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Why risk Brewster community with recreational marijuana? | As I stand on the bluff overlooking Cape Cod Bay, I can see from Plymouth to Provincetown. Our family moved to Brewster from Northern California in 1996. This town was ideal for us, from Stony Brook Elementary to White Caps baseball, to exploring the natural history museum and bay beaches. Brewsters natural beauty was and is a source of spiritual sustenance. In a statewide referendum in November 2016, Brewster voted against recreational marijuana. By November 2017, "Regulate Cape Cod" (now rebranded as "Brewster Residents for Small Business") stacked a special town meeting that the majority of residents knew nothing about. I knew about this meeting because of a call and cards addressed to our 26-year-old old son from Cape Cod Regulate. Both urged him to vote no on articles 10 and 11 to "Block the Brewster Ban." The Nov. 13, 2017, Special Town Meeting was a study in confusion. The comments from the floor had nothing to do with recreational sales. The moratorium was voted down. The selectman presenting the article was baffled. My husband and I attended meetings about the proposed dispensaries and cultivators. When we voiced our opinion, we were told by the pot proponents, too late. Its a done deal. Like many Cape Codders, we go south for the winter. By the time we returned, it appeared that the three deals for four marijuana establishments were indeed done. In 2018, more than 400 Brewster residents put forth a citizens petition to ban recreational sales while allowing for a medical dispensary. On Dec. 3, 2018, at a Special Town Meeting, a ban on recreational sales of marijuana was voted in. As of January 2019, the same group of altruistic marijuana business owners and consultants who claimed to care so much about our town are now filing suit against the town. On a clear December day, if you stand on a bluff in Brewster, you can see the entire shoreline of Cape Cod Bay. Viewing this endless horizon is a sustaining high that no amount of money could ever buy. The Rev. Kathleen Ryan lives in Brewster. | https://www.capecodtimes.com/opinion/20190112/why-risk-brewster-community-with-recreational-marijuana |
Was I wrong about Bitcoin all along? | In December, my Foolish colleague Rupert Hargreaves punched out an interesting article that made me think about the whole cryptocurrency asset class. Ive been bearish on Bitcoin since it surged to almost $20,000 a little over a year ago. I think the cryptocurrency suffered from speculation that created an unsustainable bubble, a bubble that could still be deflating and could retreat by more than 90% from where it is now. I would like to receive emails from you about product information and offers from The Fool and its business partners. Each of these emails will provide a link to unsubscribe from future emails. More information about how The Fool collects, stores, and handles personal data is available in its Privacy Statement. Register by giving us your email below to continue reading all of the content on the site. Soon you will also begin to receive our FREE email newsletter, The Motley Fool Collective. It features straightforward advice on whats really happening with the stock market, direct to your inbox. Its designed to help you protect and grow your portfolio. (You may unsubscribe any time.) Ive been bearish on Bitcoin since it surged to almost $20,000 a little over a year ago. I think the cryptocurrency suffered from speculation that created an unsustainable bubble, a bubble that could still be deflating and could retreat by more than 90% from where it is now. In December, my Foolish colleague Rupert Hargreaves punched out an interesting article that made me think about the whole cryptocurrency asset class. Although unlike a trading company, Bitcoin pays investors no dividend, generates no cash inflows, owns no tangible assets, and cant add value to anything to generate wealth, it has one thing going for it. That one thing is that the number of Bitcoins in existence is limited to 21m. So, the counter-argument to my bearishness is that demand for the virtual currency could rocket if people decide to adopt it as a mainstream currency, which could push the price up because of limited supply. Ruperts tantalising headline suggested $100,000 as a possibility, although he balanced that by saying that If everyone suddenly stops using it, then the price will likely fall to zero. However, I think the case for Bitcoin at 100,000 is tenuous. I remember the long search for the creator of Bitcoin. In the end, some bloke (or several people) called Satoshi Nakamoto reckons he (or they) started it off. Thats already happening, of course. Witness the proliferation of Altcoins (or Alternatives to Bitcoin), such as Ethereum, Ripple, Monero and Bytecoin. Then there are all those so-called forks where a single blockchain diverges into two paths. Bitcoin forks include Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold, and Ethereum forks include Ethereum Classic and Ethereum Fog, for example. Then weve got intentional forks, unintentional forks, hard forks, soft forks, and other nonsense that could work against an investment in Bitcoin. A basketful of risks Meanwhile, if you trade in cryptocurrencies, it pays to hold your nose. Theyve been popular in the criminal underworld and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has warned that virtual currencies are risky because the exchanges lack regulation or safeguards. That means theyre vulnerable to theft, hacking, fraud and market manipulation because of potential self-dealing by exchanges. Meanwhile, the Bank of International Settlements has cautioned that Bitcoin lacks any stability of price, requires high energy consumption, has high and variable transaction costs, and is vulnerable to debasement from forking. It all paints a bleak picture for the outlook for Bitcoin. But The Economist threw a few crumbs of comfort to Bitcoin-believers in 2015 when it claimed some of the criticisms were unfair. The publication argued that the underlying blockchain technology is useful and Bitcoins volatility could settle down. But I must say theres been scant evidence of those views over the ensuing three years! On balance, Im sticking to my bearish stance on Bitcoin and will continue to seek my fortune in shares instead. | https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2019/01/12/was-i-wrong-about-bitcoin-all-along/ |
Will Kim Cattrall Return to Sex and the City 3 Movie? | Actress Kim Cattrall has appealed to her fans to help find her younger brother who has been missing from his home for five days. (AFP/File) Kim Cattrall is reportedly reconsidering doing another 'Sex and the City' movie. The chances of a third instalment in the popular comedy franchise based on the popular HBO show - in which Kim portrays sex-mad publicist Samantha Jones - were dashed after the actress was locked in an alleged feud with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw) last year. Further to this, the executive producer of the TV series and subsequent movies, Michael Patrick King, claimed that the pair had fell out over pay disparity, with Cattrall allegedly asking to be paid the same as Parker. However, an insider now claims there is still a chance that the pair will reunite with the cast for another film. A source told the new issue National Inquirer magazine: "Playing Samantha Jones changed Kim's life. It made her more famous than she could have ever imagined, and also made her very rich. "The cheques are still coming in from the films and TV show. Never say never when it comes to making another film." Speaking in December, Parker admitted it was "not something we are talking about right now". But she left a glimmer of hope, adding: "I just don't have a clue." Kim and SJP were reported to be in a feud after it was claimed Kim had been the cause of the third 'Sex and the City' movie being cancelled, due to her alleged diva demands on set. The actress then publicly slammed Sarah Jessica by claiming she had a "toxic" relationship with her, and later accused her of "exploiting" her tragedy after she sent her condolences to Kim when her brother passed away. Kim said: "My Mom asked me today 'When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?' Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven't already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I'm writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your 'nice girl' persona. (sic)" However, Sarah, 53, insisted she was "not in a fight" with Kim. The 'Failure to Launch' star slammed the idea of there being a "catfight" between her and her former co-star - who made scathing comments about Sarah Jessica last year - and was adamant that she had "never fought" with the 62-year-old star. She said: "If one more person calls this a catfight ... I'm not in a fight. "I never fought with Kim. I don't have to send any gifts to Kim, because I've never done anything. She has felt perfectly comfortable to say lots of things. That's the beauty of living in a democracy, but I have no apologies, meaning, this isn't a catfight. "This is someone who chose to talk about something and myself, I remain grateful for her work and the role she played on and off camera for all the years we spent together." | https://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/will-kim-cattrall-return-sex-and-city-3-movie-1237398 |
Why Did Christina Aguilera Praise Lady Gaga? | Christina Aguilera. (AFP/ File) Christina Aguilera praises Lady Gaga after she removes R.Kelly duet 'Do What U Want' from streaming services. Lady Gaga revealed this week she would be taking down the 2013 track from "all streaming services" following the accusations of sexual assault made by a host of women against Kelly in new Lifetime documentary series 'Surviving R. Kelly'. And now 38-year-old Christina - who recorded a special duet version of the song with Gaga, which they performed together on 'The Voice' in 2013 - has spoken out in defence of their version of the song, praising it for showing "women sticking together". Posting several images of the performance on Twitter, the 'Liberation' singer wrote: "This is a reminder of women sticking together-- and not letting a man take ownership of a great song/ moment... And if anything the message of this song remains that although you may have had my body, you will never have my heart, my voice my life or my mind. "Being a survivor of past predators myself, these lines spoke to me, which is why I did the song. I embrace all survivors of sexual and domestic violence and abuse holding a special place in my heart, and you @ladygaga, for doing the right thing! (sic)" Christina's post comes after Gaga, 32, apologised to her fans for working with R.Kelly on the original track in a social media post addressed to her 77.6 million followers on Twitter. She wrote: "I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously. "What I am hearing about the allegations against R Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life. My intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn't processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called Do What U Want (With My Body), I think it's clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. "If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I'd tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in - or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation - to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we've been through. "I can't go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault. I have demonstrated my stance on this issue and others many times throughout my career. I share this not to make excuses for myself, but to explain. Til it happens to you, you don't know how it feels. But I do know how I feel now. I intend to remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms and will not be working with him again. "I'm sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner". Kelly, 52, has denied all the allegations made against him and has threatened legal action against his accusers and the makers of the series. | https://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/why-did-christina-aguilera-praised-lady-gaga-1237406 |
Who Is MacKenzie Bezos? | I would say the biggest theme in the book is the idea that the things that we worry over the most in life, the things that we feel trapped by, the mistakes weve made, the bad luck that we come across, the accidents that happen to us, the paradoxes in the end, oftentimes those things are the things that well look back and be the most grateful for, Ms. Bezos said of the novel during an interview with Charlie Rose. They take us where we need to go. Image Credit Knopf Throughout their marriage, Mr. Bezos was an enthusiastic supporter of Ms. Bezoss fiction, and would clear his schedule to read drafts of her novels, Ms. Bezos told Vogue. In the acknowledgments of Traps, she called him my most devoted reader. But Ms. Bezoss literary career may have been complicated to some extent by her high-profile husband , who has done more than perhaps any individual in recent history to transform and sometimes destabilize the book-selling business. Many independent booksellers, publishers and agents blame Amazon for building a monopoly that has put independent stores out of business and poses a dire threat to once thriving chains like Barnes & Noble. Even though Amazon splashily introduced its own publishing imprints , Ms. Bezos still chose traditional houses for her books: Harper and Knopf. (When asked by an interviewer why Ms. Bezos wasnt publishing her books through Amazons fiction imprints, Mr. Bezos jokingly described his wife as the fish that got away.) Sales of her books have been modest: The novels have sold a few thousand print copies, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks some 85 percent of print sales. Some independent booksellers refused to stock Ms. Bezoss novels, according to a publishing executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Ms. Urban, Ms. Bezoss literary agent, declined to comment for this article. Billion-Dollar Divorce The Bezoses were the richest couple in the world; their divorce exists at a level of wealth that is virtually unprecedented. There have been billion-dollar divorces, like that of Steve and Elaine Wynn who owned casinos together, and certainly, technology entrepreneurs have been in and out of divorce court most notably Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle who has been wed and unwed four times. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/12/style/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-divorce.html |
How Fast is a Tuned & Lifted Silverado? | Tuned Silverado Takes on the Drag Strip | The Haul PAOLI, Pa. (January 9th, 2019) In this episode of AmericanTrucks' (AT) "The Haul", Adam Maqboul installs a trio of bolt-on modifications to his 2016 Silverado LT equipped with 33" all-terrain tires and 6" lift before taking it to the drag strip. While not trying to set any records, the purpose of this video is to see what kind of power and sound his 5.3L V-8 can produce with just a cold-air intake, tune and catback exhaust. Adam takes you through his list of bolt-ons, explaining why they were selected, before applying a tune to maximize performance and ensure that his new mods make every bit of power possible. After that, Adam puts his Silverado on AT's in-house dynamometer to see the results before taking it down the quarter-mile at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, PA. Parts featured include: S&B Cold Air Intake w/ Dry Extendable Filter, Carven Exhaust Competitor Series Single Exhaust System, & ID Motorsports SF4/X4 Power Flash Tuner. See how fast it goes here: www.americantrucks.com/the-haul-jan2019-silverado.html ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ About AmericanTrucks AmericanTrucks is regarded as one of the best, most reliable online aftermarket retailers for F150, RAM, Sierra, and Silverado parts and accessories. Catering to the needs and demands of late-model truck owners and enthusiasts, AmericanTrucks provides the best parts with support from genuine truck experts. Located just outside of Philadelphia, AmericanTrucks is dedicated to offering the truck community with the highest quality of parts and customer service. Please visit https://www.americantrucks.com for more information. | https://www.automobilesreview.com/auto-news/how-fast-is-a-tuned-lifted-silverado/122084/ |
Did the Patriots promote a playoff breakout candidate from their practice squad? | FOXBOROUGH -- If Stephen Anderson described it correctly Friday -- that his regular season was a step back -- then breaking out during Sundays divisional-round playoff game against the Chargers would be the largest Patriot leap forward since Malcolm Butlers interception in Super Bowl XLIX. The young and unknown tight end, promoted this week from the practice squad, thinks he can make it. Absolutely, he said Friday after practice. Ive been learning throughout the season. Ive been gaining confidence. Ive been improving my technique, my skills. And I think if I get a shot, then Ill be ready. Heres why, according to the 6-foot-2, 230-pound pass catcher. I think Im a true hybrid, Anderson said. Im probably not going to move a D-tackle, but Ill be able to get in there. I feel like blocking is just half attitude, and then the other half is technique. So being able to get in there and complete my blocking assignments, then running routes. "Im pretty confident against linebackers, and safeties and corners, I think I can get open against them, too. So just a true hybrid. My dad used to use the term when I was younger, Swiss army knife. So I can do a little bit of everything. Prior to signing with the Patriots in early September, Anderson entered the league as an undrafted free agent and played two full seasons in Houston. He made five starts, totaling 36 receptions for 435 receiving yards and a couple touchdowns before becoming a cutdown-day casualty. Anderson had served as a secondary tight end, who threatened opposing defenses primarily as a receiver. Now behind strong blockers Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, he would do the same Sunday if active. When you watch Anderson, dont be surprised to see elements of other move tight ends across the league. Emulating them in practice against the New Englands defensive starters this season, the 25-year-old began incorporating their games into his -- in addition to a late, former Patriots. The first person was Eric Ebron when we played Indy (in Week 5), Anderson said. The way they use him, hes a tight end, but they can use him as a receiver. I think (Chris) Herndon from the Jets, they use him in kind of that tight end/receiver role ... I could tell you that Ebron at the top of the route, hes something at the top of the route; Aaron Hernandez off the line. "I think a lot of the great tight ends, like even (Washingtons) Jordan Reed, he kind incorporates basketball with that. So Ive been trying to use that and just learning. Thats the whole thing Ive been gaining this season -- Ive been learning a lot. Learning, Anderson says, is the entire reason he landed in Foxborough. At the low point of his professional career, he sought development over opportunity. What better place to develop than in New England. When I got cut and I was trying to figure out a place to go, I wanted to continue to get better and continue to compete and continue to work hard every single day," Anderson said. And this was the perfect place because we work hard every single day, it has a history of great tight ends, and its just an organization thats going to go far. And thats what I wanted to be a part of. Bill Belichick has seen his growth first hand, saying Wednesday hes done a good job for the Pats in practice. Two weeks earlier, the head coach was a bit more expansive. Hes done well for us, Belichick said. We use him in a lot of different roles in practice as well. Hes been great. Hes been one of the guys thats been recognized on multiple weeks for the job hes done for us, either as a big receiver or as the go-to tight end for the team that were playing. Yet surely during this time -- as any professional athlete would -- Anderson believed a promotion to the 53-man roster would come. Sixteen games later, he was still waiting. Another week passed, and at last the good news arrived, but only at the expense of a teammate: Jacob Hollister, who Tuesday landed on injured reserve. Nonetheless, Andersons chance is here. And facing a fast, rangy and physical Los Angeles defense that figures to hold an edge over New Englands passing game, perhaps hes the secret weapon it needs. | https://www.masslive.com/patriots/2019/01/did-the-patriots-promote-a-playoff-breakout-candidate-from-their-practice-squad.html |
When is Chinese new year and what animal is it this year? | Soon enough youll have a new excuse to celebrate, because Chinese New Year is coming up. Heartwarming moment woman warms up shivering stray dog with her scarf Chinese New Year is a huge event that celebrates the start of a new year according to the traditional Chinese calendar. This calendar dates all the way back to some time between 800 and 400 BC. Nowadays, the festival is referred to as the Spring Festival. Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year, as it follows the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian, and each new year is represented by one of 12 different animals. Chinese New Year will be on Tuesday 5 February 2019. The celebrations for Chinese New Year are spread across 23 days, starting on Monday 28 January. Advertisement Advertisement This starts first period is known as Little Year that runs from Monday 28 January and it continues until New Years Eve. It is during the Spring Festival that Chinese New Year officially begin on 5 February and the celebrations continue until Saturday 19 February. Preparations for the Lantern Festival then begin on Wednesday 16 February with the event itself being held on Saturday 19 February this year. The Chinese Zodiac runs on a cycle of 12 years, with each year denoting one of the 12 animals. The 12 animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Intriguingly, there are different varieties of these animals too Next year is known as the year of the Pig. You can also incorporate Chinese elements into the years. For instance, 2018 was the year of the Dog, or more specifically the year of the earth dog. 2019 will be the year of the Earth Pig, and 2020 will be the year of the rat, or the metal rat if you want to get elemental about it. MORE: Shop opening times on New Years Day 2019 | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/12/when-is-chinese-new-year-and-what-animal-is-it-this-year-8336787/ |
Are The Avengers planning to assemble for the Oscars? | Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) The Oscars could use a few heroes in the wake of the Kevin Hart hosting debacle, and the Academy is hoping The Avengers can save the day. In lieu of a traditional host, The Hollywood Reporter says the shows producers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are trying to round up A-list stars to introduce segments and take part in sketches with a highlight being an Avengers reunion. The idea isnt that far-fetched, seeing as how the 2013 Oscars telecast featured Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson who play Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Nick Fury, respectively onstage together. However, the Academy is looking for an even bigger reunion, featuring some of the newer Marvel heroes and villains. Sources tell THR that specific details are currently being ironed out and that several of the actors were even asked not to present at the recent Golden Globes, so their appearances at the Oscars would have a bigger impact. The appearances would also help promote Avengers: End Game, which opens nationwide April 26. The 91st Academy Awards will be broadcast live from Hollywoods Dolby Theatre February 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. | https://www.1049thewolf.com/are-the-avengers-planning-to-assemble-for-the-oscars/ |
Can new lighting save the Mona Lisa? | Lighting causes damage to paintings over time. Credit: Juan Di Nella/Unsplash Next time youre in a museum or art gallery, observe each painting a little more closely. You may notice cracks on the surface of the canvas, especially if the painting is very old. The damage you see is caused by radiant energy striking the paintings surface and light (visible radiation) causes irreversible damage to artwork. However, all is not lost. Our new research shows that optimised smart lighting systems can reduce damage to paintings while preserving their colour appearance. The dilemma Damage to artwork by infrared, ultraviolet and visible radiation is well documented. When a photon (an elementary light particle) is absorbed by a pigment in paint, the pigment molecule elevates to a higher energy state. In this excited state, the molecules chemical composition changes. This is called a photochemical action. Viewed from the human perspective, the photochemical action manifests itself as cracks, discolouration, or surface hardening. Credit: www.shutterstock.com Not surprisingly, daylight, which includes infrared and ultraviolet radiation, is highly damaging to paintings. In museums, it is common practice to use incandescent, and more recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs), to reduce damage. However, a group of researchers showed that light can cause colour degradation regardless of the lighting technology. Bright yellow colours in Van Goghs famous Sunflowers are turning dark brown due to absorption of blue and green light from LEDs. Research on the conservation of artwork makes it look like this is a losing battle. Of course, you will be right in thinking that the best conservation method would be the complete absence of light. But we need light for visibility and to appreciate the beauty of a painting. This leaves us with a dilemma of two conflicting parameters: visibility and damage. Light optimisation Lighting technology in itself may not be enough to tackle this dilemma. However, the way we use technology can make a difference. Our approach to address this problem is based on three key facts: light triggers photochemical actions only when it is absorbed by a pigment the reflectance factor of a pigment (its effectiveness in reflecting light) determines the amount of light absorption light output (composition of the light spectrum, and the intensity of the light) of lighting devices, such as LEDs, can be fine-tuned. Credit: www.shutterstock.com It is possible to measure the reflectance factor of a painting and optimise lighting to reduce absorption. Previous research shows that optimising light to lessen absorption can reduce energy consumption significantly, and with no loss in visual experience. Objects look equally natural and attractive under optimised light sources compared to regular white light sources. Recommended Da Vincis artistic talent was due to a bung eye Biology In this new study, we optimised LEDs for five paintings to reduce light absorption. Using a genetic algorithm (an artificial intelligence technique), we reduced light absorption between 19% and 47%. Besides the benefits for the painting, this method almost halved the energy consumed by lighting. In addition to increased sustainability and art conservation, the colour quality of the paintings was another parameter in our optimisation process. Colour appearance and brightness of paintings were held constant not to lower the appreciation of the artwork. This is possible due to a quirk in our visual system. Photoreceptor cone cells, the cells in our retinas which enable human colour vision, are not equally sensitive to the whole visible spectrum. Different combinations of wavelength and intensity can result in identical signals in our brain. This understanding gives us the flexibility of using different light sources to facilitate identical colour appearances. This smart lighting system requires scanning of the artwork to obtain colour information. Then, a precise projection system emits optimised lighting to the painting. This method offers a solution to extend the lifetime of works of art, such as the world-famous Mona Lisa, without leaving them in the dark. Dorukalp Durmus, Honorary Associate, University of Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. | https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/xx |
How many us will be breaking our necks to watch the next Aussie hope? | The reason, of course, is that few tennis fans can abide their often strange, inconsistent and often brash behaviour. The bizarre last point of their most recent match, which saw Tomic deliver the match winning serve between his legs, is testament to this. It was the sort of behaviour that confuses fans and rather than laughing, were left shaking our heads at the oddity of it all. Loading Kyrgios was seen was Australias next big thing but many have lost patience with him. After he tweeted last week that Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt had abandon (sic) us, former Australian two-time grand slam finalist Mark Philippoussis stated he was sick of Kyrgios' "bulls---". He went on to say, "People go on about how talented Nick is but he's terrified to show that he's trying because if he loses then it's because he wasn't good enough." It seems most Australian tennis fans feel the same and as such gravitate to other players, from all over the world, who better reflect their values. Notions of rusted on support for local players based on patriotic allegiance no longer holds true for many young fans, particularly if theyre unable to relate to the local. And herein lies the problem. Australian tennis heroes appear to have fallen off the face of the earth. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Historically, weve had as many champions as any nation Court, Laver, Emerson, Rosewall, Newcombe, Roache, Goolagong-Cawley, Cash, Rafter, Hewitt and the Woodies to name a few have had Australian sports fans in raptures with their success. My parents can still remember the cold July night back in 1987 when they stayed up into the early hours of the morning to watch Pat Cash defeat Ivan Lendl to win Wimbledon. I remember as a teenager watching Australia, led by Philippoussis, Hewitt and the Woodies, clinch the Davis Cup over France in 1999 to break a 13-year drought. The victory was then celebrated with a parade through the streets of Melbourne with thousands cheering them on. Loading To be fair, recent history has not been without its highlights for Australian tennis players. Sam Stosur, for example, is a grand slam champion, having won the US Open in 2011. Nor are we without any hope in this years event. Thanasi Kokkinakis has already showed the type of grit and determination Aussie fans crave, winning his way into the main draw of the Open after slugging it out on Melbourne Parks outside courts during qualifying this week. Ash Barty is currently the 15th ranked woman in the world and Alex de Minaur, our highest ranked Australian mens player, has won his way into the ATP top 30 and is the second youngest player in the top 100. Yet for each moment of triumph and hope, theres been bucketloads of disappointment. Over the years weve been momentarily wowed by young talents such as Jelana Dokic, Tomic and Kyrgios, only to be left shaking our heads in frustration. Loading In fact, many Australian tennis fans no longer even pretend theyre barracking for the Aussie. If Tomic or Kyrgios were to play Federer or Nadal tomorrow, it would not be a stretch to suggest that the two internationals would have more support in Australia than the two locals. | https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/how-many-us-will-be-breaking-our-necks-to-watch-the-next-aussie-hope-20190111-p50qsz.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |
Is het slim om nu een huis te kopen? | Vraag bij het nieuwsIn de rubriek Vraag bij het nieuws wordt iedere week een vraag gesteld bij nieuws van de afgelopen week. Deze keer: Volgens de Nederlandse Vereniging van Makelaars (NVM) is de ergste prijsstijging van huizen voorbij. De vraag naar huizen in de Haagse regio is nog altijd een stuk groter dan het aanbod. Maar de vraag of het slim is om nu een huis te kopen, is een lastige. Want wie om emotionele of praktische reden wil verhuizen, wordt vaak gelukkiger door te verhuizen dan te blijven zitten waar je zit. Maar wie er geld mee hoopt te verdienen, komt bedrogen uit, meent Peter Boelhouwer, hoogleraar housing systems aan de TU Delft. Dat is een illusie. Wie om andere motiverende redenen wil kopen, moet dat vooral nu doen, zegt Boelhouwer. ,,Je kunt de prijzen wel afwachten, maar ze stijgen nog steeds. Daarbij is de rente historisch laag. Het is verstandig deze voor 20 tot 30 jaar vast te zetten als je een stabiele situatie hebt.'' De mogelijkheid om de hypotheek bij een toekomstige verhuizing mee te nemen, is aan te raden, volgens de hoogleraar. Hoewel de NVM vermoedt dat de huizen volgend jaar met vier tot zes procent stijgen, schat Boelhouwer dat anders in. ,,Ik verwacht dat de huizenprijzen volgend jaar met zes tot acht procent stijgen. Vooral in de gebieden waar de kernactiviteiten zijn zie je een stijging'' De hoogleraar noemt Amsterdam als voorbeeld. ,,In Amsterdam kost een gemiddeld huis 4,5 ton. Voor de meeste mensen is dat niet op te brengen. Daarom stabiliseert het in plaats van dat het stijgt.'' Dalen doet het in elk geval niet. Voor wie nu nog geen koopwoning heeft, wordt het 'vrijwel onmogelijk' om een huis te kopen. Volgens Boelhouwer moet je tegenwoordig twee keer modaal verdienen om een huis met een gemiddelde prijs van 360.000 euro te kunnen betrekken. ,,Huizen staan steeds langer te koop omdat ze niet meer te betalen zijn. Het afgelopen jaar steeg de huisprijs met gemiddeld tien procent. Nieuwbouwwoningen zelfs met veertien procent.'' Dure grap Dat het in deze tijd een extra dure grap is om te verhuizen, dat is een feit. Dat de prijzen blijven stijgen ook. Het antwoord is: ja, daar hoeft niemand zich zorgen om te maken. ,,Als je kijkt over een langere periode, blijft je huis meer waard worden. Zo lang de schaarste blijft, stijgen de prijzen.'' Op dit moment is het gemiddelde woningtekort in Nederland 3,2 procent. In Den Haag schat Boelhouwer dit op vier procent. ,,Op iedere twintig woningen is er n woning tekort. Voorlopig gaan we dat niet oplossen.'' | https://www.ad.nl/den-haag/is-het-slim-om-nu-een-huis-te-kopen~a78faaa8/ |
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When did America gain awareness for human trafficking? | On National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, I cant help but asking myself one question. I recently moved to Idaho from Iowa. Ive been in the state for less than a week, but Ive already heard about locations where human trafficking is most likely to happen in the state and stories about the massage parlors here. In college I produced a documentary on sex trafficking in Iowa. Even then trying to find statistics and information for resources felt like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Now with an internet search I can find a handful of resources for people in Idaho if they are trafficked and find stats that go back to 2012. The most surprising statistic in Idaho from the Dept. of Health & Human Services is that from December 2012-2016 38 adults were trafficked compared to the nine minors reported in the 49 cases. In 2018, the Human Trafficking Hotline reports there were eight human trafficking cases reported and 31 calls from people in the state. The hotline's numbers for 2018 come in fewer than the 13 cases reported in 2017. Although it may seem like a small amount, the numbers from states add up, as nationally 5,147 human trafficking cases were reported in 2018. Just this past summer, Idaho began shedding light on the national issue. They opened their first safe house for trafficking victims in Boise. Whatever the reason for more national and statewide attention on human trafficking, Im thankful. I cant help but hope and expect more places like the safe house will become available in the future for victims. If you see trafficking, are a victim, or believe trafficking could be occurring, contact the national hotline at 8883737888. Click here for more information about Human Trafficking Prevention in Idaho. | http://newsradio1310.com/when-did-america-gain-awareness-for-human-trafficking/ |
Should Castlegar go pesticide free? | Some Castlegar City Councillors feel the issue of whether or not to go pesticide free should be looked at. Councilor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff brought the discussion forward at last weeks council meeting through a Notice of Motion that asks to see a new report come forward on the Citys current policies, the last one having been done in 2013. That is six years ago, things do change and have changed to lets just refresh that information and get some good information so when were making those decision in the future we have the best information available. Some communities in the Kootenays have gone pesticide free, such as Revelstoke, and council feels their experiences would be valuable to learn from as well. The report will also weigh the pros and cons of adopting the new policy and any impacts there might be on user groups. Many councillors agreed they heard the issue brought up during their election campaigns going door-to-door. | https://www.mykootenaynow.com/32273/should-castlegar-go-pesticide-free/ |
Where are all the birds? | By John Criner Times Outdoor Columnist We are now in the 3rd and final segment of the duck season. The first started off better than expected due to cool weather and plenty of water. We even had snow on Thanksgiving! Hunters were excited about the late season when the ducks really get here. Since that time we have endured mild weather and above average rain fall. The excessive rains have caused almost all the rivers and low lying grain fields to flood out, giving the ducks more habitats and causing them to disperse even more. This last weekend was perfect for duck hunting with clear skies and frosty temperatures. Papa Duck and the Brawley boys went to our camp at Snow Lake fully expecting to have a very good hunt. The Mississippi River is in the 30 foot range and has flooded out miles of woods. Beautiful weather and great water conditions, but a severe shortage of birds. We hunted until 10:30 and finally gave it up and motored back to camp. Wheres the ducks. The last Arkansas Game & Fish showed 1.2 million ducks in Arkansas with about half being mallards. The greatest concentrations are in the Delta river bottoms. The thought is because the count is down from last year and the ducks are dispersed in the extra waters. Some hunters think the birds are still in south Missouri where the early bird counts were massive. The latest survey shows a drastic drop in number with the best concentrations in the refuges close to the Mississippi River. If any one has a legitimate idea, please pass it on. Most reports are of a pretty good day with a limit or close to a limit, and the next day only one or two birds. Several of the very good commercial clubs have quit taking hunters due the inconsistent hunting. Arkansas hunters can only hope this latest cold weather north of us will push more new ducks into the state. We still have many days to hunt, so dont give up. With the conclusion of the special youth deer hunt, all gun hunting is over. Archery hunting continues until the last of January. A few of the large private clubs have extra doe and cull buck permits that have not been filled and these tags may still be used. This better weather has started the crappie thinking about biting. The crappie at Horseshoe Lake are moving under the piers and the trolling fishermen are catching quite a few more fish. It will only get better for the next couple of months. If you have filled your freezer with venison and are having trouble getting a limit of ducks, take your boat and catch some fish. The sunny warm days should produce some good early season action. The Arkansas Game & Fish has stocked Tilden Rodgers lake with nice sized trout. The limit is three with a current fishing license and a trout stamp. There will be another stocking later and fishermen can enjoy trout through February and early March. Papa Duck has started a new series on Legends (You can read the first installment in this weeks edition). These are hunters and fishermen that I have known and can tell true (mostly) stories about. I encourage my readers to tell of people you know that are in the legend class. Tell tales about these folks. There is still plenty of time to take that kid with you and show him how much fun it is to hunt and fish. I never knew a young outdoors man that caused a problem. Mother Nature educates her followers. Papa Duck needs a bunch of pictures and stores to share with our fellow hunters, fishermen, and just folks that enjoy the outdoors. Its not too late to get in trouble with the game wardens, so send some question that we can pass on to Andy, and our game warden friends. He will give you the straight answer! First Baptist Church of West Memphis is having their annual wild game supper at 6 p.m. on Monday Jan. 14, 2019. This is an all male get together to enjoy deer, duck, fish, and other wild game. Everybody is welcome to enjoy both great food and Christian fellowship. Lakeside Taxidermy appreciates getting to make your trophy into a beautiful mount at a fair price and fast service. Kids come first at Lakeside Taxidermy. Papa Duck Lakeside Taxidermy 870-732-0455 or 901482-3430 [email protected] John Criner | http://www.theeveningtimes.com/site/2019/01/11/where-are-all-the-birds/ |
Can Brian Flores buck the trend of the Belichick coaching tree? | Getty Images Some great coaches also have great coaching trees, a list of assistants who became successful head coaches in their own rights. And then theres Bill Belichick. Belichick has had one of the most successful careers in NFL history, but his coaching tree has laid an egg. Of the five Belichick assistants in New England who have gone on to become NFL head coaches, none has had a particularly impressive record. Here are those five coaches: Bill OBrien: 42-38 (1-3 in playoffs) Eric Mangini: 33-47 (0-1 in playoffs) Romeo Crennel: 28-55 (never made playoffs) Josh McDaniels: 11-17 (never made playoffs) Matt Patricia: 6-10 (never made playoffs) (Three other coaches Nick Saban, Jim Schwartz and Al Groh became NFL head coaches after working under Belichick in Cleveland, but none of those coaches got their head-coaching jobs on the strength of their work for Belichick, so well set them aside here.) And now Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores is expected to become the next head coach of the Dolphins. Just because Belichicks previous assistants havent done particularly well as head coaches doesnt mean that Flores cant. But hes going up against a trend that may make some Dolphins fans nervous. | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/01/12/can-brian-flores-buck-the-trend-of-the-belichick-coaching-tree/ |
When do the clocks go forward and when does it start getting lighter? | Now Christmas is over, youre probably waiting for the warm climes of summer already. Youll need to hold your horses as its only January, but you can rest assured that the tide is changing in terms of daylight. Find out when youll finally be able to wake up not in near-total darkness. This is set to happen on Sunday 31 March at 1am as the move forward in time takes place on the last Sunday of March every year. By that point the mornings will be pretty lights, but to find out when this will begin happening, we have to look at something called the Equation of Time. This looks at the fact that even though our days get longer at the start of the year, this doesnt mean mornings automatically brighten up. early morning Asian Business girl wake up on Cozy bed room and soft flare filter Business and technology concept The winter solstice falls on 21 December each year (or sometimes in the wee hours of 22 December). Advertisement Advertisement This is the day with the shortest amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, although those in the Southern Hemisphere are the opposite way around. In theory, this should mean that mornings are lighter from there onwards. However, due to the Equation of Time this isnt always the case. This equation relates to the earths orbit and axis. Because of the way the earth moves, solar noon doesnt always occur at noon on our clocks every day. Essentially, even though our days are measured in 24 hours, actual days can be slightly over. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Due to this, there is a slight discrepancy between the solstice and when it actually starts getting lighter in the mornings, as the daylight hours get longer, but specifically at the end of the day. Daylight hours will get longer everyday until the summer solstice (longest day of the year) which will be on June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. The mornings then start getting brighter at the start of January, rather than on the solstice itself. Advertisement Advertisement This year, that date was 2 January. From there, sunrise is a tiny bit earlier each day, with todays occurring at 8.03am. Well hit pre-8am sunrises on 15 January, and by 23 February itll start getting light before 7am. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/12/clocks-go-forward-start-getting-lighter-8336947/ |
Will Rajanikanth Come To Bengaluru To Meet Fans Following Pettas Success In Karnataka? | Audience Is Loving The Film! While taking to Times of India, distributor Jack Manju said, "The audience is completely enjoying the film. They love the 80s and 90s avatar donned by Rajinikanth. I personally went to a screening and saw that the audience comprised of people in the ages of 15 and 70 years,". Answering this question Manju said, "I am also heading to a meeting to figure out if Rajinikanth will be dubbing for the Kannada version. We are hoping that he will visit Karnataka to promote the film." Petta To Be Dubbed In Kannada Since Rajinikanth originally belongs from Karnataka, he can speak in Kannada. It would be pretty exciting to hear Thalaiva himself dub the dialogues for the Kannada version of Petta. The superstar has previously acted in several Kannada movies including Sahodarara Savaal, Kiladi Kittu, Katha Sangama and more. Kannada Release Delayed The Kannada version of Petta's release has been delayed by two weeks. Apparently, Rajinikanth has just returned from abroad. So it's going to take some time until he dubs the film in Kannada. Kannadiga fans might have to wait a tad bit longer to see the superstar rule in their language too! | https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/news/2019/following-petta-success-in-karnataka-will-rajanikanth-come-to-bengaluru-to-meet-fans-281450.html?utm_source=/rss/filmibeat-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.50.225.237&utm_campaign=client-rss |
Did alarms work when 2 Sewerage & Water Board employees slept through a water pressure drop? | Amid revelations that two key Sewerage & Water Board employees were asleep during a major citywide water pressure drop in November, questions remain over whether any measures were in place to sound an alert for such an emergency. Executive Director Ghassan Korban said Thursday (Jan. 10) that no alarm went off during the overnight pressure drop Nov. 17, but a consultants report produced more than a year ago notes the existence of at least two alarms in the building where the sleeping employees had been assigned. Korban, in a meeting with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayunes editorial board, disclosed that the two supervisors were asleep early on the morning Nov. 17 as water pressure plummeted, leading to a day-long boil advisory for the citys east bank. His account matches findings from an internal investigation report dated Nov. 28, which concluded the two employees had been sleeping during a critical point in the operational response to the pressure drop, though one employee denied it when interviewed by investigators. Korban said no alarm sounded to alert the two sleeping employees there was a problem, but the investigation report obtained Friday notes testimony from employees that an alarm did sound at one point. The investigation determined crucial minutes elapsed between when pressure began to fall around 4 a.m. that morning and when the two sleeping employees were roused, after other water plant operators had tried to reach them repeatedly by phone and intercom. Sewerage & Water Board investigation details how sleeping workers missed pressure drop The two employees, both steam plant engineers, were suspended Nov. 26 for neglect of duty, records show. Korban said Thursday they have resigned. They had been in charge of monitoring power levels to the water pumps and authorizing transfers between different power sources, which other operators had requested the morning of Nov. 17. The existence of alarms in at least two of the Sewerage & Water Boards water pumping stations was noted in late 2017 in a report authored by Matt McBride, an engineer who the city hired to evaluate the utilitys drainage assets. McBrides report assessed the causes and results of a drop in citywide water pressure on May 5, 2017. In his report, McBride said the utilitys High Lift station, where water pumping and power coordination take place, has at least two alarms meant to sound when water pressure drops below a certain level. The High Lift station is where the two sleeping steam plant engineers had been assigned Nov. 17 to work the overnight shift, records show. One of the alarms in the High Lift station is in what McBride terms a control cabinet in the station, while the other is programmed in a computer monitor that tracks water pressure in real-time, according to McBride. The High Lift operator reports the alarm is quite loud and cannot be ignored within the control room, McBride said in his report. - Read the full report here - According to McBrides Oct. 27, 2017 report, the alarm in the High Lift control cabinet has an on-off switch that he describes as of a design identical to a household light switch. His report includes a photograph of the switch thats labelled Low Water Pressure Alarm Silence, which allows an employee to turn it off. Once the alarm silence is activated, McBride said, it can remain in that condition until turned off. There does not appear to be any timer or other control to dismiss the silence after a time or resolution of the alarm condition. This photo is included in Matt McBride's Oct. 27, 2017 report on a water pressure drop he found had occurred earlier that year. It shows what McBride describes as a control cabinet (left) housing an audible alarm in the Sewerage & Water Board's High Lift station, and a switch panel (left) that purportedly can turn off the alarm. Photo from Matt McBride report Whats unknown is whether the same alarms were operable during the Nov. 17 pressure drop. The Sewerage & Water Board did not answer several questions NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune sent Friday morning (Jan. 11) about the alarms and McBrides report. Instead, the utility provided a statement from Korban, saying the two employees' actions were unacceptable and that the utility aims to foster among our employees a strong sense of duty and pride in their work. The Sewerage & Water Boards recent internal investigation report cites testimony from another employee working at the time, who said the the two steam plant engineers were found sleeping in their chairs when they were awakened shortly before the alarm went off indicating the pressure was low. It is unclear from the investigation report what time exactly that alarm went off or whether it was an alarm in the High Lift station or at another location. One of the engineers, a 32-year veteran, denied that he had been asleep. He told in-house utility investigators that he was watching television when the alarm was initiated indicating there was a problem, the report says. McBride was given a $60,000 contract by the city shortly after the widespread flooding of Aug. 5, 2017, to provide expert engineering and evaluation efforts following the flooding events," his contract says. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune received numerous reports and emails composed by McBride under his city contract in a public records request last year, including his report on the May 5, 2017 pressure drop and station alarms. McBride declined to discuss the report Friday, citing a non-disclosure clause in his contract with the city that bars him from discussing confidential/proprietary information." Sewerage & Water Board leader faces long to-do list with scant resources | https://www.nola.com/politics/2019/01/did-alarms-work-when-2-sewerage-water-board-employees-slept-through-a-water-pressure-drop.html |
Could Social Security Really Go Broke? | Text size As most retirees and soon-to-be retirees already know, Social Security is slated to run out of money in 2034 and, unless changes are made between now and then, beneficiaries beginning in that year will receive only 79% of what they otherwise will be owed. Social Security is widely assumed to be the third rail of politics, zapping politicians who dare to tinker with it. If so, then we need not worry about what Social Security running out of money would mean for our retirement planning. To be sure, predicting what will come out of Congress in the next few months is an inexact science at best, much less the next 15 years. But if anyone can gauge Social Securitys real-world prospects, it should be Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story. Landis, for those of you who dont know him, is a former Social Security Administration representative who has several decades of experience explaining the intricacies of Social Security to retirees and soon-to-be-retirees. Read more: The New Retirement Strategy In my interview with him, Landis started by reviewing the amendments to Social Security that were enacted in 1983, which is the last time that changes were enacted. He pointed out that the Social Security trust fund was slated to run out of money in July of that year, and the changes that averted that possibility werent enacted until Marchwith just four months to spare, in other words. Landis characterized the changes as gentle, phased in, and targeted in the future. They included the gradual increase in the full retirement age and an acceleration of a previously enacted payroll tax increase; in addition, up to one-half of the value of Social Security benefits were made potentially taxable. With those changes, the Social Security system immediately began to run a sizable yearly surplus. The projection at that time was that the changes would postpone when Social Security would run out of money until the mid-2030s. Landis emphasized, therefore, that theres nothing new or surprising in the Social Security systems current projection that it will run out of money in 2034. Thats almost precisely what the actuaries were projecting more than 30 years ago. Theres no more of a Social Security funding crisis now than what was envisioned then after the 1983 changes were enacted. One is that we shouldnt be surprised if our politicians will wait until the last minute to make necessary changes to the Social Security system. If so, then we probably should assume that Social Securitys current payout rules will stay largely or completely in place for the next 15 years. The other lesson, according to Landis: Changes, when they eventually do get enacted, are likely to be incremental rather than drastic. Thats because draconian changes are not necessary to keep Social Security solvent. In fact, minor changes can have a large impact. Consider, by way of illustration, the financial impact of reducing the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) by one percentage point over what it would be each year: The Social Security Administration estimates that this would extend by 10 years the point at which Social Security will run out of money. To put such a COLA modification into perspective, consider that the average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,404. The COLA for next year is 2.8%, which would otherwise increase this monthly payment by $39. A reduction of that COLA by one percentage point would reduce the monthly increase to $25, or $14 less. Read more: Lets Talk About Race and Retirement (Let me hasten to say that, in providing this illustration, I am not recommending that this change be made. I am not taking a position on that. I am just using it to illustrate the magnitude of what could add 10 years to the solvency of the Social Security trust fund.) The bottom line, according to Landis: The doom and gloomers notwithstanding, the Social Security system is not in crisis. Changes eventually will have to be made, but weve known that for decades. Landis also took issue with those who argue that, far from the Social Security system running out of money in 2034, it is broke now. Those who make that argument point out that the much-vaunted Social Security trust fund of nearly $3 trillion doesnt really existthe money was deposited with the U.S. Treasury where it was long ago spent. Landis responds that of course the Social Security Administration deposited its surplus with the U.S. Treasury, since it is required by law to purchase U.S. Treasury bonds with its surplus. And of course the U.S. Treasury has spent the proceeds of the bonds it sold. But the same could be said of any bond. When you purchase a bond from a company, for example, its with the full expectation that the firm will use those proceeds rather than stuff them in a mattress. Landis therefore made the following offer to those who insist that the U.S. Treasury bonds purchased by the Social Security Administration are worthless: He would be happy to take off their hands the allegedly worthless government bonds that they own. If you decline his offer, then by extension you have to concede that the Social Security trust fund is not empty. For more information, including descriptions of the Hulbert Sentiment Indices, go to The Hulbert Financial Digest or email [email protected]. This article originally appeared on MarketWatch. E-mail us at [email protected] | https://www.barrons.com/articles/social-security-bankrupt-51546975714 |
Which former Lions are still alive in the playoffs? | Its the divisional round weekend. And as we Lions fans dream about what could be, we get to sit and watch some former Lions live out the dream. For some players, you cant help but feel good for them. Others, sort of make you sick knowing that theyre playing and wellthe Lions arent. Most of the former Lions that are still in the playoffs are in the NFC. Heres a look at ex-Lions still playing in the NFC playoffs. Dwayne Washington. He was cut in September of this year and was picked up by the Saints. Now hes in the playoffs. He rushed for over 100 yards in the Saints last game of this season. Caraun Reed. This former Lions defensive tackle is now on the defense for the Cowboys. After two stints with the Lions, once from 2014-2015 and then again in 2017 he got a playoff victory. The other team he played for, the Chargers, is still alive as well. Ndamukong Suh. SUUUHHH or $uh. The 2010 first-rounder had a stop in Miami before coming to the LA Rams, and playing next to Aaron Donald. (I know guys, I knowwhat could have been) Haloti Ngata. When Suh left, he came to fill the void. After being injury prone here, he left in free agency and went to the Eagles. Crevon LeBlanc is also in the playoffs. He had a brief stint with the Lions. Currently, hes helping shore up a weak Eagles secondary. Golden Tate. Hate that he left, even if I understand it. Glad hes able to contribute to the Eagles playoff success. Paul Worrilow. He also had a brief stint as a Lion. Now hes hanging with three others on the Eagles. Now that gets us to the AFC. Lets start with this guy: Kyle Van Noy. Yeah, that guy. The former 2nd-round pick was traded in 2016 for a 6th round draft pick to the New England Patriots. Hes had playoff wins and a Super Bowl victory. Brad Kaaya. After being drafted by the Lions in the 2017 draft, he bounced around from practice squad to practice squad. Now he finds himself on IR with the Colts. While he wont be playing, hes still a former Lion. And the ultimate person who you either feel awesome for or really sick about is Eric Ebron. After having a less-than-perfect tenure with the Lions, dropping passes and going at it with fans on Twitter, he has surely had a come up. He is now a Pro Bowl tight end and scored a TD in a Colts playoff victory. Best of luck to these former Lions in the playoffs. | https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/12/former-detroit-lions-in-playoffs/ |
Is persecution of Christians in Middle East old news? | CLOSE At least 10 people, including eight Coptic Christians, were killed after unidentified gunmen opened fire outside a church in a south Cairo suburb, Egypts Health Ministry spokesman said Friday. Time Once again, Coptic Christians faced bloody bodies in the sands of Egypt, as terrorists killed seven pilgrims who had just prayed at the Monastery of St. Samuel. No one was surprised when the Islamic State took credit for that November attack south of Cairo. After all, 28 pilgrims were massacred near the same spot in 2017. In Syria, Orthodox believers marked the fifth anniversary of the kidnapping of Metropolitan Paul Yazigi of the Antiochian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who were trying to negotiate the release of priests seized weeks earlier. Today, their followers know less about the identity of the attackers than they did in 2013. Relatives mourn over a coffin during the funeral of victims killed in an attack at the Monastery of St Samuel the Confessor, in Minya Province, central Egypt, May 26, 2017. (Photo: Mohamed Hossam, EPA) In the Nineveh plains of Iraq, Christians slowly returned to communities in which their ancestors had worshiped since the first century after Christ. Zero Christians remained in Mosul after the Islamic State group demanded that they convert to Islam or pay the jizya head tax, while living with brutal persecution. But nothing remained of the 1,400-year-old Dair Mar-Elia (Saint Elijah's Monastery) after invaders blew it up twice and then bulldozed the rubble. Try to imagine the faith it requires for believers to carry on after all this has taken place, said the Prince of Wales, speaking at a Westminster Abbey service last month celebrating the lives of Christians who endure persecution in the Middle East. Buy Photo Terry Mattingly, News Sentinel columnist (Photo: Paul Efird / News Sentinel) "Time and again, I have been deeply humbled and profoundly moved by the extraordinary grace and capacity for forgiveness that I have seen in those who have suffered so much," said Prince Charles, who has worked to build contacts in the ancient Christian East. "Forgiveness, as many of you know far better than I, is not a passive act, or submission. Rather, it is an act of supreme courage, of a refusal to be defined by the sin against you. ... It is one thing to believe in God who forgives. It is quite another to take that example to heart and actually to forgive, with the whole heart, 'those who trespass against you' so grievously." The persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East was not one of 2018's big news stories. Instead, this parade of horrors became a kind of "old news" that rarely reached the prime headlines offered by elite newsrooms. A member of the Nineveh Plain Protection Units stands guard at the entrance of the Church of Saint John during the celebration of a Mass in the predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya). (Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images) The goal at Westminster Abbey was to remember what has happened at the ground level in places like the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby also took part in this unusual event, which was attended by leaders of 13 Middle Eastern church bodies, along with high-ranking British politicos and diplomats. True persecution, stressed Welby, is "something that isolates. Those outside its experience cannot say, 'I know how you feel,' because they don't. To live in a country or in a society where a government, or an armed group or even a minority of people consider that you should be consigned to oblivion because of your faith in Christ is an experience that is without parallel." Prince Charles praised the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, including one sister who literally drove an evacuation van as the Islamic State group advanced on the town of Qaraqosh part of a wave of 100,000 Christians fleeing Nineveh four years ago. The sisters, he said, described "their despair at the utter destruction they found" when they returned last year. A priest leads prayers before Christmas Eve Mass at the Virgin Mary church in Cairo, Egypt, on Jan. 6, 2018. The killing of a respected bishop in a desert monastery north of Cairo has opened a rare window into the cloistered world of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church. It's one of the oldest Christian communities in the world and the one that introduced monasticism to the faith. But the killing of the abbot, and the arrest of two monks suspected in his death, has shaken the church. (Photo: Amr Nabil/AP) "They put their faith in God, and today ... nearly half of those displaced (have) gone back, to rebuild their homes and their communities," said Prince Charles. "Churches, schools, orphanages and businesses are rising from the rubble, and the fabric of that society, which had been so cruelly torn apart, is being gradually repaired." Those who dared to return wrestled with "all the doubts and fears in our hearts," said Sister Nazek Matty, one of the Dominicans. There is an urgent need, she stressed, for serious reconciliation efforts with government support with local Muslims. "Truthfully the return of Christians, despite everything, is based upon our determination to live our beliefs and traditions in the place where we belong, and where we feel deeply connected to our roots," she said. Ultimately, "we believe that the restoration of our community greatly depends on our trust in the risen Lord who promised to be with us always." Terry Mattingly is the editor of GetReligion.org and Senior Fellow for Media and Religion at The King's College in New York City. He lives in Oak Ridge. Stay up-to-date with the things you care about. Subscribe to one of our newsletters. Breaking News | General News | Knox.Biz | GoKnoxville.com | GoVolsXtra Read or Share this story: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/columnists/terry-mattingly/2019/01/12/persecution-christians-middle-east-old-news-terry-mattingly/2531468002/ | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/columnists/terry-mattingly/2019/01/12/persecution-christians-middle-east-old-news-terry-mattingly/2531468002/ |
Who Fact-Checks the Fact-Checkers? | The latest trick is "fact-checking" President Trump in "real time." I don't recall any mainstream news networks fact-checking Barack Obama. In anticipation of Trump's first Oval Office address, and immediately following, the anti-Trump resistance media went into fact-check mode. American media have abandoned their primary job of reporting the news. Gone are the days of telling readers and viewers the who, what, where, when, and why. Now it's telling the audience what to think, after filtering the news story through layers of bias and activism. There was this CNN headline: "Fact-checking Trump's immigration speech." NPR jumped in with "FACT CHECK: Trump's Oval Office Pitch for A Border Wall," followed by the New York Times: "Trump's Speech to the Nation: Fact Checks and Background." And then Politico: "Fact check: Trump's speech on border crisis." A CNN crank even encouraged fact-checkers to prepare for Trump's eight-minute speech as they would for a triathlon, with proper nutrition and rest. It's as though all the major media organizations read from the same playbook. Perhaps they do. A few years ago, "[a]n off-the-record online meeting space called JournoList" was revealed. The same sort of thing likely still does exist in some other name or form, allowing such immediate coordinated attacks by news organization that are ostensibly in competition with each other. Yet their reporting and headlines are so coordinated as to suggest a form of collusion or conspiracy. Maybe Robert Mueller can investigate this. Some degree of fact-checking is reasonable, if it's applied equally to leaders of both political parties, but not when it becomes the entire story. Before President Trump even uttered a word, the fact-checkers were lined up, ready to provide real-time rebuttals to every word Trump uttered. These are the same media organizations that ignored the blatant lies about the Benghazi video or "hands up, don't shoot." They refused to fact-check "if you like your insurance and doctor, you can keep them." They doctored George Zimmerman's 911 call to make him sound like a racist. There are myriad stories of fake news, enough for President Trump to create a top-ten list and give an award for the worst of the stories. Even then, the Washington Post couldn't resist "Fact-checking President Trump's Fake News Awards." Let's look at a few of many examples. CNN tweeted after Trump's address, "Fact check: President Trump misleadingly claims drugs will kill more Americans than the Vietnam War." Time to fact-check the fact-checkers. According to the National Archives, there were "58,220 US military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War." The Centers for Disease Control reports approximately 70,000 deaths in 2017 in the U.S. from drug overdoses. The Vietnam War is said to have lasted from 1955 to 1975, or 20 years. This translates to an annualized 3,000 deaths per year in Viet Nam, less than 5 percent of the number of drug overdose deaths per year. Obviously, CNN reporters are unable to perform simple research or do basic arithmetic. If the fact-checkers can't catch Trump lying, as they hope to do, they will claim he is "misleading." The Washington Post actually published this on its website: "266,000 aliens arrested in the past two years: The number is right but misleading." Wow Trump was actually right. Imagine that. The Washington Post's beef is that "[t]he quarter million arrests cover all types of offenses, including illegal entry or reentry." Trump said "aliens arrested." He didn't specify why they were arrested. Perhaps if such crimes were handled according to the rule of law, Kate Steinle and Officer Ronil Singh would still be with their families. When "misleading" doesn't cut it for the fact-checkers, they step in a big steaming pile of fake news, inadvertently making Trump's case for him. Here are two examples of this. When President Trump claimed that one in three women are sexually assaulted on their trek through Mexico, CBS, rather than saying Trump was overstating and exaggerating, instead confirmed what he said, and then some. They cited Amnesty International data showing that 60 to 80 percent of women were being raped, bolstering Trump's assertion. CBS removed its tweet, as it was counterproductive to their fact-checking mission, but the internet remembers. Trump was right, and in their zeal to catch him in a fib, CBS actually confirmed the veracity of his claim. Lastly, everyone's favorite CNN stooge, Jim Acosta, stepped in it bigly on the southern border ahead of the president's visit. He tweeted a video of himself standing in front of a border wall in McAllen, Texas consisting of steel slats and noting that the "community is quite safe." Poor Jim isn't smart enough to draw the obvious conclusion: that having a border wall makes America safer. Even a wall that doesn't "run the entire length of the border" is still a deterrent to illegal crossings and the associated crime. In other words, the wall is working just as it's supposed to and as Trump asserts. The smartest "resistance reporter" in the room unintentionally made Trump's case. He also neglected to mention that the area where he was walking was obviously safe and secure ahead of the president's visit. Or that mischief and mayhem tend to occur under the cover of darkness, not in the middle of the day when he made his stroll. If he wanted to report honestly, he would pitch a tent where there is no fence or wall and live there for a week. They he can decide if things are "quite safe." The smuggest reporter all doesn't realize he isn't as smart as he thinks he is and is truly "a smartass," as White House adviser Kellyanne Conway noted. The internet makes it easy to look up virtually anything, including previously contradictory statements from politicians who were for the border wall before they were against it. When the media fact-check only one person, and can't even do it accurately, their diminishing credibility and relevance take yet another hit. The obsessive hatred of President Trump confirms the "fake news" moniker that he has conferred upon them. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. | https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/01/who_factchecks_the_fact_checkers.html |
Which State Produces Most of Our Milk? | Not just any drink, but the number one beverage in America. Put all the Coke and Pepsi battles aside. Show us all the catchy beer commercials money can buy. It doesn't matter. The number one beverage in America is still milk. Think about it. Man thinks he's pretty smart with all the soft drink concoctions, fruity drinks, beers, hard liquors, wines and so on. But God created milk. Milk was first delivered in bottles on January 11, 1878. So Friday (1/11) is National Milk Day. Top 5 Milk Producing States: California Wisconsin New York Idaho Texas California by far, is the number one milk producing state in the U.S. with over 40 billion pounds coming from there each year. Here's Some Milk Trivia For You: United States and Australia are the worlds largest exporters of milk and milk products. Throughout the world, there are more than six billion consumers of milk and milk products. In the Middle Ages, milk was called the virtuous white liquor because alcoholic beverages were more reliable than water. In 1863 French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization, a method of killing harmful bacteria in beverages and food products. The females of all mammal species can by definition produce milk, but cow milk dominates commercial production. Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream and cheese. World Milk Day is celebrated on June 1. | http://ksoo.com/which-state-produces-most-of-our-milk/ |
Was macht eigentlich Menderes Bagci? | Dieses Jahr feiert Menderes Bagci sein 17 (!) jhriges DSDS-Jubilum. Stolz trgt er den Titel: DSDS-Dauerkandidat. 2018 musste sich Menderes einer schlimmer Notoperation unterziehen. Seit der ersten Staffel ist Menderes Bagci (34) jedes Jahr bei Deutschland sucht den Superstar zu sehen. Die erste Staffel der Castingshow lief 2002, Menderes war also 17 Jahre in Folge bei den Castings und ab und zu auch im Recall dabei. Die jhrlichen Auftritte steigerten seinen Bekanntheitsgrad. Auch 2019 wird Menderes wieder bei DSDS zu sehen sein, wie man den Vorschauen entnehmen kann. Menderes' Karriere erhielt 2016 ordentlichen Aufschwung durch seine Teilnahme an der RTL-Show Ich bin ein Star - holt mich hier raus!. Er wurde am Ende sogar zum Dschungelknig gewhlt und gewann die Show. Das macht Menderes Bagci heute Still ist es um den Dschungelknig keineswegs geworden. 2016 nahm er an der RTL-Show Dance Dance Dance teil und erreichte mit seiner Partnerin Aneta Sablik den zweiten Platz. Dabei performte er natrlich auch wieder eine Michael-Jackson-Nummer. Menderes Bagci: Not-Operation 2018 Anfang 2018 erreichte die Fans eine schlimme Nachricht. Menderes musste sich einer Not-OP unterziehen, bei der ihm 40 Zentimeter Dnndarm rausgeschnitten wurden. Grund dafr war eine schlimme Blinddarmentzndung. Ich will mich gar nicht mehr richtig daran erinnern. Das war die schlimmste Phase in meinem Leben, sagte Menderes Bagci damals in einem Interview mit RTL. Heute geht es dem Michael-Jackson-Fan gesundheitlich wieder gut. Menderes Bagci ist der Musik weiterhin treu geblieben und hat zahlreiche Auftritte auf verschiedenen Events sowie in Krmels Stadl auf Mallorca. | https://www.focus.de/kultur/vermischtes/was-macht-eigentlich-menderes-bagci_id_10175924.html |
Is parallel education the answer to the single-sex dilemma? | There is an intractable problem facing education bosses, and it's only getting worse. Parents are demanding mixed-gender education for their sons, and they want single-sex schools for their daughters. Yet, given nature supplies a roughly equal amount of boys and girls, it's a mathematically-impossible demand to fulfil across a school system. At Pittwater House, the playground is co-ed while the classrooms are single-sex. Credit:James Brickwood In recent years, boys' schools have been opening their doors to girls. Marist College in North Sydney is the latest to announce its plans, and Randwick Boys' High School may soon follow suit. There have been no similar moves from girls schools. The trend is being driven by the belief held by many parents that girls do better in single-sex schools, while the opposite is true for boys. | https://www.smh.com.au/education/is-parallel-education-the-answer-to-the-single-sex-dilemma-20190111-p50qwf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national |
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Whos the Jerk Here? | This was going to be a happy story. It was going to start out this way: The Ducks were never as bad as their recent record showed, and then go on to talk about how a big win against the Penguins changed everything for the team, who can now go on the road with confidence. The Ducks collapsing and losing after bursting out to a 3-0 lead changed that, as did Randy Carlyles lack of response and then outburst after the game. On that, heres the story. Carlyle admitted that he doesnt have any answers to the teams collapse against the Pens in a game where they were up 3-0, tied 3-3, up 4-3, and lost 7-4. They looked tired in the third period, he said, and had him wondering whether he should have had them skate yesterday (Thursday). Describing Pittsburgh, he said, They started rotating five guys into the play. We didnt really stop progression, get five guys involved at stopping them. More harshly, he said, Even in the first period, they had extended shifts in our zone, and we just followed them around. He said further: In that third period, we just stopped playing. It looked like we were out of gas. They were in a faster gear than we were. It seems like when we have to reach back with more energy, more stiffness with our group, we cant do it. We just seem to be lacking energy. You could see that with play with players with the puck, standing still and making backhands, soft plays. Also, We did a lot of the things that we needed to do, but it seemed to last only one period for us. Then the zinger: I guess if I had the cure, we wouldnt be in the situation were in right now, and thats what you ask of these guys. You ask their input, and tonight, we looked like a tired hockey club and were questioning . . . what we should have done yesterday versus what we did and youre always going to be questioning yourself when you question why your group didnt have the energy to do what was necessary to play the game for sixty minutes at a high tempo. Now, the last time a coach said something like this in my hearing it was the fall of the year, and the one voicing the words was John Stevens. He said he was befumbled as to why his team couldnt score, and that he had no answers for it. He was canned the next morning. Carlyle shouldnt be surprised to meet the same fate. And hes expecting it. Heres what else happened. What are you trying to say? I dont know. Im asking if youre worried, or . . . What do you think? Probably. Yeah, well then dont ask the dumb questions. And as he walked away, Jerk. No, coach, that was not a jerk move. It was a fair and honest question, one that a professional coach should expect when things are going like theyre going for the Ducks. And perhaps even more fair in light of the fact that Carlyle had just admitted that he had no solutions for the Ducks problems. What he could have said was the obvious: Pittsburgh is a scoring machine. They never stop. Theyre never satisfied. Even after they led the game 7-4 and with less than a minute to go, they were wanting more. More offense. More goals. And theyre so good that their captain and leading scorer doesnt even have to register a point until an assist on the final goal puts him on the board. The Ducks didnt stand a chance, by some measures. Theyre just not fast enough. Theyre nowhere near tenacious enough. But Carlyle didnt say any of that. He just reacted. And Its not like he swore a tirade. But his reaction should be read as an admission. Randy Carlyle is in trouble. To understand why, lets think our way back through the game. The Ducks stormed out to a 3-0 lead. And it all started by putting the puck on net. Surprise! Three goals, maybe one of which was scored from more than ten feet away. The first one came when Kase held the puck behind the net and faded back along the goal line. He shot to the net. Scored. Only later did they change the goal to Ritchie. He was at the right edge of the crease and had a swing at the shot. The second one was a turnover by Pittsburghs Kris Letang behind the Pens net. It went out to Getzlaf, who shot from in close. The puck got through Matt Murray.They did it again when Sprong got a drop pass from Rakell and scored. This against his old team, note. By the time the Penguins got around to responding, the first period was almost over. When the Penguins did put on a push, it was a mighty one. The best save of the period came when Jake Guentzel got a chance from the slot. Gibson came spread-eagling over and got a leg on it. The rebound went back to the slot, but Manson got in the way of the shot, which was headed toward the empty open top of the net. Rust fired that one. The period ended on a power play for Pittsburgh, with no scoring. Period two made it pointless to keep describing the action like Ive been doing. Because you could literally write a few sentences on every play. So much skill. So much action. So much persistence. Its like the Penguins just keep driving. When one play doesnt work, theres no regretting it, no chasing the puck down the ice because the other team has it. No, Pittsburgh plays like this: they make a play, grab the puck back, and make another. They dont care what the opponent is doing, and theyre not going to allow anyone else to have a chance. They just get the thing back and try something else. Eventually they score. Three times, this worked in period two. The Anaheim lead was erased by just past mid-way through the second period on a goal by Jake Guentzel, his second in a row. This one was on the power play. Power play or not, it looked like the Penguins were going to just take right over. That changed when Pittsburghs Malkin turned a puck over at his own blueline on a Pens power play. Henrique got it and didnt seem to quite know what to do with it, so he shoveled it to Silfverberg, who burst in on goal, head up all the way, and flung a wrist shot up and over Murrays glove hand. Murray was backing in to the net, matching his speed with the offensive players. The shot was just too good, too precise. The Ducks werent exactly on their heels, but they werent exactly playing even, either. This gave them life. What was odd was the shot totals. Even with yet more great offense and sparkling saves on the part of Murray and Gibson both (examples: Garrett Wilson chased the puck in and around the net; it turned over to him, and he got a shot right in frontleg save Gibson. The other way, Rakell made a nice inside-out deke and took a quick low shot, but Murray got it, paddle down. Once more, Marcus Pettersson was right in front with a puck, moving in from the point. He shot, and it glanced off the glove of Gibson and up over the net off the crossbar), the game was a low-shots affair. The period ended with it being only 18 Ducks and 22 Pens. Not looking at the scoreboard, had someone asked me how many shots had been taken apiece, I would have probably said close to thirty. And thats two periods. The Ducks were one fortunate play ahead, but theyd blown a 3-0 lead. The third saw that deficit increase to 6-4 before an empty net goal, the first of the night on which Crosby got a point. The Ducks were tired-looking, according to Carlyle. I didnt see that. They just looked outmatched, like Pittsburgh wasnt to be denied. It doesnt matter who the opponent is to the Penguins. They play their game. Tanner Pearson told me as much in the Pittsburgh room afterwards: It was definitely really wierd the whole system change going from LA to Pittsburgh. They play a really fast North game. It generates a lot of offense, and when these guys get rolling, it doesnt seem to stop. Thats what it felt like to be a Duck on Friday night. Their losing streak now stands at ten. Note Some kid had a sign at the game asking Crosby to get her or him into Crosbys hockey camp. They even gave an email: [email protected] I am hereby using the power of the media to help that kid. Thanks to Josh Brewster of Duck Calls radio for having me on as the guest after the game. | https://insidehockey.com/whos-the-jerk-here/ |
Why Hasnt Trump Folded? | Read: Trump is debating the shutdown on Democrats manufactured terms This is textbook, Rush Limbaugh fumed. Its a textbook example of what the Drive-By Media calls compromise. Trump gets nothing and the Democrats get everything, including control of the House in a few short weeks. Ann Coulter blasted the president as gutless (earning herself a Twitter unfollow). Even Laura Ingraham was critical. It was supposed to be a big beautiful wall with a big beautiful door, she tweeted. Now its just an open door with no frame. Unreal. Representative Mark Meadows, the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, held out hope that Trump might still veto the bill. Renegotiating. Even though there was no clear plan for how Trump would get money out of the new Democratic House majority once it took office in early January, the pushback got his attention, and he announced that he wouldnt sign any legislation without wall funding. Positions have been stuck since then. Democrats have not shown any weakened resolve; neither has Trump. On the Democratic side, the X factor seems to be Pelosi and her newly empowered caucus. Schumer has been inclined to negotiate with Trump in the past, but the House Dems, having campaigned against the president and his wall, show no appetite for compromise. Whats less clear is why this is the moment Trump has decided to take a stand. Though he styled himself a master dealmaker in the business world, hes been far softer in politics, showing a surprisingly deferential side at the negotiation table, whether his interlocutor is domestic or foreign. He backed down after promising to go after the National Rifle Association on gun control; he shied away from branding China a currency manipulator; he didnt follow through on threats to investigate the Justice Department or withdraw foreign aid as retaliation for UN votes. The timing is also peculiar. Trumps best opportunity to get funding was when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, during the first two years of his term. But Congress refused, and while Trump griped about it, he never pushed the issue as far as a shutdown. As my colleague Peter Beinart has written, the president shows little interest in actually building the wall. Instead, he appears to view it as an effective political bludgeon against Democrats. Whether it actually is effective is unclear. Polling since the start of the shutdown has shown that more Americans blame Trump than Democrats for the deadlock, though Democrats havent escaped blame altogether. But a Morning Consult poll this week showed a four-point increase in the share of voters who see Trump as the culprit. Even if Trump is losing, theres no massive shift against him that polls are picking up, and both sides seem to believe that they are winning. | https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/trumps-surprising-decision-not-fold-shutdown/580216/?utm_source=feed |
Can Solar Stocks Recover in 2019? | 2018 was a year to forget for most solar companies. Policy changes in the U.S. and China led to a drop in demand that caused solar panel prices to plunge, squeezing margins across the supply chain. You can see below that most major manufacturers, like JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS), SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR), and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ), saw their shares drop. Even First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), which was the big winner of 2017, wasn't able to overcome weak pricing and demand, causing its shares to decline as well. FSLR Chart More FSLR data by YCharts. Demand is back! As 2018 wore on, solar panel prices fell by about one-third, even in the U.S., where tariffs hit the industry starting in February. Lower pricing led to margin pressure for some solar manufacturers, but for developers who are buying solar panels, the lower costs are great news. That's one of the reasons the stock of Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN) is up 73% over the past year, vastly outpacing most solar rivals. Its costs are falling, which is helping margins grow. The same dynamic is playing out at developers large and small around the world. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report for Q4 2018 from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association, U.S. bookings through the first three quarters were 11,200 megawatts (MW), causing their analysts to increase their 2018-to-2023 utility-scale solar forecast by 1,700 MW. a big increase considering that just 6,600 MW will be installed in 2018. Large home with solar panels on the roof. More Image source: Getty Images. Headwinds may be strong As good as it is for investors to see strong demand for solar panels, they should be very discouraged by the pricing environment that's driving demand. According to an analysis by EnergyTrend, global commodity solar-panel prices are now as low as $0.22 per watt, a price that will make it hard for most manufacturers to make money. Interest rates are also steadily climbing, making it more expensive for developers to borrow money for new solar projects. Even companies like Sunrun and Vivint Solar (NYSE: VSLR), which are benefiting from low solar panel prices, will be affected by less up-front cash when they sell contracted future cash flows. | https://news.yahoo.com/solar-stocks-recover-2019-131700981.html |
Will Home Depot Raise Its Dividend in 2019? | The housing market has recovered nicely from the bust of the mid-2000s, and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) has been a big beneficiary of housing's rebound. The home-improvement retailer always has been a magnet for do-it-yourselfers, but more recently, Home Depot also has embraced professional contractors looking for access to the retailer's wide array of affordably priced products. Home Depot also has done a good job of treating investors well. Not only has its share price risen dramatically, but it's also built up a respectable dividend history. Below, we'll look more closely at Home Depot to see whether higher dividends are in the cards. Dividend stats on Home Depot Current Quarterly Dividend Per Share $1.03 Current Yield 2.4% Number of Consecutive Years With Dividend Increases 9 years Payout Ratio 45% Last Increase March 2018 Source: Yahoo! Finance. Last increase refers to ex-dividend date. Look how Home Depot's dividend has soared Home Depot has paid dividends for a long time, but it hasn't always been very important for the home-improvement retailer to return capital to its shareholders through quarterly payments. Typically, Home Depot gave investors regular increases in the mid-single-digit percentages, with a long break in the late 2000s in the immediate aftermath of the housing bust. Yet in the 2010s, Home Depot made up for lost time. Annual dividend increases in the 15% to 35% range became par for the course, and that led to a dramatic uptick in the total amount of money that the retailer paid to its shareholders. Early last year, Home Depot made its latest move, taking the dividend up from $0.89 per share to its current $1.03 per share on a quarterly basis. That was a 16% boost. HD Dividend Chart More HD Dividend data by YCharts. The reason for the change has to do with deliberate strategic moves from Home Depot. The company boosted its target for the percentage of earnings that it pays to shareholders in dividends in the early 2010s, taking it from 40% to 50%. That prompted the big gains in dividend payments that investors received back then, and strong earnings growth also helped support the rise in the quarterly payout. In light of a tough year for the stock, it's reasonable to ask whether Home Depot's best growth years might be behind it. But CEO Craig Menear and his team have a lot of ideas for where the home-improvement retailer can find areas for its own corporate improvement, and despite early signs of success, there's further to go. | https://news.yahoo.com/home-depot-raise-dividend-2019-131700083.html |
Which Are The Most Sung About Cities In The World? | Hit the road Jack sang Ray Charles back at the beginning of the sixties, putting to music the daydreams of millions around the world who long to drop everything and hit the road, be it on vacation or to travel for longer. Music and travel have long had an innate connection and bond from our use of music to pass time on journeys to our personification of memories, events and places in lyrics and songs so they live on forever. To find out, Celebrity Cruises have built this rather wonderful interactive music map of the world the single largest collection of song and geographical data publicly available. Best of all you can filter by genre, decade and artist to see whos singing, about where and how preferences have changed over time. The clear winner is the Big Apple. New York has featured in the lyrics of 161 charting singles with UK capital London the only other entry to break triple figures with 102 songs. Rounding out the top five are Los Angeles, Paris and Miami. The large scale data trawl analyzed the lyrics of more than 200,000 songs that charted in the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Official Singles chart since 1960 to find mentions of cities, towns, neighborhoods and states. This revealed more than 2,000 songs by 897 artists mentioning 422 different places around the world. Without the geographical touchpoints found in Britpop, it simply wouldnt make sense. And how would the blues, country and rock and roll genres be received if they were stripped of all connections to the geography and politics of the American Deep South that inspired them? Its not just trends in places that the map reveals, but also in artists. Canadian rapper Drake seems to be the most location obsessed lyricist, mentioning 29 places across his musical catalog everywhere from his hometown Toronto to Versailles, Rotterdam and Madrid. Jay-Z comes in a close second, followed by Elvis, Tinie Tempah and The Beach Boys. You can explore the interactive map here and Ive included some fun roundups below for quick reference. The 10 most sung about places in the world: New York, USA 161 songs London, UK - 102 songs Los Angeles, USA - 87 songs California, USA - 68 songs Hollywood, USA - 66 songs Paris, France 52 songs Miami, USA - 46 songs New Orleans, USA - 43 songs Brooklyn, USA - 38 songs Rome, Italy 30 songs The 10 most sung about places in Europe: London, UK - 102 songs Paris, France - 52 songs Rome, Italy - 30 songs Ibiza, Spain - 12 songs Liverpool, UK - 11 songs Amsterdam, Netherlands - 10 songs Milan, Italy - 10 songs Berlin, Germany - 8 songs Brixton, UK - 8 songs Dublin, Ireland - 8 songs The most sung about places in the UK: London - 102 songs Liverpool - 11 songs Brixton - 8 songs Dover - 7 songs Belfast - 6 songs Camden - 5 songs Leeds - 4 songs Waterloo - 4 songs The 10 most sung about places in the US: New York - 161 songs Los Angeles - 87 songs California - 68 songs Hollywood - 66 songs Miami - 46 songs New Orleans - 43 songs Brooklyn - 38 songs Texas - 29 songs San Francisco - 28 songs Memphis - 28 songs Georgia 28 songs Harlem 26 songs Artists that sing about the most places: | https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2019/01/12/which-are-the-most-sung-about-cities-in-the-world/ |
Who Are Leading Candidates To Be Patriots Next Defensive Coordinator? | Claim you went to kindergarten with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay or become the New England Patriots defensive play-caller. The Patriots reportedly will lose their defensive play-caller for the second time in as many winters. The Miami Dolphins reportedly have targeted Patriots linebackers coach and de-facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores as their next head coach. Former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia left the Patriots last offseason to become the Detroit Lions head coach. The top in-house option is defensive line coach Brendan Daly. If youre looking for a hint as to who the Patriots consider their next potential coordinator, look no further than the sideline of their fourth preseason game. Because current coordinators already are working on Week 1 of the regular season, the Patriots delegate play-calling duties in that game to other assistants. When Matt Patricia was defensive coordinator, Flores took over in the fourth game of the preseason. On Aug. 30, 2018, Daly was calling defensive plays, and wide receivers coach Chad OShea was calling plays on offense. Daly has been a member of the Patriots staff since 2014, when he joined as a defensive assistant but worked with defensive linemen. Daly has been the Patriots official defensive line coach since 2015. Prior to joining the Patriots, Daly had a lengthy resume. After graduating from Drake University, where he played tight end, Daly coached for one year at Ridgewood High School in Florida (1997). He then went on to become tight ends coach at Drake (1998) and Villanova (1999), a graduate assistant at Maryland (2000) and Oklahoma State (2001-2002), assistant strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma State (2003), tight ends coach at Illinois State 2004), defensive line coach at Villanova (2005), assistant defensive line coach with the Minnesota Vikings (2006-2008), defensive line coach with the St. Louis Rams (2009-2011) and defensive line coach with the Vikings (2012-2013). There will be a test. He worked with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for one year with the Rams and OShea for three years with the Vikings. If Daly is truly viewed as next in line, he likely wouldnt get the defensive coordinator title next season just as Flores didnt receive it in 2018. DeMarcus Covington likely would take over as linebackers coach, and perhaps Bret Bielema and Joe Kim would stick around to continue working with Daly on the defensive line. The No. 1 outside option is former Ohio State defensive coordinator and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick knows Schiano best from his days as Rutgers head coach from 2001 to 2011. He coached current and former Patriots defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty and Duron Harmon with the Scarlet Knights. He went 11-21 in two seasons with the Buccaneers, spent two years out of major football and joined Ohio States staff in 2016. Schiano left Ohio State this offseason to pursue NFL opportunities. There were rumors last offseason that Schiano could replace Patricia as the Patriots defensive coordinator, but that obviously didnt wind up happening. If the Patriots want to keep the ball rolling next season, Daly, with more assistance from Belichick, might be the simplest option. But if the Patriots want more experience in the role, then Schiano would be the way to go. The Patriots have options. They might not be quite as obvious as last years in Flores, but theyre always prepared. And Belichick certainly had an idea Flores could leave when he already was interviewing for head-coaching opportunities last winter. Thumbnail photo via Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports Images | https://nesn.com/2019/01/who-are-leading-candidates-to-be-patriots-next-defensive-coordinator/ |
Which Remaining Free-Agent Relievers Might Make Sense For Red Sox? | With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training in about a month, one has to think the wealth of relievers still available will begin to get plucked out of free agency. Two of the Red Soxs rumored targets, Zach Britton and David Robertson, have signed elsewhere. But while most of the big names are off the board, there still are some serviceable options remaining. Providing the Red Sox dont bring back Craig Kimbrel, here are a few guys that might make sense: Adam Ottavino (2018 with Rockies: 6-4, 2.43 ERA) Maybe the best remaining reliever out there, theres no shortage of upside for Ottavino, who anchored an otherwise meh Colorado bullpen last season. Of the available pitchers, Ottavino has one of the best strikeout rates, punching out 112 batters in 77 2/3 innings over 75 games in 2018. The 33-year-old also did a decent job keeping the ball in the park, allowing just five dingers, and according to FanGraphs, he allowed the lowest percentage of hard contact (25.3) of any reliever last year. While Ottavinos posted a few saves throughout his career, he figures to be more of a setup arm. And for what its worth, Ottavino is a Northeastern University product not that it really means anything. Brad Brach (2018 with Orioles/Braves: 2-4, 3.59 ERA) The Red Sox are familiar with Brach, as he spent four-plus seasons with Baltimore before being shipped to the Atlanta Braves in the middle of last season. Before getting traded, Brach was in the midst of his worst season in an Orioles uniform, but his nice turnaround in Atlanta should inspire some confidence. The 32-year-old posted a 1.52 ERA in 27 regular-season appearances with the Braves, allowing just one homer in that stretch. Save for the 42 appearances with Baltimore in 2018 when he has a 4.85 ERA, Brach never had an ERA over 3.18 during his time with the Os a sign that the 2016 All Star can pitch in the American League East with some success. Cody Allen (2018 with Indians: 4-6, 4.70 ERA) Lets get out in front of this: Allen is the reason the Indians finagled a deal for Brad Hand, and he deserves to shoulder some of the blame for the tire fire that was Clevelands bullpen in 2018. That said, Allen otherwise has a pretty good track record. Last season, he went 4-6 with a 4.70 ERA. But in the five seasons prior he was 20-22 with a 2.59 ERA and 122 saves. From his rookie year in 2013 through 2017, he never had an ERA go over 2.99. At 30-years-old, hes yet to have any major health issues (hes pitched at least 67 games every year since becoming a full-time major leaguer) and mostly has been consistent. Given the Red Sox dont have a true closer, merely candidates like Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier entering camp, having an arm that has plenty of experience in the ninth is enticing. If Boston is willing to cross its fingers and hope 2018 was an anomaly, Allen presents a fascinating option. Tony Sipp (2018 with Astros: 3-1, 1.86 ERA) Opposite of Allen, Sipp made a pretty good case for himself in a contract year. In 54 appearances with Houston last year he was 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA, striking out 42 while allowing just one home run. Sipp often featured in the seventh inning, but also got plenty of action in the sixth and eighth. He entered 21 games with runners on base, and just twice allowed inherited runners to score. He surrendered runs in seven of his total appearances, and just once was it a multi-run outing (he gave up a pair against the Seattle Mariners on April 19). Now, theres some risk in bringing in the 35-year-old, as 2018 far and away was the best season of his 10-year career. Although he was sharp in 2015, his second season with Houston, 2016 and 2017 were outright forgettable years, and he was left off the roster all postseason when the Astros won the World Series in 2017. Theres reason to like the idea of Sipp, but theres an equal amount of reason to be skeptical. Greg Holland (2018 with Cardinals/Nationals: 2-2, 4.66 ERA) It wasnt long ago Holland was one of the most highly sought-after relievers in free agency, but after a solid 2017 with the Rockies, 2018 (well, part of it) proved to be a mess. He posted an abysmal 7.92 ERA in 32 outings with the St. Louis Cardinals before getting run out of town on a rail and sent to Washington. While the Nationals didnt have much to play for by the time he arrived, the change of scenery proved beneficial, as he finished the year with a 0.84 ERA in 24 appearances with the Nats. Because of that, you could argue that you dont exactly know what youre getting with the 33-year-old Holland. But given hes a three-time All-Star and shared the National League lead in saves as recently as 2017, theres reason to believe those few months in 2018 were a fluke. If the Red Sox are willing to believe that, they could stumble into a pretty solid late-inning arm with heaps of closer experience. Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images | https://nesn.com/2019/01/which-remaining-free-agent-relievers-might-make-sense-for-red-sox/ |
Can Patrick Mahomes keep the Chiefs rolling in the postseason? | Patrick Mahomes has the Chiefs rolling as the champions of the AFC West. (David Eulitt/Getty Images) The Colts versus Chiefs matchup might be the most intriguing game of the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, at least if you like innovative offense. After Indianapolis thumped Houston in the wild card game, the Colts look like contenders. They have won five straight games and 10 of their last 11. Theyre outscoring opponents 302-171 in that stretch, and quarterback Andrew Luck finally healthy has been a revelation. Indianapoliss defense held Houstons tailbacks to 29 total yards on eight carries and forced Deshaun Watson to be a scrambler, then an unwilling runner. The improvement of the defense, in addition to that of the offensive line, has been a major story this season, highlighted by the success of 2018 draft picks Quenton Nelson and Darius Leonard. Nelson, a guard, and Leonard, a linebacker, became the first rookie teammates to be named first-team all-pro since 1965. The Colts will face a big challenge this week in trying to contain Chiefs' gunslinger Patrick Mahomes. He leads an explosive offense that averaged an NFL-best 35.3 points per game, and he threw for a league-leading 50 touchdowns. He is considered the favorite to win league MVP in just his first season as a starter. [We got it done!: The inside story of how Patrick Mahomes landed with the Chiefs] But Kansas Citys defense, which allows 26.3 points per game, could be a major liability if the Colts get rolling. Will the Chiefs defense cost them a championship? NFL analyst John Clayton asked in his weekly column. I think it will, and so do many people around the NFL Ive spoken to. They believe in Mahomes. They believe in [Chiefs Coach] Andy Reid. But the defense cant stop the run, and it has major problems in pass coverage. Kansas City also doesnt have history in its favor. The Chiefss last home playoff win came against the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991. And teams with playoff newcomers at quarterback have often struggled in such situations. As The Posts Matt Bonesteel noted this week, teams with first-time playoff starters have gone 8-15 this decade, and 14-32 since 2002. When: Saturday, 4:35 p.m. Eastern. Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. How to watch on TV: NBC. How to stream online: NBCSports app. Odds: Chiefs -5. Whats next: The winner advances to the AFC championship game on Jan. 20, playing the winner of Sundays matchup between the Chargers and the Patriots. If the Chiefs win, that championship game would be in Kansas City. If the Colts win, that game would be on the road. Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck has the Colts rolling after a dominant win against the Texans. (Michael Wyke/AP) Matchup to watch: Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill vs. Colts defensive backs Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker Dont be surprised if the Colts dont even attempt to play man coverage on a single snap against the Chiefs this weekend. The played 65 snaps of man coverage during the regular season, the second-lowest total in the NFL, and unless you have cornerbacks who can run a 4.3-second 40-yard dash, thats usually the correct coverage to play against Tyreek Hill. The Chiefss speedster racked up 562 yards against man coverage this season third-most in the NFL at a ridiculous 19.4 yards per catch. Its not like teams fared amazingly against Hill playing zone, either, though. The Chiefs will regularly counter soft zones by sticking Hill in the slot and letting him get a free run at the safeties. The speed with which he gets to the second level of the defense and quickness with which he breaks off his routes is a nearly impossible task for most safeties to match. He racked up 597 yards from the slot against zone coverage the most in the NFL. Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker have been successful matching up with slot receivers down the field so far this season, having allowed all of five catches between them. Hill presents a rare challenge, however, and on one play he can completely change the game. Mike Renner, Pro Football Focus Read more on the NFL playoffs: The NFL linebacker has been devalued. Leighton Vander Esch is here to change that. The play of the Eagles defense. Westlake High produced two Super Bowl MVPs. On Sunday, theyll meet in the NFL playoffs. No matter where I am, I still think about her: A grieving father plans to play against the Patriots Philip Rivers is running out of time, making this weeks opportunity that much bigger John Clayton: The 4 biggest questions heading into the NFL playoffs divisional round NFL playoffs ATS picks: Home favorites should struggle to cover in divisional matchups These one-on-one matchups could decide the NFLs divisional-round games The Saints and Rams were the big winners on wild-card weekend | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01/12/chiefs-vs-colts/ |
Should A Member Of The National Assembly Receive Personal Gifts From The President? | 2 SHARES Share Tweet QUESTION OF THE DAY According to section 102 paragraph (e) of the Constitution, responsibilities of the members of the National Assembly include, advising the President on any matter which lies within his or her responsibility. Furthermore section 112 paragraph (b) stipulates that all members shall regard themselves as servants of the people of The Gambia, desist from any conduct by which they seek improperly to enrich themselves or alienate themselves from the people, and shall discharge their duties and functions in the interest of the nation as a whole and in doing so shall be influenced by the dictates of conscience and the national interest. In short to be effective in the performance of their oversight role they should not be influenced by gifts from personalities but by the dictates of their conscience and the national interest. | https://foroyaa.gm/should-a-member-of-the-national-assembly-receive-personal-gifts-from-the-president/ |
Do ordinances change? | by Yes, the short answer is yes. But there is a lot to say beyond that. In the last week I have seen a few people point to statements by various church leaders that ordinances [n1] are unchanged from the foundation of the world (insinuating that older ways of doing things are perhaps superiorfundilicious). The thing is, these are the same church leaders that presided over some of the largest changes in our ordinances. Anyway, here is a brief summary of some of the major shifts in just the first five ordinances revealed in the Restoration. Other liturgies experienced perhaps larger changes, but that isnt the point. All but the last ritual below find anchoring in Moronis ecclesiastical and liturgical missives. They are introduced to the church with Joseph Smiths Articles and Covenants (D&C 20) by way of Oliver Cowderys Articles of the Church of Christ. Baptism We have long made a case for baptism by immersion and sneered at the Christian world for sprinkling. With the changes to our own liturgies in the last two decades, I think we might be less likely to do that now. Baptism was extremely chaotic during the first fifty years of the church, and there were different baptismal rituals to join the church, to rejoin the church, to recommit to the church, to be healed, to prepare to go to the temple, to join a united order, etc. I think I have six different baptismal prayers in my files, despite the revealed prayer. Then we have the non-canonical details such as what to where, how to hold your hands, and whether there should be witnesses all taking shape over the history of the Restoration. For example, requiring priesthood officers to be witnesses was a change introduced in my lifetime. Confirmation Unfortunately, we have very little documentation on how confirmations have been performed. They werent rituals that were often recorded. Someone needs to do the work on this, because, while I could probably figure it out, l dont know when the receive ye the Holy Ghost phrase became required. The Lords Supper I think most church members realize that we used wine for the Lords Supper and that the revealed prayers had to be changed to accommodate the water. I imagine that most people dont realize that there was a period when we didnt even use the revealed prayers at all. We just sort of free-styled it. There was also a short period when official liturgical instructions required white bread. Also relatively unknown is that the idea of the Lords Supper being a renewal of baptismal covenants is non-canonical and a twentieth-century innovation. My hunch is that it arose to fill the hole that ending baptism for the renewal of covenants created. Ordination We have a revealed text for ordinations, but we dont use it. When people started fiddling around with the ordination pattern, John Taylor said it was contrary to scripture, improper, and wrong. So did Lorenzo Snow. However, younger folks carried the day and now we confer a priesthood, and then ordain to an office. There are several dates you could point to for the formalization of this new pattern. I think 1964 is a solid choice. Baby Blessings Baby blessings are really an odd inclusion in the Articles and Covenants. They dont fit the pattern and are mostly anomalous within the Antebellum context of the Restoration. Naming the child as part of the ritual is non-canonical but documented early on. The idea that fathers should bless their babies is a twentieth century idea. ___________________ | https://bycommonconsent.com/2019/01/11/do-ordinances-change/ |
How do solar panels work? | Get the Mach newsletter. By Tom Metcalfe Fifty years ago, solar panels were so expensive that they were used mainly for powering billion-dollar space probes, and thats about it. But as the panels became cheaper and as environmental worries about coal and other fossil fuels made renewable energy sources like solar more attractive solar panels began sprouting up all over the place. There are now enough solar panels installed in the U.S. to power about 11 million homes. Collectively, the panels produce about 1 percent of the countrys total electricity. Experts expect that share to rise sharply over the next 20 years, as solar panels get cheaper and more efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. Photovoltaic effect Solar panels generate electrical current by exploiting a phenomenon first described more than a century ago by a French physicist. In 1839, Henri Becquerel noted that silver and platinum electrodes in an acidic solution produced small amounts of electricity when exposed to light. This reaction became known as the photovoltaic effect, meaning light into electricity. It wasnt until 1954 that the first practical solar cell was created by scientists at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Their silicon-based device arrived less than a decade after researchers at Bell invented the transistor, which is now a key component of electronic devices. This was a golden era of solid-state devices pioneered at Bell Labs, and solar cells were one of them, says Hugh Hillhouse, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle and a solar power expert. The architecture of [some transistors] is very close to a solar cell they are actually very similar to each other. Energy from the sun Modern solar cells are made of semiconductor materials like silicon or cadmium telluride. Light falling on this material energizes its electrons, giving them enough energy to create a flow of electrical current. A typical solar panel combines dozens of solar cells in an electrical circuit to produce a usable voltage, which can provide power right away or be stored in batteries for later use. Some solar power installations can feed power directly into the electricity grid. Since the amount of electric power produced by solar panels depends on the intensity of light, they dont work well on cloudy days and not at all at night. A common solution is to back up solar power installations with batteries that store extra power until it is needed at a later time. Solar in space For a long time, the high-quality silicon used in solar panels was hard to manufacture, which made solar panels prohibitively expensive for most applications. Their use was limited to specialized applications, like powering spacecraft. NASAs grapefruit-sized Vanguard 1 satellite was the first to use solar cells when it was launched in 1958, and solar panels are still used extensively in space. The International Space Station, for example, is powered by arrays of solar panels that can generate up to 120 kW of electricity enough to power about 40 homes. A bright future The cost of silicon used in many solar panels has dropped sharply over the last 20 years, with the result that, in the sunniest parts of the U.S., commercial solar power is now as cheap or cheaper than generating power from fossil fuels. A 6 kW installation of solar panels, enough to power a typical American home, now costs about $14,000 a fraction of what it would have cost a generation ago. Hillhouse says that as the costs of manufacturing solar panels continue to fall, and the technologies used to make them continue to advance, solar power could eventually produce enough electricity to meet 20 to 60 percent of Americas energy needs. Even if all research stopped tomorrow, the economics are already such that photovoltaics are going to grow tremendously, he says. FOLLOW NBC NEWS MACH ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND INSTAGRAM. | https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/how-do-solar-panels-work-ncna957231 |
Can Samsung's Galaxy S10 defy the global smartphone meltdown? | The Samsung Galaxy S9 (above) was criticised for being too similar to previous models. WIRED / Samsung One of the most important phones of the year is just over a month away. Samsung has officially announced its Galaxy S10 family will arrive on February 20, ahead of the MWC 2019 mobile tech conference. This is no surprise. Samsung Galaxy S phones arrive towards the beginning of the year, every year. They are a reliable standard against which all later Androids are judged. Advertisement 2019s mobile has already taken on a darker outlook than previous years, though. Both Samsung and Apple saw worse-than-expected performance in Q4 2018. Samsungs operating profits are down 29 per cent year on year. Both companies blame weaker demand in China, where Samsung is not even a top-six player. Names barely known by many in the UK and US, like Vivo, Oppo and Meizu, claim greater market share. If you look at China, the worlds largest smartphone market, Samsung is relegated to one per cent market share, says Counterpoint Researchs Neil Shah. The upgrade cycle The issue is wider than a single countrys influence. Global smartphone sales fell for the first time in 2018. Its a harsher environment than ever, particularly for companies with less of a grasp on it than Samsung and Apple. Ive been saying this for a few years now that Sony, HTC and LG need to exit the smartphone market, says Ovum analyst Daniel Gleeson. Samsung will sell a lot of Galaxy S10 phones. No doubt there. Advertisement Smartphones companies are struggling because replacement cycles are lengthening, says Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi. It is not so much that there is no more innovation in smartphones. It is more that the innovation is layered on top of devices that are already really good. One criticism levelled frequently at the Samsung Galaxy S9 models was they seemed too close, too similar, to their predecessors. As sad as it might seem, some consumers who upgrade want their phone not just to be better but also to look different, says Milanesi. However, this is one element the Galaxy S10 will apparently offer. Samsung flagships to date have all rejected the notch, the primary phone design trend of the last 18 months. Advertisement Samsung will, however, be one of the first companies to release a phone with what may well be the notchs successor. This is the punch hole, a small circle cut out of the display just large enough to fit in the front camera lens. Rather than adopting stationery-inspired nomenclature, Samsung is expected to call this display style Infinity-O. Samsung is particularly well-suited to this form of innovation. Most of the OLED screens used in phones are made by Samsung. Milanesi even suggests the somewhat reduced uptake of the Galaxy S9 family could help its successor. Considering sales of the S9 were below expectations, which would suggest a low upgrade cycle, the S10 should be better positioned than its predecessor, especially with visual clues like the punch hole display and the three cameras at the back, she says. Brand new rumours suggest the top-billing Galaxy S10 may have as many as four cameras on the back, and two on the front. Its 2018 S9 phones camera hardware appeared relatively conservative next to the tri-camera Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro. This seemed to validate the opinion they were not an essential upgrade. The Galaxy S10 phones timing means it has a chance to look different not just to the S9 family, but to all other current high-profile models. Catching up with cameras However, those very same hardware-packed phones from Huawei also proved quite how hard buyers need to be convinced about new tech. As much, if not more, marketing effort was focused around their AI-assisted shooting and handheld night modes as the more obvious tangible parts of the camera. Samsung has to play catch-up with the S10. I believe lot of focus will be on the on-device AI boosting camera performance, says Shah. The current favourite vehicle for this kind of AI enhancement is low-light shooting. Huaweis celebrated Super Night mode has already been replicated in the OnePlus 6T and Google Pixel 3XL . Read next These are the best Android phones in 2019 These are the best Android phones in 2019 Samsung may have other or at least additional plans, though. The Galaxy S10 will reportedly have both telephoto and ultra-wide angle extra rear cameras. The latters lens has a natural optical distortion fisheye effect, but Samsung is expected to include processing to remove this. It will restore the natural geometry of objects, and this is something not found in current wide-angle rivals. Just like the variable aperture lens of the Samsung Galaxy S9, this does not seem a feature tailor made for prominence, though. The distorting effect of wide-angle lenses can often make your photos more striking, not less. The 5G issue Another buzzy 2019 feature, 5G connectivity, raises its own distinct issues. The Samsung Galaxy S10 family will most likely offer at least one of the first 5G-ready phones. We already know the Snapdragon 855, prepped to power some of 2019s top mobiles, can incorporate a 5G modem. Shah sees this as one way for Samsung to get ahead of Apple. [One] focus will be on the chipsets enabling 5G connectivity, taking a couple of years lead on 5G integration experience, which is complex curve, compared to Apple, says Shah. 5G, in theory, is a hundred times faster than 4G. It will let you download 4K movies in seconds, so fast its bandwidth outstrips the write speed of some solid-state memory used in phones. Read next Why the cheaper Pixel 3 Lite won't be a hardware hit for Google Why the cheaper Pixel 3 Lite won't be a hardware hit for Google There is, of course, the problem of infrastructure lag. Last January we dubbed 2018 the year of 5G. As we sit here, most of our phones barely even tap into the potential of 4G. We were, on at least one level, wrong. And while 2019 may be the year of 5G hardware and 5G marketing, it wont be the year of a 5G experience. Real UK 5G network trials are under way, including use of the technology to stream video footage to ambulances in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. The days of getting it as part of a 40 a month contract are far off, however. 5G exists, but to call it a reality to the average phone buyer before its available through consumer contracts on the main networks, let alone mobile virtual network operators, is disingenuous. This is one reason Apple is not expected to release a 5G iPhone until 2020. How much focus, if any, Samsung rests on 5G should prove interesting. The best smartphones for any budget in 2019 WIRED Recommends The best smartphones for any budget in 2019 Important rivals Conspicuous progress is a necessary aim for any maker of tech, but Samsung also needs to reconfigure its approach in-line with market changes. There are a few of these to note. And while the competition from LG, Sony and HTC may be cooler and dimmer than ever, that of ascending Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei is not. With Apples pricing issue, Samsung should be able to fill in the gap, but Chinese brands will also try to capture some share away from Samsung, resulting in either flat market share or slightly lower in 2019 compared to 2018, says Shah. However, we should expect an S10 pricing structure influenced by Apples, not Xiaomis. Most leaks, reports and rumours suggest there will be three distinct Galaxy S10 models. These are the Samsung Galaxy S10+, the S10 and the S10 Lite or S10 E. Some also anticipate a separate S10 Beyond X handset, which may be the only one to offer full 5G-capable hardware. And likely an intimidating price. Shah says Samsungs pricing should be slightly higher than last years S9 series but expected to be not as exorbitant as iPhones, learning from the pricing mistake from its biggest competitor. That many await Huaweis next flagship as eagerly as Samsungs, us included, is telling. However, that Xiaomi just announced the Mi Mix 3 as its first 2019 UK flagship is a gift to Samsung. As impressive as the phone is, a front camera slider mechanism makes the phone seem precisely what the Galaxy S10 is not: a bit weird, a little strange. Read next Monday briefing: India's BJP is reportedly exploiting a state smartphone programme to target political campaigns Monday briefing: India's BJP is reportedly exploiting a state smartphone programme to target political campaigns More great stories from WIRED Why the UK's porn block is one of the worst ideas ever Wedding shaming Facebook groups are the real-life Mean Girls Glasgow cured violence by treating it as a health epidemic Advertisement Upgrade your sound with our guide to the best headphones The best Black Mirror episodes ranked Get the best of WIRED in your inbox every Saturday with the WIRED Weekender newsletter | https://www.wired.co.uk/article/samsung-galaxy-s10-release-date-price-leaks-rumours |
Can new Hurricanes offensive coordinator Dan Enos help bring QB Jalen Hurts to Miami? | New Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz has wasted little time in pursuing transfers he believe can make a difference at Miami. Over the course of the last four days, both former USC safety Bubba Bolden and former Buffalo receiver K.J. Osborn have said they intend to become Hurricanes. Now, Miami could be on the verge of landing one of the biggest transfers out there Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, who reportedly entered his name in the NCAA transfer database earlier this week. Friday night, the quarterback was spotted on Marylands campus, where he attended the Terrapins basketball game against Indiana with Maryland football coach Mike Locksley who had been, until recently, Alabamas offensive coordinator. Locksley, though, isnt the only former Alabama assistant whos opted to take a job outside of Tuscaloosa since the season ended. On Friday, Diaz announced former Crimson Tide associate head coach and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos who had been a candidate to replace Locksley as OC at Alabama would be Miamis new offensive coordinator. That has, of course, spawned plenty of conversation about the possibility that Hurts who was 26-2 as a starter at Alabama could join Enos in Coral Gables. According to the website Canesport.com, Hurts is set to visit Coral Gables on Sunday. If that goes well, few would be surprised if Hurts who has already graduated and is eligible to play immediately ends up a Hurricane. I think hes a great coach, a really smart football mind and Im blessed to have him, Hurts said of Enos just before the College Football Championship Game according to Tuscaloosa News reporter Terrin Waack. Of how Enos helped him during the one year they worked together at Alabama, Hurts continued, Really polishing me up, taking me to the next level, getting better. Enos ability to develop quarterbacks is one of the major reasons Diaz said he wanted the coach on his staff. And Enos work with Hurts and fellow Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a Heisman Trophy finalist helped the Crimson Tide have one of the top offenses in the nation in 2018. Last season, Tagovailoa completed 69 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,966 yards with 43 touchdowns and just six interceptions. That set an all-time FBS single-season passer rating mark and made Tagovailoa one of the most decorated players in college football, the quarterback earning both the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards. Hurts, meanwhile, completed 73 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. His performance, combined with Tagovailoas efforts, helped Alabama rank first in the nation in passing efficiency, sixth in the nation in total offense and third in the nation in scoring offense. Thats a marked difference from the productivity shown by Miami quarterbacks Malik Rosier and NKosi Perry, who alternated starts and were inconsistent throughout the season with neither completing more than 55 percent of his passes. Me hiring Dan is improving the quarterback situation, Diaz said. I think our guys that are on campus will benefit working underneath him. Rosier has graduated and left the Miami program. And the addition of Hurts would give the Hurricanes an experienced veteran that has been successful at a high level. Thats something Perry and fellow quarterbacks Jarren Williams and Cade Weldon cant offer immediately. On Friday, Diaz was asked about the possibility of Hurts joining Miami and while he couldnt comment specifically on the quarterback because NCAA rules prohibit coaches from discussing players they have not signed, Diaz hinted that graduate-level transfers would give the Hurricanes much-needed boosts at several positions. Like I mentioned before I cant comment on any one player specifically, but I told you in the press conference, were going to look from Miami to Maine, from Los Angeles to Seattle and anywhere beyond for the players that can help us play quarterback understanding the ones we have on our campus, that we got to get those guys to maximize their potential and find out how really good they are, Diaz said. Weve seen the glimpses of what they really can be. Nothing has changed, really. Everything we talked about a week ago is still the same. Everybody wants to talk about quarterback, we know we have to get that fixed. But thats true at every position. Like our UM Facebook page to keep up with all the latest news CAPTION Manny Diaz is introduced as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and outlines his vision for the program moving forward. Manny Diaz is introduced as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and outlines his vision for the program moving forward. CAPTION Manny Diaz is introduced as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and outlines his vision for the program moving forward. Manny Diaz is introduced as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and outlines his vision for the program moving forward. CAPTION Hurricanes running back DeeJay Dallas discusses some of Miamis woes. Hurricanes running back DeeJay Dallas discusses some of Miamis woes. CAPTION Manny Diaz talks Hurricanes defense, Temple job Manny Diaz talks Hurricanes defense, Temple job CAPTION UMs Ephraim Banda on the changes around UMs defense. UMs Ephraim Banda on the changes around UMs defense. CAPTION Hurricanes coach Mark Richt discusses the end of UM's losing streak ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale against Pittsburgh. Hurricanes coach Mark Richt discusses the end of UM's losing streak ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale against Pittsburgh. [email protected]; On Twitter @ChristyChirinos. | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-hurricanes/fl-sp-um-hurricanes-hurts-enos-qbs-20190112-story.html |
Why is Congress so dumb? | In a year of congressional lowlights, the hearings we held with Silicon Valley leaders last fall may have been the lowest. One of my colleagues in the House asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai about the workings of an iPhone a rival Apple product. Another colleague asked Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, If youre not listening to us on the phone, who is? One senator was flabbergasted to learn that Facebook makes money from advertising. Over hours of testimony, my fellow members of Congress struggled to grapple with technologies used daily by most Americans and with the functions of the Internet itself. Given an opportunity to expose the most powerful businesses on Earth to sunlight and scrutiny, the hearings did little to answer tough questions about the tech titans monopolies or the impact of their platforms. Its not because lawmakers are too stupid to understand Facebook. Its because our available resources and our policy staffs, the brains of Congress, have been so depleted that we cant do our jobs properly. Americans who bemoan a broken Congress rightly focus on ethical questions and electoral partisanship. But the tech hearings demonstrated that our greatest deficiency may be knowledge, not cooperation. Our founts of independent information have been cut off, our investigatory muscles atrophied, our committees stripped of their ability to develop policy, our small staffs overwhelmed by the army of lobbyists who roam Washington. Congress is increasingly unable to comprehend a world growing more socially, economically and technologically multifaceted and we did this to ourselves. When the 110th Congress opened in 2007, Democrats rode into office on a tide of outrage at the George W. Bush administration and the Republican Congress, which had looked the other way during the Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham scandals. My colleagues and I focused our energies on exposing corruption. But we missed crucial opportunities to reform the institution of Congress. As my party assumes a new majority in the House, we confront similar circumstances and have a second chance to begin the hard work of nursing our chamber back to strength. Our decay as an institution began in 1995, when conservatives, led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), carried out a full-scale war on government. Gingrich began by slashing the congressional workforce by one-third. He aimed particular ire at Congresss brain, firing 1 of every 3 staffers at the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service and the Congressional Budget Office. He defunded the Office of Technology Assessment, a tech-focused think tank. Social scientists have called those moves Congresss self-lobotomy, and the cuts remain largely unreversed. Gingrichs actions didnt stop with Congresss mind: He went for its arms and legs, too, as he dismantled the committee system, taking power from chairmen and shifting it to leadership. His successors as speaker have entrenched this practice. While there was a 35 percent decline in committee staffing from 1994 to 2014, funding over that period for leadership staff rose 89 percent. This imbalance has defanged many of our committees, as bills originating in leadership offices and K Street suites are forced through without analysis or alteration. Very often, lawmakers never even see important legislation until right before we vote on it. During the debate over the Republicans 2017 tax package, hours before the floor vote, then-Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) tweeted a lobbying firms summary of GOP amendments to the bill before she and her colleagues had had a chance to read the legislation. A similar process played out during the Republicans other signature effort of the last Congress, the failed repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Their bill would have remade one-sixth of the U.S. economy, but it was not subject to hearings and was introduced just a few hours before being voted on in the dead of night. This is what happens when legislation is no longer grown organically through hearings and debate. Congress does not have the resources to counter the growth of corporate lobbying. Between 1980 and 2006, the number of organizations in Washington with lobbying arms more than doubled, and lobbying expenditures between 1983 and 2013 ballooned from $200 million to $3.2 billion. A stunning 2015 study found that corporations now devote more resources to lobby Congress than Congress spends to fund itself. During the 2017 fight over the tax legislation, the watchdog group Public Citizen found that there were more than 6,200 registered tax lobbyists, vs. 130 aides on the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation, a staggering ratio approaching 50-to-1 disfavoring the American people. In 2016 in the House, there were just 1,300 aides on all committees combined, a number that includes clerical and communications workers. Our expert policy staffs are dwarfed by the lobbying class. The practical impact of this disparity is impossible to overstate as lobbyists flood our offices with information on issues and legislation information on which many lawmakers have become reliant. Just a few weeks ago, at the end of the session, I witnessed the biennial tradition of departing members of Congress relinquishing their suites to the incoming class. As lawmakers emptied their desks and cabinets, the office hallways were clogged with dumpsters overflowing with reports, white papers, massaged data and other materials, a perfect illustration of the proliferating junk dropped off by lobbyists. Congress remade its committees in the 1970s to challenge Richard Nixons presidency and move power to rank-and-file lawmakers. Many segregationist chairmen were ousted and replaced by reformers, and committees and subcommittees were given flexibility to study issues under their purview. Its no accident that some of the most significant legislation and oversight by Congress Title IX; the Clean Water Act; the Watergate, Pike and Church hearings came from this period. Congress had strengthened its pillars, hired smart people and accessed the best information available. Following the reforms of the 1970s, the House held some 6,000 hearings per year. But eventually, the number of House hearings fell from a tick above 4,000 in 1994 to barely more than 2,000 in 2014. On the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, of which I am a member, oversight hearings are virtually nonexistent, as is developing legislation. We had no hearings in 2017 on the bill that would dramatically rewrite our tax code. And in the last Congress, we didnt haul in any administration officials for a single public hearing on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Assessing this state of affairs in a 2017 report, the Congressional Management Foundation noted that committees have been meeting less often than at almost any other time in recent history. This neglect has become the norm. Instead, leadership, lobbyists and the White House decide how to solve policy problems. Indeed, Congress has allowed the White House to dominate policymaking. Trade is a perfect illustration. Despite our current presidents braggadocio, most Americans would be surprised to learn ultimate trade power rests with Congress. But over and over weve willingly, even eagerly, handed off that responsibility given to us by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. President Trumps power to renegotiate NAFTA was granted by Congress, as was his power to issue tariffs, allowed under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. I disagreed with the decision in 2015 to give President Barack Obama a member of my own party fast-track power to advance the Trans-Pacific Partnership. During that debate, I sat stupefied as some members of our committee sought to award not only Obama but also future, unknown executives an extended and open-ended authority to make other deals. Congress was prepared to simply abdicate our job. Perhaps the most striking instance of political interference Ive seen in my career occurred in the Ways and Means Committee in 2014. Then-Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) had toiled for months with Democrats, Republicans and budget experts to craft a comprehensive tax reform bill. I may not have loved the final product, but I respected the process. Republican leadership killed the proposal almost immediately after it was unveiled. They wanted to deny Obama a legislative accomplishment. For decades, nearly every piece of legislation would reach the floor via committee, but beginning in the 1990s, the rate began to drop. In the 113th Congress, approximately 40 percent of big-ticket legislation bypassed committees. Before 1994, Camp would have informed the speaker of his proposal and brought it to the floor. Now, a chairman has much less power to realize meaningful legislation. Meanwhile, longstanding House rules have essentially blocked the amendment process on the floor, meaning bills cant be modified by members of the wider chamber. In addition to committee weakness, House lawmakers collectively employ fewer staffers today than they did in 1980. Between 1980 and 2016, when the U.S. population rose by nearly 97 million people and districts grew by 40 percent on average (about 200,000 people per seat), the number of aides in House member offices decreased, to 6,880, and total House staff increased less than 1 percent, to 9,420. The first lobe of Congresss brain we can bulk back up is the Congressional Research Service. The CRS provides studies from talented experts spanning law, defense, trade, science, industry and other realms. Some of our greatest oversight triumphs Watergate, Iran-contra, the Freedom of Information Act were achieved with the CRSs support. Great nations build libraries, and much of the CRS is housed in the Library of Congresss Madison Building. But the CRS has become a political target. In 2012, a CRS report finding that tax cuts do not generate revenue enraged my Republican colleagues, who had the report pulled and began browbeating CRS experts. According to figures supplied by the CRS, the next year, the service saw its funding cut by $5 million, nearly 5 percent, recovering to previous levels only in 2015. (The CRS did get big funding bumps in recent years.) The Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office, crown jewels of our body that provide nonpartisan budget projections, are similarly ignored or maligned for partisan purposes. Last year, when the CBO debunked claims that the GOP tax plan would create jobs, Republicans savaged the agency instead of improving the law. It reminded one of my colleagues, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), of an episode of The Simpsons in which Springfield residents, rescued from a hurtling comet, resolve to raze the town observatory. The GAO also furnishes rich information to Congress on virtually any subject. Last year I requested and obtained a study on the live-events ticket market. It was a probing report with fresh data. Former senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), one of the most conservative lawmakers of the past generation, praised the GAO, estimating that every dollar of funding for the agency potentially saved Americans $90. Nonetheless, from 1980 to 2015, GAO staffing was cut by one-fifth. While I never had the pleasure of collaborating with the Office of Technology Assessment, its reputation is legendary. Like the GAO, it operated as a think tank for Congress, tasked with studying science and technology issues. The OTA was Congresss only agency solely conducting scholarly work on these issues until Gingrich disemboweled it. Today, few members of Congress know it ever existed. The congressional hearings on big tech showcased my colleagues inability to wrap their heads around basic technologies. But our challenges dont stop at Silicon Valley. Biomedical research, CRISPR, space exploration, artificial intelligence, election security, self-driving cars and, most pressingly, climate change are also on Congresss plate. And we are functioning like an abacus seeking to decipher string theory. By one estimate, the federal government spends $94 billion on information technology, while Congress spends $0 on independent assessments of technology issues. We are crying out for help to guide our thinking on these emerging areas. I have backed motions to bring the OTA back to life, and I was heartened last year when the House Appropriations Committee approved funding for a study on the feasibility of a new OTA. The creation in the House rules of a Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress in this new session is a terrific beginning and a signal that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) understand the importance of these issues. Providing capital and staff to the institution should be a major priority in the 116th Congress. The budgets we approve fund 445 executive departments, agencies, commissions and other federal bodies. But for every $3,000 the United States spends per American on government programs, we allocate only $6 to oversee them. After decades of disinvesting in itself, Congress has become captured by outside interests and partisans. Lawmakers should be guided by independent scholars, researchers and policy specialists. We must recognize our difficulties in comprehending an impossibly complex world. Undoing the mindless destruction of 1994 will take a lot of effort, but with investment, we can make Congress work again. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/01/11/feature/why-is-congress-so-dumb/?utm_term=.16adc6f19a85 |
Which Manchester United stars are unavailable for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to play Tottenham? | Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer feels Marcus Rashford has the attributes to be "a top, top striker" on a par with England team-mate Harry Kane. Rashford has been deployed in his favoured centre forward role since Jose Mourinho made way for Solskjaer last month, duly rewarding the Norwegian with three goals in his last four starts. The 21-year-old striker could once again be the focal attacking point at Tottenham, where United will have to be on guard at the other end as Kane looks to get on the score-sheet for the seventh successive game. Kane is widely recognised as one of the best strikers in the Premier League but Solskjaer sees no reason why academy graduate Rashford cannot eventually reach that level. | https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1071156/Manchester-United-vs-Tottenham-team-news-Ole-Gunnar-Solskjaer-Man-Utd-news |
What Does it Mean to Be a Royal Patron? | Earlier this week, Meghan Markle was announced patron of four organizations: the National Theatre, Mayhew, Smart Works, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. They represent her existing passions (the arts, animal welfare, empowering women, and education, respectively), and serve as an indicator of what we can expect from the Duchess's philanthropic pursuits in the future. "Patronages are quite a key part of being a member of the royal family," royal reporter Victoria Murphy tells Town & Country. She explained that it's essentially a figurehead for an organization and that a royal's support can do a great deal for a cause in terms of public exposure. "Members of the royal family accumulate many organizations throughout their lives. They're lending their support to an organization and having an ongoing relationship," Murphy says. "It allows them to transform in many ways the fortune of these charities and organizations by lending the profile that they have as members of the royal family. The attention can hopefully encourage things like increasing donations to charities and awareness of the causes." Here, the Duchess of Cambridge officially opens the new photography centre at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She serves as the institutions royal patron. Getty Images JACK HILL While many patronages are charities, some are military associations, professional bodies, or public service groups, and generally speaking, they reflect the person's interests and life experiences. For example, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is President of the National Osteoporosis Society, as several members of her family have suffered from brittle bone disease. Per the royal family's website, more than 3,000 organizations have a working member of the royal family as their patron or president, and these include well-known institutions as well as grass-roots charities. In Meghan's case, she received two patronagesthe National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universitiesfrom the Queen. These are two groups that have had decades-long relationships with the royal family. But the other two charities in her purview, Mayhew and Smart Works, are new to the royal family's support and much smaller. "The royal family sometimes affiliates themselves with big national institutions that are already well known and have a lot of clout," Murphy says. "But they also try to lend their support to much smaller organizations that might not get anywhere near the level of profile or support or awareness that they can with a royal patronage. For these organizations, a royal patronage can be completely transformative." Patronages can also be taken on for different lengths of time. "Once it has been decided that the patronage will be taken on, the duration of the patronage must be decided. There is no set length," explains the royal family's website. "Sometimes members of the Royal Family might take on a patronage relating to a specific campaign or event which only lasts a finite length of time. Other times patronages are for life." Their official website features a searchable database of every organization they are involved with. Check that out here. Another page on the site more broadly highlights the family's philanthropic efforts, and includes information on how an organization can apply for a royal patronage. | https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a25838368/royal-family-charities-patronages/ |
How can I make sure my calf shed is up to the task? | With spring-calving kicking off on some farms and on the horizon on others, making sure that the facilities are fit for purpose is paramount. Whether these calves will go on to become the backbone of the herd in future years or whether they will be sold to beef farmers, it is very important that these animals get the best start in life; calves that are healthy will go on to produce more milk and thrive better in the future. While the recent expansion has led to many new builds and houses for calves, there are many ways in which you can adapt existing housing to make it calf friendly. The many factors which farmers should consider include: ventilation; dryness; draughts; cleanliness; and temperature. If these are adhered to, the farmer should have no problem with calves from a housing point of view. When it comes to ventilation, fresh air needs to be circulated through the shed; however, there should not be any draughts. Adequate ventilation in the calf house is a major problem on some farms. If fresh air is circulated through the house, it will kill bacteria and it will kill viruses. The air moves in through the inlets and exits out the outlet at the apex. However, farmers need to ensure that the inlets and outlets are big enough, while having air coming from both sides is very beneficial. Many farmers have switched to Yorkshire boarding to increase the amount of air that enters the unit; this type of boarding keeps rain out, while also maximising the air in the shed. Normally, Yorkshire boarding consists of two rows of boards (6in). A 2in gap is left between the boards and the rows are normally 2in apart. This method allows air to enter through the boarding and exits through an adequate sized outlet at the apex, bringing any diseases with it. Whether it is Yorkshire boarding, space boarding or vent sheeting that is used, ensuring that there is a sufficient airflow is very important. In addition to appropriate ventilation, farmers should ensure that the lying area is dry and that the floor is constructed in such a manner that it allows urine and water to flow off. Advertisement Moisture inside sheds increases humidity and aids conditions that favour disease, therefore making changes to the slope of the floors are worthwhile; any leaking down pipes or water troughs should also be maintained. The floors can be sloped to a channel, which will catch any run-off and keep the straw bed dry. These channels may be piped to a tank. One way of identifying a moisture problem is by kneeling on the straw to see how wet or dry the bedding actually is. Farmers can reduce moisture by not washing floors or buckets inside the shed when calves are being housed and only washing pens when the shed is empty is advisable. However, when the sheds are empty, deep cleaning with power washers and disinfectants should be carried out. Furthermore, when it comes to temperature, straw bedding is an effective way of protecting the calf from the cold. However, due to the scarcity of straw this year, alternative bedding options will be explored by farmers. Calf jackets can be used, but farmers should wash these thoroughly to prevent the possibility of passing disease from calf-to-calf. Moreover, calves should not be housed with older animals and the shed should be located upwind from any other housing facilities. Keeping the number of calves/pens smaller will also allow the calves to be easier managed and will lead to better performance. A dedicated area should be used for washing equipment and if possible this would be located outside the calf shed or in another shed. | https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/how-can-i-make-sure-my-calf-shed-is-up-to-the-task/ |
Will Sears employees receive severance? | Sears isn't officially doomed yet. Chairman Eddie Lampert placed a revised $5 billion takeover bid on Thursday. If accepted, Lampert's bid would stave off liquidation, keep 425 stores open, and save around 50,000 jobs. Still, it's an uneasy time for the roughly 68,000 employees who work for Sears Holdings. Laid-off Sears and Kmart employees have even reported that they stopped receiving their severance checks after the retailers' parent company declared bankruptcy in October. This news sparked controversy, especially after it was revealed that millions of dollars had been set aside for conditional bonuses intended to tempt key corporate executives to remain with the company. But Steven Solomon, managing director for corporate law firm GrayRobinson's Miami office, said that Sears didn't have much of a choice in the matter. When a company files for bankruptcy, it must immediately stop paying out severance. Employees let go before a bankruptcy filing are essentially out of luck, at least for the time being. "It's not even a voluntary decision on the part of the company," he told Business Insider. "You are not permitted, absent court order, to continue to pay severance payments to those employees who were terminated prior to the filing of the bankruptcy." Sears did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The US bankruptcy code features a hierarchy of creditors. Laid-off employees who are owed severance are classified as unsecured creditors in the wake of a bankruptcy. Secured creditors, like financial institutions who've issued secured loans to a business, are paid off first when an estate goes bankrupt. Severance claims fall further down the list of prioritized creditors. Tim Boyle/Getty Images Solomon likened the structure to a "waterfall" the money must flow through the secured creditors before cascading down to lower-priority groups. "Very often, in big cases like this, the secured creditors will offer a carve out," Solomon said. "That means that they will agree that some portion of their collateral can be liquidated for the benefit of unsecured creditors." Read more:Sears is getting one last chance to save itself from oblivion Essentially, the secured creditors will save a piece of the pie for groups located further down the "waterfall," usually as a result of some negotiation. Solomon added that bankruptcy judges often hold a negative view of cases that solely benefit "secured creditors and lawyers." In the case of laid-off Sears and Kmart employees who are now designated as creditors, Solomon said that these workers must file a proof of claim for the case in order to receive any money from the case. According to court filings, a proof-of-claim deadline has not yet been set in the Sears bankruptcy case. While these laid-off employees are potentially entitled to money through a bankruptcy case, it's possible that they will receive less severance than they would have under normal circumstances. "There are statutory caps that are involved in bankruptcy that limit the amount you can pay to employees for things like severance," Larry Perkins, bankruptcy expert and CEO of management firm SierraConstellation Partners, told Business Insider. According to the US bankruptcy code, the bankrupt estate can pay out "unsecured claims," including severance, "but only to the extent of $12,850 for each individual." "I expect that many employees are out of luck as it relates to getting their full severance payments in light of how the values have played out in the case," Perkins said. Well, according to Solomon, this group might be better off. "You have to imagine the bankruptcy filing date as a line in the sand," Solomon said. "Post-bankruptcy terminations are typically now governed by a court order." A bankrupt company could ask the court for permission to keep, terminate, or alter its pre-bankruptcy benefits, like severance and paid time off, for employees. So if a company like Sears chooses to maintain its benefit policies for rank-and-file, non-contracted employees, then those employees should receive their standard severance, despite the bankruptcy. And, when it comes to liquidation, remaining employees that have been deemed "essential" could see an even bigger payout. Perkins said that if Sears and Kmart are liquidated, there's a possibility that some employees will receive "something that looks a bit like a severance," such as a "stay bonus" or a "retention plan." He said that such offers are meant to ensure that "someone's in there to switch off the lights at the end" of the liquidation process. Solomon said that such a program is a crucial part of preventing vital employees from leaving amidst a bankruptcy or a liquidation. "You're trying to keep someone from jumping ship and going to Target," Solomon said. But these retention programs can be tied to specific employee targets, especially for higher-ups. During Toys R Us' bankruptcy, top C-suite executives left the company in May when it was revealed that they had not hit the goals necessary to trigger the bonuses. | https://www.businessinsider.com/sears-severance-pay-kmart-employees-2019-1 |
Why Is Adobe (ADBE) Down 4.2% Since Last Earnings Report? | Adobe (ADBE) reported earnings 30 days ago. We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues. It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Adobe Systems (ADBE). Shares have lost about 4.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. Adobe Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates, Beats Revenues Adobe Systems Incorporated reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 non-GAAP earnings of $1.83 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88. However, the figure increased 5.8% sequentially and 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted revenues also increased 23% year over year to $2.46 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.43 billion. Excluding the acquisition of Marketo, revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter were 2.44 billion. The growth was driven by contribution from Marketo acquisition, strong demand for the companys innovative solutions and products, strength across geographies, along with growing subscriptions for its cloud application. Top Line in Detail Adobe reports revenues in three categories Subscription, product and services & support. Subscription revenues came in at $2.18 billion (88.6% of its total revenues), up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Product revenues totaled $150.4 million (6.1% of revenues), decreasing 22% year over year. Services & support revenues came in at $130 million (5.3% of revenues), increasing 10.5% year over year. Segment Details The company operates in two reportable segments Digital Media and Digital Experience. Digital Media This segment generated revenues of $1.71 billion, which increased 23% on a year-over-year basis. The segment comprises Creative Cloud and Document Cloud. Additionally, Digital Media ARR increased by $430 million to $6.83billion. Creative Cloud (CC) generated $1.45 billion of revenues, reflecting 26% year-over-year growth. Additionally, Creative ARR increased by a record $373 million. The growth drivers in the quarter were strong net new subscriptions across user segments and geographies, driven by robust traffic and customer acquisition on Adobe.com. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales also aided the results. Moreover, new product introductions, strong demand for online video creation and improving average revenue per user (ARPU) across key offerings were other positives. Document Cloud (DC) generated $259 million of revenues, up 10% from the year-ago quarter. Moreover, Document ARR came in at more than $800 million. This was driven by strong performance of Adobe Sign and growing adoption of Acrobat DC. The company experienced robust growth in Acrobat units on a year-over-year basis. Moreover, it experienced robust bookings across various platforms such as Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Analytics Cloud and Adobe Advertising Cloud. Digital Experience This segment generated revenues of $690 million, which increased 25% on a year-over-year basis. The segment includes Adobe Experience Cloud. Further, robust Analytics Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Advertising Cloud offerings, coupled with emerging solutions such as Audience Manager, Campaign, Target, and Media Optimizer solutions drove its top line. Operating Details Gross margin was 85.4% in the quarter, contracting 110 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis. Adobe incurred operating expenses of $1.35 billion, reflecting an increase of 26.6% year over year. As a percentage of total revenues, sales & marketing, general & administrative, as well as research & development costs increased. Adjusted operating margin was 38.6%, reflecting a decrease of 160 bps year over year. Balance Sheet & Cash Flow As of Nov 30, 2018, cash and investments balance was $3.23 billion, down from $4.94 billion in the fiscal third quarter. Trade receivables were $1.32 billion, up from $1.04 billion recorded in the fiscal third quarter. In the reported quarter, cash generated from operations was $1.1 billion, up from $955 million in the fiscal third quarter. Guidance For first-quarter fiscal 2019, the company projects total revenues of $2.54 billion. | https://news.yahoo.com/why-adobe-adbe-down-4-143002176.html |
Why Is Ciena (CIEN) Up 5% Since Last Earnings Report? | Ciena (CIEN) reported earnings 30 days ago. We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues. It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Ciena (CIEN). Shares have added about 5% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. Ciena Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y Ciena reported healthy fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 (ended Oct 31, 2018) results wherein both the top line and the bottom line surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. Net Income On a GAAP basis, net income for the reported quarter was $64 million or 34 cents per share compared with $1,160.1 million or $7.32 per share in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to higher cost of goods sold and lower benefit from income tax. For fiscal 2018, net loss was $344.7 million or loss of $2.49 per share against income of $1,262 million or $7.53 per share a year ago, mainly due to higher income tax expenses. Non-GAAP net income came in at $81 million or 53 cents per share compared with $48.5 million or 32 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. Revenues Quarterly total revenues increased 20.8% year over year to $899.4 million, primarily due to higher product sales. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $861 million. Fiscal 2018 revenues increased 10.4% year over year to $3,094.3 million. Geographically, revenues from North America were $555.3 million, up 26.1% year over year. Revenues from Europe, Middle East and Africa were $123.1 million, up 11.2%. In Caribbean and Latin America revenues totaled $53 million, up 21.8% and in Asia Pacific revenues were $168 million, up 12.2%. Other Quarter Details Gross margin was 44.3% compared with 43.7% in the year-ago quarter. Operating expenses were $302.2 million compared with $269.9 million a year ago. Operating margin was 10.7% compared with 7.5% in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $145.8 million, up from $109.7 million. Segmental Performance Revenues from Networking Platforms increased 19% year over year to $712.9 million. Software and Software-Related Services revenues were $67.3 million compared with $41.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Revenues from Global Services were $119.2 million compared with $103.7 million a year ago. Share Repurchases During the quarter, Ciena repurchased approximately 1.3 million shares for an aggregate amount of $36.2 million. During fiscal 2018, the company repurchased approximately 4.3 million shares at an average price of $25.86 per share for an aggregate amount of $111 million. Cash Flow and Liquidity In fiscal 2018, Ciena generated $229.3 million of cash from operating activities compared with $234.9 million in fiscal 2017. As of Oct 31, 2018, Ciena had $745.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $686.5 million of net long-term debt. Fresh estimates followed an upward path over the past two months. The consensus estimate has shifted 10.35% due to these changes. VGM Scores Currently, Ciena has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Outlook Ciena has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ciena Corporation (CIEN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research | https://news.yahoo.com/why-ciena-cien-5-since-143002901.html |
Does it pay to be a writer? | In the 20th century, a good literary writer could earn a middle class living just writing, said Mary Rasenberger, executive director of The Authors Guild, citing William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and John Cheever. Now, most writers need to supplement their income with speaking engagements or teaching. Strictly book-related income which is to say royalties and advances are also down, almost 30 percent for full-time writers since 2009. Writing for magazines and newspapers was once a solid source of additional income for professional writers, but the decline in freelance journalism and pay has meant less opportunity for authors to write for pay. Many print publications, which offered the highest rate, have been shuttered altogether. The decline in earnings are also largely because of Amazons lions share of the self-publishing, e-book and resale market, according to Rasenberger. The conglomerate charges commission and marketing fees to publishers that Rasenberger said essentially prevent their books from being buried on the site. Small and independent publishers, which have fewer resources and bargaining power, have been particularly hard hit. Book publishing companies are passing these losses along to writers in the form of lower royalties and advances, and authors also lose out on income from books resold on the platform. In some ways, these changes are in line with a general shift toward a gig economy or hustling, in which people juggle an assortment of jobs to make up for the lack of a stable income. But the writing industry as a whole has always eluded standardisation in pay. In a conversation with Manjula Martin in the book Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living, edited by Martin, Cheryl Strayed said, Theres no other job in the world where you get your masters degree in that field and youre like, Well, I might make zero or I might make $5 million! In a recent call, Martin said the people who are able to practice the trade of authoring are people who have other sources of income, adding that this creates barriers of entry and limits the types of stories that reach a wide audience. There is also, she added, a devaluation of writing in which it is often viewed as a hobby as opposed to a valuable vocation. Everyone thinks they can write, because everybody writes, said Rasenberger, referring to the proliferation of casual texting, emailing and tweeting. But she distinguishes these from professional writers who have been working on their craft and art of writing for years. What a professional writer can convey in written word is far superior to what the rest of us can do, Rasenberger said. As a society we need that, because its a way to crystallise ideas, make us see things in a new way and create understanding of who we are as a people, where we are today and where were going. @New York Times News Service | https://bdnews24.com/world/2019/01/12/does-it-pay-to-be-a-writer |
Is Donald Trumps ARIA an overture to greater harmony in the Indo-Pacific region? | On the very last day of 2018, US President Donald Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), which according to the White House establishes a multifaceted strategy to increase US security, economic interests and values in the Indo-Pacific region. The act represents an attempt by the US Congress to exercise a degree of oversight over the White Houses implementation of the Asia policy that is articulated in the 2017 National Security Strategy and the 2018 National Defence Strategy documents. It also puts money where the United States mouth has long been by authorising the appropriation of US$1.5 billion a year for a range of programmes in East and Southeast Asia. In doing so, it acts as ballast for the United States self-professed Indo-Pacific strategy, which continues to remain mostly in the realm of rhetoric. The acts appropriations will be a welcome change for US partners and allies in the region, many of whom have watched with disappointment as Congress has cut funding for the Asia Maritime Security Initiative an older capacity-building initiative by about half to US$48.2 million. The primary motivator behind the act is the challenge perceived in the US Congress on both sides of the aisle of dealing with Chinas rise. The activities it encourages and the reporting it requires from the executive branch speak to those objectives. But it also focuses on other issues, including human rights, terrorism especially in Southeast Asia and nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula, requiring the president to certify to Congress in writing a justification for any kind of sanctions relief granted to Pyongyang. The act recognises the hierarchies of networked relationships that the US maintains in Asia, which encompass first of all treaty allies like Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. These relationships are then followed by those with strategic partners like India, and security partners like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The new act takes a particular interest in Taiwan and has been welcomed on the island as a renewed show of US congressional commitment. Trumps signing of the bill presaged Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Chinese President Xi Jinpings respective New Year statements on the cross-strait situation, underlining the continued rise in tensions between Taipei and Beijing since Tsais 2016 election win. Building on the Taiwan Relations Act, the ARIA calls for the US president to support the transfer of defence articles to Taiwan and promote high-level official visits, which were also encouraged by the Taiwan Travel Act. If it does fall short, it may be in being a little behind the times on the current geographic understanding of the Indo-Pacific in the United States. Broadly, the term encompasses the entire area of responsibility that falls to US Indo-Pacific Command (formerly the Pacific Command), which covers the Pacific Ocean all the way to the westernmost tip of India. The ARIA welcomes a continued close relationship with India, but does not measurably move the needle or initiate notable new projects with the United States largest democratic partner. In a sign of what may be to come, the US navy conducted its first freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea in the Paracel Islands just days after Trump signed the new act into law. The bill also calls on the US president to develop a diplomatic strategy that includes working with United States allies and partners to conduct joint maritime training and freedom of navigation operations in the Indo-Pacific region, including the East China Sea and the South China Sea, in support of a rules-based international system benefiting all countries. In the broader picture of growing US-China confrontation, the ARIA should primarily be seen as a bipartisan show of support for a more engaged US in Asia and a statement of concern about Chinas rise. In the end, it is a sign of the times and a recognition that the Trump National Security Strategys open assertion of a great power competition between the US and China is shared by lawmakers Democrat and Republican alike. | https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2181807/donald-trumps-aria-overture-greater-harmony-indo-pacific-region |
Is the Moto slate too little too late? | Motorola has had a leak of yet another handset, with a tablet-like phone full of all kinds of interesting features. Engadget has managed to nab some pics of the new device from an anonymous tipster, with a 5MP camera with Kodak branding and a Xenon flash as well as the full touchscreen (which looks roughly 3.2-inches in size) making for an interesting new Moto effort. Nod to 3.5G There's not a lot of other information on the new touchscreen phone, apart from a TV-out port and the clear nod to data hinting at a 3.5G connection. However, while a new touchscreen device is always exciting to look at write about, Engadget points out that it's unlikely to sport either Android or Windows Phone (which we'd like changed to Wi-Pho) thanks to the lack of necessary buttons. Which means a proprietary OS once more, and after seeing other Motorola touch screen efforts (i.e. the Moto Surf) we're not exactly hopeful that this will light up the palms of mobile phone owners (figuratively, not actually obviously). Sprung a leak After the leak of multiple Moto handsets recently, we've already been treated to most, if not all, of the big new phones we'll be seeing from the ailing manufacturer, and they hardly set the pulse of the internet racing. Had Motorola brought out a touchscreen phone within months of the iPhone, and thrown the weight of its then-extensive R&D department behind it, then we could have seen a real renaissance for the brand. But even if this is a great touchscreen phone, it will probably just get lost in the noise these days, as Motorola didn't even bring any new handsets to Mobile World Congress, which saw the launch of a great many decent new phones. Via Engadget | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/is-the-moto-slate-too-little-too-late-536619 |
What time is EastEnders on tonight as it airs two episodes? | Tiffany Butcher, played by Maisie Smith, might find herself in some hot water twice tonight. (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron) EastEnders fans are in for a treat tonight, as we prepare for not one, but two episodes as the drugs drama between Evie Steele and Tiffany Butcher comes to a head. Evie (played by Sophia Capasso) told Tiffany (Maisie Smith) that she was not allowed to go with young Rat (Kai OLoughlin) while he runs drugs for her. However Tiffany defies Evie and goes with Rat anyway. Now Evie, who has the rather unpleasant history of torturing drug addicts when she doesnt get her way, knows all about Tiffanys disobedience. Theres a double episode on tonight, owing to football taking the place of Mondays episode. In it, well see Tiffany as she heads out on the job with Rat and trusty Bernadette is about to take some substantial risks herself as she does her best to keep her bestie out of trouble. Youll have to tune in to find out. Youll be able to catch these episodes tonight (Friday 11 January) at 8pm and 9pm on BBC One, with an episode of Celebrity Mastermind in-between. Both episodes will be available to stream online on BBC iPlayer shortly after they broadcast so you dont have to worry about missing any of the drama. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/11/what-time-is-eastenders-on-tonight-as-it-airs-two-episodes-focusing-on-evie-and-tiffany-drama-8334351/ |
Why did Nick steal Audreys money in Coronation Street and what happens next? | Nick Tilsley has been revealed as the culprit behind Audreys stolen money in Coronation Street (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock) Nick Tilsley has proven himself to be Weatherfields answer to Judas, having stolen his gran Audrey Roberts 80,000 and letting her believe it was her late boyfriend Lewis Archers doing. Audrey was left the sizeable amount which she was planning on using as her pension and treating her family by her old friend Archie Shuttleworth in his will. However, her world was turned upside down when she found boyfriend Lewis dead on her bedroom floor, after suffering a heart attack. She then discovered her bank account had been cleared out and every penny of her 80k had gone, with uncovered CCTV footage showing a woman leaving a cash point with it. (Picture: ITV) It soon transpired Audrey had put all of her internet banking passwords and card pin numbers in her diary, which she kept in her handbag, meaning someone shed had close contact with was the likely culprit. Advertisement Advertisement All fingers immediately pointed at Lewis, although Audrey initially refused to believe it. However, she then remembered that Lewis had urged her to set up online banking and had helped her, leaving Audrey reluctantly believing he was to blame. When Audrey, who by this point has washed her hands off Lewis memory, discovers Claudia stumped up the cash for his funeral, she immediately turns on her former hairdressing pal, accusing her of being in on the scam too. But then, viewers saw the truth. Nick looks at the 80,000 he has stuffed in his gym bag every last penny of it stolen from his gran (Picture: ITV) Nick had been seen wandering around the cobbles with a flashy new holdall bag, which he claimed was his gym bag. But then, when he arrived home, he was seen opening it. Surprise, surprise, inside the bag was Audreys missing 80,000. So not only has he stolen from his own gran, hes ruined her memory of the man she would have married. It turns out Lewis was a changed man, after all. Nick returned to the cobbles in October last year, immediately making a splash by buying half of the factory from Peter Barlow. However, it then emerged he had a secret wife and hed borrowed the 40,000 he bought the factor with from their joint account. Only, it turns out, that was her inheritance from her dad and she wants it back. Advertisement Advertisement Facing a divorce and losing his half of the factory to pay his ex Elsa off, Nick was panicking about where on earth he was going to find the money. And then his gran came into 80k and bingo his plan was hatched. Coronation Street continues tonight on ITV1 at 7,30pm and 8.30pm. MORE: 25 soap spoilers: Coronation Street knife attack, Emmerdale Joe Tate shock, EastEnders illness, Hollyoaks collapse MORE: Coronation Street spoilers: Duncan Radfield in nasty hit and run as Tim Metcalfe tries to get a confession | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/11/why-did-nick-steal-audreys-money-in-coronation-street-and-what-happens-next-8334496/ |
Did Marko Arnautovic wave goodbye to West Ham during Arsenal win? | Marko Arnautovic was named in the starting line-up for West Hams Premier League clash with Arsenal just days after his brother claimed the Austria international wanted to leave the London Stadium. Marko Arnautovic was named in the starting line-up for West Hams Premier League clash with Arsenal just days after his brother claimed the Austria international wanted to leave the London Stadium. While a January move to the Chinese Super League could still materialise, Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini kept faith in the forward as the hosts beat Unai Emerys side 1-0. Here, Press Association Sport takes a close look at Arnautovics performance. Reception Marko Arnautovic was taken off in the second half (Yui Mok/PA) Arnautovics name was cheered when the team was announced ahead of kick-off and there seemed little animosity towards the former Stoke player. His first few contributions were also heartily applauded by the home support, even if they were simple flick-ons or easy passes to a team-mate. There were chants of Marko Arnautovic from the West Ham fans during the second half and he was given a standing ovation from all corners of the stadium when he was replaced by Andy Carroll with 20 minutes remaining and he responded by waving to the supporters as he departed. Goal threat It was a largely frustrating afternoon in front of goal for the Austria international (Yui Mok/PA) Always a thorn in the side of any defence, Arnautovic was switched on from the get-go and saw a shot bravely blocked just before the half-hour mark. He played a key part in West Hams best chance of the first half, beating the offside trap before controlling the ball and slipping in Samir Nasri, with the former Arsenal midfielder teeing up Felipe Anderson, who arrowed a shot just wide. He had no real clear-cut chances to add to his eight goals this season but, if he was to leave, his prowess in front of goal would be a huge loss for West Ham. Work ethic Arnautovic was substituted by manager Manuel Pellegrini with 19 minutes remaining (Yui Mok/PA) As he so often does, Arnautovic ran his socks off for his side as he operated as a loan striker against three central defenders in the first half and then against a back four when Arsenal changed shape before the hour. He put in a shift before coming off as Carroll was introduced on an afternoon where, on the field at least, he was on the periphery of things. Conclusion In response to the statement from the brother and agent of Marko Arnautovic this afternoon, the Club has issued the following: pic.twitter.com/6A2p3glFhg West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) January 10, 2019 Given his quality and importance to the cause, Arnautovic was always likely to start against Arsenal even with such a question mark hanging over his immediate future. The reaction of the West Ham fans a large majority of which turned on Dimitri Payet when he was in a similar situation two years ago also shows he would still be a firm favourite here if his move did not come off. Whether supporters should read too much into his waves as he left the pitch in the 71st minute remains to be seen but there was no ill-will around the stadium on Saturday. Press Association | https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/did-marko-arnautovic-wave-goodbye-to-west-ham-during-arsenal-win-37704758.html |
Do people not know how to cook any more? | Open this photo in gallery istock Years ago, while teaching a baking class, I looked across the room to witness an eager new baker in the back, his arm deep in a bowl of wet chocolate-cake batter, blending it with fervent enthusiasm. The recipe says to stir it by hand, he replied to my offer of a spatula, clearly anxious to accurately follow instructions. Of course, anyone attending a cooking class is there to learn, and often my presence makes them pay even closer attention to the detail of a recipe Ive set out for them to follow. And yet, while a big part of my job is writing recipes, I cant help but feel that prescribing a list of detailed instructions and precise measurements can actually hinder the development of culinary intuition. A cake or curry is not an IKEA bookshelf; there are no precut pieces with one set of directions from which the merest diversion would result in disaster. Great food is not always the result of a prescribed formula; experienced cooks we all seem to have some in our families turn out enviably perfect pies and biryanis by feel, adding salt and spice without the aid of a measuring spoon and just enough liquid to make the dough feel right. A recipe writer may decide that precisely two teaspoons of thyme yields the right flavour for her or his half-dozen chicken thighs, but ingredients vary and taste is subjective. Yes, measurements can act as a guide and are arguably more important when it comes to baking ratios but always specifying a precise measure can teach the cook that success relies on repetitive meticulousness. Story continues below advertisement There was little precision in the kitchen before the arrival of standard measures; literal teacups and teaspoons were often enlisted as the similarly sized instruments most likely to be in most kitchens (old recipes often call for butter the size of an egg), and its believed that the Boston Cooking School Cook Book, published in 1896 by Fannie Merritt Farmer (and later republished as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook), was the first to utilize standardized measurers. Soon after, it was decided across much of the Western world that cooking should be part of school curriculums, which meant it was necessary to establish a consistent format of step-by-step instruction, with an ingredient list for the instructor and students easy reference. Directions remained succinct enough to fit more than one recipe on a page, far from the exhaustive step-by-steps with detailed doneness indicators we are hand-held with today. Even up until the seventies and eighties, a basic cooking knowledge was assumed in the original Best of Bridge series, which sold millions of self-published copies to Canadian home cooks, instructions were blunt: cook the pasta, brown the meat in a skillet, or bake until bubbly. Yet today, as Tasty-style cooking videos dominate Facebook and we carry access to every recipe that has ever been published plus unlimited culinary resources in our back pockets, when I share simple processes on social media boil new potatoes, squish them with a fork, drizzle with oil and roast at 425 F until golden people inevitably reply, This sounds great! Wheres the recipe? I try to comply, but not everyone needs the same quantity of roasted smashed potatoes at any given time. We dont all have the same taste for spice and salt, and there are no standard-issue baking dishes. Some of us have a bottle of canola oil beside the stove, some keep olive oil, others a tub of ghee. Kitchens come loaded with variables the material your pots, pans and baking dishes are made of, the accuracy of your oven and whether its gas or electric, traditional or convection, the way you mix, fold and saut, where your flour was milled and how you measured it, the size of the scoops of cookie dough you portioned out onto your sheet, even the temperature of your kitchen. Cookbook authors can test and retest in the name of reliability and accuracy, and write recipes with ultraprecise measurements and temperatures, but in the end, there will be variables we can never account for. Season to taste takes our diversity into account, but also relies on the cooks ability to adjust seasonings salt, spice, acid as needed. It relies on some level of innate cooking knowledge. Its likely that this century-old, if wordier, composition of a recipe an ingredient list followed by step by step instructions is so ingrained in our cultural psyche, there will never be a new standard. Recipes themselves are refreshingly analog; only their delivery method seems to evolve, moving online, transmitted digitally, often in spurts on Instagram stories. If you can follow a recipe, you can cook is a common mantra, but perhaps we need to let them go once in a while, and attempt to hone our culinary instincts at the stove, with a pot and spoon, without an iPhone or guidebook. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-do-people-not-know-how-to-cook-any-more/ |
What happened to the vision of the ANC's founding fathers? | Dr Pixley ka Seme, a founder of the South African National Native Congress, was Mangosuthu Buthelezis uncle. On December 5, 2013, the day Mandela died, a prized door closed forever to aspiring students of politics from the great universities of the world. Academics from Harvard, Uppsala, Cambridge and Cairo mourned the loss of a cherished opportunity: the chance to interview a maker of history. From that moment on, they would have to make do with historical records, transcripts of interviews, published articles, books and old letters. There is a vast treasure trove of documentation on the life of Mandela and the times in which he lived. But any academic will tell you that a one-on-one interview is the Holy Grail of research. Even if one has pored over every resource with a meticulously fine-toothed comb, there is always the hope that, in person, in a face-to-face meeting, the person who lived these experiences will tell you something they have never told anyone. And even if the interview covers only well-documented ground, nothing compares to hearing it first-hand, listening to the cadence and inflections of the original story. So it is that when researchers and academics unravel the story of Africas oldest liberation movement, the African National Congress, they invariably make contact with my office. The answer is simple. Im an original resource. Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, the founder of the South African National Native Congress, was my uncle. He convened black South Africans of all ethnicities in Bloemfontein on January 8, 1912 - 107 years ago - where they declared their intention to stand together for dignity, equality and freedom. I didnt just hear about my uncle from other relatives. He was part of my everyday life as I was growing up. He was married to my aunt, Princess Phikisile Harriet kaDinuzulu, my mothers sister. In the late 1940s, the Semes built a homestead in the Mahashini area. I was doing matric at Adams College and Dr Seme frequently sent for me to come to his house. He had undergone an eye operation and was struggling to keep up with his political correspondence. So he would send for me and I would sit at his desk, taking dictation. He signed each transcribed letter himself, before moving on to the next one. So it was in Dr Semes study, listening to his voice, that I became familiar with the figures and intricacies of our liberation struggle. I became privy to the personalities and speaking styles of the great leaders who now populate history books. I read their personal letters to the founder of the ANC and wrote down his responses, instructions and ideas. It was a formative time in my political life. But it also taught me the values of a good work ethic. It taught me a life-long lesson to respond to every letter and email I receive, because everyone deserves the dignity of a response. It taught me to listen carefully, hearing what is said rather than what I think is being said. It taught me how to disagree without being disagreeable; how to persuade rather than bully; and how to maintain the integrity of an opponent while exposing the flaws in their thinking. All these years later, as I sit in Parliament, I often wonder where these standards of political discourse have gone. On the 107th anniversary of the ANC, many will ponder how different the organisation is from the original liberation movement; how corruption has eaten away at the core, undermining the strong foundations of the past; how present leaders are so different from the men and women of integrity who built the name of the ANC. Many will ponder the moment of divergence. There is no question that todays ANC is a very different animal to the organisation I joined at the University of Fort Hare. It is different to the organisation led by my mentor, Inkosi Albert Luthuli, with whom I spent long hours in conversation about politics, faith and justice. It is different even from the liberation movement that became a governing party under the leadership of Nelson Mandela. Todays ANC is divided. It is split into factions, some supporting an ousted leader. It is struggling under the weight of abuses of power that are bleeding into the public spotlight. And it is following the lamented path of its sub-Saharan neighbour while insisting that this is different, this is radical economic transformation. Of course I worry about my country. I have fears for a future that I myself will never experience. But my children and grandchildren, and all the people I have served for almost 70 years will have to navigate that future. For you, I have sleepless nights. I have done all I can, and I will keep doing more than my fair share even in the twilight of my life, because the future we were building all those years ago must not be lost. We dare not forfeit the gains won by that generation. I am proud to serve alongside this generation of leaders in the IFP as we press on towards the prize of social and economic justice. Not economic disaster, but economic empowerment. Not social division, but social cohesion. What we want for our country is what the founding fathers of our liberation movement wanted for South Africa. It hasnt been achieved by the party that evolved from the 1912 foundations. But it will be pursued, relentlessly, by those who remember the beginning. I was moulded by the founding father of our liberation movement. I still carry the original vision, believing it can be achieved. I know I am not alone. There are thousands upon thousands of IFP members who share my vision. And there are millions more in our beloved country who are yet to find a home in the party that speaks their language. Ours is the language of peace and justice. Its the language of hope. * Buthelezi is the president of the Inkatha Freedom Party. ** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media. | https://www.iol.co.za/ios/opinion/what-happened-to-the-vision-of-the-ancs-founding-fathers-18793571 |
What was Theresa May's biggest Brexit mistake? | Credit: PA Before the big vote on Tuesday night, the EU's 27 government heads will provide greater reassurances - probably in the form of a collective letter to Theresa May, and within the mandate confirmed at the last EU Council - that the controversial Northern Ireland backstop will not and cannot be forever. Well for those MPs agonising about whether or not to support the PM's Brexit plan, and who think the word of political leaders counts for something, a few votes may move in Theresa May's direction. And maybe, in the words of one senior British minister, May will be able to frame the letter as being both "substantive" and "legally" significant. But it will not sway the vast majority of her critics, because the so-called Withdrawal Agreement will not be re-opened - and whatever the letter's legal force it could not trump the international treaty that is the Withdrawal Agreement, so there will be no legally binding guarantee that the backstop will fall away by any specified date. That means the PM still loses on Tuesday night, but possibly by fewer votes than would otherwise have been the case. These last minute manoeuvrings highlight May's single most important strategic mistake: her failure to construct a majority in parliament for a vision of the UK's future relationship with the EU. If we knew what kind of commercial and security relationship we would ultimately have with the EU, the backstop would not be the problem it is: there would be widespread confidence on both sides of the channel that if the backstop were used at all, it would be of desperately short duration, for the simple reason that there would be a high degree of certainty about post-Brexit negotiations to put in place alternative trading arrangements that would make the backstop wholly redundant. But as a senior official from an EU government says, "given principles and red lines on both sides, it is difficult to see what future relationship we could ever agree on". That is why it is NOT barking mad to suggest that the backstop could stay in force till after we're all pushing up the daisies. If only May had spent more - or any - time negotiating with MPs from all parties to establish a consensus on an acceptable post-Brexit relationship with the EU, she would stand a decent chance of winning the notorious meaningful vote. But Jeremy Corbyn's vision of a post-Brexit relationship with the EU is a million miles from that of many of his own MPs and from that of Remainer Tory MPs and even further away from that of Brexiter Tory MPs. The only thing that unites most of them is their contempt for the backstop. Which is why I cannot find any minister who thinks there is any way she can win on Tuesday - and most expect her to lose big. Well the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt is probably correct that Parliament would find a way to block a no-deal Brexit, such that the choice for MPs will boil down to what he calls "a version" of her Brexit deal, or no Brexit at all (via a referendum). Credit: PA | https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-12/what-was-theresa-mays-biggest-brexit-mistake/ |
Does the IPCC say we have until 2030 to avoid catastrophic global warming? | From Patrick T. Brown, PhDs blog Posted on January 4, 2019 by ptbrown31 In late 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the impacts associated with global warming of 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels (as of 2019 we are at about 1.0C above pre-industrial levels) as well as the technical feasibility of limiting global warming to such a level. The media coverage of the report immediately produced a meme that continues to persist. The meme is some kind of variation of the following: The IPCC concluded that we have until 2030 (or 12 years) to avoid catastrophic global warming Below is a sampling of headlines from coverage that propagated this meme. However, these headlines are essentially purveying a myth. I think it is necessary to push back against this meme for two main reasons: 1) It is false. 2) I believe that spreading this messaging will ultimately undermine the credibility of the IPCC and climate science more generally. Taking these two points in turn: 1) The IPCC did not conclude that society has until 2030 to avoid catastrophic global warming. First of all, the word catastrophic does not appear in the IPCC report. This is because the report was not tasked with defining a level of global warming which might be considered to be catastrophic (or any other alarming adjective). Rather, the report was tasked with evaluating the impacts of global warming of 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels, and comparing these to the impacts associated with 2.0C (3.6F) above preindustrial levels as well as evaluating the changes to global energy systems that would be necessary in order to limit global warming to 1.5C. In the report, the UN has taken the strategy of defining temperature targets and then evaluating the impacts at these targets rather than asking what temperature level might be considered to be catastrophic. This is presumably because the definition of a catastrophe will inevitably vary from country to country and person to person, and there is not robust evidence that there is some kind of universal temperature threshold where a wide range of impacts suddenly become greatly magnified. Instead, impacts seem to be on a continuum where they simply get worse with more warming. The full IPCC report constituted an exhaustive literature review but the main conclusions were boiled down in the relatively concise summary for policymakers. There were six high-level impact-related conclusions: So to summarize the summary, the IPCCs literature review found that impacts of global warming at 2.0C are worse than at 1.5C. The differences in tone between the conclusions of the actual report and the media headlines highlighted above are rather remarkable. Again, this would depend entirely on the definition of the word catastrophic. If one defines catastrophic as a substantial decline in the extent of artic sea ice, then global warming was already catastrophic a couple decades ago. If global warming intensified a wild fire to the extent that it engulfed your home (whereas it would not have without global warming) then global warming has already been catastrophic for you. However, I do not believe that changes in arctic sea ice extent and marginal changes in damages from forest fires (or droughts, floods etc.) are what most people envision when they think of the word catastrophic in this context. I believe that the imagery evoked in most peoples minds is much more at the scale of a global apocalyptic event. Will there be enough of the world left to implement this in a way that could be effective? -Michael Barbaro, New York Times, The Daily, 10/19/2018 It is also articulated in a tweet from prominent climate science communicator Eric Holthaus: If catastrophe is defined as global-scale devastation to human society then I do not see how it could be possible to read the IPCC report and interpret it as predicting catastrophe at 1.5C or 2C of warming. It simply makes no projections approaching such a level of alarm. Read the full post here. HT/Steven Mosher Advertisements Share this: Print Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit Google | https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/01/12/does-the-ipcc-say-we-have-until-2030-to-avoid-catastrophic-global-warming/ |
Why did Dipika Kakar skip the special screening of Sreesanths Cabaret? | MUMBAI: Sreesanth is the first runner-up of Bigg Boss 12, and post his stint, he has gained a lot of popularity and fan following. Now, the former cricketer is seen on another reality show: Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi. He will also be seen in the movie Cabaret, which will stream on Zee5 and is helmed by Pooja Bhatt. Sreesanth recently kept a special screening for his entire gang of friends and family, including his Bigg Boss co-contestants. What was surprising was that Sreesanths sister Dipika wasnt present for the screening. One of the main reasons for this was because she is busy promoting her husband Shoaibs debut movie Battalion 609. Sreesanth shared a lovely video where you can see everyone talking about the movie. | http://www.tellychakkar.com/tv/tv-news/why-did-dipika-kakar-skip-the-special-screening-of-sreesanth-s-cabaret-190112 |
What does the NFL playoff bracket look like? | There are only seven games left to play in the NFL season and were just a few weeks away from Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. The playoffs continue this weekend with divisional round games, and the Super Bowl favorites from each conference will return to the field after a first-round bye. Heres a quick look at the playoff bracket entering this weekend: NFC: The remaining team with the best seed will host the NFC Championship game on Sunday, January 20th, at 3:05 p.m. ET on FOX. AFC: The remaining team with the best seed will host the AFC Championship game on Sunday, January 20th, at 6:40 p.m. ET on CBS. The Super Bowl, on Sunday, February 3rd, will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS. | https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/01/what-does-the-nfl-playoff-bracket-look-like |
Can artificial intelligence ever keep up with the complicated world of human emotions? | In the early 1990s, Lisa Feldman Barrett had a problem. She was running an experiment to investigate how emotions affect self-perception, but her results seemed to be consistently wrong. Eight times in a row, in fact. She was studying for a PhD in the psychology of the self at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As part of her research, she tested some of the textbook assumptions that she had been taught, including the assumption that people feel anxiety or depression when, despite living up to their own expectations, they do not live up to the expectations of others. But after designing and running her experiment, she discovered that her test subjects werent distinguishing between anxiety and depression. They werent differentiating between fear and sadness, either. According to the model that dominated emotion science at the time, there were six distinct basic emotions fear, sadness, anger, happiness, surprise, and disgust and everyone in the world was able to not only experience them, but distinguish clearly between them. This had been conclusively demonstrated 20 years before by Paul Ekman, the psychologist who had traversed the world and found seemingly concrete evidence that everyone, everywhere, felt those six emotions, and that they were reflected in universal, and distinct, facial expressions. For Barrett, it didnt make sense that her test subjects were experiencing emotions in a way that didnt fit this model. She wondered if perhaps these people were making mistakes; if only she could find out which people were getting their emotions right and which were getting them wrong, she could teach the mistaken participants how to better understand their own selves. She even blamed herself for developing a faulty experiment, and thought about becoming a clinical psychiatrist leaving the research to people who could get the proper results. But she became sure that she hadnt made an error. And the more she looked through her data, the more she realised that it wasnt her mistake it was Ekmans. The six universal emotions didnt exist. She soon found other studies conducted in the lab as well as out in the field that also indicated Ekmans model was wrong. This isnt just an academic exercise. Its central to the question of whether well ever build an artificial intelligence that experiences emotions just like we do. And part of the solution depends exactly on whose experiences youre talking about. One size doesnt fit all One example of just how our model of emotions has changed thanks to Barretts work can be seen in a new game, The Vault. The game is a time-traveling puzzle, in which the player wanders through different historical scenarios and solves challenges in order to progress and the solutions come from understanding how certain emotions were experienced in each sections period of history. (Full disclosure: The Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, which co-developed the game, is where I work.) The games premise is that emotions are not static or universal, but instead change over time. It tries to immerse the player in unusual, unfamiliar sets of feelings like acedia, caused by a disconnection with God or the universe. Theres also another low feeling, melancholia, which is marked by sensations of the body being filled with a horrible black bile, and involves an experience of bodily distortion, such as believing ones legs are made of glass. For me, the interesting thing about this game is that no matter how well I learn to understand past emotions, Im not sure Ill ever be able to really feel these emotions in the same intuitive way that people did in the past. This doesnt just apply to historical emotions, either. Ekman may have documented hundreds of facial expressions from different cultures around the world, but his six basic emotions (inspired by the work of Charles Darwin) came from a small set of American faces, which Ekman then imposed as a framework over the expressions seen elsewhere in the rest of the world. Theres a bias embedded here. In the 17th century, the standardisation of many European languages was often shaped by the arbitrary choices of book printers, who picked one way of spelling a word over another this, in turn, shaped cultural expression. Emotion science faces the same problem. Choosing localised emotional variants as if theyre going to be the same for thousands of people, or even millions, opens the way to a self-fulfilling standardisation of emotions, rather than to the understanding and appreciation of what we already have. Psychologists have this kind of problem all the time with the WEIRDs. That term refers to white, educated people from industrialised, rich, democratic countries in other words, the typical North American or European undergraduate studying psychology, who also happens to be the typical volunteer for a psychological study. This research bias undermines any quest for universal human traits from the start, and the same cultural blind spots are notorious in the tech industry. One of the architects of The Vault, Thomas Dixon a historian of emotions who pretty much wrote the standard text on the subject told me that, just as each culture (and each individual) [has] their own different repertoire of feelings, there should be no reason why an AI machine should not be able to learn those patterns. However, Barrett also argues that faces, voices, and behaviours associated with emotions could well change not only from culture to culture but subtly from person to person. We could take a huge liberty here, and assume that eventually AI could be programmed free of these cultural biases but with the benefit of years more research, Barrett has concluded that emotions are much more complicated than faces and voices. She, along with James Russell, helped develop a more nuanced system than Ekmans, the psychological construction of emotions model. It posits that emotions happen when the brain takes a number of factors internal feelings, whats going on in the outside world, what individuals have learned throughout their lives from family and culture, and so on and constructs an emotion by processing all of those psychological components simultaneously in parallel. Similarly, the brain recognises emotions in other people by observing both others bodily or facial movements and the contexts in which people make those gestures. When it comes to the question of whether any AI can ever experience emotions, its that factor understanding all of these broader cultural contexts that proves the undoing of the machines. Even humans struggle at figuring this kind of thing out. If we want to put emotion-detecting AI in self-driving cars that can take control from a human and pull over when they detect road rage, my celebratory fist pump (not that my team scores that often) could mean I end up spending time stuck on the side of the street getting angrier and angrier at my annoyingly intelligent car. Context is key To avoid roads jammed with furious drivers, the ability of emotion-processing AI to understand context is essential and context requires knowing something emotion scientists call value. This is the meaning that we construct about the world around us. If you see me pumping my fist, my value to you depends on whether you thought I was violent (in which case my value is as a threat); whether you knew of my fabled physical cowardice (in which case my value to you is as a joke); whether you were watching the game with me and supported the same team (in which case my value to you is as a friend) or a different team (in which case my value to you is, possibly, as an enemy). But understanding value isnt as easy as building a database of all these different factors. We dont construct databases of memory and emotion, either. As Barrett explained, Brains dont work like a file system. Memories are dynamically constructed in the moment, and brains have an amazing capacity to combine bits and pieces of the past in novel ways. Our brains seem to use disparate feelings and memories to build a framework of categories for understanding context; these categories are then filtered and distorted in ways that help us react appropriately to new experiences. This is one of the key reasons why eyewitness testimony is often unreliable in court, and cross-examination is an essential part of the legal process. For a machine to understand the emotions Im feeling during my fist pump, it needs to contextualise all of this: memories of fist pumps and scowling faces; memories of what a car is; memories of different sports; reactions to sports; memories of how rarely my team scores; how I feel about my team; an analysis of my driving; an understanding that those are tears of joy, not sorrow (or anger); and so on. An emotion. Machines may remember things perfectly, but the human emotional process only works because its so fuzzy it makes cognitive dissonance possible. A machine might have to think that a scowl and a fist is a threat but simultaneously know that Im not a violent person. The brain can do this with hundreds of bits of conflicting data, and we usually end up able to handle new contexts that might seem logically impossible to an AI. My car might not just pull over it could shut down completely in the middle of the highway. Then Id be really angry. The idea that human memories arent simply recording devices but are a categorical system that helps us thrive and survive is known as dynamic categorisation. Its a model thats now taken as a given within the field of psychology, and researchers in other nonscientific fields, such as history, also use it. Thus, forcing an AI to access memories chosen for it would still impose a narrow set of WEIRD-like values onto this hypothetical feeling machine, but developing an AI that can create its own humanlike memories and values as it learns would avoid this pitfall. However, as far Im aware, there dont appear to be AI or computer systems in development that use dynamic categorisation when thinking about memory, let alone emotion detection. Lets say we solve the two major problems Ive raised. Our AI can recognise faces, voices, and behaviour, and it uses dynamic categorisation to store and recall information. What weve built is a machine that only recognises emotions. Its a metal psychopath it cant empathise with me. I, for one, dont like the idea of being driven around by one of those machines. Our final step in building a feeling machine is to introduce feelings. The ability to understand the value of the world around an organism did not evolve separately from the senses that let us know about the world around that organism. Without feelings of revulsion caused by smell and taste, we all would have died from eating rotten food long ago. Without hunger, wed starve. Without desire, we wouldnt reproduce. Without panic, we might run toward the saber-toothed tigers, not away from them. And, just as the model of the five traditional senses is nowhere near comprehensive in terms of the sense abilities that humans actually have, we also have a wide and diverse range of internal feelings, known in psychology as affects. Affects arent emotions, but rather judgments of value that create pleasant or unpleasant sensations in the body, either making us excited or calming us down. Affects help us to evaluate context, telling us whether its a dog to trust (and domesticate) or a tiger to flee. To feel affects, our AI needs one more thing: a body. Affects cant exist without one. As Barrett has argued, A disembodied brain has no bodily systems to balance, it has no bodily sensations to make sense of. A disembodied brain would not experience emotion. A feeling machines body doesnt have to be a Blade Runner-style flesh-and-blood replica of a human. It could be a virtual body, built entirely from lines of code. Unfortunately, most AI developers who imbue their creations with an understanding of emotions even those who connect their creation to a body of some kind are building machines that, at best, react in simple ways to basic stimuli like sight, sound, and pressure. More, much more, is needed to truly create a feeling machine. That said, building such an AI would be an effective way to figure out what that much more is. Right now, we have only a few clunky options to test our ideas about emotion on humans: we can get people to take a survey; we can put them in loud, claustrophobia-inducing metal tubes and ask them to feel emotions as they would naturally; or we can study the effects of physical alterations of the brain, whether due to an accident or as a side effect of surgery. When it comes to seeing emotions directly, were still fumbling in the dark. A feeling machine could turn on the light. Ethics lessons We can imagine that weve cracked it. Weve done the experiments and weve created a machine that can experience affects, read context, and understand value and all those abilities have been synced up perfectly in order to construct emotions. Plus, weve managed not to imbue our creation with our own cultural biases. We have an emotional, feeling machine. Theres one final issue. Creating a machine that experiences emotions doesnt tell us if we have a machine that feels emotions in the same way we do. Lets go back to that example of the self-driving, road rage-detecting car. Sure, it might understand why Im scowling and raising my fist, and may empathize with me it understands the value of my gesture. But what weve got here is just a kind of clockwork approximation of something that feels empathy, and we still dont fully understand how all the gears mesh together to feel an emotion. For all we know, that ability to feel may still prove impossible to artificially induce. Perhaps that doesnt matter. ), really feel emotions in the way that I do. I cant climb inside your brain. The distinction between an AI that only appears terrified of death and an AI that is genuinely afraid is an important one if we ever have to turn the machine off. The philosopher Chidi Anagonye, a character on the sitcom The Good Place, faced just this dilemma. Play Ultimately, whether or not we produce machines with emotions may depend not on the skills of scientists but on the ethical objections of ordinary people. I have few suggestions on this front but if I were contemplating a career in philosophy right now, Id be thinking about making my central field the ethics of emotion AI. Theres much to be done. This article first appeared on Mediums How We Get To Next and is the second in a two-part story on emotion science and artificial intelligence. | https://scroll.in/article/904631/can-artificial-intelligence-ever-keep-up-with-the-complicated-world-of-human-emotions |
Will Rajinikanth Come To Bengaluru To Meet Fans Following Pettas Success In Karnataka? | Audience Is Loving The Film! While taking to Times of India, distributor Jack Manju said, "The audience is completely enjoying the film. They love the 80s and 90s avatar donned by Rajinikanth. I personally went to a screening and saw that the audience comprised of people in the ages of 15 and 70 years,". Answering this question Manju said, "I am also heading to a meeting to figure out if Rajinikanth will be dubbing for the Kannada version. We are hoping that he will visit Karnataka to promote the film." Petta To Be Dubbed In Kannada Since Rajinikanth is from Karnataka, he can speak in Kannada. It would be pretty exciting to hear Thalaiva himself dub the dialogues for the Kannada version of Petta. The superstar has previously acted in several Kannada movies including Sahodarara Savaal, Kiladi Kittu, Katha Sangama and more. Kannada Release Delayed The Kannada version of Petta's release has been delayed by two weeks. Apparently, Rajinikanth has just returned from abroad. So it's going to take some time until he dubs the film in Kannada. Kannadiga fans might have to wait a tad bit longer to see the superstar rule in their language too! | https://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/news/2019/following-petta-success-in-karnataka-will-rajanikanth-come-to-bengaluru-to-meet-fans-281450.html?utm_source=/rss/filmibeat-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.50.225.204&utm_campaign=client-rss |
What's The Fuss Around Sonam Kapoor's Anamika Khanna Lehenga? Why It Got Dragged Into Controversy? | A recent Instagram post of Sonam Kapoor has evoked controversies. It all started when Diet Sabya took a potshot at designer Anamika Khanna while sharing a picture of Sonam Kapoor, donning AK's pink lehenga. Thoughts?" Sonam Kapoor defended Anamika Khanna and shared a post in her support. She wrote, "My dear friend @anamikakhanna.in had gone through a terrible illness in the last year. Her beautiful twin sons @viraj_khanna and @thevisheshkhanna banded together and surrounded her gave her comfort and inspiration. The common slang that is used amongst people is A-Ok in America. Viraj and Vishesh who just returned from America after four years in the prestigious university of Southern California, used the same term playfully with their mom when she was down, saying "mom everything is going to be AK-OK" dear Anamiks I'm so glad everything is eventually AK-OK im so so fortunate to be your muse and @rheakapoor and I get to collaborate with you. I hope I never take you for granted. Love you so much! I shed a tear when I wore this outfit because I know it was inspired by your boys and they gave you strength during your lowest." Post this, Diet Sabya took down her post and later, they talked to Hindustan Times about the entire fiasco. "We take our jobs seriously, and more often than not we cross check our references. We've cross checked refs to a point where we've made designers pay artists they've unknowingly ripped off. These are #Facts." "It's just for the better. With this post we felt like the concept was too close for comfort. Having said that, we spoke to the Khanna boys and felt that we need to take this call. This in no way shows that we are weak. This decision was primarily out of empathy." Diet Sabya also posted a message for its followers on its Instagram that reads, "We apologise ONLY to our followers because if feels like we failed you in this crazy debate... Please note that we've taken this action under no influence from any A-list celebrity/celebrities, or their emotional public cry. This decision was taken out of empathy and not intimidation... DS-OK?" | https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/news/2019/what-the-fuss-around-sonam-kapoor-s-anamika-khanna-lehenga-281455.html?utm_source=/rss/filmibeat-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.50.225.204&utm_campaign=client-rss |
Could New Brunswick adopt P.E.I. program that keeps 'frail seniors' at home longer? | Faced with overcrowded hospitals and an aging demographic, health-care professionals on Prince Edward Island devised an award-winning program that helps "frail seniors" stay in their own home for longer. And one of the founders of the Caring for Older Adults in Community and at Home (COACH) Program believes it could work in New Brunswick. "Frail seniors do not do well in hospitals, and our hospital system is not designed to handle frail seniors," said Dr. Tim Stultz, who is also a consulting geriatrician. With the provincial health department keen to improve health-care access for frail seniors seniors with complex health needs the idea for the community-based care program was hatched in partnership with home care, primary care and the provincial geriatric programs. Frail seniors are identified by home care officials or primary care physicians, and a nurse practitioner will visit the patient, perform a geriatric assessment and discuss needs and goals with the patient and their family, Stultz said. From there, a team of health-care workers will provide patient care at home. "It allows that senior to have more intensive care at home and trying to prevent going to the emergency room, going to the hospital, those kind of things," he said. Pilot program success A 2015 pilot program in Montague, P.E.I., studied 19 of the most frail seniors who were among the heaviest users of the health system. Over the course of a year, Stultz said, the number of emergency room visits decreased by 30 per cent, the number of primary care visits dropped by 40 per cent and admissions to hospital fell 70 per cent. "Families now have a number that they can call," he said. "A lot of the times, people go to the emergency room because they don't know what to do, they don't have an option." Dr. Tim Stultz, a consulting geriatrician, helped found the COACH Program. (CBC) Stultz said the program will soon launch an alert system for the patient's care team. If a client's medicare number is registered in a triage system, an email will be delivered to the team members, who can then intervene. The program is also geared to avoid early nursing home admissions. He said the average nursing home stay in P.E.I. is 2.6 years, but it's 0.65 years for COACH clients. "One gentleman we encountered who was headed for a nursing home was on over 30 medications," Stultz said. "And just the nurse practitioner and I sitting down and going through these pills, we were able to get more than half of them taken away and he lived at home until he died. He was more active." The program has been recognized nationally, receiving the Canadian Frailty Network's innovation award last fall, and officials are packaging it so it can be used elsewhere. He said the program could be of use to New Brunswick with some tweaks. The program is offered "tip to tip" on the island, which is about a two-hour drive, and that will be more of a challenge in New Brunswick, he said. Stultz also suggested training more nurse practitioners the backbone of the program in geriatric care. Overcrowded hospitals New Brunswick hospitals continue to be plagued by overcrowding. Last week, Horizon Health Network chief of staff Dr. John Dornan said about 24 per cent of hospital beds are occupied by people who need to be in nursing homes or their own houses. The situation is the same for the Vitalit Health Network. Across the health network, 26 per cent of patients were waiting for nursing homes in the first quarter of last year. Ken McGeorge co-chaired the province's Council on Aging. (Submitted) "The problem that [they're] describing goes back to 1967, for heaven's sake," said Ken McGeorge, who co-chaired New Brunswick's Council on Aging. "I'm embarrassed that we've been talking for how many decades about the very same issues, and I'm embarrassed that we have not had or supported the leadership that we needed to do to deal with those issues. We can be a model in health care for the country; we're not anywhere close to that right now." Speaking to CBC News earlier this week, McGeorge pointed to the success of the COACH Program while calling for change. "You need a leadership team. Civil servants can't do it [alone]. Politicians can't do it," he said. "Just as in P.E.I., a geriatrician with the encouragement of government has set up what they call the COACH program. And in two years they have done what we have only talked about." | https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/coach-program-pei-senior-care-overcrowded-hospitals-1.4975908?cmp=rss |
What's ailing UT Lady Vols and in need of a response against Georgia? | CLOSE The Lady Vols fell behind by 17 points in the first quarter and never completely recovered in losing to Kentucky Dan Fleser, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee When asked about Tennessee's slow start Thursday against Kentucky, Cheridene Green started and stopped her explanation twice, performing the verbal equivalent of a pump fake. The Lady Vols center then conceded: "I don't know how to explain it." The thought probably was more applicable than anything that followed about mental lapses and such. The start and ultimately the finish of UT's 73-71 loss to the Wildcats defied explanation, since it followed a disappointing loss to Missouri on Sunday. The result highlighted a weakness that has been dogging the team. It also cast doubt on some established strengths. The ball slips out of the hands of Tennessees Evina Westbrook (2) while she is guarded by Kentucky's Rhyne Howard (10) on Thursday, January 10, 2019. (Photo: Saul Young/News Sentinel) "These kids play hard and they are getting some great experience," UT coach Holly Warlick said. "By no means am I giving up on them. We have a great basketball team and we are going to keep grinding. If we have to start on the road, we will start on the road." No. 13 Tennessee (12-3, 1-2 SEC) will be on the road at Georgia (11-5, 2-1) on Sunday (TV: ESPN, 3 p.m.) trying to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 1986. At this point, UT's grind includes elements old and new: Back to the defensive drawing board Tennessees Cheridene Green (15) gets the rebound over Kentucky's Rhyne Howard (10) on Thursday, January 10, 2019. (Photo: Saul Young/News Sentinel) Utilizing a zone alignment as much as Tennessee has in the past three games is telling for a program that's prioritized man defense for five decades. A week ago the strategy looked like a useful bridge to overall improvement. The Lady Vols got better defensively against Auburn as the game wore on. Since then Missouri and Kentucky have shot holes in that theory either with 3-pointers or methodical ball and player movement. Tennessee's best defense Thursday turned out to be Kentucky losing its top three scorers - Taylor Murray, Rhyne Howard and Maci Morris - to either injury or foul trouble. Warlick said the two charges taken by Green against Kentucky were a highlight of the game. They were the second and third charges taken by a UT defender this season. The anecdote says a lot about the state of Tennessee's defense. Jackson, Westbrook struggling Kentucky's KeKe McKinney (3) tries to protect the ball from Tennessees Meme Jackson (10) and an approaching Cheridene Green (15) on Thursday, January 10, 2019. (Photo: Saul Young/News Sentinel) Guards Meme Jackson and Evina Westbrook have been two of Tennessee top players. They carry a heavy load regarding production, and it's been wearing on them lately. After scoring 27 points against Auburn last Thursday, Jackson has shot a combined 1 for 16 from the floor the past two games and scored 10 total points. The senior is the Lady Vols' third-leading scorer and heretofore their most reliable and productive 3-point marksman. "I think she is pressing a little bit," Warlick said. "So we will get her in the gym and put up shots - get that confidence back." Westbrook, who shot 5 for 19 from the floor against Missouri, struggled with turnovers against Kentucky, committing a season-high eight. Several of them were unforced in nature, involving either ball-handling or errant passes. She committed four turnovers in the first quarter, which exacerbated UT's poor start. The eighth came with 2:19 left and the Lady Vols trying to complete a frantic rally. "She will reel those in," Warlick said. "Evina is a competitor, and she understands the game. She will get that corrected." Update on Murray Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said Friday that point guard Murray suffered a bone bruise on Thursday against Tennessee and is listed as day to day. Murray suffered an injury to her left leg after being fouled on a breakaway shot attempt by Lady Vol Zaay Green, who was tagged with an unsportsmanlike foul. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/womens-basketball/2019/01/12/whats-ailing-ut-lady-vols-and-needs-immediate-response/2546409002/ |
Who Will Tanking Teams Unload Before NBA Trade Deadline? | Hannah Foslien/Getty Images And now, let us pour one out for the NBA's best tank jobs. This isn't me being glib. We should be thankful for this year's rock-bottom adventurists. There aren't many of them, and with the sellers market dwindling in the face of a 25-team playoff race, they may be our only hope at an active trade deadline. So, here's to the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Phoenix Sunsand everything and anything they might do ahead of Feb. 7. Atlanta Hawks John Amis/Associated Press Primary Goal: Amass picks and prospects in exchange for taking on salary in 2019-20. Notable Trade Candidates: Justin Anderson, Kent Bazemore, Dewayne Dedmon, Jeremy Lin and Miles Plumlee. The Hawks (12-29) hold a special place in the NBA's tankathon. They're actually open for business. Kent Bazemore, Dewayne Dedmon and Jeremy Lin are all drawing interest from the outside, according to the New York Times' Marc Stein, in large part because Atlanta isn't trying to accelerateor obfuscateits timetable. The same cannot be said for its peers. Cleveland is the only other bottom-five squad that has shown a willingness to assume unwanted salary beyond this season. New York is in the market for cap space, Phoenix falls somewhere in between a buyer and a seller with Devin Booker's max extension taking effect next season, and Chicagowell, it isn't quite clear what the Bulls are going to do. The Cavaliers set a precedent by absorbing more than $15 million in 2019-20 salary for a first-round pick and two seconds, none of which will convey before 2020. The Hawks should be able to do a teensy bit better. Their expiring contracts are nicer properties, and Bazemore is a borderline asset despite next year's $19.3 million player option because the league remains obsessed with competent wing-types. Potential Deal (After Jan. 14) Atlanta Hawks Receive: Ian Mahinmi, Utah's 2019 first-round pick (top-16 protection in 2019; lottery protection in 2020; top-12 protection in 2021; turns into two seconds if not conveyed) Ian Mahinmi, Utah's 2019 first-round pick (top-16 protection in 2019; lottery protection in 2020; top-12 protection in 2021; turns into two seconds if not conveyed) Utah Jazz Receive: Jeremy Lin, Otto Porter Jr., Tomas Satoransky Jeremy Lin, Otto Porter Jr., Tomas Satoransky Washington Wizards Receive: Derrick Favors, Ricky Rubio and Thabo Sefolosha Lin is expected to go for a first-round pick, according to Sporting News' Sean Deveney. His playing time swings in Atlanta, but he has quietly thrown together a stellar season. He's canning more than 36 percent of his threes and posting the third-highest free-throw-attempt rate of his career. He remains one of the point guards who can orchestrate in the half court or play off another ball-handler. Netting a first-rounder for him is still ambitious. This is the healthiest he has been since 2015-16, but he's 30 and not under contract for next season. Atlanta probably isn't getting anything more than an afterthought first or early second without swallowing a longer agreement. Paying out the balance of Ian Mahinmi's deal is a fair concession. He's making about $2.1 million more than Lin this season and on the ledger for $15.5 million next year. Factor in where Utah's pick will land and that it will convey well before 2021 (likely this season), and Atlanta is making out a tick better than Cleveland. Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson are more playable to the Cavaliers than Mahinmi is to the Hawks, but the location and arrival date of the selection matter. Bringing in Otto Porter Jr. compromises the Jazz's cap-space projections for this summer. They'll get over it. They aren't landing a Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonardno matter how sweet the basketball fit would beand can drum up second-tier room while paying Porter if they really try. (They'd have to ditch Raul Neto and Kyle Korver's partial guarantee). Getting Bird rights for Lin and Tomas Satoransky (restricted)is more valuable to the Jazz. They need shot-creators and table-setters to alleviate the on-ball burden of Donovan Mitchell (on a tear lately!). Satoransky doesn't have Lin's attack mode, but they're both comfortable handling the rock and more dangerous off the catch than Ricky Rubio or Dante Exum. Derrick Favors is having a fine seasonthe best of anyone in this three-team dance party. But the Jazz are scarier when Jae Crowder plays the 4. They're outscoring opponents by 3.3 points per 100 possessions with him at power forward, according to Cleaning the Glass. Sub in Favors, whose trade restriction lifts Jan. 15, and they're a minus-3.4. That disparity was even larger last year. Porter is overpaidhe's owed $55.7 million over the next two seasons (2020-21 player option)but he lets Utah lean into small-ball-4 looks for a full 48 minutes. Washington's motives barely need unpacking, even if Satoransky's tripe-double on Friday night is cause for cold feet. The two sides are already talking about an extension, according to NBC Sports' Chase Hughes. Yank him, leave Thabo Sefolosha in Utah, and the deal still works. Shedding both Mahinmi and Porter drags the Wizards beneath the luxury tax. The arrivals of Favors, Sefolosha (sidelined with a hamstring injury) and Ricky Rubio are impactful enough to keep them in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. And the nuclear optionselling Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal, quickly re-shopping Favors and Rubio and starting overwill be there if they dare use it. Chicago Bulls Seth Wenig/Associated Press Primary Goal: Land a wing and/or net picks and prospects for taking on 2019-20 salary. Notable Trade Candidates: Kris Dunn, Cristiano Felicio, Robin Lopez, Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis. Leading into a trade deadline that's barren of sellers who are willing to stomach outcast contracts, the Bulls are a swing team. If they're willing to sponge up money for 2019-20 (and beyond), this year's silly season will be more of a main event. If they'd rather preserve a summer forecast that has them sniffing $50 million in room, the deadline stands to be far less of a spectacle. As of now, the latter is their priority. Robin Lopez and Jabari Parker are readily available, according to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, but bad-money returns are thus far a "non-starter," per the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson. That should change. The Bulls' asset bank isn't overdrawn, but it's not flush either. They have no extra picks this yearthey owe a second-rounder to Philadelphia and are getting one from Memphisand don't control any bonus first-rounders down the line. They need more draft-day ammo. Besides, sopping up one bad contract won't decimate their cap space. They can snare another first and enter this summer with meaningful spending power. Potential Deal Chicago Bulls Receive: Allen Crabbe, 2019 first-round pick (from Denver, via Brooklyn), 2020 second-round pick (from Denver, via Brooklyn) Allen Crabbe, 2019 first-round pick (from Denver, via Brooklyn), 2020 second-round pick (from Denver, via Brooklyn) Brooklyn Nets Receive: Jabari Parker Brooklyn has positioned itself as a deadline buyer, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. Surrendering a first-round pick qualifies as drastic for general manager Sean Marks, but Denver's selection is shaping up to fall in the bottom five. It shouldn't be off-limitsthough, full disclosure, it might be: Clearing Allen Crabbe's 2019-20 salary ($18.5 million player option) is, at worst, equally valuable. The Nets can treat Parker as an expiring contract (team option) and amble into the offseason with a path to more than $38 million in room while carrying restricted free-agent holds for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and D'Angelo Russell. There's no guarantee that money turns into a marquee name. But the Nets are building cachet. They've groomed an extensive collection of exciting young talent and role players, and they might be working off a playoff berth. They're not a non-destination. The Nets might even tap into Parker's best playmaking-4 imitation. They're that banged up at power forward. Crabbe, who is recovering from a right knee injury, doesn't do anything to satisfy the Bulls' long-term need for a wing. But that extra first-round pick plays. Crabbe will at least hit standstill threes off kickouts from Wendell Carter Jr., Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen, and he comes off the books after next season. Chicago can gut it out. Cleveland Cavaliers Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images Primary Goal: Take on salary in 2019-20 and 2020-21 in exchange for picks and prospects. Notable Trade Candidates: Alec Burks, Jordan Clarkson, Matthew Dellavedova, Rodney Hood (implicit no-trade), Kevin Love, David Nwaba, JR Smith and Tristan Thompson. Kevin Love is simultaneously the name everyone's watching and the player no one really wantsfor now. One league executive told Bleacher Report's Ken Berger that Love and John Wall have "the two worst contracts in the league." This is over the top. Love's four-year, $120.4 million extension, which kicks in next season, doesn't look so rosyparticularly on a rebuilding Cleveland team. But he's not a "dinosaur." Floor-spacing bigs who crash the glass and throw nifty passes aren't obsolete. Love's curb appeal is complicated by his defense and this season's four-game sample preceding toe surgery, but the chance to bag an All-Star under lock and key will mean something to someone. Cleveland has other names to monitor. Rodney Hood is a goner this summer. JR Smith is in mutual exile. Alec Burks' expiring salary is primed for reaggregation (after Jan. 27) as the Cavaliers look to procure more picks and prospects. Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton are the closest Cleveland gets to having untouchables. Everyone elseand maybe even themcan be had for the right return. But Love is the rumor-mill magnet. He's bound to draw attention closer to Feb. 7, as the New York Times' Marc Stein noted, and while sources told Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor the Cavs are in no rush to move their 30-year-old cornerstone, they'd be remiss not to test the waters. Potential Deal (After Jan. 22) Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Bismack Biyombo, Frank Kaminsky, Malik Monk, 2019 first-round pick (lottery-protected through 2021; turns into two seconds if not conveyed) Charlotte Hornets Receive: Kevin Love, David Nwaba Teams ill-positioned to land a star in free agency or otherwise crack the blockbuster-trade market are made-for Love suitors. The Hornets are especially ideal. They're not only light on assets and empty on cap space, but their franchise player, Kemba Walker, is nearing free agency and hasn't yet tasted the second round of the playoffs. "They know. They know what they got to do," Walker said during an appearance on ESPN's The Jump when asked about what roster changes Charlotte must make ahead of free agency. "That's not my job. I'll leave it up to those guys." Prying Beal out of Washington or acquiring a high-end wing would do more for both the Hornets and Walker. Neither is happening. The superstar trade market is bare right now, and Charlotte will be easily outbid for the most sought-after names. Love is different. The Cavaliers can talk themselves into a return built around cap relief and mid(ish)-end picks and prospects. This package might be on the higher end. Swapping out Love for Bismack Biyombo (2019-20 player option) and Malik Monk next season saves Cleveland almost $8 million. From there, the Cavaliers only have to worry about paying Monk (2020-21 team option). The rest is a gravy train of flexibility. Charlotte is embracing a fair amount of risk. It'll be almost impossible to pay Love and Walker without brushing up against the tax next year. The Hornets have to move around other money: Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, etc. Trading for Love could be tantamount to handing Jeremy Lamb his walking papers. Spit happens. The opportunity cost here isn't astronomical. Lamb is good, not great, and he might leave no matter what. Frank Kaminksy is already on the block, per Deveney. Monk is losing minutes to Devonte' Graham. Biyombo is playing, but Zeller will return from right hand surgery eventually, and Charlotte would have Love, Willy Hernangomez and Marvin Williams to sop up center minutes. The included pick is protected against total disaster. Love's fit is the only real gamble. That isn't too concerning if he's healthy. He can play beside all of Charlotte's other bigs, and the combination of MKG and Miles Bridges should shore up any time he spends at the 5. New York Knicks Julie Jacobson/Associated Press Primary Goal: Clear more cap space for free agency. Notable Trade Candidates: Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Enes Kanter, Courtney Lee, Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, Lance Thomas and Noah Vonleh. Gauging the markets for Emmanuel Mudiay and Noah Vonleh before they command raises should be among the Knicks' top priorities. Finding Enes Kanter a team that wants himthe Sacramento Kings are interested, per Wojis up there too. Neither is the priority. Kevin Durant-to-New York might be a thing. Or maybe not. It doesn't matter. The Knicks, like many others, will court him. They'd be foolish not to try to poach a top-five player. But they need more cap space. Current projections have the Knicks topping out at under $30 million in room. Moving Tim Hardaway Jr. or Courtney Lee is critical to affording Durant's max ($38.2 million). Too bad it won't be easy. Sources told The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor that salary dumps for both will require sweeteners. The Knicks must tread carefully. They can't afford to give up primo assets when they don't know how free agency will pan out. Potential Deal New York Knicks Receive: Jerryd Bayless Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Courtney Lee, 2020 second-rounder (from Charlotte, via New York) Moving Lee's 2019-20 salary ($12.8 million) will be far easier than unloading the final two years and $37.1 million left on Hardaway's deal (2020-21 player option). Knicks head coach David Fizdale bounced Lee from the rotation shortly after his return from a neck injury, but he's a career 38.9 percent three-point shooter who will, on most nights, fight at the defensive end. It shouldn't take more than a second-rounder to ship him elsewhere. Minnesota isn't a good veteran dumping ground if coach-president Tom Thibodeau's firing marked the start of a teardown. It didn't. "We still have hopes to getting into the playoffs," owner Glen Taylor said, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Chris Hine, "and I think with half the season left, let's see if this change will make a difference." Busting back into the Western Conference's postseason bracket is a big ask. The Timberwolves are only two games back in the loss column, but their schedule to close January isn't fun. FiveThirtyEight gives them just a 30 percent chance of finishing in the West's top eight. Still, Lee is a good get if Minnesota wants to keep pushing the bill. The defense is 10th in points allowed per 100 possessions since the Jimmy Butler trade, but Robert Covington, the team's top stopper, is nursing an ankle injury. Even when he's healthy, the wing rotation could use a dab of shooting and 2-3 defense. Taking in Lee's 2019-20 salary does re-trigger cap concerns. The Timberwolves will be up against the tax if Jeff Teague exercises his player option, and they carry Tyus Jones' restricted free-agent holdall before getting the chance to make other additions. They can worry about that later. Lee and Teague will be movable over the summer as expiring contracts, and let's not pretend we've heard the last of Andrew Wiggins trade ideas. Phoenix Suns Ned Dishman/Getty Images Primary Goal: Acquire a point guard and/or capitalize on value of upcoming free agents. Notable Trade Candidates: Ryan Anderson, Dragan Bender, Troy Daniels, Richaun Holmes, Josh Jackson and Kelly Oubre Jr. Anyone hoping the Suns will make a splash at the deadline is most likely going to be disappointed. They aren't built for it. Adding unsavory money to the books isn't so appealing with Booker's max extension tipping off next year. The Suns have some pressure to win soon. Cap space is valuable to them. Plus, they no longer have the expiring fodder to ingest larger salaries attached to picks and prospects. They exhausted that card by buying out Tyson Chandler and waiving Austin Rivers following the Ariza trade. They probably shouldn't have done either. They definitely shouldn't have done both. Scoping out the market for their soon-to-be free agents makes the most sense. Kelly Oubre Jr. (restricted) cannot be dealt in combination with another player after joining the Suns via the Ariza trade in mid-December, but both he and Richaun Holmes are due for raises the Suns cannot blindly bankroll. Measuring the temperature on Josh Jackson is an acceptable move if they're more smitten by Oubre. Potential Deal Phoenix Suns Receive: Yogi Ferrell, Skal Labissiere Yogi Ferrell, Skal Labissiere Sacramento Kings Receive: Richaun Holmes, Troy Daniels Holmes feels like the player Phoenix is most likely to move. He's easier to trade than Oubre, since he doesn't have to be dealt alone, and his role will forever be capped with Deandre Ayton in front of him. Turning Holmes into Yogi Ferrell is the right kind of mini-swing. De'Anthony Melton is playing well, but Phoenix needs an upgrade at point guard. Ferrell packs an affordable punch while the Suns comb future draft and free-agency classes for a starrier solution. If things work out, they can bring him back for peanuts ($3.2 million). If he doesn't fit next to Booker or as a leading man in the second unit, they can waive him for cap space. Sacramento's interest in Kanter suggests Holmes is a no-brainer acquisition. He isn't the same rebounder, but he's a superior rim protector and an actual lob-catcher. A smart team will let him re-explore the three-point line. Pairing Holmes up front with Nemanja Bjelica or Marvin Bagley III will more than hold up on offense. He should be staggered from Willie Cauley-Steinor he could render him expendable. If the Kings think Holmes will come cheaper in free agency than Cauley-Stein (restricted), they can try using him to anchor a trade for another wing. Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com or Basketball Reference and accurate leading into games on Jan. 11. Salary and cap-hold information via Basketball Insiders and RealGM. Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey. | https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2815120-who-will-the-tanking-teams-unload-before-the-nba-trade-deadline |
What happens when Tucker Carlson makes sense? | Tucker Carlson speaks during Politicon 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Oct. 21. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for Politicon) Columnist Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And so it happens that Tucker Carlson diversity opponent, South Africa fantasist, noted Erik Wemple Blog antagonist has delivered a remarkably correct opinion to kick off 2019. The bell tolled last week on the Jan. 2 edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight, his Fox News show. Carlson spent several minutes in the first half of the show bemoaning the plight of American men, who, as one segment title put it, are in decline as the ruling class looks away. Much of his monologue (and the follow-up segment the next day bordered on the absurd: Rising rates of alcoholism and drug use among men are a direct effect of feminist victories; the 1950s were only allegedly sexist (according to his guest, Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald)), and sexism is almost impossible to find today. Still, there were some uncomfortable truths to be found in between the finger-pointing. Men are struggling: Even the American Psychological Association, the countrys largest professional organization of psychologists, agrees, and is crafting new standards to address it. Marriage rates are eroding, especially among the poor, and trade shocks especially to the manufacturing sector have lowered mens earnings and their marriage market potential. Yes, well-educated elites do tend to value stable marriages for themselves, even while championing atypical family structures and laissez-faire lifestyles in public. Carlsons Wednesday night monologue was part of a larger critique of American financial systems and the failures of free market capitalism, and his commentary was on target there, too. Anyone who thinks the health of a nation can be summed up in GDP is an idiot, he scoffed at one point, and later elaborated: Market capitalism is not a religion. Market capitalism is a tool, like a staple gun or a toaster. Youd have to be a fool to worship it. His speech reached a remarkable crescendo: Any economic system that weakens and destroys families is not worth having. This particular soapbox was occasioned by Mitt Romney, who had published a critical appraisal of President Trump in The Post on Jan. 2. Still, it was of a piece with a strand of commentary big business-skeptical, vaguely populist that Carlson has been weaving into his show for months. In a follow-up interview with the news site Vox, Carlson elaborated on his counterintuitive views. He even seemed ready to walk back at least a little some of his inflammatory past statements about the cultural reasons for black poverty. What I missed, what I think a lot of people missed, was that the economic system youre living under affects your culture, he told reporter Jane Coaston. The reason I didnt think of it before was because I was so blinded by this libertarian economic propaganda that I couldnt get past my own assumptions about economics. Intriguingly, now that Carlson is speaking the truth, its progressive outlets and personalities who seem most willing to engage with his rather out-of-character commentary. (There were positive write-ups in the Atlantic and the above piece in Vox, as well as approving chatter on social media and thoughtful discussion elsewhere.) And while conservatives were quick to defend his less-than-fact-based scapegoating of feminism, they seem less eager to countenance his newly woke ideas. Thats a shame. Carlsons fiery new take should appeal to his traditional constituency, which purports to have an interest in issues of the family and social stability. But conservatives could also use this to finally connect with those market-critiquing progressives across the aisle or at least to understand them. If even Tucker Carlson finally knows what time it is, its a sign that everyone should be checking their clocks. Read more: Christine Emba: Black women deserve better Christine Emba: Evangelicals infallible new faith: The gospel of Trump | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/12/what-happens-when-tucker-carlson-makes-sense/ |
Is Xi Jinpings Taiwan reunification push hastening a US-China clash? | Beijings renewed push for reunification with Taiwan has exposed the fragility of the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait a relationship increasingly in question with China and the United States locked in a superpower rivalry over trade and geopolitical friction. Government advisers and analysts warn that the deadlocked cross-strait relations are entering a dangerous period, with an expectation of escalating tensions in the months ahead as an increasingly isolated Taipei tilts further towards Washington, seeking a hedge against Beijings aggressive pressure campaign. The self-governed islands fate the most disruptive factor in Beijings complex relations with Washington could touch off a chain reaction that exacerbates the strain on bilateral ties, already mired in a protracted trade war and escalating technology race, they say. In a speech that may have set the tone for Beijings Taiwan policy for years to come, President Xi Jinping last week said both sides should begin talks on reunification to end decades of animosity. Describing the Taiwan question as a historical trauma for the Chinese nation, Xi said the island must be reunited with Beijing under one country, two systems, a model applied in Hong Kong and Macau. Despite his conciliatory overture coming amid a stalemate that began when Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was elected as Taiwans president in 2016 Xi insisted that Beijing would not renounce the use of force, which he claimed was aimed at pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the interference of external forces, a veiled reference to Washington. However, his proposal for unification talks was met with robust criticism from Taiwan as Tsai accused Beijing of undermining the islands vibrant democratic process and called on Xi to respect Taiwans existence. Tsai firmly rejected Xis proposal and, for the first time she took power, removed her deliberate ambiguity over the impasse over the 1992 consensus, a tacit agreement between Beijing and Taiwans then Kuomintang administration that there is one China, but each side can interpret that as it likes. Analysts say tensions are set to rise over Taiwan as the rivalry between Beijing and Washington intensifies and leaders in Taipei and Washington adopt a tougher stance on Beijing in the lead-up to major elections next year. In their recent comments, Xi appeared determined and confident while Tsai held firm to her anti-China position, said Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of international relations and director of the China Institute at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. With little room for compromise, the prospect of cross-strait relations is grave before the 2020 Taiwan elections. Yu Xintian, president of the Shanghai Institute for Taiwan Studies and one of more than 20 leading mainland experts on Taiwan who attended the January 2 meeting at which Xi spoke, also warned of severe challenges ahead for the triangular relations between Beijing, Washington and Taipei. The next 12 months will be a precarious moment in cross-strait relations as both the US and Taiwan head into major elections next year, she said. With US President Donald Trump and Tsai both hardening their anti-Beijing stances, Beijing was very likely to be made a scapegoat as both leaders sought to distract the publics attention from divisive domestic agendas ahead of these elections, Yu noted. I am not at all optimistic about both US-China relations and cross-strait relations in the next year or so, which are unlikely to see major improvements, she said. We should be realistic and put top priority on crisis management so as to minimise adverse impact and prevent undesirable outcomes. Based on a poll of more than 500 US government officials and foreign policy experts, the Council on Foreign Relations, an American think tank, listed a possible armed conflict between China and the US over Taiwan as a flashpoint to watch in its 10th annual Preventive Priorities Survey published last month. Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, said she believed Tsai would take more confrontational steps in the next two years, largely because of domestic political needs. If she believes that China is not willing to avoid picking a fight with the US over Taiwan, she might become more bold. But it does not suggest that she is willing to start the fight, Yun said. Interaction between the mainland and Taiwan has remained tense since Xis speech, which marked the 40th anniversary of a call from Beijing to end military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait, she noted. The mainland is focusing on people in Taiwan, rather than focusing on working with the DPP or Tsai. In the context of the US-China enhanced strategic rivalry, it is prudent for all sides to maintain the status quo rather than changing it drastically, she said. Richard Bush, a veteran expert on cross-strait relations at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while US-China relations increasingly looked headed into a fundamentally competitive, zero-sum struggle, Taiwan might not necessarily end up benefiting from the friction as it remained to be seen how far the Trump administration would go to counter China. As it was with many of his predecessors, the extent of Trumps personal commitment to Taiwans security remained unclear, and would remain questionable in the face of Chinese military provocation, Bush said. In Fear: Trump in the White House, author Bob Woodward recounted a White House meeting on January 19 of last year where Trump and his national security team discussed not for the first time the rationale for the US defending its allies and partners. The president first asked, What do we get by maintaining a massive military presence in the Korean peninsula? He then asked, Even more than that, what do we get from protecting Taiwan? Analysts said Taiwan, caught in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington, was expected to move even closer to the US after Xis appeal for unification talks under the one country, two systems formula. What Xi said reflected the change in US-China-Taiwan relations as well as the result of Novembers local elections in which the [mainland-friendly] Kuomintang swept to a landslide victory, said Lo Chih-cheng, a DPP legislator and a political-science professor at Soochow University. Xi has been concerned about the recent change in US-Taiwan relations. According to Shelley Rigger, the Brown professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, the speech underlined Xis deep-rooted worries about the two wild cards that could upset the trilateral balance: the pro-independence movement in Taiwan and the US government. The geopolitical dynamics have reduced the threat from Taiwan independence, but they have made US-China relations less predictable, she said. Rigger noted Xis speech largely reaffirmed Beijings basic approach and showed the Chinese government valued remaining flexible to respond to events as they unfolded over short-term political gains. I found the speech interesting more for what it didnt include than what it did include. Most importantly, it didnt include anything like a timeline or deadline for unification, she said. We have known for a long time that independence is a red line for China theres nothing new there. This speech did not reveal a big change on that front. Yu Xintian also said Xis ambitious reunification plan with Taiwan, which he set as a priority, had been broadly misunderstood. Xi had reiterated in last weeks speech that the long-standing political divide which had hampered the cross-strait relationship since 1949 should not be passed down through generations. The statement was interpreted as a sign of Xis determination to find a solution to the Taiwan issue under his watch. I dont think what Xi said should be equated to a timetable for reunification, Yu said. His emphasis on the necessary sense of urgency, especially on the part of Taiwan, does not necessarily mean he intends to solve the Taiwan issue during his tenure. Apart from sending a clear message to Tsai and the DPP, Xis speech was meant as a warning to Washington, Taipeis most important ally, as tensions between the two powers grow, Zhu said. The secondary target may well be the US, especially since Trump signed several pro-Taiwan bills into law in 2018 including the Taiwan Travel Act and the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), he said. ARIA, which reaffirmed Washingtons political support for Taiwan, including strengthened official exchanges and arms sales, was signed into law by US president on the eve of an important bilateral milestone. January 1 marked the normalisation of US-China relations 40 years ago. But the anniversary passed without major celebrations, as bilateral ties were seen by many as being in their worst shape since 1979. Trump showed little sign that he plans to soften his hardline stance on China despite a temporary trade war ceasefire he reached with Xi a month ago. Echoing the Trump administrations hawkish view that deemed China as a national security threat, the new law quoted Harvard professor Graham Allison, who coined the term, the Thucydides Trap, as warning that a rising China was determined to displace American pre-eminence in the Asia-Pacific. In a Thucydides Trap, a rising power causes fear in an established power, triggering an escalation towards war. Beijing strongly protested against the law, accusing Washington of seriously violating the one-China policy and bluntly interfering in Chinas domestic affairs. From Beijings perspective, according to Yu Xintian, the new American law laid bare Washingtons strategy: to play the Taiwan card in its power game with Beijing and interfere in cross-strait relations. Although ARIA does not introduce anything new on Taiwan, it has illustrated the US administrations strategy of securing its maximum interests in the trilateral balance by playing the mainland and Taiwan off against one another, she said. Arthur Ding, a researcher at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy, said the new US law represented Washingtons determination not only to make Taiwan one of its Indo-Pacific allies but to maintain closer and stronger relations with Taiwan. The act reiterates the US commitment to Taiwans security and its support for the island, something Beijing cannot tolerate, Ding said, adding US-China tension will continue to flare if US-Taiwan relations fare better. Xis call for cross-strait unification talks under the one country, two systems model and his reiteration that China would not renounce the use of force have raised the voices of support for Taiwan by a number of US congressmen and senators, who are expected to ask that the Trump administration offer stronger support for Taiwan. Bills or measures friendly to Taiwan are expected to show up in the near future, which would only provoke Beijing further. But Richard Bush suggested that ARIA was less significant than it seemed. What was more important was government policies rolled out by the administration, especially in the Trump era, he said. ARIA, in my view, reinforces the approach laid out in the National Security Strategy [launched by the Trump administration in December 2017], it did not stimulate it, he said. Bush is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, which served as the de facto US diplomatic office on the island after Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in January 1979. An opinion poll in September by the Taiwan Public Opinion Research Foundation indicated Taiwanese support for independence had waned from 51.2 per cent in 2016 to 36.2 per cent. In March the level had been 38 per cent. Support for unification with the mainland was lower, at 26.1 per cent, while 23.2 per cent supported the status quo. (629) And of more than 1,000 Taiwanese surveyed last week by the Cross-Strait Policy Association, more than 80 per cent disapproved of one country, two systems and just 13 per cent were in favour of it. Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London, also said Xi had simply laid down the terms and required others Tsai in Taipei, Trump in Washington, and anyone else interested to accept them. Tsai is in an awkward position after the defeat in the November elections and cannot afford to be weak regarding mainland China, he said. With Xi demanding surrender terms, she took a much more robust stance than hitherto. This will go down badly in Beijing, with Xi seeing it all as the fault of Tsai. The risk of an escalatory spiral is now higher than a week ago. Most analysts appeared to have doubts about Xis attempt to lure the Taiwanese people with the one country, two systems approach. Rigger said that by deliberately excluding separate interpretations from his latest definition of the 1992 consensus, Xi had moved prematurely to remove Taiwans manoeuvring room under the unwritten agreement. Under former [Taiwanese] president Ma Ying-jeou, the 1992 consensus allowed a lot of useful initiatives to go forward. But without separate interpretations, neither of Taiwans major parties can embrace the 1992 consensus. Thats going to be a real headache for Beijing when the KMT returns to power, which is bound to happen sooner or later, she said. Yun Sun also said one country, two systems and its application in Hong Kong did not inspire confidence in Taiwan. I honestly dont believe that the Taiwanese people are willing to embrace the concept, she said. This is because the one country in one country, two systems in Beijings dictionary certainly means the Peoples Republic of China, although Xi did not directly say it, leaving room for imagination. But the 1992 consensus encompasses both the PRC and the Republic of China, she said. The democratic negotiation/consultation Xi referred to is also a tricky idea. If it is democratic, you would assume that the mainland and Taiwan will be equal parties in the negotiations. But if Beijing already defined one country two systems as the only way to go, the negotiation changes from what kind of arrangement to what kind of one country, two systems. Additional reporting by Lawrence Chung | https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2181600/xi-jinpings-taiwan-reunification-push-hastening-us-china-clash |
Can Xavier find some Big East consistency at home Sunday against Butler? | CLOSE Xavier erased a 17-point first-half deficit Wednesday night and beat Georgetown 81-75 in front of a sellout Cintas Center crowd Adam Baum, [email protected] The biggest question going into Xavier's Sunday meeting (noon, CBSSN) against Butler at Cintas Center is whether the Musketeers can string two positive performances together in Big East Conference play. Georgetown Hoyas center Jessie Govan (15) pulls down a rebound over Xavier Musketeers forward Tyrique Jones (0) in the first half of an NCAA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019, at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar) Sunday will be a great chance to bolster Xavier's resume a bit. Butler, according to both Ken Pomeroy's rankings and the NCAA NET rankings, would be Xavier's best win of the season. "It's gonna be a big challenge," said Xavier head coach Travis Steele, who graduated from Butler and was a basketball student manager while he was there. "They're a terrific offensive team, really good defensive team. "Obviously, going to Butler and being around the program and being from the Indianapolis area, I have great respect for them. The way they go about their business ... they do things the right way. I always cheer for Butler when they're not playing Xavier. I even taught my son, Winston, he cheers for Butler other than when they're not playing Xavier." On paper, Butler's strengths are unquestionably offensive efficiency, shooting ability from beyond the arc and the foul line, and taking care of the basketball. Butler averages only 10.6 turnovers per game and it's 15.8 turnover percentage ranks 24th nationally. Xavier's on the other side of that turnover graphic but the Musketeers are coming off a four-turnover showing against Georgetown. More:Xavier erases a 17-point deficit to beat Georgetown More:How toughness helped Xavier battle back to beat Georgetown Xavier junior point guard Quentin Goodin's status remains a question going into Sunday. He missed the Georgetown game with a knee injury and Steele said Friday that Goodin's still considered day-to-day. If Xavier wants to win a second straight conference game, the Musketeers need to have a good night on the defensive end. The Bulldogs have made 141 threes in 16 games, and it's guard Kamar Baldwin that runs the show. "I think it starts with keeping the ball out of the paint on drives and ball-screens," said Steele. "They're a really good drive-and-kick team. They rely on Kamar Baldwin a lot to get into the paint, get into the teeth of the defense and he makes the right play. He can finish but he can also really find those other guys, they surround him with shooters." Baldwin averages 16.9 points. After that, Paul Jorgensen and Sean McDermott are Butler's two best shooters. Jorgensen averages 13 points and shoots 40 percent from three. McDermott, at 6-foot-6, averages 10.4 points and knocks down 42 percent from beyond the arc. Xavier also has to pay attention to Jordan Tucker and Henry Baddley, both capable shooters from deep. The Musketeers had a great inside presence against Georgetown, playing Tyrique Jones and Zach Hankins together for the first time. That's a trend Xavier would like to continue, but the Musketeers have to be careful of Butler big men Joey Brunk and Nate Fowler and their ability to draw fouls. This is the point in the season when teams want to start stringing good basketball together from game to game. That's a top priority for Xavier. "I think it shows maturity if we do that," said Steele. "It's like I told our guys today, Georgetown, it's old news, nobody cares. I don't care. Let's move on to the next game. "We've gotta see that maturity. In the Big East, every game's gonna be hard and you've gotta be able to string along games, positive games, which again we have a great opportunity to do Sunday against Butler." SCOUTING REPORT THE GAME Tipoff: Sunday, noon at Cintas Center TV/Radio: CBSSN/700-AM Xavier Musketeers Record: 10-7 (2-2) Offense: 74.0 ppg Defense: 70.9 ppg PROJECTED LINEUP PLAYER POS. HT. KEY STAT Quentin Goodin (G, 6-4, 12.6 ppg) Paul Scruggs (G, 6-3, 12.6 ppg) Kyle Castlin (G, 6-4, 4.5 ppg) Naji Marshall (F, 6-7, 13.1 ppg) Zach Hankins (F, 6-10, 10.2 ppg) Butler Bulldogs Record: 10-6 (1-2) Offense: 73.5 ppg Defense: 66.8 ppg PROJECTED LINEUP PLAYER POS. HT. KEY STAT Kamar Baldwin (G, 6-1, 16.9 ppg) Paul Jorgensen (G, 6-2, 13.0 ppg) Sean McDermott (F, 6-6, 10.4 ppg) Aaron Thompson (G, 6-2, 6.4 ppg) Nate Fowler (C, 6-10, 5.1 ppg) PLAYER TO WATCH Kamar Baldwin The Bulldogs' leading scorer (16.9) is also their leading rebounder (5.2) and second-leading assist man (3.8). Baldwin's strength is his ability to drive and disrupt the defense from the inside. He's usually surrounded on the floor by three shooters and a big man who can finish at the rim. NCAA NET Ranking: Xavier is No. 83 and Butler is No. 48 KenPom.com: Xavier is ranked No. 81 and Butler is No. 41 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/2019/01/12/2018-2019-xavier-musketeers-take-butler-bulldogs-home/2547181002/ |
Will Amazon Split Its Stock in 2019? | Many investors love to see stock splits from the companies in their portfolios. They understand fully that splitting a stock doesn't add any real value to a company, but they nevertheless see a decision to do a stock split as a sign of confidence from management that the future looks bright. Long-time investors in e-commerce giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) remember well how the company did stock splits several times early in its existence. Yet it's now been almost 20 years since Amazon last split its stock, and with the share price finally seeing some downward pressure after a huge run-up in recent years, some shareholders would love to get the encouraging signal that a stock split would send. The three stock splits Amazon has done in its history Unfortunately for those who like stock splits, you have to go back to the boom times of the late 1990s to find the last time Amazon decided to split its shares. At that time, CEO Jeff Bezos and his team didn't hesitate to pull the trigger several times in short succession, with three splits occurring in just a year and a quarter. The result at the time was that rather than seeing Amazon's share price vault above $1,000, investors ended up with a total of 12 shares by late 1999 for every one they had owned in early 1998. Amazon's apparent strategy in setting stock splits was very much in line with prevailing wisdom at the time. The first stock split came almost immediately after Amazon shares hit the $100 per-share mark. The pace of gains accelerated in late 1998 and early 1999, and that prompted a more aggressive 3-for-1 split to knock down a stock price that had climbed above $150. Yet it only took months for Amazon to regain those past heights, necessitating another split. Split Date Ratio 100 Shares in Early 1998 Became... June 2, 1998 2 for 1 200 shares Jan. 5, 1999 3 for 1 600 shares Sep. 2, 1999 2 for 1 1,200 shares Data source: Amazon investor relations. Following the company's stellar rise, Amazon saw its stock lose a huge portion of its gains. By the early 2000s, as interest in internet-related stocks waned, Amazon stock saw its price drop into single digits. Even once it recovered, it took years for Amazon to get back to its former share-price levels. AMZN Chart More AMZN data by YCharts. Note: Prices are split-adjusted. It took nearly a decade for Amazon to return to its late-1999 peak for good. Yet as the economic recovery gained steam, Amazon was able to take advantage of steady growth in its e-commerce business to drive share-price gains. The rise of Amazon Web Services only accelerated the company's growth, and other initiatives further broadened Amazon's scope to create brand new opportunities for success. The long pause Yet throughout the rise that eventually sent the tech giant toward a $1 trillion market cap, Amazon has never done another split. Even a brief move in the share price above $2,000 during 2018 didn't prompt a move. CEO Jeff Bezos has historically shown no real interest in doing further stock splits. In communications with shareholders, he's acknowledged that Amazon looks at the question from time to time, but he has no plans to do a stock split anytime soon. | https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-split-stock-2019-155100588.html |
What's behind the rise in 'godparent proposals'? | Couples in possession of children, so the logic has always gone, must be in want of a godparent. Yet what started out as a religious tradition nearly two millennia ago has become more popular than ever and, along with it, the trend for godparent proposals: a lavish (some might say unnecessary) way of asking someone to be your beloved offsprings guardian. Searches of the term were up 152 per cent last year, according to a Pinterest study on the top trends for 2019. Think personalised Babygros, wine bottles with cursive slogans (only the best aunties get upgraded to godmother), mugs, bracelets and keepsake boxes. As if baby showers and gender reveal parties werent enough, it seems we are... | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/behind-rise-godparent-proposals/ |
What is the US Government Shutdown and what does it mean for the country? | This latest government shutdown has effected hundred of thousands of federal workers Picture: EPA/JIM LO SCALZO The current shutdown of the United States Government has officially become the longest ever in the countrys history. British skier died after suffering heart attack and falling off chairlift It seems like Donald Trump is rather fond of ringing in the new year with a government shutdown, as this is now the second in two consecutive Januaries of his presidency. Now, as the American people enjoy their (at the time of writing) 22nd day of partial government shutdown, heres everything we need to know about it from this side of the pond. The shutdown is the result of contention in the US government over funding for Donald Trumps infamous border wall. Advertisement Advertisement The president has refused to approve any federal budget which does not include funds for a border wall between the US and Mexico. Ivanka Trump 'in the running to become World Bank President' Presidential elections in the US are due in 2020, and building the wall was one of his key campaign promises, so its very likely that Trump is feeling under pressure to get it started. He has stopped just short of declaring the matter a national emergency, which would allow him to bypass congress to get the money for the wall. In his Oval Office address earlier this month, Trump requested a grand total of 5.7 billion dollars (4.5 billion), along with listing off some of what you might call alternative facts about why the wall is so important. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaving the White House after a meeting with Donald Trump to discuss the government shutdown (Photo by Alex Edelman / AFP) Responses to the shutdown Many Democrats have not taken kindly to the continued 2018-2019 shutdown. According to the Huffington Post, the Democrats made bipartisan proposals in Congress which would have allocated approximately $1.3 billion towards border security, including fencing. However, Trump rejected these proposals. Nancy Pelosi, newly re-elected House of Representatives Speaker, responded to Trumps Oval Office speech by saying, The fact is: President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government. Plenty of Trumps citizens have a thing or two to say about the shutdown as well. Federal workers are people, not pawns for political gain. #GovernmentShutdown Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) January 10, 2019 Here are my protest chant suggestions for the shutdown: Hey heys! Ho Hos! The governments not yours to close! 3-5-7-9! PAYCHECKS! NOW! The people! United! Cant wait till youre indicted! George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 11, 2019 The United States government has existed since 1789. In those 230 years including a Civil War, two World Wars, countless natural disasters, thousands of politicians we have never once had a government shutdown this long. And Republicans are responsible for it. T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) January 12, 2019 800,000 government employees have gone unpaid for the length of this shutdown. Advertisement Advertisement As yet, there doesnt appear to be an end in sight. In fact, Trump has gone so far to say that hes perfectly willing for this shutdown to go on for years if it means he gets his border wall. MORE: Donald Trump downgrades EUs status in the US without any warning MORE: Trump says people build walls, not because they hate but because they love the people inside | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/12/what-is-the-us-government-shutdown-and-what-does-it-mean-for-the-country-8337839/ |
Does beeswax-coated food storage really work? | Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I buy a lot of cheese because I entertain often. I save what's left to make Fromage Fort for Christmas Eve. It's a French method of using up little bits of a variety of leftover cheese and turning them into a cheese spread. Storing leftover cheese for a couple of weeks without drying it out can be tricky. The cheese needs to be able to breathe a little bit, but not too much. This year, I found that using Beebagz, plastic-free baggies coated with beeswax, worked very well with the cheese. I was sent samples of Beebagz to try. These bags aren't the only beeswax-coated food storage product. There are similar types of food wraps on the market that come in sheets. Beebagz is the first to make a bag out this material, a bag that can replace many of the zipper-type, disposable plastic bags used in kitchens regularly. How they work Cheese kept in Beebagz for over a week stayed fresh and didn't dry out. (Photo: Robin Shreeves) Beebagz are made of 100 percent cotton material coated with beeswax, jojoba oil and a tree resin that's used as a binding agent to keep the the beeswax from flaking off the cloth. They're 100 percent biodegradable. According to the company, you can bury one of the bags in your backyard, and in one year there wouldn't be a trace of the bag left. They can take the place hundreds of plastic baggies each year. They're also self-sealing. The heat from your hands creates a seal when you fold the top of the bag over and run your pinched fingers over it. Although they're self-sealing, I wouldn't use them for liquids. Most other foods are fair game. They can go in the refrigerator or the freezer (and the lunchbox). Depending on how often you use them, you can get years of use out of one Beebagz. You'll know it's time to replace a bag when it stops sticking to itself and doesn't self-seal anymore. Care and cleaning The bags can be reused over and over if you wash them properly. After each use, Beebagz should be washed by hand with cold or cool water. You can use a soft soap if you need to, but they don't need to be scrubbed hard. Beeswax is naturally antibacterial. As for the bags picking up smells from other foods, the bag that I stored blue cheese in didn't smell at all, even after holding the stinky cheese for over a week. The cost and the savings Plastic bags don't belong in the ocean, so do your part to avoid them. (Photo: Rich Carey/Shutterstock) A starter pack of Beebagz one in each of the three sizes offered costs $22.37 USD (it's a Canadian company but they ship to the U.S.). That may seem like a bit of an investment for three bags, but this is one of those products that will eventually pay for itself over time since you won't be buying as many disposable bags. This is about more than financial savings. There's also an environmental impact. Beebagz work well to keep food fresh and prolong the life of food stored in them, helping your food budget stretch further and combating food waste. According to Beebagz, there are 500 billion single-use bags used every year globally, or 1 million bags every minute, many of them plastic food storage bags that are thrown away after one use. Those bags will be clogging our landfills, filling our oceans and littering our landscape for hundreds of years. Beebagz, and other similar beeswax wraps, can replace many of those food storage bags. When it's time for them to be disposed of, they will biodegrade. I rarely use disposable plastic zipper bags to store food, opting for reusable glass or plastic containers instead. I was really impressed with how well the Beebagz kept my cheese, though. I will definitely be using these bags consistently in my kitchen, and I'm considering purchasing more of them or other similar beeswax coated wraps so I can store a variety of fresh foods in them. They work. | https://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/beeswax-coated-food-storage-natural-sustainable |
Was Megyn Kelly always doomed at NBC? | Two years after she signed with the network amid much fanfare, Megyn Kelly and NBC have officially parted ways. The split was announced on Friday ending a drawn-out and acrimonious exit that was put in motion in the fall after Kelly defended Halloween costumes that incorporate blackface during a segment on her 9 a.m. talk show. "The parties have resolved their differences, and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC," the network said Friday night. Talks about ending "Megyn Kelly Today" started before the blackface remarks, due to underperforming ratings and growing tensions between Kelly and NBC executives. But the Halloween controversy sealed her fate, according to sources familiar with the matter. Her talk show was cancelled within days, and her lawyer began negotiating the terms of her exit. Kelly is halfway through a three-year contract worth a total of $69 million -- an eye-popping sum even by the inflated standards of television news. Bowing to the terms of the contract, NBC will pay Kelly the remaining sum of money, believed to total about $30 million, two of the sources said. Kelly will be subject to an industry standard nondisparagement clause, limiting what she can say about her time at NBC and her interactions with NBC executives. Television contracts typically include language to protect both sides in the event of an ugly breakup. But representatives for the host and the network declined to comment on the exact terms of her exit. Kelly is not believed to be subject to any "noncompete" clause, which means that in theory she can join another network right away, the sources said. But Kelly does not currently have an agent, and there is no indication that she has another job lined up. When approached by celebrity photographers on the street in New York City on Thursday, and asked "will we see you on TV this year," Kelly said. "You will definitely see me back on." A representative for Kelly declined to comment further. Friday's announcement marks a premature end to a partnership that ultimately failed to elevate the anchor's stature and the network's ratings. And the hostility surrounding her departure stands in sharp contrast to the optimism that greeted her arrival at NBC in January 2017. After 12 years at Fox News, Kelly was one of the most sought-after stars in the television news world, drawing interest from a number of networks. Fox reportedly offered her a new contract worth more than $20 million a year, but Kelly was eager to shed the combative style she honed at the conservative network. "Barbara Walters has retired," Kelly told Variety in 2015, when she was still at Fox. "Oprah has moved to the OWN network and is doing a different thing now. So why not me?" At NBC, Kelly hoped she would be able to fulfill the softer role she had long envisioned for herself. The network had ambitious plans for Kelly, handing her hosting duties for a Sunday evening news magazine and the 9 a.m. hour of the "Today" show. But the marriage was awkward from the jump. "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" was poorly received and ended after a short run in the summer of 2017. And "Megyn Kelly Today" was defined by disappointing ratings and awkward moments, with the host sometimes seeming ill-suited for the bubbly world of morning television. Kelly won plaudits for aggressively covering cases of sexual misconduct when the #MeToo movement became an international story in late 2017. But her coverage -- especially of the case involving "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer -- rankled some of her colleagues. This contributed to tensions between Kelly and NBC executives, including NBC News chair Andy Lack, who invested tens of millions of dollars in her hiring. Last September, Kelly publicly contradicted part of Lack's account about why NBC opted not to air Ronan Farrow's reporting about Harvey Weinstein. By that point, there were already questions about how much longer Kelly's 9 a.m. show would last. She had few allies inside NBC, and more than a few detractors. Her lowest moment came on October 23, when she led an on-air discussion about offensive Halloween costumes. Kelly said it was acceptable when she was a kid to don black face "as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character." And she defended a reality TV star who took heat last year for dressing up as Diana Ross. "And I don't know, I felt like who doesn't love Diana Ross?" Kelly said. "She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day. I don't know how, like, that got racist on Halloween." The backlash to Kelly was swift and immediate, exceeding the outrage she generated for her remarks years ago about Santa's race. Kelly apologized to her staff that afternoon. And she apologized on her show the following day, saying "the country feels so divided and I have no wish to add to that pain and offense." Many of her "Today" show colleagues were not satisfied. Kelly drew forceful on-air denunciations from Al Roker and Craig Melvin, two African-American hosts on "Today." And Lack condemned Kelly's comments at a town hall, a clear sign that she had lost the support of the executive who helped woo her to the network. She didn't appear on the network again. Three days after her blackface remarks on air, NBC announced that it had canceled "Megyn Kelly Today." Talks about the terms of her exit soon turned contentious, with Kelly's attorney Bryan Freedman accusing Lack of leaking details about the negotiations. NBC fired back, saying the network had respected the confidentiality of the process while Freedman has "repeatedly commented to the media throughout the negotiations." Both sides then reached a quiet resolution, which was announced on Friday night. | https://www.kq2.com/content/national/504265981.html?ref=981 |
Is Wireless Charging coming to future OPPO and OnePlus phones? | OPPO and OnePlus (Vivo too) operate under the same parent company, and none of their past or present smartphones support wireless charging. That could change in the future as OPPO has been spotted as a member on the Wireless Power Consortium webpage. This is a prerequisite for any manufacturer who wants to enable QI wireless charging on their devices. Members include Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and other notable manufacturers. Now, it is also possible to be a member of the Consortium and not have products supporting QI wireless charging. Or joining the Consortium for a product other than a phone. So, whether future OPPO and OnePlus phones will feature wireless charging or not is yet unknown. Only time will tell. Even though OPPO filed for a 15W fast wireless charging patent recently, OnePlus clearly stated that the company is waiting for the technology to evolve. | https://pocketnow.com/oppo-oneplus-qi-wireless-charging?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pocketnow+%28pocketnow.com%29 |
Does Polands Government Realised That China is Not Russia? | Just over a month after Canada unlawfully detained the CFO of the Chinese tech giant Huawei on orders from the US, it has been announced that Poland has arrested one Chinese national in Poland who works for Huawei, an individual called Wang Weijing as well as a former senior intelligence officer from Poland. Chinas government has demanded that all of the details of the matter concerning Wangs detention be handed to the Chinese Embassy in Warsaw with the utmost urgency. While Huawai later terminated Wangs employment, this still leaves more questions than answers. At the same time, while Chinas government and the wider world await information from Poland on this matter, inferential reasoning leads one to conclude that just as the US forced its Canadian ally to detain Huaweis CFO for matters that had nothing to do with Canada, so too may the US have asked a similar favour of its Polish ally. Of course, Donald Trump and Polands centre-right Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as well as Polands President Andrzej Duda, have a highly productive working relationship between each other. On the one hand, Polands ruling Law and Justice party has been a major factor in opposing the European integrationism of Trumps apparent nemesis Angela Merkel, while on the other hand, Poland provides a geographically useful and politically wiling partner in Americas neo-Cold War against Russia. But while Poland is all too happy to join in with Americas anti-Russian stance in Europe, just because China and Russia are allies this should not lead Poland to think that treating China in the same way as Russia will automatically lead to the same results. At the moment, Poland is among the leading nations in the Three Seas Initiative which is a sub-European Union bloc that also includes, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. It has been noted that while still in its early days, the Three Seas could represent a potentially crucial element of Chinas Belt and Road connectivity initiative as the countries in the Three Seas include those on the eastern and southern frontiers of Europe that converge with Belt and Road connectivity projects in Turkey, Russia and the wider Eurasian space. Because of this, and because Poland does not have a specifically antagonistic relationship with China in the way that it does with neighbouring Russia, it would make absolutely zero sense either at a practical nor at an emotional level for Poland to seemingly randomly arrest a Chinese national working for a company that could potentially revolutionise mobile data in Poland. Therefore, one can logically deduce that either someone in Warsaw actually believes Wang is spying on Poland or else, a far more likely explanation is that Warsaw danced to the American tune as it has been inclined to do since the 1990s. But while the idea of a US-Russia war in central Europe is little more than a pantomime threat in a year that will see the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as Chinas current investments in Poland arent as substantial as for example Chinese investments in neighbouring Pakistan are, should China feel that its citizens are unsafe from random abuse at the hands of the Polish authorities, it would be all too easy for China to pick up and walk away from Poland if pushed to such a position. While China helping Poland to modernise its mobile networks is clearly a win-win scenario, were Poland to antagonise China, the stakes for Beijing would be so comparatively low that it would become a lopsided lose-lose to the detriment of Polish mobile and broadband users should China decide to quit the country in respect of digital connectivity cooperation. While Russia, has long been a customer for Polish agriculture, a sector that has been hit by the 2014 era EU sanctions on Russia, many in both Moscow and Warsaw are resigned to the fact that Russo-Polish relations will be inexorably strained for the foreseeable future. Yet because of the expansive distance between Poland and China, there is no reason why anything but win-win relations should exist between a growing economy in central Europe and the worlds most dynamic economic superpower. It is therefore in Polands interest not to fall into the trap that Canada has fallen into by needlessly antagonising China and harming a Chinese citizen for no self-interested gain. While the US dictating Polish policies towards Russia is more often than not a matter of preaching to the converted, when it comes to antagonising China, Poland has nothing to gain and potentially a lot to lose by treating China in the way that Russia tends to be treated by Americas closest European partners. | https://eurasiafuture.com/2019/01/12/has-polands-government-realised-that-china-is-not-russia/ |
Is Dr Chris Brown single again? | It was only last week New Idea magazine claimed Liv and Dr Chris were ready to settle down together however it seems Bondi's favourite vet could be back to being Australia's most eligible bachelor once again. I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here hosts Dr Chris Brown and Julia Morris. Credit: Georgia Fowler on the price of glamour It's not all glitz and glamour for in-demand model Georgia Fowler. The 26-year-old New Zealander has been making a name for herself on runways since the age of 16 when she relocated to New York to pursue her modelling dream. Fowler has graced the cover of all the big fashion magazines, and walked in the Victoria's Secret runway show for three consecutive years, yet says at times it can be a lonely existence. New Zealand model Georgia Fowler in the Victoria's Secret show in New York. Credit:AP "I left home from all my friends and family to live on the other side of the world and gave up the chance of a proper childhood," she explains. "Now, the more I work the more I'm away, you give up the chance to have a relationship or a friendship or to be able to eat a burger whenever you want. They are all things I have sacrificed, but I do it because it's worth it." Questions surrounding Georgia's relationships, as well as that of her sister, Justin Hemmes's baby-mama, Kate, were off-limits. Emerald City enquired whether she thought she was the inspiration behind Harry Styles' hit single Kiwi which has been a long-time rumour. "I have nothing to say about that," she said. Georgia was Stella Artois' Special Guest at the 2019 Portsea Polo at the Point Nepean National Park on Saturday. Questions surrounding Georgia and Kate Fowler's relationships were off-limits. Credit: Roxy Jacenko's younger sister welcomes her first child Roxy Jacenko's younger sister, Ruby Davis has welcomed her first child, a son, with husband Jackson Eisenpresser. The couple welcomed baby "Ace" just before Christmas. In a since-deleted Instagram account Ruby announced that after 17 days in hospital her son was finally coming home. Ruby Davis and husband Jackson welcome baby Ace. Credit:Instagram Once considered a Sydney socialite, Ruby moved to the US in 2012 before tying the knot at the Beverly Hills hotel in 2015. Eisenpresser, a wealthy American, is a former Goldman Sachs banker and top aide to Tony Blair. The couple welcomed their first child in December. Credit:instagram Celebs swoon over Laura Brown's giant sparkler Last week Emerald City speculated that the new engagement ring of Aussie expat and US InStyle editor Laura Brown may have been a freebie, given all the Instagram posts tagging jewellery designer Stefano Canturi. However, Patricia Canturi, wife and business partner of Stefano, insisted Brown's fiance could not have been more traditional in his approach to create the almighty rock. Brandon and Laura got engaged at a kangaroo sanctuary in Alice Springs. Credit:Instagram "Brandon came to us because he knows how much Laura loves Stefano's designs, he approached us in secret to plan her engagement ring for a surprise proposal," she explains. The magnificent gem, dubbed "The Stella" is designed for "modern romantics", and Laura's ring boasts nearly 4 carats of diamond. Reese Witherspoon, Emily Ratajkowski and supermodel Helena Christensen have all swooned over the giant sparkler. Laura returned to the States last week where she hosted Hollywood elite at the InStyle and Warner Bros Golden Globes after party. Canturi Jewellers would not disclose the price of the ring. | https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/is-dr-chris-brown-single-again-20190111-p50qvx.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |
Who is Julin Castro? | Julin Castro Born: September 16, 1974 Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas Age on Inauguration Day: 46 Party affiliation: Democrat Education: Stanford University (BA in Political Science and Communications); Harvard Law School (Juris Doctor) Professions: Lawyer Public office: San Antonio Mayor 2009-2014; U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2014-2017 Personal: Castro and wife Erica have two children Life and career highlights Lost his first attempt at becoming San Antonio mayor in 2005, but went on to win four years later. Skipped sophomore year of high school due to his academic achievement. Time magazine placed him on its "40 under 40" list of rising stars in American politics in 2010 In 2012, became the first Latino to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Twin brother Joaquin is serving his fourth term as U.S. Representative from Texas 20th District. Sources: Ballotpedia, Biography.com, WhiteHouse.gov, Dallas Morning News | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/who-is-julian-castro/283-ac69bb36-d2cb-46bb-bd18-50108c87054c |
How much pressure is Stars GM Jim Nill under to make a deal for a top forward at the trade deadline? | DeFranks: That would be great, yes. But I'm not sure what kind of teams would be looking for a forward that hasn't scored in his last 60 regular-season and playoff NHL games. Almost 1,000 players have scored a goal in the NHL since Nichushkin has. That sounds made up, but it's not: 972 players have scored since Nichushkin did March 4, 2016. If they did trade him to a team that wanted him, they'd have to include a lot, lot more to bring back a secondary scorer that they need. DeFranks: Absolutely, I think there is. Nill would probably say that there is always pressure with his position as general manager, but the team (especially with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin in their primes) cannot miss the playoffs three seasons in a row. While CEO Jim Lites' comments on Benn and Seguin at the end of December rightfully drew most of the eyeballs and headlines, Lites also hinted that Nill could be the scapegoat. Here's a quote from our chat on Dec. 28 from Lites. "I don't think our guys perform poorly because they have contracts. I think they're comfortable. And I don't know if they see it. What's upsetting to me is that we live it every day. We change coaches. This team shouldn't even be thinking about missing the playoffs. It shouldn't even be an issue. We are too talented, too good, too strong to be performing this poorly." That seems to spell a playoffs-or-gone attitude without saying so explicitly. The Stars are in a good position right now. They are in third place in the Central Division and are 5-1-1 since Christmas break. But -- and this isn't anything new -- they need to score more, and depth scoring will be watched as closely as it has all season. They are 26th in the league in scoring per game and no team since the lockout shortened season has made the playoffs ending so low. They will be in the market for a top-six forward, but we'll see if Nill can swing a deal. Last year was a bit surprising that they didn't. And what do you think the return for a top 6 forward would be for someone like a Simmonds, or someone of similar caliber. I'll hang up and listen. I have no idea if they will. Since Jim Nill became the Stars' GM, the team hasn't made a significant trade deadline acquisition. Kris Russell and Tim Thomas are about as close as they got. That doesn't scream aggressive around the trade deadline, and last year certainly was not an exception. As far as Simmonds, it depends on how much you want to trust him at 30 years old. Since he joined the Flyers, he's never finished a season with fewer than 24 goals, and that's the pace he's on this season (13 goals in 43 games). He brings a reasonable cap hit and is a UFA this summer. I'd imagine he'd require less in return than Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Kevin Hayes or Ryan Dzingel because of his age and production, but it'd likely still be a pick and a prospect at the very least. What levels (first round or third round, Jason Robertson or a lower prospect) is what we'll have to see. Obviously, the big fish is Artemi Panarin, and the Columbus situation will be fascinating to watch, especially after this morning's news about Sergei Bobrovsky. To view the full chat, click here. | https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-stars/stars/2019/01/12/much-pressure-stars-gm-jim-nill-make-deal-top-forward-trade-deadline |
Have we seen last supper? | For decades it has been the centre of the home a place where families gather to eat, drink and catch up on the day, where they laugh, cry, argue and learn and where children develop memories and feelings around food. But the tradition of families breaking bread around the dinner table is on the decline and it could be contributing to the obesity epidemic. The image of a housewife serving up dinner to her husband and children has been replaced by family members eating on the couch, on the go and on their own as busy schedules make dining as a family a challenge. This week, British newspaper columnist Celia Walden suggested the simple lifestyle change of sitting down as a family to eat could reverse the obesity crisis. Camera Icon Sarah and Roger Moore eat dinner at the table with their daughter, Willow. Picture: Michael Wilson Australian Medical Association WA president Omar Khorshid said while a multi-pronged approach was needed, including looking at childrens advertising and a potential sugar tax, bringing back the family meal could go some way to tackling bad food habits. We have moved away, with our busy lives, from having the mum who didnt go to work prepare a meal for the family and everyone sits down and has it together, he said. Its probably one of the reasons why weve moved so much towards convenience food and junk foods which are so much worse for our health. Dr Khorshid encouraged families to make an effort to eat some meals together and to put devices away and turn the television off during mealtime. There arent just health benefits, it also encourages better communication and models good behaviour to children. They are sponges and absorb everything that goes on around them, he said. Camera Icon The old-fashioned mum in the kitchen stereotype. Picture: Getty Images If they see parents valuing good eating habits and responsible consumption of alcohol its something they are more likely to do as they get older. Telethon Kids Institute researcher Karen Lombardi said regular family meals were associated with success at school, higher levels of self-esteem and could even protect against depression, substance use and eating disorders. It is something many people would like to be able to do but it can be really hard, she said. Hectic schedules mean they do take some planning and prioritising. There is lots of evidence that eating together is really important ... children eat more fruit and veg, fibre, calcium and less discretionary food if they eat as a family. Dr Lombardi suggested parents learn quick, healthy recipes to use in rotation, cook food in batches and freeze some to cope with the evening rush and make an effort to embrace weekend and holiday lunches. Perth nutritionist Sarah Moore said eating as a family was more important than ensuring children ate enough vegetables. Its about teaching kids intuitive eating and mindful eating, skills which are getting lost, she said. Associate Professor Barbara Mullen from Curtin Universitys school of psychology said while it was not always possible for families to eat dinner together, breakfast was important. She said some speculative research suggested even families who ate together in front of the TV could still be getting important bonding time because it was often a less threatening environment for teenagers in particular. | https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/have-we-seen-last-supper-ng-b881069514z |
Why was Eric Bieniemy passed over this year? | A strong argument could be made for Bieniemy. Hes in the spot that has produced Eagles coach Doug Pederson and Bears coach Matt Nagy, both of whom have quickly become great head coaches. The Chiefs offense found a higher level this year, in Bieniemys first season as the O.C. I think the biggest difference is the mentality, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on the #PFTPM podcast in late September regarding the transition from Nagy to Bieniemy. Coach Bieniemy brings a fierce, aggressive mentality to the offense. Kind of a gritty, punch-you-in-the-mouth-type of mindset, and I think that has rubbed off on everybody, from Pat [Mahomes] throwing the ball aggressively down field. The play calling is a little bit more aggressive and, sure enough, everybody getting the ball has been a north runner. Theres not too much running sideways. Everybodys getting downhill trying to finish the plays in the end zone. The problem is that Bieniemy doesnt call plays. Then again, Nagy only called plays for half of a season in 2017, a season that saw the offense sputter after a strong start to the season. The explanation could be more about the pursuit of quarterback whisperers, and Bieniemys lack of background in that area. I think the big thing is teams are looking for quarterback guys, one league source opined to PFT. Matt, Doug are both former quarterbacks and former quarterback coaches. Bieniemy isnt. Theres still a belief in Kansas City that Bieniemy will become a great coach someday. For now, the Chiefs benefit. Then again, they likely benefit either way; theyve done a great job filling the pipeline with more great offensive coordinators, as their offensive coordinators become great coaches. | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/01/12/why-was-eric-bieniemy-passed-over-this-year/ |
Is a Russian Billionaire Threatening Ruth Bader Ginsburg? | Artem Klyushin is a Russian billionaire who serves as councilor to the Kremlin. Klyushin is a prolific social media user who likes to use Twitter to brag about his own exploits. Back in 2017, Klyushin took to Twitter to boast that Donald Trump would never have been elected president if not for him. You can see that tweet here: https://t.co/PuV7smlOPi pic.twitter.com/6zlnwlyo7y (@ARTEM_KLYUSHIN) September 28, 2017 When you run Klyshins tweet through Google translate, it reads, Without my intervention, Trump wouldnt have won. Then theres a row of laughing-til-they-cry emojis. Now, Klyushin is turning his eye to the Supreme Court. On Friday, Klyushin tweeted a photo of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. When you have Google translate Klyshins tweet, it says, The time has come to bring Ruth Ginsburg out of the Supreme Court judges. Ginzburg, the star of liberal jurisprudence, has been in the Supreme Court for 25 years. Its time for her to rest. Klyushin also tagged president Trump in the tweet. Social Media Users Said They Had Already Alerted the FBI to the Possible Threat Against Ruth Bader Ginsburg Many Twitter users were viewing Klyushins tweet as a thinly veiled threat against Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal whose health has been declining recently. Some Twitter users felt that Klyushin might be trying to actually harm the liberal justice so they alerted the FBI. The FBIs office in Washington, DC didnt immediately respond to a query from Heavy. But social media users said they had called the bureaus field office and had been assured that the bureau is looking into the case. Agents apparently said they had already received many, many calls about the Russian tweet. I called the DC office and the guy that answered said they are investigating, They have received a ton of calls. Nobody messes with RBG Stacey (@nursegalmom) January 12, 2019 At least one Twitter user said they had reported Klyushin to Twitter itself. It wasnt clear whether the site was planning to take any action on Klyushins account, but they tweeted back an acknowledgement that the complaint had been received. Dont forget to report pic.twitter.com/ppTyxa3h9y long time no seal (@HNSeal2) January 12, 2019 Klyshushin Has Been Tweeting His Support for Trumps Border Wall & In Favor of Trumps Position on the Shut Down . @realDonaldTrump $5,7 , , . $3,6 . , pic.twitter.com/aNGwYEZfpS (@ARTEM_KLYUSHIN) January 12, 2019 A recent tweet from Klyushin when run through Google translate urges President Trump to stay the course on the government shutdown. Bro, you stay there, Klyushin urged the president. He wrote, The current American Shatdown has already become the longest in the history of the country. Parliament does not want to give @realDonaldTrump$5.7 billion on the construction of the wall with Mexico because it believes that it is expensive. In this case, the losses from the rickety have already reached $3.6 billion. Bro, you stay there . Klyushin also wrote that the Democrats werent leaving Trump much of a choice and that he might be forced to go to declare an emergency. The Russian billionaire said on Twitter, This is why @realDonaldTrump he tries to exhaust all other possibilities before resorting to the emergency situation. But the Democrats just dont leave him a choice @realDonaldTrump , . https://t.co/QPWBd0NOjV (@ARTEM_KLYUSHIN) January 10, 2019 Klyushin also applauded President Trumps recent tweet saying that someday, Russia and the United States will have good relations again. The president tweeted that, although hes always been very tough on Russia, getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. In response, Klyushin put up a photo of two men, their faces painted with the US and the Russian flag. He added, Its time! Make America with Russia great Again! | https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/russian-billionaire-ruth-bader-ginsburg/ |
Who are the UK yellow vest protesters? | Hundreds of people put on high-visibility jackets in imitation of French protesters as they marched in central London against government cuts. Organisers from The People's Assembly Against Austerity described Saturday's march as the arrival in the UK of the "yellow vests" movement that rocked France in November 2018. They even brought two campaigners from across the Channel to seal the relationship. But they are not the only group to claim the spirit of the yellow vests, with pro-Brexit demonstrators outside Parliament also putting on high-vis jackets. The French connection "English people, you look good in yellow!" said a message on the jacket of Erick Simon. He is one of the gilet jaunes, as they are known in France, who travelled from Normandy with fellow organiser, Laurie Martin. Ms Martin said she came "to support the British because our demands are the same as those fighting austerity across Europe". Image caption French protesters Erick Simon and Laurie Martin wore messages of support Many protesters said they had been inspired by events in France. Kylie Crawley said she wanted to stand against cuts to services for her 17-year-old daughter, Kacee, who has Down's syndrome. "To me the French yellow vests were ordinary people wanting to get out and tell people how bad things had got and how they wanted change," she said. Image caption Kylie Crawley bought yellow vests online, including for daughter Kacee Jim Scott, who got up at 04:00 GMT to travel from west Wales to the protest, said the vests had become a powerful "symbol for change". "They're facing the same things in France: austerity, cuts to public services, expanding the gap between rich and poor. That's how this movement has started." As the march began, one protester cried, "Let's show the French what we can do!" Meanwhile, another group of protesters was outside Parliament, also in yellow vests. They waved the union jack, burned EU flags and denounced "left-wing scum". "We're not far right, we're just right," they chanted. In France, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has said violent far-right and far-left groups have both infiltrated the gilet jaunes protests. But Tony Griffiths from the People's Assembly, which organised the UK anti-austerity march, said that because the movement had "burst out of the streets", it meant different things to different people. He said marchers, who carried banners in support of migrants, stood against racism and fascism. "We are absolutely not allowing the far right to take over the yellow vest movement in this country. They've been forced out the yellow vest movement in France and they'll be forced out the yellow vest movement in this country," he said. Image caption "The issues are the same, here and in France," said Katerina Kohler For some, the jackets sent out a message of togetherness. Katerina Kohler, who was at the People's Assembly stall selling them for 3 each, said: "It gives us a nice unity for people all to wear the vests." Some marchers declined to wear the high-vis jackets in case the symbolism might be misinterpreted, however. Antonia Bright, a campaigner with the anti-racism group Movement for Justice, said she wanted to "steer away from white populism". "I don't need it to march for what I am standing for," she said. On Saturday, France put 80,000 police officers on duty to cope with thousands of gilets jaunes demonstrators across the country. In London, by contrast, hundreds of people attended the anti-austerity march. BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said the pro-Brexit demonstration was smaller and attracted between 200 and 300 people. The French protests were a grassroots movement, born online, and initially targeted against fuel taxes. The yellow vests were used as a symbol because every French driver is legally required to carry one in their vehicle. In the UK, protesters said they either bought their jackets online, picked them up at the stall or, in several cases, already had one they used for stewarding at other protests. Image caption Sharon Stafford-Jones and Debbie Hutchins were protesting against changes to women's pensions And while the French protesters were outside of established political organisations, the British anti-austerity march brought together several trade unions and campaign groups, and was attended by Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Many attendees said they hoped the movement grew in the UK to become as powerful as its French counterpart. Sharon Stafford-Jones said she had been in France recently where she said there was "a wonderful community spirit coming together" over the protests. But Jeremy Jennings, professor of political theory at King's College London, was sceptical about whether the movement would translate. He said: "The situation in France is pretty desperate. I can see why someone would want to try and use that mobilisation in Britain, but I'd be surprised if it took off." | https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46851713 |
Who will be Air New Zealand's new fashion designer? | Fashion circles are whispering about which Kiwi designer may succeed Dame Trelise Cooper in designing the new Air New Zealand uniform. Last October, the airline contacted selected designers inviting them to submit designs. Cooper, whose bold prints in pink, blue and green have been worn by the airlines 4500 cabin crew and airport staff since 2011, was among those asked to submit. Fashion industry expert Murray Bevan, from Showroom 22, said it was a huge accolade to have your brand flown around the world. I have worked on many corporate uniform design projects and almost every client says Air NZ is the benchmark for getting it right, he tells Spy. Bevan believes designers should be flexible in their approach, pointing out that one brand might not be right to design every facet of the uniform. Last year the airline aligned itself with innovative merino footwear brand Allbirds, bringing added comfort to the inflight experience with an intelligently designed eye mask to help customers sleep better and wake up fresh. He said an accessory brand such as Deadly Ponies might be great at creating Business Class kits and the same train of thought could be done for scarves and raincoats. While Karen Walker is our biggest name and most recognisable brand around the world, I think the airline will also be enamoured by the new guard of Kiwi designers who are reshaping what success looks like for local fashion brands. Alongside Karen, Allbirds and Deadly Ponies, labels like Maggie Marilyn, Harman Grubisa, Wynn Hamlyn, Rachel Mills and Georgia Alice are all names I would expect to see in the mix. These new young brands have a sharp focus on international success and have used social media to reach vast audiences incredibly fast. Spy has also heard Huffer could be in the running, which would mean a more street-cool direction a little bit like its latest inflight safety video, which was performed in rap. Previous Air New Zealand designers have included Christian Dior (1961), Nina Ricci (1976), Barbara Lee (1992), and Zambesi (2005). | https://spy.nzherald.co.nz/spy-news/who-will-be-air-new-zealands-new-fashion-designer/ |
Where Will CRISPR Therapeutics Be in 10 Years? | Predicting the future is never easy (at least not with any hope of being remotely accurate). But attempting to look 10 years in the future for an early-stage biotech is especially tough. CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) is about as early as you can get with early-stage biotechs. The company began its first clinical study only a few months ago. There are multiple paths that could unfold based on how this study and others progress. Here are some possible futures for the up-and-coming biotech. Physician with stethoscope around her neck holding palm out with a question mark appearing over it and cloudy wisps in the shape of DNA helixes in the background More Image source: Getty Images. Dream scenario CRISPR Therapeutics' dream scenario would definitely include a resounding success for its lead pipeline candidate, CTX001. The biotech is currently enrolling patients in a couple of phase 1/2 clinical studies evaluating the gene-editing therapy in treating rare blood diseases beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD). Both of these studies are scheduled to wrap up in 2022, although primary results should be available in early 2021. Assuming all goes well, CRISPR Therapeutics will advance CTX001 to registrational studies. And if those studies are successful, the biotech could have its first product on the market well before 10 years from now. In this scenario, CRISPR Therapeutics would probably be generating revenue in 2029 of more than $1 billion with CTX001. Current treatments for beta thalassemia and SCD are very limited. Patients frequently require transfusions and hospitalization. CTX001 could be a lifesaver for thousands of patients each year. But CRISPR Therapeutics could also have another product on the market in 10 years. The biotech plans to begin an early-stage clinical study of allogeneic CAR-T therapy CTX110 in the first half of 2019. Current CAR-T therapies require expensive and slow processes where patients' own T cells are genetically engineered to fight specific types of cancer. Allogeneic CAR-T therapies use genetically engineered T cells from healthy donors. These "off-the-shelf" therapies enable immediate treatment at lower costs. CTX110 targets tumors that express the CD19 protein. CRISPR Therapeutics also has several other allogeneic CAR-T therapies in preclinical testing that target other tumors, including those that express BCMA and CD70. In a dream scenario, the biotech would leverage what it learns with CTX110 into positive studies for other CAR-T therapies and launch the most effective cancer treatments available. Success for its allogeneic CAR-T therapies could make CRISPR Therapeutics one of the hottest biotechs on the market in 2029. Nightmare scenario Things could turn out much worse for CRISPR Therapeutics, though. There's a real possibility that safety issues could doom the company's underlying technology. CRISPR Therapeutics named itself after the gene-editing approach that it has helped pioneer -- CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). With CRISPR, bacterial enzymes are used to target specific sections of DNA. Sequences in the DNA can be disrupted (inactivated), deleted, or replaced. Two serious concerns have been raised about CRISPR. One is that there could be unintended "off-target" changes made when using CRISPR to edit DNA sequences. Another is that using CRISPR could increase the risk of cancer. | https://news.yahoo.com/where-crispr-therapeutics-10-years-170000630.html |
Are women punished more harshly for killing an intimate partner? | Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for a man she killed when she was 16 years old. This week though, Brown was granted clemency by the Tennessee governor after appeals by her lawyers claiming that she was a victim of sex trafficking who feared for her life. Brown, now aged 30, will remain on parole supervision for 10 years so long as she retains a job and participates in regular counseling sessions. The man Brown killed was Johnny Allen, who had taken her to his house that night. Though he wasnt her partner, the case prompted me to look at sentencing statistics for intimate partner violence in the US. Cyntoia Brown: celebrities call for release of sex-trafficking victim Read more Statistics cited by the ACLU and the Womens March suggest a wide gender gap in sentencing. The average prison sentence for men who kill their female partners is two to six years (the illustration here takes the midpoint of those values). By contrast women, who kill their partners are sentenced on average to 15 years. Despite its widespread use, the statistic is dated. It was first published by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1989. It remains true that most women who kill their partners cite self-defense as a motive. In fact, 70-80% of incarcerated women report intimate partner violence. But there doesnt appear to be any recent analysis of sentencing to see if this gender gap in sentencing remains the same. Since the statistic was first published, one of the clearest changes in the US prison system has been the dramatic increase in womens incarceration rates. Research also suggests that women are given harsher punishments when they have committed crimes that are perceived as more masculine, such as murder. More recent statistics from other countries suggest that intimate partner violence committed by men continues to be treated with leniency. In Ireland, men who are convicted of the manslaughter of current or former partners serve an average of 2.8 years less time in jail than other men convicted of the same charge against people who were not their partners. This is a column that illustrates numbers from the news each week. Write to me: [email protected] | https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2019/jan/12/intimate-partner-violence-gender-gap-cyntoia-brown |
Was is(s)t die Welt? | Die Ausstellung zeigt in beeindruckenden Fotografien die Vielfalt unserer Nahrungsmittel. Gleichzeitig fhrt sie uns aber auch vor Augen, wie ungleich die Nahrungsmittel auf der Welt verteilt sind. Die Ausstellung spannt einen Bogen um die ganze Welt. Von Deutschland ber die Trkei, gypten, Bhutan, China und Ecuador bis in die USA, um nur einige der insgesamt gezeigten 20 Lnder zu nennen. Und sie spannt auch einen Bogen von den reichen Industrienationen mit ihrem berfluss an Nahrungsmitteln, hin zu den rmsten Lndern, in denen der Nahrungsmangel zum Alltag gehrt. Die Ausstellung wirft gleichzeitig einen Blick auf eine gesunde Ernhrung und die Problematik des Verpackungsmlls. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bundesministerium fr wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung | https://www.moritz.de/events/was-is-s-t-die-welt_02_19/ |
Is Alex Berenson Trolling Us With His Anti-Weed Book? | In the past week, theres been a flurry of media coverage around a new book called Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence. One of the main points is that legalization is a terrible idea, because legal pot is already causing more people to become schizophrenic and psychotic, and people who are schizophrenic and psychotic are more likely to commit violent crimes. Alex Berenson, the books author a former journalist who spent the past decade or so writing mysteries and thriller novels landed plum op-eds in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He appeared on Fox and Friends and Tucker Carlson Tonight. And the pop-psych theorist Malcolm Gladwell wrote an entire New Yorker article repeating and promoting the books thesis. And yet, this theory is deeply flawed. After five years of extensive reporting on the cannabis industry, it seems pretty clear that weed itself isnt that dangerous sure, it can be abused like any drug, but its weeds illegality, especially the illegality of the supply chain, that poses a far greater public safety threat. At this point, several experts have publicly debunked the books claims much of which seems to be based on the common fallacy of mistaking correlation for causation. Mark A. R. Kleiman, a prominent economist who has consistently voiced concern about the negative effects of legal cannabis sales, pointed out that since the early 1990s, as pot usage in America has dramatically increased, violent crime has significantly decreased. One of the experts that Gladwell quotes as warning Canadian parliament on the uncertainties around cannabis, RAND Drug Policy Research Center co-director Beau Kilmer, tweeted in response to Berenson a rather comprehensive study showing, Marijuana use does not induce violent crime. Another researcher pointed out that Berensons contention that legalization leads to violence, based on limited data from Washington and Colorado, is akin to saying that organic food causes autism, because sales of organic food have risen, in recent years, apace with autism diagnoses. Even more damning is some of the criticism from the folks whose expertise Berenson claims to be drawing from. Ziva Cooper is the research director for UCLAs Cannabis Research Initiative and served as a committee member on the 468-page National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report cited by Berenson and Gladwell. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Cooper asserts that Berenson completely misunderstood the reports conclusions around schizophrenia. To say that cannabis causes schizophrenia, its just wrong, and its meant to precipitate fear, she says. Rather, the scientists found some association between schizophrenia and cannabis use, but do not yet have enough evidence to determine causality. As Cooper puts it: People who have schizophrenia are also known to be very heavy tobacco smokers, but we dont say that tobacco causes schizophrenia. The idea that weed causes psychosis and schizophrenia is Berensons core argument, and the research review Cooper refers to is an important piece of evidence for that argument. Im not a scientist, and Im not a statistician, but it sure doesnt look good when the people whose research you draw your conclusions from announce that you have misinterpreted their research. Putting aside the issue of whether Berenson bothered to contact a group of researchers he purports to be helping, one way to determine whether Berenson is a troll is to gently offer some nuance and perspective on the claims hes making, and see how he responds. Last week, he tweeted about shootings at legal marijuana dispensaries, implying that marijuana has an inherent ability to spark violence. However, clicking through to the news stories, I understood that most of the dispensaries were actually illicit, unlicensed businesses. I wondered if Berenson was merely ill-informed, so I pointed the context out to him. He did not respond. Gladwell and Berenson both advocate for pot decriminalization as an alternative to legalization yet decriminalization necessitates the continuation of the illicit market. Hardly anyone wants to grow their own pot, just as hardly anyone wants to grow their own food. As long as the people growing and selling pot are doing so illegally, marijuana will continue to cause violence and damage. This is because marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the world. There is enormous demand for it. As Gladwell himself acknowledges, albeit parenthetically, legality is not a predictor of use. If legal outlets dont fill the demand for pot, criminals will. And a criminal business is not a safe business. Criminals cannot resolve disputes in the courts, so they do so with guns, and with violence. This is why the illicit marijuana-growing capital of America, Humboldt County, has nearly twice the average rate of violent crime. This is why there is a culture of silence around the widespread sexual abuse and exploitation of women on marijuana farms, hundreds of whom go missing every year. The most dangerous thing about marijuana is its illegality. If Berenson were genuinely concerned about public safety, he might acknowledge that illegal weed is more harmful than legal weed on the consumer end, as well. Illicitly produced marijuana is not being tested for pesticides, mold, or other contaminants. The chemicals used on illegal weed are known carcinogens and known neurotoxins. This stuff is very bad for you, and we know that criminal cannabis farms can be rather cavalier about increasing production to maximize profit the ground and the watersheds around illicit cannabis farms contain terrifying amounts of these chemicals. So while Berenson worries about the profit motivations behind legal marijuana operators, he neglects to acknowledge that the existing illegal operators are also motivated by profit, in a much scarier way. And while there is no definitive proof that smoking marijuana causes schizophrenia, there sure as hell is proof that, because of its illegality, smoking marijuana can ruin your life. Yes, there are not very many people who are serving time in prison for cannabis offenses, but pot possession remains the most common reason for arrest in America. About 700,000 people a year are caught up in an expensive criminal justice nightmare simply because they got high. If the arrest leads to a conviction, it could follow you forever, affecting your ability to vote, apply for a loan, or get a job. And if youre lucky, rich, or white enough to escape arrest as a pot smoker, your employer and your landlord still have the right to fire or evict you for using cannabis even if you do so in a legal state. Of course, the possible association between schizophrenia and cannabis is nothing to be dismissive about. Ive long taken the limited conclusions of that research very seriously. One of my closest friends has now been through two psychotic episodes, and I cared for her during both. To say I am obsessive about making sure she doesnt smoke weed would be an understatement. But to portray yourself as the patron saint of unheralded research, and then to have those researchers say that you completely misunderstood its difficult for me to see Berenson as sincere. Still, hes correct that more research into cannabis is desperately needed. Hes correct in guessing that the rise of Big Pot would probably not be a good thing. And hes correct in saying that marijuana businesses and advocates often distort reality and research to fit their claims. Heres the thing though. Someone trying to sell copies of his book. | https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/alex-berenson-marijuana-tell-your-children-trolling-777741/ |
What does Maduro have to offer? | Hyperinflation, power cuts and shortages of food and medicine. The economic crisis has driven millions of Venezuelans out of the country. Nicolas Maduro's critics blame him for the dire situation, and yet he has been sworn in for a second six-year term as president. The election was marred by allegations of vote-rigging and Maduro's opponents are challenging his right to lead the country and calling for new elections. As Maduro embarks on a new term as president, the chaos in the country shows no signs of abating. Presenter: Nick Clark Guests Phil Gunson - Senior analyst covering the Andes region at the International Crisis Group Sonia Schott - Specialist on Latin American relations with a special focus on Venezuela Paul Dobson - Journalist for Venezuelanalysis.com Source: Al Jazeera News | https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2019/01/maduro-offer-190112180907301.html |
Will the Steelers end up trading Antonio Brown? | Over the course of the next two months, there is going to be a surplus of information come out about the situation between the Pittsburgh Steelers and wide receiver Antonio Brown. You have to think if the Steelers were in a position to work a trade for Brown right now, he would probably be gone. In looking at this situation, the key point here is the dynamic between Brown and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They are one of the most prolific tandems in NFL history and over the past six season have been phenomenal. But you have to assume both guys realize they are only as good as they are because of each other. The same could be said for Roethlisberger. Hes going to sling the ball around but having Brown in crunch time has proven to be a huge factor in his success later in his career. Related Antonio Brown reportedly 100 percent wants to return to the Steelers | https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/12/steelers-trading-antonio-brown/ |
Is Instagram's future like Flickr's? | Once upon a time, there was a really, really popular photo sharing service. Its popularity didn't go unnoticed, and one day a giant internet firm with an inferior photo system came along and gobbled it up. "We look forward to working with them for their innovation and product development," the big firm's spokesperson said, promising that the photo service would remain a stand-alone business for the foreseeable future. No, not Facebook buying Instagram - although the wording and the promises were spookily similar. I'm talking about Yahoo! 's acquisition of Flickr. These days, Flickr's a shadow of its former self. As founder Stewart Butterfield says on Quora, it was "being starved for resources and I'm pretty sure that would have happened at Google too." Flickr was *the* social network for sharing photos, long before most people knew what a social network was. Now, though, it's lost the sharing space to Google, to Facebook and to Instagram. Lost focus The vast majority of social networking acquisitions end badly. Facebook bought the check-in service Gowalla and shut it down. It bought the feature phone app developer Snaptu and shut it down. It bought group messaging service Beluga and shut it down. Meanwhile over at Google the death toll includes social network Jaiku, social search service Aardvark and social gaming platform Slide, and Yahoo's bought and shuttered more services than we've had hot dinners. In many cases, it's that the acquisitions are talent hires: the buyer wants the brains behind the product, but isn't too fussed about the product. That's where the "we'll keep this going forever!" We meant we're shutting it down!" reversals tend to come from: the buyer did intend to keep the service going, but decided after the fact that it didn't really need to, or want to. In other cases, it's that the buy was a defensive one: the product threatens something the buyer already does, or could do if an enemy acquired it. Once again, it's not long before "we'll keep it going without changing it" becomes "we're shutting it down on Friday" - but this time shutting it down was the plan all along. Lost interest Last but not least, there's what I think happened to Flickr: Yahoo! bought Flickr with the best intentions and promptly lost interest. Instead of riding a rollercoaster of venture capital cash, Flickr became a remote, unloved outpost of an enormous empire. Rather than fuelling the fires of innovation, Yahoo! effectively made Flickr beg for loose change to keep the central heating on. Maybe Instagram isn't doomed. Maybe this will be like Google's acquision of YouTube, a long bet that's paid off handsomely without making the service an also-ran. But the odds are against it, and of course it's been bought by a company whose vision of the internet is one where Facebook *is* the internet. The deal looks like a cross between a talent buy and a defensive one, and those rarely end well. I can't help thinking that when you look at Flickr today, you're seeing Instagram's best possible future. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/photography-video-capture/is-instagram-s-future-like-flickr-s-1075363 |
How does IMDb Freedive work and which movies does it offer? | Amazon-owned IMDb has launched a video streaming service that's free to use. It's called IMDb Freedive. With this new service, IMDb is expanding its existing video offering beyond short-form original series, trailers, and celebrity interviews. It now offers popular, full-length movies as well as hit TV shows - for free. Here's what you need to know about it. You can access IMDb Freedive at www.imdb.com/freedive via a browser on your PC or Mac. You will need to login to IMDb, which you can do either by creating a standalone IMDb account (it's free) or by signing in with your Amazon login credentials. You can also access Freedive on all Amazon Fire TV devices. Just look for the new IMDb Freedive app in the Your Apps & Channels row. Alternatively, on Fire TV, simply say Alexa, go to Freedive, to immediately access movies and TV shows. Amazon added X-Ray from Prime Video to IMDb Freeview. It's powered by IMDb, after all. The feature primarily helps you to learn more about what (or who) you're watching. Get bios, filmographies, facts, trivia, character backstories, soundtrack info, photo galleries, bonus video content, and more. To access X-Ray, click "up" on your TV remote or move your cursor while the video is playing. At launch, you can see hit movies like Awakenings, Foxcatcher, Memento, Monster, Run Lola Run, The Illusionist, The Last Samurai, Drive, The Ides of March, The People vs Larry Flynt, and True Romance. There are also popular TV shows, such as Fringe, Heroes, The Bachelor, Duck Dynasty, and Without. IMDb original video series, including The IMDb Show, Casting Calls and No Small Parts, are also available to stream on IMDb Freedive. Amazon said the IMDb Freedive catalogue will continue to evolve, as it plans to regularly add new titles. Yes. IMDb Freedive is an ad-supported channel. So, unlike Netflix, it serves up ads instead of charging users a monthly subscription free. IMDb Freedive is available right now in the US. Currently, there's no word on whether the service will come to the UK. | https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news/amazon/146740-how-does-imdb-freedive-work-and-which-movies-does-it-offer |
Is Katherine Schwarzenegger moving in with Chris Pratt? | They've been dating since June 2018 and recently returned from a family New Year's break in Cabo. And it appears as though Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger could be taking the next step in their relationship and moving in together. Spotted helping his lady love move out of her Santa Monica home, the 39-year-old couldn't seem to wipe the smile off of his face. Chris Pratt was spotted on Saturday helping his girlfriend Katharine Schwarzenegger move out of her Santa Monica home Chris was dressed in a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans for the moving day. Katherine was dressed comfortably in a black of black trousers and a black sweater as she left her former home. She appeared to be wearing no makeup and was seen carrying some cook books in her arms. Going strong: They've been dating since June 2018 and recently returned from a family New Year's break in Cabo And the Avenger's star couldn't hide his excitement, taking to his Instagram account to share the happy moving news with his 22.2 million followers. 'I love moving!! Picking up heavy things and moving them into the back of a truck was my major in college! (Full disclosure Chris Pratt did not go to a moving college but he did went to community college for a hot second),' he joked. 'Point being... Call Chris. Almost nobody in LA even has a truck so every time they have something to move they call me.' Best day! And the Avenger's star couldn't hide his excitement, taking to his Instagram account to share the happy moving news with his 22.2 million followers His secret hobby: 'I love moving!! Picking up heavy things and moving them into the back of a truck was my major in college! (Full disclosure Chris Pratt did not go to a moving college but he did went to community college for a hot second),' he joked. The Lego Movie star continued to encourage LA locals to DM him if they needed any moving assistance. He did not however specify whether Katherine would be moving in with him or into another premises. Chris and Katherine first made headlines in the second half of 2018, following his split from wife Anna Farris. The couple wed in 2009 before calling it quits in August 2017. Together they co-parent son Jack, six, who was born in 2012. | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6585037/Is-Katherine-Schwarzenegger-moving-Chris-Pratt.html |
What Are We Working For "At Eternity's Gate"? | - Advertisement - By Edward Curtin Vincent Van Gogh - Houses in Auvers (Image by irinaraquel) Permission Details DMCA "One also knows from his letters that nothing appeared more sacred to Van Gogh than work." - John Berger, "Vincent Van Gogh," Portraits - Advertisement - Ever since I was a young boy, I have wondered why people do the kinds of work they do. I sensed early on that the economic system was a labyrinthine trap devised to imprison people in work they hated but needed for survival. It seemed like common sense to a child when you simply looked and listened to the adults around you. Karl Marx wasn't necessary for understanding the nature of alienated labor; hearing adults declaim "Thank God It's Friday" spoke volumes. In my Bronx working class neighborhood I saw people streaming to the subway in the mornings for their rides "into the city" and their forlorn trundles home in the evenings. It depressed me. Yet I knew the goal was to "make it" and move away as one moved "up," something that many did. I wondered why, when some people had options, they rarely considered the moral nature of the jobs they pursued. I gradually realized that some people, by dint of family encouragement and schooling, had opportunities that others never received. For the unlucky ones, work would remain a life of toil and woe in which the search for meaning in their jobs was often elusive. Studs Terkel, in the introduction to his wonderful book of interviews, Working: People Talk About What They Do all Day and How They Feel About What They Do, puts it this way: - Advertisement - "This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence - to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is, above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us." Those words were confirmed for me when in the summer between high school and college I got a job through a relative's auspices as a clerk for General Motors in Manhattan. I dreaded taking it for the thought of being cooped up for the first time in an office building while a summer of my youth passed me by, but the money was too good to turn down (always the bait), and I wanted to save as much as possible for college spending money. So I bought a summer suit and joined the long line of trudgers going to and fro, down and up and out of the underground, adjusting our eyes to the darkness and light. It was a summer from hell. My boredom was so intense it felt like solitary confinement. Yet for me it was temporary; for the others it was a life sentence. But if this were life, I thought, it was a living death. All my co-workers looked forward to the mid-morning coffee wagon and lunch with a desperation so intense it was palpable. And then, as the minutes ticked away to 5 P.M., the agitated twitching that proceeded the mad rush to the elevators seemed to synchronize with the clock's movements. We're out of here! On my last day, I was eating my lunch on a park bench in Central Park when a bird sh*t on my suit jacket. The stain was apt, for I felt I had spent my days defiling my true self, and so I resolved never to spend another day of my life working in an office building in a suit for a pernicious corporation, a resolution I have kept. *** "An angel is not far from someone who is sad," says Vincent Van Gogh in the new film, At Eternity's Gate. For some reason, recently hearing these words in the darkened theater where I was almost alone, brought me back to that summer and the sadness that hung around all the people that I worked with. I hoped Van Gogh was right and an angel visited them from time to time. Most of them had no options. - Advertisement - The painter Julian Schnabel's moving picture (moving on many levels since the film shakes and moves with its hand-held camera work and draws you into the act of drawing and painting that was Van Gogh's work) is a meditation on work. For Vincent the answer was simple: reality. But reality is not given to us and is far from simple; we must create it in acts that penetrate the screens of cliche's that wall us off from it. As John Berger writes, "One is taught to oppose the real to the imaginary, as though the first were always at hand and the second, distant, far away. This opposition is false. Events are always to hand. But the coherence of these events - which is what one means by reality - is an imaginative construction. Reality always lies beyond - and this is as true for materialists as for idealists. For Plato, for Marx. Reality, however one interprets it, lies beyond a screen of cliche's." These screens serve to protect the interests of the ruling classes, who devise ways to trap regular people from seeing the reality of their condition. Yet while working can be a trap, it can also be a means of escape. For Vincent working was the way. For him work was not a noun but a verb. He drew and he painted as he does in this film to "make people feel what it is to feel alive." To be alive is to act, to paint, to write. He tells his friend Gauguin that there's a reason it's called the "act of painting, the "stroke of genius." For him painting is living and living is painting. Next Page 1 | 2 | https://www.opednews.com/articles/What-Are-We-Working-For-A-by-Edward-Curtin-Commodities_Death_Living_Painting-190112-375.html |
What Was The Last NFL Team to Win Back-to-Back Super Bowls? | The Super Bowl is only a few weeks away, meaning one NFL team will soon stand under confetti as NFL champions. Only a handful of teams have ever won the title game two years in a row. The New England Patriots were the last team to do so in 2004 and 2005 with their victories in Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their first championship together in 2002 and added to their dynasty with a 3229 defeat over the Carolina Panthers in 2004 and an equally close game the following year. The Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 2421 in 2005 after both teams traded touchdowns in the second and third quarters. The Eagles scored a touchdown with 1:48 left on the clock but couldn't score again to take down New England. Scroll to continue with content Ad Brady and the Patriots have recorded five additional Super Bowl appearances, winning two more titles in 2015 and 2017. Seven franchises, including the Patriots, have won back-to-back Super Bowl victories. The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowls I and II, then called the AFL-NFL Championship Game, under legendary coach Vince Lombardi in 1967 and 1968. Other franchises to do so include the Miami Dolphins (1973 and 1974) and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who did it twice in 1975 and 1976 before repeating again in 1979 and 1980. The San Francisco 49ers (1989 and 1990), the Dallas Cowboys (1993 and 1994) and the Denver Broncos (1998 and 1999) round out the list of teams to accomplish the rare feat. | https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/last-nfl-team-win-back-233005361.html?src=rss |
Is The Los Angeles Teacher Strike A Different Kind Of Strike? | In my entire teaching career, I was in two teacher strikes; one as a newly hired first year teacher, the other as the president of the local association. The on-the-ground specifics of every strike are different, but both experiences underlined what I have come to believe is true of all teacher strikes: Teachers don't want to strike. Teacher strikes happen because teachers believe they are out of alternatives. There has never been a union meeting in which members said, "The board says they're willing to talk, and we trust them to do so in good faith, but we think we should strike instead." Teachers strike because they face issues that can't be ignored and a board that won't sit down to help solve those issues. Even then, teachers strike reluctantly. Strikes don't happen because the most active, cranky members are ready to walk, and strikes don't happen because local, state or national leaders convince the rest of the members to walk. Strikes happen when school district leadership convinces the most strike-averse teachers that they are out of options. That's what makes the L.A. strike, like the statewide strikes in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and Washington, so extraordinary. If you have not worked in union leadership, I'm not sure you can imagine just how difficult it is to push that many teachers to undergo the stress, uncertainty and trouble of a strike. No union leadership could do it without the assistance of the local school district's board and administration, or the politicians overseeing education on the state level. This part of the L.A. strike is not new. Teachers strike because they want to be able to do their jobs with a decent standard of living, without having to constantly watch their backs, under conditions that allow them to do the best they can, and with a sense that they'll leave a stronger school for the future. Teachers strike because they have stopped believing that their school board can be trusted to help them pursue those goals. All of this has been true of every teacher strike ever. But in L.A. (and West Virginia and Oklahoma and the other #REDforED states) there is a new factor. In my two strikes, and in virtually all strikes of the past, we could make one assumption safely--that as much as we disagreed about the means, everyone wanted, in their own way, to see the public school district remain healthy and whole. This is no longer a safe assumption on the local, state or national level. LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner came to the job with no background in education. This is no longer unusual in large districts, nor in state school leadership positions. Increasingly the agenda of many people taking positions of authority over public education is to dismantle public education and replace it with a network of private charter schools, a process often accelerated by starving public schools for funding in order to manufacture a crisis. And lest we forget, current secretary of education Betsy DeVos once declared that public schools are a "dead end." Beutner's comment to a reporter regarding the strike was "There are ways to educate kids that don't rely on a physical body." Teachers are not necessary. L.A. schools particularly feel this privatization push. Eli Broad has long been a wealthy advocate of approaching education as business, and through Great Public Schools Now, announced in 2016 a bold plan to move half of Los Angeles students into charter schools. Currently charters have enrolled one in five of LA students. Last fall, charter school advocates poured millions of dollars into LAUSD board elections in order to install a charter-favoring majority on the board. Teachers in many school districts and many states across the country find themselves in the unusual position of working in an institution led by people who want to see that institution fail. Back in the day, teacher strikes were about how best to keep a school district healthy, but these modern walkouts are about the very idea that public schools should be kept healthy at all. UTLA demands for smaller classes, more support staff, safer schools, community schools, and charter school oversight are not about making their working conditions a little better, but about keeping public education alive and healthy. Teachers across the country are dealing with the problems created by systematic underfunding of public schools and a systematic devaluing of the teaching profession by leaders who believe that public education should be swept aside to make room for a system of private free market education. Of all the reactions to this, the #REDforEd movement and the wave of strikes are actually the good news, because these are the teachers who intend to stay and fight for the future of public education and the students it serves. When those walkouts are settled, the teachers will return to the classroom. The oft-noted teacher "shortage," is really a slow motion walkout of teachers who will never return to the profession at all. When the teachers of my district walked out years ago, it was a small strike that attracted little attention outside of our area because our issues were strictly our own. When Los Angeles teachers walk out, it will resonate across the country because the issues they walk for are about the health and survival of public education for children in their communities are the same issues that teachers all across the country are struggling with as well. That's what makes this strike, like last year's wave of state strikes, different--many teachers will see it not as simply a local battle, but as a skirmish in a larger national fight. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2019/01/12/is-the-los-angeles-teacher-strike-a-different-kind-of-strike/ |
Why Is It So Hard To Talk To Aging Parents About Money? | The questions about parents' finances often come up when a parent starts to need some help. Basics like shopping, cooking or bathing can become too difficult for an elder with chronic illness, frailty and problems with memory. It may have started at retirement when income became fixed but unpredictable expenses weren't figured into the cost of living. You, the adult children grow concerned that Mom or Dad need to spend more now for new things in their lives, such as paying a caregiver. You ask questions. Often there is push-back from the parent: "That's not your business!" In your mind there is fear that the cost of these new expenses will fall on you. It might! It can be very frustrating when they avoid the subject. Financial means is often an emotional subject, particularly for a parent who lived through the Great Depression, and saw family, friends and associates lose fortunes overnight. The impact of that time on the generation suffering the most from it has not disappeared. At AgingParents.com, where we see that money is often a subject of family conflict, sibling arguments and parental resistance, there are recurring themes. They revolve around the parents' belief that their kids will take care of them if they run out of money. And since most parents do not want to be a burden to their children, (that's what they say anyway), they may be embarrassed to reveal that they have little saved or that they have debt. One not need to have lived through the Great Depression to have this belief that there's nothing to worry about, as their kids owe to them to care for them. In truth, whether a parent believes it or not, there are plenty of adult children who do not want the burden of taking care of an aging parent. They may feel guilty about it but they do not hesitate to express that sentiment when we speak with them. I hear from one or the other that the aging parent is a grouch, or was always angry when they were growing up, or that the parent has become very difficult now that she has memory loss. The aging parent's expectations do not match those of their adult kids. The question of how to pay someone else to do the caregiving job looms uncomfortably. One can be frustrated when the parent changes the subject and you put it off again, or you can take another approach. We recommend that those who may have to take on the financial or other burden of caregiving first meet with each other, in the absence of the parent(s) and figure out who is best equipped to bring up the topic of finances with aging parents. If you are an only child, you may need an ally. Someone in the family who empathizes, or a friend your parent respects can help. The meeting among kids should have a goal. Decide what to do if you think your elder is hiding their financial status from you because the news would be bad or if they are afraid you might take advantage of them if they seem to be well fixed. The truth has to come out. Set a date to meet with your aging loved one and let them know you all agree that some planning for the future needs to happen. After a birthday, anniversary or other occasion can be good, as it is a reminder of time passing. One of the first things is to reassure aging parents that you have no intention of taking advantage of them nor of disrespecting their wishes. You need to express your worries: fear that they going to run out of funds to pay for help. Be honest in discussing that not everyone is willing or able to provide hands-on caregiving. And if the need increases for paid help or a different living situation as age takes its toll, a plan to cover these costs must be in place so all can be prepared. The subject can trigger anger in a parent who realizes that he or she has to hear this with offspring joining forces on the subject. But it may break down the secrecy and allow everyone to work on the truth of their situation. Adult children who find out that a parent has credit card debt, for example, may be more adept at consolidating and managing it than the parent was. Access to parents' bank accounts online can be very helpful. Aging parents may need help keeping track of and paying their bills. And if they do not have the means to pay for caregiving when needed, exploring their possible eligibility for public benefits can be explored. Takeaways: yes, finances can be an emotionally loaded subject, but if you have a plan, unite with siblings to address it with your elders and set a date to bring it up, it will be far better than a nasty surprise down the road. Getting past aging parents' resistance and your own discomfort can save your sanity. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynrosenblatt/2019/01/12/why-is-it-so-hard-to-talk-to-aging-parents-about-money/ |
What Are the Income Tax Brackets for 2018? | Many taxpayers will be in a lower tax bracket when they file their 2018 tax return. However, the marriage penalty could still burn high-income couples. A key feature of the new tax law is lower tax rates for most Americans. There are still seven tax brackets, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act dropped the rate for five of them for 2018. The new 2018 rates are now 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% after tax reform. You'll use the new rates for the first time when filing tax returns for 2018, which are due to the IRS by April 15, 2019 (April 17 if you live in Maine or Massachusetts). The old 2017 rates were 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6%. There's more good news. The taxable income range for each 2018 bracket was also tweaked. In most cases, the new tax rate kicks in at a higher income level. This means more taxpayers will fall into a lower bracket starting with their 2018 returns. 2018 Tax Brackets for Single/Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate Taxable Income (Single) Taxable Income (Married) 10% Up to $9,525 Up to $19,050 12% $9,526 to $38,700 $19,051 to $77,400 22% $38,701 to $82,500 $77,401 to $165,000 24% $82,501 to $157,500 $165,001 to $315,000 32% $157,501 to $200,000 $315,001 to $400,000 35% $200,001 to $500,000 $400,001 to $600,000 37% Over $500,000 Over $600,000 The "marriage penalty" is also minimized under the new tax law. This tax-law twist makes certain couples - typically, those whose incomes are similar - filing a joint return pay more tax than they would if they were single. It's triggered when, for any given rate, the minimum taxable income for joint filers is less than twice the amount for single filers. Before the new tax law, this happened in the four highest tax brackets, which meant that couples with a combined taxable income over $153,100 were susceptible to the penalty. After tax reform, only the top bracket contains the marriage penalty trap. As a result, only couples with a combined taxable income over $600,000 are at risk when filing their 2018 tax return. 2018 Tax Brackets for Married Filing Separately/Head of Household Tax Rate Taxable Income (Married Separate) Taxable Income (Head of Household) 10% Up to $9,525 Up to $13,600 12% $9,526 to $38,700 $13,601 to $51,800 22% $38,701 to $82,500 $51,801 to $82,500 24% $82,501 to $157,500 $82,501 to $157,500 32% $157,501 to $200,000 $157,501 to $200,000 35% $200,001 to $300,000 $200,001 to $500,000 37% Over $300,000 Over $500,000 Looking forward, the new tax law also affects how the brackets will be indexed for inflation each year after 2018. Previously, the brackets were adjusted based on the standard Consumer Price Index. However, some economists believe the old formula doesn't fully account for changes in spending as prices rise, so lawmakers adopted a "chained" CPI formula for post-2018 adjustments. This will result in lower inflation adjustments to the tax brackets in the years ahead. Finally, for comparison's sake, here are the old tax brackets from 2017: 2017 Tax Brackets for Single/Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate Taxable Income (Single) Taxable Income (Married) 10% Up to $9,325 Up to $18,650 15% $9,326 to $37,950 $18,651 to $75,900 25% $37,951 to $91,900 $75,901 to $153,100 28% $91,901 to $191,650 $153,101 to $233,350 33% $191,651 to $416,700 $233,351 to $416,700 35% $416,701 to $418,400 $416,701 to $470,700 39.60% Over $418,400 Over $470,700 2017 Tax Brackets for Married Filing Separately/Head of Household Tax Rate Taxable Income (Married Separate) Taxable Income (Head of Household) 10% Up to $9,325 Up to $13,350 15% $9,326 to $37,950 $13,351 to $50,800 25% $37,951 to $76,550 $50,801 to $131,200 28% $76,551 to $116,675 $131,201 to $212,500 33% $116,676 to $208,350 $212,501 to $416,700 35% $208,351 to $235,350 $416,701 to $444,550 39.60% Over $235,350 Over $444,550 See Also: 18 IRS Audit Red Flags Every Taxpayer Needs to Know EDITOR'S PICKS Copyright 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors | https://news.yahoo.com/income-tax-brackets-2018-175541203.html |
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