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What made Jeff Bezos sexts so forgettable? | Jeff Bezos texts to his lover, Lauren Sanchez, have seemingly been leaked to the National Enquirer. They included such gems as I want to smell you, I want to breathe you in and I love you, alive girl. I will show you with my body, and my lips, and my eyes, very soon. As the billionaire owner of the Washington Post, Bezos has a whole team of journalists at his disposal, and alive girl is what he decided to go with. Bezos was promptly mocked on Twitter, with users like @MikeBeauvais quipping women love to receive sexts that make them wonder if theyre dating a necrophiliac. @Vasilethedeal remarked these read like Bezos asked Alexa to text his mistress and this is what she came up with. Bezos isnt the first high-profile man whose horrible sexts have been made public. Everyone from Justin Bieber to Salman Rushdie has seen their sexts leak out. Powerful men used to send out love letters like Napoleons to Josephine declaring, apart from you there is no joy; away from you, the world is a desert where I am alone and cannot open my heart. Prince Albert wrote Queen Victoria, Your image fills my whole soul. Even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on earth. That was then. Now we live in an age of midnight texts that read What u doin? Sometimes with an eggplant emoji, for added flair. Jeff Bezos at least gets some credit for typing out full words. But terrible texts like his have spawned countless websites like Texts from Last Night and even art festivals like last years SextingAF in Brooklyn, in which people submitted the worst sexts theyve ever received. Where notes from the past might have inspired murmurs of passion, texts from the present inspire cries of hilarity. Of course, its not just the language thats lacking in sexts. Its not surprising to hear that Bezos sent raunchy pics to Sanchez. Men do love sending nudes of themselves, even men who look like Jeff Bezos. Pretty much every woman has received a few of those, and not been thrilled. According to a 2014 survey from Match.com, sexy photos from men are womens biggest texting turn-off. So, while a picture might normally be worth a thousand words, your dk pics are basically worthless as far as impressing women go. And its worth remembering that your missives might not be as private as you think. A 2016 study from Kinsey Institute at Indiana University found that, even if youre in a committed relationship, your texts have a 22.9% chance of being leaked. Maybe we all need to up our game. Or, you know, write an actual letter. Because right now, no one is tying up their texts in a pretty ribbon for their grandchildren to marvel over. If the ones were getting are like the ones Bezos is sending, were all just trying to forget them as quickly as possible. Related Video Meet the brunette bombshell, Lauren Sanchez, tied to Jeff Bezos | https://nypost.com/2019/01/12/what-made-jeff-bezos-sexts-so-forgettable/ |
Can Trump Declare a National Emergency to Build the Wall? | The federal government has been partially shut down since Dec. 22 amid President Donald Trumps demands for more than $5 billion in funding to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. As the shutdown continues, Trump has said he's likely to declare a national emergency in order to get the funds needed for the wall without the approval of Congress. Elizabeth Goitein, who co-directs the Brennan Centers Liberty & National Security Program, authored an extensive report for The Atlantic, published in December, that outlined the full array of powers that become available to the president if he declares a national emergency, and showed how ripe they are for abuse. Goitein spoke with Brennan Center staff writer Tim Lau about whether Trump can declare an emergency in order to fund the border walland how Congress should review and reform the current system for emergency powers. President Trump is thinking about declaring a national emergency to secure money to build the border wall. So that's actually two different questions. It's important to separate those two questions. In terms of whether he can concoct and declare a national emergency, it's certainly an abuse of power, and particularly in this instance. Not only is there no emergency, it's anything but an emergency. It's really business as usual, except maybe a bit better in terms of the levels of illegal border crossing. But, also, the way in which he's trying to use emergency powers, which is to get around the expressed will of Congress, is particularly offensive. Congress has made clear that it is not willing to authorize or to fund this wall. So to use emergency powers to get around that, hes not only concocting a state of emergency, he's doing so to really undermine the constitutional allocation of powers. That's tremendously problematic. But when you get to the legal question, then you have to look at the National Emergency Act, which Congress passed in 1976. And when Congress wrote that law, it chose not to define national emergency and not to create any criteria or requirements that had to be met. For that reason, even though it's clear to you and me and to most reasonable people, that there is no emergency here, many judges might be reluctant to say this doesn't qualify as a national emergency. Emergency powers are based on a sound idea: that ordinary laws might not be sufficient in a true crisis to deal with whatever that situation is. Thats because emergencies are, by their nature, unpredictable, and so Congress might not have thought of the right authorities that the president would need during the emergency. Therefore, the president might need some more flexibility temporarily, either until the emergency passes or until Congress has time to act and to provide the authorities the president needs. Emergency powers are meant to fill that gap, to give the president that additional flexibility for a temporary period of time. Congress passed the National Emergencies Act in 1976 as a way to try increase congressional oversight and supervision over presidential declarations of emergency. Presidents were declaring emergencies already. That did give them access to powers in laws that Congress had passed. But the whole thing was happening outside the view of Congress and without a lot of transparency in terms of what powers the president was using, and without Congress really having any role or any say. The National Emergencies Act was designed to increase checks on the president's use of emergency powers. But all of those checks were after the fact. The president declares an emergency and is really free to do so. But at that point, he has to specify in his emergency declaration which provisions he plans to rely on. So there's some transparency there. He also has to report to Congress every six months on expenditures during the emergency, which provides for some additional transparency and accountability. The emergency expires after a year unless the president renews it. That was supposed to keep emergencies from dragging on forever. It really hasn't worked at all because Congress made it very easy to renew the emergency. It's as easy as issuing the declaration in the first place. The president just has to sign a piece of paper. That one didn't work out so well. Thenand this is probably the biggest check that Congress put into the lawCongress is supposed to meet every six months while an emergency is in effect to consider a vote on whether to terminate the state of emergency. It's been 40 years, and during each of those years, there's been at least one state of emergency in effect. So in theory, Congress should have met and voted 80 times, but Congress has not done that once. That part of the law is really just a dead letter. Congress has abdicated that responsibility. Congress should be revisiting the National Emergencies Act to make sure the president doesnt have a blank check to declare a national emergency in the first instancebut also to give Congress a less passive role in ending states of emergency that are going on too long. So rather than require Congress to muster a veto-proof supermajority to end the state of emergency, we should consider doing something like many other countries do. Many other democracies have systems where the head of state declares a state of emergency, but its strictly time-limited, and after that, any renewal of the state of emergency has to be by the legislature. And I think thats a sensible way to eliminate the perverse incentives that exist when the government actor who declares the state of emergency is the one whos getting all the powers. | https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/12/can-trump-declare-national-emergency-build-wall |
Who is the receptionist on The Greatest Dancer? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Saturday night TV is all about entertainment and to kick-start 2019, the BBC have launched a brand new dance competition. The Greatest Dancer, Simon Cowell's new Saturday night venture, began last Saturday, January 5, on BBC1. The entertainment show sees pop star Cheryl Tweedy , Glee actor Matthew Morrison and Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse head up the panel as dance captains but following its debut, viewers hit out over a 'massive format flaw'. In the search for, as the title suggests, the greatest dancer, hopefuls from all different backgrounds battle it out for the title. (Image: BBC/Syco/Thames/Tom Dymond) The studio audience pick which hopeful contestants get the chance to go through to the live stage of the show, where the dance captains will each take on a mentoring role. To get to that stage, hopefuls have to take on the audition round where they must perform in front of a mirror hiding the audience and the dance captains. They must receive at least 75% of the audience vote through the secret mirror in order to progress to the next stage But amongst the questions about the shows format, another question began to circle online. Eagle-eyed reality TV watchers may also notice that this format has been used elsewhere on Celebs Go Dating and Tattoo Fixers. And this time, it was receptionist Amelia Wilson who captured peoples attention away from the dance action. (Image: BBC) Her role on the show is to greet the dancers backstage and chat to them about their audition. Though it turns out, she's not a 'real' receptionist. Amelia works for Thames TV, the production company which makes the show, and is credited as a development researcher and assistant producer. But if you're looking to track her down, Amelia isn't on social media. One Twitter user said after the first show: "I really liked the the receptionist - Amelia Wilson - but I cannae find her on twitter to celebrate her!" Another added: "I guess I wasnt the only one trying to find who the receptionist was last night on the greatest dancer." Despite praise, it looks like Amelia is choosing to shun the spotlight for now. The Greatest Dancer is on BBC1 on Saturday's at 8pm. | https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/who-receptionist-greatest-dancer-15667452 |
Who took all the prizes at GJW Direct Bloody Mary? | Monica Vennis-Ozanne and John Mather in their 29er were the overall winners, holding off the fast approaching 49er of Rick Peacock and Nick Murray, finishing only 20 meters behind. The young crew kept their heads to become the first 29er ever to win the Bloody Mary . . . also winning first Junior, first Lady helm, first 29er class prize and winners overall. Monica Vennis-Ozanne said on coming ashore: Its great! Ive done it twice before in an RS Feva and a Topper and I cant believe weve just won it! It was pretty hard racing and were just thinking Come on, weve got to go as the 49er came towards us." "It was so close and we know they were catching us, but they ran out of time. It was quite windy so good for the skiffs. GJW Direct Bloody Mary - The Top 10 places (242 entries) 1. 29er - Monique Vennie-Ozanne and John Mather 2. 49er - Rick Peacock and Nick Murray 3. 29er - Oliver Evans and Willian Garman 4. 420 - Jack Lewis and Fraser Hemmings 5. 420 - Megan Ferguson and Bettine Harris 6. RS800 - Ralph and Sophie Singleton 7. 2000 - Simon Horsfield and Katie Burridge 8. Laser - Jack Hopkins 9. Musto Skiff - Ben Schooling 10. Osprey - Ben and Simon Hawkes Full results available here First Lady Helm: 29er - Monique Vennie-Ozanne First Queen Mary Helm: RS400 - Mark Oakey Grand Master: Merlin Rocket - Tim Fells First Junior Helm: 29er - Monique Vennie-Ozanne Class prizes were also awarded to: 29er - Monique Vennie-Ozanne and John Mather RS Aero 7 - Tim Hire RS 200 - Maria Stanley and Toby Lewis RS 400 - Mark Oakey and Dan Martin Solo - Tom Gillard Topper - James Crossley D-zero - Nick Craig Laser Radial - Andrew Kerr Laser - Jack Hopkins Queen Mary would like to thank our title sponsors GJW Direct for their support, this allowed for new towering flood lights appreciated by all in the boat park. Thank you to our mighty team of volunteers both on and off the water whose assistance was greatly valued and much needed to run the event. Follow Sailweb on Facebook - Click here Follow Sailweb on Twitter - Click here | http://www.sailweb.co.uk/Dinghy/31187/who-took-all-the-prizes-at-gjw-direct-bloody-mary |
What can 4G do for business? | New 4G network EE, has revealed the results of the world's first global study into 4G business benefits. The Business Benefits of 4G LTE survey looked at businesses in the US, Sweden, Japan, and Germany where 4G already exists and asked what changes 4G had made to their working life. Over three quarters of US-based respondents (76%) agree 4G has helped their firms innovate and jump ahead of the competition. More than eight out of 10 US businesses surveyed (86%) get more work done on the move with 4G, and two out of five businesses said sales teams can now get deals completed in the field, without having to come back to base. Nearly half (47%) said 4G has saved their company money, with one small business based in Los Angeles saving 62,000 ($100,000) through hot-desking, cutting time wasted downloading and uploading, and slashing print costs by exchanging files between devices instead of printing. How businesses expect to use 4G in the UK The survey also asked businesses in the UK what they expected from 4G and their timescales for moving to 4G. Of the UK businesses, almost three quarters (74%) of businesses intend to move to 4G within 12 months. With just over half (59%) expecting the move to 4G to help them increase productivity, while 38% expect it to boost employee well-being and motivation. Additionally one in two expect to introduce 4G as a quick way of installing broadband into the business, and intend to use it as a way of setting up an internet connection quickly without having to wait for a fixed line to be installed. Study author, Joseph Place from Arthur D. Little, said: "Businesses are using 4G LTE to bring a more fundamental level of mobility to their organisations. For example, 4G can be used to set up a fully-connected office almost anywhere, dramatically increasing agility and responsiveness. We also expect to see innovative 4G-specific products emerging, for instance in the mHealth arena." | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/world-of-tech/roundup/networking/mobile-computing/what-can-4g-do-for-business-1108728 |
What is land for? | To see the need for change and head towards it, you have to ask the obvious, simple questions. Thats what was done at the Oxford Real Farming Conference, when the campaigning group Feedback asked colleagues from the Soil Association, Friends of the Earth, Biovale and the Committee on Climate Change, what is land for? It was clear from the discussion was that much of Britains land-use is far from optimal, a result of historical circumstances rather than any sort of rational choices for today. Sugar beet A farmer in the audience pointed out that a significant proportion of whats now termed farmland only came into that use during the Second World War, when the nation was battling to beat the U-boats by feeding itself. As another contributor noted, financial incentives meant drainage of deeply unsuitable wetlands, the last of the last left, continued until the early 1980s. When the funding stopped, so did the drainage, like a stone dropped into one of the few remaining ponds. That left us with only a tiny proportion of the wetland the land vital for birds and other wildlife, for flood control, for carbon storage of even decades before. The conference session didnt even get started on house building on the greenbelt. Even some of the best agricultural land being used for farming is being put to far from ideal purposes. A case study and boy is it a disaster story is that of sugar beet. This is an immensely destructive crop, responsible for 10 percent of the total loss of soil in England from agricultural lands. Being a root crop, harvested in autumn in generally wet conditions, large amounts of the surrounding soil is picked up with the beet. So much, in fact, that British Sugar has a steady little earner sideline in selling the soil collected during processing. So some of the richest, best agricultural soil in the land is being stripped away, to end up on golf courses or landscaping in new office blocks. And this for a crop producing empty, damaging calories. Improving our diets The average British child by age 10 has consumed as much sugar as they should by age 18, as emerged with considerable fanfare last week. We dont need more of it, and yet British Sugar is hoping to increase production by 50 percent. Put the land used for sugar beet even half of it to growing vegetables biointensively, on the model of Bec Hellouin or Bio-Gemusehof, and it could make a huge impact on our huge deficit of fruit and vegetable supply for even our utterly inadequate consumption levels. It would create the opportunity for huge numbers of extra small businesses, and jobs, at the same time restoring rural communities hollowed out by consolidation of farms into larger and larger blocks. The misuse problem isnt just of land of course. A lot of the food is going into feeding animals, to produce a far smaller quantity of meat. Stopping that and eating the grain instead would produce far more calories, but of course calories arent what we need. We need modest amounts of protein considerably less than we consume now which means growing more pulses and beans: Hodmedods is showing the way in that, recovering once-common crops that had been almost forgotten and improving the British diet at the same time. What we also need is wildlife, and that means identifying the most appropriate land for rewilding, mostly with trees. Sometimes that will be the marginal land, sometimes parts adjoining existing woodland or corridors linking it, broadening the areas accessible to our wildlife. Of course that will also, essentially, store carbon to help to meet our legally binding emissions targets. Some land including those new woodlands can be used (very carefully) for sustainable, local, small-scale biofuel. Moving forward One of the first things we need is research, understanding, and measures of the environmental impact, not just in soil damage and climate emissions, but also contributions to eutrophication and air pollution, to flooding and wildlife. We also need to be able to consider the nutritional benefits of a crop beetroot far better than sugar beet, protein-rich lentils far better than standard wheat for Chorleywood process bread. The answer has to lie in the fact that growing the wrong crop on the wrong soil in the wrong place has real costs. Some of those costs are borne by the farmer - but lots of them are carried by the rest of us in climate change and pollution impacts from the production and use of nitrogen fertiliser, in lost soil that wont be replaced for millennia, in flooding, in obesity, ill-health and NHS costs. A system that makes the profiter pay - that rewards farmers for producing nutritionally rich healthy food while ensure they dont load costs on the rest of us - is clearly whats needed. In the sketched outline of the Agriculture Bill, theres just a hint of the beginning of a scheme that could head the rich way. We must apply appropriate taxes to the production of surplus food and food that is produced in damaging ways (say for unsustainably produced meat, as Green MP Caroline Lucas was suggesting), and cut taxes and costs for those products that we do need. This isnt easy and it isnt simple. But given climate change, given our acute levels of nutritional dysfunction and the degradation of land, soils, air and water - there really isnt any alternative. This Author Natalie Bennett is a member of Sheffield Green Party and former Green Party leader. | https://theecologist.org/2019/jan/10/what-land |
Which animals win in a warming Antarctic? | Marine Antarctic animals closely associated with sea ice for food or breeding, such the humpback whale and emperor penguin, are most at risk from the predicted effects of climate change, a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science has found. Using risk assessments like those used for setting occupational safety limits in the workplace, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey determined the winners and losers of Antarctic climate-change impacts, which includes temperature rise, sea-ice reduction and changes in food availability. Their research shows that seafloor predators and open-water feeding animals, like starfish and jellyfish, will benefit from the opening up of new habitat. Climate change Dr Simon Morley, lead author, based at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), UK, said: "One of the strongest signals of climate change in the Western Antarctic is the loss of sea ice, receding glaciers and the break-up of ice shelves. "Climate change will affect shallow water first, challenging the animals who live in this habitat in the very near future. While we show that many Antarctic marine species will benefit from the opening up of new areas of sea floor as habitat, those associated with sea ice are very much at risk." A growing body of research on how climate change will impact Antarctic marine animals prompted the researchers to review this information in a way that revealed which species were most at risk. Seabird ecologist Mike Dunn is co-author of this study, which forms part of a special article collection on aquatic habitat ecology and conservation. Dunn said: "We took a similar approach to risk assessments used in the workplace, but rather than using occupational safety limits, we used information on the expected impacts of climate change on each animal. "We assessed many different animal types to give an objective view of how biodiversity might fare under unprecedented change." Robust pioneers They found that krill -- crustaceans whose young feed on the algae growing under sea ice -- were scored as vulnerable, in turn impacting the animals that feed on them, such as the Adlie and chinstrap penguins and the humpback whale. The emperor penguin scored as high risk because sea ice and ice shelves are its breeding habitat. Dunn added: "The southern right whale feeds on a different plankton group, the copepods, which are associated with open water, so is likely to benefit. Salps and jellyfish, which are other open-water feeding animals are likely to benefit too." The risk assessment also revealed that bottom-feeders, scavengers and predators, such as starfish, sea urchins and worms, may gain from the effects of climate change. Dr David Barnes, co-author of this research, said: "Many of these species are the more robust pioneers that have returned to the shallows after the end of the last glacial maximum, 20,000 years ago, when the ice-covered shelf started to melt and retreat. These pioneer species are likely to benefit from the opening of new habitats through loss of sea ice and the food this will provide." Next step Barnes continued: "Even if, as predicted for the next century, conditions in these shallow-water habitats change beyond the limits of these species, they can retreat to deeper water as they did during the last glacial maxima. "However, these shallow-water communities will be altered dramatically - temperature-sensitive animals with calcium shells were scored as the most at risk if this happens." As more information becomes available, the researchers hope to improve their predictions. Morley explained: "The next step is to assign weights to the factors and predicted impacts. It is very difficult to know until we have more data." This Article This article is based on a press release from Frontiers. The full report can be read here. | https://theecologist.org/2019/jan/11/which-animals-win-warming-antarctic |
Should the Maple Leafs Trade William Nylander for Wayne Simmonds? | Its been a roller coaster year for William Nylander. First, he successfully held out for a larger contract, and second, he had a frustrating on-ice start to the season and it took more time than anyone wanted for him to find the scoresheet. Im sure the Toronto Maple Leafs are pleased, both that the contract and the scoring woes are in the past and that Nylander is starting to contribute regularly as the team moves towards the playoffs. A postseason appearance which, unless disaster strikes, looks like destiny. I admit I was surprised when, in my scouring around Maple Leaf news, I saw that Howard Berger of the site Between The Posts threw out the idea of trading Nylander. I had heard trade Nylander talk during the contract negotiations, but I chalked it up to bad attitudes by fans who were miffed at the youthful player for putting self first and team second. I suppose the answer is obvious, and Toronto fans have seen the results play out this season when their beloved Raptors traded fan-favorite Demar DeRozan for the quiet, enigmatic and amazingly-skilled Kawhi Leonard. But, because that trade seems to have worked well, perhaps a closer look at Bergers idea is appropriate. The Logic of the Proposed Trade Heres the proposed trade idea. Berger believes the Maple Leafs should consider swapping forwards with the Philadelphia Flyers Nylander for Wayne Simmonds. First, I will go on record that I dont think this proposed trade will or should happen. That said, such a trade isnt without logic as it seems to address a need I agree the Maple Leafs have. In my mind, injuries aside, they have two needs: first, they need help on defense, and second, they need to be tougher. By that, I mean smart-tough, in the way the Boston Bruins are. Berger notes that Simmonds, the Flyers power forward, should be attractive to the Maple Leafs because hes a strong player with a streak of toughness whos available this season. Berger believes the highly-talented Maple Leafs simply dont match up well with the Bruins because Brad Marchand, David Krej, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrk and Torey Krug represent a style of toughness thats too difficult for the less-tough Maple Leafs to handle. He also foresees a possible first-round matchup between the them and the Bruins which, as history suggests, would likely result in the Maple Leafs playoff exit. First, hes a highly-coveted, unrestricted free agent after this season. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Flyers havent made a decision about his future, but believes Simmonds doesnt want to wait around to see what happens. Dregers fellow TSN panelist Bob McKenzie said on NBCSN that he believes Simmonds will likely be traded but suggests the Flyers might also look to re-sign him. McKenzie, in discussing Simmonds next contract, noted: The expectation is if he goes to market hes going to get at least five years, maybe more, and perhaps $6 million a year or more. And again, it could be a longer term for less AAV, or it could be a shorter term for higher AAV. But in any case, it might be difficult for the Flyers to get in on that type of contract. Interesting. Simmonds as a Player Since Simmonds moved from the Los Angeles Kings to the Flyers to start the 2011-12 season, hes been a strong player. Twice hes had 60-point seasons (2013-14 and 2015-16), but his scoring appears to be trending downward the last two seasons. This season hes on-pace for about 36 points. As well, over the past few seasons, hes had a regressing plus/minus, which might be chalked up to the Flyers weakness as a team. Or, it might be that Simmonds fits the category of a power player whose style of play puts him at risk of rapidly fading, as has been the case of the Edmonton Oilers power forward Milan Lucic. A long-term contract for Simmonds now seems like a bad financial bet. But Simmonds does have some attractiveness for the Maple Leafs. Hes a home-town guy, from Scarborough, Ontario. Secondly, as noted earlier, he addresses a need that Maple Leaf fans notice team toughness. I dont disagree with Bergers assessment that Simmonds would bring added value to the Maple Leafs at the Feb. 25 NHL trade deadline. That seems like a crazy plan for the Maple Leafs to follow. Nylander has too much potential value to the team, and Simmonds is much older (eight years). In Summary The Flyers would seem unwise to simply assume Simmonds would re-sign with them if they wish it. The Flyers are currently last in the Eastern Conference, and its hard to think that a team such as the Maple Leafs, with the attractiveness of future success, would not be desirable for an aging warrior like Simmonds. Thats especially true if he still thinks of Toronto as home, as John Tavares did last summer. Related Darryl Sittler: Two Iconic Stories of the Maple Leafs Captain Still, I keep returning to losing Nylander to make this scenario happen. It seems like a poor idea to me, regardless of how attractive the go-for-it-this-year mentality is. If the Maple Leafs can figure out a way to get Simmonds without eroding their future, I say go for it. Otherwise, its time to trust the team and Mike Babcock to figure it out as they go. | https://thehockeywriters.com/toronto-maple-leafs-nylander-simmonds-trade/ |
What Did the Chicago Blackhawks Get? | After firing former head coach Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has spent the past few weeks changing the look of his roster and trying to correct a couple of his most-recent offseason mistakes. Bowman Tries to Change Fate by Changing Roster The first big move Bowman made after firing Quenneville was trading Nick Schmaltz, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, to the Arizona Coyotes for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. The trade has worked out well for the Blackhawks as Strome has seven goals and 14 points in 22 games. Schmaltz had been playing well, too, with 14 points in 17 games, but his season ended due to a recent injury. After Bowman avoided a tough contract decision that may have come back to haunt him down the road, he set out to erase the two biggest mistakes he made last summer. The re-signing of Jan Rutta and the two-year deal handed out to Brandon Manning were criticized immediately. Many doubted the moves when they were made and the play of both players vindicated those feelings. Manning did not fit into Quennevilles system and could not earn a spot under Jeremy Colliton either. This led many pundits to believe that Manning and his contract could not be moved. Enter Peter Chiarelli and the Edmonton Oilers, who traded forward Drake Caggiula and Jason Garrison to the Blackhawks for Manning and Swedish defenseman Robin Norell. Bowmans next mission was to get Rutta off the books. He looked like he was going to be an effective defenseman early last season, but there was never any progression. As frustration grew, he was eventually sent down to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League last month. On Friday afternoon, Bowman found a taker as he traded Rutta and a 2019 seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Slater Koekkoek and a 2019 fifth-round pick. TRADE ALERT: The #Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Slater Koekkoek (AAV of $865,000) and a 2019 5th round pick from the Lightning in exchange for defenseman Jan Rutta and a 2019 7th round pick. Koekkoek (pronounced Koo Koo) definitely has talent, but it has never translated to the NHL level. The 24-year-old, left-shot defenseman was drafted 10th overall by Steve Yzerman and the Lightning at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He had a very successful junior career with 33 goals and 123 points in 195 games split between the Peterborough Petes and Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. Heading into the 2012 Draft, scouts were very high on Koekkoek. He was touted for his skating and ability to move the puck. Scouts were also high on his hockey IQ because he knew exactly when to jump into the rush and when to stay back. The term home run was used to describe him and one scout even said that he had the highest ceiling of all the defensemen in the draft that year. Since being drafted, Koekkoek has played in 185 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch with whom he had 12 goals, 55 points and a plus-two rating. He played in 85 games with the Lightning over the past five seasons, including a career-high 35 games last season. He has five goals, 14 points and a minus-one rating with a 48.6 Corsi For percentage (CF%). He averaged 14:20 of ice time in his nine NHL games this season. The acquisition of Mikhail Sergachev in the summer of 2017 didnt help Koekkoek as the newcomer quickly pushed him further down the depth chart. There was also plenty of conversation that he had never earned the trust of head coach Jon Cooper. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time that his time with the Lightning was coming to an end. He just could not find a permanent spot in a lineup that includes Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Sergachev, Dan Girardi and Braydon Coburn. Koekkoek is a textbook example of a young player who could benefit from a change of scenery. Blackhawks fans have seen this scenario many times before with the acquisitions of players like Richard Panik, Anthony Duclair and Strome. Given the current state of the Blackhawks defense, if Koekkoek can perform well, he will play. He is staying at the NHL level, at least for the time being, but will not play against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. It sure sounds like Colliton will give him a chance to stay in Chicago. Slater Koekkoek will not play tonight, but he's in the mix. Colliton still sounds reluctant to carry eight defensemen, so a move could be forthcoming. Henri Jokiharju will make his debut on the left side today, presumably with Brent Seabrook. Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 12, 2019 The best-case scenario is Koekkoek gets a legitimate shot to play in the NHL and takes full advantage of it. If that doesnt happen, Bowman saved $1.4 million in cap space, swapped a seventh-round pick for a fifth and we have a fun name to say for the next three months. | https://thehockeywriters.com/chicago-blackhawks-rutta-koekkoek-trade/ |
Are Conventional Producers Really Losing Influence? | Energy professionals and others following the developments in the oil and gas industry during the last couple of years have witnessed a massive rise in reporting concerning hydraulic fracturing technology. The role of conventional oil could easily be undervalued considering the rising importance of shale oil. Although hydraulic fracturing has changed the market significantly, conventional producers still make up the bulk of todays oil mix. Production of shale oil in the U.S. is poised to grow even further in the coming years. However, basic economic fundamentals such as profitability and availability bode well for conventional producers and especially for those in the Middle East. Conventional oils technical and geographic soft spot Despite shale oils impressive rise in production, the majority of the worlds oil is produced from conventional fields which hold around two-thirds of the global recoverable resources. OPECs member countries possess the bulk of these assets with nearly 82 percent of the total. Of this amount, 65 percent is in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE. The technical advantages of oil recovery from this region are that production is relatively easy and cheap. Black Gold in the Middle East is amassed in large deposits near the surface either onshore or in relatively shallow waters. This means that the worlds oil producers with the lowest breakeven costs are Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq with costs between the $9 and $10 dollars a barrel in 2016. The immense size of Middle Eastern oil fields and the relative ease with which it can be extracted, have made it the most important oil production region since the Second World War. Conventional oils decreasing role outside of the Middle East The world produced almost 100 million bpd per day in 2018. Both production and consumption are set to rise even further in 2019. Conventional production beyond the Middle East peaked in 2010 and expectations are that production will continue to fall to 45.6 million barrels a day in 2020 which is a 2.3 mb/d decline from the current level. Furthermore, global consumption is set to rise even further reaching 112 mb/d in 2040. This additional demand will be met primarily by U.S. shale, new deepwater oil production and conventional oil producers from the Middle East. Related: OPECs No.2 Boosted Production, Exports Just Before Cuts Began (Click to enlarge) Analysts expect Middle Eastern oil production to grow by 2.7 mb/d by 2025. The extra barrels will be supplied by Iraq (approx. 1.5 mb/d) and by the presumed resumption of production in the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The UAE hasnt announced large production increases but the Emirates have the capacity to do so when proper investments are made. Also, statements concerning Irans future level of production are unreliable due to political risks associated with the Trump administration or any future Presidents policy vis--vis Tehran. Shale oils influence on global prices Traditionally OPEC has dominated global oil markets and price setting. However, with the introduction of shale oil, a new bandwidth has been introduced. Following the experience of the last couple of years concerning wild oil price swings, most analysts agree that U.S. shale oil production growth is capped by $50 dollars a barrel. The price of WTI indexed oil was on average $48 (2015) and $43 (2016). The price of oil below $50 has caused a decreasing of activity in the shale oil sector in the U.S. Related: Maduro Clings To Power As Venezuelas Oil Collapse Continues The flexibility of fracking technology and quick investment returns mean that U.S. shale producers are sensitive to price swings. This, in turn, introduces a new balancing force in the oil market meaning that when price drop below $50, economic activity will also reduce quickly in the shale oil production areas. The same logic is also applied when prices rise towards $70, when most shale oil fields become profitable, and increased production lowers prices again. | https://news.yahoo.com/conventional-producers-really-losing-influence-200000892.html |
What are the sustainability-related trends and standards that will shape the future? | Present @ nieuwjaarsevent @MVO_NL op 24 januari in Den Haag. Kom je met de auto, meld je dan aan om met goed opgepompte banden terug te keren.#groenebubbelvoorbij #mvo #bandopspanning twitter.com/mvo_nl/status/ When you're a good Boss, you go grab the volunteers bus so your Medic doesn't sit around waiting for someone to transport. #JustDoIt #MVO #ThisIsEMS pic.twitter.com/GlY5M6QoTl Trend 6: Sociaal doel of duidelijke Why positief. Leent zich voor free publicity. Hoger doel moet wel echt in DNA zitten. Greenwashing wordt afgestraft. Bezoek dan de website van Sustain IT voor Duurzame projecten, Agile projectondersteuning, IT support, webhosting en zwerfafvalonderzoek #ict #mvo #duurzaam #advies #zwerfafval "Delft Zuid wordt het eerste klimaatneutrale station van Nederland" buff.ly/2Fq8ZqB | #duurzaamheid #duurzaamondernemen #mvo #utrecht voorafgaand aan de #bedrijvenborrel eerst #matchgroep pitch #kamersmetaandacht en aanvragen besproken en verdeeld #mvo pic.twitter.com/XPf5YLTDy2 Duurzaam ondernemen kan alleen als de hele organisatie er ook echt in gelooft. - ow.ly/sICS30nfXpn #MVO Deze week sluiten deze Maatschappelijk betrokken ondernemers zich aan bij StichtinMVI voor verschillende zorgbusprojecten! #loonfruitbedrijfkwak #barbel #hasbereketHoreca #claasencoatingsBV #Grafix #MVO #eentegeneenzaamheid pic.twitter.com/DK2bH9zI6F Conclusie proefschrift @erasmusuni van econome @HelenTox: "Financile sector kan duurzame innovatie slimmer financieren". Samenwerking in de keten en het inzetten op collectieve actie, o.a. Geen probleem! Bij 1931 zijn er Ecotap laadpalen aanwezig #sustainability #1931congrescentrum #denbosch #mvo instagram.com/p/BsfeF_uDtUQ/ Geweldig om vandaag weer een nieuwe partner toe te mogen voegen aan ons netwerk. Ontzettend waardevol. Welkom Fotostudio POPpictures! #gevenmaaktrijk #mvo #drechtsteden #fijnweekend pic.twitter.com/ohw6MweOY3 Oprichting nationale normcommissie Circulaire Economie @NEN_nl met startbijeenkomst op 30/1 duurzaam-ondernemen.nl/oprich #mvo #circulair @MVO_NL Link naar de donatiepagina: geef.nl/nl/actie/hulp- #MVO @SignifyBE in Turnhout kreeg vorig jaar als eerste bedrijf in Vlaanderen een vergunning voor tijdelijke natuur. Die vergunning kent nu ook zijn uitwerking in de praktijk. buff.ly/2D10uRn. #natuur #schapen #gras #mvo pic.twitter.com/Mu10s8cGxv Nederlanders hergebruiken steeds meer, maar nog niet genoeg. #MVO #duurzaam nos.nl/artikel/226693 Rapport @Leefomgeving: wel al 85.000 circulaire activiteiten maar nog geen zicht op door kabinet gewenste versnelde overgang naar volwaardige circulaire economie duurzaam-ondernemen.nl/planbu @circulair #mvo #duurzaam pic.twitter.com/4jwxiwdpZI Verantwoorde meubels met liefde vervaardigd door Arco U bent van harte welkom bij onze showroom te Benthuizen regio #Zoetermeer #DenHaag #Rotterdam #Gouda #Leiden #Delft #zuidholland vanwaayinterieurs.com/nl/merk #interieurdesign #design #interiordesign #designmeubelen #milieu #mvo pic.twitter.com/Y66QWwBUWy #utrecht super druk bezochte #netwerkborrel #bedrijven @fcutrecht dank voor hosting #mvo thema #sport iets terug doen voor de stad pic.twitter.com/aKJNHJdG0B | https://www.duurzaam-ondernemen.nl/what-are-the-sustainability-related-trends-and-standards-that-will-shape-the-future/ |
Why isn't Duke basketball's Zion Williamson playing against Florida State? | Duke basketball freshman phenom Zion Williamson has not left the bench after being poked in the eye late in the first half of the top-ranked Blue Devils' game at No. 13 Florida State on Saturday. Zion Williamson hasn't played in the second half (yet) against Florida State after he got poked in the eye just before halftime. pic.twitter.com/aZJSCQBtig Kyle Boone (@Kyle__Boone) January 12, 2019 Williamson, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound forward from Spartanburg, South Carolina, notched six points on 3-of-6 shooting and pulled in five rebounds before heading for the bench after the injury. From memes to claims that Williamson isn't the best player on Duke's roster, fans took to Twitter to voice their reactions to the injury. We gonna send Zion Williamson into the game as a #BirdBoxChallengepic.twitter.com/Tlz9VT31Me Duke Better (@DukeBetter) January 12, 2019 R.J Barrett is going nuts right now in Tallahassee with Zion Williamson out. He has 27 points with 8:38 left in the game. #Duke#DukevsFSU Dylan Burd (@Sports_Burd) January 12, 2019 This is probably the best games RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish have played at Duke. Badly needed sans Zion Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) January 12, 2019 Let's make this very CLEAR RJ Barrett is the best (draft eligible) pro prospect in the country, and has been for awhile. Yes Zion is going to be the #1 pick because tickets matter. KingOfBballNews (@KingOfBballNews) January 12, 2019 Let's make this very CLEAR RJ Barrett is the best (draft eligible) pro prospect in the country, and has been for awhile. Yes Zion is going to be the #1 pick because tickets matter. KingOfBballNews (@KingOfBballNews) January 12, 2019 Read more Florida State basketball news: | https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/mensbasketball/2019/01/12/zion-williamson-injury-duke-basketball-blue-devils-florida-state-seminoles-fans-react/2559576002/ |
What would a Saints home game be without these local musical acts? | In New Orleans, home-field advantage doesnt just bring black-and-gold jerseys and Who Dat chants to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. When the top-ranked New Orleans Saints (13-3) host the Philadelphia Eagles (10-7) on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 13), fans inside the stadium will also be treated to some of the citys biggest musical acts. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Orleans' iconic traditional jazz ensemble, will signal the start of the game with the national anthem. At halftime, the famed 7th Ward high school band, the St. Augustine Marching 100, and the Grammy award-winning Rebirth Brass Band will perform. The musical offerings dont end when the clock hits zero. Choppa will perform live at the Masquerade nightclub at Harrahs casino after the game. Theres no admission fee, and Choppa will host a dance contest, in addition to performing. See Choppa perform for free after the Saints-Eagles game Sunday | https://www.nola.com/sports/2019/01/what-would-a-saints-home-game-be-without-these-local-musical-acts.html |
Could Saints receiver TreQuan Smith have another big game vs. Eagles? | TreQuan Smith has been confident in his skills since joining the New Orleans Saints, but he thinks his performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 might have helped his teammates, and specifically quarterback Drew Brees, trust him a bit more. In the 48-7 blowout nearly two months ago, Smith had the most productive game of his rookie season with 10 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. With the Eagles focusing on limiting Michael Thomas, Smith had more opportunities and took advantage. They came with a game plan to double Mike, so somebody else had to step up, Smith said this week. Thomas still produced in the game with four catches for 92 yards and one touchdown, but all of the Saints receivers made plays in the game. Keith Kirkwood, in just the second game of his career, had three catches for 33 yards, and Austin Carr caught his first career touchdown. Saints offense, Eagles defense among the NFLs best in clutch situations However, Smith became Brees go-to receiver in the game as his 13 targets were significantly more than anyone else in the game. Kirkwood was second with five. When the Saints play the Eagles again Sunday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, they dont know what to expect from the Philadelphia defense. Thomas said the Eagles hadnt really double-teamed a receiver in any games before or after the first matchup, so the Saints had to adjust on the fly in the game. If they have the same game plan, somebody else is going to have a big game, Smith said. Whether itll be Smith is tough to predict. With Ted Ginn Jr. back from injured reserve, it would seem like Smith could have fewer opportunities in the game, but offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. said there are some differences in their roles. Ginn missed 10 games with a knee injury, and when he returned in Week 16 against the Steelers, he had five catches for 74 yards. Smith had one catch for 11 yards in that game. With Ginn having more experience, its likely hell play more than Smith in Sundays playoff game, but theres a chance the Saints like something about Smiths matchup based on the first game. Ginn, meanwhile, said he was glad to see Smith play well in that first meeting. Thats what hes supposed to do, Ginn said. He went out and took on the big stage. It kind of shows what this (wide receiver) room is about. I was excited for him, but you just got to put it back together. If the ball goes Smiths way on Sunday, hell be ready, but he wont be upset if he doesnt have the kind of performance he had in Week 11. As long as we win, thats all I really care about, Smith said. If I have zero catches, zero targets but come out with the win, thats fine with me. Im not here for personal success. Im here for team success. | https://www.nola.com/saints/2019/01/could-saints-trequan-smith-have-big-game-vs-eagles-again.html |
Did Blake Griffin sprint away from the Clippers owner Steve Ballmer on purpose? | Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer tried to talk to Blake Griffin before Griffins return game to Los Angeles on Saturday, and it didnt go so well. Ballmer hung out by the sidelines while Griffin finished his pre-game shooting routine, and once he was done, went in for a handshake. But Griffin SPRINTED right past him. Blake is truly a Piston now. #DetroitVsEverybody pic.twitter.com/UiAoGi4Yow FOX Sports Detroit (@FOXSportsDet) January 12, 2019 Its up for debate whether Blakes mad dash to the locker room was intentional, or if it really was out of spite. Griffin hasnt spoken much ill-will against his former employer, which blindsided him with a mid-season trade last season, so theres no pubic beef thats known. Griffin is a former stand-up comedian, so perhaps this could just be a big joke. Or, maybe he did just completely miss his former billionaire boss. But reporters on the ground suggested Ballmer yelled Griffins name as he extended his hand for a handshake, only to be ignored. Griffin might not be over the Jan. 2018 trade that came six months after he signed a five-year, $171 million contract to stay in L.A. That signing followed an elaborate pitch from the Clippers that took Griffin through a maize at Staples Center, which ended with a simulation of what his jersey retirement would look like. During the broadcast on Saturday afternoon, Clippers play-by-play announce Ralph Lawler said that Griffin even blew him off when the two teams played in Detroit after the trade last season. All that promise from the franchise, only to ship him off to shed salary, had to burn for Griffin. The Clippers played a tribute video for him, and Griffin waved to the crowd, but otherwise, hes kept a stone face on throughout the game. Blake Griffin tribute video pic.twitter.com/rL4C5zDsT6 Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) January 12, 2019 Nothing will be clear until somebody speaks. | https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/1/12/18180096/blake-griffin-steve-ballmer-run-handshake |
What do the players say? Will 2019 Cleveland Indians be better or worse than 2018 edition? | CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The media can be fooled. Fans can be fooled, but its hard to fool a ballplayer when the question is about talent. So the answer is yes, the 2019 Indians are going to be a different team than the one that ended the 2018 season with 91 wins and a third straight AL Central title. The list of departed Indians does not include free agents Cody Allen, Brandon Guyer, Josh Tomlin, Melky Cabrera, Oliver Perez and Adam Rosales, who are still looking for homes. I wouldnt say that, said catcher Roberto Perez, who moves into a starting role following the trade of Gomes. All I can say is that were going to get there. We lost some pieces like Encarnacion and Brantley. Those players are special and they fit here well, but were going to concentrate on what we have here now and see what happens. Asked if the Indians can win the World Series in 2019, Perez said, Yes, I believe in my team 100 percent. This is Perezs 11th season in the organization. Considering the experience and talent the Indians have lost this winter, he qualifies as an elder statesman. His tenure has given him a chance to see how the front office has put together winning rosters for the last six seasons. Of course, Im very confident in the front office, said Perez. I believe in my team. Each person here knows what they can do. I think our strength is here ... its the (starting) pitching. Were going to be the underdogs. I think we all know that. But were ready for the challenge. When asked if he really believed the Indians were going to be underdogs in a division theyve dominated for three years, he said, Not really. The other teams have done great jobs this offseason, the White Sox and Minnesota. But in 2016, nobody thought that we were going to be in the World Series. Weve just got to prove people wrong. Reliever Dan Otero is entering his fourth season with the Indians. He said last year the Indians dwelt too much on the players theyd lost to free agency specifically Bryan Shaw. This winter its Miller and Allen. I dont want the narrative to always be about the people we lost, said Otero. I felt like last year I thought there was a lot of that with Shaw leaving. How are we going to replace him and maybe we werent focused on who we had here. I kind of want to get away from talking about the guys who arent here and talk about the guys who are here. We have some new blood here. Guys trying to make a name for themselves. Whether its Neil Ramirez coming back again. Jon Edwards coming back after a good year. Nick Goody coming off an injury. There are guys here we need to count on and hold accountable. As much as those guys meant to us in the past, we do need to look at the guys we have here. Theyre at different places and hopefully they do well except when they play us. Over the last six years the Indians have won more games than any team in the AL. The roster didnt turn over that much until the last two seasons. But as players keep performing well and gain more service time in the big leagues, their salaries increase as free agency draws nearer. That means change for a team such as the Indians. With change, comes opportunity. Its an opportunity to make your name, said Mike Clevinger, when asked about this winters roster turnover. When I was coming up here, I took it as there was an awful lot of good arms in front of me. I told myself if I can crack this rotation, its going to be a pretty big thing for myself. Were a winning ball team. Weve been winning for years. If you can crack this lineup (as a position player), its obviously a feat for yourself and your personal endeavors. With the trades and free agents departures of Gomes, Gonzalez, Encarnacion, Chisenhall, Brantley and Alonso, the Indians have lost 307 runs, 90 homers and 270 RBI. The good part of being here the last couple of years, said Clevinger, was seeing how this front office replenishes the holes in the lineup. So now its not the anxiety of not knowing your lineup. I know theyre going to be putting some good bats in there. Weve won the AL Central three years in a row. Why not keep it going? Pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear, Ariz., for the start of spring training on Feb. 12. GM Mike Chernoff told the Tribe Fest audience on Saturday that they will keep trying to improve the team right through the start of camp and beyond. There have been rumors all winter that one way to do that would be to trade one of their top two starting pitchers, Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. Id really be sad to see Klubes or Trev leave because theyve been such great mentors to learn from, said Adam Plutko. Seeing them leave would be a real bummer on my end. But in an offseason where there has been change in every other part of the roster, a move with the rotation would not be a surprise. | https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2019/01/what-do-the-players-say-will-2019-cleveland-indians-be-better-or-worse-than-2018-edition.html |
Are these Liverpool's best salt and pepper boxes? | Get What's On updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email While we are busy trying to convince ourselves we're going to eat healthy this month, there is one dish we just can't stop thinking about. Salt and pepper chicken has long been a favourite amongst Scousers and is an absolute must when ordering from a Chippy or Chinese restaurant. Many restaurants and takeaways have now taken this trend and created the ultimate treat for those looking to get their salt and pepper fix - Salt and Pepper boxes. Depending where you order from each will differ slightly, but each contain around four different salt and pepper dishes for diners to enjoy. For anyone still adamant they are not indulging in the usual Saturday night treat you may want to stop reading now, as below we have rounded-up the best salt and pepper boxes available to order across Liverpool. The round-up has been complied by looking at reviews on both Just Eat and Trip Advisor as well as suggestion by ECHO readers. The Food Station The Food Station offers the ultimate salt and pepper treat. Customers can chose between a variety of options such as half chips, salt and pepper chicken and seasoning all over, or they even add salt and pepper spring rolls to it. The Kirkby-based takeaway has excellent reviews on Just Eat with one customer saying: "Fantastic. Ordered from here many times now and never disappointed. Great food, great service and friendly staff." It even offer milkshakes and desserts thanks to its 'Mr Shakes' side of the business too. The Food Station and Mr Shakes, 24 Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby, L32 8RX Friendly House Chinese Takeaway Friendly House is one which has been praised on Trip Advisor for its salt and pepper chicken boxes. It is loved by its customers for its portion sizes too. One reviewer post in December said: "Rang up today 15th December ordered our salt and pepper chicken box and was told it would be ready in five minutes. "We raced in the car there and as the lady said it was it was to feed three of us but to be honest you could have fed six. "Amazing food, service, and absolutely spotless and worth every penny Well done guys and girls. The best Chinese in the south end." Friendly House Chinese Takeaway, 90 Hillfoot Avenue, Liverpool L25 0PF Blue Diamond For fans of salt and pepper chicken (and, I mean who isn't) the news that a Liverpool takeaway was releasing a huge box dedicated to the spicy flavouring was like all our dreams had come true. Blue Diamond takeaway , based in Tuebrook started selling the 'Special Munchy Box' back in 2017 and caused a huge frenzy on social media. It includes Salt and pepper chicken wings, ribs, chicken nuggets, chicken pieces, Sui Mais, chips and a choice of sauce. The boxes are priced at 8. Blue Diamond, 85 Rocky Lane , Liverpool L6 4BB Golden City Golden City offers a range of 'Munchie Boxes' with sizes for one or two people. The mini salt and pepper munchie box which comes with Salt & pepper siu mai, salt & pepper chicken wing, salt & pepper ribs, salt & pepper nugget, salt & pepper chicken pieces, salt & pepper chips, spring rolls, onion rings, curry samosas, BBQ sauce & curry sauce for 9. Customers can also opt for the 'mega munchie box' for 17.50. One customer said: "Nicest takeaway ever. The food is always hot & delicious. I love the salt & pepper chicken from here. Delivery is always really fast & usually within 30mins from ordering. Love this place." Golden City, 198 Western Avenue Merseyside, Liverpool, L24 3UT K.C Fish and Chips K.C's is based on Moss Lane in Orrell Park with its salt and pepper munchie boxes described as "so nice" and "amazing". Its 12" Munchies Box is made of of a 12" pizza box that includes noodles, fried rice, salt and pepper chips and 2 cans of Pepsi and then customers can choose three of the following: Salt and pepper chicken balls Salt and pepper shredded chicken Salt and pepper ribs Salt and pepper wings Salt and pepper shredded chicken. The box is priced at 17. One reviewer said: "Salt and pepper munchie box is so nice, will deffo order again." K.C Fish & Chips, 109 Moss Lane, Liverpool, L9 8AQ Sign up to the What's On newsletter - packed with brilliant things to see and do in Liverpool and beyond. | https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/liverpools-best-salt-pepper-boxes-15668432 |
Where will the Titans go with Jack Conklin and Dennis Kelly in 2019? | The Tennessee Titans caught the injury bug in a big way this season, and right tackle Jack Conklin was among those not spared. In his place, fellow offensive lineman Dennis Kelly proved reliable enough to get the job done. So reliable, in fact, some have suggested that Kelly may actually be the better fit for the position. Kelly appeared to outplay Conklin in the vast majority of his appearances, overcoming circumstances that extended beyond the football field. Just after the death of his father, Kelly still managed to be a crucial part of the Titans 17-0 shutout of the Giants. The tackle finished the game as the second-highest graded offensive player on the Titans According to Titans team reporter Jim Wyatt, we can expect to see some shuffling around as the teams seeks to cure its offensive line issues. That doesnt necessarily mean Kelly will take over Conklins place in the lineup for good, though. I thought Dennis (Kelly) played really well, he wrote in his weekly mailbag post. Hes a real asset. As for Jack Conklin moving to guard, Id be surprised I suspect the team will evaluate the true guards in free agency and the NFL Draft. And I also think the coaching staff is confident Conklin will return to form in 2019, another season removed from his ACL injury. The Titans undoubtedly face a tricky situation as they look to improve the offensive unit as a whole, but theyve got a long offseason ahead to solve the issue as preparation for a successful 2019 season begins. | https://titanswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/12/where-will-the-titans-go-with-jack-conklin-and-dennis-kelly-in-2019/ |
Could cuddling a robot cure Britain's loneliness epidemic? | As I scoop the childlike bundle into my arms, its big eyes light up with delight and it lets out a cheerful chirp. An immediate sense of warmth, calm and yes, even affection sweeps over me. Its clearly feeling as content as me, and its eyes start to close as it settles down, making occasional mews, just like a baby. But its not human, nor an animal. In fact, I am cuddling a robot one that is on a very important mission: to cure loneliness. Im in the heart of noisy, 24-7 Las Vegas at CES, the biggest, most celebrated annual technology convention in the world. And even though there are hundreds of thousands of people here, vying to see the latest must-have gadgets from more than 20,000 on display, I find that cuddling the Lovot the name combines the words love and robot to be an astonishingly soothing experience. It gives me a wonderful sense of not being quite so alone in this crowd of strangers. Indeed, Lovot is being hailed as the key to beating the devastating loneliness crisis blighting every country, including Britain. Mail On Sunday reporter Eve Simmons cuddling a robot. She said she felt an 'immediate sense of warmth, calm and affection' when cuddling the robot There are already almost 12 million older people in the UK those over 65 and more than half consider the television their main source of company. At least 3.5 million live alone, nearly 70 per cent of them women. By 2040, one in four people will be in this age group, meaning loneliness will increase to epidemic proportions. And this is not just a social tragedy. Research shows that long-term loneliness raises the risk of stroke, heart disease, cancer, depression, diabetes and suicide, and doubles the risk of Alzheimers and dementia. Enter Lovot. This furry friend, weighs 6 lb the size of an average newborn stands 16in tall and is designed to give unconditional love and tactile companionship. It was built by Japanese tech guru Kaname Hayashi, best known for designing Pepper, the robot that made history in October when it appeared in the House of Commons to answer questions from MPs about the role of technology in our lives. March of the machines: Virtual reality carer Addison An elderly lady heads down memory lane in Rendever virtual-reality goggles Pepper was primarily intended to work in shops. But Lovot was created to be like a best friend. Hayashi believes his creation, with its soft outer shell, own clothing range and a temperature just above human body heat, can help fill that lonely gap so many adults feel. With its big eyes, round face and two wheels, Lovot also has a voice although it doesnt speak in words, but strange Tellytubby-like coos and chirps. An antenna on its head and 50 sensors allow it to be responsive to sounds, temperature and how its treated. It wanders around, with its sophisticated internal circuitry mapping the layout of a room as it goes. And it flaps its penguin-like arms when it wants to be held. Lovot is available to pre-order but a pair will set you back 4,320, with delivery not expected until 2020. Its hardly a throwaway Christmas purchase for the kids, then, but possibly cheaper than a pedigree dog. And there are no food or vet bills. This robot is just one of the amazing new wave of innovations I witnessed at CES that aim to transform health and social care as we know it everything from a pair of robotic trousers to aid mobility to robot home carers, and even a robot to cuddle in bed. And theres no doubt that this is the way things are going. Last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that all patients in England should be able to have a digital consultation with their GP via video link using a smartphone or computer webcam by 2024. As I have seen first-hand, the march of the machines continues and technology-enabled care services are already starting to transform peoples lives. Samsung's most intriguing unveiling was a range of devices that mesh man and machine: three robotic exoskeletons to be worn over the legs. The Gait Enhancing Motivational System, or GEMS, look a bit like lederhosen that Robocop might wear, and are designed to boost walking speed, improve balance and cut energy expenditure. Stroke patients, people rehabilitating after joint ops and those who simply are no longer steady on their feet could all benefit. While other robotic exoskeletons are designed to help the paralysed walk again, this high-tech harness is aimed at those who have slowed down and would like to speed up. Samsung is making three versions, the GEMS-H for hips, GEMS-A for ankles and GEMS-K for knees. The GEMS-H promises to assist walking, cutting energy expenditure by almost a quarter, and improve posture and boost walking pace by almost 20 per cent. It will also help provide stability. Straps hug the hips and connect to ones that encircle both thighs while electronic packs sit on the small of the back and on the outside of each leg. Sensors measure the wearers hip angles and posture, and each time the wearers foot hits the ground, the robot subtly assists and lift the legs. I slip my legs into the white, plastic frame and adjust it using clips on the side of each leg to fit against my thighs tightly. After setting the built-in control to a modest medium speed, I am off. It feels as though my legs have been super-charged: steps require minimal effort. I glide up stairs and dart around the room without feeling Ive moved much at all. Next I change the setting to resistance mode, designed to provide a challenging exercise for those who need to increase their fitness. Its a little like walking under water. The strain on my buttocks and thighs is enough to feel like exercise, without breaking much of a sweat. Theres no launch date or price for GEMS yet. Billed as the worlds first sleep robot, Somnox is a chunky peanut-shaped cushion that gently breathes in and out as you hug it in bed. It aims to help you sleep faster, longer and wake up refreshed by slowing down your breathing, focusing your breathing and playing soothing sounds. With almost seven in ten British adults struggling to get a good nights sleep, raising their risk of obesity, heart disease and mental health problems, Somnox could be a welcome cuddly alternative to sleeping pills. Samsung's Bot Care 'robonurse 'is a 2ft-tall robotic nurse on wheels More a smart pillow than a robot, it is designed to be cuddled like a teddy bear. Once in your arms, a touch-sensitive computer and motor deep inside triggers it to slowly inflate and deflate, mimicking the calm breathing pattern of a deep sleep. The device is based on the idea that slow, deep breathing is key to sleep and the brain subconsciously mirrors the breathing of others. Studies on babies have shown that such mirror breathing can lead to not just better sleep but a better mood the next day. Although the softer-than-soft fabric is certainly comforting to touch, I felt uneasy about a non-human sleep partner, quietly moving in my embrace (but at least you dont worry about snoring). Somnox also emits light that gradually gets brighter, simulating a sunrise, when its time to wake up. Somnox is available now, priced 429. Visit meetsomnox.com. Bot Care is a 2ft-tall robotic nurse on wheels. She (it has a female voice) has a sleek white exterior with a screen face complete with blinking, animated eyes. Bot Care explained when she introduced herself: I make it easy to manage your daily health routine by checking vital signs like blood pressure, pulse and heart rate. According to Yoon Lee, senior vice president of creators Samsung, she is an example of the companys quest to address the challenge of an increasing ageing population with technology. Bot Care has an array of sensors: if you hold a fingertip on one on her face, she can read blood pressure and pulse. It then draws on its artificial intelligence catalogue to tell you via speech what your reading is and whether it is normal. Bot Care, I ask, show me a yoga workout please? With a single blink of its line-drawing eyes, a full instruction video is displayed on-screen within seconds. Other sensors can monitor breathing rate even while the user is asleep and temperature and will offer solutions accordingly; including playing music to ease stress. The spatial awareness sensor detects changes in their users height, indicating a fall, and calls a specified emergency contact via the phone function which could very well prove life-saving. Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics show that fall-related deaths have rocketed up by 177 per cent in men over the past decade, and by 72 per cent in women. A price and release date for Bot Care is yet to be announced. Rendever are goggles that use virtual reality to transport users to anywhere in the world, providing it is listed on Google Maps. Home towns, wedding locations and favourite holiday spots can all be visited on a stroll down memory lane. Such interaction can ease the agitation, isolation and depression that often accompanies dementia, boosting mood and, crucially, improving recall. THEY are much like the goggles used for computer video games, except that these are designed for use by the elderly at home and in care homes. The user feels he or she is actually in the place on the screen. All you need to do is tap a postcode into the linked app. I opt for my childhood home, and the experience is truly magical. Dr Mike Short, chief scientific adviser to the Department for International Trade, says: VR devices can be an effective and useful memory jogger for people with Alzheimers disease and dementia. It can ease the pain often felt when patients struggle to remember something important. Rendever will be available by 2020. Visit rendever.com. ADDISON Care Virtual Assistant is billed as the worlds first virtual-reality carer. More than 15 million Britons are living with a chronic illness, with many needing part or full-time carers while a severe shortage of care professionals continues to worsen. Addison aims to fill the gap by monitoring the health of users at home, sending alerts to a doctor or emergency services if there are concerns. Addison works in much the same way as Amazons Alexa: it is a voice-controlled artificial intelligence computer programme. Unlike Alexa, Addison has a friendly face: a computer animated blonde female character dressed in a hospital scrubs-type outfit. The system involves computer screens being fitted throughout the home, on which Addison appears to interact with the users. Sophisticated motion-sensing cameras allow her to watch whoever is in the room. Facial recognition software means she instantly knows who she is looking at. Users medical records can be uploaded to the Addison central computer, and constant at-home monitoring can be carried out using wearable wrist trackers and handheld devices to measure blood pressure, heart rate and other vital statistics. She can give health and medication advice and is connected to GP services. A price and release date for Addison is yet to be announced. Pillo is a coffee machine-size robot that dispenses medication when it sees your face and hears your voice at set times throughout the day. The designers say it is an effective way to reduce inefficiencies a recent NICE review found that between a third and half of all medications in the UK are taken incorrectly, especially among people taking several prescriptions, wasting 300 million annually. The user or their carer loads the Pillo with a batch of medication every 28 days. Health data, emergency contacts, medication dose and preferred timings are input into a paired app. An hour before it is time to take the medication, Pillo issues a sound alert on the device and app. When its time to take the tablets, it releases the dose. The built-in voice and face recognition provide an extra layer of security: Pillo will dispense pills only when it recognises the designated users faces or voices. It reminds you of medication times, and contacts a family member or carer if a dosage is missed. When its 7in touchscreen isnt displaying important information, it turns into a cute face. Pillo is available now, priced 389 plus a 31.25 monthly subscription fee. pillohealth.com | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6584743/Could-cuddling-robot-cure-Britains-loneliness-epidemic.html |
Are the Los Angeles Lakers hitting stride without LeBron? | Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives between Golden State Warriors' Kevon Looney (5) and Andre Iguodala during the first half of an NBA basketball game Dec. 25 in Oakland, Calif. (Photo: AP Photo/Tony Avelar) Coming into the 2018-19 season, the NBA's biggest story centered on whether superstar LeBron James could lead the Los Angeles Lakers back to title contention. The Lakers have been in a downward spiral in recent years, out of the playoffs since 2013. Things hit rock bottom in 2016 when the Lakers won 17 games the lowest in franchise history. And for an organization that's won 16 championships, that was unacceptable. Anyone affiliated with the NBA will tell you that the season is a marathon, not a sprint. The Lakers' path back to the playoffs has been up and down, to say the least. Since Christmas, James has missed eight games with a groin injury and the team has gone 3-6. This past week, however, the Lakers may have solved some of their issues going 2-1. LA won for just the fourth game on the Dallas Mavericks' home floor Monday night, and then beat a solid Detroit Pistons teams at home, marking the teams first winning streak since James' injury. But the Lakers didn't end the week the way they would have hoped as they lost Friday night at the Utah Jazz. A slight turnaround that's been mostly because of the improved play of Brandon Ingram and the resurgence of Kyle Kuzma. A ticket but no Lebron A few months ago, for my 25th birthday, my sister Noelle bought me Lakers tickets for last week's game in Dallas. While I was disappointed that I couldnt see my favorite athlete play in person for the first time, Im a basketball fan in the purest sense and was ecstatic to see how the young Lakers would fare against one the leagues best home teams. The Mavs came into Monday's game feeling good at home with a 16-3 record. The team has been the opposite on the road, struggling at 11-17. I had the privilege of seeing Ingram play his best game of the season, attacking the basket with ferocity most didn't see coming on his way to a season-high 29 points. On Wednesday night back in L.A., Kuzma had his career-high with 41 points in just three quarters of play. The West Coast challenge While James is no stranger to turning an average team into one capable of winning a championship as he did in Miami in 2012 or in Cleveland in 2016 the 2018 season presented challenges he's never faced. Some include: Teaching younger players how to win in the NBA. James championship teams of the past have been filled with older veteran players who were willing to sacrifice individual accolades for a chance to win big. However, the Lakers roster is filled with players such as Ingram and Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart all 25 or younger and without playoff experience. Playing in the Western Conference. While James run to eight consecutive NBA finals from 2011-2018 was a feat unmatched by anyone since the 1960s Celtics, many people devalued that accomplishment because he wasnt in the stronger conference. Now, James is in the West, where the race to the playoffs resembles the lines at your local Walmart on Black Friday. He recently turned 34. Typically, that represents the time NBA stars begin to fall off their peak. Nonetheless, at the start of the NBA season, James continued to prove hes one of the exceptions to that rule. James was averaging his usual 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, on 51 percent shooting, something hes hovered around since 2006. Things seemed to be trending upward for the Lakers on Christmas Eve when they were the fourth seed in the West behind Denver, Golden State and Portland, whom they already had beaten twice. However, James was injured Christmas Day against Golden State and hasnt been back on the court since. And while the Lakers pounded the defending champs that day, winning 127-101, they've struggled with consistency, losing five of their next six games. Buy Photo Quinton Lilley, Reporter-News sports reporter. (Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News) A 'new Lakers' fan Everyone who knows me personally knows that Im a huge LeBron fan, and being from southern California, aka Kobe Country, presented a hard life for me. James joining the Lakers this offseason allowed the feud between Lakers/Kobe fans and Lebron fans to die down at least for a little while. In the early 2000s, I was a huge Lakers fan because of my fathers loyalty to the team that goes back to the Magic Johnson/Showtime Lakers. However, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeals feud broke up the team, I decided to root for players I liked, instead of teams altogether. Leading up to the game in Dallas, the Lakers had just been blown out at Minnesota. However, maybe for the first time all season, the Lakers played a better second half than first without their superstar forward. When the Lakers fell behind by 13 in the first half, Mavericks fans began shaming me and the other Lakers fans in attendance. But in the second half, the Lakers quickly erased that deficit with a 32-13 third quarter led by Ingram, Ball and Hart and cruised to victory. When I walked into the American Airlines Center, I was expecting a dominant Dallas win but walked out optimistic that maybe this years team can turn things around, even without James in the lineup. Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (14) drives against Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic (77) of Germany during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas on Monday. (Photo: AP Photo/LM Otero) Ingrams irony Ingram came to L.A. as the second-overall pick in the 2016 draft and was touted in the Kevin Durant mold as a tall, athletic wing player who can produce on all three levels of the floor. However, Ingrams impact to this point has been minimal, with the Lakers missing the playoffs his first two years, and totaling 61 wins over two seasons. The best example of Ingrams lack of impact is that including his only year at Duke and three NBA seasons, hes eclipsed the 30-point mark once in 169 games. One of the impressive things to note about Ingram is that he finally may be hitting his stride this season while traded rumors have begun to heat up with the prospect of Anthony Davis joining James in L.A. Just four months ago, Davis agreed to sign with Klutch Sports Group, a sports agency run by Rich Paul, one of James closest friends. Since then, Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans have struggled, falling to 12th in the West. And While Davis hasnt publicly said he wants to be traded, rumors around the league have projected that hell don the Purple and Gold at some point in 2019 in exchange for Ingram and some of the Lakers' other young pieces. Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, right, smiles as he walks past New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis during the first half of an NBA basketball game Dec. 21 in Los Angeles. (Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Looking forward The question now is if James combined with the young players will be enough to move the team back into the top four seeds. Currently, the team is in the eighth spot but the biggest positive is that seeds three through eight are separated by just three games. And if you look at the Lakers objectively and when healthy, theres only one team better on paper the two-time champs from the Bay. As for Mavericks fans, the bright spot for your team is that you have one of the league's best young backcourts with Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. Neither is 22 years old yet. I reckon that in three years they'll start to resemble Russell Westbrook and Paul George if things go their way. If so, Lakers vs. Mavericks games will be even more meaningful. | https://www.reporternews.com/story/sports/professional/2019/01/12/lakers-finding-their-stride-even-without-lebron/2541400002/?from=new-cookie |
Was ist mit Griechenlands Banken los? | Die Forderungen der Eliten hinter den Themen mit den Banken und warum Griechenland in Wirklichkeit kein Bankenproblem, sondern ein Korruptionsproblem zu lsen hat. Um zu begreifen, was wirklich mit Griechenlands Banken los ist, wendete ich mich an einen Guru des Bereichs mit einer langen Laufbahn innerhalb des Finanzsystems. Also an einen wirklichen Insider. Mein Lieber, die Dinge sind schwierig. Sehr schwierig. Ich bin beunruhigt , gestand er mir. Ich kam daraufhin direkt zu des Pudels Kern und fragte, was zu geschehen habe. Griechenlands elitre Schuldenmacher stahlen Spareinlagen kleiner Leute Ich verlangte somit praktisch zu erfahren, was die Bankiers wollen, die mein Gesprchspartner aus seiner Position heraus aus alten Zeiten kennt. Erstens muss der Leiter der Finanzstabilittsfazilitt wechseln. Der dort befindliche sterreicher schafft andauernd Probleme. Wir brauchen jemanden.. | https://uncut-news.ch/2018/10/11/was-ist-mit-griechenlands-banken-los/ |
Is it time for a shot clock in N.J. high school basketball? | Thank you for Reading. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. A subscription is required to continue reading. Thank you for reading PressofAtlanticCity.com. If you are a current subscriber you are granted an all-access pass to the website and digital newspaper replica. Please click Sign Up or Login to activate your digital access. If not, please click Sign Up to subscribe and continue to enjoy valuable local news and information, or you can come back at the end of your 30-day period for another 10 free articles. Thank you for reading PressofAtlanticCity.com. Please click Get Started. If you are a current subscriber you are granted an all-access pass to the website and digital newspaper replica. If not, we ask that you purchase a subscription and continue to enjoy valuable local news and information, or you can come back at the end of your 30-day period for another 10 free articles. | https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/basketball/is-it-time-for-a-shot-clock-in-n-j/article_e728c007-4d48-562d-bc2c-5c78775861cd.html |
Is Shopify a Millionaire-Maker Stock? | There's no solid definition. If you start out with $1,000 and expect it to turn into a cool million, you'd need returns of 99,900%. Conversely, if you started out with $500,000 in a single stock, you'd only need a return of 100%. To simplify the question, I'm going to define a "millionaire-maker" as a stock that can return 10 times its value in 20 years. Investors in Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) have already had a great ride: shares are up 500% since its 2015 initial public offering and 650% since February of 2016. That might make you feel like you've missed your chance with Shopify. I'm here to tell you that isn't necessarily the case. A fake $1,000,000 bill More Image source: Getty Images. A mission with a million different directions Let's think for a second about some of the stocks that have returned the greatest value over the last 20 years. Think about Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN): It started out selling just books, and has become an Everything Store, streaming giant, and cloud force that is redefining almost every industry in commerce. Or think about Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) -- the parent of Google -- which started out with a simple search engine. Today, it offers up eight different tools that each have over a billion users, and is working on moonshot projects that could fundamentally change our everyday lives, hopefully for the better. It would be difficult for someone around in the founding days of either company to have envisioned the scope of influence that each has today. And yet, one simple sentence from each company's beginning would have given us a clue: its mission statement. Amazon's was simply "to be earth's most customer-centric company." Alphabet's (then Google's) read: "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Both of these would have been helpful in predicting what was to come. That's because they share the three traits I consider paramount to finding millionaire-making stocks. Their mission statements are: Simple: Any employee can decide on a course of action in a split second, based on how it aligns with the mission statement. Optionable: There are dozens, if not hundreds, of different ways the company could go about fulfilling this mission. Inspirational: Far beyond simply adding to the bottom line, the company serves an enduring, existential human desire. Which brings us to Shopify. Right now, the company makes most of its cash from a two-pronged approach: a subscription platform that allows anyone to set up an e-commerce site, and "merchant solutions" like help with shipping packages and collecting online payments. But if we want to know where the company is going, we need to analyze its mission: "to make commerce better for everyone." This checks all three boxes. It is simple, optionable -- as the addition of merchant solutions a few years ago clearly shows -- and inspirational. And Shopify's founder and CEO, Tobi Lutke, has already demonstrated that this mission statement is not an empty one. Owner-operators with skin in the game Speaking of Lutke, there's a lot to like. He started a snowboarding company in 2004 and developed his own platform to sell his wares. Over time, it became apparent the platform, rather than the snowboards, was what the world really wanted. Born a coder, Lutke was happy to oblige. Today he still owns over 60% of Shopify's Class B shares, meaning his net worth is closely tied to the fate of the company. Just as importantly, it means that he -- the person who has grown the company from scratch -- remains in control. When an owner-operator is at the helm, I believe there's enormous intrinsic (read: not wringing out short-term profits) motivation to build something with long-term value. Perhaps it's no coincidence, then, that both Amazon and Alphabet are still run by their founders as well. | https://news.yahoo.com/shopify-millionaire-maker-stock-213500775.html |
Is Apple a Buy? | Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) didn't end its year well. CEO Tim Cook issued a rare letter to shareholders in which he slashed the company's earnings guidance for the fourth quarter from a range of $89 billion to $93 billion down to $84 billion. That's a $7 billion shortfall if you had assumed the company would deliver a number in the middle of its original range. The shortfall came because iPhone sales have been slow in China as well as in emerging markets. In addition, the company has been hurt by slower adoption for its newest phones -- a problem it exacerbated by having its latest operating system, iOS 12, improve the performance of older phones. Those are big issues for a company for which iPhone sales have accounted for at least 50% of revenue, and sometimes nearly 70%, since the beginning of 2013. Customers look at iPhones in an Apple store. More Apple has reported slower-than-expected iPhone sales. Image source: Apple. Phone replacement used to be tied to contracts with the major wireless carriers. Customers generally got a heavily subsidized phone in exchange for a two-year commitment to the carrier. At the end of that two years, most consumers would upgrade their phone as part of the process of signing a new contract. That's not how things work anymore. The four major carriers -- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint -- now charge for phones separately, though they all offer installment plans, and some offer leases. That has given consumers a better look at how much their phone actually costs, instead of having that number hidden within paying for the service. It's a change that now has people holding on to their phones longer. Globally, smartphone sales appear to have passed their peak, with year-over-year shipments falling in each of the past four quarters, according to data from IDC, which noted that Apple isn't alone in struggling in China. "China's domestic market continues to be challenged as overall consumer spending around smartphones has been down," said IDC Program Vice President Ryan Reith in a press release. "High penetration levels, mixed with some challenging economic times, has slowed the world's largest smartphone market." Reith, however, doesn't believe further declines are inevitable. In fact, he sees the situation in China getting better. "Despite this, we believe this market will begin to recover in 2019 and beyond, driven in the short term by a large, built-up refresh cycle across all segments, and in the outer years of the forecast supported by 5G migration," he said. While it's concerning that iPhone sales are slowing because consumers are waiting longer to upgrade, it's not enough to scare me away from Apple. The company has acknowledged it has a problem, but it's also already made a major move to account for it. Consumers may upgrade less often, but they'll still upgrade. Apple understands that and has priced its newest devices accordingly. The base model iPhone 6 cost $649 at launch, while the entry-level XS costs $999. That's an increase of more than a third, and it shows that Apple understands its audience. Yes, the company will have to deal with lumpier upgrade cycles as consumers around the world realize that their existing phones are good enough that they don't need a new one quite as often. That group will be counterbalanced by the Apple enthusiast audience that considers owning the new phone a badge of honor -- and one that it seems quite willing to pay for. | https://news.yahoo.com/apple-buy-213200119.html |
Why is Naseeruddin Shah Being Called Anti-National? | It is strange how I never thought of Naseeruddin Shah as a Muslim until now when his religious identity is being used against him to prove he is anti-national.But hang on. Because he expressed trepidation about the future of this country and, more specifically, his children.Here is what Naseer said: "The poison has already spread. It will be very difficult to capture this djinn back in the bottle. There is complete impunity for those who take law into their own hands. In many areas we are witnessing that the death of a cow has more significance than that of a police officer.I feel anxious thinking about my children. Because they don't have a religion. Tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim', they will have no answer. It worries me because I don't see the situation improving anytime soon. "I am a little lost after repeatedly reading this. Is it right to book him a ticket to Karachi because he spoke about his insecurities?But I am happy to inform you that Naseer is not going anywhere. He is not wrong in feeling anxious about the future. And if he speaks up about his insecurities and is slammed for it, then isn't it proof that he's right in feeling insecure?As the outspoken Swara Bhaskar said to me, "Quite simply, the attack on Naseeruddin Shah proves his point more than anything else. Intolerance is a government-approved malaise in this new Hindustan of ours. "My dear Shabana Azmi is right in saying there should be some amount of distinction between the government and the national identity. If one criticises the government, one is not being anti-national. If one doesn't watch Anupam Kher play Manmohan Singh, one is not pro-Congress. And if one disagrees with Mrs Kirron Kher that The Accidental Prime Minister (which coincidentally stars her husband) should be sent to the Oscars, one is not anti-national either.The country is in the grip of an unprecedented culture of conformity. Everybody must love certain politicians to qualify as a true Indian. And if you have any reservations about any of the government's policies (including reservations) you will be booked an air ticket to Pakistan. Or worse, forced to watch Vivek Oberoi play our Prime Minister on the day the film releases.I threw away my Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehndi Hassan CDs the day Mrs Kher declared her husband's film Oscar-worthy without seeing it. (Subhash K. Jha writes on cinema. Views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at [email protected]) | https://www.news18.com/news/movies/why-is-naseeruddin-shah-being-called-anti-national-2000361.html |
What would QB Kyler Murray choosing football mean for Raiders? | The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray, has reportedly flipped the football world on its head with his decision to enter the NFL Draft. Its not clear, however, whether Murray will pursue a career in football or baseball. We know how electric Murray is with the football in his hands. We know how fast he is. We know about the offense he played in at Oklahoma. Better prospects could fall to the Raiders The evaluations have been all over the place on Murray. Some scouts have him as a Day 2 pick, while others have him as a lock to go in the first round and some even have him as the first overall pick basically all positives for the Raiders. This means no matter what, in any situation wherever Murray goes, better talent could fall to the Raiders. Murrays decision to enter the draft is a surprise to many, meaning talent evaluators across the league are adding him to their board while dropping others to make room for him. The Raiders have a bevy of needs outside of quarterback, and while teams are focusing on Murray, the Raiders can wait on prospects to fall to them. There have been talks of Murray going as high as first overall, and with the Raiders sitting at No. 4 overall, this puts defensive prospects like Nick Bosa, Josh Allen and Quinnen Williams possibly in play for the Raiders players they may have given up on before the rumors of Murray heading to the NFL arrived. QB-needy teams making trades with the Raiders Murray is as dynamic of a quarterback prospect as weve ever seen. There isnt much of a doubt that a team will fall in love with Murray. This could work out in favor of the Raiders as things could turn into a bidding war to get the Raiders top pick. Or even if Murray falls to later in the draft a team could call the Raiders about acquiring one of their later first-round picks. We know how active Jon Gruden can be in the draft with trading picks, and other teams know that as well making them an easy target for trade partners. The Raiders arent in win-now mode and could be in the position to acquire more picks for the 2020 and 2021 draft when the classes are expected to be loaded with talent. The Raiders are an organization that craves the big splash for example, signing Jon Gruden to a 10-year coaching contract, trading for Randy Moss and leaving the city of Oakland for Las Vegas. Weve seen how bold this front office can be with trading players like Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. We havent seen much of a commitment to Derek Carr with the Raiders brass, and with three picks in the first round, the Raiders could use one on Murray. Gruden could groom Murray to control his offense before the team jets for Vegas. Murray is so polarizing as a prospect he could be wildly popular for a team that is moving cities and doesnt have much star power. Drafting Murray is the type of splash that owner Mark Davis could get on board with. | https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/11/qb-kyler-murray-choosing-football-mean-for-the-raiders/ |
What are the 'Yellow Vest' protesters in Ireland actually calling for? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email 'Yellow Vest' demonstrators blocked Dublin traffic once again on Saturday as they continue to hold weekly protests. Around 60 people marched from Custom House Quay to East Wall briefly blocking the Port Tunnel for the second week in a row. There has been some confusion as to what the protests are about as the movement has multiple demands that aren't all related to each other. Many protesters have been attending the marches with different objectives from calling for the Taoiseach to resign to legalising cannabis to removing flouride from Irish water. The protests are expected to continue for a number of weeks in Dublin while more have been taking place in other towns in Ireland including Cork, Waterford and Galway. Here's a list of the 18 demands that 'Yellow Vests Ireland' has put on their Facebook page. These are the only outlined ones, however some people have been turning up to demonstrations with other agendas. 1. A Citizens initiated Referenda is a law that allows any member of the public to propose a referendum and bring it to a non-binding vote if over 10 percent of voters sign a petition to trigger it. 2. Immediate halt on all evictions and cameras allowed in all civil courts 3. That Leo Varadkar declare a general election and resign. 4. Cervical Cancer HSE staff responsible fired and for Simon Harris (Health Minister) to resign 5. Constitutional protection of Irelands water from privatisation. 6. Medicinal Cannabis legalised immediately 7. Abolish Vulture Funds 8. Prohibition TDs from being housing landlords or beneficiaries. 9. Bail out the people with Mortgage debt write downs 10. Return Irelands oil and gas reserves to public ownership 11. An effective means to remove corrupt gardai, civil servants, and judges. 12. Public banking prioritised over private banking greed 13. Immediate distribution of food/fuel vouchers for people going hungry and cold 14. Caps on rent per bedroom per month 15. Abolish the TV Licence 16. Enforce full corporate tax rate on multinationals and collect revenues owed 17. A Raise in minimum wage to actual living costs 18. Abolish household charge and property tax | https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/what-yellow-vest-protesters-ireland-15670361 |
Are Quebecers ready to trade in a bottle of red for a can of wine? | A plentiful picnic basket, a red-and-white checkered blanket and a bottle of ros that postcard image of a perfect summer picnic could soon be changing in Quebec, according to wine and consumer specialists. A wine distribution company will soon be marketing its canned wine products throughout Quebec, a trend that has already found a niche in the rest of Canada, as well as other countries, like the United States and France. Vins Triani, based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., will be filling up those cans with a blend of Moscato wine produced in Australia, according to its vice-president of sales, Benot Lemieux. Iron Wine from Argentina is an example of a company who started canning wines in 2007. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe) Lemieux said he doesn't expect wine purists or the baby-boomer generation to be the first to jump on board. "I think the new generation, all the Millennials they really like innovative, fresh ideas like this," said Lemieux. Moscato wine has a low alcohol content between five and seven per cent and has a slightly sweet, fizzy taste, which Lemieux said will appeal to "people who maybe drink occasionally." While the product isn't targeting high-end wine aficionados, the taste of the canned wine shouldn't be affected by the metal cans, Lemieux said, because they are lined with a thin film. Lemieux said his company will be targeting grocery and chain stores in the spring, rather than the province's liquor board. The SAQ already sells four types of canned wines of its own, but sales haven't cut a big dent in the bottle market yet with annual sales around $187,000. Growing market Moscato is, however, growing in popularity south of the border. In California, it has taken up five per cent of the market, and the number of Muscat grapes grown in the state has more than doubled since 2011, according to the California Wine Institute. Bernard Korai, a professor at Universit Laval's faculty of agro-food sciences, said even in France, where wine is a sacred tradition, canned wine is on the rise. He said new varieties and packaging are "democratizing wine for a new clientele." "For a picnic it's a lot more practical to bring a small can than to buy a $14 bottle," said Korai. The younger generation will also likely be more attracted to products that are more environmentally-friendly, he said. "Aluminum is much easier to recycle than glass," Korai said. Demand for alternatives to glass will be on the rise in the coming years in North America, according to a study by the Wine Trade Monitor 2018, with consumers turning toward wine in boxes or in cans. Whether that demand will subsist on the long-term, however, will come down to the quality of the product, according to Gale West, a retired professor of consumer sciences at Universit Laval. In the fall, craft brewers were affected by the increased cost of beer cans from tariffs imposed on aluminum products imported from the U.S. (Chris Langenzarde/CBC) West believes the "controversy" brought on by the perception of wine as a high-end product will become a marketing tool for companies like Vins Triani. West hopes that distributors will be responsible and make the right choices when it comes to preventing excessive drinking. "Having a small, thin can that you can hold in one hand, instead of a heavy glass of wine, gives you the impression that you can drink more," West said. | https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/market-quebec-canned-wine-grocery-stores-1.4976268?cmp=rss |
What is an escape room and is it safe to go to one? | The tragic deaths of five 15-year-old girls in an escape room in the Polish city of Koszalin last week has resulted in a renewed focus on the safety of such establishments across the world. Escape rooms still a relatively new form of recreation operate on a simple premise: a group of people must solve a series of puzzles to escape the room before time runs out. They have become a popular form of entertainment, an alternative night out, in recent years. This tragedy occurred when the five girls went to an escape room on Friday, January 4th, to celebrate one of their birthdays. In the escape room, they were locked in and tasked with solving a series of puzzles in order to get out. But the girls never escaped. During their 60 minutes in the room, a fire broke out as a result of a leak in a gas cylinder that was being used to heat the premises, investigators have said. The five teenagers reportedly died from inhaling carbon monoxide in the small room they were trying to get out of. A preliminary investigation has found that the escape room which was based in a private house failed to meet basic safety standards and had seemingly never been inspected. Joint funeral The girls who have been identified by their first names in the media as Julia, Amelia, Malgorzata, Karolina and Wiktoria were buried on Thursday in a cemetery in Koszalin after a joint funeral took place earlier that day. News agency Polish PAP has reported that the man who ran the escape room was arrested last Sunday and has been charged with creating the danger of a fire in the escape room and with unintentionally causing the death of people in a fire. The man has allegedly denied any wrongdoing. While escape rooms have been operating across the world for more than a decade, this is the first tragedy of its kind associated with them. The first escape room opened in Japan more than 10 years ago, and the concept has become a money spinner worldwide since then. There are estimated to be more than 1,000 operating in Poland alone although more than 50 have been closed for failing to meet safety standards since last weeks tragedy. There are also estimated to be more than 1,000 escape rooms in the United Kingdom, and a large number has sprung up in Ireland in recent years too. In the past five years, escape rooms have become a popular feature in Irelands cities. TripAdvisor lists more than 10 in Dublin alone, with a number of escape rooms also appearing in Galway and Cork. There are also escape rooms operating in Limerick, Waterford, Athlone, Killarney and Westport, among others. One of those escape rooms is called Escape Boats, a Dublin-based business that operates in Grand Canal Dock and offers participants the chance to take part in an escape room on a boat. Ronan Brady, co-owner of the company, says that the tragedy in Poland has brought about a renewed focus on escape rooms as many people did not know what they were before the incident made headlines. Its an absolutely horrific and tragic accident, Brady says. I feel absolutely awful for the girls who died and their families. What should have been a fun evening has turned their lives upside down. It has really shaken the escape room community of enthusiasts and operators worldwide. Brady hopes that those who are hesitant about going to an escape room after the tragedy will contact an operator and ask them about the safety measures they have in place. Safety is paramount for Escape Boats, with Brady explaining that nobody is locked in at any time during the game. Players can leave any time they like by simply walking out. All of the sections of the game have two exits and our fire exits are clearly marked. Players are never more than 12ft from an exit in the game, he explains. He also says that teams are monitored constantly through CCTV and audio while they are in the escape room. This is to ensure the safety of the players and also to offer hints if a team is struggling. Hugely popular Furthermore, Escape Boats has a number of emergency exits which open automatically in the event of an emergency or power failure. Brady says that escape rooms have become hugely popular in Ireland in recent years. When Escape Boats first opened in 2017, there were just three operators in Dublin. There are now more than 10. Meanwhile, Arkadiusz Jamski, who is the founder of Asylroom Escape Rooms which operates in Galway and Limerick, says the incident in Poland is a massive tragedy. Jamski who is originally from Poland says he does not want to judge whose fault the tragedy was, however, he expresses concern at the size of the room the girls died in, which was reportedly just over 7sq m (75sq ft). Seven square metres is maybe for a couple, Jamski says. The smallest room that we have is about 15sq m or something, and we allow around five people into that room so everyone has space to do something. Jamski says that escape rooms in Ireland are constantly increasing in popularity, and that, since the tragedy in Poland, customers have become more aware of their safety features. People didnt have a single question back then about the safety, but now the groups ask us, he says. Like Escape Boats, Asylroom Escape Rooms has CCTV and a member of staff watches groups at all times during the game. We are prepared for almost any accident, which hopefully wont happen of course, but we are prepared, he explains. Jamski also says that an outside company supplies them with fire extinguishers and comes in and checks them periodically to ensure that they are working correctly. Brady of Escape Boats hopes that the recent tragedy in Poland will make escape room operators even more safety conscious. If any good can come from this, it is that operators worldwide will be paying very close attention to their safety features and doing everything they can to ensure the safety of the players in the future, he says. | https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/what-is-an-escape-room-and-is-it-safe-to-go-to-one-1.3754707?localLinksEnabled=false |
Did Patrick Mahomes use 'Helen Keller' as a pre-snap call? | On Saturday against the Colts, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes barked out a pre-snap call that sounds like Helen Keller late in the first half, with the Chiefs just outside the red zone. Peyton Manning had Omaha, and the #Chiefs Patrick Mahomes has Helen Keller as his call pic.twitter.com/Jk03Y4sKFw ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) January 12, 2019 Fans watching the game were caught off-guard. Angry Scon Boi (@BudnholzerDaddy) January 12, 2019 Patrick Mahomes definitely just yelled "Helen Keller" in the pre-snap #NFLPlayoffs thepolibear (@thepolibear) January 12, 2019 Listening to the audio again, Mahomes doesnt really enunciate the n in Helen, and the second word may have been color. It certainly sounds like Helen Keller upon the first listen, though. This could prove to be an NFL playoffs edition of Laurel vs. Yanny. | https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/01/did-patrick-mahomes-use-helen-keller-as-a-pre-snap-call |
Will the Broncos try to trade for Antonio Brown? | Steelers president Art Rooney II recently said its hard to envision Antonio Brown being with the team for training camp this summer, a sign that the star wide receiver may be traded away. After trading away Demaryius Thomas in 2018, Denver now has nine selections in 2019 NFL draft, including five picks in the first four rounds. The Steelers are believed to be seeking a second-round pick and more in exchange for Brown, according to NFL Networks Ian Rapoport. Denver may be one of the teams willing to give up a second-round pick. I am told to keep an eye on the Denver Broncos, Rapoport said on NFL Network on Saturday (via NFL.com). They may be one of the teams plotting a run at Antonio Brown. The Broncos are projected to have around $44 million in salary cap space this offseason (and thats before cutting any players). Brown will have a salary cap hit of more than $22 million next year, according to Spotrac.com. It seems unlikely that Denver would be willing to use that much of their salary cap on a wide receiver, but Rapoport seems to believe its a scenario that may be considered by the team. In three career games against the Broncos, Brown has hauled in 29 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns. Related Broncos want to play in an international game | https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/12/will-denver-broncos-try-to-trade-for-antonio-brown/ |
Are insects the unlikely saviours of 3D? | Watching a giant 3D millipede stampede towards you is certainly a powerful experience. We're watching a preview of the Micro Monsters 3D series, and it's an illustration of 3D's power - but also of its limitations. Micro Monsters 3D is the latest in a series of 3D nature documentaries produced by Sky and Atlantic through their Colossus Productions collaboration. It will be voiced by legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, and it's a subject that works fantastically in 3D. There are several reasons for this, most obviously that insects blown up to this size are always likely to elicit a response. You're sure to feel something, whether that's fascination at seeing the full, alien detail of the invertebrate world, or (for the phobics) a shudder at encountering some very creepy crawlies. But there's also a technical reason for making insects the stars of the show. Getting that wonderful 3D experience means getting up close to your subjects - and that's much easier when they're small and relatively oblivious to humans than it is with larger animals who might see the cameraman as a threat, or even dinner. Knight of the 3D realm As David Attenborough himself told us a couple of years ago: "It is impossible to use a long telephoto lens [with 3D], the reason being that 3D cameras mimic the human eye and have two cameras close together with the same kind of separation as our own. Meerkats - not camera shy "If you're looking at something on the other side of this theatre, you would see no difference. The way that you would get a stereo image is to separate the two components further. "But when you do that [] they have different backgrounds so it won't go together. So with the state-of-the-art at the moment it's not possible to use long lenses. And that is a very considerable problem when it comes to natural history programming." For the time being, then, 3D documentaries will be about insects and other animals that don't object to having a cameraman and a large camera about a foot from them. Sir David Attenborough - a big proponent of 3D Of course, there's always the prospect of adding 3D in post-production, but there are plenty of very expensive feature films that attest to just how unsatisfactory the results of that can be. Despite its growing maturity, 3D remains deeply divisive. It's has brought huge innovation, yet it's still lumbered with the "gimmick" tag that it has borne since its anaglyphic days. However, nobody can deny that it has come on astonishingly; that's particularly true in live scenarios as directors learn the new skills involved in framing scenes with depth, but also in the movie and documentary world where better cameras are bringing big jumps in quality. The arrival of higher resolution cameras and TVs is having a huge impact on 3D image quality. The leaf-cutting edge of tech For the filming of Micro Monsters, Colossus worked in harness with Jonathan Watts who apparently broke new ground with technology to film up-close and in high resolution 3D. The company used a 5K RED camera - capable of filming at a resolution of 5,120 x 2,700. "What we've never been able to do is get close in on insects and actually have depth of field, without which the image is just squashed up on screen," explained Atlantic founder Anthony Geffen. "Now we can get this incredible focal range which many not seem important but, when you're watching 3D movies, it's what makes them magical." As a television luminary and a broadcaster that has worked though the arrival of colour and high def, Attenborough's opinion on 3D is also significant. Sir David Attenborough has seen the introduction of colour and HD, and thinks 3D is the next step He said: "The wonderful thing about 3D in macro work is that you suddenly see even the most familiar things in this new way. "It's like science fiction. You see an extraordinary animal that's huge on screen with amazing jaws and it's a blowfly!" It will probably still be some time before 3D truly emerges from a cocoon of gimmickry into a beautiful butterfly in the minds of the general public, but documentaries can only hasten the evolution of TV. Micro Monsters 3D will premiers on Sky 3D and Sky 1 HD on Saturday June 15. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/television/can-insects-help-3d-crawl-its-way-back-into-our-hearts-1156136 |
Can Trump's Syria policy end the 'Forever Wars'? | Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Mr Pompeo (c) visits the newly inaugurated mega-mosque in Egypt's new administrative capital "We learned when America retreats, chaos often follows." This assertion was made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his recent speech in Cairo. But the remark did little to resolve the uncertainty among Washington's friends and allies in the region. Mr Pompeo's speech was a broader attempt to re-set US policy in the region and to give some sort of coherence after days of mixed messages. But taking a leaf from his boss in the White House, Mr Pompeo spent a good deal of his time castigating the Obama administration's approach and contrasting it with the apparent progress made on Mr Trump's watch. But there were some significant elements missing in Mr Pompeo's remarks. There was no mention of human rights in Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Indeed there was only the briefest of mentions to Saudi Arabia at all, a country that surely should loom large in US policy. The Yemen crisis got only a passing comment; divisions amongst the Gulf countries were papered over; and Mr Trump's much heralded peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians was not touched on at all. The emphasis was on Washington's friends and allies in the region doing more. The US would seemingly work behind the scenes - Mr Pompeo noting that "in Syria the US will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot." Containing Iran and its widening sphere of influence seems to be the central goal of US policy, but beyond economic sanctions there seems no real strategy to achieve this aim. The issue is not the presence or otherwise of some 2,000 US troops on the ground in Syria. It is how their presence or withdrawal serves wider US policy goals. The whole story of President Trump's decision to announce the Syria pull-out says a good deal about his own approach to the region. It speaks volumes too about how his administration works. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Syria war: On the frontline with US troops fighting IS National Security Adviser John Bolton's subsequent efforts to turn this into a conditions-based withdrawal is the sort of input that should surely have been there prior to the initial announcement. The response from many of the Washington pundits and think-tank experts was predictable and uncompromising. Op-eds and blog posts spoke of the betrayal of Washington's Kurdish allies; they suggested that Moscow's influence in the region would only rise; and that a vacuum was being created from which the only beneficiary would be Iran. All this may be to one extent or another correct. But there is a deeper problem here, and it goes to the heart of the Trump approach and his antipathy towards military entanglements overseas. 'No grand strategy' A small number of pundits have condemned the president's approach to policy-making and his apparent lack of a strategic sense, but they have nonetheless welcomed his withdrawal decision. They sympathise with Mr Trump's gut sense. The president, though frustrated by the efforts of some of his advisers, is finally acting to at least to scale-down, if not to end, the so-called Forever War against Islamic extremism. That war began in Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. But it quickly moved to Iraq and then more recently to Syria. As the scope of the war widened, the US had to face up to some of the consequences of earlier policy decisions. Iran's regional prominence, for example, is a direct outgrowth of the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad, which provided a strategic counter-weight to Tehran. While the focus has been on President Trump's Syria decision, he has similarly called for a significant US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan. It is suggested that about 7,000 - roughly half the force - could be pulled out. Image copyright EPA Image caption US troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001 Here too the pundits and think-tankers divide along familiar lines, with a minority questioning the basis of the continuing US deployment; stressing the futility of building-up a coherent national government whose writ extends across the country; and ultimately doubtful of the logic behind staying to fight a war that neither side can win. My aim here is not to suggest who is right and wrong. But President Trump's instinct suggests that Americans are tired of the Forever Wars, and to this extent he has a point. Where this should leave US policy in Afghanistan or indeed the wider Middle East is another matter. As it so often is, Mr Trump's fundamental compass is that of his supporters back home. He does not really do grand strategy. He sees international relations in transactional terms - perhaps one of the reasons he seems to prefer dealing with authoritarian rulers rather than say Washington's often critical NATO allies. The problem is that, viewed from many foreign capitals, the US is indeed, to use Mr Pompeo's word, seen as being in retreat. A resurgent Russia and a rising China are making much of the running. The Trump presidency has been unable to translate the slogan "America First" into a coherent approach to the wider world. International agreements are over-turned; the liberal order established by the US itself is questioned. "America First" indeed risks leaving considerable chaos in Mr Trump's wake. | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46842421 |
Will Giving The Ganges Human Rights Protect The Polluted River? | Small cradles of chrysanthemums, illuminated by a single candle, flicker in the moonlight, bobbing along the fast-flowing Ganges River. They are offerings. For hundreds of millions of Hindus around the world, the river is the goddess Ganga, or Mother Ganga, who descended to Earth from her home in the Milky Way. Devotees murmur prayers and chant her praises in riverside cities along their ghats, the cement embankments that lead into the river. But if the Ganges is India's most worshipped body of water, it's also the dirtiest. Flowing through five populous states that make up the Ganges basin, it traverses tanneries spewing heavy metals, factories spilling industrial effluents, and cities discharging urban waste. All of that, before dumping into the Bay of Bengal. The headwaters lie in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand where there's an unusual bid to clean up the river underway. The state's high court has declared the Ganges to be a "living entity." Environmental lawyer Raj Panjwani says that includes all the "aquatic biodiversity that would depend on the river." The court reasoned that the Ganges is a "juristic person," a concept in law whereby an entity "is not a human being, yet it has certain rights," Panjwani explains, including the right to sue. Indian law accepts that a deity embodied in a stone carving is a juristic person. Panjwani notes the court drew the analogy: "If a stone which is a deity can be conferred with rights, then water which has all the attributes of a deity can also be conferred with rights." With the power to reach millions, Indian religious leaders of many faiths have united to raise the dangers of polluting the Ganges and the need to revitalize it. They've joined hands under the group Global Interfaith WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) Alliance. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, who's been a leading voice in raising awareness about the pollution, agrees with giving the Ganges rights. In June, he led a congregation of leaders of all faiths working to provide access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene at his ashram, in the riverside city of Rishikesh. At the assembly, the swami presided over aartis, or fire ceremonies, meant to show humility and respect to the deity Ganga. Indians worship up and down the course of the 1,500-mile-long river, and Pujya Swamiji says that's as it should be. But, he says, cremating the dead in the river is harmful and should stop. The Ganges is the lifeline for the lives of 500 million people. "If Ganga dies, India dies. If Ganga thrives, India thrives. No Ganga, no India," the swami says. The slate gray river is relatively clean in Rishikesh. Its flow is fast and the river's velocity helps increase its capacity to dilute pollution. But downstream, the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment's Susmita Sengupta says the river is clotted with pollutants. "You have flowers, you have plastics, you have dead bodies, you have construction debris, so much filth coming in from the cities," Sengupta says. But the biggest contaminator is the millions of gallons of untreated sewage discharged into the river daily. Sengupta's center found fast-growing cities on the Ganges to be hotspots of the bacteria fecal coliform. She says government data shows certain places are 230 times the acceptable level for human health. "It's not even suitable for outdoor bathing, leave apart drinking," Sengupta says. Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, an American and prominent figure at Pujya Swami's ashram, says many believe the Ganges is indestructible, which helps explain how Indians can consider the river holy and still pollute it. "When you say to people things like, 'Don't put that plastic bag in the river, don't pollute the river,' they actually turn around and say to you, 'That has no connection to her power. Pollution in the river has no impact on the divinity of the mother goddess,'" Saraswati says. The faith leaders who gathered last month at her ashram seek to challenge those very attitudes. Pujya Sant Rameshbhai Ozaji, a Hindu sadhu or saint from Gujarat told me he welcomed the Uttarakhand Court's decision granting the river the right to not be polluted. "From the spiritual perspective, we say [polluting the river] is a sin," Ozaji said. "But, of course, there are some people who aren't convinced by that. And for them, we have to come in with strong court orders, with strong laws." Environmentalists meanwhile say the Ganges' water is so dirty because sewage treatment plants can't take the load. Attorney Ray Panjwani says poor planning made them obsolete before they were even built. Panjwani says he was shocked to hear authorities tell the National Green Tribunal, the body tasked with safeguarding India's environment, that when they laid out the blueprint for one of the treatment plants the sewage outflow was 2 million liters per day, and by the time it was constructed, it was 4 million. It's now 8 million. "The government says there's no difficulty where funds are concerned," there's more than enough money Panjwani says, quoting authorities. The environmental lawyers say what's needed are "the right projections, the right technology and the right people who should undertake the sheer magnitude of the work." Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have underestimated that work when he promised three years ago that the Ganges would be well on its way to be cleaned by now. Thirty years of his predecessors' schemes failed to improve the water. In its ruling, the Uttarakhand High Court borrowed a precedent from New Zealand where the Maori tribe won recognition for the revered Whanganui River to be treated as a human being. The Uttarakhand judges designated state officials to be "the human face" that would "protect and preserve" the Ganges. Legal experts say if they don't, they could face fines and jail under existing laws, though it's rare a polluter is penalized in India. Still, Raj Panjwani says the court order represents a radical bid to change attitudes toward the Ganges. "All these things take time," he says, but Panjwani considers it "to be a first step in the right direction." Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Now to India, which is facing a different kind of crisis. It's an environmental crisis affecting the Ganges River. The Ganges is a part of what it means to be Indian. Many consider the river sacred. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on an unusual bid to clean it up. (SOUNDBITE OF BELLS) JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Small cradles of chrysanthemums illuminated by candles flicker in the moonlight, bobbing along the fast-flowing water. They are offerings to the Ganges, which, for many of India's majority Hindus, is the goddess Ganga or Mother Ganga. UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN: (Singing in foreign language). MCCARTHY: Devotees sing her praises in the town of Rishikesh in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, where the headwaters of the Ganges began. It's here that the state's high court declared the river to be a living entity. Environmental lawyer Raj Panjwani says that includes all aquatic biodiversity that would depend on the river. He says, in the court's rationale, the Ganges is what's known as a juristic person, meaning... RAJ PANJWANI: An entity which is not a human being, yet it has got certain rights. MCCARTHY: Panjwani says Indian law accepts that a deity embodied in a stone carving is a juristic person. PANJWANI: If a stone which is a deity can be conferred with rights, then the water which has all the attributes of a deity can also be conferred with rights. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing in foreign language). MCCARTHY: Pujya Swami agrees with giving the Ganges rights. At his Riverside ashram, he presided over this aarti - or fire ceremony - one recent Saturday night. Indians worship up and down the course of the 1,500-mile-long river. And he says that's as it should be. But cremating the dead in the river is harmful and should stop, he says. The Swami notes that the Ganges supports the lives of 500 million people. PUJYA SWAMI: If Ganga dies, India dies. If Ganga thrives, India thrives. No Ganga, no India. (SOUNDBITE OF FLOWING WATER) MCCARTHY: The slate-gray river is relatively clean here. But downstream, the Centre for Science and Environment's Sushmita Sengupta says the river is clotted with pollutants. SUSHMITA SENGUPTA: You have flowers, you have plastics, you have dead bodies, you have construction debris, so much filth coming in from the cities. MCCARTHY: But the biggest contaminator - millions of gallons of untreated sewage. Sengupta's center found fast-growing cities on the river to be hotspots of the bacteria fecal coliform. She says government data shows certain places are 230 times the acceptable level for human health. SENGUPTA: So it's not even suitable for outdoor bathing, leave apart drinking. MCCARTHY: Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, an American and prominent figure at Pujya Swami's ashram, says many believe the Ganges is indestructible, which explains how Indians can consider the river holy and still pollute it. SADHVI BHAGAWATI SARASWATI: When you say to people things like, don't put that plastic bag in the river, don't pollute the river, they actually turn around and say to you, that has no connection to her power. Pollution in the river has no impact on the divinity of the Mother Goddess. UNIDENTIFIED MEN: (Singing in foreign language). MCCARTHY: Faith leaders recently gathered at her ashram to challenge those attitudes. Environmentalists, meanwhile, say the water is so dirty because sewage treatment plants can't take the load. Poor planning made them obsolete before they were even built. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have underestimated the problems when he promised three years ago that the Ganges would be cleaned up by now. 30 years of his predecessor's schemes failed to improve the water. A dissatisfied Uttarakhand court designated state officials to be, quote, "the human face that would protect and preserve the Ganges." Legal experts say that if they don't, they could face fines and jail under existing laws. But it's a rare polluter who is penalized in India. Raj Panjwani says, however, the court order represents a bid to change attitudes towards the Ganges River. PANJWANI: And all these things take time. Therefore, I would consider it to be a first step in the right direction. MCCARTHY: Julie McCarthy, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | https://www.mynspr.org/post/will-giving-ganges-human-rights-protect-polluted-river |
Why Did Comcast Corp. Shares Drop by 12% in 2018? | What happened Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) saw its stock price fall in 2018 despite putting up relatively strong numbers. That probably happened because of fears that cord cutting would eventually cause problems in the company's core cable business. The company has lost about 340,000 cable customers through three quarters. That's up from a drop of 151,000 in all of 2017. Customers are dropping cable in favor of streaming services in faster numbers, but Comcast has more than made up for those losses by adding broadband customers. It's possible that the market for broadband reaches a saturation point, but that hasn't happened yet, and cable companies have been winning share from telephone-based providers. Comcast has added just over 1 million broadband customers through three quarters, around triple the number of cable customers it lost. Two women sit on the floor of a living room, while one points to a large TV screen. More More consumers are dropping cable, putting a drag on Comcast shares. Image source: Getty Images. So what Fears over the decline of cable also cast a shadow over Comcast's broadcast and cable business. It's not that anything truly bad has happened yet. There's simply a fear that it will. That dragged the company's share price from $39.01 on the last day of trading in 2017 to $34.16 when the market closed for 2018, a 12% drop, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. CEO Brian Roberts doesn't share the market's concerns. In fact, he noted in his remarks in the third-quarter earnings release that the company grew in a number of ways in Q3. "Comcast Cable's EBITDA growth was the fastest in six years, and customer relationship growth accelerated, driven by the best broadband net additions for a third quarter in 10 years," he said. "At NBCUniversal, our TV businesses continued their strong performance. NBC finished the 52-week season ranked No. 1 in total viewers for the first time in 16 years and No. 1 in adults 18-49 for the fifth consecutive season, and is off to a great start in the new season." Now what Roberts and Comcast have to show that the company can maintain its audience as customers drop traditional cable. That's a big challenge, because the company doesn't offer a streaming service, though it could do so in the future. That's a challenge, but one the company should be able to meet, given its strong lineup of intellectual property and its ability to market to its broadband customers. More From The Motley Fool Daniel B. Kline has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. | https://news.yahoo.com/why-did-comcast-corp-shares-233500456.html |
Who is playing the Super Bowl 2019 halftime show? | ATLANTA With less than a month until Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the halftime show's star performers have yet to be officially announced. For months, rumors have swirled that Maroon 5 would headline the halftime show, and while that seems like the most likely bet, the NFL has yet to confirm it. Other rumors have indicated that Travis Scott would take the stage with the aforementioned Maroon 5 during the show, but that too has not been officially confirmed. A Variety magazine article claimed that Maroon 5 reached out to more than a half-dozen stars to join them, including Andre 3000 of Outkast, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, but had not yet locked any guests down and, in some cases, been flat turned down. One report has claimed that the Rolling Stones have been approached by Maroon 5 for the show as well. (Maroon 5, after all, has the hit song "Moves Like Jagger", so it would make sense. Kind of). MORE: Report: Artists keep turning down Super Bowl Halftime Show Sign up for the daily In the NOW Newsletter Sign up for the daily In the NOW Newsletter Something went wrong. This email will be delivered to your inbox once a day in the afternoon. Thank you for signing up for In the NOW Newsletter. Please try again later. Yeah, by the standards of recent Super Bowls, the announcement is very late. For Super Bowl XLVIII's halftime show, Bruno Mars was announced as the performer the previous September. Back in 2015, it was in late November that Katy Perry was officially confirmed as the performer of the halftime show at Super Bowl L. (See photos from that from that performance) In 2016, Lady Gaga was announced as the halftime show performer of Super Bowl LI in late September. (See the photos from that performance) Justin Timberlake was announced as the performer in Super Bowl LII in October 2017. (Rihanna reportedly turned down the chance to play in front of hundreds of millions as an act of solidarity to the former quarterback.) (This is almost surely not the case) It's not exactly clear at this point. Here's what we know about the Super Bowl LIII halftime show: * It will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta * It will be a half-time of the big show * It is sponsored by Pepsi and Pizza Hut. Yes, Maroon 5 is very likely playing. Yes, they'll almost certainly have guests. We just don't know much more. Yet. The NFL has not yet responded to a request for comment on this story. We DO know that Atlanta's own Jermaine Dupri is helping to produce a series of concerts at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta the week of the Super Bowl. Featured performers include Goodie Mob, DJ Holiday, Waka Flocka, K Camp, Ying Yang Twins, and others. Click here for more. Full Super Bowl coverage: * Super Bowl LIVE activities, music acts for concert series announced * Atlanta plans for Super Bowl contingencies * Atlanta hosts the Super Bowl: Then vs. now SUPER BOWL FLASHBACK: | https://www.13newsnow.com/article/sports/nfl/superbowl/who-is-playing-the-super-bowl-2019-halftime-show/291-58b3b11d-dcc9-463b-9827-64365629971e |
Is Sisi Good for Egypt's Christians? | On Thursday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the recently opened Coptic Cathedral of the Nativity, not far from Cairo. "It is a very special thing to have this in the heart of the Middle East, this enormous cathedral where people can come worship in Egypt," he told the press. "It's a land of religious freedom and opportunity. It's remarkable." But many Coptic Christians feel the new house of worship means little given the persecution they face. Copts make up only about 10% of the Muslim-majority country. But they trace their church back to the visit of the Apostle Mark, the first pope of Alexandria, to Egypt in the year 50. These Christians have faced tough times for nearly 2,000 years, but their recent history is especially disheartening. On Jan. 1, 2011, Islamists bombed a Coptic church in Alexandria, killing 23 and injuring 97. Nermien Riad, executive director of the nonprofit Coptic Orphans, tells me the attack was a catalyst. She says the bombing, which inspired countless Copts to take to the streets, was one of many factors that sparked the larger protests against Egypt's government that year. Dictator Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, but the persecution of Copts has grown worse. The most visible threat has been the rise of Islamic State and other Islamist groups. ISIS released a video on Feb. 15, 2015, showing the beheading of 20 Egyptian Copts and a man from Ghana. "This was iconic because until then, we had only read about saints being martyred, but much of the world had never really seen martyrdom," Ms. Riad explains. "The Libyan martyrs taught a lot of the world about who the Copts were for the first time." Ms. Riad, whose organization provides educational and childhood-development programs to Egypt's fatherless and vulnerable children, says she has noticed a change in recent years. While many orphans' parents had died from car accidents or disease, an increasing number were becoming martyrs of the Christian faith. Among those the group works with are the children of the 2015 martyrs. Other recent examples: In 2017, two Coptic churches were bombed during Palm Sunday processions. In November 2018, Islamic militants opened fire on two buses carrying Coptic Christians on a pilgrimage to an ancient monastery in Upper Egypt, killing seven and wounding 14. Such large-scale acts of terror get the most coverage. Less appreciated is the social and institutional persecution Copts face daily. Samuel Tadros, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, says Copts are blocked from nearly all important government positions: "Copts are excluded from Egypt's intelligence service and state security, their percentage in the armed services and police force is capped at 1%, and they are similarly discriminated against in the foreign service, judiciary, education sector and government-owned public sector." It's no surprise, then, that the government hasn't effectively responded to Copts' pleas for better representation and prosecution of those who persecute their community. Ms. Riad says neighbors are often doing the persecuting. Coptic homes are burned down. Some children change their names from conspicuously Christian ones such as George so they can play on private or national soccer teams. Coptic women face near-daily public harassment. "It doesn't take ISIS to kill, and it could just be your neighbor because you're Christian," Ms. Riad says. A 2016 law, implemented by Abdel Fattah Al Sisi's government, allows for the legalization of existing churches and the creation of new ones. The implementation of the law is another story. Mr. Tadros notes that the government has approved less than 17% of 3,730 requests submitted by the three major Christian groups--Coptic Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Protestant. The law has instead fueled sectarian violence within Egypt. Egyptians have rioted and protested against approved churches. In 2016, after Copts in the village of Manshiet El-Naghamish applied to build a church, locals organized and attacked the Christians. Egyptians looted and burned Coptic properties and assaulted Copts. This was only one attack in a string of many, which are often incited before a church is even built. By all means, the U.S. should celebrate progress on religious freedom wherever it occurs. A new cathedral is nice. Yet it doesn't mean much when the people who worship there are treated as inferior as soon as they step outside its doors. | http://www.aina.org/news/20190111202132.htm |
Can Oregon basketball recover from historic collapse against UCLA? | EUGENE It appeared talk of the Oregons demise in the wake of the season-ending injury to Bol Bol appeared premature, then a historic collapse of losing a nine-point lead with less than a minute to play against UCLA put UOs season on the brink. How the Ducks (9-6, 0-2 Pac-12) respond from Thursdays backbreaking 87-84 overtime loss to the Bruins will determine whether they can keep any faint hope of making the NCAA Tournament alive or if the worst final-minute collapse in Pac-12 history was the opening line to the epitaph of their season. Of the five teams to relinquish larger leads in the final minute in NCAA Division I history, two saw their seasons end with the defeat, two had winning records to end the the season and one went into a deeper tailspin. Northern Iowas season ended after blowing a record 12-point lead to Texas A&M in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, as did Virginias following a 10-point collapse to Miami in the 2011 ACC Tournament. Colgate went 5-3 after losing a 10-point lead to Bucknell last season and Maryland went 7-5 before advancing all the way to the Final Four after Dukes Miracle Minute 10-point comeback in 2001. After allowing UNLV to dig out of an 11-point gap in the final minute, San Diego States 2004-05 season ended with a 1-6 thud. Oregon coach Dana Altman, the lone voice to speak after Thursdays game, said the players were crushed but hoped having two days before hosting USC (9-7, 2-1 Pac-12) on Sunday (5 p.m., ESPNU) would help recover. Its got to be everybody, all of us. Were all out there together, (we need to) bounce back, Altman said. We played our tails off in 35 minutes. I thought we really played well, we just didnt finish it. We didnt rebound, we didnt defend, we had a couple of bad turnovers that enabled them to get back. Until the final seven minutes of regulation, Oregon had arguably its gutsiest, most energetic and smartest performance of the season. The Ducks capitalized on 23 UCLA turnovers, which led to 32 points, and after a blazing fast start forced the much bigger and deeper Bruins to play at a slower tempo. As long as Kenny Wooten is out recovering from a broken jaw Oregon will have no choice but to play at a slower pace and minimize possessions in order to maximize efficiency, keep the eight healthy players fresh enough to play as much as possible and ultimately remain competitive. Until UCLAs furious comeback, that plan was working and could remain Oregons blueprint. I hope the guys can realize they played really good for 35 minutes, Altman said. "and then address what we didnt do well down the stretch. However, no matter what strategy Oregon employs it must have consistent performances from its best players and leading scorer Payton Pritchard is coming off his third career game without a field goal and first since March 11, 2017. Louis King is ascending and likely Oregons best offensive weapon, but Pritchard must score more and Altman was not sure why the junior point guard had such a poor offensive showing (0 for 6, including 0 for 5 from three-point range, with four free throws) against UCLA. We want him to look for shots and I thought the ball movement was pretty good," Altman said. "He missed a couple of good looks, but we do need him to be more aggressive offensively. | https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2019/01/can-oregon-basketball-recover-from-historic-collapse-against-ucla.html |
Is Pakatan turning its back on us hoi polloi? | JANUARY 13 I was a guest on a TV talk show last week which discussed, among other things, the monarchy. Interestingly, it reminded me of an incident involving Lord Altrincham, the monarchy and the taping of a TV show which most of us, me included, watched in an episode of the popular Netflix show The Crown. Right after Lord Altrincham, who was also a journalist, finished an interview with TV channel Granada to discuss his article criticising the British monarchy, he was slapped by a royalist who exclaimed: Take that from the League of Empire Loyalists! The attacker, Philip Kinghorn Burbidge, was furious about Lord Altrinchams article titled The Monarchy Today published in his own newspaper National and English Review, in which he had advocated for a more egalitarian monarchy. Queen Elizabeth IIs court was too upper-class and too British, he said, particularly taking issue with the Queens rigid, stifled public speeches. The monarchy, he said, was no longer relevant with the public of the day. Lord Altrincham was no republican though. Instead, he reportedly said that his article was written with no intention other than to serve the monarchy, to strengthen it and to enable it to survive. It is too precious an institution to be neglected. And I regard servile acceptance of its faults as a form of neglect, he was quoted as saying. The backlash was severe: he was censured by many publications, almost universally reviled and of course there was that slap. Despite that, Lord Altrincham managed to get the ear of the Queens assistant private secretary Martin Charteris and some of his recommended reforms were later even implemented by the Royal Household. Some say the reforms contributed towards the British monarchys continued existence and popularity. As dramatised in The Crown, it was rumoured that the Queen herself granted him a secret audience in order to hear him out. Formerly the second Baron Altrincham, he even disclaimed the noble title as soon as an Act allowing such a move received the royal assent. He died John Grigg, a commoner. Griggs article came out in August 1957, the same month Malaya achieved its independence as a constitutional monarchy where the authority of the monarchy is bound by the Federal Constitution, but without any absolute power. It has been over six decades since such a debate occurred in our former colonisers nation, but it does not seem like a discussion on the topic can ever be had here at least not at this perilous juncture after a regime change. Last week, Kelantans Sultan Muhammad V resigned as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Right after, a group of online vigilantes crawled out of the woodwork into Facebook, hunting whoever dares to speak out of place against the ruler. It managed to list eight targets revealing their personal identities to its supporters, in order for others to harass and threaten them before the move received public notice and condemnation, as Facebook attempted and failed to clamp down on the group. But still, eight people have been publicly harassed. At least four of them have lost their jobs. And three of them have been arrested and investigated for alleged sedition. That is three people too many to be tormented by the archaic Sedition Act, especially when the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration has previously vowed to abolish it and other oppressive laws. Despite initially announcing a moratorium on such laws, power and the compulsive populist need to pander to the majority has caused the Cabinet to lift the moratorium on exceptional cases involving national security, public order and race relations. The task of the PH government is unenviable. There is a long list of laws that need to be reformed, amended, replaced, or even abolished altogether. Whether they can even accomplish those in its five-year term hangs menacingly over them with the political threat of getting voted out at the next general election, or a perversion of the reform agenda should a leadership change happen along the way. Its a new year, and men still can get married to children. Any criticism of this slow pace has instead been pilloried as unreasonable expectation. A Muslim parent can still force their child to convert, and nobody can say anything unless the other parent is willing to escalate it and challenge it in court. Instead, law minister VK Liew was recently quoted saying that Putrajaya will not only amend, but even consider a law to protect the countrys rulers from insults claiming current punishments are a bit on the low side. The Sedition Act currently penalises first-time offenders with a maximum RM5,000 fine, or a maximum three-year jail term, or both. If this is considered on the low side, then we can only imagine how exactly PH aims to gleefully punish commoners who are already living on the wrong side of privilege. The irony that this suggestion came just days after Malay supremacists Perkasa reiterated its call for an Anti-Islam and Anti-Malay Rulers Act is not lost. The group wanted offenders who oppose Islam and the rulers to face mandatory jail and caning, citing the lse-majest law in Thailand. The perceived rise in antagonism towards such an institution, the subsequent vigilantism and violent threats and the harsher crackdown. These point to some kind of fault lines. And loathe as I am to quote our former colonisers, but by turning its back to voters and the working class, PH is merely demonstrating a form of neglect. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. | https://www.malaymail.com/s/1711982/is-pakatan-turning-its-back-on-us-hoi-polloi |
Who will win the 2019 TS Eliot prize for poetry tomorrow? | The 10-book shortlist for the 25,000 TS Eliot prize for poetry, which is awarded tomorrow, features, remarkably, five first collections. Where once the Eliot, the UKs most prestigious poetry prize, tended towards established names, it is now wide open to what the great poet himself called the new (the really new) work of art. The only real old-timer is Sean OBrien, who won in 2007 with The Drowned Book. The blurb to Europa (Picador 9.99), his ninth collection, coyly implies it is about Brexit. But OBriens imagination has always hovered mid-Channel, observing England with growling humour while daydreaming of the Continent (The allotment bincinerators doffing and doffing / Sombreros of smoke). OBrien and Fiona Moore are old enough to have poems recalling eastern Europe under | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/who-will-win-the-2019-ts-eliot-prize-for-poetry-tomorrow-thddvm9bn |
How can I stop cats digging in raised beds? | Jan Mullarney I spray pots with cheap mens body spray every four weeks: they hate it. Lynx works a treat. Mark Bottling, Hythe, Kent Cats dont like rosemary, pennyroyal, rue, lavender, curry, scaredy cat or prickly plants: hawthorn, holly etc. N Moorhead, Shropshire Try the Catwatch Cat Deterrent (56, rspb.org.uk). Hershey Red Readers tip My economy flush toilet wont even shift a modest load. I do the washing-up in a bowl, then pour the water into the loo. It doubles the water and doesnt half move the business. Send your tips, tricks and questions to [email protected] | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-can-i-stop-cats-digging-in-raised-beds-pbwfqt0nw |
Is the A-League top six already set with half a season remaining? | Loading But unless things change radically in the second half of the campaign, the top six and the finals places look close to already being determined. If that is the case, then nearly half the competition will have little to play for in the second half of the season. This potential stagnation will add further weight to the arguments of those calling for the establishment of a second division and the introduction of promotion and relegation as a means of ensuring interest in the league is maintained right through the season - at both ends of the table. The establishment of the new Western Melbourne club next season and South West Sydney the following year is designed to increase interest and heighten competition. Certainly more derby matches will draw bigger crowds and gain more media focus, but it is imperative that the new clubs hit the ground running when they kick off so that genuine competition throughout the league is sustained. That looks a bit of a pipe dream at the moment although in the FFA's favour is the fact that the race to finish higher up the ladder to secure a home final is likely to go down to the wire, maintaining interest at least at that end of the table. Perth Glory (who had 29 points before their late finishing Sunday night game against struggling Western Sydney Wanderers) are leading the charge, while the two Melbourne teams, Sydney and surprise package Wellington look set to join them in this season's playoffs. Adelaide also look to have an excellent chance. Last season's grand finalists Newcastle have not caught fire this campaign and are well adrift of the top six. Wellington have been a surprise success story this season. Credit:AAP Coach Ernie Merrick admits that the task is growing more difficult as each week goes on. ''There's no doubt that the gap is getting bigger. We are shooting ourselves in the foot, playing so well ... we are just not scoring enough goals [but] we have got a good enough squad to beat anyone,'' he lamented after their loss to Melbourne Victory on Saturday night. Loading Still, if there is to be a revival in the second half of the season it is likely to come from the Jets. The hapless Central Coast have still to win a game this season. Western Sydney are treading water and the move to a permanent new home ground next season can't come quick enough. Brisbane, who lost 1-0 to Melbourne City on Friday night, are feisty but in a holding pattern, being managed by caretaker coach Darren Davies after John Aloisi parted company with them in December. Victory last season showed that a top-three finish is not necessary to win the title - they became the first club to take the championship after finishing fourth on the end of season table. But that doesn't mean lower finishes will become the new normal; winning a semi-final and grand final on the road is extremely difficult, and until it is done again they must be regarded as the exception that proves the rule. Glory, revitalised under new coach Tony Popovic, will be desperate to confirm their position as top dogs. The West Australians have not hosted a grand final in more than 15 years, since they were big guns in the old NSL. A big occasion in WA could be just the thing to reinvigorate support for the Glory who were, back in the old days, the best supported club in the league. And of course end of season positions will have a big say in determining who qualifies for the three Australian positions for the Asian Champions League, so there is plenty for those at the sharp end to focus on. But it's likely to be a long hot summer where the beach might look more tempting for fans of the strugglers. | https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/is-the-a-league-top-six-already-set-with-half-a-season-remaining-20190113-p50r2f.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |
How much balance should Stefanski have in new Vikings offense? | EAGAN, Minn. The Minnesota Vikings run-pass ratio seemed to drive head coach Mike Zimmer crazy throughout the 2018 season. The Vikings head coach first commented on running more in a win against the Jets and then showed his frustration again following a loss to the Chicago Bears that put then-offensive coordinator John DeFilippo in the spotlight. I do think theres times we need to stick with it a little bit more, Zimmer said after the 25-20 loss toe Chicago. Youve got to keep at it. But two weeks later against the Patriots, his team went away from the ground game again despite Dalvin Cook gaining 84 yards on nine carries. When Zimmer replaced DeFilippo with interim OC Kevin Stefanski, they got back to rushing with 383 yards over the final three games. The Vikings still finished with the fourth highest pass play percentage in the NFL. I want to be able to run the football and play action pass because I think that is the most effective way to affect a defense, Zimmer said at his season-ending press conference. I think what Coach Zim talked about was balance and thats going to be what we want to do moving forward, Stefanski said on Friday. We just dont want to be predictable. I cant tell you that were always going to run it or were always going to pass it. Were going to try to be balanced and not be predictable. Before we can give a definitive answer to the question, we have to contextualize teams lack of rushing attack in 2018. First theres the fact that the Vikings were routinely losing in the fourth quarter, taking away their ability to hand off. When they ranked seventh in total rushing yards in 2017, Minnesota was winning a lot more often late in games. Total plays ahead in 4th Q: 154 Plays when behind in 4th Q: 177 2017 plays ahead in 4th Q: 240 2017 plays when behind in 4th Q: 60 If we take away the poise and try to get a better idea of how the team called plays when score was not a factor, its clear the Vikings ran a lot more than it seemed. ), we see the Vikings pass 224 times and run 179 times (55.5 percent). The league average is a 52% pass rate in those situations, but one team severely swung the average. Seattle rushed 285 times and only passed on 172 such plays. Heres how the divisional playoff teams balanced their offenses in neutral situations: Dallas 52.3% Los Angeles Rams 54.9% New England 55.3% New Orleans 53.4% Philadelphia 59.7% Indianapolis 59.7% Los Angeles Chargers 53.8% Kansas City Chiefs 62.8% When you take away situations that would force the Vikings to pass, they were just as balanced as any of the final eight teams. You might think the Vikings simply need to be more effective when running in neutral situations, but in our aforementioned situations, they were 15th in yards per run play at 4.7 yards per carry. Cook ran 79 times for 433 yards (5.5 yards per carry) in such spots. If Zimmer wants to swing the tide toward running even more a la Seattle, he might want to reconsider. A study by the website FiveThirtyEight found Seattle was hurting its chances by running on first and second down. Author Josh Hermsmeyer wrote: Over the course of the 2018 season, there was no three-play sequence that Seattle favored more than rush-rush-pass. The Seahawks called rush-rush-pass 26 percent of the time, a rate 10 percentage points higher than league average. Yet despite the high frequency with which Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer used the pattern, they were not successful with it. Just 41.2 percent of their rush-rush-pass sequences ended in success. Meanwhile, on three-play sequences where the Seahawks started with a pass and mixed in a run afterward, they were successful 88.9 percent of the time (pass-rush-rush), 71.4 percent of the time (pass-pass-rush) and 50 percent (pass-rush-pass) of the time. Another surprising finding in terms of the Vikings balance: They were 11th in rush-rush-pass sequences and had success 41.9 percent of the time higher than Seattle. The NFLs best offense in Kansas City used run-run pass on nine percent of three-play sequences. Philadelphia was tied with KC for lowest in the NFL. When we put together the pieces, the biggest reason the Vikings offense finished 20th in scoring was not the lack of balance and attempting to run more could result in the Vikings hurting themselves if they try too hard to rush the football. The biggest reason they struggled to get ahead in games (and thus run the ball more in the fourth quarter) was that Minnesota ranked 22nd in passing Expected Points Added (a stat that compares yards gained vs. situation) and last in yards per pass completion. Entering the divisional round of the playoffs, we notice seven of the top 10 passing teams in EPA are still playing. The Dallas Cowboys are the only team that didnt rank in the top half of the league in passing EPA to advance. If Zimmers goal is to get the ball in the hands of Cook more often, passing him the ball more could be a better way. He averaged 6.2 yards per target (as opposed to 4.7 per rush) in all situations, but was only targeted 49 times in 11 games. Four running backs had more than 100 targets and 11 backs cleared 75 targets. Cook has the receiving talent to be in that category in 2019. And as far as the play-action goes, the Vikings should increase play-action plays regardless of run success. In 2016, Sam Bradford had a 110.2 rating on play-action throws (per Pro Football Focus) despite ranking 32nd in the NFL in rushing. The bottom line isnt that the Vikings should eliminate rushing from their attack. Its that they shouldnt overcompensate. Whether the Vikings put up better total yards and attempts next year will ultimately rest on improving their inefficient passing game that got them behind in games. That will be Stefanskis biggest challenge. | http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2019/01/much-balance-stefanski-new-vikings-offense/ |
Is Peter Boghossian Getting Railroaded for His Hoax? | Peter Boghossian. Photo: Mike Nayna Last fall, it was revealed that a trio of researchers the philosopher Peter Boghossian, the mathematician James Lindsay, and the medieval-studies independent scholar Helen Pluckrose had perpetrated what they viewed as a spiritual successor to the infamous 1996 Sokal hoax, in which the NYU physics professor Alan Sokal had a jargon-laden nonsense article accepted and published by a prestigious humanities journal.The trio sent out a bunch of ridiculous articles to a number of journals within grievance studies fields, or areas of academia ostensibly concerned with drumming up grievances on behalf of the supposedly powerless against the supposedly powerful. (Disclosure: I appeared on a podcast co-hosted by Pluckrose.) Of the 20 articles the trio submitted, seven were accepted (after various revision and editing processes, as is the norm with papers accepted by academic journals). One was a feminist-oriented revision of a Mein Kampf excerpt; another, ostensibly based on hours of observation, argued that dog parks are rape-condoning spaces and a place of rampant canine rape culture and systemic oppression against the oppressed dog through which human attitudes to both problems can be measured that one won recognition for excellence by the feminist geography journal in which it was published, Gender, Place, and Culture. (That was also the paper that blew the hoaxsters cover prematurely the Wall Street Journals Jillian Melchior saw it, grew suspicious, and ended up breaking the story). The general success the trio had in getting these papers submitted, the perpetrators argued in their summary of the affair in Areo, which Pluckrose edits, shows that there are excellent reasons to doubt the rigor of some of the scholarship within the fields of identity studies that we have called grievance studies. When the story broke, it sparked a massive controversy that seemed to reinforce most observers ideological tendencies. Some, particularly those skeptical of grievance studies or postmodernism or SJWs or whatever else, viewed it as the latest in a long line of emperor-has-no-clothes moments within certain areas of scholarship, dating back to Sokals article. It was also seen as a worthy sequel to Boghossian and Lindsays more modest conceptual penis hoax from 2017. Others, particularly those who view such claims as thinly veiled excuses to attack leftist scholarship concerned with the plight of marginalized people, highlighted the fact that Boghossians team got plenty of rejections, that their grandiose conclusions overstate the projects scope and the extent of its success (as Slates Daniel Engber put it), and that there was a mean-spirited tone to the whole thing, which, they argued, stemmed more from ideological hostility to gender studies and associated fields than good-faith critique. The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a mini forum which showcased a variety of different views on the subject. The entire force of their stunt lies in the fact that they managed to get several satirical papers published, wrote the University of Washington biologist Carl T. Bergstrom. But it makes no sense to judge the health of a field by looking at what an insincere author can get through peer review. On the other side was Yascha Mounk, a Harvard lecturer in government, who condemned the circling of the academic wagons and what he viewed as unfair attempts to undermine the hoaxsters. [E]ven if all of the charges laid at the feet of Lindsay, Pluckrose, and Boghossian were true, they would have demonstrated a very worrying fact, he wrote. Some of the leading journals in areas like gender studies have failed to distinguish between real scholarship and intellectually vacuous as well as morally troubling bullshit. And that was that, for a while the hoax continued to percolate online, kindling the academic culture wars, but it had generally faded from public view until earlier this week. That was when a startling-sounding revelation breathed new life into the controversy and instigated a fresh firestorm on social media: Portland State University appears poised to sanction Boghossian, an assistant professor there, for research misconduct as a result of the hoax. Boghossian, in his universitys view, failed to get Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for his research and fabricated data when he and his team claimed, for their dog park article Ill, erm, defer to the language from their Areo write-up to have tactfully inspected the genitals of slightly fewer than 10,000 dogs whilst interrogating owners as to their sexuality. (Boghossian has publicly posted the documents he got from PSU, which lay out the charges in detail, here.) In a YouTube video he published last Saturday, Boghossian, appearing in a bathrobe in the first segment for some reason, reads out one of the emails PSU sent him, threatening an investigation on IRB grounds. I think that they will do everything and anything in their power to get me out, he says. And I think this is the first shot in that. A conference call with Pluckrose and Lindsay ensues, and Pluckrose, being filmed elsewhere, explains, They cant say that we needed IRB approval for the ones that we published in journals, because there werent any real human subjects. So they will have to say that the IRB approval we needed was treating [journal] reviewers as human subjects without passing that through an ethical board. Hopefully, we can say that there wasnt any way to get informed consent for that it just isnt a possibility with this kind of thing. One can forgive Boghossian for feeling as though his university is out to get him. Yes, his hoax was intentionally provocative, and yes, he and his colleagues said a lot of mean things about other academics in the magazine article and YouTube videos connected to their project. But certain aspects of the backlash to the grievance-studies hoax come across as over the top, as well. Perhaps most notably, a group of 11 PSU professors and one grad student published an anonymous letter in the Vanguard student newspaper, accompanied by a weird and menacing-looking image of Boghossian with a Pinocchio nose, in which they accused him of various misdeeds both related to the hoax When supposed scholars repeatedly engage in fraudulent behavior violating acceptable norms of research in any discipline, we have to start asking what the purpose is and separate from it, like inviting James Damore to an event at PSU. Strangest of all, perhaps, was the stated justification for anonymity: We have opted to communicate our concerns through a collective identity rather than individually, explains the final section of the article. Boghossian has not only indicated his less-than-collegial attitude through his hoaxes, but has actively targeted faculty at other institutions. None of us wish to contend with threats of death and assault from online trolls. The linked-to website contains no evidence that Boghossian has targeted anyone (his name doesnt even appear); nor is the rather astonishing claim that to respond to Boghossian under ones own name might mean risking assault defended anywhere. Its simply unusual for academics to so vehemently attack one of their own while revealing their titles but not their names, but it seemed to neatly capture the tenor of this debate at PSU, a very left-leaning campus. The question of whether Boghossian was the target of unfair heat from his academic community, however, is different from the question of whether the present investigation is unfair. The short answer is no. When you cut through the noise of social media and the raging culture war in which this incident is enmeshed, and focus instead on how universities tends to handle this sort of thing, PSUs investigation, on its own, actually offers very little evidence of a witch hunt or unfair treatment of Boghossian. The long answer is a bit more complicated, and ties into a broader controversy within academia. *** Its impossible to understand this case without understanding a little bit about IRBs themselves. The IRB system is, at root, an arrangement between research institutions both universities and others and the federal government. To receive federal research funds, which are the lifeblood of many research bodies, those bodies must agree, in return, to follow certain ethics procedures, particularly with regard to any research involving human subjects. Thats what IRBs do. Every research institution that receives federal funds has its own IRB, and most insist that any employee conducting research at that university have their research plan cleared by the IRB beforehand. It might sound simple, but its endlessly complicated. IRB protocols used for social-science research grew out of those used for biomedical research, and there are key differences between the ethical implications of, say, obtaining informed consent to give someone an experimental medication and performing psychological experiments that might cause temporary embarrassment among its subjects. Theres a cacophonous discussion going on about whether and to what extent IRB protocols are fair, and its fueled by the regular emergence of over-the-top stories of IRB overreach. Some scholars, like the George Mason University professor Zachary Schrag, have dedicated a great deal of time to surfacing these stories and calling for reforms to the system hes the author of Ethical Imperialism: Institutional Review Boards and the Social Sciences, 19652009 and the Institutional Review Blog. One of the most common critique of IRBs is that they are far too risk averse when it comes to their conceptualization of potential harm to human subjects, and that they introduce unnecessary bureaucratic delays that stifle research and researcher ingenuity. In 2017, Scott Alexander, a psychiatrist and popular blogger, wrote an instant-classic account about his misadventures with a hospital IRB when he wanted to do a study to see if a commonly used questionnaire that supposedly tests for bipolar disorder actually works as advertised. To take one of many examples of the weird demands levied on him as he tried to set up the study, Alexanders IRB insisted that he include, when administering the questionnaire, a paragraph about the possible risks of doing so even though there were none, even though asking patients the sorts of questions he planned on asking for his study is the sort of thing that goes on every day in a psychiatric hospital, and even though telling a patient at a psychiatric hospital you are about to do something that could harm them could, for obvious reasons, cause problems (especially when thats a false claim anyway). Schrag and other advocates concerned with this issue have collected countless other examples. Soul-melting IRB experiences It took over 5 months & 9 submissions to have our recruitment materials displayed at all participating colleges. 5 months of ethics review in order to do interviews w/15-20 adults on an uncontroversial subject are not unusual among researchers, though theres significant variation between different IRBs. Now, things are set to get a little better revised federal IRB rules, the result of an eight-year process to shore up the system kicked off by the Obama administration, are set to go into effect later this month and will expand the types of social-scientific experiment that are exempt from IRB review. But Schrag said the revisions ended up not being particularly bold, and nothing in them would exempt audit studies requiring deception like the one the grievance studies hoaxsters pulled. (Ill explain why the audit-studies angle is important in a bit.) [Probably yes.] http://t.co/5mxhEycEA5 Steven Pinker (@sapinker) July 24, 2015 For the purposes of Peter Boghossians case, three facts about IRBs matter a great deal: study is defined rather broadly in the federal guidelines; possible risks to humans even ones that non-IRB nerds may view as negligible are taken very seriously; and IRBs tend to look especially closely at studies involving deception. For these and other reasons, each of the four IRB experts I spoke or emailed with agreed that yes, the grievance-studies hoax needed IRB approval; yes, it clearly involved human subjects; and no, PSUs decision to investigate it on that front cannot be reasonably viewed, on its own, as politically motivated. In other words: This particular aspect of the universitys response smells more like a standard reaction to improperly vetted research than a witch hunt. First, the definition of study: As PSU explained to Boghossian in a document it sent him December 17, the university determined that his work met the definition of study as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services in language that reads this isnt included in the letter itself a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. All the IRB experts I communicated with said they agreed that the grievance-studies hoax qualified as a result of its basic structure, and some pointed to the language the hoaxsters used themselves calling it a study in their Areo article or a satirical scholarly audit in a press release published earlier this week as extra proof of that. Laura Stark, a historian at Vanderbilt and the author of Behind Closed Doors: IRBs and the Making of Ethical Research, further explained in an email that it was human-subjects research according to federal regulation The human subjects being the journal editors. Crucially, it does not matter that the hoaxsters didnt attempt to publish their final results in a peer-reviewed journal. Publishing in a magazine thats not peer reviewed doesnt matter if theyre reporting on their research, said Celia Fisher, director of the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education. All that matters is that Boghossian is an employee at PSU, and that he conducted what the university deemed to be human-subjects research based on a plain reading of how that term is normally defined for this purpose. Now, in the video Boghossian released earlier this week, Helen Pluckrose expresses some skepticism that what they were doing was really human-studies research, but again, all the experts I spoke with disagreed. First of all, if they believed that this was not human-subjects research, the process would have been to submit to the IRB an application that says I believe this research that Im doing is exempt, said Fisher. And the IRB makes the determination if its not human-subject. Its not their call, in other words its still the IRBs. But had Boghossian sought an exemption, he likely would have been rebuffed, anyway. IRBs tend to be very, very conservative about any experiments that could have any impact on human beings. Its an area where academia operates according to norms quite different from those of other fields. Journalists, for example, would have no compunctions about exposing shoddy or unethical work on the part of a local business. IRBs tend to be extremely careful about this sort of thing the assumption is usually that any small possibility of harm needs to be justified and, if possible, protected against. In a case where an experimental subject could be exposed to negative public scrutiny, an IRB will go to great lengths to ensure their anonymity, even if that means withholding or blurring certain details from the study write-up. (IRB strictness about harm and anonymity can explain why anyone who reads a lot of psych studies will be familiar with researchers explaining that a study took place not at Boston University but at a large northeastern university, and so forth.) In the case of the grievance-studies hoax, the potential for harm came in the form of reputational damage and humiliation to journal editors and reviewers. And one decision the hoaxsters made allowing accepted papers to actually be published rather than notifying the journals so they could be yanked before they were out in the world neatly captures the sorts of ethical discussions often spurred by IRBs. Thats what happens at the IRB, said Elisa Hurley, executive director at Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, an organization which offers ethics guidance to researchers. The IRBs job is essentially to facilitate research that is consistent with the regulations or that does in fact protect and respect the research subject involved. So had Boghossian and his colleagues sought IRB approval, theres a good chance that one condition for obtaining that approval would have been something like, If any of these papers are accepted, you cant let them actually be published you have to notify the journal immediately. As things turned out, the journals in question were identified by the hoaxsters, which did open up the editors to public scrutiny, a form of harm from the point of view of an IRB. Unnecessary harm, too, since an acceptance note from a journal is sufficient information to deem a study as having been accepted it doesnt need to actually appear in the journal. Again, it doesnt matter whether you or most of the rest of society believe this to be an overly sensitive kid-glove approach. This is the well-established, risk-averse way in which IRBs do business, and it isnt a mystery to anyone who has dealt with one. If its too conservative a stance, thats a problem with the system not with PSUs administration of the existing rules. Its worth noting that Stark dissented slightly from the other IRB experts I consulted on one front: She thought that while the decision to investigate Boghossians lack of IRB approval was perfectly legitimate and not, on its own, fishy, it was also possible that it was influenced by politics. Universities and IRBs definitely make decisions about what issues to pursue and how aggressively to pursue them depending on the political climate on campus, she explained in an email, which is part of a broader national and international context. In her view, its possible the investigation was both political and legitimate on the merits. Fisher, on the other hand, didnt see PSU as having quite so much choice in the matter, arguing that the university is in a very tough position, because not to pursue this would be very damaging in terms of other studies that should be studied for IRB review, and for other people who end up publishing fabricated data. Its a very difficult precedent for a university to set that its okay to publish fabricated data, even if this is in a context in which, if it had gone through an IRB and modified in some ways, the design might have been ultimately accepted. Finally, as a so-called audit study that is, one designed to test how different real-world institutions respond to the same or similar inputs (in this case, research articles, but in more famous cases, things like rsums randomized to have black- or white-sounding names) Boghossian, Lindsay, and Pluckroses scheme was more likely than a non-deception study to raise IRB eyebrows. All audit studies require deception, and many social scientists who would like to see only a limited role for IRBs still consider IRB review appropriate when deception is required, said Schrag. Deception is simply seen as an ethically fraught tactic, so even IRB critics arent necessarily in favor of them backing off entirely in situations where deception is involved. This is yet another reason why the researchers probably should have realized their study required IRB approval, or an exemption. And yet the video Boghossian published seems to show them not understanding this. Pluckrose at one point mentions the impossibility of getting informed consent from journal reviewers the implication being that to do so would be to blow the cover of the experiment. Again, though, thats the point of an IRB: to gain permission to deceive, or to come up with some sort of work-around. The choice isnt necessarily between obtaining informed consent in a manner that would blow the experiment and not running the experiment at all plenty of IRBs have approved plenty of audit studies. But the three hoaxsters do not, generally speaking, come across in the video as all that familiar with IRB rules, which shouldnt necessarily come as a surprise given that none of them comes from an academic field that has much involvement with human-subjects research. We didnt try to publish this in a peer-reviewed journal, says Lindsay at one point. We didnt I dont know what the rules of this are. The research-ethics experts I spoke with expressed a similar degree of agreement on the question of whether what the grievance studies hoaxsters did constituted data fabrication: yes, it did. This is another point where the gap between the average layperson and IRB nerds comes into play. It does feel weird, after all, to read PSUs letter to Boghossian on this, which says, in effect, We determined, from your admission that you fabricated data for the dog study, that you fabricated data for the dog study. Its quite clear that the hoaxsters planned, all along, to reveal the fact that they had fabricated data. But according to the rules, thats a moot point. False data was knowingly submitted for publication and was in fact published, said Hurley. Intent doesnt really matter. However, again, had this gone prospectively to the IRB, where the plan was to use deception, which is allowed by our regulations if certain conditions are met that could have been a different conversation. Fisher, too, highlighted the fact that the study was allowed out into the world as something that could cause trouble for Boghossian and which strengthens the case for a data-fabrication allegation. One of the problems that occurs was they allowed this to be published, and therefore I do think its appropriate to look at fabrication of data, she said. Because even though the journal now understanding that it was fabricated withdrew the article, its still out there in the public sphere. So its misleading to those who would take the data as being valid data. So I think investigating this as fabricated data is appropriate. Ivan Oransky, who runs Retraction Watch, said in an email, I dont see the difference, in terms of the definition. Data fabrication is data fabrication, appears to be the consensus. There is certainly a chance that, had Peter Boghossian approached PSUs IRB and sought permission to conduct this study, it would have caused him and his colleagues all sorts of difficulties. Maybe the study would have been delayed for months. Maybe it would have been blocked entirely. Its entirely possible that all the worst excesses of overzealous IRBs would have raised their heads. Theres no way to know. But what seems clear is that there was no good reason, in light of what IRBs are for and how they operate, for Boghossian to think his study sat outside the purview of his local IRB. *** Letters of support for Boghossian have been rolling in in large numbers since this story broke, penned by academics both renowned This strikes me (and every colleague Ive spoken with) as an attempt to weaponize an important [principle] of academic ethics in order to punish a scholar for expressing an unpopular opinion, wrote Steven Pinker and lesser known. Many of these letters echo the complaint that the present investigation is politically motivated, and many echo Boghossians concern, expressed in the video, that his livelihood is at risk that PSU could fire him. Theres no obvious evidence that possibility is on the table, and if PSU did go that route, it would likely be seen by many academic-ethics experts as highly questionable. Firing someone for failing to file an IRB when one was required would be unusual, argued Schrag. He did mention one case in which University of Queensland researchers were demoted and temporarily banned from research on such grounds, but said, I am unaware of a faculty members being fired for a similar offense, and the Queensland researchers had their rank reinstated after the initial demotion. Moreover, in a couple of cases involving serious allegations of abuse in medical experimentation, universities have imposed bans on future research rather than firing the accused researchers. The harms involved there were so much more serious than anything Boghossian has done, yet the penalties were still short of an outright firing, said Schrag. So yes, I think firing Boghossian would be disproportionate. The data-fabrication accusation is probably where Boghossian is more vulnerable, but according to Oransky, while intent doesnt matter from the point of view of defining data fabrication, it likely would matter as a university debated sanctions. I think that the intent what he was trying to do, what he ended up doing that should all feed into what punishment there is, if any, he said. Boghossians case wasnt one of a researcher profiting academically off of totally fabricated research it was, at root, an audit study, and if Boghossian, Lindsay, and Pluckrose had had the foresight to prevent accepted studies from being published, there wouldnt have been a huge difference between their fabricated data and, say, a fabricated rsum for a more traditional audit study. Suffice it to say, this is a complicated case. Its impossible to say that PSU would have imposed the exact same investigation on an equivalent study with a different political valence. But it also seems, with the benefit of a bit of investigation into and knowledge of how IRBs work, pretty obvious that Boghossian was asking for trouble by going ahead and performing this research without at least seeking an exemption. On a lot of the basics, its pretty clear cut: His university has some oversight jurisdiction over this research, and is currently exercising it. It might be helpful to separate this out from the broader, noisier debate about the the implications of the hoax itself. | http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/is-peter-boghossian-getting-railroaded-for-his-hoax.html?utm_source=flipboard.com&utm_medium=social_acct&utm_campaign=feed-part |
Could a Fake National Emergency Pave the Way for a Real One? | An unpopular presidents unpopular shutdown over an unpopular public works project about a non-existent crisis doesnt seem to be winning him more support Nate Cohn offered an overview in the Times on Saturday: There has been little polling since the government shutdown began last month, but what there is indicates that voters oppose a border wall, blame the president for the shutdown, believe the shutdown will have adverse consequences and dont believe the government should be shut down over the wall. The wall has consistently been unpopular, with voters opposed by around a 20-point margin over months of national surveys. That makes it even less popular than the president himself. Support for the wall is closely tied to support for the president, though. Over all, polls show it consistently tracks just a few points beneath the presidents approval rating, and support for the wall is almost exclusively confined to voters who already support the president. On Wednesday, FiveThirtyEights Janie Velencia dug into a few recent ones: Trumps efforts to pin the blame on Democrats arent working, according to three pollsters who have conducted at least two polls in the two and a half weeks since the government first closed. Rather, polls show that Americans are increasingly blaming Trump. Polls conducted in the first few days of the shutdown showed that between 43 percent and 47 percent of Americans blamed Trump most for the shutdown, while about a third blamed congressional Democrats. [T]wo [new] YouGov polls found a 4-point increase in those blaming Trump. There was a 4-point increase among registered voters who most blamed Trump in the two Morning Consult polls. And surveys from Reuters/Ipsos also found a 4-point increase. As for where Democrats stand in the blame-game, Morning Consult found a 2-point increase in those who blame them the most between their two polls, while Ipsos/Reuters found a 1-point drop and YouGov found a 3-point drop. And there is broad agreement on how embarrassing and harmful the entire ordeal is, NPR noted on Friday: Three-quarters of Americans say the government shutdown [is] embarrassing for the country, including a majority of Republicans, a new NPR/Ipsos Poll finds. [About 7 in 10 also say it] is going to hurt the country, that it will hurt the economy and that Congress should pass a bill to reopen the government now while budget talks continue. Just 3 in 10 believe the government should remain closed until there is funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The NPR/Ipsos Poll also found that Trumps Oval Office address Tuesday had little effect. Just 10 percent of Americans said the presidents speech brought the country closer to ending the government shutdown. (Nearly 4 in 10 said they did not watch or even follow the address.) And not many, if anyone, beyond his base say his speech convinced them that there is a crisis at the Southern U.S. border. | http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/could-a-fake-national-emergency-pave-the-way-for-a-real-one.html?utm_source=flipboard.com&utm_medium=social_acct&utm_campaign=feed-part |
Why are so many South Korean tourists visiting Vietnam? | VIETNAM HAS LONG been known as a backpackers paradise. Its vibrant street-food culture, a host of colourful heritage sites and breathtaking scenery offer plenty to adventure-seekers on a budget. But this is beginning to change. Once-sleepy beach towns are transforming into five-star resorts. For better or worse, city streets once filled with hostels and homestays are being replaced with one-stop shopping centre/hotel complexes. Vietnams tourism and hospitality industries have expanded rapidly in the past few years. Alongside on-trend international hotspots such as Iceland and Mongolia, Vietnam was in 2017 identified by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation as one of the worlds 10 fastest-growing travel destinations. During the first half of 2018, Vietnam welcomed 8 million international visitors an increase of 27.2 per cent from the previous year. Overall tourism revenue was an estimated 312 trillion dong (US$13.4 billion) 22.5 per cent more than in the first half of 2017. The government has ambitious plans, aiming for 20 million international visitors per year by 2020. In turn, it aims to develop the tourism industry into a sector worth US$35 billion annually one that would be 10 per cent of Vietnams GDP. This growth has been driven partly by a spike in South Korean visitors, with knock-on effects in the tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors. Last year, mainland China accounted for the most visitors to Vietnam, with 3.4 million arrivals. South Korea was not far behind, with 3.16 million an increase of 46.5 per cent from the previous year, according to local media. Flights from Vietnam to South Korea accounted for a remarkable 44.5 per cent of the countrys outbound traffic in 2018. By comparison, China-bound flights made up 14.8 per cent in the same year, according to OAG Schedules Analyser, a flight data website. South Korean airlines Asiana and Jeju Air began offering daily flights between Busan and Da Nang, the Vietnamese coastal city, increasing the routes capacity by 86 per cent. As a result, Da Nang, known for its resorts and pristine beaches, became the top foreign destination for South Koreans last summer, according to Korean e-commerce website Ticket Monster. Many South Koreans fly the route to visit Hoi An, a resort town about 30km from Da Nang. According to Vietnamese reports, more than 240,000 South Koreans visited Hoi An last year, an increase of 70 per cent from 2016. They now outnumber the 200,000 mainland Chinese visitors arriving annually. Vietjet prides itself on having served more than 2 million Koreans, many of whom were travelling overseas for the first time. In December, the budget carrier announced a new route linking Seoul and Phu Quoc island, another destination attracting South Koreans. The north of Phu Quoc island caters to Koreans, with resorts built specifically for this market, said Diane Lee, a writer who teaches English to Korean students in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Most Koreans never leave their resort, which is equipped with a medical centre and golf course. HOME AWAY FROM HOME Last March, Yoo Hyong-rok took his first trip outside South Korea. He grew up in Seoul and his family visited the countryside or Jeju Island province on holidays, but travelling abroad was never an option. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @ ji__wony_ on Jan 8, 2019 at 8:29pm PST HOME AWAY FROM HOME From the 1960s until the late 1980s, South Koreans were not allowed to travel freely and passports were issued only for special reasons. After the nations democratisation in 1988, overseas travel was finally permitted and, as its middle class expanded over the next three decades, many South Koreans began to explore the world. After years of watching TV travel programmes about Vietnam and seeing social media posts featuring Vietnamese food and culture, Yoo chose to visit Hanoi. Many of my friends have visited the country for their holidays, the office worker, 29, said. I heard a lot of good things about it and decided to check it out. Once on the ground in Hanoi, Yoo sought out many local sights only to be surprised by the sheer number of Korean signs, barbecue restaurants, K-beauty shops and coffee chains in Hanoi. Other Korean travellers described a similar experience. I see more and more Korean brands and cafes every time I visit Vietnam, said Hong Kyeong-su, a South Korean entrepreneur who has visited the country six times. I noticed there are a lot of Korea-related businesses. Vietnamese people also love Korean culture. As in many Asian countries swept up by the so-called K-wave, South Korean culture has begun to exert a broad influence on Vietnams urban environment. Korean retail brands, cafes and eateries are popular, and cater to local populations as well as the growing influx of Korean visitors. Young Vietnamese are enamoured with Korean culture even more than American culture, said Mark Gwyther, founder of MGT Management Consulting, a tourism consultancy in Ho Chi Minh City. K-pop musicians sell out large arenas. Korean soap operas have been popular on local television for years. Korean movies are in theatres every week. Korean barbecue and noodle restaurants can be found all over the major cities and even appear in smaller cities. Gwyther also noted the most popular person in the country is Park Hang-seo, the South Korean coach of Vietnams national mens football team. And Korean is among the most popular foreign languages for Vietnamese students to learn. Chinese visitors, on the other hand, have not been as warmly embraced. Vietnamese media reported two years ago that the coastal city of Da Nang would publish a booklet in Chinese on dos and donts for tourists, after reports surfaced of mainland tourists and tour guides behaving badly. Gwyther said some of the mistrust and hostility towards the Chinese stemmed from historical conflict between the two countries that has flared up in recent times. Four years ago, China moved an oil rig into Vietnams territorial waters and several Chinese-owned factories in Vietnam were burned down, with protests resulting in the death of at least 20 Chinese expats. China restricted tourists coming to Vietnam, which really hurt the tourism industry, Gwyther said. He suggests South Koreas economic support for Vietnam has also contributed to the warm relations. South Koreans are by far the largest foreign investors in Vietnam with over US$65 billion in registered capital in the country, he said. Samsung has opened several enormous factories that manufacture phones and electronics. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both have Korea towns where a significant amount of South Korean expats live. Chobin Hwang, the Korean language editor of the The Saigoneer, which also runs the largest Korean online guide to Ho Chi Minh City, said many younger Korean travellers forego a Korean experience while in Vietnam. But older travellers often with larger budgets still expect access to Korean services. Those in their 40s and above look for Korean food and services during their stay, Hwang said. People who are my fathers age dont travel a lot and need tour guides. It has become second nature for Vietnams hospitality industry to offer Korean-language options. Companies provide Korean brochures and Korean language menus, Hwang said. Travel agencies describe their information in Korean, and their staff can speak Korean fluently. For Yoo Hyong-rok, Vietnam allowed him to broaden his horizons while also finding a taste of home. In Hanoi, I checked out one of the many Korean-style buildings I saw and ate at the restaurant inside, he said. The taste of the food was exactly the same as in Korea. And the ingredients were even fresher. | https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2181741/why-are-so-many-south-korean-tourists-visiting-vietnam |
Why is India Riding the Coworking Wave? | January 12, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Lets start by looking at the numbers. As per a study was done by the consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), coworking spaces are likely to jump by about 30per cent to 40per cent in 2018 and by 2020, around 13.5 million Indians will operate out of shared spaces. The workforce at these facilities will include 10.3 million employees of large companies, 1.5 million freelancers, and around 100,000 startup workers. These numbers say a lot about how work culture in offices (that have ruled the way people work over the years) will finally change to partner run offices. And, rightly so. If online ordering over placing an order on the telephone has found itself a considerable customer base then coworking and office working are bound to co-exist and supplement each other's growth. At a glance, some of the top advantages of working out of shared offices are- Location Flexibility Affordable Networking However, let's go a step ahead and share our observations on why coworking spaces around Gurugram or Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida are becoming increasingly popular. Believe us, it does. The culture of a coworking space is not defined by a particular brand but by the people who work in the space. These people come from varied fields, work set-ups and from companies of different sizes. Thus, them working together only enhances the culture as they add their own separate character to this one space. They together, form new rules and learn how to work together by overcoming their differences. If you want to see diversity being celebrated, come and join us for a day and see it for yourself. Personalization Another point we often hear is, coworking places cant be personalized as per the brand requirement. We say, on the contrary, they are more personal than one's own office because employees working here want to showcase their respective brands. In fact, coworkers differentiate themselves by flaunting branded stationery, merchandise, etc. For freelancers, they have an option to modify their space according to their area of business while adding their own charm to the hot seat. For example, a graphic designer can exhibit his work on the desk to showcase his skills. This also raises the possibility of them getting work or being referred to by someone. Attracts and Retains Employees The working millennials like to maintain a work-life balance and thus, prefer flexible working hours over strict timings. They also choose to work closer home than suffering through a long commute. And if by 2020, 64 per cent of Indias workforce will be millennial (as per Deloitte), then adapting to the change is something that companies should certainly consider. The coworking option can attract and retain employees by providing a Bay-area like culture, providing an enriching work environment. We say, consider it if you havent. Easy Set-up of a New Office This one is especially for established start-ups. Thinking of expanding seems to be a distant option for many as it requires keeping considerable funds aside to not only by space but also, for operational and overhead costs. Now, with coworking spaces, after deciding on the particular city of expansion, companies can start operations in no time. As coworking spaces offer a full-fledged office environment with basic facilities like WiFi, printer, cafes, etc. businesses just need to send their employees to a new location and get going smoothly and seamlessly. Companies like Zomato, Vodafone are just a few of the many, who have already taken a plunge into the shared office culture. Choose Your Location Unlike many offices where employees come to work at a particular location day-in-day-out, coworking spaces have many locations to choose from. Members have a choice to pick their place as per proximity, facilities, meeting rooms, or even as per profiles of coworkers. Not only that, if bored with working from the same location every day, individuals or groups can choose to go to any of its other locations at any time. One of the biggest advantages of multiple locations is that members can work as per their meeting schedule, or along with friends or even according to their networking needs. Apart from the basic advantages that these spaces provide, the above are some important factors that have led to India riding the coworking wave. | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326191 |
Is the iPad mini with Retina display suffering from a lack of colour? | "If you feel discouraged, that there's a lack of colour here..." The new iPad mini 2 with Retina display dramatically enhances the pixel count on the 7.9-inch screen, but may fall slightly short in the colour department, according to an exhaustive display test. In its review of the new slate, the AnandTech blog suggested that the device has a smaller gamut of colours than the iPad Air, as well as cheaper rivals than the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9. Essentially, that means there are some colours that the new iPad mini cannot process and hence cannot display with 100% accuracy. It's a small difference, but a noticeable one according to the site's review, with some colours on the iPad Air apparently appearing brighter and more vivid. Trade-off It may be that Apple made this so-called 'trade-off' as the company believes those who care about accurate colour reproduction - photographers and the like - will opt for the iPad Air. "It's a shame that this is a tradeoff that exists between the two iPads especially given how good Apple is about sRGB coverage in nearly all of its other displays," wrote Anand Lal Shimpi. While the iPad mini with Retina display does bring the number one requested feature into play - an HD+ display - it seems that Apple may still have a little bit of work to do to reach a state of visual nirvana. However, we all know how Apple likes to leave a little room for improvement... Via Crave | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/mobile-computing/tablets/is-the-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-suffering-from-a-lack-of-colour-1200477 |
How Healthy Is Gentrification? | By Barrington M. Salmon, (USC Annenberg Health Journalism Fellow), Contributing Writer, NNPA When Detrice Belt walks around whats left of her neighborhood and community, she is saddened because of the destruction of the place she calls home. She is deeply frustrated by the struggle she and the remaining residents at Barry Farm have been wrapped in for the past six years and is apprehensive about the health effects this facet of gentrification has had on her and her daughter. Belt, 33, president of the Barry Farm Tenants Association, is one of 80 families left out of a total of 434 who lived in the historic Southeast DC community. She has been one of the sparks of resistance for a group of residents who are committed to staying put as DC city officials demolish and rebuild the 432-unit community into 1,400 residential units of mixed-income housing and retail stores. Officials have promised to set aside 300 affordable units with the remaining units available at market rate. Apart from the stress and anxiety of possibly losing her home, Belt, a dental hygienist and owner of two pit bulls and a turtle, said she worries about what lasting health effects this entire experience will have on her daughterand herself. They just found lead in some units on Stevens Road. They called people and were coming to paint over the areas with lead, she explained. I understand that a test hasnt been done in 20 years. They snuck intomy house to paint the banisters, but someone can chip it and its (the leads) still there. Belt said she is aware of the health dangers to her caused by the dust and debris coming from the demolition of nearby houses, then theres the noise of construction and the long-term and irreversible effects of lead paint exposure on residents. Belt and residents fighting against gentrification and potential health problems are intent on reducing the forced move and lowering the stress that comes with sudden change, including noise, dust and adjusting to a new cultural environment. DC housing officials usually move public housing residents from their homes until renovations or rebuilding is completed. Despite promises that residents can return once renovations are done, Belt said shes aware that only a small percentage of residents have the ability or means to do so, which is why shes so adamant about staying in place while Barry Farm is rebuilt. Im anxious. Theyre using fear tactics trying to force us out, but we told them that we want to stay in place, said Belt. Were willing to occupy Barry Farms. People are ready. Im definitely still fighting. Belts solutions include ensuring that if residents have to move off the property, housing authority staff shouldmove them into some place new faster; residents should get priority when its time to be resettled; and wherever possible, residents should be allowed to stay on the property while builders and developers build, and then move into newly constructed homes. Belt is not alone in worrying about her health and quality of life. Across town, in Northeast DC, Donta Waters, Leon Lightfoot, their families and other residents at Dahlgreen Courts Apartments, are fighting their own battles against gentrification and its impact on their health. After laboratory tests they agreed to, residents recently discovered that 40 of 42 of them have elevated levels of lead, mold and bio-toxins. The resulting health implications for his wife and son alarmed longtime DC resident Leon Lightfoot. Lightfoot, a 55-year-old truck driver, husband and father of a son who is a Howard University student, said it makes him very angry when he contemplates how he and others have been treated. For a whole year, this is how we lived, said Lightfoot, who has lived in the complex since 1999. After the renovations in 2012, we moved back in and then six months later we saw water damage in the living room. The walls, carpet and floors had mold. We dealt with these problems from August 2016 to July 2017. They put us up in a hotel for three days. I thought it was termites, but it was mold. Specialists came in, cut out the wall and put a white coating on it to stop the water. We still have problems with water and mold. Im very concerned for my wife and my son. I have headaches, respiratory problems and now I have to use an inhaler. My wife and son have asthma. Im so pissed off that my wife and son have to endure this. Despite the buildings being renovated in 2011-2012, tenants described being exposedto lead (which appeared during renovations); rodent infestation; damage to the units because of water leaking into apartments through the walls and ceilings; homes overrun with mold; and residents coming down with a variety of illnesses caused by lead, mold and contamination from bio-toxins and other chemical agents. Lightfoot said he and fellow tenants have sought solutions to their myriad problems through advocacy, putting pressure on DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and other public officials byshowing up in their offices, flooding city council meetings and putting the issues theyre dealing with directly in front of these officials. Meanwhile, the tenants association, in an effort to seek redress, filed a $5 million lawsuit in DC Superior Court earlier this year. The tenants are seeking financial compensation for the disruption to their lives and possible health impacts. In the District of Columbia, a shortage of affordable housing, a hyper-expensive rental market and aging and vanishing housing stock hashavetenants battling spiraling rents and housing costs, andhave left them atincreased risk of gettingdisplaced. In 2017, according the US Census Bureau, the median household income of white residents, who make up 36 percent of the Districts population, rose $2,568 to $127,369,while the median income of black residents, who make upor46 percent, fell $3,631,to $37,891. Meanwhile, 46 percent ofthese blackresidents in the Washington Metropolitan Area spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing costs. Those middle- and lower-income residents left in Washington, DC have limited options to move or relocate, and little money left to take care offood, medicine, utilities, transportation and other needs. Some DC government programs do offer solutions and buffer residents from the health-related ill-effects of gentrification. However, its sometimes hard to make a direct link between gentrification and disparate health effects, and housing advocates, members of the medical community and other experts understand that if work is done to stabilize neighborhoods and larger communities, residents and tenants, by extension will be healthier. Its only in recent years that researchers, physicians, pediatricians, academics and others have begun to drill down to ascertain what, if any, healtheffects might befall displaced residents as a result of gentrification. These studies have been able to move anecdotal information into empirical data and quantify the potential health impacts of gentrification. A recent New York study, for example, illustrates the link between gentrification and mental health. The studyhad found that hospitalization rates for mental illness including schizophrenia and mood disorders are two times as high in displaced personsversus those who remain in their neighborhood. This is one of the first US studies to quantify the hidden mental health consequences of gentrification. Housing advocates, policy makers and those in search of solutions understand that they have to go beyond treating symptoms, like asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes and get a handle on the very process of controlling gentrification. In Oakland, California, housing rights advocates and residents have been protesting, engaging in civil disobedience andtryingto get city and county officials to listen and enact policies designed to stem and change the effects of gentrification on low-income, middle-class and long-time residents. They are driven by studies that have revealed any number of negative health-related consequences among vulnerable populations wrought by gentrification, including a higher incidence of asthma, diabetes, andcardiovascular disease andshorter life expectancy; higher cancer rates; more birth defects; and greater instances of infant mortality. Just as critical are other health effects experts say arecaused by limited access to or availability of healthy food choices, affordable healthy housing; quality schools, transportation choices(including bicycle and walking paths), exercise facilities [and] social networks. A 2014 report, produced by the Alameda Public Health Department and Just Cause (Causa Justa, CJJC) which provides free tenant counseling and case management for low-income residents of Oakland and San Francisco focused on gentrification in Oakland, California. Itwas in response to a growing concern and a recognition of the connections between deepening health problems and disparities in health among children in Oakland and the conditions created by dilapidated housing, especially given the Bay Areas high rents and extreme housing shortage. Community organizers, non-profits and residents have used advocacy, political pressure and civil disobedience to bring public officials to first understand and then be willing to act on political and policy solutions to the deleterious effects of gentrification. The report offers solutions, which, though not specifically health-related, are designed to lessen or eliminate the health impacts of gentrification. These include: developing a proactive or healthy housing inspection program; tenant protections to counter dramatic increases in housing costs, lowering the risk of instability, eviction and harassment from landlords; overcrowded housing;living in poor housing and neighborhood conditions; preserving housing at all affordability levels,prioritizing funding for rehabilitation and repair of existing housing stock; creating greater alignment and coordination between local government, health providers, and community-based organizations to address gaps in data. Shelterforce, an independent nonprofit publication thatand sometimes challenges those in the community development field, offers a number of solutionsaimed at preventing gentrification. In a storytitled, 7 Policies that Could Prevent Gentrification, solutions include: aggressively building middle-income housing; reducing or freezing property taxes to protect long-time residents; and prohibiting large-scale luxury development in at-risk neighborhoods. Other solutions are enacting and strengthening rent control laws and developing Community Land Trusts. Those involved with or tracking gentrificationassert that community land trusts (CLTs) are a critical element in the palette of options available for cities seeking neighborhood stability through affordable housing. Theysayobtaining public land for a land trustis a way to address issues of environmental justice and displacement by creating open spaces, community gardens and much-needed affordable housing. I think community land trusts have to be the wave of the future, said Dominic Moulden, resource organizer of the housing advocacy organization, One DC (Organizing Neighborhood Equity). Rent spikes are making it so that regular people cant live in or afford them. With community land trusts, people living in certain areas control public and private land. You can get grants from the government to pay the taxes and local residents control the land. People are doing this around the world Burlington, Portland, Maine, the United Workers in Baltimore, Boston, and the New Columbia Land Trust and the 11thStreet Land Trust here in DC. While Moulden and David Bowers, a longtime housing advocate, said CLTs are viable and necessary solutions to counter gentrification. Bowers, who has been working with government officials, foundations, developers and others for more than a decade said, he has seen some promising projects from philanthropic organizations but he still doesnt see the political will needed by elected officials to confront and significantly address the myriad problems gentrification has wrought. In his many conversations and interactions with government officials, Bowers said, the type of movement to effect real change has been absent. We need to stop having million-dollar conversations about billion-dollar problems, he said. I havent seen a fundamental shift over the last few years. On the government side there is a commitment to hold the line budget-wise. The policy and investment are not there. What we have seen is no sense of urgency by elected officials to solve problems within a defined amount of time and no intentionality. But Bowers said there is a significant movement, where people who had not been involved before have stepped up. He cited the case of Kaiser Permanente whose officials recently announced plans to invest $200 million to develop affordable housing nationwide. They are not a housing group or lender, but they recognize the connection between health and housing, said Bowers, vice president and Washington impact market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. Its not just a government thing. Foundations who care about the racial equity gap in terms of health and wellness have an opportunity to have a significant impact on providing affordable housing at a time when housing stocks continue to dwindle. This article was produced as a project for the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalisms National Fellowship. | https://www.blackpressusa.com/how-healthy-is-gentrification/ |
Is Bait and Switch a Signature Trump Move? | - Advertisement - People voted for Donald Trump under the assumption that Mexico would be paying for your border wall. It is a question that has led to a government shutdown (now partial) in the US. Roads are potholed, bridges crumbling, trains mostly ancient, and the American Society of Civil Engineers regularly grades our infrastructure at barely above a failing F (D+ in 2017). Americans are still waiting for that "beautiful healthcare"; in the meantime, a simple Medicare-for-all will do. The minor tweaks in NAFTA made little difference to the factories humming on the other side of the southern border. - Advertisement - A tariff war with China is hardly a way forward. It is seeing its first major casualty in Apple, down to 145 from its summer highs of 230+ when it became the world's first trillion-dollar company. Its sales in China, its third biggest market after the US and EU, failed to meet expectations. Following the news at the end of the trading day on Wall Street, Asian stock markets opening shortly thereafter went into a slide. Jaw-jaw is better than war-war said Churchill whose bust now adorns the Oval Office. It applies to trade wars also as former President Carter wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on the subject. On the 2000-mile border wall, one has to wonder if anyone in the White House has examined the consequences. Water, air and tunnels are options. Perhaps El Chapo, the drug lord on trial, ought to be employed as a consultant. He managed a steady stream of drugs into the insatiable US market. - Advertisement - The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his annual New Year's address to the nation mostly discussed the economy. The country is still under US sanctions although Kim Jong Un has said repeatedly that he is committed to denuclearization. He warned, "If the US does not keep its promise ... and insists on sanctions and pressures on our republic, we may be left with no choice but to consider a new way to safeguard our security and interests." Kim's words have been described as conciliatory but firm, with the implication that if sanctions are not eased in 2019, North Korea might return to its nuclear-testing program ending the present hiatus. He also added he was always ready to meet Mr. Trump again. This president has been in office for two years during which time his party held the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Democrats have only just regained control of the latter following the November election. Hence a final question on Trump's border wall. The Democrats opposed to the wall have refused, and the subsequent impasse has led to a government shutdown. Mr. Trump claims the wall is necessary for national security and blames the Democrats. The Democrats blame Trump and remain against the wall. Meanwhile, the migrant caravan about to storm the border has disappeared from the news. Whatever we have on the border now has successfully impeded them. - Advertisement - | https://www.opednews.com/articles/Is-Bait-and-Switch-a-Signa-by-Arshad-M-Khan-Bait-and-switch_Infrastructure_Trump-Diplomacy_Trump-Hypocrisy-190113-921.html |
Has Microsoft just accidentally revealed the Surface Pro 3? | Three guesses for what Microsoft is planning for its Surface event It appears that Microsoft has accidentally revealed that the Surface Pro 3 is on the way, a week ahead of a major event relating to its Surface tablet range. In a support article, which has since been removed, Microsoft said that an update for Windows 8.1 "adds support to the Surface Pro 3 camera." The Verge points out that the mention might be a typo, but the quick takedown of the support article suggests it wasn't intended to be published this soon. Pro-Intel The news follows recent reports of an Intel-based Surface tablet also on the horizon, which could turn out to be the Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 2 already uses Intel's "Haswell" Core i5 processor. The company is also expected to unveil the Surface Mini, a smaller tablet catering for the 7-inch or 8-inch market. It is widely predicted to be powered by a Qualcomm processor. Leak or typo, the event next week in New York City is a definite one to watch. Via TheNextWeb | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/mobile-computing/tablets/has-microsoft-just-accidentally-revealed-the-surface-pro-3-1248671 |
Is Bill Belichick right to devalue weather in Patriots-Chargers? | originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com Bill Belichick has always had a rocky relationship with the weather. So, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised the New England Patriots head coach doesn't believe Sunday's chilly forecast -- expected to be in the high 20s -- will give his team any edge whatsoever over the Los Angeles Chargers in their AFC Divisional Round clash at Gillette Stadium. Scroll to continue with content Ad "They're a good football team," Belichick said Friday in a press conference. "We're playing the Chargers. We're not playing the weather. Whatever it is, it is." "Yeah," Belichick responded. "Gonna be on the same field." We hate to disagree with the greatest NFL coach of all time. But we're of the mind that Mother Nature should at least benefit the Patriots somewhat. First: The Chargers aren't used to playing in the cold. That's a fact. They've played in just one game this season with a kickoff temperature below 50 degrees -- a Week 15 win at Kansas City in 39-degree weather -- and last Saturday's Wild Card win over the Baltimore Ravens was played in 51-degree weather. Sunday will be at least 20 degrees colder than all but one game they've played in this season. Second: Philip Rivers isn't all that good in the cold. The Chargers quarterback has played in just five career games with game-time temperatures at or below freezing and is 1-4 in those contests. Story continues Finally: Tom Brady and the Patriots are very, very good in the cold. The Pats QB boasts a 98.9 passer rating in his last 10 cold-weather games (40 degrees or below), and New England is 13-2 in its last 15 playoff games played in 34-degree weather or colder. Far from it. The Chargers haven't lost a game outside L.A. County this season, going 8-1 on the road (playoffs included) with their only defeat coming to the Los Angeles Rams. But expect the elements to play more of a role than Belichick would like to admit. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device. | https://sports.yahoo.com/bill-belichick-devalue-weather-patriots-180907440.html?src=rss |
Is Google hinting at a Chrome OS tablet once again? | Just over three years ago we reported on rumours that Google was plotting a Chrome OS tablet that would be built by HTC. That never happened. In fact, no Chrome tablet has surfaced since then. While Chrome remains desktop-based right now, there are a few hints popping up that a Chrome OS tablet could still become a reality. Google's Francois Beufort posted on Google+ to tell us that the latest developer version of Chrome packs a keyboard that "contains almost all the keys found on the physical Chrome OS keyboard", including all the shortcuts. This strikes us as a bit odd given that it's just duplicating the keyboard already in place, and then things get a little more suspicious. Interestingly, Google has also added support for more touchscreen gestures, such as the ability to see an overview of your open apps by swiping three fingers from the top of the screen. Trail of clues But the clues keep coming. Beaufort wrote in a separate post that developers have been developing on an experimental Intel Bay Trail Chrome OS Board. Bay Trail processors have tended to be used for tablets and hybrids until now, which is why this has also grabbed our attention. However the Bay Trail board could still be used on a desktop or tablet device, so we're not looking at hardcore evidence. All we're saying is, together these different pieces could be slotting together to form something much more interesting. Or it's some very, very wishful thinking on our part. Via liliputing | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/mobile-computing/tablets/is-google-hinting-at-a-chrome-os-tablet-once-again-1194235 |
Is Paul Whelan A Spy? | Authored by Philip Giraldi via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The media has a new bit of speculation that fits neatly into the flagging Russiagate narrative. It concerns Paul Whelan, a high school graduate Marine Corps dishonorable discharge, who is currently working in corporate security for a Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer. Whelan, who lives alone, is self-taught in Russian and has engaged in tourist travel to the country a number of times. He was reportedly arrested late last month in Moscow while ostensibly attending a friends wedding and charged with espionage. Forty-eight year-old Whelan is clearly an odd duck and is notable for having four passports Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and that of the United States. Press coverage of the incident has nearly unanimously decided that the spying charge against Whelan is phony and that he is being held as bait to arrange for an exchange with Maria Butina, who is in jail in Virginia after being charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government and engaging in conspiracy. The media and the usual pundits base their conclusion on absolutely no evidence whatsoever apart from their conviction that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bad man who would do almost anything to irritate the United States and overthrow its system of government. Oddly, the press watchdogs fail to note how the current federal government is doing a damned fine job destroying itself without any assistance from the Kremlin. If Putin really wanted to damage the US, he would be best advised to leave it alone and let Congress and the White House do the heavy lifting for him. Unlike the mainstream media, I rather expect that the charges against Whelan could be more-or-less correct, though not in the way the press has framed the story, which is that Whelan is such a flawed character that he could not possibly meet the requirements to be working for any sophisticated spy organization. The New York Times in its coverage of the story interviewed several former CIA officers who had served in Russia, but asked the wrong questions. The reporter wanted to know if Whelan could possibly be an employee of US intelligence. The ex-Agency officers replied no because of his criminal record while a Marine and other oddities in his career, which included some marginal involvement with low-level law enforcement. The former spooks were correct to state that Whelan would not pass the security hurdles for employment as a staff officer, but there is also a whole other level of possible engagement with the Agency, DIA or JSOC cooperating as one of the sources which intelligence organizations recruit and run to collect information. The flawed but nevertheless useful Whelan would be a perfect target for recruitment as an intelligence source, referred to in the business as agents. Unusually for a foreigner, Whelan has a social media account on Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, which is quite likely how he came to the attention of CIA or the Pentagon. And The New York Times, interestingly, describes his friends on the site as men with some sort of connection to academies run by the Russian Navy, the Defense Ministry or the Civil Aviation Authority. That alone would be enough to generate considerable interest in American intelligence circles as sources with that kind of access are hard to find. And the details of Whelans arrest, if true, are completely consistent with how a low- to mid-level source might be run and used by a US government case officer. According to Russian accounts published in Rosbalt, a news agency close to the Kremlin, an unidentified intelligence source revealed that Whelan was trying to recruit a Russian citizen to obtain classified information regarding employees at various government agencies when he was caught in flagrante. He was arrested five minutes later in what was clearly a sting operation after having received a USB stick that included a list of all of the employees that he apparently had requested. | https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-12/paul-whelan-spy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 |
What Really Motivates Tony Elumelu to Lift African Entrepreneurs? | Kunle Aderinokun As one thought that the question had been asked and answered, and therefore rendered irrelevant, the growing passion for training young entrepreneurs continues to give life to it. The question resumed its relevance when it came from the respected President of one of Africas successful democracies, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana at the last forum of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Lagos. Sharing the spotlight with Elumelu at Founders Dialogue, a forum to discuss the African entrepreneurship ecosystem, the role of the government in the growth of the economy and the opportunities that exist in Africa. So far, the programme has empowered 4,470 entrepreneurs with a total investment of $20 million; 4,000 funded directly by the foundation and 470 have been funded by partners. Just as some people expected him to grow weary over time, fresh applications are being received for the fifth year of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme, which has empowered thousands of entrepreneurs, using a bespoke and robust selection, training and implementation process to create visible and sustainable impact across all 54 African countries. In four years, TEF has directly impacted 4,470 entrepreneurs, and the multiplier effect is showing in job creation, but most importantly in the recognition that Africas economic well-being could be driven by entrepreneurs, who are becoming the engine of the continents transformation. TEF said it received over 150,000 applications in 2017 alone, up from 20,000 applications in 2015. Akufo-Addo did not have to wait long for a response to his question. Two things, Elumelu said. One is my own story, my own life. Im trying to democratise the luck that I had. So ultimately, what becomes important is not who you know or where you come from or whose child you are, but the ideas that you have. Secondly, we all struggle in life. Those who work with me know how hard we work. At some point, you will start thinking about legacy. You will start realising my parents did not leave houses or company shares for me. So, what I owe my children are education and a decent living. The rest, as much as possible, should be used to create wealth across board. That wealth across board is what we are doing at the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He continued: I am always quick to say that we dont do this because we have so much. Actually, we prioritise and make sacrifices for this to happen. It gives us significant joy to see forums like this happen because poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere and the more prosperity, we have around us the better for everyone. I am concerned with the philosophy of Africapitalism. It is about shared prosperity and not just how much money we have in our bank accounts. So, we need to mobilise, not just governments, but private sectors. That is why advocacy is key. President Akufo-Addo The subject put them on the same page as the spotlight they shared. Building his argument block-by-block, Akufo-Addo made a strong case for African entrepreneurs. First, we live on the richest continent in the world and yet our people are the poorest. That is a contradiction that has to be resolved, he said. The second, look at the history of other countries in other continents. It is clear that strong market economies provide the best framework for development, prosperity and wealth. We are told that in 40 countries of the continent, more than 50 per cent of the population is aged below 35. It means that all these young people are the African people. It means the work you (Elumelu) are doing here to encourage entrepreneurship, ingenuity, creativity, innovation among young people, is the future of our continent. No two ways about it, and I felt that with these reasons, it will be a good idea to come here, to support what you are doing and for the world to see that the political leaders of this generation in Africa appreciate what you are doing. He also advocated good governance and strong economies with focus of small-scale industries and capacity building in Africa. He told African leaders: Run your countries well. You allow the institutions of your country to run efficiently. The second thing, that you also run your economies well. Run an economy where there is macroeconomic stability, where inflation is low, interest rates are low, where the deficits are controlled. These are the building blocks for an economy that can grow. Thats our responsibility; run our countries well and provide a framework for the macro economies of our countries to work well. I think if we put those things together and encourage the ingenuity, enterprise, innovation among our young people, then we are on the right track. President Uhuru Kenyatta President Uhuru Kenyatta, who also attended the forum delivered a goodwill message to Elumelu and the entrepreneurs at the forum. He commended the work of the foundation and its founder, Elumelu, affirming his support to the growth of entrepreneurship in Africa. He encouraged the young entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and to remember that nothing is impossible. Testimonials It was not all rhetoric and optics as the young entrepreneurs back their enthusiasm with testimonials. Kehinde Onadehinde is an entrepreneur in media and entertainment in Nigeria. He says: As a result of the trainings and seed capital I got from the Foundation, I have been able to set up my business, Kenola Studios, making use of the money to acquire and set up state-of-the-art structures and equipment. I have also been able to employ 4 full staff and 5 contract staff, speeding up our workflow and taking our services to the next level. Johnmark Mutuma of Kenya, who is into ICT, said, The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme has been a great journey in learning how to convert a start-up to a successful company. Great knowledge had been gained by interacting with my mentor and completing the 12-week training. It packaged a 20 years experience in running a company into a 12 weeks programme; and the seed capital has really helped the company to market its product and great awareness of our products. Emmanuel Adiku from Ghana: The seed capital actually helped me to start E-Africa Solutions. The toolkits have also been very helpful in learning from other businesses and also how to guide my business for success learning from the Tony Elumelu experiences. The toolkits also helped me to summarise my thoughts and give little details that will make my business thrive. The toolkit has also helped me to make informed decisions in the selection of staff and how to effectively manage them. Without the toolkit, I guess I will be dumb in business setup and management since I do not have knowledge in business management. Ahmed Abbas, Egypt: The training I received from TEF has helped me understand the basic business concepts to be able to run a business and present it to public. The seed capital we got was the first money that we utilised to build our first prototype that proved the viability and feasibility of our transformative idea. Now we have built over 50 solar panels which provide electricity to farmers in our community. Emmanuel Ntawuyirusha, a manufacturer in Rwanda: Before the trainings and seed capital from TEF, we had the smallest production capacity (9kg per day). We had a few markets (two stable markets). We were not known; we were only known in one sector (Busogo sector of Musanze district, north of Rwandan). Equipment value was about $50 and was inefficient. The building capacity and leadership were low. We didnt have a trading licence. Since receiving the seed capital in 2016, total revenue is now $1290,500.00, we are affecting the lives of children that were victims of malnutrition. Farmers are aware of the yield of our low material (carrots, beetroot, soybean, maize, and sorghum), because they market their yields. TEFConnect Four years on, a major development in the programme is the birthing of TEFConnect, a digital networking platform connecting African entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, on which the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is also hosted. According to TEF, its main objective is to promote intra-African trade and facilitate business beyond physical borders. Also important are its features that will boost the businesses of our entrepreneurs, help them secure funding and business partnerships, as well as create a community for the entrepreneurial ecosystem to thrive. Among its notable features are: Startup Toolkit an intensive business training that has been likened to an MBA Community and Network Pages features that prompt African entrepreneurs, mentors and investors to build their profiles and engage with others for visibility; a library of curated business content. On the future of the programme, Elumelu said recently, When I left UBA as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2010 to pursue other interests, I made a vow that through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, I would institutionalise luck and democratise access to opportunities for young Africans. I promised to leverage the success I have enjoyed, to spread luck and hope, provide opportunities and to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs to succeed. Without luck in my early career, I would not be the man that I am today. I am a leader and philanthropist today because I encountered people who gave me a chance early in my career. It has been a lifetime goal to pay this forward in a transformative and impactful way. | https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/13/what-really-motivates-tony-elumelu-to-lift-african-entrepreneurs/ |
What is the length of lightning bolts? | James Torrinson, Chicago Dear James, The National Lightning Detection Network, or NLDN, operated by the Vaisala Group, measures the lengths of lightning bolts by utilizing a very high-resolution, three-dimensional detection system that records the emission of flashes in the very high-frequency range. The NLDN has been in place since the early 2000s and has generated some astounding information about the length of lightning bolts. Meteorologist Ron Holle, a lightning expert with Vaisala, tells us, The network has measured quite a few flashes over 100 miles long; our current record is 120 miles from a flash that shot from Dallas (Texas) to Ft. Worth. I dont think we would have expected that, but there it is! The National Lightning Detection Network has generated some astounding information about the length of lightning bolts. | https://wgntv.com/2019/01/12/what-is-the-length-of-lightning-bolts/ |
Can Roger Federer and Serena Williams dominate Australian Open 2019? | Also Serena Williams would love to start off the year with another Grand Slam title. On the eve of the Australian Open 2019, we take a look at some of the usual suspects to take the crown. We also take a look at a few dark horses that can make this Australian Open a Grand Slam to remember. We check out the usual suspects first: Roger Federer: The Swiss ace is in better form than his arch rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer would love to start off his 2019 campaign with his 21st Grand Slam Rafael Nadal: After ending the 2018 season early and pulling out of the Brisbane International, Rafael Nadal raised concerns about his participation at the Australian Open 2019. But he shrugged off all rumours by saying, "If I am not feeling good, I will not be here". Serena Williams: Serena Williams is back at the Australia Open for the first time after becoming a mother. 2018 was a mediocre year for the 23-Grand Slam champion, with the most talked about issue being her ugly spat with the chair umpire in the final of the US Open 2018, a match which she lost to Naomi Osaka. We will have to wait and watch. The dark horses consist of a very well known face and a newcomer, a young lady from Belarus and an Englishman in pain. Aryna Sabalenka: After spending 2018 by climbing the global tennis ranks rapidly, Aryna Sabalenka started where she left off after her breakthrough campaign, becoming the first WTA titlist of 2019 by defeating Alison Riske, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in the final in China. Let's see if the feisty girl from Belarus can bring down some big names at the Australian Open. Andy Murray: The former world no. 1 Andy Murray shocked his fans and the entire tennis fraternity recently by stating how he is most likely to retire in the next few months. The English ace is carrying a hip-injury which is giving him immense pain and making it impossible to continue on court. But as they say, a wounded lion always goes for the kill. It will be interesting to watch if Andy Murray can fight through pain and conquer the challenge thrown by the big three, that is Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates | https://www.mid-day.com/articles/can-roger-federer-and-serena-williams-dominate-australian-open-2019/20239154 |
What are the potential health benefits of gene editing? | Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. Last year a Chinese scientist shocked the world by claiming that he had created the worlds first gene-edited babies. Anjana Ahuja talks to Robin Lovell-Badge, a developmental biologist and geneticist, about the controversy and about the potential for gene editing tools such as Crispr-Cas9 to revolutionise the treatment of genetic diseases.This podcast is supported by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. Read more in the FT Health series Future of Research and Development Contributors: Joshua Noble, weekend news editor. Anjana Ahuja, science columnist, and Robin Lovell-Badge, head of the Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at the Francis Crick Institute. Producers: Ruth Lewis-Coste and Fiona Symon | https://www.ft.com/content/4f01edd7-81ae-4aa7-bf25-7188e4c56e4d |
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When is Mothers Day 2019 in the UK? | Show your mum how much you care you can start by getting the date right. (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm) Even though we still have a couple of months left before we get to Mothering Sunday, its never too soon to start planning something nice for your lovely mum. Its better to plan ahead than to panic when were well into the New Year, and you realise that, yet again, youve gotten American Mothers Day confused with Mothers Day in the UK. Heres the UK-specific guide to the British Mothering Sunday. Get the flowers pre-ordered and the bubbly in the fridge folks. Word on the street is chocolate makes a pretty good Mothers Day gift. Mothers Day 2019 is on Sunday, 31 March. Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and exactly three weeks before Easter. Advertisement Advertisement In the UK, this holiday has roots in the church, and was initially completely unrelated to American Mothers day, which falls way later on the 12 May. Flowers probably wouldnt go amiss either. (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) The origins of Mothers Day Mothering Sunday used to be a day where Christians would visit their mother church where they were first baptised. An upshot of this was that when people visited these churches, they often ended up having a visit with their mums at the same time. Nowadays, we like to give the mums and/or motherly figures in our lives cards and gifts on Mothers Day, to show our appreciation for everything theyve done for us. Women reveal horror stories of nightmare mother-in-laws This is at least partly due to influence from the United States and their version of Mothers Day, which began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in a church in Grafton, West Virginia. She initially started campaigning for Mothers Day to be a recognised holiday in 1905, the year her mother Ann died. Ann had been a peace activist and cared for wounded soldiers who fought on both sides of the American Civil War. This was certainly not a task for the faint of heart, considering that the Civil War is thought to be Americas bloodiest conflict to date. Ann also created Mothers Day Work Clubs, which sought to address public health matters. To honour her mothers work and legacy, Anna worked to make Mothers Day a holiday until 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation stating that the second Sunday in May was to be a national holiday for celebrating mothers. Advertisement Advertisement MORE: How to get Mothers Day Flowers delivered on Sunday in the UK MORE: What to write in a Mothers Day card: Messages for your mum Advertisement Advertisement | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/12/when-is-mothers-day-2019-in-the-uk-8336949/ |
When is the Boots 70% off sale 2019? | (Picture: Getty Images) While a number of retailers aim to target people for Black Friday, Boots has something help cure our January Blues. Theres already an up to 50% off sale going on, but in an effort to clear stock from the festive season, theres also a 70% off sale coming this month. Bargain hunters wait for the discounts each year, and after a pattern has emerged over the last few Januaries, we think we might have an idea of when to get your cards at the ready. (Picture: PA Archive) Since Boots havent confirmed the exact start date, we cant be completely sure. However, last year the sale fell on Friday 19th January. The year before that it was Friday 20th January, and the year before that, Wednesday 15th January. Every year before that has been a Wednesday. Therefore, if it isnt the Wednesday coming (16th January), the sale will most probably begin on Friday 18th. Advertisement Advertisement As with previous sales, youll likely see the biggest discounts in store, so get down there to bag the best bargains. Itll most likely be Christmas stock reduced the heaviest, so brands like Soap & Glory, Jack Wills, and Champneys are a great place to start. MORE: Benefits of being ginger (that dont involve being mauled with kisses) MORE: I used to worry what others thought of my stoma but now I share it with the world Advertisement Advertisement | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/12/boots-70-off-sale-2019-8336730/ |
Will Green Book hold up under increased scrutiny? | LOS ANGELES When "Green Book" won three Golden Globes on Sunday, a number of narratives began to take shape: The awards for best comedy or musical, best screenplay and Mahershala Ali's supporting performance were among the biggest surprises of the night, upsetting such supposed front-runners as the multi-nominated "Vice" or "Mary Poppins Returns." What's more, "Green Book" arrived at the ceremony dogged by onscreen and offscreen controversies, including criticism from the family of Ali's character, the pianist Don Shirley, as well as accusations that the film is "divisive," perpetuating racist stereotypes of white saviours and "magical Negroes." The question, as Sunday night turned to Monday morning, when balloting opened for the Academy Awards, was whether those disputes with the film would scuttle its Oscar chances. But, as with most narratives, the conventional wisdom bears some closer scrutiny. On paper, it's a surefire Oscar contender. It took the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, which often augurs well for awards season down the road. It has earned similar honours at nearly every festival it's played, including Middleburg, Virginia, where two sold-out crowds gave it wildly enthusiastic standing ovations. The movie, a warm, upbeat picaresque inspired by the real-life story of Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) and the year he spent driving Shirley through the Deep South in the early 1960s, has performed modestly well in the 1,200 theatres it's opened in since U.S. Thanksgiving. (Now playing in 600 or so theatres, the film arrived in 500 more this weekend, and will continue to expand through Oscar season.) Even more revealing and giving the lie to describing it as "divisive" the film has earned an A-plus CinemaScore, meaning that nearly everyone who sees it, loves it. That goes for industry insiders here in Hollywood. At a viewing party sponsored by a rival studio on Sunday night, a script co-ordinator cheered when the film won best comedy. She loved it, she said. "And my mom loved it. And if my mom loves a movie, it's a great movie." It's precisely that your-mom-will-love-it quality that has made "Green Book" so beloved among its fans: It's that rare movie you can take your kids, parents and grandparents to and have an entertaining, genuinely meaningful experience. But that very approachability has also made the film a target for detractors who take issue with its most nostalgic they would say retrograde qualities. Unlike edgier films that addressed racism this year ("BlacKkKlansman," "Sorry to Bother You"), "Green Book" is a mainstream family film and tells a far more reassuring story of overcoming personal prejudice to find common understanding, akin to similarly-themed movies from decades ago. But "Green Book," which was co-written by Vallelonga's son, Nick, and directed by Peter Farrelly, differs from those predecessors in crucial ways: It isn't a white saviour movie as much as a gentle, utterly conventional buddy comedy and road movie, with both men changing in the end thanks to their improbable friendship. The film is simple and straightforward, but doesn't ignore the story's contradictory power dynamics. And, with audiences at least, it's far from divisive: Rather than appealing only to the self-protective sensibilities of white audiences, as some critics have suggested, "Green Book" is proving popular across populations. (Although far from a scientific sample, in front of Middleburg's audience, which was roughly 30 per cent African-American, it played like gangbusters.) | https://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/9116014-will-green-book-hold-up-under-increased-scrutiny-/ |
Is Joe Jonas telling us he's becoming a dad? | The Jonas Brother-turned-DJ sent fans into a tizzy on July 16, when he posted a photo of his rumored girlfriend Gigi Hadid licking his neck. But, it was his clothing that got everyone confused. In the snap, Joe donned a T-shirt with the word "Daddy" on it. He captioned the image with a simple and mysterious message: "Call me" Many fans, of course, are taking Joe's shirt literally, believing that he and Gigi are expecting a baby. Multiple outlets are saying that it isn't true. The new couple, however, was extra lovey dovey as they noshed on burgers, fries and shakes, and (speaking of shakes) the couple didn't shy away from hitting up the dancefloor at a "Pulp Fiction"-themed dinner. "They were being super-cute and cuddly the whole night," an onlooker tells Us Weekly of the New York party. "They were the first couple to get on the floor and start the dancing for the twist contest." The couple hasn't officially confirmed that they are an item, but Joe's brother has all but signed off on the couple. "So cute," Nick Jonas told E! recently joked about his brother and Gigi, before saying, "I like them together. It's a good thing." He continued gushing about the duo, saying "Joe and I are best friends. We're each other's support system and closest friends, so naturally I'm gonna see a lot of her because they're together and it's great. I'm really happy for them. I think they seem very happy together and it's good." Nick didn't even shy away when asked what he thought about the couple having children. He thinks it would be great, "if it happens in good time." Maybe the "Daddy" T-shirt is so far off base, after all. | https://www.wonderwall.com/entertainment/is-joe-jonas-telling-us-hes-becoming-a-dad-1879357.article |
Are Third Parties the Future for Seattle Politics? | Image: Shutterstock By faestock Election day will likely favor Seattles Democratic candidates, but all that blue doesnt mean what it used to. The party no longer holds the progressive cred it once did, and that could have consequences of the third-party kind. Take the Seattle City Councils recent about-face on a measure with progressive bona fides. In June 2018 it repealed a controversial head taxaffecting the citys largest corporations and estimated to bring in tens of millions a year for affordable housingless than a month after they unanimously passed it. A repeal campaign from businesses and public perception, the citys elected officials said, forced their hand. For some, the cowing to big business is confirmation that despite Seattles liberal reputation, its city council ultimately still caters to corporations over the public. Shaun Scott, an organizer for Democratic Socialists of America, argues Seattle has always had an undercurrent of conservative tendencies on issues like taxes and affordable housing. That same undercurrent could prompt some residents to start voting for third-party candidates. Third parties sort of speak to a level of aspiration...for something different than and better than what weve inherited, Scott says. Speaking on the dais the day of the head tax repeal vote, socialist council member Kshama SawantSeattles third-party success storysaid that for years, the Democrats have capitulated to big businesses and Republicans. Are we going to engage in this failed strategy, Sawant said, of continuing to put our faith in politicians of the Democratic Party, however well meaning they say they might be? Sawants election foreshadowed Seattles shift to the far left. President Donald Trumps election only further galvanized a liberal voter base. Then, in August 2017, Seattle Peoples Party candidate Nikkita Oliver came in third in the race for Seattle mayor, yet another specter of a more progressive citywide tilt. But heres the thing: Democrats know they have a problem. And since the 2016 election, the party has begun meeting that far-left base. This summer U.S. representative Pramila Jayapal from Seattle cosponsored a bill to shutter Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The call to abolish ICE had long been but a radical idea from far-left immigration activists, but the Democratic Party finally adopted the issue. Its just one example of how Dems are swerving further left to meet the voters where they are. In the Ninth Congressional District, which includes eastern parts of Seattle like Beacon Hill, both candidates who made it through the primary were Democratsthe challenger more liberal than the incumbent. Teresa Mosqueda, the newly elected Democratic council member, also voted no. And thats how the Democratic Party can sustain itself, says Marco Lowe, a political science professor at Seattle University. It can pivot to meet local voters of the left without having to go very far. There are absolutely organizations that dont change when they need to, Lowe says, and fade away. The partys flexibility in adjusting to local voters political will ultimately gives Democrats a better chance at survival. | https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2018/10/16/are-third-parties-the-future-for-seattle-politics |
Why Is Amazon Going Crazy with Brick-and-Mortar? | I pick up a turkey and cheddar sandwich and carry it around the convenience store. I put it back. The cameras, presumably, note the change. Im at the new Amazon Go location at Fifth and Marion, now one of three in the city. Cameras track what you take with you when you leave the store and log your purchase, no lines or scanners. I pick up a pesto roast beef on brioche and leave, trusting checkout to the tech. After spending over 20 years defining online retail, Amazon has moved swiftly into brick and mortar. Amazon Books opened in late 2015. Last year, the company bought Whole Foods. In August, Amazon was in the running to buy Landmark Theatres, a national chain of over 5o indie theaters, including Seattles Guild 45th and Crest Cinema Center. Books, convenience stores, art-house theaterseven Whole Foods controls just 1.2 percent of the national grocery market. Amazon declined to comment, but University of Washington associate professor of management Emily Cox Pahnke thinks the simplest answer is that while Amazon dominates online retail (nearly half that market), the company wants in on the 90 percent of shopping still done in stores. Shipping, say, a single cold soda sounds fiscally insane, but at a physical store its a high-profit sale. As for books, Cox Pahnke points to research by Harvard assistant professor Ryan Raffaelli: After the number of independent bookstores plummeted 43 percent from 1995 to 2000, they rose 35 percent between 2009 and 2015. Raffaelli attributes this return to a continued need for personalization. Stores, says Cox Pahnke, become another avenue for Amazon to engage with customers. In a 2016 interview at the Wharton School, real estate investor Dean Adler argued that sales, online and in-store, is now about controlling, or owning, the customer. It used to be location, location, location Now you see that being deemphasized into customer, customer, customer. One way to capture these customers, he noted, is to create a consistent presentation across virtual and physical realms. At Amazon Books and Amazon Go, the website interface manifests in the physical realm thanks to cover-out book displays, bargains for Prime customers, five-star ratings posted on the shelves, and crowdsourced reviews. As on the website, the line between thought and purchase all but vanishes. At Amazon Go, 1-Click Ordering becomes Grab and Go. Online and physical spaces echoing each other might also humanize the virtual company. Authenticity is right in the names and the artisanal auras of Whole Foods and Landmark Theatres. Of course, under Amazons rule, the reverse is true: These brick-and-mortar stores become more algorithmic than your standard corner shop. At the downtown Amazon Go, the app correctly charged me for the roast beef sandwich, not for the turkey I put back. Its cool and a little creepy to know that, much as clicks have long been logged online, my every physical movement is registered. | https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2018/10/16/why-is-amazon-going-crazy-with-brick-and-mortar |
Should Taxpayers Fund Sports Stadiums? | The stadium funding racket is an example of whats broken in politics. Its the poster child for a broken political system where these elected officials cater to wealthy business owners. Dave Upthegrove, King County council member Its obviously a successful model that has worked very well over the years. [Theyre] publicly owned facilitiesand a small investment on the part of taxpayers. Rebecca Hale, spokesperson for the Seattle Mariners Its a good use of taxpayer dollars if the stadiums benefits are greater than those tax benefits. The problem is, its tough to quantify those benefits. Many of the most powerful benefits of professional sports are both intangible and invaluable. Justin Marlowe, University of Washington professor of public finance and civic engagement | https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2018/10/16/should-taxpayers-fund-sports-stadiums |
Will it be Nikhil from Mandya? | K Shiva Kumar By Express News Service MYSURU: With the JD(S) clearing the decks for Prajwal Revanna to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Hassan, and party patriarch H D Deve Gowda planning to enter the fray from Bengaluru North constituency, local party leaders have started lobbying for Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamys son Nikhil to take the plunge from Mandya. The JD(S) has a strong presence in Mandya, winning the seat in 2014 and the bypoll in 2018, besides sweeping all the eight constituencies in the assembly elections last year.Nikhil recently called on the kin of farmers who committed suicide, sparking speculation. Though sitting MP L R Shivarame Gowda is likely to throw his hat in the ring and may prevail on Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, the Mandya ZP chief and other leaders have come out in the open and extended an invite to Nikhil. This has put the MP and other aspirants in a fix as they cannot air their views or speak against such a proposal. A group of local leaders has claimed that the people of Mandya have reposed faith in Deve Gowdas family, which has continued to fight for Cauvery, the lifeline of Mandya. | http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2019/jan/12/will-it-be-nikhil-from-mandya-1924108.html |
Can insect pet food slash canines' carbon paw print? | Now one British company is offering a solution feed your pooch insects instead. It launched a dry dog food on Thursday made from black soldier fly larvae in a bid to tackle the carbon paw print created by pets in the animal-loving nation. One of the very best things we can do for the environment is to reduce our meat consumption, but up until now there havent been many options for our carnivorous four-legged friends, said Tom Neish, the brains behind Yora dog food. There are nearly 9 million dogs in Britain, where almost half of adults own a pet, according to the PDSA veterinary charity. Studies suggest pets consume about a fifth of the worlds meat and fish, and a dogs carbon footprint is more than twice that of a four-wheel drive car, according to Yora. Compared to beef farming, it said the grubs need just 2 percent of the land and 4 percent of the water to produce each kilogram of protein, which means they generate 96 percent less greenhouse emissions. The grubs are grown on vegetable waste at a Dutch farm and the left over matter provides fertilizer for crops. Neish said a teaspoon of fly eggs could create 100 kg of high-protein larvae in 14 days. Its an amazing nutrient cycle that has been underutilized, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Insects have been part of the food cycle since the beginning of time, but we just havent been tapping into it. Vet Rory Cowlam, who stars in the BBC TV show The Pets Factor, predicted other pet food companies would follow suit. Insect protein is a really sustainable way of producing protein, he added. I think its really exciting and Im sure were going to see a huge trend now. Yora is named after one of the last uncontacted tribes in the Amazon rainforest, which is threatened by the rising demand for farmland to meet the worlds booming appetite for meat. But Neish, who is developing a similar food for cats, admitted it could be a challenge to persuade the public to get over the ick factor. Once you overcome your preconceptions its actually quite tasty, he added. It has a slightly mushroomy flavor. Ive tasted quite a few insects in my trials because I dont think I should feed a dog anything I wouldnt eat myself. | https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1693043&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+%28The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories%29 |
How can I get child support if the father is dead? | Eighteen years ago, I had a child out of wedlock. The father, who I will call Joe, and I were both young. He was never really involved but did give me money, $2,000 per month and extra when I asked. He also always sent birthday and Christmas gifts. We had always talked about equally sharing her college expenses when the time came. Joe married two years ago and last year had a baby with his wife. She has always resented the money he sent me, and when their child was born, she insisted he stop supporting our daughter. She is applying to college and I need that money even more now. After much deliberation, I filed a paternity complaint to get a child support order. He requested a paternity test and, as I understand it, went forward with the testing. I have not seen the test results but I know he is the father Joe was my first and only boyfriend back then. Last week, Joe was killed in a car crash. His wife immediately filed a death certificate and motion to dismiss my complaint. There is a hearing scheduled in two weeks and I am worried. While the death of a party terminates a pending divorce, that is not necessarily true of either an annulment or paternity action. In the instance of an annulment, a spouse who is deemed not to be a spouse would not be able to inherit if never married. And for a paternity action, if the test confirms paternity, the child should be entitled to make a claim under the decedents estate. Child support does not end on the death of the obligor. Ask the judge to wait for the lab results and, assuming paternity is established, to then deny the motion to dismiss. Tell the judge of your intention to conduct discovery into Joes estate so you can then ask for child support and college contributions from his estate. It may be Joe had a will that includes your child. If your child is not specifically excluded from the will, even if she is not named, she will fall under the catchall definition of child of the deceased and thus be entitled to make a claim. If the judge seems inclined to allow the motion to dismiss, ask the judge to stay the case and report the issue to the appeals court for determination rather than just dismiss the case. Remind the judge that Rule 64 permits a reservation and report and if you are required to file a full appeal, it might give the wife time to protect Joes assets from creditors such as your daughter, thus quashing her college dreams. | https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/01/13/wendy-4/ |
Do Electric Car Credits Generally Benefit The Wealthy? | 1 H BY WADE MALONE The author also incorrectly states that electric vehicles are no cleaner than diesel. Colter Devries, opinion contributor to The Hill, recently penned a piece attacking the federal EV tax credit, and the environmental benefits of driving electric. Of course, because that was not enough, he also felt the need to turn his frustration toward West Coast elites and corporate conglomerates. As expected, there are many important points that the author is either unaware of or is deliberately withholding. First off is Devries claim that the tax credit is just a special interest cash grab: Over the last two years, the Republican Congress has secured provisions that are expanding and growing our national economy better than ever before. However, a proposed expansion on a special interest provision could disrupt our fiscal progress and threaten the free market. We need to extinguish the notion that our government will keep handing out dollars to pad the pockets of West Coast elites and stand behind the backbone of the American way of life. The federal government is not handing out dollars to special interest groups. Instead, it is allowing Americans to keep more of the taxable income they earned. The idea that reducing the tax burden of Americans is a negative runs counter to the authors praise for congressional Republicans. The tax credit allows more Americans to make the transition to electric vehicles. Secondly, Devries floats the idea that only the very wealthy benefit from the tax credit: In fact, the majority of credits are claimed by those earning at least $100,000 annually. This is incredibly misleading. The author cites a study by the Congressional Research Service. This states that in 2016, 57,066 individual taxpayers claimed $375 million in plug-in vehicle tax credits. Of these filers, 78% have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more. However, InsideEVs estimates that 158,614 plug-in vehicles were sold in 2016. This is because the vast majority of electric vehicles in 2016 were leased. In this situation, leasing companies claim the $7,500 tax credit. The tax credit is then almost always applied directly or indirectly to reduce monthly lease payments. As a result, lease rates are typically in the same ballpark (or lower) than equivalent ICE vehicle leases. This is appealing to many middle class buyers for a variety of reasons. The buyer is able to see an immediate reduction in their monthly payment rather than waiting until tax filing season to receive a full or partial tax credit. Secondly, EV tech is rapidly improving. Leasing allows buyers to drive for 3 or 4 years, then move on to the next generation of electrics. When the vehicle is turned in at the end of a lease, the car hits the used market at a reduced price. Because a used electric car is no longer eligible for the $7,500 tax credit, dealers price it factoring in the full credit. Otherwise, purchasing new would be more cost effective over used. Because of this, middle class and lower middle class buyers can affordably finance a used EV or PHEV. It is not simply the wealthy who benefit. Electric vehicles are in fact cleaner than diesels. Lastly, the author claims that electric vehicles are no cleaner than diesels but is proven false by his own source: Global warming potential benefits are typically only 9-14-percent better than gasoline vehicles, about the same as diesel. Most electricity used to fuel EVs are generated by coal, and likely may not even reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In order to make this claim, the author sources research published in 2012. The quoted 9% 14% global warming potential (GWP) benefit assumes a mere 100,000 km (62,137 miles) vehicle lifetime. The same study suggests that a vehicle lifetime of 200,000 km (124,274 miles) results in a GWP benefit of 27% to 29% relative to gasoline and 17% to 20% to diesel. A modern electric such as the Chevy Bolt EV or the Tesla Model 3 should well exceed 100,000 miles. The analysis takes into account electricity source, use phase energy consumption, vehicle lifetime, and battery replacement schedules as well as increased consumption for the production of EVs compared to traditional ICE vehicles. Energy usage was based on present European electricity mix circa 2012. This factor has drastically changed over the past 6 years. While Mr Devries says most electricity is generated by coal, this is not the case in the United States. Nations are leaving coal for natural gas and renewable energy sources. Coal makes up a tiny fraction of production in California and New York. Even in Texas, wind has now surpassed coal in generating capacity. All three states topped new EV registrations in the U.S. last year. But no matter where you live in the U.S., our electric grid is getting cleaner every year. Despite naysayers, the economic and environmental benefits of electric vehicles are clear. Hopefully soon, we can soon put these debates behind us. Source: The Hill | https://insideevs.com/the-hill-contributor-claims-electric-car-tax-credits-benefit-the-elite/ |
What's the drink of choice in Rocky? | Park Avenue Hotel Duty Manager Philip Doyle with a bottle of Jack Daniels that was bought in a barrel and labelled as the "Park Avenue Hotel Motel batch. It was popular over Christmas. Park Avenue Hotel Duty Manager Philip Doyle with a bottle of Jack Daniels that was bought in a barrel and labelled as the "Park Avenue Hotel Motel batch. It was popular over Christmas. Jann Houley ROCKHAMPTON locals drank plenty of Great Northern, XXXX Gold and wines this Christmas and New Year period. One lucky drinker even got to indulge in a limited edition Jack Daniels Frank Sinatra Century Tennessee bottle, valued at $1090. Park Avenue Hotel Motel Duty Manager Philip Doyle said while their liquor barn saw around the same amount of customers as per previous years, it seemed people spent a bit more money. Over Christmas the popular items included the regular beers and their own cleanskin gold. "We buy it in 11-12 pallets at a time and it last around 11 weeks... it flies out the door, he said. It's hard to say if XXXX Gold or Great Northern is more popular. "It's on par .... I do think XXXX is embedded with a lot of people, he said. The Liquor Barn has a wide selection of wines. Jann Houley Some high end items also sold from the glass cabinet, including plenty of 12 year and 21 year whiskeys, scotches and small batch rums. Wines and champagnes were also bought by the dozens by more of the ladies. Mr Doyle explained the Christmas drinks are very different to what people buy for New Year's. "Christmas is very much wine and cases of beer. New Year's is more of party drinking so your RTDs (ready to drink beverages), he said. Baffle Creek beer, made and brewed near Anges Water, for sale at Park Avenue Hotel Motel's Liquor Barn. Jann Houley A lot of the younger crowd like drinking RTDs and Vodka Cruisers are always popular. A new drink, Gordon's pink gin, is also gaining traction. Whiskey-based drinks like Canadian Club are also making a comeback. Craft and foreign beers are a growing trend. The PA is also the only store in Rockhampton to stock the natural beer brewed and bottled in Baffle Creek, near Agnes Water. "More people are willing to try them... a lot of people are going abroad and wanting to try them at home, Mr Doyle said. All in all, business is going well. "We still have a good loyal following despite competition... it's a good catchment area so were holding our own, he said. | https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/whats-the-drink-of-choice-in-rocky/3621438/ |
How can I reduce the heavy workload in spring on my dairy farm? | With the expanding dairy herd, the labour associated with calving a large number of cows over a short period of time is fast approaching for many dairy farmers. Who could forget the workload on dairy farms last year, as storms and snow played havoc with the day-to-day running of farms. However, if current weather conditions remain, life will be that little bit easier during this busy period. Saying that, with the push for efficiency, many farmers have targeted calving 90% of their cows in just six weeks. Alongside this comes the pressures of milking for the first time in 2019 and hopefully pushing to get cows out to grass. However, there are a number of ways that dairy farmers can use to relieve some of the pressures at this difficult time of the year. These include: feeding silage at night; once-a-day calf feeding; the outdoor rearing of calves; once-a-day milking in early lactation; and shortening the milking interval. Feeding silage at night Research from Teagasc Moorepark has shown that restricting silage feeding time during the day resulted in less night calvings, compared to allowing cows full daily access. According to Teagasc, this practice reduced the number of cows calving between 12:00am-06:00am from 25% to 10-15%. To limit feeding time: Allow adequate silage feeding space (0.6m/cow); Put silage at the feed barrier during the day (avoids machinery work at night); Use lockable headgates (where available) to keep cows back from silage and open at the designated time in the evening. Once-a-day feeding According to Teagasc, no differences in calf performance or health were observed between calves fed once or twice a day in trials carried out in Moorepark. However, there was less time spent with calves fed once a day (OAD) and a 36% overall saving in total calf care time was achieved. But, if feeding milk OAD, calves still need to be checked thoroughly twice a day. Rearing calves outdoors Given the expansion that has occurred on many farms, some farmers may find that they are short of space next spring. Advertisement A simple solution to this may be to turn calves out earlier than normal and with current weather conditions this is definitely an option. Experiments at Moorepark have determined that calves turned out at four-to-five weeks could be reared without compromising weight gain and vitality, compared to calves reared indoors during the milk feeding period. Outdoor rearing tips: Select a dry, sheltered paddock near the farmyard; Provide a temporary shelter. Ideally, this should be portable. Have a suitable method of feeding calves and transporting feed to the paddock; Provide a trough for concentrate and fresh water at all times; Try not to use the same field each year to minimise parasite build up; Give calves a new section of grass every four-to-five days. Once-a-day milking To minimise labour demand in February and March, some farmers may opt for once-a-day (OAD) milking for a few weeks during the peak calving period. OAD milking has been shown to reduce the labour requirement, while only having a minimal impact on annual milk production. Its a great option to reduce labour during the peak work weeks; especially with compact-calving herds or where there a large number of rows of cows to be milked. Milking interval A discussion group survey carried out by Teagasc last year found that the average start time for evening milking was 5:15pm. However, the most labour-efficient farmers were found to start milking at 4:20pm. According to Teagasc, a concern some farmers have about starting milking earlier is that it will affect milk yield. | https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/how-can-i-reduce-the-heavy-workload-in-spring-on-my-dairy-farm/ |
Did Devin McCourty's text convince Bill Belichick to sign brother Jason? | originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com Looking back, it almost seemed inevitable. Scroll to continue with content Ad Devin McCourty was an essential cog in the New England Patriots' defense, but the team still needed secondary help entering the 2018 season. McCourty's twin brother, Jason, was in the final year of his contract on a rebuilding Cleveland Browns team that probably wasn't going to re-sign him. Last March, the exact thought occurred to Devin -- who then did something about it. In an article published Friday for The Players' Tribune, Jason explained how Devin straight-up texted head coach Bill Belichick to suggest the idea of trading for Jason. "Coach!!! Two McCourtys are better than one," Devin texted Belichick, according to Jason. Belichick didn't text back. But 45 minutes later, Jason says, Devin got a phone call from the Patriots coach with some good news. "Right after they spoke, Dev FaceTime'd me. 'I wanted to be the one to break the news to you. So, get ready. We're about to trade for you.' " Sure enough, the Patriots sent a 2018 sixth-round pick to Cleveland on March 15 in exchange for Jason and a seventh-rounder. Belichick may have been eyeing Jason before Devin texted him, but we'd like to think the legendary coach simply saw Devin's text, said, 'Sure, why not?' and pulled the trigger. Jason's full article is worth the read, as he also shares a humorous moment he and his identical twin brother shared with Belichick at training camp. Story continues We were out there doing drills and Bill called us both over, super serious. When we got to him, he looked at both of us back and forth a couple of times and said, "Do you guys have to wear the same f***ing sleeves?" You asked for two McCourtys, Bill. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device. | https://sports.yahoo.com/did-devin-mccourtys-text-convince-135236882.html?src=rss |
Will the countrys leading life coaches help me raise my game? | For years, Sophie Heawood has procrastinated horribly. Here she puts her trust in the life lessons of brutal billionaires and heartfelt hippies to see if she can get back on track They say you shouldnt judge a book by its cover, but I feel quite able to judge the life coach Michael Serwa by all the books on display in his living room, especially since his Mayfair penthouse appears to be entirely empty otherwise. While he makes us tea I glance at a shelf of titles by beefy, ambitious men such as Richard Branson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elon Musk and, er, Alastair Campbell. Three minutes in the company of the man who describes himself as the UKs highest-paid personal coach, and I already feel certain that millionaires and masculinity are what hes all about. Which is worrying, because Ive come here to sort my life out, and Im not sure that he can really do it for me. Im a freelance writer who has held on to a journalism career despite being terrible at deadlines. Im someone who started three university degrees and only finished one and that was by the skin of my teeth due to the absolute chaos with which I have always sabotaged my own proceedings. Yet I have also managed to work passionately on the things I love, in my own way, and am currently writing a book. But the thing is, Ive been writing this book for some time now, and finishing the manuscript still feels as distant as Mars, and the clock is ticking. Im so tired of messing things up. Michael listens, he nods. And then he gives his diagnosis: Talent, in itself, he announces, is completely fucking useless. Well, he has a point there. When you add some discipline to it, thats when talent can make you great, he continues. He goes on to explain calmly that the difference between talent and success is simply accountability, and because my publishers have left me to get on with the book by myself, I dont have any. He adds that, given Im also a single mother, something he doesnt have much experience of, I might be expecting a certain level of compassion from him. But he questions whether compassion gets the job done. All that empathy: Ahh dont worry about it. No, I want you to worry about it, because youre wasting your fucking time. I want you to worry, says Michael, because you are wasting your time So far so brutal, at least on paper. In the flesh, though, Michael is really quite funny. There is a twinkle in his eyes throughout it all, and I begin to feel strangely moved by his caring about my wasted life. He comes from a family of professionals in Poland where he shocked everyone by dropping out of high school. After moving to London he worked in high-end fashion retail for years, on the shop floor, perfecting his English, before becoming a coach (and being able to support his family in Poland). He likens himself to a Polish builder who doesnt care what day or time it is he will simply get the job done. He understands your fears then works through your doubts, writing them up on a whiteboard as you confess them before turning them all around and convincing you to JFDI: Just Fucking Do It. Hes a night-owl, and stays up late then rises at 9am. It works for him. Theres no set way to do any of this, he says. The thing is, I tell him, Ive been trying to JFDI for years, sometimes to a heartbreaking degree. I really do care, deeply, and worry, deeply, about all this stuff. I stay up all night trying to finish things. I lose sleep. I read so many other books, thinking I should pay attention to everyone elses writing, too, and I have ideas for films when I watch films, and I write those ideas down in detail and then Im not sure what happens after that. And I cant bear ruining my editors days, and yet I do it repeatedly, distractedly. Again, Michael listens patiently, and then cuts through it all. Theres no drama, no blame. You need to switch from being a consumer, he says, to being a producer. Facebook Twitter Pinterest With this information, I am freed. Theres no secret to happiness! No unicorns, no magic you simply replace your wishbone with a backbone, bit by bit: Sophie Heawood. Photograph: Pal Hansen for the Observer We come up with a long list of positive reasons to finish this book: honouring the commitment to my publishers, being able to buy a house and raise my professional profile. I ask, sheepishly, if its all right to have an unhealthy reason, too, such as really wanting to fuck off certain people from my past. Fucking them off, he says calmly, is my entire purpose! Michael then brings out a list of about 20 aspects of life health, sex, friendships, home, leisure, etc and says I must give each a mark out of 10. No discussion, just a number. The last question is about my overall happiness and off the top of my head I give it a 6. I knew you were going to say 6, he replies. Because thats the average of all your other marks. People come in here every day and ask me what the secret of happiness is well there isnt one. Its simply the total of all those other areas of your life. So if you want to bring your happiness up to, say, an 8 or 9, you do it by raising all those other things up. And with this information, I am freed. Theres no secret to happiness! No unicorns, no magic you simply replace your wishbone with a backbone, bit by bit. We agree that I will start writing the book in shorter bursts, three hours per day, divided into two 90-minute sessions, starting at a specific time. He feels Ive been spending too long on it, and my mind has wandered. So I go through my diary marking these hours in as an actual daily appointment, checking for prior engagements that might interfere. I start to feel like the Velveteen Rabbit, that childrens book character who comes into consciousness only through the attention of others. This is real. I am real! On my way home I walk more proudly than usual. The guilt dissipates. The city feels full of opportunities; the expensive houses dont make me feel bad. At bedtime, the gnawing fear that usually accompanies my journey into sleep seems to be shifting. Two weeks later I return to Michaels flat, delighted to report that Ive sent a chunk of new chapters to my agent and publisher and that everyone is excited. Michael has been texting me every single day when my time is up to ask my word count and, even though Ive dodged him a couple of times and been distracted by a friends funeral, he hasnt given up and neither have I. God, the trust you can develop in yourself. Its like having a friend inside your own head. There is one day when I really feel I cant write anything at all, that everything is pointless, that my work is a disgusting joke. A quick voice message from Michael later and I end up writing for a couple of hours in bed that night, newly determined not to go to sleep without producing. From a place of disgust, this chapter turns out to be one of my favourite things Ive written. Another two weeks pass, more chapters, another meeting. Michael feels like a friend now. We laugh a lot. It seems I have gone from despising a business-like, corporate vibe to appreciating its fierce beauty. The book is more than halfway there! The thought that there will come a day, probably soon, when it will not be Michael Serwas job to cheer for me on a daily basis is sad. But I guess we all have to grow up at some point. Facebook Twitter Pinterest He tends to work with corporate CEOs. Could he help me?: Sophie Heawood with life coach Michael Serwa on the roof of his Mayfair penthouse. Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the Observer Coming from a background of coaching high-flying CEOs, he says hes used to working with a fear of failure. Fear of success, though, he says, smiling at me as if regarding a curious new exhibit, is a new one. He finds it interesting that I have dedicated so much of my journalism career to interviewing the famous, because I dont think you would spend so much time around wealthy celebrities if there wasnt something in their lives that resonated with you personally. Hmmm, I think. Mmmmm, I think. This might explain why, for my other part of the sorting-my-life-out plan, I have chosen to visit Lynne Franks in her new holistic retreat in the small town of Wincanton, Somerset. Lynne ran a highly successful PR agency in 1980s London, representing some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment, but has long since moved into womens development, and consulting on sustainable entrepreneurialism. Now, she wants to use her lifelong interest in healing to help others refocus their lives, and is as passionate about working with schoolgirls and shopkeepers as with her fabulous friends. Your heart is open to love, Lynne tells me. You just have to choose it Because, of course, she is still best-known for being the inspiration behind Absolutely Fabulous, and if Edina Monsoon is an image she wants to leave behind, she isnt entirely managing. I say this because at 8am, the morning after my arrival, Lynne gets me doing Buddhist chanting in front of her shrine, only she has to break off from the ferocious pace of her Sanskrit recital to take a call from a makeup artist who is outside the front door trying to get in, but Lynne is fed up because Mercury is retrograde and everyones turning up at the wrong time, so she gets rid of the makeup artist and goes back to her chanting, and to be fair, its my fault shes annoyed, because I found the alpaca duvet she gave me so insanely comfortable that I slept right through my alarm and was late to the shrine. I never recognised myself in Ab Fab, she will say later, as the feathers in her hair waft slowly in the breeze. Still, nobody said that setting up a centre of relaxation was in itself an act of relaxation. Lynne is now 70, which I find hard to believe, as she is an absolute titan, constantly making tea, cooking, washing up, organising builders and discussing the state of the world and our souls with the team of alternative healers she has brought together, for when Hub at No 3 officially opens in February. Since selling her PR agency she has worked in rural African villages and with women leaders in Kazakhstan, and written several books about women running businesses. Im in awe of her work ethic and feel slightly ridiculous talking about my problems, but that is why I am here. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The big knotty journey of my life appears and all the things that ever made me feel sad make me feel proud: Sophie Heawood. Photograph: Pal Hansen for the Observer She is firm but fair, and says she doesnt believe have a problem not finishing things, that this is just a story Ive been telling myself. As for love we have moved on to relationships she doesnt really believe that I have any problems there either, despite every single sign to the contrary. Your heart is open to love. You just have to choose it, she says. Lynne is divorced but not without company, and what I am thinking of choosing, specifically, is to copy the layout of her house, where she has one bedroom for sleeping and one for sex. Leave London and you could afford that extra bedroom, too, she points out cheerily. So if I ever tell you Ive moved to the countryside for my daughter to get more fresh air, youll know exactly what Im talking about. Lynne wants me to try her treatments, so I greedily take them all. First a massage, with a zapping device invented by the Soviets to clear blockages in their astronauts. The masseur, Gordon John Hughes, is also a psychic, so takes my mind off the weird Russian tingling by telling me all about my familys trauma. Something happened to your father when he was three, he intuits from the knots in my back, and he has never got over it. I weigh this up, decide it could actually be true, and feel rather sad but not to worry, he now wants to talk about my sister, and I dont have one, so thats easier to dismiss. Did your mother lose a child? he continues. Well, yes she did, as it goes. So you do have a sister! he says proudly. Shes there, in the spirit world. Oh. After two and a half hours of this I feel very, very awake. So I check my phone, where there is a text from Michael, whom I have forgotten to tell that Im going on retreat. Are you producing? he asks. No, I want to text back, Im communing with my dead sister in Somerset, but I suspect he might not be the target demographic for such news. Facebook Twitter Pinterest When the glitter pens come out I say a firm no. But I find myself completely engrossed in my collage: Sophie with heartfelt hippy Lynne Franks. Photograph: Sam Pelly for the Observer Over the next two days I have a flower essences session with Saskia Marjoram, who holds a pendulum over her floral potions, a natural health consultation from Clive de Carle who believes we could all cheer up by taking magnesium, and an astrological reading from John Wadsworth, author of Your Zodiac Soul. When Lynne sets me up with a pile of old magazines to make a collage, I reach my limit. She wants us to listen to inspirational music, then create a vision board, finding pictures and words that resonate with my dream life, my future goals. When the glitter pens come out I say a firm no I have a seven-year-old daughter and if my life needs a transformational journey, it is to a world in which there are no glitter pens. I do not want to do this tonight. It is strange, then, that long after Lynne has gone to bed, I am still there, completely engrossed in my collage. Its ridiculous I cant stop doing it. Somehow, not only have I cut up Vanity Fair and Grazia to find headlines that relate to my future: Bestselling Novelist and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy TV Series, and Warm Addictive Drama thats my writing, not my love life but unlikely words from my past have also popped up. My beloved grandparents village in Devon, the town where my daughter was conceived, even my school. I cut out all these place names and stick them on to the trunk of a big knotty tree, and the big knotty journey of my life appears. I look at it, and all the things that ever made me feel wistful and sad and unfinished start to make me feel proud. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Unlikely words pop up. My grandparents village, the town my daughter was conceived: Sophies collage proves more insightful than she imagined it would be. Photograph: Sam Pelly for the Observer The next day, Lynne is very impressed with my collage. I tell her I cant understand how I got so gripped and focused on it. Do you not remember taking Saskias floral essence for procrastination beforehand? she says, her eyes twinkling. Oh my God. No. It is at this point that I notice that the kitchen doormat says A Witch Lives Here on it, and I read it aloud. Well, she does, says Lynne proudly. Unexpectedly, the final part of my healing then appears. It is the missing link. Do you know who youve reminded me of the whole time youve been here? asks Lynne. Dawn French! You sound like her, you have the same sense of humour you even look a bit like her. This means everything to me, because I grew up believing Dawn French was actual God my work on Earth is done. You were better at the chanting than her, though, Lynne continues. At least you tried to learn the Lotus Sutra. When I worked with her and Jennifer Saunders I got them to sit at the shrine with me, but they wouldnt do it in Sanskrit. They just chanted Frenchandsaundersfrenchandsaunders repeatedly. Back in London, I stick my collage on my bedroom wall. Ive made peace with it all. But I have other work to do and struggle to get back into writing the book. I anticipate a bollocking from Michael, but in fact he simply tells me to do one single hours writing. This advice saves me again. A week later, I print out all the old and new chapters of my book, having found the thread that weaves them all together, the pulse that runs right through it, and I realise it is finally done. I could cry. I do cry. The life lessons of heartfelt hippies and brutal billionaires both had something to offer, it transpires. Im cured of chaos. * For now. *This piece was filed one week after deadline Coaching with Michael Serwa costs from 3,000 (michaelserwa.com). Overnight stays at Lynne Franks Hub at No 3 from 85, exclusive of treatments (hubatno3.com) | https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/jan/13/will-the-countrys-leading-life-coaches-help-me-raise-my-game |
Can Persimmon start building a better reputation? | When the racehorse Persimmon retired in 1897, the future Edward VIIs brilliant thoroughbred was packed off to Sandringham with his stud fee set at 300 guineas a pop. Thats about 40,000 a try in todays money, which instinctively feels like decent work if you can get it. That is, of course, until your thoughts turn to the nags corporate namesake the housebuilder Persimmon where City wags reckon former chief executive Jeff Fairburn trousered 75m for performing a similar job on the firms reputation. Fairburn, of course, spent much of 2018 trotting out optimistic defences for his grotesque pay packet, with one of his better cracks being an insistence that the figure was in line with accepted practice. That was quite an ambitious line to deliver with a straight face and became more so when chairman Nicholas Wrigley, plus the chair of Persimmons remuneration committee, Jonathan Davie, both quit over the scandal. Fairburn was then left to limp on, courageously doing a runner of his own from a BBC Look North interviewer, which in turn seemed to hasten the executives own retirement. Which brings us to this week and the Persimmon trading statement the first since the former chief exec was forced out in November and the first in more than a year that wont be about Fairburns package. As analysts at the online stockbrokers The Share Centre put it: The media focus will now shift to the groups performance rather than its previous CEOs pay packet. The shares have been lifted at the start of 2019 as peer Taylor Wimpey reported a relatively positive update for the year ending 2018 while the outlook for 2019 remained resilient despite the political and macroeconomic backdrop. Investors will ... be on the lookout for comments on the potential impact of Brexit and whether the costs of labour and materials are heading higher. Certainly Persimmon will be hoping that this could be the moment when the whiff of Fairburn is finally scrubbed from the company stables, and history suggests that there are worse points in the calendar to attempt that trick. This weeks statement happens to be scheduled at a traditionally propitious time of year for housebuilders with the first quarter often proving to be a period when the sector is seen as being in decent fettle. Shares in housebuilders tend to rise between January and March, when the news flow is skewed towards the all-important spring selling season. That, in turn, focuses investors attention, and the companies seem to be able to find buyers for both houses and shares. For four out of the past five years, shares in Persimmon have risen between January and March. Admittedly, last year was the exception, and maybe right now is not the time to be confidently applying long-term trends. Still, if you have to start rebuilding Persimmons public image in the middle of a national maelstrom, then you might as well do it in January, particularly as the Brexit downside is known and partly priced in. A note looking at the sectors prospects for 2019, published by financial services firm Canaccord Genuity in December, stated: The sector appears to be broadly pricing in a 5% fall in house prices and a 10% fall in volumes, and if the actual outcome for 2019 is at or close to current consensus expectations, we would expect a sharp value rally. Translating from the jargon into English, that means: if Brexit isnt that bad, Persimmon might give somebody a big payday. Again. | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/13/persimmon-build-better-reputation-jeff-fairburn |
How to control the trajectory of the ball while playing Golf? | Having learnt how to curve the ball at will the draw/fade and hook/slice let us now look at controlling the trajectory of the ball. That is, learn how to hit it high and low. Hitting it high or low is a matter of understanding that the most important factor altering the height of the shot is the effective loft on the clubface at impact. Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Now lets see how the ball position in relation to the feet effects the loft at impact. Take a 7-iron as an example and see how this works. In picture 1, I have placed the ball in the centre of the feet, while in picture 2, the ball is placed closer in line with the left foot (forward in the stance). In picture 3, the ball is placed closer in line with the right foot (back in the stance). Having the ball opposite the centre of the feet will give me a normal height on the shot, and this is how I will play a standard 7-iron. If I now place the ball forward, I will be making contact with the ball when the clubface is past the bottom of the arc and on the way up. I will now have more effective loft at impact, making the ball fly higher. The exact opposite will happen if I play the ball from the back of the stance. The clubface will be de-lofted at impact, as it is swinging downward when it hits the ball, creating a lower ball flight. The pointer attached to the clubface in the pictures shows the difference. The swing thought when trying to hit the ball higher should be to ensure that the spine angle stays tilted away from the target through impact and the weight stays on the right foot just that little bit longer. When trying to hit the ball lower, you must feel that you are hitting down on the ball with the weight favouring the front foot at impact. Here the spine angle feels more over the ball at impact rather than tilted to the right. I also want to point out that there is a difference in de-lofting the clubface and closing it. De-lofting is simply playing the club with a lower effective loft without changing the angle of the clubface (left or right). De-lofting will make the ball fly lower, while closing the clubface (pointing to the left) will make the ball curve left. Vice versa for hitting it higher and making it curve to the right. Once we have understood how to hit it high and low, try to apply these principles to the draw and the fade, lets now play the high draw, low draw, high fade and low fade. It will be easier to hit the low draw (and high fade), as you are closing the clubface for both hitting it low and drawing the ball (and vice versa). Having a skill set to master the high draw and low fade will tell you how much control you have on these shots. (The author has been a golf professional for over 20 years) First Published: Jan 13, 2019 13:44 IST | https://www.hindustantimes.com/other-sports/how-to-control-the-trajectory-of-the-ball-while-playing-golf/story-MKXC6bl9HuhXIjWP7CUEaI.html |
Is Footsie dividend stalwart Shells dividend under threat? | However, the winds of change are blowing against the company. Oil prices slumped in 2014 and have struggled to recover to previous levels. At the same time, the global The oil major has paid a dividend to investors every year since the end of the Second World War, and thanks to its reliability the company has earned almost legendary status among investors. The term never sell Shell is common around the City of London. Over the past few decades, Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) has earned itself a reputation for being the most reliable dividend stock in the FTSE 100. 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.) Over the past few decades, Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) has earned itself a reputation for being the most reliable dividend stock in the FTSE 100. The oil major has paid a dividend to investors every year since the end of the Second World War, and thanks to its reliability the company has earned almost legendary status among investors. The term never sell Shell is common around the City of London. However, the winds of change are blowing against the company. Oil prices slumped in 2014 and have struggled to recover to previous levels. At the same time, the global shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and cleaner alternatives is gaining traction. Protecting the payout It is no stranger to dividend cut rumours. When the price of oil started sliding in 2014 and the slump carried on into 2016, analysts believed a dividend reduction was inevitable. Management was able to maintain the payout by aggressively cutting costs and selling off non-core assets. These efforts helped profit margins recover and freed up cash to return to investors. Going forward, the company wants to stick to its austerity era plan. Management will only commission deepwater oil projects that break even at $40 a barrel, which should enable the group to stay profitable in all but the most severe oil bear markets. So, it looks as if the business should be able to weather low oil prices, although an extended period of prices below $40/bbl might cause problems. In reality, however, I think this is an improbable scenario. Green growth The shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is more worrying. Several countries around the world, including the UK, have stated that they will ban petrol and diesel cars by 2050, which will hit global demand for refined products. At the same time, investment in renewable energy technologies is exploding, curbing the need for fossil fuels in power generation. For example, last year the capacity of renewable energy exceeded that of fossil fuels for the UK for the first time. Renewable energy now accounts for 30% of the total electricity produced in the UK. While these are significant changes, in reality, I dont think they will have much impact on companies like Shell in the short term. There is still a vast, and growing, demand for fossil fuels around the world and forecasts suggest demand is not going to peak for some time. Nevertheless, if it wants to protect its dividend for the future, Shell needs to invest in green technology and renewable energy. The good news is that Shell has declared an ambition to double the amount it spends on green energy to 3.2bn a year. Although this is only a fraction of the groups overall capital spending, it is a step in the right direction and should help the enterprise prepare for the future. The bottom line Considering all of the above, I dont think the dividend is under immediate threat. However, risks to the payout are growing, and I dont believe the distribution is as invulnerable as it has been in the past. | https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2019/01/13/is-footsie-dividend-stalwart-shells-dividend-under-threat/ |
What is the Arellano Lady Chiefs secret to long-term success? | The NCAA womens volleyball tournament has been shaded by the Arellano Lady Chiefs cloud of dominance over the past four years. Dating back their first championship in 2015, the perennial powerhouse has produced the likes of CJ Rosario, Shirley Salamagos, Jovelyn Prado and Ria Sante who are now playing in local semi-pro leagues. But while their ability to develop talented players is already established, it seems that they are not giving up the throne anytime soon. Bannered by the likes of Nicole Ebuen, Rhea Ramirez and last years Finals MVP Regine Arocha, they are as potent as they were when Arellano dynasty started. The Lady Chiefs are on a 12-game winning streak dating back to February 1, 2018 and they have yet to suffer defeat in NCAA Season 94. Just one win away from an automatic Finals bid, they havent been shy in sharing their goal of running the table during the eliminations. Yes, target namin talaga ang sweep this season at sana makuha namin, said Lady Chiefs head coach Obet Javier. But while players constantly come and go for Coach Javier and the Lady Chiefs, there hasnt been an imposing threat to their commanding run. Coach Javier answered, Right practice lang dapat palagi. Never stop improving. Never stop learning. Even though the San Beda Red Lady Spikers are the only team standing in their quest for a sweep, they are not thinking about the possibility of entering another championship series yet again. As of now, hindi ko pa iniisip yung finals. Ang importante is yun last game against San Beda. The soft spoken mentor didnt give a preferred opponent for the title as well. All teams in the Final Four are contenders, so mahirap sabihin sino, he replied. Completing the sweep has been alluded to by last years Finals MVP Regine Arocha. Yes, sweep talaga ang target namin. Masweep ang eliminations then saka na namin paghahandaan ang finals. As a veteran with numerous commercial league experience, she too added an ingredient to the Lady Chiefs recipe for success. Sinasabi ko palagi sa kanila na unang una magtiwala sila sa sarili nila at pangalwa sa kakampi nila. Maglaro ng may puso at isip. Maniwala lang sila na kaya nila at magagawa nila yun. In contrast to coach Javier, the 4th year open spiker from Angono, Rizal gave a clear answer on who they want to defend their title against. CSB (Lady Blazers). Kasi sa nakikita namin na nilalaro nila, parang sila yung aangat at the end. It can be remembered that the fourth-seed Lady Blazers edged the Lady Chiefs in the knock-out semifinal match in Season 91. With a stellar effort of Finals MVP Jeanette Panaga, the squad of coach Michael Carino eventually won the title despite a thrice-to-beat disadvantage against Grethcel Soltones and the San Sebastian Lady Stags. With a disciplined system instilled by Coach Obet and the level of belief that Arocha and the other players imbibe, the Arellano Lady Chiefs will continue to occupy the summit of NCAA womens volleyball. | https://volleyverse.com/phi/ncaa-volleyball-w/season-94-arellano-lady-chiefs-formula-for-success/ |
Who would want to take the helm of a World Bank that has lost its focus? | The sudden, and largely unexplained, resignation of Jim Yong Kim as president of the World Bank has provoked the usual speculations as to who would succeed him. But the real issue now is how relevant the sprawling Washington-based institution is to todays economic development needs. The bank, a bloated bureaucracy of more than 10,000 employees and 120 worldwide offices, has lost its way by getting involved in socio-economic tasks that have little relevance to its original remit of tackling infrastructure and other reconstruction tasks. Where these tasks are concerned, the World Bank has been sidelined by other institutions such as the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and by the sharper focus of regional lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the African Development Bank. The World Bank is supposed to be a global leader on infrastructure, but also saw part of its role taken over by the G20 Global Infrastructure Hub in Sydney and by powerful infrastructure initiatives promoted by China, Japan, the US and Australia. Given the way the Bank has wished itself into the wilderness, the question is not who the next leader is, but whether anyone wants the job at all, given its diminished status. Big names canvassed in the past, such as former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, will hardly be in the running. There is speculation that developing nations among the World Banks 189 members may push to get their candidates into the office. The names of Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani, former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and Nigerian former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have also been mentioned, but if Trump gets his way, it is unlikely that any of them will be chosen. The job has gone, by tradition rather than by right, to an American, and Kim is no exception. South Korean by birth, he subsequently became a US citizen. His sudden departure, effective the end of January, to become vice-chairman and partner in New York fund management group Global Infrastructure Partners, brought token regrets and faint praise from US President Donald Trump, without any hint as to who the successor will be. Easing out Kim, a 2012 appointee of Barack Obamas administration, adds to the list of reversals of Obama policies that Trump had been pursuing since taking over the White House. Yet, with due respect to Kims achievements, his departure may not be a bad thing. If the World Bank is to regain relevance, it needs a radical new direction and a strong leader to show the way. A new leader (man or woman) offers an opportunity for the kind of imaginative thinking that Trump, for all his faults, showed when he reached out to North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un. Trump might bring the World Banks focus back to infrastructure (an area close to his heart and where trillions of dollars are needed, not least in Asia). If so, he might consider Jin Liqun, the president and chairman of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Promoting someone like Jin as a candidate would delight China and might even remove some of the impetus for the reform of multilateral institutions that Beijing has pushed for through the AIIB as a counterweight. There are other possible candidates already at the helm of development banks, including the Asian Development Banks president Takehiko Nakao. That would put Trump in Japans good books and reinforce the US-Japan alliance that controls the ADB. That would exclude the lawyers, from whom several former World Bank heads have emanated, or medical doctors like Jim Yong Kim, or defence specialists like the institutions legendary former president Robert McNamara. But it would open the door to those with hands-on experience in infrastructure. By trying to be all things to everyone - promoter of poverty reduction, health care and education agency, social welfare advocate, economic and financial policy adviser, environment agency and (only then) infrastructure builder -the World Bank has lost its identity and sense of purpose. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as it was called in 1944 to lend money toward post-World War II reconstruction, it was principally about infrastructure. Arguably, it can only survive now by going back to its roots. Trump flirted last year with the idea of a US national infrastructure bank to bring together public sector and private interests. Like his plan for a US$1 trillion scheme to make American infrastructure great again, that appears to have fallen through. If he switches his attention now to the global stage, Trump could do a service to stock and bond markets and to the cause of infrastructure development. Increasing the issuance of World Bank bonds for infrastructure could provide a major asset class for investors. It could be a way to tap the estimated US$120 trillion of institutional funds that often shun more direct forms of infrastructure investment because of the lack of a public sector guarantor. And it could open the way for greater volumes of equity investment. The World Bank could then revert to being a real bank. It was designed to raise capital in global markets (using minimal paid-in government capital and triple A credit ratings) and to direct this into investments. It is, in short, the perfect vehicle for infrastructure finance, if used properly. Anthony Rowley is a veteran journalist specialising in Asian economic and financial affairs | https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2181651/who-would-want-take-helm-world-bank-has-lost-its-focus |
What could the crucial week ahead mean for Brexit? | Theresa Mays Brexit plans are due to be put to the Commons next week following a five-day debate in Westminster. The vote had been scheduled to take place in December but was called off at the 11th hour with Government victory looking unlikely. MPs continue to be divided on the plans, with a number of pro-Remainers calling for Mrs Mays deal to be voted down, and some ardent Leavers pushing for the same result to ensure a no-deal Brexit. The simplest route to plot comes if the Government wins the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement. In this instance, the UK would leave the European Union on March 29. But should Mrs Mays deal be voted down, then a whole host of scenarios could play out. | https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-13/brexit-what-could-the-crucial-week-ahead-bring/ |
What time is Dancing On Ice tonight and who is skating? | Dancing On Ice is sending its next six couples out on to the rink (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Dancing On Ice 2019 is underway, with the first skate-off of the series looming as the second six couples make their debut on the rink. Last weekends show saw James Jordan fly to the top of the leaderboard and Gemma Collins channel her inner Beyonce in a truly unforgettable skate while we also got to witness the debuts of Didi Conn, Jane Danson and Saara Aalto. Ultimately, it was actor Mark Little whose place in the competition is in jeopardy after he was voted into this weeks skate off at the end of last weeks show and one of tonights six skating couples will join him there. Well, its on at the same time as it was last week with the show kicking off on ITV at 6pm. Advertisement Advertisement It runs for two hours ahead of the new series of Vera at 8pm, with the skate-off coming at the end of the show and the first couple leaving the competition. And heres who youll be seeing make their ice debut tonight. Richard Blackwood (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Former EastEnders star Richard will be making his ice debut on Sunday along with skating partner Carlotta Edwards. Saira Khan (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Shes a Loose Women regular, but Sairas now going to brave the ice rink with a little help from her professional partner Mark Hanretty, and shell be showing us this weekend what shes capable of. Brian McFadden (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) The Westlife star is swapping singing for skating with pro partner Alex Murphy. Wes Nelson (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Love Islander Wes Nelson was the early favourite to take the series title and hes got the added advantage of skating with reigning pro champion Vanessa Bauer but well find out what he can do when he gives his debut performance on Sunday. Melody Thornton (Picture: Rex Shutterstock) Ashley Roberts might have shown off her dance moves on Strictly but this Pussycat Doll is heading for the ice instead, together with skating partner Alexander Demetriou. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/13/time-dancing-ice-tonight-skating-8338987/ |
Will former Shin Bet director lead Jewish Home? | Former Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen encouraged to submit candidacy to lead Jewish Home by party activists, following departure of Bennett. Key activists for the Jewish Home party have appealed to former Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen to join their party. The party offered to submit his name as a candidate to lead the party as chairman. The position has been vacated since Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked had left the party to form their New Right Party. According to Kan 11, Yoram Cohen confirmed the reports of the proposal from the Jewish Home party. However, he had asked the activists for a few days to consider the proposal before deciding whether to accept it. There is been much speculation of late as to who will lead the party in the wake of Bennett's departure. Another name mentioned for the position is former Binyamin Council head Pinchas Wallerstein, who had made it clear that he had received a proposition, though not an official one. | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257534 |
What happens to phones when they're recycled? | Recycling our old mobile phones is something we all mean to do. But when we get home with a shiny new iPhone 3G we keep the just-out-of-contract handset as a spare. It then joins the previous generations of 'spares' fighting for space in a drawer with cables, power blocks and other electronic detritus. By the time we actually get around to seriously considering disposing of them, the handsets are obsolete and worthless. Or so we think. In fact most handsets can be refurbished. "Only about 3-4 per cent of the phones we receive are BER, beyond economic repair," says Simon Walsh, Sales and Marketing Director for the leading British phone recyclers ShP. There's a good chance the phone you donated to charity, traded in for a new one at work or sold through MoPay will end up at ShP. As a phone arrives it goes through a rigorous testing process which starts with a check of its IMEI number against the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) database to ensure that it's not been lost or stolen. Then components such as the keypad are checked. Many phones are then passed to specialist repair centres. Even handsets that are BER are valuable. They contain small quantities of metals such as platinum, gold, silver and copper which may end up as jewellery. Batteries contain nickel which can be combined into stainless steel for saucepans. The plastics can be melted down to be made into sheeting or traffic cones. This work is carried out by ShP in the UK, but other recyclers such as Regenersis send the material to specialists in Sweden and France. Both companies operate a zero landfill policy. Of the phones that can be re-used, about 20 per cent stay in the UK according to ShP. If you've ever had a lost or stolen phone replaced under an insurance policy this is probably where it came from. You don't generally get a brand new handset. The rest of the phones are sent to emerging markets in places such as Russia, Asia and Africa where there are few landlines. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/what-happens-to-phones-when-they-re-recycled-595647 |
Should pregnant women be allowed to park in parent and child spaces? | Get Daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email On a busy day parking at a supermarket can be an absolute nightmare. With wide cars and tight spaces you might need to perform some elborate gymnastics to escape your vehicle. With a bump in the way it must be incredibly tough to navigate some car parks. It's led to some people asking whether prospective mums should be allowed to use parent and child spaces. The Manchester Evening News had a look at the law, and what stores say about the issue. David Connor, a director at WHN Solicitors , said it's not clearcut. He said: Its a very woolly area of law as pregnant women are with child, but not in the technical sense. "Heavily pregnant women need extra space in the same way a parent with a small child would need extra room to load shopping and children into the car. 0+ VOTES SO FAR Yes, of course No, there's not enough as it is Youll see designated priority spaces close to entrances on trains and buses - so public transport recognises this need - but theres no law extending this to private car parks, meaning its at the land owners discretion. Some areas of law such as personal injury cover en ventre sa mere meaning a child in a mothers womb but this currently doesnt extend to contract law which governs car parking. By entering a private car park, youre effectively entering into a contract with the parking company, with the sign disclaimers creating the agreement. "Closely monitor this signage as some do state the child must be with you to warrant parking in the parent and child spaces, while some dont. Ikea is a step ahead of many retailers by offering specific 'expectant mum' spaces. Sadly, this in only in America and there are no current plans to introduce them over here. A spokesman said it would be down to individual stores as to whether a pregnant woman could park in one of their parent and child bays. He said: "Our main aim is to make the shopping experience as smooth as possible for each customer and many stores offer extra assistance for those who need it." At Sainsbury's pregnant women can use the parent and child bays, but need to clear it with the individual store first. A spokeswoman said: "Use of the bays must be arranged with the store. They have to be aware so they can give the registration to the parking attendants monitoring the bays, in case it's not immediately clear that the customer is pregnant." Asda's policy is similar and pregnant customers would need to mention the fact they are using one of the bays to staff. Neither Tesco or Morrisons responded to our request for a comment. | https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/should-pregnant-women-allowed-park-2424021 |
What would a no deal Brexit really mean for NI agriculture? | The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has responded to farmers heightened concerns about the impact of a no deal Brexit on their businesses, writes Richard Halleron. A spokesperson has told Farming Life that should the UK leave the EU on the 29 March 2019, without there being a withdrawal agreement, that farmers would receive the same level of payments they would have received under Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Policy until the end of the 2019 scheme year. The DAERA representative continued: Therefore, the 2019 scheme year arrangements for Pillar 1 payments will proceed as planned under a no deal scenario. At this stage it is not possible to confirm the arrangements for future years but it is the intention of DAERA to keep existing schemes in operation until such times as a future Minister decides otherwise. Arrangements for trading of Basic Payment Scheme entitlements will be the same in 2019 as previous years and will include leases and permanent transfers. The price being paid for entitlements transferred is a matter for the transferee and transferor to agree. Meanwhile, the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) has confirmed that a no deal Brexit would have disastrous consequences for food and farming in Northern Ireland. Union president Ivor Ferguson added: We are likely to face huge disruption as a result of an effective trade embargo on the export of UK animals and animal based products. A number of sectors would face particularly high customs tariffs on exports. For example, the EU tariff would be 65 per cent on beef, 46 per cent on lamb and 27 per cent on chicken. The government could also choose to deliver on its commitment to maintain price equilibrium for consumers by lowering the UKs import tariffs unilaterally to control food price inflation. This would not only apply to the EU but also would result in the UK market being open to imports of food produced outside the EU to standards lower than that produced here by UK farmers. This would have a very significant impact on UK food production. Mr Ferguson continued: In terms of the direct payments to farmers, when we leave the EU on the 29th March the UK will be out of the CAP. The Conservative government has committed to keeping direct payments at the same level in cash terms until 2022, but can develop its own domestic and regional agricultural support policies. While work is already underway on this, it is, however, likely that the current system will remain largely in place for some time. However, if we leave the EU with no deal on 29th March practical issues such as high tariffs and an effective trade embargo will have a much more immediate effect causing major disruptions to the supply chain. This would necessitate separate, additional funding for likely off-setting crisis measures. | https://www.farminglife.com/farming-news/what-would-a-no-deal-brexit-really-mean-for-ni-agriculture-1-8767695 |
Was wird jetzt aus dem Helene Tattoo auf Silbereisens Arm? | Nach vielen gemeinsamen Jahren haben sich die Schlager-Stars Helene Fischer und Florian Silbereisen Ende 2018 getrennt. Trotzdem wollen beide enge Freunde bleiben, wie sie zuletzt in der ARD bei den Schlagerchampions betonten. Schlagerstar Florian Silbereisen will das groe Tattoo mit dem Gesicht seiner Ex-Freundin Helene Fischer (34) auf dem Oberarm trotz der Trennung behalten. Ich wrde niemals auf den Gedanken kommen, dieses Tattoo nur im Geringsten zu entfernen, sagte er am Samstagabend in Berlin. Wir beide hatten zehn Wahnsinnsjahre, und das ist immer Teil meines Lebens. Silbereisen (37) und Fischer hatten am Samstagabend bei der ARD-Show Schlagerchampions Das groe Fest der Besten ihren ersten gemeinsamen Auftritt seit Bekanntwerden der Trennung. Beide waren am Abend zu Trnen gerhrt. Silbereisen ist sich sicher: Er werde das Tattoo immer mit Stolz tragen so trage er als Schlagerfan die Allerbeste auf dem Arm. Von RND/dpa | https://www.landeszeitung.de/blog/nachrichten/aus-aller-welt/2239562-was-wird-jetzt-aus-dem-helene-tattoo-auf-silbereisens-arm |
Will Brian McFadden be performing on Dancing on Ice tonight? | Brian McFadden could see his Dancing on Ice journey cut short, after a bad fall during training forced him off the rink. Advertisement The Westlife singer, 38, was due to make his DoI debut tonight alongside Wes Nelson, Saira Khan, Ryan Sidebottom, Melody Thornton and Richard Blackwood, after the first six celebrities skated last week. But McFadden is thought to have dislocated his shoulder during training, prompting fears that he will be unable to skate for the second live show. Doctors will be reassessing him today to see if he will be fit to skate tonight. The fall has since knocked McFaddens confidence, with the singer previously joking that he would be happy in the competition so long as he beats James Jordan. His partner Alex Murphy explained, We had a fall, it was pretty bad. He was really anxious after that but I told him not to worry and hopefully its out of his system. Dancing on Ice is no stranger to horrifying injuries since the show first launched in 2006. In last years show, Coronation Street star Anthony Cotton was rushed to hospital when he fell during training, resulting in several cracked ribs for the 42-year-old. Meanwhile, in 2011, the late Keith Chegwin was hauled out the show on the first day of training, after a tumble on the ice saw him break his shoulder and crack three ribs. Its injury rate has seen hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby claim the show was the most dangerous on television. Speaking at the Dancing on Ice press day, Schofield explained, I would always say, as far as Dancing on Ice is concerned, it is of everything. This is why I have such admiration for everybody. Its really dangerous. If you fall over on Strictly, there is no danger that youre going to lose the tops of your fingers. There are sharp skates. They are blades. And so that makes it really dangerous. So Im always really happy that we get a great line-up. RadioTimes.com have contacted ITV for comment. Advertisement Dancing on Ice continues tonight at 6pm on ITV | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2019-01-13/will-brian-mcfadden-be-performing-on-dancing-on-ice-tonight/ |
Are some of us born to have a beer belly? | Its that time of the year when a middle-aged persons fancy turns to treadmills and diets. Scientific literature on excess weight and health is expanding along with global waistlines, and yet, its hard to find a solid, coherent scientific explanation for why some people get fat and others dont, and why some overweight people get Type 2 diabetes and heart disease and others dont. Beliefs about fat often follow a science-y sounding quasi-religious narrative: Our prehistoric ancestors had to scramble for food, and therefore evolved voracious appetites that weve inherited like original sin. Only self-control can save us, and the association between fat and disease goes without question; it is seen as punishment for the sins of gluttony and sloth. This narrative acknowledges evolution, but its not real evolutionary biology. This month, however, a real evolutionary biologist published a sweeping picture of human fat and health in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While traditional medical research tends to make very narrow hypotheses and test them with specific data, evolutionary biology often works as an observational science, seeking patterns that tie together and explain lots of diverse observations and measurements. Think Charles Darwin, or the big bang theory in cosmology. The biologist, Mary Jane West-Eberhard of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Costa Rica, has focused her work on understanding biological variation. Sometimes individuals with the same genes can show dramatic differences; a queen bee and her workers share the same genes but very different fates. A butterfly born at one time of year may live many times longer than those born in other seasons. Some fish can even change sex in response to changes in the environment. West-Eberhard proposes that the same biological principle can explain why humans come in quite different shapes. Some people put on so-called visceral fat, surrounding vital organs, while others put on so-called subcutaneous fat on the limbs, hips and elsewhere. This makes a big difference in health because recent studies show its the visceral fat thats associated with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Because shes interested in the functions of things, West-Eberhard looked into visceral fat also known as the omentum, a part of the immune system. It wraps around the vital organs and protects them from infection. But whats protective early in life can have a downside later. Our natural immune response often involves inflammation, and that has been associated with Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The omentum, she said, is the Rosetta stone of pathogenic obesity. West-Eberhard cites other biologists pointing to sexual selection as the driving force in the human tendency to put fat deposits in places where they serve as ornaments. Her analysis of the data suggests that where your fat goes depends on how well fed you were as a fetus. Its those who are most undernourished in utero approximated by low birth weight who are most likely to accumulate visceral fat in the abdomen. Underweight, badly nourished babies are more vulnerable to infection and benefit from the short-term strategy of laying down protective visceral fat. The pattern is set by epigenetics chemical changes surrounding the DNA that determine which genes become activated in which tissues. The tragic part is that if you look at people who move to urban areas to seek their fortune, they are on a tight budget and will buy these cheap foods that are bad for them, says West-Eberhard. People whose mothers ate traditional, rural, sometimes sparse diets people conditioned in utero to develop visceral fat run into trouble when they move to urban areas and find that the only foods they can afford are full of fructose and cheap oils. However the species came to be this way, its becoming clear that humans who tend to put on visceral fat may have to exercise more and maintain a lower weight than other people to remain healthy. Its yet more evidence that life isnt fair. Distinguishing the kinds of human fat and the way they influence health may explain why scientists cant agree over the value of body mass index (BMI) which is strictly a measure of your mass relative to your height. One widely publicized analysis out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed an overweight BMI is not associated with increased mortality; people had to be considerably obese before it started to influence health. Other analyses have contradicted this, leading to more headlines about the dangers of being overweight, but still others have called their methods into question. Perhaps researchers and doctors fixate on numbers on the scale because they are such an easy measurement. To predict health is much more difficult. Analyses like West-Eberhards paper may change the way we see our fellow humans. Its not necessarily that one is more out of shape or less self-controlled. Its all part of the human story evolution, epigenetics and the eternal human quest for a better life. | https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=life&p=1693286&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+%28The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories%29 |
Whats the Deal With the Saints Choppa Style Dance? | Michael Thomas gets on his bike. New Orleans does, and the rappers 2003 single Choppa Style has become the Saints unofficial anthem as they head into the playoffs as the NFCs No. 1 seed. Like all decent anthems, Choppa Style has an accompanying, motorcycle-themed dance. (Take note, Star-Spangled Banner.) It has become a bona fide craze, but, before you join in, please watch backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater show you how its done. Bridgewater didnt join the team until late in preseason, but by December his stature in the locker room had grown to where he could unleash some of the most involved dance moves seen since MTVs The Grind. He was quiet his first couple weeks, fullback Zach Line told the Times-Picayune. Im glad hes settled in. While Choppa is a New Orleans rapper, Bridgewaters dance has its origins in South Florida. He credits students at Miami Northwestern, his former high school, for spreading what they call the Bike Life dance. Bridgewater introduced it to the New Orleans locker room on Dec. 9, after the Saints beat the Buccaneers 28-14. It was an homage to Miami Northwesterns football team, which had just won the Florida 6A title a week prior. I kind of enjoyed watching them do it, so I was like let me pull it out, he said. As with all dance crazes, the key to Bike Life is that you dont have to be a good dancer to pull it off. I dont dance for real, so its just me messing around, just having fun, Bridgewater said. Saints head coach Sean Payton would probably agree. Give him Coach of the Year for this (via 4ongo/IG) pic.twitter.com/wB7ai9wTuW The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 24, 2018 Drew Brees children also adapted the dance as part of a ritual to lure Santa Claus into their lair. Bridgewater may have introduced the dance, but the song Choppa Style was on the Mercedes-Benz Superdomes playlist before the backup quarterback hopped on his invisible bike. Wide receiver Michael Thomas and running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram jammed to it during a blowout victory over the Eagles on Nov. 18. That was in the third quarter, which should give you an idea of how well things were going for the Saints. Having a signature, team-wide dance isnt all fun and games, though. It leaves you open for mockery, and Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown performed his own version on the Superdome turf in Week 16 after giving Pittsburgh a second-half lead. The key to preserving the sanctity and honor of Choppa Style is to never lose, and Michael Thomas helped the Saints by scoring a late, game-winning touchdown in that game. He then celebrated with a Bike Life so spirited, his helmet nearly fell off. The Saints have a history of taking offense when other teams steal their intellectual property. Last season, New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore called out the Steelers for using the Saints group photo celebration after an interception. The Saints umbrage may be the real craze, and Choppa Style ensures that it will continue through the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs pulled out the dance during a Week 17 victory over the Oakland Raiders, and the infringement didnt go unnoticed by New Orleans running back Mark Ingram. That is flagrant. | https://slate.com/culture/2019/01/choppa-style-saints-dance-bike-life-teddy-bridgewater.html |
How would Frank Bruno Have Fared Against Todays Current Crop Of Heavyweight Champions And Contenders? | Lee has written for Ringnews24 for over 7 years and he helps run the site on a daily basis. He has been a fan of the sport of boxing for around twenty five years. He enjoys traveling to watch fights in-particular trips to Las Vegas for big fight nights. It has almost been twenty three years since the deeply loved and respected Frank Bruno retired from boxing. His final time fighting professionally between the ropes was against Mike Tyson in Las Vegas defending the WBC heavyweight belt that he won from Oliver McCall in September in London that previous year. It was a rapid ending, and the then pensive champion was crushed in three rounds. Seeing little point in continuing after having achieved what he set out to get the moment he got his first taste of fighting, Bruno hung up the gloves. Threat to his eye-sight also helped convince him after discovering that he was in danger of going blind if he had continued fighting. But while opinions have aired from the public and specifically among fight fans that he was a boxer who was little more than a stiff lump who couldnt take a serious punch it is easy to forget the era in which he fought, especially during the 1990s. Guys like Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Andrew Golota and an older but more experienced George Foreman all made for an intoxicating heavyweight batch. While todays current crop of big men continue to excite people around the world, it is fair to say that they somewhat lack the glamour and vibrant spirit that was once existent over twenty years ago. See Also So, its fun to ask. Well, with Tyson Fury putting up such a good showing against Deontay Wilder last year he is probably widely now thought of as part of a small group of three of the best in the division. That would be Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and the Gypsy King. Although Fury is not the holder of any major world title, he is still considered to be the Lineal champion, so he is worthy of being thrown in here. One of Brunos strengths was that he had a great jab that he worked vigorously behind. He has 38 KOs to his credit in 40 wins, so he was a huge puncher. The Brit gave legends such as Mike Tyson brief trouble when he famously connected with a left hand in the first round of their 1989 encounter. Fighters like the reasonably durable Jesse Ferguson were dealt with in the 1st round and he became only the third man to stop Joe Bugner. Bruno also rocked Lennox Lewis and a number of other good quality combatants. Clearly, his power was something that every man had to be wary of! Current WBC champion, Deontay Wilder has been put on the floor as an amateur and has been heavily shaken up in the professional game while holding the aforementioned crown. Only his incredible punching power has gotten him out of trouble! The Alabama born boxer also fights in a rather immature fashion, always pressing for the knockout and sometimes looks clumsy in doing so. Bruno was the more technically sound, and providing that one of Wilders bombs do not land on him then its feasible to imagine that Bruno would come through with a win. Even an early one! A bout with Anthony Joshua would be more evenly matched. Joshua is a little rigid, upright and has a good jab that he likes to use. Both Bruno and Joshua never, and do not have great footwork. The WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO owner does possess a good uppercut when he has to fight on the inside, and his stamina is also a little better than Brunos despite both gents having a huge body frame. They have the same length of reach but Joshua has a 3-inch advantage in height over Bruno, who is 6ft 3 inches. I see it as a much harder fight to predict, but my money would probably have to go on Anthony. Tyson Fury has a sizeable repertoire of different things in his arsenal. His jab isnt the best. He could do with using it with more authority, but it has done the trick so far. Fury is very fluid, mobile wise, and has underrated upper body defensive moves. The charismatic former undisputed champion also seems to understand the technicalities of boxing inside and out. He always formulates effective game plans to upset his opponents. Bruno would fall massively short in physicality. Fury is 6 ft 9 inches and a reach of 85 inches. Tyson, on his day, would probably find it rather easy to control Frank and perhaps stop him late or win a wide points decision. I could not see it even being anywhere near close. As for the rest of todays top ten ranked contenders, I can see the likes of Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, the often passive Luis Ortiz and the untested Jarrell Miller trying and failing against the Hammersmith born English ring Great. | https://www.ringnews24.com/2019/01/12/how-would-frank-bruno-have-fared-against-todays-current-crop-of-heavyweight-champions-and-contenders/ |
Can Congress Void a Tribal Treaty Without Telling Anyone? | Herrera and the tribe argue that the hunt was legal, because the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie guarantees the Crow the right to hunt on the unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may be found thereon, and as long as peace subsists among the whites and Indians on the borders of the hunting districts. When Herrera was brought to trial, however, the state court refused to hear his argument. The treaty, the court said, was invalid under a 120-year-old Supreme Court case. He received a one-year suspended sentence, and three years suspension of all hunting privileges in Wyoming. Lets take a quick look at the erratic history of federal Indian policy. In the early Republic, the federal government made treaties of friendship with Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. In the 1830s, it stopped feeling friendly and removed the eastern Indians to the West. It set up reservations for eastern and western tribes and solemnly promised in treaties that the land would be theirs forever. In 1871, Congress decided there would be no more treaties, because Indian nations were no longer sovereigns; the courts soon confirmed that Congress could void any treaty without the consent of the tribes that had signed it. Next, from the 1880s until the 1930s, came the allotment era. The government decided to break up the reservations and allot much of the land to individuals, who could sell them. By the 1930s tribes had lost 60 percent of their previous land base. The New Deal was a brief respite: allotment ended and tribes were allowed to re-form their governments. Then in 1953 came the termination era, when Congress decided that the federal government would no longer provide services to tribes, or deal with their governments. It sold off some tribes reservation lands and proclaimed that those tribes no longer existed. Not until the Nixon administration did Congress and the executive decide to deal again with tribes as genuine governments. (The famed Native writer Vine Deloria Jr. in 1971 hailed Nixons as the best administration in American history for its responsiveness to tribal concerns.) Since then, tribal governments have gained in strength and organization. In 1978, the high court made explicit the rule that tribal rights cant disappear without clear indications of legislative intent. State governments and tribes, however, have been ceaselessly at each others throats since the 19th century, fighting bitterly over issues of natural resources, fish, game, and wildlife management, taxation, and law enforcement. Heres how that history shook out in the case of the Crow. In 1890, Wyoming became a state. By 1896, in Ward v. Race Horse, the new state was asking the Supreme Court to void Indian treaty rights. Race Horse involved the elk-hunting rights of a member of the Bannock tribe of Idaho, under a treaty whose language was almost identical to that of the Crow. The high court held, 7-1, that the admission of Wyoming had silently voided all tribal hunting rights there. Because Wyoming had been admitted on an equal footing with other states, its powers over fish, game and wildlife couldnt be limited by the Bannock treaty. | https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/herrera-v-wyoming/580243/?utm_source=feed |
How Much Can Technology Be Trusted? | This story was originally published on Sept. 20, 2018, and is brought to you today as part of our Best of ECT News series. Since the industrial revolution, technology has changed society continually. Largely due to innovations in semiconductor electronics, software and computer technology, the pace of technological development has continued to accelerate over the past 50 years. Personal computers now fit into your pocket. You have access to people and information all over the world through the Internet. Anything up to the size of a small building can be printed. Just about everything -- from your house to your car -- is becoming intelligent. Yet every leap forward in technology is accompanied by concerns over its potential use or misuse. Most recently, concerns have ranged from the use of artificial intelligence to create smart weapons and unstoppable hacking bots, to 3D printed guns that are undetectable by traditional security scanners. Unfortunately, much like the news itself, by the time people grow concerned about the possible negative applications or misuse of the technology, that misuse already is possible. Innovation Begets Innovation Innovation itself is a catalyst for future innovation. As a result, an innovation by one person or organization enables and encourages innovations by others. Consider that initial innovation in 3D printing, using plastics, enabled innovation in printing using a wide variety of materials, ranging from ceramics to metals and glass. Likewise, 3D printing spawned innovations in printing cars, buildings and, yes, even guns. The process happened so fast that plans for 3D printed weapons were available well before the airing of recent concerns about the release of plans for such weapons. This topic is just now becoming a focus of government bodies and various organizations. The fact is, regulations have not curbed the development of the technology, nor are they likely to prevent its proliferation. Additionally, many innovations are the result of research for malicious purposes -- or as we like to call them, defense. I have been in the tech industry for over 30 years and spent a considerable amount of time working around military and aerospace applications. What most people don't realize is that many of the innovations in our lives are a direct result of military and aerospace applications and other government-funded research. Everything from wireless communications to the predecessor of the Internet to autonomous vehicles has been a focus of government research. In the U.S., funding comes from multiple sources, including the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, NASA and many other organizations. As a result, a new technology often is developed and implemented in a variety of applications long before society becomes aware of it, or expresses concerns about it -- long before it is utilized in consumer applications. Government applications often include weapons. Note that this pattern is not limited to electronics. The same is true for energy, chemical, biomedical and other forms of technology. Additionally, advances in one form of technology often enable advances in other forms of technology. Advances in AI are rapidly accelerating advances in other technologies by enabling the ability to build models and simulations larger and faster than humans are capable of processing. As a result, technology is moving so fast that it is impossible to see all the potential consequences, much yet the applications, in advance. This may be one reason that the entertainment industry often depicts the future so negatively -- and so often as the result of technology. It reflects our collective fear of those unintended consequences. Regulator Ignorance Yet today, technology impacts just about every aspect of our lives. Technology is also a key driver in economic growth and the generation of wealth. Technology companies are driving advances in global stock markets, and the technology they develop is powering the markets and the investors in those markets. So, despite some of the negative ramifications of technology, the world generally benefits from continued advances. While many believe that there should be some curbs or control over certain technologies, the reality is that regulators often are ignorant about technology, and bureaucracies cannot react fast enough to have any significant impact on its progress. Given the impacts of technology on the economy and society, it's not clear that regulators should be interfering with the pace of technological innovation. Innovation comes from everything from garage tinkerers to multibillion-dollar organizations. The rate of technological innovation is increasing, and concerns over the use of technology often lag the innovation. As a result, many people put an inherent trust in the technology. Society wants to believe that technology will be used for the common good. However, technology can and will continue to be used for any and all possible applications. The trust really should be in the belief that people and society will use technology in a positive manner -- not for malicious purposes. Further, people should not fear the pace of technology, but accept that the future still holds enormous possibilities. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. Jim McGregor has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2017. He is the founder and principal analyst at Tirias Research with more than 30 years of high-tech industry experience. His expertise spans a broad range of product development and corporate strategy functions, such as semiconductor manufacturing, systems engineering, product marketing, marketing communications, brand management, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and sales. McGregor worked for Intel, Motorola, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and General Dynamics Space Systems prior to becoming an industry analyst and In-Stat's chief technology strategist. Email Jim. | https://www.technewsworld.com/story/85741.html?rss=1 |
What time is Call The Midwife on BBC One tonight as series eight begins? | Call The Midwifes bringing a bunch of cast newcomers with it this year (Picture: BBC) Sunday nights are heading back to Nonnatus House on BBC One as Call The Midwife returns for its eighth series. Fresh from its Christmas special, the show welcomes a few new faces this series including Miriam Margoyles as Sister Mildred with this series tackling some dramatic storylines as it moves forward into 1964. The social issues of the decade come to the fore, with the topics of illegal abortion among those on the agenda but there will be lighter moments too as the country prepares for the birth of a new royal baby (Prince Edward, who was born that year). Well Call The Midwife is settling into its usual Sunday night time slot, with the first episode airing on BBC One at 8pm. The show also welcomes Georgie Glen (left) as receptionist Miss Higgins (Picture: BBC) There are eight episodes in the series, so you can expect to see it there on Sunday nights for the following seven weeks. Advertisement Advertisement The new series brings with it new cast members Fenella Woolgar and Ella Bruccoleri as Sister Hilda and Sister Frances, along with Margolyes. Actress Georgie Glen also joins the cast as Dr Turners new receptionist Miss Higgins. Meanwhile Helen George is back as Trixie after being absent for much of series seven although fans are still missing Charlotte Ritchie. whose character Nurse Barbara Hereward succumbed to sepsis at the end of series seven. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/13/time-call-midwife-bbc-one-tonight-series-eight-begins-8339133/ |
Does Zimbabwe have a higher literacy rate than SA? | Opinion / National South Africa is set to hold national elections in 2019, a year the ruling African National Congress marks its 107th anniversary.Radio 702 talk show host Bruce Whitfield spoke to Bonang Mohale, head of Business Leadership South Africa, about what he expects from the party's election manifesto at its launch on 12 January.Mohale said he was looking at six issues. One was education, which he described as "the most tragic story of the last 25 years".He said Zimbabwe's former president, Robert Mugabe, "boasts of 94% literacy rate. South Africa's is nowhere near that. "Do statistics back up his claim?Education experts previously told Africa Check that comparing literacy rates can be difficult, as countries often have different definitions of literacy.Zimbabwe's most recent labour force survey estimated that 97,6% of people older than 15 were literate in 2014. These were people who said they had completed Grade 3.South Africa's 2017 general household survey estimated that 94,3% of people older than 20 were literate. But these were people who said they could read and write with "no difficulty" or "some difficulty".The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) calculates its own estimates of literacy.Its latest estimate for both countries is for 2014. That year South Africa's literacy rate was 94,1% for people 15 years and older.Unesco used data from Zimbabwe's 2014 Multiple Indicators Cluster and Health Survey to estimate the country's literacy rate as 88.7% of people 15 years and older.The data for Zimbabwe was based on a reading assessment not self-reporting. A reading test is likely to produce a lower rate, Unesco says.Literacy rate comparisons should be made with caution, as there are differences in the definitions used and the way people are surveyed. | https://bulawayo24.com/opinion/national/153568 |
Where are the great comedy double acts of today? | This weekend, audiences around the country will have been taken into a bygone era by Stan & Ollie, a film guaranteed to ensure we fall in love all over again with Laurel and Hardy, courtesy of Steve Coogan and John C Reillys remarkable, eerily exact impersonations. Laurel, lest we forget, was born in Lancashire, made his stage debut in Glasgow, aged 16, and honed his clowning abilities amid the music-hall world that sprouted up in the mid-Victorian period. Originally, the straight man stood on stage as a means of repeating or feeding lines to the comic, but grew as a foil in his own right. Among the first Victorian double acts to find favour were a duo Joe OGorman and Joe Tennyson called... | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/comedians/great-comedy-double-acts-today/ |
Why factory of the future will be in China? | Huawei employees walk in the company's production base in Songshanhu, which is about 50 kilometers northeast of Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen. About 2,700 employees moved to Songshanhu from Shenzhen in July 2018. Photos: Chen Qingqing/GT A view of Huawei's new production base in Songshanhu, Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province. I recently visited the production base of China's Huawei Technologies in Songshanhu, Dongguan, which is also known as the world's manufacturing hub in South China's Guangdong Province. I was deeply impressed by progress that the country has made in manufacturing and I am pretty sure the factory of the future will lie in China.Huawei has been in the spotlight lately. Washington has been exerting pressure on China amid escalating trade tensions, and one of the US requests is forcing Beijing to drop its Made in China 2025 initiative, in which Huawei plays a key role.At Huawei's wireless network manufacturing department, which produces all its core products ranging from telecoms equipment to smartphones, I suddenly understood why the US is so nervous about China's rise in high-technology, especially when lights-out factories and smart production solutions are commonly seen in today's factories. These modern practices may soon reshape the global manufacturing industry.When I stepped into a production line that makes base station modules, I saw a warehouse-like room with a range of shelves where automatic vehicles were selecting and transporting hundreds of thousands of raw materials and electronic components. This process is fully automated, and it does not need any human employees or even lights. Each package of components is traced with a corresponding bar code to avoid any mistakes.As a global company, Huawei has learned a lot from foreign companies in pursuing automated production lines, improving employee management and keeping a very close eye on quality control. Apple used to be criticized by labor right groups for its contractors like Foxconn, at whose factories workers were known to commit suicide due to the heavy workload and pressure. Huawei will not follow suit, and will not make the same mistakes.At the entrance to the production line, a so-called grape board is designed for managers to learn about each employee's working status. Every morning, as each employee comes to work, he or she can pick an emoji-like facial expression and stick it to the board. If he chooses one with a sad look over one with a smiley face, his manager will have a small chat with him to try and understand any problem and try to help him out.Taking care of everyone's personal feelings in the workplace is a small thing, but it can affect output. By learning from Japanese production lines, Huawei hopes its efforts will inspire more self-motivated workers, as the world's factory is not a ruthless place where people only chase profits.From 2012 to 2017, the number of employees needed for one production line was reduced from 21 to five. Today, no worker sits at a long table, enduring long shifts and carefully assembling components. Employees have become assistants to machines, which play a major role in repetitive and exhausting production processes.Huawei's multimillion-dollar investment in research and development is paying off. Machine-learning technology developed by its labs empowers machines, and applying cutting-edge technologies to manufacturing scenarios also helps identify problems and continuously improve them.For example, with its artificial intelligence (AI) research lab, Huawei has put image recognition technology into use for tracking components in the welding process. Every step of a working robotic arm can be digitized on a computer to show how accurately it can perform.Big data is helping allocate resources in the most efficient way. A small office is located in the center of this plant, where less than 10 engineers serve as control commanders.On their computers, engineers make virtual production lines to find any possible problems that may hinder work efficiency, and find solutions before the machines begin operate.This core system is also considered as the factory's brain. It gathers and processes huge amounts of data every day to make the best decisions.Huawei's smartphone shipments reached 200 million units in 2018, and it sells countless items of telecoms equipment every day as the largest provider in terms of market share. This one smart factory, with fully connected and flexible systems, is the core of its global footprint.It also represents a vivid example of China taking a leap forward from being a traditional manufacturing hub to intelligent manufacturing. A fully integrated supply chain is one of the country's edges. Most importantly, Huawei's strong willingness to use the emerging Internet of Things, AI and big data in real-time scenarios will accelerate the country's shift to the next industrial revolution.The US government has not stopped Huawei from following its ambitions in leading the next generation of wireless technologies. It also won't stop China from achieving its targets of Made in China 2025, as the country is already on this path. | http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1135581.shtml |
Is Uncle Sam going to be the catalyst to another multifaceted global crisis? | It was 10 years ago when the US triggered the world financial crisis, which is still affecting the global economy. So, the question now is, will the US usher in another hazardous and dreaded political crisis?We are not far from experiencing another global political crisis as one moves closer day by day. It seems that most people are unaware of its looming existence, and thus are not prepared.And just like the last crisis, this one is also a US creation, and will spread across the globe. We can find its shadow within three aspects.First, the US' political credit is crippled and eroded. The primary signal of political crisis is the impairment in the political credit system, which would trigger systematic and holistic contradictions. When contradictions arise, a political crisis will follow.The "America First" policies have made the US focus on its own interests in diplomatic affairs while abandoning traditional relationships based on sharing interests with its allies. Such behavior has directly led to a political credit crisis.President Donald Trump's decisions to pull the US out of several global cooperation agreements were detrimental to his country's political credit, a cornerstone for international engagement.Second, the US political crisis is particularly damaging the country's democratic reputation. This is where the core of the crisis lies. Washington's irresponsible behavior has broken the very foundation of the democratic values it supposedly upholds.Its nonfeasance and disorderly behavior within international affairs have affected trust with allies.The recklessness displayed in handling complex global affairs, especially relations with other major countries, could be the best explanation for today's global instability.The imprudent actions carried out by the Trump government will continue to prevent the US from playing a unique role in international affairs, and cause a diplomatic deficit to the country, and very likely drag the world into an uncontrollable situation.Last but not least, the political mutual trust between major powers has been significantly damaged. US distrust over Russia has reached its peak, and the distrust over China has been growing.As for the US' European allies, it is disappointing to see the US wiretap leaders of its allies. In addition, Washington has disregarded European core concerns, such as trade, investment, and the Paris Agreement . European Union leaders have warned they would not believe in Washington's promises and goodwill again, exposing the depth of their disputes.On the other hand, the US is destroying trust with large global organizations. It has unreasonably accused the UN and continued to disdain the World Trade Organization.There has never been a crisis like the current global political one, which is still spreading and deteriorating. It could further cause military skirmishes, inevitable results of political conflicts. It is high time to eliminate political distrust among global players.Trump has already assembled his war cabinet. He wasted no time to force Defense Secretary James Mattis to step down, and now most of his aides are hawks. He has always dreamed of becoming a real commander-in-chief and yearns to do something really big. If his expanding lust for power goes astray, the world will suffer bitter consequences.Once the Confucius said, "Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another." With the times changing, those whose courses are different can coordinate to achieve common interests. US politicians should have the tactic and courage to coexist and develop with countries that undertake a different path.The author is a senior research fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China. [email protected] | http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1135577.shtml |
How did Derehams new management team do against a former West Ham and Liverpool star? | New boss Adam Gusterson watches Dereham in action against Heybridge Picture: Alan Palmer Photography Archant New Dereham managers Adam Gusterson and Ollie Willis tasted defeat in their opening game. Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography The former Magpies players who had been in charge of Harleston Town were appointed in midweek following last Sundays departure of Neal Simmons. It was always likely to be a baptism of fire against one of the leagues high-fliers managed by former West Ham and Liverpool defender Julian Dicks and so it proved as they went down 3-1 at home. Jay Eastoe-Smith made his first start of the season in a line-up that also included the returning Sam Borrer. Dereham got off to a dream start, going ahead after just eight minutes after keeper Chris Haigh failed to hold Owen Murphys fierce 25-yard drive, leaving Joe Gatting with an easy tap-in. Minutes later they came close again when Eastoe-Smith headed Danny Beaumonts corner across goal to Gatting and his header was cleared off the line. Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography Heybridge flex their muscles when Matthew Prices point-blank effort was saved by keeper Elliot Pride following Chris Millars cross. Pride was soon in action again to deny Kreshnic Krasniqi after Lewis Johnsons poor attempted headed clearance. As the pressure continued Pride again showed his class, producing a wonderful double save to keep out Millars volley and then Elliot Rontos follow-up. Dereham recovered and Adam Hipperson tested Haigh with a long-range drive. But Derehams lead disappeared in the 63rd minute after they lost possession on the right. The ball was worked inside to Krasniqi who hit a low drive past Pride from the edge of the area. Jamie Forshaw saw a low drive deflected for a corner while Hipperson combined well with Rhys Logan, whose low shot was hacked clear. Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography Action from Dereham Town's match against Heybridge Swifts Picture: Alan Palmer Photography But Heybridge went ahead in the 76th minute when Matthew Price headed home Krasniqis centre and it was game over in the 84th minute after more poor defending allowed Luke Wilson to head home Jay Sivas free-kick. Dereham: Pride, Johnson (Quantrell 53), Murphy, Hinton, Eastoe-Smith, Frary, Beaumont (Logan 60), Borrer, Gatting, Forshaw, Hipperson. Subs not used: Ebbage, McLeish. Heybridge: Haigh, Ramon-Carreno, Siva, Kendall, Adeyemi, Wilson, Krasniqi, Adlington-Pile (Walker 73), Ronto, Millar, Price. Subs not used: Claridge, Craddock, Martin-Sorondo, Morgan. Ref: P Quick. Att: 323 | https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/dereham-town-v-heybridge-swifts-1-5849907 |
Can insect pet food reduce dogs' carbon pawprint which is twice that of a 4X4 drive car? | Now one British company is offering a solution, feed your pooch insects instead. It launched a dry dog food on Thursday made from black soldier fly larvae in a bid to tackle the "carbon pawprint" created by pets in the animal-loving nation. "One of the very best things we can do for the environment is to reduce our meat consumption, but up until now there haven't been many options for our carnivorous four-legged friends," said Tom Neish, the brains behind Yora dog food. Studies suggest pets consume about a fifth of the world's meat and fish, and a dog's carbon footprint is more than twice that of a 4x4 car, according to Yora. Compared to beef farming, it said the grubs need just 2 percent of the land and 4 percent of the water to produce each kilogram of protein, which means they generate 96 percent less greenhouse emissions. Reuters | http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1135557.shtml |
Should we lease golf course machinery? | Because golf clubs can spread the VAT element over their monthly lease payments, Golf Finance certainly thinks so. One of the reasons why Castle Stuart Golf Links has seen record-breaking visitor numbers for the last couple of years is because it has invested in its greenkeeping team and the course machinery they use. There is, however, a way golf clubs can invest in their courses even if they dont have the budgets Castle Stuart has. Leasing may be the way forward, especially because clubs can simply spread the VAT element over their monthly lease payments. For example, with a finance lease agreement, you can spread that VAT cost over the life of the agreement yet still effectively own the equipment at the end of the period. In other words, if you were to buy a 30,000 mower, where you would normally pay 6,000 VAT up front, you can simply spread the VAT element over your monthly lease payment and avoid this predominantly irrecoverable up-front cost. With leasing, many clubs in the past have worried about ownership at the end of the finance period, but a simple paperwork exercise can transfer full ownership to the club at the end of the agreement. With finance lease packages available on both new and used equipment, along with flexible payment plans to suit all types of businesses and cashflows, it should be considered as a real option. Each golf club has their own idiosyncrasies, so it is always worth checking with your accountant or VAT expert. If you require a quote, or would simply like to talk over options with an expert at Golf Finance, please call Ian, Joe or Ken on 01620 890200 | http://www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2019/01/should-we-lease-golf-course-machinery/ |
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