gives them the opportunity to develop new ideas and skills. They also need real, authentic human relationships and interaction with other children and adults to learn about the world around them. Robots are not meant to be mentors or parents. Children need living and breathing role models who can teach, protect, advise, love and support them. However, it's not just children who are being targeted with robotics. Robot pets have been created to help the elderly avoid loneliness. Groove X, a Japanese startup, has created 'LOVOT' (love x robot = lovot), a robot that will 'bridge the gap' between our 'plentiful lifestyles and our emotional engagement and sense of satisfaction'. This robot is designed to make people happy, has sensors to respond to touch and demands love by following its owner around. The technology is incredibly impressive, but when the manufacturer says that it 'heals your heart', that is a pretty bold claim. Similarly there is Kiki, the pet robot that also professes to bring happiness. It picks up on non-verbal communication, recognises faces from up to a distance of two metres away and enjoys a cuddle as it has 16 sensors all over. It is an amazing development in robotics and I applaud those who have been able to create this AI-powered machine. But I draw the line at 'companion'. Authentic human relationships and interaction with others are desperately needed, even in the later stages of life. According to Age UK, 3.6 million older people in the UK live alone, of whom over 2 million are over that age of 75, and 1.9 million older people often feel ignored or invisible. Loneliness does not just affect older people it can be found through all of society and the aim of these robots is to try and fill that void. We can embrace the benefits of robotics, but let's not replace or ignore real interaction with others in the process. We can make a difference in this. One way that loneliness and exclusion has been addressed is through intergenerational care where children visit the elderly in care homes. United For All Ages, a think-and-do social enterprise, are aiming to support the development of 500 shared centres by 2023 where the old and young can spend time together. With shared spaces for activities and experiences, it brings interaction between the generations as children learn and older people experience improved health and reduced loneliness. For those who are socially isolated within their own home, whether younger or older, there is a need for conversation, care and kindness. We need to get back to the basics of getting to know the people in our communities and practically dropping by or picking up the phone to see how they are. The church is well placed to lead the way pastorally. Churches bring together young and old through a variety of activities and groups, they meet practical needs and share the love of God which has the power to heal every human heart unlike the robots mentioned above. There are some fantastic projects that are already under way and plenty more individuals who are living out their faith like this. But let's not rest on our laurels, because there are always more people to reach and more that we can do. We could mobilise others to help, raise awareness of what is available in the local area, start up a group or service to address a specific need, support other churches, meet new people through existing activities running in the community, invite more people over for dinner, befriend others by making regular phone calls, offer to support a family by babysitting and getting to know them, become a mentor for a young person, visit a care home, meet those neighbours at the other end of the street, be intentional in our conversations with everyone we come across, speak to people in the street, support those who are campaigning for change and much more besides. Technology is here to stay and robots may be a part of that change for some people. There are benefits that can bring enjoyment and fun into the lives of both the young and old. However, real companionship and love can neither be experienced nor truly reciprocated by a robotic pet. It is our responsibility to bring the love of Christ into our communities through practical action and genuine care and concern for everyone. That is the better way. Ruth Clemence is a freelance writer and award-winning blogger based in Devon. She can also be found writing at www.ruthclemence.com and on Twitter @ruth_the_writer. | https://www.christiantoday.com/article/should-we-replace-human-contact-with-robot-companions-or-is-there-a-better-way/131436.htm |
Will Kevin Harts Scandal Bring Down The Upside? | Kevin Hart (left) and Bryan Cranston in The Upside Photo: David Lee/STX Entertainment In the odd-couple dramedy The Upside, Bryan Cranston portrays Phillip, a quadriplegic billionaire and grieving widower who has lost the use of his limbs along with the will to live in a freak paragliding accident. Kevin Hart plays his startlingly underqualified caretaker, Dell: a paroled convict/deadbeat dad with whom the rich man enters into the unlikeliest of bromances. While Dell jolts Phil from the sterile misery of his Upper East Side penthouse, plying him with marijuana, soft-serve ice cream, and Aretha Franklin tunes, Phil helps Dell get his life on track, providing financial stability and awakening latent career ambitions (he also lets Dell rip around Brooklyn in his Ferrari). A remake of the French smash hit The Intouchables, the based-on-a-true-story film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 to a spate of positive reviews, showcasing genuine chemistry between its leads as well as what can be fairly described as the most nuanced and least manic performance of Harts career. Is The Upside Kevin Harts Oscar Movie? Vanity Fair asked out of Toronto. But over the 16 months since its debut on the prestige-film circuit, The Upside has faced much dysfunction. Originally set for release in March 2018 by the Weinstein Company, the movie would go on to become Harvey Weinsteins final failed attempt at an Academy Award. It was forced into distribution limbo for nearly a year while Weinstein faced a cascading series of rape and sexual-misconduct allegations that ultimately helped bankrupt TWC. Then, after finally exiting the Weinstein roster in August, The Upside landed a distribution deal with STX Entertainment for a January 11 release. But its bumpy journey to the screen still wasnt over. Last month, Hart was announced as the host of this years Oscars broadcast, providing a welcome dose of publicity for the beleaguered movie. That is, until a series of homophobic tweets the 39-year-old comedian had posted years earlier upended Harts nice-guy reputation, opening him up to derision and criticism across social media. Its like a roller-coaster ride, right? says Upside producer Jason Blumenthal. During production, the whole thing was going down on the roller coaster the most fun part. Then I sat upside down at the top of the roller coaster with blood rushing to my head, waiting for somebody to get me down for an entire year. In 2011, after The Intouchables became the third highest-grossing film in French history (earning $400 million worldwide, winning a raft of Csar Awards including Best Film and voted cultural event of the year in a BVA survey conducted by Fnac), the Weinstein Company bought its English-language-remake rights and set about putting the project together. Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, A Simple Favor) was brought in as director. Colin Firth circled the role of Phillip and Jamie Foxx, Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, and Chris Rock were all variously considered to portray Dell. In 2013, Feig dropped out and was eventually replaced by Neil Burger (Divergent, 2011s Limitless). The following year, Hart accepted a drastic reduction of his usual eight-figure salary in a bid to display some dramatic-acting range. Kevin wanted to show the real side of Kevin: to make you laugh and make you think and make you feel, says Blumenthal, who has produced such hit movies as The Pursuit of Happyness, and The Equalizer. Because he believed in himself enough to know, Listen, I dont have to do this. I can go make these comedies for the next 20 years. He told me he needed to do it. In 2016 Cranston boarded the project with Nicole Kidman accepting the role of Yvonne, the billionaires no-nonsense, Harvard-educated executive assistant. And from January to April 2017, filming took place in and around Philadelphia. The movie came in on time and under budget. Hart deeply impressed Cranston with his preparation and seriousness of intent, according to those on set. And after the film scored a 95 percent approval rating at a New York City test screening, Weinstein began to feel optimistic The Upside had the potential to please crowds and critics alike. Blumenthals production company Escape Artists had made the 2015 Jake Gyllenhaalstarring boxing drama Southpaw for the Weinstein Company and lobbied to produce The Upside, convinced of its commerciality. According to the producer, Harveys marketing plan was always to position the drama-comedy for an awards run to generate word-of-mouth buzz; he maneuvered to premiere it in Toronto specifically to draft off of the festivals windfall of free publicity. Problem was, however, that Hart had a competing movie also coming out in the thick of awards season Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and his reported $10 million payday for that December film contractually barred him from promoting any other movie for six weeks on either side of Jumanjis release. Undaunted, Weinstein remained convinced he could use his signature rage and force of will to cajole its distributor Sony into letting the star attend The Upside premiere. We said, Harvey, Sony has locked him up. They are not going to allow Kevin to have a movie released or promote that movie before Jumanji. Theyve made it very clear and theyve paid for it, Blumenthal recalls. And Harveys response was, Fuck em. Dont worry. At one point, we just were begging [Sony chairman] Tom Rothman to let us release the movie on two screens just to qualify for the Golden Globes. Moreover, the TWC co-chairman expected Hart to personally persuade the Sony chairman to grant the film a limited theatrical run before Jumanjis wide release rollout an ask the comedian wasnt prepared to make. So, Harvey still thought, Fuck it. Ill call their bluff. Ill book it at Toronto. Well get Nicole there. Well get Bryan there. This is the best film hes ever been in, maybe ever will be in. Quite frankly, he didnt show up. And he didnt show up because Sony forbid him to show up. (On the day of The Upsides premiere, Hart was in Houston, Texas, volunteering at a local food bank and helping survivors of Hurricane Harvey.) Then, less than a month after the films public unveiling, twin Harvey bombshells obliterated any further awards-push conversation also creating deep uncertainty as to whether The Upside would be released at all. On October 5, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey detailing decades of alleged sexual misconduct by Weinstein and the hush-money payoffs the mogul allegedly made to his accusers. On October 10, The New Yorker published a story by Ronan Farrow featuring testimony from multiple women, including several actresses who say Weinstein raped them or forced them into uncomfortable sexual situations. (More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual mistreatment but he has plead not guilty to all charges against him.) Now Harvey is Osama bin Laden and hes in in charge of my movie! remembers Blumenthal. We were inextricably linked because we were the last movie he actually physically made. After the Oscar-winning mogul was fired from the mini-major studio he co-founded, and with the Weinstein Company increasingly reliant on emergency injections of cash to continue its day-to-day operations, the Upside producers began to quietly back-channel with executives at other major studios, screening the film around Hollywood to land a new distribution deal. But as one of four remaining films in the TWC release queue and arguably the only one with any real commercial potential Weinstein executives were reluctant to release The Upside from its agreement. Its like, Are they going to declare bankruptcy or are they not going to declare bankruptcy? There was so much uncertainty at that time. There was a lot of head scratching and hand grinding about what was going to happen to TWC, Blumenthal says. We knew that we were the only asset that had any value that was left in their pipeline. The only leverage they had was to say to someone, If you want The Upside, youve got to take these other three pieces of shit. So it wasnt easy. Finally driven into bankruptcy last July, the Texas private-equity firm Lantern Capital bought TWCs assets (including Quentin Tarantinos later films such as Inglourious Basterds and The Hateful Eight, a library of TV shows including Project Runway and Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again and such Oscar-winning films as The Kings Speech) for $289 million. And a month later, STX Entertainment swooped in to rescue The Upside from distribution oblivion. This is a hilariously funny and emotionally affecting film, STX Films chairman Adam Fogelson said in a statement. It evokes elements of films like Trading Places and Scent of a Woman, while still being completely fresh with characters that are as memorable as they are hysterical. In an early December Instagram post, Hart announced he had been selected to host the 2019 Oscars the fruition of what he described as a goal on my list for a long time. The news was greeted with nothing short of jubilation by the Upside producers. Oh, my God. Finally, a win for The Upside. Finally, some upside for The Upside. This is amazing! Even though were going to come out before the Academy Awards, this is unbelievable. Not only is he being recognized as an entertainer and someone who is at the top of his field but thats only going to get more people to see my movie, says Blumenthal. But when a series of homophobic tweets Hart had posted to his official Twitter account around 2009 to 2010 were uncovered by journalists just days later, online backlash against the prolific actor-comedian came swift and hard. Making matters worse, Hart initially refused to apologize. So I just got a call from the Academy, and that call basically said, Kevin, apologize for your tweets of old, or were going to have to move on and find another host, he said in an Instagram video. I chose to pass. I passed on the apology. The reason I passed is because Ive addressed this several times. (On December 7 he officially stepped down from hosting the Academy Awards and on a Wednesday appearance on Good Morning America, Hart said he was done apologizing for the tweets. Im over it, he said.) For his part, Blumenthal immediately registered that decisions impact on the films bottom line. For all of Harts staggering social-media clout, personal popularity, and star power, the outcry surrounding his Oscar-hosting hiring and recusal has effectively overshadowed his ability to promote The Upside. Now theyre swarming after Kevin like its a zombie apocalypse, Blumenthal says. Now Ive got flashbacks to Harvey being the most hated man in the world. It just happened so quickly that I literally needed a neck brace. It was fucking whiplash all over again. I ask the producer if there is a takeaway from the films surreal ordeal. Some kind of teachable moment. In a word: no. Behind the monitor on set on The Upside was one of the best experiences I ever had. Three of the best actors between Nicole, Kevin, and Bryan. An amazing working relationship with Neil Burger. The studio stuff they left me alone because we had it all on; we had a great script, he says. That wasnt the problem. The problem was, after we yelled Thats a wrap, from that moment on, everything turned into a nightmare. | https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/will-kevin-harts-scandal-bring-down-the-upside.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nymag%2Fvulture+%28Vulture+-+nymag.com%27s+Entertainment+and+Culture+Blog%29 |
Have the Cardinals Found the Next Sean McVay in Kliff Kingsbury? | From Working Odd Jobs to the NFL Right Arrow Icon The Arizona Cardinals announced they have hired Kliff Kingsbury as head coach. Kingsbury spent six years with Texas Tech but is making the jump from NCAA to NFL. Watch the video above to learn more about Kingsbury and the NFL stars he has coached. Bleacher Report is the go-to destination for armchair quarterbacks everywhere. Connect to the NFL stories, teams, athletes and highlights that make the game more than a game. Youve never been so ready for some football. Download the free Bleacher Report app to catch all the moments that matter in one place. Get the app to get the game. | https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2815034-have-the-cardinals-found-the-next-sean-mcvay-in-kliff-kingsbury |
Is Manny Pacquiao still a major attraction in boxing? | LOS ANGELES -- It was a quieter Manny Pacquiao media day than in years past. Pacquiao continued his streak of being perennially tardy, stepping into Wild Card Boxing in its nondescript Hollywood strip mall location about an hour later than expected. When Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the highest-grossing fight in boxing history three-and-a-half years ago, you couldnt even move inside the gym. On Wednesday, you could find space on the ring apron with only mild elbowing necessary. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year A week from Saturday, Pacquiao will fight in his first pay-per-view fight since facing Jessie Vargas in a Top Rank-produced PPV that generated a measly 300,000 buys. Pacquiaos opponent Broner drew with Vargas in his lone 2018 fight, but is a much bigger name than their former foe. It will be interesting to see how many PPVs this generates, with Showtime thrusting their full capabilities behind the fight thanks to their All Access show. Still, tickets reportedly arent moving quickly for this fight -- though that can be attributed to coming so soon after the holidays and in Las Vegas during its most frigid month. With Mayweather retired, Pacquiao is the most recognizable active boxer today. A decade ago, Pacquiao may have been the most recognizable athlete of the time. Those days are clearly behind him, and at 40 years old, you wonder what is really left for him to accomplish. Fighters are always searching for the perfect moment to end things on their own terms -- a loss to Mayweather derailed hopes of that -- unless we get the rematch nobody asked for. Pacquiaos signing with Premier Boxing Champions opened up the fighting politician to a brand new stable of possible opponents hed been unable to fight under the Top Rank banner. But if Freddie Roach (who is back in Pacquiaos camp after a one-bout absence) has his way, the Mayweather rematch is the only fight he wants. Id like to see Mayweather, Roach said when asked if theres another welterweight hed like to see Pacquiao fight. I want that one more time. First time around, I think we got screwed because he had a bad shoulder injury and the fourth round he was finished. Since then, hes had surgery, hes healthy, and I think a healthy Manny Pacquiao beats Mayweather. Pacquiao himself seems a bit tired of talking about a Mayweather rematch. Yet almost as if on cue, the former adversaries were both courtside at the Clippers game at STAPLES Center. This was Filipino Heritage Night, and Pacquiao was an invited guest. Its funny to me Mayweather would be there on that night in particular unless hes trying to see what kind of interest there is in another fight after the first one was so uninspiring. Their 2015 fight came together after the two met courtside at a Miami Heat game, meeting at a nearby hotel to try and hammer out the details. That bout generated more than $500 million, while also leaving a bad taste in fans mouth after it didnt live up to expectations. Perhaps the Broner fight is a good test to that -- at 29, Broner is at his physical peak but has always come up short in his biggest moments. If Pacquiao struggles mightily but wins, maybe his handlers steer him away from guys like Keith Thurman and Errol Spence Jr. Im retired. Im not fighting anymore, Mayweather told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday night at the Clippers game. Though Pacquiao told the Times the thinking in his heart is that there will be [another] fight, he seemed resigned to Mayweather being retired in Tuesdays episode of Inside PBC Boxing on FS1. For me, if you ask me, of course Im still in boxing so if he want rematch, why not? Pacquiao said when pressed by Shawn Porter on the show. But hes in retirement. He said hes in retirement. If he comes back and after this fight, he thinks 'I want to fight you, why not? If Pacquiao wants to fill out the Wild Card Gym next time he has a public workout, its probably only Mayweather that would do it. Though Spence and Thurman and Porter are in their physical primes, the stories of a fight between any of those guys and Pacquiao just isnt as rich as the history between Floyd and Manny. Pacquiao looked good in his brief in-ring workout Wednesday, pounding Roachs ribcage while working the mitts. The 40-year-old looks to be in great shape heading into next weekend. For his knockout win over Lucas Matthysse, Pacquiao said he only trained once the week of the actual fight, slowing down so that he had more strength on fight night. When asked if he would implement a similar schedule next week in Las Vegas now that hes back in the fold, Roach said he hasnt thought that far ahead. Weve only discussed up until Monday right now, Roach told Sporting News. Saturday we have our last sparring day, Monday will be our last workout day here then well travel to Las Vegas. Tuesday and Thursday we havent really talked about it or decided anything yet. If his weights good -- which it looks to be, it should be no problem -- he might shake out maybe one more day in Vegas just to get the cobwebs out. We do have a gym were gonna go to. It isnt to say Pacquiao wants to slow down as the fight approaches, but Buboy Fernandez had Pacquiao did less the week of the Matthysse fight, and you cant argue with the results. Pacquiao secured his first knockout in almost nine years. I would say in general sometimes you dont have to go 100 percent every day. Hes getting older, its part of life. Manny Pacquiao kind of refuses to do that. Ill ask him sometimes, Dont run this morning because were gonna spar this afternoon and he says Yeah what if my opponent is running, so he gets me with that one. | http://www.sportingnews.com/us/boxing/news/is-manny-pacquiao-still-a-major-attraction-in-boxing/1x74wcvyhjgyn1ucscg4n1ngh1 |
What's changed one year since the start of our recycling crisis? | Posted Almost 12 months after a crisis within Australia's recycling sector came to light, local councils and businesses are still looking for answers from government at state and federal levels. In January 2018, China's ban on the importation of 24 types of recyclable materials sent Australia's waste management industry, which indirectly employs around 50,000 people, into a tailspin. Initially 619,000 tonnes of the 67 million tonnes of waste generated in Australia per year was expected to be affected. That figure has since been revised, doubling to 1.3 million tonnes of recyclable waste. But while political momentum appears to have built up, the complexity of ongoing negotiations between states, territories and the Commonwealth, have hampered attempts to resolve Australia's recycling problem. Calls for government leadership Chief executive of the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA), Gayle Sloan, said she has not be satisfied with the response from State and Federal Governments. "We came out of the dark in a big way, away from being out of sight and out of mind, to the forefront of a lot of people's consciousness," she said. "But the reality is operators continue to be under significant pressure governments still haven't really caught up with what needs to happen." While State, Territory and Federal Environment Ministers agreed to aspects of the 2018 National Waste Policy in December, they did not commit to any funding targets for the waste management industry. "We haven't been able to grow onshore markets as quickly as we needed so when you do have market failure you need government to step in and work with industry and that's just not happening in enough places, at enough scale," Ms Sloan said. "What we're actually exporting are commodities, it's not waste so it's actually [a] sorted commodity that comes out of material recovery facilities that have a value." "What we should be doing is not exporting those to overseas countries but utilising them in Australia because we know we create jobs 9.2 jobs for every 10,000 tonnes recycled in Australia, compared to 2.8 for export." Lack of harmony hampering business investment The states and territories have different recycling regulations and standards, which are legislated by their respective governments and managed by local councils. Ms Sloan said the current arrangements made efforts to promote better use of recyclable materials with national and multinational companies difficult. We want to do one national program'." "That's where the Commonwealth Government is key in standardising these approaches to give those involved with the waste and resources recovery industry directly, but also indirectly, certainty as to how to operate." One of the strategies outlined in the 2018 National Waste Policy is to "implement a common approach towards waste policy and regulation, particularly in relation to national opportunities to support development of markets for recycling". "What's got to really be clear is to have signals from government that there's certainty and long-term certainty around your investment so you can invest in energy from waste, you can invest in plastics recycling, because someone is going to take the energy you make or the plastics you make and buy it back," Ms Sloan said. "You can't build these multi-million-dollar facilities without certainty that you've got a market. "What we've got is a clear surplus of supply of waste material, which is a resource, and not sufficient purchasing back of that recycled content." Not much has changed for local councils Oliver Moles, director of sustainable development at Moyne Shire Council in Victoria's south west, was one of the first people in local government to speak publicly about the emerging crisis in January 2018. "It was a tumultuous year with various crises emerging at different times," he said. "Initially when the crisis occurred, much of the information that we were sourcing was through the media as opposed to the government." Mr Moles said he was not sure how much of the council's recyclable material had been exported, stockpiled, reprocessed, or dumped in landfill. The 2018 National Waste Policy stated that information "on where Australia's waste comes from and where it goes" needs improvement with such data being "critical to business investment" and influencing consumer behaviour. Mr Moles said while short-term funding measures have somewhat helped, councils needed reassurance that the direction and stability of the recycling industry was safe. "At the moment I'm not hearing enough about that to make me confident," he said. "Residents were very interested in the issue and were asking me and others, councillors and so on, about our waste practices and the end points of our waste." "That's really important that there's are a continuing information flow to us so we can predict what's ahead of us and adjust our budgets and adjust our relationships to our contractors and explain those things to our community." Funding for recycling reboot on agenda Recycling dominated two major meetings of State, Territory and Federal Environment Ministers in 2018, with the parties agreeing to develop an action plan to implement the 2018 National Waste Policy at their next meeting. The policy encompasses the principles of a circular economy which, according to the WMAA, would need a $150 million investment from State and Federal Governments to develop better methods to process and re-use more recyclable materials domestically, rather than exporting it overseas. Other principles agreed to in the policy include aims to process recyclable resources as close as is possible to where they are created, harmonise different waste regulations, and expand government procurement of recycled materials. The policy notes that a hypothetical 5 per cent improvement in the efficient use of materials could "benefit Australia's GDP by as much as $24 billion". Federal Minister for Environment, Melissa Price, is on leave but her office has been contacted for comment. Environment Ministers are expected to meet again in the first half of 2019. Topics: environmental-impact, environmental-management, local-government, federal-government, multinationals, trade, regulation, recycling-and-waste-management, environmentally-sustainable-business, sustainable-development, industry, markets, ballarat-3350, china, nirranda-3268, woorndoo-3272, caramut-3274, hawkesdale-3287, macarthur-3286, koroit-3282, nullawarre-3268, mortlake-3272, port-fairy-3284, yambuk-3285, asia | https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-11/australias-recycling-crisis-one-year-on-whats-changed/10701418 |
Did Samsung accidentally leak the design of the Galaxy S10 in a blog post? | Samsung sent out media invites on Thursday morning for its next Unpacked event, confirming that the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Fold will be formally unveiled on February 20th in San Francisco, California. But by that point, there might not be much left to unveil, as in addition to all the rumors and reports that have flooded the internet in recent months, Samsung itself appears to have accidentally leaked the design of the Galaxy S10 on its website. First spotted by Reddit user qgtx, a Samsung Newsroom post about the upcoming One UI interface was altered to remove an image that featured a smartphone which matched up suspiciously well with reports about the Galaxy S10. The original image which you can see here showcased a phone with thin bezels, curved edges, and a display hole for the front-facing camera. It has since been replaced with the image at the top of this article. If you click through to the Newsroom post, you might notice that it was published on January 7th. The eagle-eyed Redditor didnt notice the change until January 10th. Had Samsung left well enough alone, it might have been able to skate by without anyone noticing (as the original image is fairly innocuous), but by swapping out the image, it raised a red flag for at least one internet sleuth. Thats not to say that the first image is guaranteed to be an accurate portrayal of the Galaxy S10 that well see next month, but it certainly lends credence to that idea. Though Samsung has yet to confirm any details about the Galaxy S10 (beyond the date on which it will be revealed), we have long expected the 2019 flagship to be the first premium smartphone from Samsung to feature the Infinity-O display, which notably features a cut-out in the corner of the display rather than a notch. | https://bgr.com/2019/01/10/galaxy-s10-design-leak-samsung-display-hole-thin-bezels/ |
Should be considering property investments? | Most of us have a good grasp of how property investments work. This comes through our experience of renting or buying our own homes or even, in this Airbnb age, of renting out other properties. So its ironic, then, that most ordinary investors tend to neglect property investments in their pension portfolios, preferring to focus on stocks and bonds. But the principles of investment in commercial property are straightforward, as are its attractions as an asset class. And in a period of rising interest rates and stretched valuations elsewhere, those attractions are particularly compelling today. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of property is the regular income it can generally provide. Yields on UK commercial property are currently significantly higher than those available from bond and equity markets. And this income is remarkably steady making it especially attractive at a time when stockmarket volatility is rising. With bond yields still extremely low by historical standards, property presents a prime source of regular income. There are good reasons to expect the steady return profile of property to continue. While stocks and bonds can be sold in seconds, selling property can take months. But this lack of liquidity can be an asset for property investors because it insulates them from the sort of panic selling that often sparks sharp sell-offs in security markets. Market crashes can stem from sentiment as much as anything else. But because the sale of property assets cant be achieved at the touch of a button, the prices of those assets are much steadier. Thats why the UK property market has been able to deliver steady, incremental growth in recent years with only a fraction of the volatility of the stock and bond markets. Propertys distinctive return profile offers significant diversification benefits. Professional investors have long been aware of these, but individual investors have been slow to catch on. Most ordinary investors have much smaller allocations to property than the professionals. And the diversification benefits of property arent only found in contrast to other asset classes. Theres plenty of scope for diversification within a property portfolio too. Take the office sub-sector for example: although yields from London offices are not currently compelling, offices in other areas of the UK offer much better prospects for income. In the same way, retail warehouses allow investors to benefit from Britains changing shopping habits at a time when online competition is savaging the traditional high street. Another crucial consideration with property is that your investment is backed by physical assets. That provides a level of resilience that you dont get with financial securities. Yes, the property market can experience downturns like any other asset market. But those downturns are limited by the fact that land and buildings are finite commodities that will always have some value. A company may be superseded by its competitors or disrupted by technological innovations. And if a company goes bust, its shares are worthless. The same applies to bonds if a company defaults. But land will always have value. As the American humourist Will Rogers said, they aint making any more of the stuff. Property provides a degree of security that the security markets simply cant match. And because its a tangible asset, property also offers some built-in protection against inflation. Tenants naturally expect to pay higher rents at a time when wages and incomes are rising. Also, leases for commercial tenants often contain upward only rent reviews or fixed rental increases: provisions to ensure that the income from the property rises over time. Today, of course, were in an environment of rising bond yields, as central banks slowly normalise their monetary policy. If inflation continues to rise, the Bank of England will continue to raise interest rates to combat it. Thats a serious consideration for fixed-income securities; higher rates mean higher bond yields and lower bond prices. But its far less of a concern for the property sector, where borrowing is low and the relationship between interest rates and yields is much more complex. In fact, its even possible that rising interest rates will restrict the supply of new property making the existing stock more valuable. Thats because tighter monetary conditions will make it harder for developers to borrow. And with less cheap money in the system to fund the building of new property, demand will focus on whats already there. Finally, property provides significant opportunities to improve the quality of investments through direct asset management. An out-of-town shopping centre might be a good investment as it stands. But a skilled management team can make it a great investment through improving the facilities, attracting appropriate tenants and enhancing the experience for consumers. The prospect of adding significant value through the management of individual assets is something that sets property apart making it an option that all forward-looking investors should consider. Calum Bruce is investment manager at Ediston Property Investment Company | https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/should-investors-consider-property-over-other-assets/ |
Can Ross Byrne fill Johnny Sexton's boots for Leinster's pivotal clash with Toulouse? | LEINSTER ARE SET to be without skipper Johnny Sexton for Saturdays crucial clash with Toulouse at the RDS, the World Player of the Year still suffering with a calf injury as first reported by Des Berry in The Herald. Ross Byrne will likely deputise should Leinster officially confirm the bad news when they name their matchday squad on Friday. The twice-capped Ireland international was an unused substitute in Leinsters Pro14 win over Ulster last weekend, watching on as Ciarn Frawley pulled the strings at 10. On this weeks Heineken Rugby Weekly, The42s rugby podcast, one listener posed the question: Can Ross Byrne fill Johnny Sextons boots this weekend? Here was Murray Kinsellas assessment of the 23-year-olds big opportunity against Leinsters fellow four-time European kings: The evidence of Ross Byrne stepping in for big fixtures over the last year or so would suggest that yes, he can do it. Think back to those Montpellier games last season and he did really well there. Munster in the semi-final of the Pro14 he did really well there. And hes probably been frustrated that hes not gotten more opportunities in those bigger fixtures, as well. Its been interesting in the last couple of weeks that Ciaran Frawley has gotten a lot of exposure. I think last weekend was based around the doubts over Johnny Sextons calf, so they probably decided to pull him [Byrne] from that game, and it was great for Ciaran Frawley to get more exposure; he did really well, and also rebounded, I felt, from that intercept error [v Munster]. I thought his passing game was really brave, he was square to the line and making really good decisions. But I think Ross Byrne, in terms of how he manages a team, has really grown. I think the biggest development in his game has been around his passing, his fluidity in attack, and making those decisions on the ball allowing guys outside him to be in good positions. Ross Byrne lines up a kick against Bath at the Rec earlier this season. Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO I think hes been really impressive over the last two seasons, Murray added. His kicking is obviously a strength, and also youve probably seen him develop that fiery confidence that out-halves need to boss their teams. I remember an early game this season and he gave an earful to Scott Fardy who looked very surprised to get it! [Fardy] thought about answering him back but goes, Alright, thats my out-half thats his job. I think hes really grown into it and hell be massively eager for this challenge. Murray, however, foresees a bigger selection issue for Leo Cullen ahead of Saturdays visit of the resurgent French aristocrats, who have won 11 and drawn one of their last 12 games: The interesting one is his 12 outside him [Byrne]: Robbie Henshaw is back in training now, and weve seen him make these startling returns you think of the Scarlets match [Champions Cup semi] last season when he came back from a shoulder reconstruction and absolutely dominated physically. This time hes coming back from a hamstring. Potentially, you want to be careful with that, so you dont know if Leinster are going to rush him back in. But I think having a slightly unsettled 10-12 combination is a little bit of a disadvantage for Leinster, as well as losing James Lowe to that suspension out on the wing. So thats a big decision to make there: either Adam Byrnes really good form going forward or Barry Daly, whos a good defender. Chris Farrell starts for Munster @pHDunner on the great Pierre Villepreux Garry Ringrose speaks about defending at 13 Cian Kelleher's decision to leave Connacht Ulster's clash with Racing The latest Heineken Rugby Weekly is out now! https://t.co/e1Y8OZSsOa Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) January 10, 2019 Murray, Andy Dunne and Gavan Casey also discussed the fit-again Chris Farrells impact on Munsters attack and how Johan van Graans men seem to have finally found their feet ahead of the business end of the pool stage, with a pivotal trip to Kingsholm to face Gloucester on the cards on Friday night. There was also an exploration of Toulouses newly rediscovered joie de vivre, a chat about why Connacht arent a feeder team despite losing Cian Kelleher, Murray and Andys predictions for the weekend, and an interview with Garry Ringrose who discussed, among other things, his approach to defending in the 13 channel. For all of that and more, check out this weeks Heineken Rugby Weekly on iTunes, Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts, and please send your questions and thoughts for next weeks episode to [email protected]. | https://www.the42.ie:443/johnny-sexton-injury-2-4433941-Jan2019/ |
What the hell is the Baby Shark song and why is it going viral? | Its so catchy! Those infernal doo doo doo doo doo doos remain engraved in our brains. The song is No. 32 on Billboards Hot 100. It accumulated over 20.8 million streams according to Nielsen music, in addition to its unbelievable 2.1 billion views on YouTube. Baby Sharks Rise To Fame The Baby Shark song started with humble beginnings. A few years ago, it was only a campfire song, the kind that you sing with a side of Smores and mosquitoes. But then the South Korean education company PinkFong popularized the song with the help of some adorable Korean children and Auto-Tune. It was a slow burn at first in popularity. PinkFong published the video on Nov. 25, 2015. It first went viral in Indonesia in 2017, and then it spread throughout Asia. Soon. K-Pop bands started the Baby Shark Challenge, which was a dance craze where people danced to a Baby Shark remix. The K-Pop bands, Girls Generation, Twice, Red Velvet, and Black Pink are responsible in part for spreading the song and dance to the United States. K-Pop is a musical genre that is becoming increasingly popular in the United States; Black Pink are even performing at Coachella, the first K-Pop band to ever perform in the history of the festival. When K-Pop fans saw the Baby Shark challenge. it began the spread of the infectious song to the United States. Today, putting Baby Shark song into Google spits out 87.7 million hits. James Corden sang a stirring rendition of the childrens song with Sophie Turner and Josh Groban (hot take: it was kind of good). Ellen DeGeneres did her own cover of the song, and if Ellen covers it, you know it is popular. How To Listen To The Baby Shark Song If the people demand, the streaming companies comply. There are a surprising number of ways to download, stream and listen to the Baby Shark song. Besides the obvious YouTube clip, you can play Baby Shark on Spotify, Google Play, Apply Music, and SoundCloud. But if you have a child, feel free to tell them all the companies burned down. Only if you want to save your ears, though. There is no real answer to why viral videos become so popular. But personally, this is one video we hope will fade into obscurity soon. (*interally* Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo... ) | https://www.metro.us/entertainment/what-is-baby-shark-song-why-is-it-going-viral |
Why Did China Steal Marriott Customer Data? | A Marriott property in Hangzhou, China, on Jan. 11, 2018. AFP/Getty Images This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. This article is co-published with Protego Press. On Nov. 30, 2018, Marriott International acknowledged that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information belonging to hundreds of millions of unique guests. What looked like a now all-too-typical hacking incident took an even more disturbing turn when, just two weeks later, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed reports that Chinese governmentlinked hackers were responsible for the data breach. A hack whose purpose had initially appeared to be straightforward financial gain suddenly assumed a darker hue, given that Beijings intent may transcend any attempts simply to monetize these data and seek to advance bolder espionage and counterespionage efforts, as well as other national security goals. This is our new reality: Cyber powers, including China, are collecting and compiling data on private citizens, including Americans and other nationals, not just potentially to make a quick buck but also (and more consequentially) to pursue national security objectives through tactics known and still unknownbecause they havent been deployed or developed yet. Lets start with what everyone does know about the Chinese government: It has a seemingly unquenchable thirst for data on its own citizens, perhaps even to an Orwellian extent. That manifests itself in cameras that are everywhere in China, the governments monitoring of social media, and the development of a social credit score due to be in place in 2020, which will pull from financial transactions, social behavior, political views, and general lifestyle data to rate citizens. While their scope can be exaggerated, Beijings efforts and ambitions to know, and thus control, its citizenry are becoming well-known to Americans. Whats new, and shockingly so, is Beijings effort to scoop up data on ordinary American citizens. Novembers Marriott hack appears to be the first time that Chinese surveillance has extended to ordinary Americans on such an astonishing scale. This wasnt the targeting of U.S. government employees to ferret out possible spies, like Chinas hack of the Office of Personnel Management, or the targeting of American companies to steal their intellectual property, like Chinas corporate espionage against the likes of Westinghouse and U.S. Steel. Instead, this was gathering the extensive information that a major hotel chain had collected about hundreds of millions of Americansnot to mention millions from other countries. Its true that, among those masses of Americans, there presumably were particular government officials and industry leaders of special interest to Beijinghence the disturbing admission by Marriott that the 5.3 million passport numbers stolen hadnt been encrypted (in addition to 20.3 million passport numbers that were also stolen but encrypted). But, when one considers the massive scope of this state-sponsored data theft, it reveals a new paradigm in cyberattacks, one in which hard targets arent the only ones at risk and in which consumersalso known as every one of usmay now be direct targets or incidental soft targets for sophisticated, government hackers from powerful nation-states, with a time horizon for activation months, years, or even decades in the future. The universe of data-driven hostile activity remains wholly unexhausted. How this is accomplished is also new. The prospects of monitoring mass swaths of foreign citizens once would have posed a logistical nightmare. It simply was not feasible for even a powerful surveillance state to monitor hundreds of millions of people moving around foreign countries. Yet, in todays internet era, e-commerce and social media have in essence both trained and habituated consumers to provide massive amounts of information to the corporations with which they interact. Now, consumers actively provide location data when booking hotel reservations or checking in and passively provide such data when their apps persistently monitor their locations. Likes, dislikes, browser histories, medical records, bank statements, and more become part of a consumers compiled data history. The same technologies that advertisers and media companies use to generate billions in revenue can also be used to compile a dossier on each and every American. Online commerce gathers home mailing addresses, which are also tied to offline data sets like tax records. Its not hard for a company like Marriott to acquire all of that data under the guise of simplifying your consumer experienceand, in turn, its unfortunately become far too easy for cyber powers to steal them. And, as the internet of things continues to evolve, even more data will be associated with user accounts, creating an increasingly capacious and detailed view of consumers identities and behaviors. Why to do this is even newer. Since the reports of Chinas involvement in the Marriott data breach, too little attention has been paid to the question of why Beijing would want this mass set of consumer data in the first place, beyond the supposition that somewhere within it there could be something useful to learn about government and industry leaders. Thats a sign that data accumulation as an end in itself has become so second-nature to us that we neglect to question the motivations or implications behind even staggering hacks. But why Beijing would do this is an essential question. Some specific use cases for weaponizing this data set are easily imaginable. Perhaps this data set can help to reveal Americans spying against China and even Chinese spying for America. Perhaps the data set can be exploited to reveal, track, or discredit Chinese dissidents and human rights advocates. Perhaps this data set can be used to fuel the election interference with which Beijing is already experimenting by providing the type of information on American voters that facilitates microtargeting them with disinformation. Or perhaps this data set can be used to develop and deploy campaigns to paint China in a favorable light so as, say, to improve Chinas leverage in the ongoing tariff war between Washington and Beijing. But most intriguing is the possibility that Beijing doesnt even know why or how it might be able to use this data set, yet nonetheless figures that its worth acquiring it now, with an anticipation of putting it to use later. Thats true in at least two senses. First, the universe of data-driven hostile activity remains wholly unexhausted. What weve seen so farlike Russian election interference via social mediais likely just the early steps in burgeoning cyber conflicts. In the months, years, or even decades to come, Beijing may well figure out how to bring together multiple methods and manners to utilize this sort of data against American interests in ongoing, and likely escalating, cyber conflicts. Second, machine learning is yielding uses for large data sets that humans alone could not imagineor even understandgiven that machine learning can generate correlations among data that the machine itself cant explain. Given these potential use cases, among others, Beijings plan may be simply to vacuum up as much data like this as possible and then see what todays machine learningor, better yet, tomorrows machine learningcan do with it. All told, the 2018 Marriott hack should be a wake-up call for Western countries, corporations, and citizens that soft cyber targets face a new threat from powerful cyber actors, with stakes that may be bigger than we or even those launching these attacks are yet able to realize. The result of such threats is that the private sector is now on the front lines of national security interests, with data vulnerabilities exposing risks beyond simple identity theft. Given the stakes, there should be heightened urgency around building better modes of cooperationincluding but not limited to information sharing and security safeguard protocolsbetween the public and private sectors so that, like Beijing, Washington begins to treat ordinary data as the crucial national security asset it is. More From Just Security: Trump Campaign in Legal Jeopardy Over Manaforts Sharing Data With Russian Agent When the Pardon Furthers the Conspiracy: Limits to the Pardon Power Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. | https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/marriott-chinese-government-hack-personal-information.html |
Is a disgruntled third party biggest concern of Jimmy Butler-Brett Brown drama? | originally appeared on nbcsportsphiladelphia.com Now that Sixers swingman Jimmy Butler and coach Brett Brown both had the chance to respond to a story about a supposed confrontation between the two, it's probably safe to say whatever happened wasn't quite on the level of Latrell Sprewell choking P.J. Carlesimo - though, that is one way to get coach to call more pick-and-rolls. If nothing else, Butler and Brown did a nice job downplaying any discord, and in all honesty, I believed them about the nature of the infamous film session. Their version sounds like a healthy dialogue between a coach and star veteran still finding his role in a new offense with a new team, nothing more. It's legitimately concerning, and not just because Butler could leave marks around Brown's neck for team photo day. It's concerning because it might reveal potential issues in the Sixers locker room if either A) some players don't feel comfortable challenging an authority figure and/or B) somebody has a problem with or feels threatened by Butler's presence. A is obviously a lot less sinister than B, and plausible given the relative youth of the roster. No doubt, J.J. Redick, Wilson Chandler and Amir Johnson have seen some things as 10-plus-year vets - as Butler said, basketball is still a job, and people do occasionally disagree with their bosses in the real world, too. The rest of the guys, most of whom have never played anywhere else in the NBA or started careers in any field, may not feel comfortable being as vocal yet. Story continues That would be a relatively minor problem, assuming there was any validity to the idea at all. It's only a guess, but would be preferable to the other possibility. Somebody in that locker room or building simply doesn't care very much for Butler. It's difficult to envision how anybody benefits from this story leaking, and even Brown insisted it wasn't planted. Fine, nobody is actively trying to sow dissension within the Sixers. Regardless, somebody felt Butler was being disrespectful, to the point it became discussion-worthy around the league. Sounds like there might be an ax to grind there. If I'm the Sixers, I'm more worried about who got annoyed and started running their mouth about Butler than I am about Brown's throat. Between this, the complicated Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons dynamic and the Markelle Fultz saga, infighting might be a bigger threat to the team's short-term and long-term success than Butler's antics. Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device. More on the Sixers | https://sports.yahoo.com/disgruntled-third-party-biggest-concern-161657974.html?src=rss |
Why Was The QWERTY Keyboard Layout Invented? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Brian Roemmele, Founder + Editor at Read Multiplex, on Quora: It was almost the QWE.TY keyboard layout. The three primary confluences that motivated the QWERTY layout and the primary reasons are surprising. A New Way To Write The typewriter was heralded as a new way to write with greater speed, fluency and readability. This idea of the typewriter predates the office use that ultimately made it a standard business machine. Like many things in history, the QWERTY layout had fundamental contributing elements that became obscured across the span of time. The rise of the industrial age to the office age in the United States closely aligns with the rise of the typewriter. Although the typewriter has a history that predates the QWERTY layout, it was a confluence of elements that gave rise to Remington winning the early typewriter standard. The QWERTY Keyboard Business Model In November, 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes [0] and his colleagues, Carlos Glidden, Samuel Willard Soul, and James Densmore, in Milwaukee shipped out their first 28 key piano style keyboard-like typewriter [1] to Porters Telegraph College in Chicago, primarily to transcribe telegraph messages. By April, 1870 Matthias Schwalbach helped Sholes design a new typewriter with 38 keys [2], which consisted of capitals, numerals 2 to 9, hyphen, comma, period, and question mark. According to typewritten letters and patents of Sholes, the keyboard consisted of four rows, nearly in alphabetical order, but the u was next to o. But it would be his next versions that had a close version of todays QWERTY keyboard layout. The Sholes 28 key piano style keyboard-like typewriter. The most popular theory posits [3] that the inventors designed the QWERTY keyboard system to prevent the mechanical lock up of the strikers due to the close succession of adjacent often used keys that were high on the Bigram Frequency [4] of usage. The keys were actuated by the type bar connecting the keys and the letter plate, which formed a circle beneath the paper feed system. It is important to differentiate between the typewriters keyboard rows and the type bars. There were just two rows of type bars in Sholes design. The Remington QWERTY type bar connecting the keys and the letter plate. The striker lockup came when a typist quickly typed a succession of letters on the same type bars and the strikers were adjacent to each other. There was a higher possibility for the keys to become jammed if the sequence was not perfectly timed. The theory presents that Sholes redesigned the type bar so as to separate the most common sequences of letters: th, he and others from causing a jam. Bigram Frequency usage of letter pairs in the english language. If this theory was correct, the QWERTY keyboard system should create the maximum separation of the common letter pairings. However er, the fourth most common and re, the sixth most common letter pairing in the English language begins to break down this theory as they turn out to be the most used key combinations, surpassing th. Additionally, the Sholes typewriter prototypes had a different keyboard layout that was only changed just before he filed the QWERTY patent. If it had been put into production we would have been talking about the QWE.TY keyboard. The reason for the last minute change of moving the r next to the e has baffled many historians who have assumed the Bigram Frequency of key combinations influenced the key placement. Additionally, there was no direct mention of why the keys were placed in QWERTY layout in the patent. The claim that it would cause less striker lockups would have been a primary attribute of the patent. Finally, at the time that Sholes patented the QWERTY layout there were no touch typists , the only popular method on record was hunt and peck with visual feedback. The typewriter was just too new of an instrument for anyone to imagine memorization of the keyboard layout. With no touch typing, with no fingers on the home keys, there was not the speed nor the multiple finger combinations that would have caused high striker lockup. That problem only came years later after there were touch typists that had memorized the keyboard layout. Consider the placement of er and/or re. It was not unknown to Sholes that these were the most popular key parings when both combinations were added together. It has been argued that he got the educator and brother of his early partner, Amos Densmore to prepare a frequency study of letter-pairs in the English language using the Bigram Frequency of usage technique. But this turns out to not quite correct with history. Densmore was not an educator the in 1860's when it was suggested he conducted this study. He owned the Densmore Oil Company and manufactured train cars for transporting petroleum and did not have time or resources to conduct this research. Finally, the obvious and logical sequential alphabetical placement of the keys actually are spaced almost as well as QWERTY for key striker lock up, yet Sholes abandoned this layout as he abandoned others. The QWERTY Conflict Thus we are left with a conflict. Some argue the QWERTY layout was a compromise between the mechanical needs of the typewriter and the needs of the typist to have common letters under fingers. The concept of touch typing was not invented at this time so that is simply not valid. Most certainly Sholes was mindful of the placement of the keys on his keyboard from a mechanical standpoint to minimize potential key striker lockup, but he was also looking for an edge that may very well reach beyond engineering. Sholes did not have the resources to manufacture typewriters at the scale he had hoped the market would demand as the industrial revolution was predicted to create a torrent of typewritten pages. He needed a manufacturing partner. That partner was the E. Remington and Sons [5] that had began making guns and rifles and moved to sewing machines. In March 1886 they acquired the patents for Sholes typewriter. Sholes stayed on with Remington for a while and met the marketing men, William O. Wykoff, Clarence W. Seamans and Henry H. Benedict. They saw the problem from a perspective that no other typewriter company saw. They saw it as an education issue that could allow the company to command large shares of the market. With the release of Remington typewriter No. 2, the primary customers were not telegraphers, but mostly shorthanders in office environments. As soon as Model No. 2 was released, William Ozmun Wyckoff of Ithaca, New York, began to teach his six-finger typing method, using first to third fingers of both hands, to his shorthand pupils at Phonographic Institute. In August, 1882 Remington entered into an exclusive selling agreement of typewriters with Wyckoff and established a new company, Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict to teach touch typing. Model No. 2 slightly shifted some letters from the original Sholes patents, M was moved next to N, and C was exchanged with X for a number of patent reasons. By August, 1882, Elizabeth Margaret Vater Longley presented her eight-finger typing method, using first to fourth fingers of both hands on the home keys and it was ultimately adopted by Wyckoff in his touch typing courses. Let Me Train You To Type The Remington course plan was to offer free or discounted typewriters with a ready made touch typing course to private business collages, universities, and The World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). The YWCA was a place where women were able to learn a new trade for the expanding office and secretarial job market. Prior to touch typing most typing was via the hunt and peck sight method with no home keys. The touch type course used the QWERTY keyboard layout and required the typist to not look at the keyboard and to memorize the keys. This memorization piece had an incredible effect on the typist. It also allowed the typewriter to mechanically have a higher slope angle of Model No. 2 for faster finger movement as there is less need to actually see the keys. Those so trained would find it almost impossible to use any other keyboard layout. They literally programmed the QWERTY layout into the head (like software, if you will) of the typist. Moving to another non- QWERTY layout would cause the words per minute to go down by about 80% according to Remington at the time. They posited that it requires about 400 hours of practice to achieve the reflexes to become a skilled typist and another 600 to be an expert with touch typing using the home keys method, which as far as the research goes, is the fastest technique. The plan worked so well they opened Remington Typing Schools throughout Europe a few years later. It was established quite early on, for many reason I will not cover here, that typing was primarily performed by women. In fact in 1874 less than 4% of clerical workers in the United States were women and by 1900, the number had increased to approximately 75%. Before his death, Sholes said "I do feel that I have done something for the women who have always had to work so hard. This will enable them more easily to earn a living. The plan Remington created was simple yet one of the most powerful ways to insure the QWERTY keyboard was the preferred standard. By training typists on the new concept of memorized touch typing they did a number of things: Got the typists to move from hunt and peck typing to the memorized key layout of the QWERTY keyboard and thereby increased the speed of Remington typists. Insured that the majority of typists moving to the expanding office typing pools were QWERTY trained and demanded/requested Remington typewriters. Shifted the marketing and sales to the user rather than the buyer of the business products. By March, 1893, WS&B and a new partner, Charles Newell Fowler of the Equitable Mortgage Company, founded the Union Typewriter Company as the shareholder of five leading typewriter companies, Remington, Caligraph, Yost, Densmore, and Smith-Premier, to form the Typewriter Trust later known as Standard Typewriter Manufacturing Company, Inc only later to adopt the Remington Typewriter Company name again. The five companies adopted QWERTY on their typewriters and by June, 1898, QWERTY became the de facto standard, with over 70% market share of typewriter sales. The Remington touch typing courses were one of the fundamental reasons for the shift to QWERTY. Competitors did not understand the tactics that were at play until it was too late. By 1901 half of all the US higher education schools had standardized on the Remington touch typing method. It took years for the next major brands to catch up, but all ultimately had to shift to the QWERTY keyboard layout. By 1915 high schools began occupational skill training using Remingtons courses. The Remington course and its variants were standard High School training up until the mid 1970s in the U.S., as ironically the personal computer just started to become popularly known. Watch How Fast I Can Do This There was one more thing that Remington used as a sort of icing on the cake, so to speak. Sholes originally was going to patent the QWE.TY keyboard layout, but at the last minute he changed his mind. History has lost who came up with the idea, but I suspect it was Sholes, he moved the "e" to the former . position for one hidden fundamental reason. The demonstrations for sales of his new invention, to prove it was faster, years before formal touch typing and memorization. The early sales presentations of the Sholes typewriter started with the representative typing TYPEWRITER or TYPE-WRITER [6] very fast in almost a single motion. It was so fast that it fascinated potential customers. Later on this secret was adopted by Remington and it was practiced by the sales people with contests for the fastest delivery of TYPEWRITER. Sholes took the letters for the word TYPEWRITER and put them on a single line. After many tests, long before there was memorized home key touch typing this was the ideal place for the eyes to see the keys while typing. Thus, we have a rather rich story of how the QWERTY keyboard layout came about. I know that this information conflicts with the folktales of mechanical keys locking up because of the Bigram Frequency of key pairs. The fact is that it was very easy to cause keys to lock up for most of the history of the typewriter up until the IBM selectric ball system. One can argue that many other keyboard and type bar layouts could actually cause less key striker lock up. We can also argue other keyboard layouts were more practical, like the sequential alphabetical or later the Dvorak layout. But by the time these concepts came around or were reintroduced, it was too late, thousands of trained touch typists already memorized the QWERTY keyboard and the network effect and momentum were impossible to reverse. So to recap the confluence of reasons: Patented designs - There were nearly 100 patents around the idea of typing, Sholes needed something unique. - There were nearly 100 patents around the idea of typing, Sholes needed something unique. Proprietary QWERTY Training courses - No one had organized on a large scale the training of typists. Remington cornered the training market. - No one had organized on a large scale the training of typists. Remington cornered the training market. Sales people and effective marketing - By training some of the most aggressive and flamboyant sales people typing out TYPEWRITER in one motion demonstrations they wowed the potential customers. - By training some of the most aggressive and flamboyant sales people typing out TYPEWRITER in one motion demonstrations they wowed the potential customers. Mechanical considerations - the dual type bars and key placement did have some QWERTY minor impact on lowering key striker lockup. Today, since the rise of the teletype keyboard that influenced Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs on the first TV Typewriter Apple 1 [7], on through the influence of the IBM Selectric on PC keyboards, on to the complete de-evolution of typing with thumbs on glass simulated keyboards, QWERTY is still with us. We learn it in a way that is at best, variations of hunt and peck with memorization of the QWERTY layout. We have assimilated the QWERTY layout so much to memory that it is very, very hard to conceive of the keyboard in any other layout. In fact, moving just a few keys on a QWERTY keyboard causes noticeable trauma to the typists in some research tests. It is hard to conduct research for an alternative layout. In the late 1950s a study was conducted with school children in Alaska using a sequential alphabetical keyboard on a modified Remington, they equaled the efficiency and speed of QWERTY typists. The tests had to stop when parents discovered their children were damaged and could not type QWERTY easily and it took some a year to deprogram the keyboard they memorized. Recent studies have also proven that using all of your fingers does not necessarily make you a very fast typist, some do very well with two fingers. So even the concept of some touch typing courses may be somewhat invalid. The QWERTY keyboard has also had a very deep and lasting impact across a number of very non intuitive areas. This is called the QWERTY effect [8], [9], [10] and the Right Side Ratio/Bias (RSR). This has been studied in depth and posits that essentially the mechanical load and cognitive load to reach certain keys, primarily the left hand keys, make humans disfavor using those keys and there is robust and compelling evidence that everything from baby names [11] to how highly we rate products on Amazon or movies on Netflix has a RSR bias [9]. This means that a significant part of our everyday life is deeply tied and biased to the QWERTY keyboard layout that was invented in the 1860s and was cobbled together to more or less sell more typewriters. Additionally, the mostly serial letter by letter process of typing has slowed down and perhaps curtailed the brains ability to present information meant to be spoken but lost because of the slow process of painstakingly typing each letter to the words and sentences you have already formed in your head. It is also important to note that with the recent shift to using primarily our thumbs on smartphones and tablets, we are rewiring our brains in such a way that it may have a deeply lasting impact [9.5]. Some have said that history shows that market share and technical superiority are rarely related. There is the likelihood of "lock-in" to inferior standards. The Beta and VHS competition as well as some others are an example as perhaps MS-DOS. But perhaps the QWERTY keyboard, some state, was designed purely for a marketing premise and not a premise that would actually create higher productivity. It can even be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica as evidence of how human inertia can result in the choice of an inferior product. The story can be found in two very successful economics books written by Robert Frank and Philip Cook's: The Winner-Take-All Society and Paul Krugman's Peddling Prosperity, where an entire chapter is devoted to the "economics of QWERTY. The examples of how QWERTY became a standard usually overlooks the sequence of events of history and how markets really are formed and react and act. Indeed, the software lock-in of QWERTY hardware by the brain memorizing the keyboard layout was brilliant and not widely known even today. The economic theory that somehow winner-takes-all capitalism (perhaps the a typewriter monopoly) in and of itself created the single reason for the rise of QWERTY is quite flawed. It was the brilliant idea to train the typist to memorize a particular keyboard layout that fundamentally made QWERTY a standard for better or worse. Without the front loading of the Remington touch typing classes there would be not QWERTY standard. I have used this example over the last few decades as a deep example to many founders of start-ups. There is much to learn from the QWERTY story and the economic impact, but this would take another longer posting. Cognitive Load And Mechanical Load Of Typing Today we use the technology of the keyboard and the QWERTY keyboard layout on a scale unlike any other technology. If Sholes returned to see his invention in use at this scale I am certain it would fascinate him and perhaps give him pause and a chuckle. The cause and effect the relatively new concept of typing has had on society is of course mostly positive. We get to interact with computers using this technologically ancient method. However, I see this as a stop over point to what I call the Voice First revolution [12]. The human thinking and communication work product is speech. We talk in words and sentences not serially in letters. This is the byproduct of millions of years of evolution and perhaps 500,000 years of vocalizations. Typing and the QWERTY keyboard literally has changed the way we think. Humans have been talking for a very long time. You are talking to yourself as you read this as well as I am talking to myself as I try to type this (this part I did not dictate using Siri). The only reason we did not talk to the typewriter or the early computers that copied the typewriters is because they obviously did not have the technology to understand us. And some may argue that talking to a computer has been around for a while and it is not very useful. I would agree. There is much more to the Voice First revolution then simulating what we do when we type. I know this, long before evolution self selects humans for better typing abilities without impacting thinking functions, we will have long ago moved on to using our voice. Giving us more power because of the machine? Indeed this is why humans build machines. However, the use of the keyboard will not instantly disappear, nor did the bicycle. It will be supplanted by new technology. The bicycle exists in the scooter and self driving car world. But it is a relic from the mechanical age. We will move from the mechanical age of of using our fingers and perhaps just our thumbs to filter our knowledge to the true software age of using our voice, it is how we are designed. Along the way we will be tied to the typewriter QWERTY keyboard that was designed for an era that has long past. We have QWERTY stuck in our memoriesfor now. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch... [1] http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Doc... [2] http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Doc... [3] https://amzn.to/2E1Bv10 [4] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.... [6] https://amzn.to/2KW6zAB [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV... [8] http://neuro.imm.dtu.dk/wiki/The... [9] https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.02287 [9.5] https://www.researchgate.net/pub... [10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc... [11] http://www.casasanto.com/papers/... [12] http://VoiceFirst.Expert This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/10/why-was-the-qwerty-keyboard-layout-invented/ |
Why Do We Experience Rapid Eye Movements When We Dream? | REM sleep is not fully understood, but a way to think about it is that the visual system is operating on free-cycling autopilot, unconstrained by the outside world. Think for a moment about freeform dancing, dancing like no one is watching. Or similarly, think about how a baby moves when it is on its back in a crib. During normal vision, the visual system is locked to the external world, trying to link an internal story with an external reality so that what you see is grounded in what is out there. The eyes search around to collect information in order to keep the internal story synchronized with the outside world, all while serving the information needs of our current goals and plans. But in sleep, with eyes closed, there is no external reality to lock to; and there is no internal program trying to survive via sensory-perceptual traction. In dreaming, the mind can run free and carry the visual system along with it for the ride. So the visual system goes through the motions, looking here and there. But what we see comes not from the environment, but filled in by our mind and memories. We see things generated by our brain, and then glance to one side to find out more and then more is generated. No matter where you look in your dream, there is more to see because the brain just keeps filling things in with something sort of reasonable. And meanwhile, the eyes keep moving around because the mechanical system of visual attention direction hasnt been disabled. The limbs are paralyzed during dreaming to prevent dangerous movements, but this is not a problem for the eyes, so they move around, seemingly randomly. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/10/why-do-we-experience-rapid-eye-movements-when-we-dream/ |
How Much Is Grab Worth? | Grab is a Singapore-based company which offers ride hailing, ride sharing and food delivery services via its mobile app in Southeast Asia. In addition to Singapore, the companys services are available in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. In March 2018 Grab acquired Ubers operations in Southeast Asia and Uber now holds a 28% stake in Grab. This deal is likely to drive significant growth for Grab which already dominates the Southeast Asian ride hailing market with reportedly more than 60% market share in the region. Grab was valued at $10 billion in its most recent funding round, where it raised $2 billion for future growth. The company expects to double its revenues in 2019, as it integrates Ubers operations and forays into bike sharing and digital payments. Our interactive dashboard Estimating The Valuation Of Grab looks at Grabs key value drivers and the likely upside in its valuation if the target of 100% growth in revenues is met in 2019. Grab has witnessed significant growth in rides booked via the companys app over the last two years. Its number of users nearly doubled between 2017 and 2018, and average daily rides have increased significantly from around 2.5 3.5 million in 2017 to 6 million in 2018. For 2019, as the company benefits from the acquisition of Uber in the region, expands its bike sharing initiatives and builds further on its dominant market position in Southeast Asia, we expect significant growth in the companys number of users. This will drive growth in the total number of annual rides and boost revenue growth. Growth In Riders, Fares Based on limited data available for the total number of rides and total revenues, we estimate the average gross revenue per ride for the company to be around $2.50 in 2018. We forecast this number to increase to $3 in 2019, as the company establishes its dominance in Southeast Asia (post-acquisition of Ubers business) and sees increased demand for longer rides. With reduced competition, Grab can also look to withdraw discounts, leading to higher revenues. Grab charges a 20% commission from its drivers and we expect this number to remain steady over the next few years. Based on its most recent valuation and expected revenues for 2018, Grab commands an estimated revenue multiple of around 10x. This is higher than Ubers revenue multiple of about 5x based on its most recent valuation of $76 billion in August 2018 and Didi Chuxings valuation multiple of around 7.5x. If the company is able to achieve net revenues of around $2 billion in 2019 (per its own target), its valuation could potentially reach $16 billion with a lower revenue multiple of around 7x (lower than its current multiple as growth is likely to slow down in future years). Grab is focusing on growth initiatives and has an ambitious goal of becoming an everyday app and the company is diversifying into areas such as online grocery, food delivery and payments. However, regulatory hurdles and competition from local players are likely to be its key challenges, and the companys ability to navigate these will be critical for future growth. While Grab is not profitable yet, its market dominance, high volumes and expansion into food delivery and other areas should lead to economies of scale, driving profitability in the future. We believe Grab still has strong growth potential, and is likely to see some upside in its valuation in the near term even if multiples decline. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/10/how-much-is-grab-worth/ |
Can Elon Musk Actually Make A Flying Tesla Car? | Elon Musk turned a few heads on Twitter yesterday, January 9 when he claimed that an upcoming Tesla car might have the ability to fly. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO certainly hasnt left us wanting with his somewhat outlandish schemes before. Weve seen everything from a flamethrower to plans to start a Mars colony. Now it appears hes going to add thrusters to a new version of the Tesla Roadster car, claiming it will give it the ability to fly. The new Roadster will actually do something like this, Musk said in response to a tweet showing a picture of the flying DeLorean from Back to the Future. He added: Im not [joking]. Will use SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the 2 rear seats. This isnt the first time Musk has alluded to a flying Tesla. Back in June 2018, he said that an option package for the new Tesla Roadster would include 10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around the car. These would apparently improve its acceleration, speed, and handling. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly he added. To find out, I spoke to a couple of automotive engineers. And while they didnt doubt Musks ability to surprise us, they were a little skeptical. Of course you can install that in a car and make some fancy things, Dr. Markus Lienkamp from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany. If he recharges the system with air pressure and some liquid fuel it might be able to work permanently. Musk had alluded to this in another tweet last year, saying you could use an electric pump to replenish the air in the pressure vessel. But Dr. Lienkamp was not convinced. In my opinion [it is] just a showcase, he said. The system will be pretty heavy and costly. Dr. John Allport from the University of Huddersfield in the UK, meanwhile, was equally unsure. He cited the huge energy costs of the system as being a major problem, and noted that even if the thrusters did work as planned, youd probably only be able to lift the car off the ground for a few seconds. Technically theres nothing impossible about what hes proposing, he said. But the amount of energy to just lift a car off the ground, where is all the energy going to come from? Another issue is that the air from the thrusters would escape quickly. Hovercraft overcome this problem by having a rubber cushion around their base, which contains the air pressure. Without such a skirt around the Tesla to seal the air in, getting it to hover for more than a few seconds is likely to be extremely difficult. Once you get above a millimeter or so, your air loss is going to be so big that you soon run out of air, said Dr. Allport. What might be more feasible, however, is using the thrusters to improve the performance of the car. Many modern ships use thrusters to improve their turning capability, and a similar method could be employed here, firing a thruster to turn the Tesla into a corner and take it more tightly, or get a boost when accelerating. But the weight of the system needed to do this might negate the reason for doing it in the first place. Sports car designers typically try and get as much weight out of the car as possible, so having heavy equipment to provide thrusts of air could end up being self-defeating unless Musk has some tricks up his sleeve. Whats more clear, however, is that the dreams of a true flying Tesla might be a little far-fetched. True, it does seem as if the car would be able to hover off the ground for a few seconds. But sustaining flight for anything longer than that might prove difficult. If anything, it would be a hover rather than flight, said Dr. Allport. It really just comes down to a case of how much energy is needed, and how much energy can you store physically within the volume of the car. Still, Musk has proved us wrong before. And lets not get away from the fact that even a hovering car, if just for a few seconds, would be pretty incredible. You might not be taking to the skies any time soon, but a little hop off the ground would still be rather impressive. Well have to wait and see what Tesla has in store. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2019/01/10/can-elon-musk-actually-make-a-flying-tesla-car/ |
Are the Oscars poised for yet another Crash landing? | At one time, the Golden Globe Awards was like a little sister to the Oscars, but in the past decade the ceremony has become more of a drunken uncle. This is not only due to the ceremonys open bar (and resultant sloppy speeches), but also its affinity for awarding fare that laughably targets the lowest common denominator. While we can blame this largely on its infamously out-of-touch voting board, which is occupied by 90 California-based journalists who write for publications outside the U.S., we must also consider the potential damage it leaves in its wake. At this past weekends Golden Globes, Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book won more awards than any other film. Let that sink in for a moment. Prior to Sunday nights ceremony, the critically panned Queen biopic had been awash in controversy because of its handling or lack thereof of frontman Freddie Mercurys sexuality, race and life with AIDS. When not focused on the cleaning up aspect, conversation about the film on social media tended to focus on its troubled production, which saw director Bryan Singer rarely on set amidst rumours of sexual harassment. He was ultimately fired and replaced. Meanwhile, Green Book, which tells the real-life story of Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian New Yorker hired to drive Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a black pianist, through the south on a concert tour, was receiving a similarly rocky reception prior to the awards show. It premiered in the fall to healthy reviews, but the film was soon criticized as being yet another white saviour film, produced by white filmmakers no less. The death knell seemed to have been rung when Shirleys family blasted the movie, calling it a symphony of lies, disputing the films depiction of a friendly relationship between the pair. Typically, production drama, a torrent of bad reviews and, at least in recent social-media rage-out years, racial controversy is enough to sink a film entirely. Nevertheless, Bohemian Rhapsody became the worst-reviewed film to receive a Golden Globe for Best Drama in 33 years, and Green Book scored for Best Comedy and Best Screenplay, beating critically-acclaimed frontrunners A Star is Born and The Favourite. While its well-understood that the Globes are a circus, heres the thing: voting for this years Oscars began the following day. And many of the Oscars voters comprised of over 7,000 actors, producers, casting directors, costume designers, you name it were either in that room, ready to be swayed, or watching remotely as each winner was announced and made their speech. Because of this, Hollywood trade papers have assumed those less-deserving films have gained a new momentum thanks to their Globe wins. And just like that, the vastly superior A Star is Born and Roma are no longer frontrunners for Best Picture glory. This scenario calls to mind one of the worst years in awards history: 2004. Despite Brokeback Mountain, Capote and A History of Violence all being released that year, it was Paul Haggiss Crash which has aged so poorly its borderline laughable now that went on to pick up Best Picture. (It also happened to be the year Three 6 Mafia won for Best Original Song. Ahem.) This, despite Brokeback, that years frontrunner, having walked in with the most nominations, and having scored a Best Director win for Ang Lee. The conclusion at the time was that Hollywood just wasnt ready to award a gay love story, instead opting for more conservative, but exceedingly tone-deaf material a lot like this years Green Book, 2012s The Help or 2009s The Blind Side. In the end, it suggests there really isnt any value to be found in hoping, year in and year out, that the Oscars will recognize the right movie. Thats not what awards season has ever been about, despite what the trophies might suggest. Will they ever honour the most deserving movie is a question weve been asking for a decade and will likely continue asking for another 10 years. Still, the hope the Oscar for Best Picture will actually go to a film that is everything to all people critically acclaimed, beloved by audiences and an artistic achievement lingers, no matter the reality with which weve been confronted. In its 91st year, its about time the Academy Awards actually stands for what it claims to represent. And one less Crash in its history is one step closer to that goal. | https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/how-will-the-ever-bizarre-golden-globes-impact-the-oscar-race |
Will Trump go after foreign aid to pay for his border wall? | President Trumps hands are seen as he participates in a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Columnist Its bad enough that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are victims of the government shutdown, given that Americas diplomats are currently in great demand. Now, President Trump and other top officials are singling out foreign aid funding and arguing that money would be better spent on the southern border. If Trump tries to redirect foreign aid funding to build his wall, he would be undermining security both at home and abroad. Trumps recent targeting of foreign aid money in the context of the wall funding debate has alarmed lawmakers and the international development community. They suspect that if Trump cant get his wall money by declaring a national emergency and raiding military construction accounts, he will start looking for another target. Last summer, as The Post reported, Trumps Office of Management and Budget wrote a memo threatening to take back billions of dollars in unobligated foreign aid funding that Congress appropriated. Congress decides how taxpayer money is spent. Thats the law, and we expect the administration to follow it, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) told me. If I get even a whiff that State Department money might be diverted to pay for the presidents silly wall, the Foreign Affairs Committee will have the responsible officials in front of us so fast your head will spin. Engel and others have watched with alarm as Trump and other officials have staged a series of attacks on foreign aid this week and last. At his Jan. 2 Cabinet meeting, Trump claimed (inaccurately) that Democrats want $12 billion additional for foreign aid, which he described as a lot. So theyre going to give $54.4 billion in foreign aid, but they want $12 billion more than that in foreign aid, but they wont approve $5.6 billion for a wall thats going to pay for itself almost on a monthly basis, Trump said. On Jan. 5, Trump tweeted that Democrats were demanding foreign aid increases while refusing to fund border security. The same day, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed (inaccurately) in an op-ed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosis budget plan would waste taxpayer money on ineffective and inefficient international programs, increasing foreign aid to a whopping $54 billion. As The Posts Fact Checker pointed out, Trump and McDaniels foreign aid comments are wrong and misleading in several ways. The Senate Appropriations Committee, led on this issue by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), unanimously approved a bill providing $54.4 billion for the entire State Department and USAID budget, of which foreign aid is just one part. That $54.4 billion number was part of the bipartisan budget deal Congress sent to Trump in December and is roughly the same as last year. The number is $12 billion above the Trump administrations official budget request, but Congress has rejected Trumps attempts to slash State Department funding every year. Regardless, the fact that Trump is suggesting foreign aid money would be better spent on the wall has the foreign aid community worried. Such a scheme would exacerbate the problems in foreign countries that form the root causes of the migration problem, said Liz Schrayer, president and chief executive of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, which advocates development and diplomacy. Its a false choice to pit border security funding or any other national security tool against the foreign assistance resources that America needs to stop threats before they reach our border, she told me. Great nations can do both. Before the shutdown, Trump threatened to withhold foreign aid as punishment specifically from the Central American countries from which migrants are escaping. Just last week, over two dozen evangelical and other Christian leaders wrote a letter to Trump and Vice President Pence making the case for investment in foreign aid on moral and national security grounds. For one percent of the federal budget, development and humanitarian programs are cost-effective and ensure America remains a beacon of hope for those in need around the world, they wrote. These programs help make the United States a great nation, and they also contribute to our security and continued prosperity. Even if Trump doesnt actually try to reallocate State Department and USAID money to fund the wall, invoking border security to undermine support for development and foreign assistance funding is a worrisome trend. Pitting the safety of Americans against the stability and prosperity of people in other countries is a false choice. The latter bolsters the former. Ivanka Trump understands this. She was set to host a huge event at the State Department this week to launch her Womens Economic Empowerment Initiative, which is her signature program to leverage U.S. diplomatic and development resources to advance economic opportunities for women all over the world. Unfortunately, the event had to be postponed due to the government shutdown. Read more from Josh Rogins archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/will-trump-go-after-foreign-aid-to-pay-for-his-border-wall/2019/01/10/22b2673a-14fd-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html |
Why do video games use stronger security than some Canadian banks? | Ian Paterson is the CEO of Plurilock, a Victoria-based cybersecurity firm, and is a member of the Council of Canadian Innovators. I spent one of my holiday afternoons this year at a bank, with two tellers and a manager, having my debit card reissued and access to my accounts restored. All of this because my top Canadian bank lacked tools that are commonplace today in video games. Story continues below advertisement It was a late morning in December when I made a simple mistake, adding my bank details to a budgeting app. In todays cloud-centric world, logging in from somewhere or something new shouldnt be an issue but in this case it was. An automated process froze my account. When I called to have it unfrozen, I was told to visit town, find a branch office and confirm my identity in person. Oh, and to do this during holiday hours. On one level, I understand why my bank locked me out. Simply put, theyll lose customers if they arent perceived as secure. A recent PwC study showed that 85 per cent of consumers wont do business with a company whose security practices they doubt. From the banks perspective, a malicious attacker may have taken my login details, using them to empty out my accounts and, at the very least, interrupt my growing Starbucks habit. But Ill be blunt: Securely authenticating users digital identities without trips to the bank is a solved problem. Current best practices involve the use of multifactor authentication, which combines elements of something you know (such as a password), something you are (such as biometrics or your behavior) and something you have (such as a debit card). When Google mandated two-factor authentication across the company, the account-hijacking rate was reportedly reduced to zero. What my bank did wasnt a best practice; they simply lacked the modern tools to properly protect my account. And because they didnt have the infrastructure to step up to a second form of authentication, their only option was to go nuclear by blocking me and issuing a new card. They should know better. Most standards bodies today offer guidance on exactly how to remain secure. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a global leader in this area, issues guidelines on digital identity. These recommend two-factor authentication rather than reliance on SMS messages, complicated password rules and security questions as tools for protection. Complex password rules, security questions and premature block-outs impose burdens that consumers today, each with dozens of accounts, struggle to meet. Yet most companies employ exactly these strategies. Worse, these strategies are not particularly secure, as NIST understands. Thats is why all of this user frustration hasnt helped to reduce skyrocketing breach rates. When consumers face frequent password changes, draconian password rules and lockouts for forgotten passwords, they simply write their passwords down or pick short, familiar words theyre sure theyll remember. This makes password theft easy, particularly when automated hacking tools can guess even a completely random 10-letter password in a matter of hours. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement This isnt idle speculation on my part; I speak from experience. Im the chief executive of Plurilock Security Solutions, a cybersecurity company thats served the U.S. Army, power plants and hedge funds and that has industry veterans such as the former director of the U.S. National Security Agency on its board. We use human behavior as a transparent form of authentication, preventing damage from phishing and other online attacks invisibly. I began by mentioning video games because game companies are ahead of the curve here. Most games currently offer better, more reasonable security measures than my bank does as a matter of course. Massively popular Fortnite is a good example its free to play, yet offers two-factor authentication to everyone. Im not the only one to recognize that banks need to complete their digital transformation. Entire companies, such as Vancouvers FI.SPAN have sprung up to reimagine business banking. Strong authentication that solves the problems Ive outlined not only exists, but it is eminently affordable. So, in honor of my unexpected holiday trip to a bank office to present an old-fashioned ID card that itself is easily forged, Id like to make a modest proposal. For too long, companies have responded to consumer demand for real security with inconveniences that merely imply it. This isnt a good solution. In 2019, lets agree to move beyond security theatre and to implement tried-and-true solutions that are both effective and already on the market solutions that provide real security without matching levels of inconvenience. At the very least, I and my bank teller will thank you for it. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-why-do-video-games-use-stronger-security-than-some-canadian-banks/ |
Will St. Nicks magic run out for Eagles in New Orleans? | Open this photo in gallery Nick Foles looks to pass under pressure from Akiem Hicks in the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Soldier Field on Jan. 06, 2019 in Chicago, Ill. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images The Philadelphia Eagles have St. Nick, and he hasnt let them down in the clutch. The problem on Sunday is that New Orleans has a lot of Saints and a stronger team. Nick Foles has been nothing short of superb in replacing Carson Wentz, first in the 2017 season when he guided Philly to its first NFL championship since 1960. And now, with Wentz again injured, Foles helped the Eagles slalom their way to an NFC wild-card berth. Then, as in last Februarys Super Bowl win over New England, he drove the Eagles to a late winning touchdown at Chicago. Hell have to against Drew Brees & Co. in the Superdome, where the Saints annihilated the Eagles 48-7 on Nov. 18, Philadelphias only loss by more than seven points all season. Since then, the Eagles have won six of seven, counting the 16-15 decision over the Bears last week. Its a credit to the players and the coaches for just kind of staying in the moment, just trying to win the week, starting with today, coach Doug Pederson says. Just win today and then win tomorrow, try to go 1-0 each week. Thats been the mentality and the mindset all season, even during those couple weeks of adversity in there. You still have to have a belief that we can get it done. The players do believe. They just come to work every day ready to go. Theres great leadership on the team. Its really kind of held us together and pulled us through this stretch, and really the last three games of the regular season, I mean, they were all must win. Guys really understood what we needed to do, came together. Theyve jelled and here we are today. Where they are is ranked No. 12 in the final AP Pro32 and 8-point underdogs against No. 1 New Orleans. Its hard not to share the faith in Foles and the Eagles after seeing what they have done. Then again, looking at their secondary and how Chicago found lots of open room, its impossible not to believe in the home team. SAINTS, 31-20 No. 5 (tie) Los Angeles Chargers (plus 4) at No. 5 (tie) New England, Sunday Lets begin by mentioning that the Chargers are the better team. Right now, they might be the best overall team in the league. Should they win at Gillette Stadium, Pro Picks will be tempted to ride them all the way to and through Atlanta. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement However, Philip Rivers never beats Tom Brady (0-7 is quite an ugly number) and the Patriots are the only unbeaten home team this season. Plus, the weather could be a factor, which always favours New England. BEST BET: PATRIOTS, 23-16 No. 8 Indianapolis (plus 5) at No. The Colts, by far. Indeed, over the past two months, its difficult to find any team that has been more dangerous and dynamic than Indianapolis. Andrew Luck, finally healthy, is playing at his highest level. The offensive line is a wall, the defence has become a force, and the coaching is first-rate. The Chiefs have so much going for them when they have the ball, led by Patrick Mahomess passing in Andy Reids brilliant schemes. They have hardly anything except a pass rush going for them on defence and Indy doesnt allow sacks or even much pressure on Luck. Plus, the Colts are 4-0 in the playoffs against Kansas City, which hasnt gotten to a conference title game since the 1993 season. Story continues below advertisement UPSET SPECIAL: COLTS, 26-24 No. 11 Dallas (plus 7) at No. 2 Los Angeles Rams, Saturday night Another prime-time showcase for Ezekiel Elliott, and hell need to be extremely productive, as he was against Seattle. So, though, will his counterpart, Todd Gurley, likely back from a knee injury and crucial to the Rams advancing. Dallas has a solid enough defence to keep the creative Rams off-balance, especially if Gurley is limited. Los Angeles has not looked like a power in the past month and needed to straighten out some issues in the bye week. Still, we cant see an upset here. RAMS, 23-17 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/article-will-st-nicks-magic-run-out-for-eagles-in-new-orleans/ |
Why should Canadian expats suffer for suffrage? | Yasmin Rafiei is a Rhodes scholar studying philosophy and politics at the University of Oxford One of Justin Trudeaus 2015 federal-election campaign lines was, A Canadian, is a Canadian, is a Canadian. Unless you live outside of Canada, it seems. Story continues below advertisement This Friday, the Supreme Court will decide if the democratic franchise of Canadians living overseas should be subject to a five-year limit. A voting ban which denies Canadians the right to vote in elections after five years living overseas was legislated in 1993 under Jean Chrtien, enforced under Stephen Harper, and has not yet been overturned under Mr. Trudeau. While Mr. Trudeaus government appealed removal of the five-year limit in 2016 via Bill C-33, in the two years following its introduction, the Bill has only achieved a first reading. Its tepid progress in Parliament has ushered the case into the hands of the Supreme Court, where it rests today. Its a question I contend with in my daily life outside my homeland. I was born and raised in Canada and had only ever studied and worked in Canada until last year. If I have a personal geography, it is tied to my parents, whose immigration to Edmonton from Iran involved embracing every aspect of their new country. My dad had me on skis as soon as I could walk; we hosted neighbourhood street hockey on our driveway; Edmontons river valley was, to my mothers consternation, my second home. I was raised in our citys public schools, graduated from the University of Alberta, and delivered the faculty address at graduation. However, it was in leaving Canada that I fully came to terms with my national identity. In 2017, I received a scholarship to study at University of Oxford, where I regularly encounter my identity, as it is perceived outside our national borders. Abroad, my primary identifier is no longer the province I grew up in or where my parents come from, but my nationality as a Canadian. Limiting my right to vote indicates Ive lost touch with this national identity when, in fact, I re-negotiate it every day against its reflection, mirrored to me in my international colleagues perceptions of Canada. Im hardly alone. A 2010 report by the Asia Pacific Foundation estimated that 2.8 million Canadians live abroad. Comprising about 9 per cent of our national population, our expat community is proportionately larger than that of Australia, the United States, China or India. This group, both substantial in size and highly skilled, should not be treated as a demographic anomaly. The courts coming decision demands our collective attention. Our citizenship is enshrined in our constitutional right to vote in our ability to decide, at election time, what we would like the future of our country to be. By stripping this right away after five years, our government makes a resounding judgment that expatriates are less Canadian because we live abroad. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Limiting voting rights also disincentivizes valuable expatriates from returning to Canada. My departure was incited by educational opportunity: After two years studying politics at Oxford, Ill spend four years studying medicine at Stanford University. Despite my time away, my right to vote enables me to decide the state of the home I plan on returning to. Under the current legislation, I will have effectively exchanged my graduate and doctoral degrees for that right. The critique frequently levelled against extending voting rights is that expats have broken the social contract: We do not pay taxes (although most do). But at the heart of this critique rests a dangerous assumption: that constitutional rights ought only to be afforded to those who can pay for them. This thinking could set an odious precedent for further excisions of voting rights. And it would be to Canadas benefit to expand voting rights beyond geographic boundaries. My status abroad, for instance, facilitates my work on the Ebola virus and antimicrobial resistance, biosecurity threats that dont know borders. I study and work alongside Canadian expats driven to resolve climate change, cyber-attacks, and mass migration issues demanding global co-operation. A post-national Canada that enables citizens to vote outside of its borders provides international depth to civic engagement but also supports citizens living overseas and confronting global challenges. Imaginings of Canada as a nation-state bounded by its geography do more harm than good. Being Canadian is not about where you live: Its about contributing to, improving, and stewarding a community forward through challenges, domestic and abroad. Whatever Canada is in the future, it is ours together and our voting rights need to reflect that. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-should-canadian-expats-suffer-for-suffrage/ |
What would a Mormon White House look like? | By Jessica Ravitz, CNN (CNN) Should Mitt Romney win the presidency Tuesday, it will mark an historic first: a Mormon couple moving into the White House. We cant be absolutely sure about all the answers. But if the practices and homes of devout Mormons like the Romneys not to mention his history as governor of Massachusetts are any indication, we can begin to paint a picture of what a Romney-inhabited White House might look like. First things first: About that oath Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the Bible is the word of God. No, no way Romney would do that, Jana Riess, a religion scholar, co-author of Mormonism for Dummies, and blogger for Religion News Service, wrote in an e-mail message. Im not aware of any Mormon who has sworn on the Book of Mormon instead of the Bible for national office. (Im not aware of any local officials who have done this either. ) Most likely, Romney would go back to the Bible he used in 2003 when he was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts the same one his father, George Romney, reportedly used when he was sworn in as Michigans governor in the 1960s. Beyond paint and fabric swatches Having never been invited over for a meal, we cant pretend to know anything about the Romney aesthetic when it comes to home decoration. But we wondered and asked about specific items that tend to hang in Mormon households. Randall Balmer, an award-winning historian, author and chair of the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College, speculated that the Romneys like plenty of Mormons might display artwork featuring a depiction of Jesus and a photograph of LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, considered a prophet, seer and revelator by members of the church. Another possibility, said Riess, would be a photo of the Salt Lake Temple where Mitt and Ann Romney were married and sealed for eternity in a sacred ceremony in 1969. Then theres something commonly known as the Proclamation on the Family, which is often framed and displayed in homes though rarely in upper-class households, said Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith. The proclamation features words set forth by LDS Church leadership in 1995, highlighting family and gender responsibilities. Among the points made: Marriage is between a man and woman; the primary responsibility of fathers is to oversee and provide for families; and mothers must first and foremost care for the children. All of these items could show up in the White House, said Grant Bennett, an old Romney friend who spoke at the Republican National Convention and has known the Romney family since they met through church in 1978. But he said, the most quintessential Mormon item would be pictures of their family, including those of ancestors, because families are forever and bound for eternity in the Mormon view. Bennett also suggested that a verse or two of Scripture that is particularly meaningful to the Romneys might be framed and on display. If any of these things would hang in the White House, they would likely appear in the private quarters where first families are free to do what they please. That doesnt mean Romney wouldnt be allowed to honor his faith in some way in the Oval Office, but decorative decisions in public rooms the spaces visited on tours are subject to committee discussions and advisers on historic preservation, explained Melissa Naulin, assistant curator in the Curators Office of the White House Museum. In accordance with a revelation received in 1833 by LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, something known as the Word of Wisdom, faithful Latter-day Saints abstain from coffee, tea and alcohol. No, said Cabinet members from Romneys gubernatorial era and a current top aide. They said this health-related observance is not one the Romneys would impose on or expect of others. As governor, when Mitt Romney entertained at official functions in the evening, alcohol was served along with soft beverages, said a senior aide who asked not to be identified in stories about religion. There was always a healthy cup of coffee for anyone who wanted it, said Renee Fry, a former Cabinet member. Cabinet dinner gatherings were not dry, wrote Douglas Foy, who also served in Governor Romneys Cabinet. Although the governor and his wife did not partake which the governor often joked about, since he sponsored the gatherings and paid for the wine! Storing and refraining from food The LDS Church advises its members to store enough food to feed a family for a year. Food storage is viewed as a practical measure, one that can come in handy during, say, a crippling superstorm, massive power outages or unforeseen financial hardships. The practice is rooted in Mormon history. The churchs early pioneers, on their trek westward to what is now Utah, experienced great suffering and starvation. They also endured their share of persecution and couldnt rely on the help of others. So having resources squirreled away became a collective comfort. Not because they would need it for themselves or likely anyone else at the White House, but Riess said in these uncertain times, it could be a good lesson in preparedness to showcase to the nation. I wouldnt be surprised to see that, she said. Even if a family storing it doesnt need the food, by having it available that family is poised to help others. Serving those less fortunate or in crisis is big in the LDS Church, and it is a part of another practice that may find its way into the White House if the Romneys move in. The first Sunday of every month is Fast Sunday, when committed Mormons who are able forgo food and drink for about 24 hours. Coupled with prayer, it has spiritual meaning. It also serves to instill compassion for those who are in need, and to that end Mormons are encouraged to minimally donate what they would have spent on food to the churchs welfare fund. Fast Sunday, or calls to fast at other times, can also bind Mormons together when they pray and fast for a common cause. A Utah woman created buzz earlier this fall when an e-mail she sent out to friends and family, suggesting they fast to help Romney before the debates, began making the rounds in Mormon circles across the country. A new website, romneyfast.org, also the brainchild of private citizens and not a church-sanctioned effort asks people to fast and pray for Romney and his wife Ann this Sunday before America goes to the polls. When he was governor of Massachusetts, and in general, Mitt and Ann Romney observed Fast Sunday and always contributed very generously to the fast offering fund, said Bennett, who held church leadership roles with Romney in the Boston area. Whats more, Bennett said that when Romney served as their congregations bishop the equivalent of an unpaid pastor it wasnt uncommon for the two friends to fast more than once a month. At the time, Bennett was one of Romneys two counselors, or advisers. Occasionally he would invite me and the other counselor to join him in fasting on a weekday for a specific purpose, Bennett wrote in an e-mail. For example, one purpose would be to seek inspiration regarding an important decision, another purpose would be to express love, support and solidarity to someone who was ill or going through very difficult times. Whether Romney would maintain this observance from the nations highest office, we cant know. But it looks like the White House kitchen staff may be in for a little downtime each month, if theyre lucky. Honoring the Sabbath, going to church and other Mormon observances Sunday is a holy day for active LDS Church members. Its a time when Mormons attend their local congregation its known as a ward, which in Catholic-speak would be comparable to a parish and worship with their families and community. The ward closest to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and likely the one the Romneys would be assigned to, is the Washington D.C. 3rd Ward, which gathers in what Mormons call a meetinghouse or chapel on 16th Street NW. The Washington Post described this ward as consisting of mostly Democrats, half who are nonwhite (including plenty of Spanish speakers), and having openly gay members in its leadership. Riess said while ward assignments are almost always determined geographically, sometimes there are exceptions. And the truth is there just isnt any precedent for how this would be handled for a U.S. president. How much of his Sundays a President Romney could set aside for his faith is obviously uncertain. We already know hes been hard at work on the campaign trail, Sundays included though the senior aide we spoke to said he makes efforts to get to church when he can. One need only look at President Jimmy Carter, who went so far as to teach Sunday school at his local Baptist church, to see how a sitting president can make room for faith, said Balmer of Dartmouth, who counts among his many books God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Romney faithfully showed up at church on Sundays while he was governor, unless an official function got in the way, Bennett said. And when Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 1994 against Ted Kennedy, Bennett then the wards bishop assigned Romney to teach the weekly adult Sunday school class. He was in church virtually every Sunday teaching this class throughout the campaign, only occasionally arranging for a substitute teacher, his friend said. Beyond church, Riess speculated about other observances Romney would uphold. Mormons reserve Monday evenings for family home evening, a time when families pray, study and sing together. Someone serving in church leadership, who didnt want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, said he doubted the Romneys would observe family home evening since their kids are grown and gone. But Riess suspected that Romney and his wife, especially given the size of their brood five sons; 18 grandchildren and the likelihood that family would be passing through, would honor the Monday tradition in some way, even if it was just the two of them. Theres also a practice in LDS Church wards in which men who hold the priesthood which means the authority, for example, to perform baptisms and offer sacramental blessings are partnered up to visit other congregation members, ideally once a month, as home teachers. The LDS Church does not have paid clergy, and this is one way that volunteer ward pastors, or the bishops, can make sure members get personal attention and lessons as needed. Its possible, said Riess, though obviously thered be background checks and no unannounced knockings. Probably not. But Romney did step up as governor, Bennett said. He both had home teachers, and he was assigned as a home teacher, when he was governor, Bennett said. Many non-Mormons falsely assume the large and often magnificent white LDS temples they see in their cities are where Latter-day Saints go for church. But Mormons gather for Sunday services in meetinghouses or chapels, which are usually plain, unimpressive structures. The 140 temples currently in operation across the globe are actually closed on Sundays. Mormons view their temples as houses of the Lord, as Riess explained in her book, and they are not places for run-of-the-mill worship. Temples, instead, are reserved for the most sacred rituals the details of which are not to be discussed outside temple walls. The temples are so sacred that the doors are not even open for all Mormons; only those deemed sufficiently worthy by local church leadership are granted a temple recommend or an entry card. While sacred ceremonies or ordinances for the living such as weddings, during which couples are sealed for eternity happen inside, there are also rituals performed by living substitutes or proxies for those who have died. These rituals include baptisms, which have been at times a subject of controversy for the LDS Church. Romney, who long served in church leadership, surely has a temple recommend. If I were him, Id probably just not go while I was president, if only out of courtesy to other patrons, said our source in church leadership who didnt want to be named. Its not like its some kind of go often or youll go to hell thing. Its just a standard part of being a committed Mormon, which you do if you can find the time. And a President Romney couldnt go there, let alone anywhere else, without Secret Service. Even Secret Service agents would be turned away from the temple without the right access card. Not a problem, speculated Balmer of Dartmouth. He said finding qualified agents, if Romney hasnt found them already, would be easy. Its well-known that the CIA, FBI and, by extension, he said he assumes, the Secret Service recruit at LDS Church-run Brigham Young University. All these agencies, Balmer said, are looking for people who are good, loyal, patriotic Americans, and many Latter-day Saints, who believe in the divinity of the U.S. Constitution, fit that bill. So if it would be important for Romney and the first lady to go to the temple, it should be possible. And Riess said, given Romneys level of faith and church involvement over the years, she cant imagine that he wouldnt want to go. Minimally, she pointed out, theres bound to be a family members wedding or temple sealing hed want to attend. It would be a logistical problem, she said. But Im pretty sure theyd find a way. & 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. | https://fox13now.com/2012/11/06/what-would-a-mormon-white-house-look-like/ |
Is Amazon developing a game streaming service? | While most of the tech world has its eyes focused on CES 2019, a new report released today says Amazon could be working on a new game streaming service that will deliver games digitally while running them on cloud servers. That tidbit of news is according to a report on The Information, and while the details are thin, the publication says Amazon could be joining Sony, Google and Nvidia as a game streaming provider as early as next year. The sources that spoke to The Information say that while negotiations are underway, no games or even a firm release date could be confirmed making it hard to corroborate the information with the developers themselves. Should the service pan out, however, Amazon would almost certainly include it on Amazon Fire TV Edition screens and Amazon Fire TV devices, plus tablets and smartphones. No mention was made about a PC version of the service, unfortunately, but it sounds like it's still heavily under development. Its hard to know outright what Amazon is doing in the games space. On one hand it just cancelled its first project Breakaway back in April of last year, but on the other a move into the streaming side makes sense the company certainly has the server capabilities and Amazon might want to stay neck-and-neck with the other big tech companies working on streaming. While Amazon has yet to say anything official on the matter, The Verge has noticed a number of postings that corroborate the rumor including a position for a Cross Platform Game Engineer and two listings that specifically mention cloud games but well have to wait to hear from Amazon before anythings official. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/is-amazon-developing-a-game-streaming-service |
How does Lebanon County and PennDOT decide which intersections get fixed? | Share This Story Tweet Share Share Pin Email It isnt hard to figure out which Lebanon County intersections locals think are dangerous. When we asked, 106 Facebook users in all named 50 different intersections. That long list begs the question: "Why aren't they fixed to be less dangerous?" The short answer to that question is deciding where to allocate resources for improvements is a complicated process even more so when state funds are involved. Heres why and how decisions are made on which intersections to fix and which to leave alone. The intersection of 7th St. and Kimmerlings Road is getting attention amid concerns it is unsafe. (Photo: By Daniel Walmer) A PennDOT spokeswoman said they do not rank most dangerous intersections. The department does publicly release the amount of crashes that occur each year at each intersection, although Lebanon County Senior Transportation Planner Jon Fitzkee said that list doesnt always include crashes with a medical cause, such as a heart attack. But the total amount of crashes isnt the only factor in determining whether an intersection is a safety hazard, Fitzkee said. Total traffic volumes have to be factored in, as do weather conditions and law enforcement efforts to prevent speeding, which are often better in communities with a larger police force. Some intersections are only dangerous because cars are parked too close to the curb. When evaluating intersections during safety studies, PennDOT follows the "very detailed" AASHTO Highway Safety Manual, which explains the factors that should be taken into account, deputy communications director Ashley Schoch said. PennDOT worked with Penn State to develop a system that compares crash data at an intersection or section of road with the amount that would be expected given factors like traffic volumes, the amount of trucks, and the type of road, Fitzkee said. It then gives an intersection a rating over or under 1, depending if it has more or less crashes than similarly situated road crossings. The intersection of Route 934 and Route 422 in Annville. (Photo: File photo) Just because locals think an intersection is dangerous doesnt mean PennDOT will agree to fix it, Fitzkee said. Getting state money requires proof. That can take the form of a traffic study, or more commonly a five-year data set showing that there are more crashes at an intersection than there should be. While only paying to improve intersections that have been proven dangerous may be a financially responsible practice, it has its downside, according to Fitzkee and Lebanon County Transportation Planner Song Kim. It makes it difficult for the county to improve spots that people feel are dangerous or have had a lot of near misses but dont have an unusual crash history. It sort of restrains you from being more proactive and innovative, Fitzkee said. Where possible, PennDOT prefers to focus on low-cost ideas, like a high-friction surface or signage, rather than higher-cost methods like changing the geometry of the intersection by demolishing property or altering the landscape, he said. There are other resources, such as liquid fuels money from the state gas tax, that the county can sometimes use to address intersections that PennDOT wont touch, he added. Although most decisions for improving intersections are data-based, Fitzkee said people should still tell their municipal leaders if they are concerned about a particular intersection. The perspective of local residents is key, he said. Its a tool that helps fill in gaps. Sometimes, the county can make low-cost improvements without involving PennDOT, like adding reflective chevrons at a curve where residents say cars are frequently going into a cornfield. Also, more expensive fixes often require buy-in from municipal leaders, who may want to know if their residents want changes. The perspective of local residents is key. Its a tool that helps fill in gaps. Jon Fitzkee, Lebanon County Planning Department The county is planning Road Safety Audits for four of the most dangerous stretches of road in Lebanon County, Fitzkee said. The audits, which will include input from PennDOT, county and local officials, will likely discover some quick fixes for trouble spots along the four corridors, he said. It will also create the data needed to secure state funding for larger projects in the future. More: Hill Church Road and Thompson Ave.: Hill, curve create danger for motorists The places that will be receiving audits include: Route 934, from Royal Road to Clear Spring Road or Harrison Drive (includes the Route 422 intersection) Hill Church Road, from Route 934 to Center Street (Includes the Thompson Avenue intersection) Route 343, from Heffelfinger Road to Maple Street (includes the intersection with Kimmerlings and Kochenderfer roads) Route 422, from Fifth Avenue to Prescott Drive (includes the intersection with Eighth Avenue and Walnut Street) Fitzkee and Kim also touted several successful projects in recent years that were based on data showing concerns about an intersection. The county saw a large reduction in crashes at Route 934 and Jonestown Road near Harpers Tavern in East Hanover Township following the instillation of a blinking-yellow light on Route 934, Fitzkee said. The Clear Spring Road and Killinger Road realignment near Rutters in North Annville Township this year eliminated a dangerous dog leg at Route 422. There are safety projects all over the place. You dont see them sometimes, Kim said. | https://www.ldnews.com/story/news/local/2019/01/10/how-does-lebanon-county-and-penndot-decide-which-intersections-fix-crashes-traffic-wrecks-dangerous/2483498002/?from=new-cookie |
How well has Raiders GM Mike Mayock evaluated interior defensive linemen? | One of the great things about the Raiders hiring former NFL Network star Mike Mayock is that we have access to all of his player rankings since the 2006 NFL Draft. With all of that information, we may be able to find trends and make educated guesses throughout the draft process as to who Mayock may like, but also, what positions he knows bests. While we have all offseason to run through the tape and his draft boards, this piece is going to be a little less comprehensive. Instead, this simply a list of Mayocks top five for each draft class since 2008. In the first six parts of this series, we reviewed all of Mayocks rankings on the offensive side of the ball. Today, we are looking at how well Mayock has done grading interior defensive linemen. Here is the full list of his interior defensive line rankings since 2008, via the NFL.com archives: 2008 1. Glenn Dorsey, LSU 2. Sedrick Ellis, USC 3. Kentwan Balmer, North Carolina 4. Trevor Laws, Notre Dame 5. Dre Moore, Maryland 2009 1. B.J. Raji, Boston College 2. Peria Jerry, Mississippi 3. Evander Ziggy Hood, Missouri 4. Ron Brace, Boston College 5. Fili Moala, USC 2010 1. Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma 2. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 3. Dan Williams, Tennessee 4. Terrence Cody, Alabama 5. Tyson Alualu. California 2011 1. Marcell Dareus, Alabama 2. Nick Fairley, Auburn 3. Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple 4. Corey Liuget, Illinois 5. Stephen Paea, Oregon State 2012 1. Fletcher Cox, Mississippi State 2. Dontari Poe, Memphis 3. Jerel Worthy, Michigan State 4. Michael Brockers, LSU 5. Devon Still, Penn State 2013 3-4 Defensive End 1. Star Lotulelei, Utah 2. Datone Jones, UCLA 3. Margus Hunt, SMU 4. William Gholston, Michigan State 5. Jesse Williams, Alabama Defensive Tackle 1. Sharrif Floyd, Florida 2. Sheldon Richardson, Missouri 3. Sylvester Williams, North Carolina 4. Kawann Short, Purdue 5. Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State 2014 1. Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh 2. Timmy Jernigan, Florida State 3. Louis Nix, Notre Dame 4. RaShede Hageman, Minnesota 5. Dominique Easley, Florida 2015 1. Leonard Williams, USC 2. Danny Shelton, Washington 3. Arik Armstead, Oregon 4. Malcolm Brown, Texas 5. Eddie Goldman, Florida State 2016 1. DeForest Buckner, Oregon 2. Sheldon Rankins, Louisville 3. AShawn Robinson, Alabama 4. Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss 5. Jarran Reed, Alabama 2017 1. Jonathan Allen, Alabama 2. DeMarcus Walker, Florida State 3. Dalvin Tomlinson, Alabama 4. Chris Wormley, Michigan 5. Malik McDowell, Michigan State 2018 1. Vita Vea, Washington 2. DaRon Payne, Alabama 3. Taven Bryan, Florida 4. Nathan Shepherd, Fort Hays State T-5. Harrison Phillips, Stanford T-5. Feel free to comment below. | https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/10/how-well-has-raiders-gm-mike-mayock-evaluated-interior-defensive-linemen/ |
Should the U.S. Navy Turn Merchant Ships into Floating Missile Magazines? | The U.S. Navy could buy older civilian merchant ships on the cheap and convert them into floating arsenals. The concept, outlined in the U.S. Naval Institute, envisions adding dozensif not hundredsof multiuse missile silos to the ships to provide additional firepower to the Navy while it struggles to reach its 355-ship goal. The idea is an attractive one but has a number of issues under the surface. The heart of todays U.S. Navys surface ship firepower, which lives on destroyers and cruisers, is the armored missile silo. The Arleigh Burkeclass guided missile destroyers each carry 90-96 Mk. 41 vertical launch silos, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers carry 122 Mk. 41 silos, and the Zumwalt class carries 80 Mk. 57 silos. Each of these silos can carry one long-range anti-ballistic missile interceptor, surface-to-air missile, land attack cruise missile, anti-submarine rocket torpedo, or anti-ship missile each, or even up to four smaller short range air defense missiles. This versatility makes the fleet endlessly adaptable. A destroyer can carry all surface-to-air missiles, all anti-ship missiles, or a mix of all types. U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald launching a missile. Getty Images Handout There are a few catches. These silos are enormously expensive to add to the fleet: Arleigh Burkeclass destroyers cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion each, meaning each silo costs about $15 million each to put to sea, missile not included. Also, once a silo is loaded in port the missiles cant be swapped out at sea. A destroyer that inadvertently brings a belly full of anti-ship missiles to a submarine hunt must go back to a friendly port and swap missiles. An article from the U.S. Naval Institute discusses one possible relief to the silo problem. One of the main barriers is hull cost. These silos could then be datalinked to the rest of the fleet, providing firepower on demand for the real warships. The article makes the case that 30 to 50 missile silos per ship is a good number, and that "[converting] 10 to 15 cargo ships would give the fleet between 300 and 750 missile cells at a fraction of the cost and time for new-build surface combatants. Vertical launch silos on the destroyer USS Benfold. Silos such as these could easily be refitted to commercial ships. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Amadi Civilian ships have long served in the Navy, often as auxiliary, second-line ships meant to free up warships for more vital missions. Now, technology could allow civilian ships to be fitted with the latest technology to engage adversaries from up to hundreds of miles away. The Navy already has ships in the fleet that are former merchantmen. The hospital ships Mercy and Comfort are ex-oil tankers fitted to provide medical services for up to 500 personnel. Hospital ships are not warships, however, and the commercial ship turned warship concept could have complications. Warships are built to a very high standard, designed to take physical punishment and continue fighting. Civilian ships arent meant to fight and are built to a less rigorous standard. In 2016, the aluminum-hulled high-speed trimaran Swift was heavily damaged while supporting UAE forces involved in the war in Yemen. As a civilian ship pressed into military duties, Swift likely did not have the built-in resilience of purpose-built warships and a dedicated damage control party to limit the spread of damage. Shown here in U.S. Navy service, HSV Swift was heavily damaged by a missile attack in 2016. Getty Images Marco Garcia Commercial ships are also slower than warships, which would drag down the fleet's effective top speed, limiting its ability to respond to situations. Older commercial ships could have less reliable propulsion and other systems. Finally, their resemblance to ships in civilian service could make those civilian ships targets, as an adversary tries to hunt down and eliminate these heavily armed ships. Still, if the Navy can accept or mitigate these issues without the need for expensive, bureaucratic, time-consuming fixes, it can vastly increase its floating firepower. For the price of one new destroyer with 96 missile silos it could easily have up to 30 ex-commercial vessels with 50 missiles each. One destroyer can only be in one place at a time, but 30 ex-commercial vessels could be in 30 different places all over the globe. Thats for the Navy to decide. | https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a25845858/usni-merchant-ships-navy-missile-magazines/ |
Can Scientists Do TV? | A few years ago a student walked into the office of Cesar A. Hidalgo, director of the Collective Learning group at the MIT Media Lab. Hidalgo was listening to music and asked the student if she recognized the song. She wasnt sure. Is it Coldplay? she asked. It was Imagine by John Lennon. Hidalgo took it in stride that his student didnt recognize the song. As he explains in our interview below, he realized the song wasnt from her generation. What struck Hidalgo, though, was the incident echoed a question that had long intrigued him, which was how music and movies and all the other things that once shone in popular culture faded like evening from public memory. Hidalgo is among the premier data miners of the worlds collective history. With his MIT colleagues, he developed Pantheon, a dataset that ranks historical figures by popularity from 4000 B.C. to 2010. Aristotle and Plato snag the top spots. Jesus is third. Its a highly addictive platform that allows you to search people, places, and occupations with a variety of parameters. Thats right, Frenchman Rene Lacoste, born in 1904. (Roger Federer places 20th.) Rankings are drawn from, essentially, Wikipedia biographies, notably ones in more than 25 different languages, and Wikipedia page views. They traced the fade-out of songs, movies, sports stars, patents, and scientific publications. They drew on data from sources such as Billboard, Spotify, IMDB, Wikipedia, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the American Physical Society, which has gathered information on physics articles from 1896 to 2016. Hidalgos team then designed mathematical models to calculate the rate of decline of the songs, people, and scientific papers. The report, The universal decay of collective memory and attention, concludes that people and things are kept alive through oral communication from about five to 30 years. They then pass into written and online records, where they experience a slower, longer decline. The paper argues that people and things that make the rounds at the water cooler have a higher probability of settling into physical records. Changes in communication technologies, such as the rise of the printing press, radio and television, it says, affect our degree of attention, and all of our cultural products, from songs to scientific papers, follow a universal decay function. Last week I caught up with Hidalgo to talk about his Nature paper. But I also wanted to push him to talk about what he saw between the mathematical lines, to wear the social scientists hat and reflect on the consequences of decay in collective memory. How do you define collective memory? The easiest definition would be those pieces of knowledge or information that are shared by a large number of people. If you think about it, culture and memory are the only things we have. We treasure cultural memory because we use that knowledge to build and produce everything we have around us. That knowledge is going to help us build the future and solve the problems we have yet to solve. If aliens come here and wave a magic wand and make everyone forget everythingour cars, buildings, bridges, airplanes, our power systems, and so forth, we would collapse as a society immediately. The relative power of scientists has diminished as we exited the printing era and went into this more performance-based era. I thought everybody knew Imagine by John Lennon. Im almost 40 and my student was probably 20. But I realized Imagine is not as popular in her generation as it was in mine, and it was probably less popular in my generation than in the generation before. People have a finite capacity to remember things. Theres great competition for the content out there, and the number of people who know or remember something decays over time. Theres another example, of Elvis Presley memorabilia. People had bought Elvis memorabilia for years and it was collecting huge prices. Then all of a sudden the prices started to collapse. What happened is the people who collected Elvis memorabilia started to die. Their families were stuck with all of this Elvis stuff and trying to sell it. But all of the people who were buyers were also dying. You write collective memory also reflects changes in communication technologies, such as the rise of the printing press, radio, and TV. Take print. Changing the world from an oral tradition to a written tradition provided a much better medium for data. A lot of people have linked the revolution in the sciences and astronomy to the rise of printing because astronomical tables, for instance, could be copied in a reliable way. Before printing, astronomical tables were hand-copied, which introduced errors that diminished the quality of the data. With printing, people had more reliable forms of data. We see very clearly from our data that with the rise of printing you get the rise of astronomers, mathematicians, and scientists. You also see a rise in composers because printing helps the transmission of sheet music. So when you look at people we remember most from the time when print first arose, you see ones from the arts and sciences. Also in Sociology What a Russian Smile Means By Camille Baker When I approach Sofiya Campbell, she regards me and my exuberant smile carefully. Its only after we shake hands formally that, with a shock of blonde hair lapping at her chin, she returns my smile. The new mediums of radio and TV were much more adaptive for entertainment than science, thats for sure. The people who belong to the sciences, as a fraction of the people who became famous, diminished enormously during the 20th century. The new mediums were not good for the nuances that science demands. For good reason, scientists need to qualify their statements narrowly and be careful when they talk about causality. They need to be specific about the methods they use and the data they collect. All of those extensive nuances are hard to communicate in mediums that are good for entertainment and good for performance. So the relative power of scientists, or their position in society, have diminished as we exited the printing era and went into this more performance-based era. At the same time, scientists and the general scientific community have not been great at adapting their ideas to new mediums. Scientists are the first ones to bring down another scientist who tries to popularize content in a way that would not be traditional. So scientists are their own worst enemies in this battle. They have lagged behind in their ability to learn how to use these mediums. Sometimes they focus too much on the content without paying attention on how to adapt it to the medium that will best help it get out. We began by looking at how popular something is today based on how long ago it became popular in the first place. The expectation is collective memory decays over time in a smooth pattern, that the more time goes by, the more things become forgotten. But what we found when we looked at cultural productsmovies, songs, sports figures, patents, and science paperswas that decay is not smooth, but has two defined regimes. Theres the first regime in which the attention starts very high and the decay is really fast. Then theres the second regime in which it has a much longer tail, when the decay is smoother, and the attention is less. Im surprised how the U.S., a country with people doing so many things, can become so monothematic on such a vast scale. When we started to think about decay, we realized we could take two concepts from anthropologycommunicative memory and cultural memory. Communicative memory arises from talking about things. Donald Trump is very much in our communicative memory now. You walk down the street and find people talking about TrumpTrump and tariffs, Trump and the trade war. But theres going to be a point, 20 years in the future, in which hes not going to be talked about everyday. Hes going to exit from communicative memory and be part of cultural memory. And thats the memory we sustain through records. Although the average amount of years that something remains in communicative memory variesathletes last longer than songs, movies, and science papers, sometimes for a couple decadeswe found this same overall decay pattern in multiple cultural domains. In your forthcoming paper, How the medium shapes the message, you refer to the late cultural critic Neil Postman who argued that the popular rise of TV led to a new reign of entertainment, which dumbed us down, because entertainment was best suited for TV. We found evidence in that favor, yes. Because the fraction of people who belong to the sciences, as a fraction of all of the people that become famous, diminishes enormously during the 20th century. It would completely agree with that observation. Do you agree with Postman that were all amusing ourselves to death? I dont think were amusing ourselves to death. Im not like that much of a pessimist. I do think life is also about enjoying the ride, not just about doing important things. And new mediums like TikTok, a kind of Twitter for videos, are great for creative expression. People are doing amazing little performance skits on TikTok. The entertainment and artistic components of every new medium are not bad per se, but every medium can be hijacked by extreme people who know how to craft entertaining messages, especially when they want to advance a certain agenda. Its hard to think of the Internet as a medium. Its more of a platform in which Facebook, Twitter, email, and TikTok are different mediums. They each send their own type of message. A picture that does well on Instagram doesnt necessarily shine on Twitter, where people are expecting something else. The behavior and the engagements are different. Twitter, for example, is about being controversial. You know, one way to get chewed up on Twitter is to try to be in the center! I use Twitter a little, but not that much. I find that its a little bit hostile. Im a family type of guy, so I use Facebook. In Facebook, at least in my circle, you put more detail into comments and are a little bit more thoughtful. Now people like Elon Musk are in the center of culture. Young people now look up to entrepreneurs the way we used to look up to musicians. I would love to know that but I cant. Some people would say collective memory decays based not on calendar time but the speed at which new content is being produced. We forget Elvis because the Beatles came up and we forget the Beatles because Led Zeppelin came and we forget Led Zeppelin because Metallica came up, and so forth. But things become very dear to a generation and people will not forget about them just because new content came in. So decay would be something characteristic of humans, not the volume of content. To separate those two things, we would need to look at content from very different time frames. At the moment, we dont have the richness of data that we would need to answer that question. I dont know. I grew up in Chile, which of course is small compared to the United States. I came to the U.S. for the first time in 1996. And one of the things that still surprises me is how monothematic American culture can be. In 1996 it was all about O.J. Simpson. Everybody talked about O.J. Simpson. He was everywhere on TV. Just like Trump today, he consumed the entire bandwidth. Im surprised how a country with so many people, and with people doing so many different things, can nevertheless become so monothematic on such a vast scale. Today we have so much more content than in 1996 because of the rise of the Internet and the ability of people to create content. But look at the percentage of all conversations and online communications that are consumed by Trump. So in that context, I dont think content is being replaced so easily. I dont see that much of a rise in diversity. Thats really interesting. Because one of the common criticisms of the current information glut is we have no shared cultural center. Everybody has their own narrow interest and we have no shared cultural bond, no John Lennon. Different people come into the center of culture because of the type of mediums that are available. There have been musicians for thousands of years, and for most of that history, musicians have not been wealthy. It was only when there was a medium that allowed them to sell their musicvinyl, magnetic tapes, and discsthat they were able to make money. I think that generated a golden era of pop music in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And thats associative to a communication technology that was dominant at that time. Radio and discs were a way to distribute those popular idols musical performances. When that technology was replaced by simple forms of copying, like the ability to copy files on the Internet, all that went away. Now people like Elon Musk are in the center of culture. Hes not John Lennon. Its a very different type of leadership, a different type of model for young people. But Musks first job was an online payment start-up. And I think a lot of young people now look up to entrepreneurs the way we used to look up to musicians. I read a very good book recently called The Formula by Albert-Laszlo Barabas. He says you can equate quality and popularity in situations in which performance is clearly measurable. But in cases in which performance is not clearly measurable, you cannot equate popularity with quality. If you look at tennis players, you find tennis players who win tournaments and difficult games are more popular. So quality and fame are closely correlated in a field in which performance is measured as tightly as professional tennis players. As you move to things that are less quantifiable in terms of performance, like modern art, your networks are going to be more important in determining popularity. Well, I would say that collective memory decay is an important way to measure and think about quality. If you publish some clickbait that is popular in the beginning, that gets a lot of views in the first couple of days, but a year later, nobody looks at it, you have a good metric. The same is true if publish a more thoughtful piece that might not be as popular in the beginning because it didnt work as clickbaitit required more engagement from the readersbut keeps on building readers over time. So the differences in longevity are important metrics for quality. That goes back to a paper I did when I was an undergrad about the decay functions of attendance of movies. There were some movies that had a lot of box office revenue in the first week but then decayed really fast. And there were other movies that decayed more slowly. We created a model in which people would talk to each other and communicate information of the quality of the movie. And that model only had one parameter, which was how good was the movie was. So the quality of the movie would increase or decrease the probability that people would go watch it. We could then look at the curves and infer how good the movie was, based not on the total area it was shown, or on the total revenue, but on the shape of the curve. That was interesting because there were movies that were really bad like Tomb Raider, which at first was a box office success. But if you put it on our model, you would see that it was just hype, people watched it, hated the movie, and the curve decayed really fast. Kevin Berger is Nautilus features editor. | http://nautil.us/issue/68/context/how-well-forget-john-lennon |
How Shocking Was Shock Therapy? | In 2007 Naomi Klein got quite a bit of attention and mostly favorable comment for her book, Shock Doctrine. It promulgated that global elites used periods of crisis around the world to force damaging neoliberal policies derived from the Chicago School and Washington Consensus upon unhappy populations that suffered greatly as a result. This was shock therapy that was more like destructive electroshock than any sort of therapy. There is a lot of truth to this argument, and it highlighted underlying ideological arguments and outcomes. The argument largely seems to hold for the original poster boy example in Chile with the Pinochet coup against the socialist Allende regime. A military coup replaced a democratically government. While Chile was experiencing a serious inflation, it was not in a full-blown economic collapse. The coup was supported by US leaders Nixon and Kissinger, who saw themselves preventing the emergence of pro-Soviet regime resembling Castros Cuba. Thousands were killed, and a sweeping set of laissez-faire policies were imposed with the active participation of Chicago Boys associated with Milton Friedman. In fact, aside from bringing down inflation these reforms did not initially improve economic performance, even as foreign capital flowed in, especially into the copper industry, although the core of that industry remained nationalized. After several years the Chicago Boys were sent away and more moderate policies, including a reimposition of controls on foreign capital flows, the economy did grow quite rapidly. But this left a deeply unequal income distribution in place, which would largely remain the case even after Pinochet was removed from power and parliamentary democracy returned. This scenario was argued to happen in many other nations, especially those in the former Soviet bloc as the Soviet Union disintegrated and its successor states and the former members of the Soviet bloc in the CMEA and Warsaw Pact also moved to some sort of market capitalism imposed from outside with policies funded by the IMF and following the Washington Consensus. Although he has since expressed regret for this role in this, a key player linking what was done in several Latin American nations and what went down after 1989 in Eastern and Central Europe was Jeffrey Sachs. Kleins discussion especially of what went down in Russia also looks pretty sound by and large, without dragging through the details, although in these cases the political shift was from dictatorships run by Communist parties dominated out of Moscow to at least somewhat more democratic governments, although not in all of the former Soviet republics such as in Central Asia and with many of these later backsliding towards more authoritarian governments later. In Russia and in many others large numbers of people were thrown into poverty from which they have not recovered. Klein has also extended this argument to other nations, including South Africa after the end of apartheid. Having said all that it must also be recognized that in some parts of the book Klein overstated her argument even to the point of including outright false information: The case that really sticks out in this regard is Poland, arguably especially important as it was the place where the term shock therapy was first used. As it turns out, many observers have an inaccurate perception of what happened there, with Kleins account not helping. It is understandable that many might be misled given that it was the Polish finance minister during the worst of the crisis and shock in 1990-91 when economic output fell sharply and unemployment rose, Leszek Balcerowicz, who coined the term and said that it was being applied in Poland. But this turns out to be an exaggeration, with much of what he wanted with the support of Jeffrey Sachs and the IMF at the time not happening due to an election in 1993 that threw out the shockers and mitigated the policies substantially. The upshot ultimately was that Poland ended up performing better than any other of the former socialist transition economies of the former Soviet bloc, becoming in fact one of the best economic performers in the entire continent of Europe, the only nation there not to go into recession in 2009 and now further ahead than any of the others economically. While inequality and unemployment are somewhat higher than in 1989, they are not dramatically so while many other economic variables are strongly better. The unemployment rate in August 2018 was 3.4%, higher than the less than 1% of 1989 but lower than in the US or most other European nations. The Gini coefficient is now somewhere in the .32 to .34 range, higher than ..25-.28 of 1989, higher than in Sweden or the Czech Republic but about the same as in Germany and much lower than in Russia, the US, or China. The vast majority of the population is unequivocally better off economically now than in 1989. Comparing 2013 to 1989 as a ratio, real per capita GDP in Poland was 2.98, higher than any Soviet bloc transition economy aside from Turkmenistan (whose data is unreliable), with Russia at 1.44, the Czech Republic at 1.68, Hungary at 2.17, and Moldova at 0.82, now Europes poorest economy falling below Albania at 2.55. Poland suffered an inflation rate of 6905 in 1989 but this is was brought down fairly rapidly and is now barely above zero. It had the least level of graft of any of these economies as of 2013, There has been major environmental cleanup, especially in its southwestern corner, formerly part of the dirty triangle, one of the most polluted locations ever on this planet. The ratio of measured happiness between 2013 and 1989 is 1.44, higher than in any of the other transition nations. A particularly controversial issue is that of the poverty rate in Poland, for which there are competing measures. Depending on the measure, the poverty rate in the 1980s was probably in the 5-10% range. In 2012, 6.7% of the population was below a living wage level, while alternative measures had it at around 11% or even as high as 16%. The poverty rate certainly rose sharply as did income inequality in the crisis years of 1990-91, but then fell and rose again before falling afterwards. A low point after the transition was 2003, the year before Poland entered the EU and began receiving substantial agricultural subsidies that helped the poor largely rural southeastern region long marked by small unproductive farms (Poland had mostly private farm ownership throughout the communist period), with by one measure the poverty rate possibly getting as high as 24%.. This is a point where Naomi Kleins analysis basically went completely off the rails. Her story on Poland basically stops with 2003, which can be understood given her book came out in 2007. But she claims a poverty rate in 2003 of 59% (pp. 241-242), and declares strongly that the economic quality of life in Poland had completely collapsed. Crucial is that in fact it did not follow through on important parts of its supposed shock therapy, although most people (including Naomi Klein) do not seem to know this. Very important was that it did not undo its generous social safety net, especially its generous pension system. This was a central issue in the 1993 election, with both Blacerowicz and Sachs unhappy about this outcome. I remember well the 1994 ASSA convention at which Sachs gave a major speech in which he basically whined about this election outcome and essentially accused the Polish people of being a bunch of spoiled brats for wanting to hang onto their supposedly overly generous pension system. I note that he has since changed his tune and now recognizes the stabilizing and human nature of maintaining a decent social safety net in these economies. The other area where Poland did not follow through on its shock policies involved privatization, which was supposed to be rapid and complete. It was not and has never been completed. Indeed, today Poland has the highest rate of state-owned production in its economy at around 30% of GDP of any OECD economy, another little-known fact. Privatization was resisted, especially because of fear of German companies taking over Polish firms, and what privatization that happened tended to be gradual, with a large part of the private sector consisting of brand-new firms owned by Poles, arguably the most dynamic part of the economy. In this areas, Poland actually resembles China substantially, a comparison made by a number of careful observers. The current populist government of the Law and Justice Party has if anything tightened restrictions on foreign ownership of banks and land, if not having engaged in any outright renationalization as we have seen in Russia and Hungary. Given that much of the shock therapy program did not happen or did not do so shockingly, where was there shock therapy. This did indeed happen with respect to macro policy, driven by the problem of getting the incipient hyperinflation that had developed by 1989 in largely market socialist Poland under control. This did involve sharp pain with falling output and rising unemployment and poverty in 1990-91, but Poland was the first of the Soviet bloc transition economies to turn around, with most still having declining output in 1994 and quite a few until well after that. The pain in Poland was sharp, but it was short, and the longer run state has outperformed the others and put Poland far above where it was in 1989. The politics of all this has been quite complicated and involved some important and curious twists and turns. From 1989 on there has been a broad left-right split with probably the most important constant in this being attitudes towards the Roman Catholic Church in famously devout Poland, with being pro-Church being on the right, with people coming out of the old Communist Party veing on the left. But the positions on economic policy regarding these groups have changed over time. in the 1989-93 period, the supporters of the shock therapy were on the right, although including the workers of the Solidarity movement. However, by now the rightist Law and Justice Party that is in power and attacks its rivals for being leftover communists and also strongly opposed Russia (in contrast to the populist rightist regime of Orban in Hungary who is friends with Putin), has in it populism become more the defender of both the social safety net and supporting the state-owned enterprises compared to the supposedly crypto-communist left, now out of power. Needless to say, there is much discussion about how it is that Poland has been by so many measures so economically successful, yet since 2015 has come to be ruled by a reactionary populist party that has been restricting media and judicial independence, although it may be that it is going to hold back on some of this compared to Russia, Hungary, and Turkey. I think two things are important. One is that although Poland avoided going into recession in 2009 (largely due to staying out of the euro and also being strongly linked into the supply chains of neighboring Germany), its growth rate has slowed in more recent years while remaining positive, something happening throughout all of Eastern Europe, which has stopped catching up to Western Europe. And the second is that the frame of reference has changed. Whereas Poland has done well compared to its formerly socialist neighbors, the population now compares themselves to those in Western Europe, especially neighboring Germany, whom they are clearly well behind. Many young Poles have left for the West, with a clich in the Brexit debates in UK being about the supposed problem of the Polish plumber coming in to take away British jobs. The Poles may be much happier than they were 30 years ago, but the bloom is off the rose as the transition has been long over. Where they will end up is unclear. A final irony is that for all his advocacy in 1989-93 (and later as Director of the Polish central bank) for the hardline version of shock therapy many think happened in Poland, Balcerowicz himself at one point advocated something pretty much like what came to pass, a gradual privatization and maintaining most of the social safety net while advocating shock monetary policies to bring inflation under control. This was before the transition strted and Communist Party was still in control. Indeed, I met him in this period and heard him advocate pretty much this approach, which he also advocated in print. It was 1988 and I was teaching summer school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when he showed up in town as part of a general wandering around the US talking to people and giving talks. We had some beers on the famous Union Terrace there by beautiful Lake Mendota. I confess thinking him a naive dreamer with all his plans for Poland that at the time seemed so unlikely and utopian. But that was one of those lessons for me: one should never discount a wandering prophet without position. He can end up running the show and making at least some of his dreams become reality. Barkley Rosser | https://angrybearblog.com/2019/01/how-shocking-was-shock-therapy.html |
What would Molly do? | Wikimedia Commons/DonkeyHotey These days, I wonder what Molly Ivins would think of todays politics. Those of us who were fans called her Molly even if we never met her. In Boulder, she participated in CUs Conference on World Affairs, provoking guffaws and drawing huge crowds. Molly Ivins was a perceptive commentator and hilarious satirist with a Texas twang. A syndicated columnist and writer for numerous national magazines, she was most well-known for explaining that states politics with colorful anecdotes. Molly died of breast cancer at age 62 on Jan. 31, 2007, shortly before Barack Obama formally announced he was running for president. She had been impressed by Obamas speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and thought he should run. The year before, she wrote that, Sen. (Hillary) Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her (to be president). Most likely had she lived longer, Molly would have also been disappointed in Obama. She gave George W. Bush the nicknames Dubya and Shrub. She covered the corrupt and reactionary goings-on at the Texas state legislature, remarking that, All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. As long as you dont think about what that peculiar body should be doing and what it actually is doing to the quality of life in Texas, then its all marvelous fun. For all her jokes, she was serious about holding the powerful accountable. Her analysis of how politicians get away with scapegoating the vulnerable seems incredibly relevant in Trumps America: The trouble with blaming powerless people is that although its not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point Poor people do not shut down factories. Poor people are not in charge of those mergers and acquisitions in which tens of thousands of people lose their jobs so a few people in top positions can make a killing on the stock market. If we can make ourselves believe that poor folks are responsible for their own problems, then the rest of us are absolved of any responsibility for them The reason we like to blame the victim is because if its not the victims fault, why then, it could happen to anybody. It could even happen to you. And that is scary. I believe all Southern liberals come from the same starting point race. Once you figure out they are lying to you about race, you start to question everything. She was afraid that we were losing our democracy: Oligarchy is eating our ass, our dreams, our country, our heritage, our democracy, our justice and our tax code Either we figure out how to keep corporate cash out of the political system or we lose the democracy. She said the fight isnt easy, noting, The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion. Molly described herself as a populist. She would have been outraged that so many mainstream pundits call Trump a populist and then claim genuine populists like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown sound like Trump. Molly was an early and fervent opponent of Bushs war in Iraq. In her last column, written a few weeks before she died, she urged people to end the war. Bush had called himself the decider. She disagreed: We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. The wars go on, unfortunately, but people have been raising hell against the Trump administration since the very beginning from the Womens Marches to the blue wave in last Novembers election. The Congressional Progressive Caucus had 78 members before the midterms and now it has 96 members. Molly would have been ecstatic when she read the winter issue of the The American Prospect with the Justin Miller article on Texas and the Bob Moser article on A New South Rising. Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who is up for re-election in 2020, is quoted as saying: Texas is no longer, I believe, a reliably red state. We are on the precipice of turning purple, and weve got a lot of work to do to keep it red, because we lost, we got blown out in the urban areas. We got beat in the suburbs, which used to be our traditional strongholds. And if it wasnt for the rural areas of the state where Senator Cruz won handily, (the Senate race against Democrat Beto ORourke) might not have turned out the way it did. Up in heaven, Molly is celebrating and urging us to fight on. As she said once down here on Earth: So keep fightin for freedom and justice, beloveds, but dont you forget to have fun doin it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin ass and celebratin the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. | https://www.boulderweekly.com/opinion/what-would-molly-do/ |
How far-out is Trumps war policy? | Courtesy of Jim Hightower If you think our governments war policy has become out-of-this world cuckoo, consider the spaciness being proposed by the cosmonauts on Spaceship Trump. Spending nearly $700 billion a year on maintaining the five branches of the U.S. war machine (not counting the costs of actually fighting all the wars they get into) is not enough they now tell us. So prepare to soar militarily and budgetarily into a boundless war theater where none have gone before: Yes, outer space! It seems that Captain Trump himself woke up one morning in June and abruptly announced that he was bored with the fusty old Army, Air Force, etc., so he wanted a shiny new sixth military branch to play with [space music sound effects] a Space Force to carry Americas war-making power to a cosmic level. His loyal lieutenant, Mike Yes-Man Pence promptly saluted, calling Trumps whim an idea whose time has come. Americas military leaders rolled their eyes at this folly, but theyve since snapped to attention and are preparing to launch Capn Trumps grandiose space dreams. In a melodramatic speech, Pence declared that the new Space Command will seek peace, in space as on Earth. Hmm thats not very comforting. However, he says hes thrilled that Trumps Space Force will be led by a four-star general, have its own bureaucracy with a multibillion-dollar budget, have a separate division to funnel money to corporate war contractors, and have its own snappy uniforms. Wont all that look great if Trump ever gets that big showy military parade hes been demanding as a tribute to his leadership as a cocktail-room warrior. The Trumpeteers gush that this extraplanetary extravagance will attract Americas best and bravest to serve as warfighters. Of course, their privileged families wont have to fight in any of the space wars theyre dreaming up for other families to fight. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. | https://www.boulderweekly.com/opinion/how-far-out-is-trumps-war-policy/ |
Do Evangelical Activists Want to Legalize Gay Lynching? | On December 20th, the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act cleared the U.S. Senate in a rare unanimous vote after it was introduced by the chambers three African-American members Sen. Kamala Harris (D-NY), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced it earlier in 2018. It means, bluntly, that if the bill passes, that lynching would be a federal crime. Thats right: Although lawmakers tried to address lynching at the federal level nearly 200 times in the first half of the 20th Century, it was never successful. So here we are in the 21st Century, still trying to fix what Rolling Stones Jamil Smith called the most sustained campaign of domestic terrorism outside of slaverys holocaust after visiting the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama last year. While the most common symbol of lynching is a hanging, in fact it encompasses a wide variety of heinous acts: being shot repeatedly, burned alive, forced to jump off a bridge, dragged behind cars. Matthew Shepards murder in Wyoming in 1998 is the most infamous gay lynching of the past 20 years that spurred a movement to create stricter hate crime legislation and protections for LGBT people. So it should be a no-brainer to add lynching to federal civil rights law. But since in addition to race, color, religion, and national origin, this bill would cover crimes motivated by hatred toward a persons gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability it has some evangelical activists in an uproar. Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit organization that opposes rights for gays, lesbian and transgender people and has been labeled an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its chairman, Mat Staver, has been urging lawmakers to pump the breaks on the bill due to the fact that it would also protect LGBT people from hate crimes. In an interview with conservative Christian news outlet OneNewsNow, Staver implied this was a sort of Trojan horse, wherein LGBT people would gain more rights by being protected from being murdered in a gruesome fashion. The old saying is once that camel gets the nose in the tent, you cant stop them from coming the rest of the way in, he said. This is a way to slip it in under a so-called anti-lynching bill, and to then to sort of circle the wagon and then go for the juggler [sic] at some time in the future. This isnt a new tactic for them. The organization is best known for defending embattled Kentucky clerk Kim Davis who resisted allowing same-sex couples to marry after the Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for them to do so in all 50 states. In November, the bigoted group was adamant about Congress removing language about sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination when it was negotiating a trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. Contacted by Rolling Stone, a Liberty Counsel spokeswoman pointed to the organizations statement on its website under the headline False Reporting on Lynching Bill Endangers lives. | https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/lynching-bill-lgbt-evangelical-777303/ |
Will the shutdown affect snow removal in D.C. this weekend? | Washington sees its first snowfall of the season Nov. 15. Forecasters say the region will receive measurable snow this weekend. (Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post) The government is shut down and there appears to be no end to the standoff. Oh, and its going to snow this weekend. Forecast models continue to jump around, but The Washington Posts Capital Weather Gang is predicting two to four inches by the end of the weekend. [It's going to snow in D.C. this weekend. The question is how much?] That may not be a big deal in some quarters, but in the Washington region where roads, parks and bridges fall under the purview of multiple local, state and federal entities, it could have significant repercussions. Washington is already footing the bill ($46,000 a week!) to pick up the trash thats not being collected by the National Park Service on the Mall, because of the partial government shutdown. On this front, we have good news: A spokeswoman for the National Park Service said the agency will do its part to treat roads and clear snow from parkways and other commuter routes. Spokeswoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles said crews will also handle clearing sidewalks under NPS jurisdiction. The agency also announced Thursday that it will resume trash collection, urgent roadwork and sanitation services at its parks in and around the District starting Friday. [National Park Service resumes some local maintenance despite shutdown] In all, nearly 300 miles of roads, 155 bridges and more than 100 miles of sidewalks in the greater Washington area are under the Park Services jurisdiction just another sign of the overlapping responsibilities that can make simple tasks difficult in the nations capitol a bureaucratic nightmare. After the historic snowstorm in 2016 dubbed Snowzilla, NPS crews moved more than 8.25 million cubic feet of snow from memorials, roads, parking lots and sidewalks. Enough to fill the Washington Monument 18.4 times. The weight of all that snow was 1.6 times as heavy as the entire Lincoln Memorial. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/01/10/will-shutdown-affect-snow-removal-dc/ |
What Options Do I Have for Heating a Tiny Log Cabin? | Question: We purchased a 500-square-foot cabin along Devils Lake, Wisconsin, which has a liquid-propane heater from the 1960s. When we had our inspection, I got a headache from the fumes it emitted! The previous owners said it was inspected recently, but I cant stomach the smell. Answer: One way to go is to simply replace the LP gas system you have. Liquefied petroleum gas or liquid petroleum gas is also known as LPG or LP gas and is commonly referred to as propane or butane. They still make room heaters like that, freestanding or wall-mounted versions, and the replacement would probably be quite a bit more efficient today, says Mike Luongo of Caldwell, N.J.-based Total Home Supply. Thats a viable, inexpensive option. But as long as youre considering replacing the old heater, there are other alternatives to consider. Wood stoves do well when heating small cabins, but in an area where you need to keep pipes from freezing and bursting, its not ideal because they must be regularly stoked. There are also multizone LP systems that can heat more areas of the home than the one you have now and that dont require the duc- twork that traditional multizone heating systems do. Finally, there are those hotel-style packaged terminal air-conditioning units (PTACs) that are installed in walls to heat and cool large rooms. Your choice depends on how the cabin is configured. If you have a lot of closed-off spaces, the multizone units may not work as well. Whatever the technology, electric- powered heaters are your most expensive option, by far, in the long run. A simple replacement of your LP unit will be 10 times more efficient than electric heat, according to Mike. Whatever you decide, it does sound like replacing the 1960s model you have now will allow you to breathe easier by sparing you those fumes, and by saving you money on fuel costs. | https://loghome.com/articles/article/heating-tiny-log-cabin |
Will better technology solve our sleep sorrows? | As if the current political climate hasnt given us enough to worry about, last week Professor Matthew Walker, the Director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, made headlines for claiming that sleep deprivation can negatively affect every aspect of our biology and is widespread in modern society. In an interview with The Guardian Walker states that lack of sleep can contribute to a range of mental and physical illnesses, including Alzheimer's, cancer, obesity and poor mental health. Read more: Fitbit Versa With that in mind, its no surprise tech brands are bolstering their efforts to try and solve our sleep problems for good. Sleep tracking technology has existed for decades in a research setting. But for consumers its becoming more and more advanced. Devices built to track data about our health and fitness then serve those numbers back to us with scores, graphs and ratings are already popular, from high-end running watches designed by the likes of Garmin through to simple and affordable activity trackers from companies like Fitbit. The thinking is that armed with more awareness about our habits and activities, we have a better chance of being able to learn more about our bodies and change them. With answers to sleep problems being elusive for many, it makes sense that sleep tracking would become just as widespread as step, run and activity tracking. Of course sleep tracking technology has existed for decades in a research setting. But for consumers its becoming more and more advanced, presenting users with more accurate data about the sleep stages theyre entering, how their body responds when theyre in those stages and the factors that might contribute to sleep duration and quality. The S+ Sensor from ResMed uses radio waves to track your sleep. The state of the sleep tech market Sleep technology is a rapidly expanding sector of the wearable technology and smart home spaces, and there are a number of different types to be aware of. Depending on what youre looking to find out, youve everything from activity trackers with sleep monitoring smarts built-in, like the Misfit Ray and Fitbit Alta, through to sensors built especially for sleep, like the S+ Sensor from ResMed and Beddit, to try out. But there are also devices worth mentioning that arent necessarily designed to track your sleep, but help you get to sleep. From wake-up lamps, like the Lumie Body Block and Sleepace Nox Music Lamp, through to the Dodow, which sends you off into a calm slumber by projecting lights onto your ceiling, and Thync, which preps you for sleep with neurostimulation. Theres been little solid research into the efficacy of many of these consumer-facing products. But so far a lot of anecdotal evidence seems strong - and of course the brands themselves are keen to shout about how life-changing sleep tracking can be. But it doesnt take a sleep researcher to identify a conflict here. The Fitbit Alta HR can identify your different sleep stages using a heart rate monitor. Sleep tech has been used in a medical setting for years, and is powerful in the hands of researchers armed with clear goals, a patients medical history and expert knowledge about how to work their equipment accurately. We spoke to Dr Jamie Zeitzer , Assistant Professor at Stanford University in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Centre for Sleep Sciences and Medicine about the role technology can play in helping us to get a better nights sleep. In theory, yes tech can help, Zeitzer told us. We are often unaware of the actual causes of poor sleep at night. Or is it when the rubbish truck comes by at 6 in the morning? The S+ Sensor listens for the echoes of your pulse to sense your sleep. Its clear that tracking your sleep could be a way to highlight sleep problems you may not already know about, as well as identify patterns and triggers for both quality and broken rest. I have found the current sleep trackers to provide uninteresting data, for the most part, Zeitzer told us. Except for the minority of the population who are into the quantified-self, most people would not find detailed information about their nightly sleep (especially independent of context) to be useful. He continued: Telling people they had a 'good' or 'bad' night of sleep is useless as it is based on objective measures that have little bearing on subjective phenomenology. In other words, the thing that most people care about is subjective sleep - how you feel in the morning. Unfortunately we have shown (after analyzing sleep from nearly 5000 individuals) that objective measures tell us very little about subjective sleep. Telling people they had a 'good' or 'bad' night of sleep is useless as it is based on objective measures that have little bearing on subjective phenomenology. Dr Jamie Zeitzer In the same way your Fitbit tells you if you had a good steps day, some sleep tracking technology aims to give you a sleep score, which can be a number or something as simple as what Zeitzer mentions, telling you if your sleep is good or bad. This highlights a concern weve explored in the realm of stress tech before, which is that being advised to take more steps is helpful - steps are easy to go and do right now. But tech that tells you you that youve had a bad day and need to de-stress, or in this case, a bad nights sleep, becomes more challenging and can be effective for some and cause problems for others. For instance, a recent study suggested that some people felt more tired throughout the day based on what their sleep tracker told them - not how they actually slept. Dr. Michael Farquhar , a consultant in sleep medicine at St Thomas Hospital, London told us: The evidence to date suggests that those who do use tech to track sleep tend to be the same people who then worry most about not getting enough of it. For many, all the technology does is heighten anxiety around sleep which makes good quality sleep even harder to achieve. The Nox Music Smart Sleep Lamp simulates a soothing sunrise. Like Zeitzer, Dr. Michael Farquhar suggested there is a role for tech, it just might not be for everyone. There may be a role for using technology to track your own individual differences in sleep, Farquhar told us. Its clear that like other quantified self tech devices, the way we use sleep tech - and whether its beneficial - is largely subjective. Some people may thrive on huge amounts of data and being told their sleep wasnt up to scratch last night. Others may be overwhelmed by it and that knowledge could even impact their well-being throughout the next day. And of course some others may lose interest within a few weeks. The Dodow projects lights onto your ceiling to calm your breathing. Theres no clear answer about what might make sleep tech useful to you - and youre unlikely to know whether itll solve your sleep problems until you try it. But hopefully over the coming years therell be more focus on turning lots of data into much more meaningful actions and insights. One way of doing this could be to create a home thats smarter and more connected than ever. For example, rather than being presented with a pretty graph that shows you that you didnt sleep well last night and gives you an arbitrary sleep rating, imagine a sleep sensor that uses that data to work alongside your heating system, your air purifier and your smart blinds to work together to find optimal conditions for sleep. But for others the answer may be to ditch the tech altogether and stop skirting round their sleep problems by either addressing the areas of their lifestyle they need to change, or conversely, going to see a GP about their lack of sleep. Getting the basics of good sleep right doesnt need technology, Dr. Michael Farquhar told us. The average adult in the UK doesnt prioritise sleep, and is probably chronically sleep-deprived to the tune of an hour per night (or, if you want to look at it another way, an entire nights worth of sleep per week). Doing simple things well in terms of sleep routine and habits can make big improvements for most. | https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/will-better-technology-solve-our-sleep-sorrows |
Is Red Robin (RRGB) Fated to Witness a Terrible 2019 Too? | In 2018, the Retail-Restaurant industry gained 6.23% compared with the S&P 500s decline of 4.3%. However, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. RRGB, which belongs to the same industry, had a forgettable year. In the same time frame, the stock witnessed a sharp decline of 52.7%. The downside can be primarily attributed to soft comparable restaurant sales, weakness in dine-in traffic and decline in margin. The company has also been witnessing soft earnings and revenues trend lately. In the third quarter of 2018, the bottom line declined 23.8% year over year. Subsequently, the company lowered its EPS guidance for 2018. It anticipates earnings of $1.60-$1.80 per share, down from $1.80-$2.20 mentioned earlier. In the quarter, Red Robins revenues missed estimates for the third straight quarter. The company has been bearing the brunt of increased costs, which are hurting margins. In the third quarter of 2018, restaurant-level operating profit margin contracted 180 basis points (bps) to 16.8%. The decline was due to 120 bps rise in other restaurant operating expenses and a surge of 60 bps in occupancy costs. The rise in other operating costs was due to increases in technology costs, repairs and maintenance expenses, third-party delivery fees, higher utility costs and supplies. In order to drive traffic, Red Robin has been undertaking initiatives that have improved its restaurants seating efficiency and lowered guests waiting times. The company has rolled out its Kitchen Display System (KDS) that is linked to table management software. This is expected to result in annual sales growth of approximately $50 million as kitchens can handle higher peak volumes. It should also significantly improve guest experience by lowering ticket times and improving the quality of food at tableside. The digital wave has hit the U.S. fast casual restaurant space, as more and more restaurants are deploying technology to enhance the guest experience. In line with this, Red Robin too has been investing more in technology and data infrastructure. The company is set to grow its off-premise, online-ordering business via carry-out, delivery and catering. Despite the aforementioned efforts, analysts are still not optimistic about the Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) companys future earnings growth potential. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in 2019 has declined 3.8% to $1.79. Per the consensus estimate, revenues in 2019 are likely to decline 0.3% to $1.34 billion. Key Picks Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. TAST, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. CBRL and Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI. All these stocks have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Carrols Restaurant Group has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 20%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has reported better-than-expected earnings in the trailing three out of four quarters, average being 0.7%. Darden Restaurants earnings in the current year is likely to witness a growth of 17.9%. 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/red-robin-rrgb-fated-witness-202508788.html |
How will IBM revolutionise weather forecasting in 2019? | Rob is a Verdict staff writer. You can reach him at [email protected] IBM has announced a highly advanced weather forecasting system that can provide hourly weather updates to the entire planet for areas as small as 3 square kilometres. According to IBM, the system is able to predict individual thunderstorms. The system is known as the IBM Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System, or GRAF for short. It was created with IBM subsidiary The Weather Company, combining its meteorological data and IBMs supercomputing prowess. GRAF will crowdsource data from millions of members of the public who own a smartphone equipped with atmospheric pressure sensors and have given IBM permission to use the data. It will also leverage information from sensors on thousands of aeroplanes gathered during commercial flights. The information technology giant, in partnership with the Weather Channel, unveiled GARF at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Weather predictions are made by collecting as much data as possible about the atmosphere, such as temperature, humidity and wind. The more data that is available, the more accurate the prediction which is how IBM is able to offer such a precise forecast. But to process such enormous amounts of data requires IBMs POWER9-based supercomputers, which are among the fastest in the world. IBM says the system could offer accurate forecasts to farmers in remote areas and minimise airline disruption. Current weather models typically cover areas from 12 to 15 square kilometres and update every 6 to 12 hours. By contrast, GARF will update hourly and work at a resolution of 12 to 3 square kilometres. Many areas outside of the US, Japan and Western Europe typically have less accurate weather forecasts under current forecast technology. 3 Things That Will Change the World Today Get the Verdict morning email Today, weather forecasts around the world are not created equal, so we are changing that, said Cameron Clayton, general manager of Watson Media and Weather for IBM. Weather influences what people do day-to-day and is arguably the most important external swing factor in business performance. As extreme weather becomes more common, our new weather system will ensure every person and organization around the world has access to more accurate, more finely-tuned weather forecasts. How AI is being used in the new system A spokesperson for IBM told Verdict that the weather forecast system uses artificial intelligence in the backend to assist with analysis of data streams and model information. AI is also used to help calibrate and weight to give the more than 162 weather models that GRAF ingests. However, the system does not use make of any new machine learning. IBM said forecasts will be available globally later this year to those using The Weather Channel app, weather.com, Weather Underground app, wunderground.com, as well as businesses that use IBM offerings from The Weather Company. Read more: Quantum computing comes to energy with ExxonMobil IBM partnership | https://www.verdict.co.uk/how-will-ibm-revolutionise-weather-forecasting-in-2019/ |
Is Renault's revolutionary Zoe the first truly mainstream electric car? | That's a tough question, but with the arrival of the new Renault Zoe we can begin to work out some answers. That's because, in many ways, the Renault Zoe is easily the most attractive and compelling electric car yet conceived. And it's perhaps the first truly mainstream electric car (or EV) ever made. Much of that is down to simple pricing. UK on-the-road prices start at just 13,650. That makes the Zoe absolutely price competitive with conventional combustion cars in the same segment. That means cars like the VW Polo, the Vauxhall Corsa and, indeed, Renault's own Clio. A complicated comparison There are complications to that comparison. The Zoe depends on a 5,000 government EV grant that has recently been renewed but may not last forever. You also have to factor in a minimum 70 lease charge for the Zoe's battery. You don't actually own the battery when you buy a Zoe, which is one of the things that helps keeps the purchase price down. We'll come back to the financials momentarily. First, let's get to grips with the technology that goes into the car. The core structure is based on the latest Renault Clio. So, you could think of the Zoe as simply a Clio with an electric motor and a fancy frock. But that's not entirely fair, since the latest Clio was always conceived with optional electric power in mind. That's allowed Renault to engineer the Zoe's 22kWh, 290kg lithium battery pack to be located flat, low and centrally in the chassis. So the Zoe actually has a lower centre of gravity than a Clio, which is always a good thing for driving dynamics, even if at nearly 1,500kg overall, it's a fair bit heavier than any Clio. Not just an electric Clio Inside and out, it looks completely different from the Clio, too. And that's all for the better, given the latest Clio's bland design. OK, the Zoe is a bit cutesy and Disney-fied. But it's basically a looker and certainly turns heads. The cabin also has a mostly pleasing consumer-electronics vibe. The main interior colour options are black and white, with the latter taking on a particularly Apple-esque feel. In fact, the centre console has been designed to resemble a tablet computer. Renault Zoe: Charging and R-Link Inside and out, there are technical curiosities, too. In terms of ease of ownership, the anything-you-can-eat charging setup is a big plus. It basically means you can plug the Zoe into pretty much any power source and leave it to sort out the rest. That includes anything from a basic home power socket to a triple-phase fast charger. Charging times vary from nine hours for a full charge on that nine amp home socket to 30 minutes for an 80% top up on the triple-phase 63A fast chargers you occasionally see installed around town. However, Renault is currently offering a special deal that gives you a Wall-box home charging unit for free, including installation. The Wall-box cuts home charging to three and a half hours. R-Link extras Making life even easier, there's a smartphone app that allows you to track and manage charging remotely. Back inside, the main techy aspect of note is the Android-powered R-Link. It's pretty much the same as we've previously experienced on the Clio, so hop on over to our previous Renault R-Link landing page. Suffice to say that we like the basic concept (a touchscreen Android based infotainment system). But we're unconvinced by the execution (sluggish response, less than compelling apps, low-res graphics). It's also worth noting that the navigation, which is provided by TomTom, isn't up to the usual TomTom high standards. Frame rates are very low and the mapping can be confusing, leading to quite a few errors during our test drive. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/car-tech/is-renault-s-revolutionary-zoe-the-first-truly-mainstream-electric-car-1140352 |
Could a casino be coming to Portsmouth? | PORTSMOUTH, Va. Rumors are swirling about a casino coming to Portsmouth. If this could come to fruition, I think it could be a great thing for Portsmouth, said Gail Pittman. The thought of a casino in Olde Towne has people ready to place their bets. The citys vice mayor said it all depends on what kind of gambling legislation the general assembly passes this year. Many long-time Portsmouth residents believe a brand new casino would boost the economy and give people a new place to hang out. It gives our residents opportunities for employment. It builds into our tax base. It gives us opportunities for school funding that we dont have now, Pittman said. Portsmouths Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke told 13News Now the city is working to bring an exciting mix of residential, commercial and entertainment opportunities to Downtown Portsmouth, which could include a casino. I see bricks that are not being worn out. I see people who have never been here yet. They will come, explained Roger Brown. Former NFL player and restaurant owner, Roger Brown, said hes 100 percent onboard with the plan, and he believes it is a move in the positive direction for the city. I think any business that can come to this city and motivate our economy is outstanding, Brown explained. Lucas-Burke said the casino isnt a done deal. She also said she cant say who the possible developer is or where the developer would go because it was discussed in a closed session meeting. Lucas-Burke said she is delighted to be a part of the council that could help make it happen. | https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/portsmouth/could-a-casino-be-coming-to-portsmouth/291-a6b98498-ef9f-4938-836e-03b889fa9867 |
Can Virtual Reality Save Itself? | Everyone should be using computers by strapping goggles onto their faces and navigating a Tron-like virtual world. At least, thats what boosters of virtual reality have been saying for decades. But the latest virtual reality gear offered up at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week demonstrates just how far the tech still has to go before its ready for the mainstream. Virtual reality was all the rage at previous CES shows in recent years with hype overflowing from booths throughout the vast convention center in Las Vegas. A report last year found that virtual reality could become mainstream and potentially surpass $40 billion in sales by 2020. Companies promised that virtual reality headsets would transform everything from gaming and movie watching to internet browsing. In actual reality, however, the headsets needed for these experiences turned out to be expensive, bulky and filled with buggy software. Subscribe to Observers Business Newsletter This year, manufacturers are getting more realistic. Facebook did away with flashy demos and showed off to the tech press the latest iteration of its headset, the Oculus Quest, a $399 untethered unit scheduled for release in the spring. The Quest is intended to have better graphics and be lighter and more comfortable to wear than previous models. The Vive Pro Eye tries to distinguish itself from the competition by offering integrated eye tracking software. The company claims that the eye tracking will allow for better graphics by letting the computer inside the headset know where it needs to focus its processing resources. A price and release date have not yet been announced. NordicTrack, the fitness gear purveyor so popular in the 80s, is trying to update its image by leaping onto the virtual tech bandwagon. The company announced a virtual reality bike designed to work with the ViVe Pro. The bike allows users to play games in virtual reality while working up a sweat. Its scheduled for a Summer 2019 release at $1999. Despite the advances promised by the latest gear, virtual reality still faces many hurdles to gain widespread acceptance. The headsets arent comfortable to wear for long periods, the price is still too high and many users report feeling nauseous when using them. But perhaps the biggest problem manufacturers still havent solved is that wearing a big headset on your face just looks weird. Not everyone is a gadget freak, noted a recent report on the state of the virtual reality industry. The industry needs to appeal to those who arent. | https://observer.com/2019/01/virtual-reality-advancements-problems-hindering-mainstream-adoption/ |
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