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Can China be carbon neutral before 2060?
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To objective China observers, Chinas pledge that its carbon emissions will peak before 2030 and it will achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 should not come as a surprise. It is a logical extension of its policies of Made in China 2025, high-quality development model and new infrastructure plan, all of which are focused on achieving development through low-carbon and advanced technologies. The aim of reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 is also in line with Chinas 2049 goal of building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful. By announcing these ambitious goals at the 75th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in September last year, President Xi Jinping also reconfirmed Chinas commitment to multilateralism. Beijing has played by the rules of the Paris Agreement, which stipulates individual and independent national commitments. And it has not sought any quid pro quo from developed countries, let alone developing countries, and instead made the challenging commitment of carbon neutrality unilaterally. Xis commitment had swift impacts. Shortly after his UN statement, Japan and the Republic of Korea both vowed to realize carbon neutrality by 2050. But it will be a challenge for Japan and the ROK to achieve the goal by 2050, and for China to realize it before 2060. Even before Xis announcement, China had charted a path toward carbon neutrality. Consider the following facts. Sinopec, Chinas largest oil refining company, estimated in December 2020 that Chinas demand for oil will peak in 2025. The share of coal in Chinas energy mix declined from 68 percent in 2012 to 58 percent in 2019. And while addressing the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by US President Joe Biden, Xi stressed that China will strictly control coal-fired power projects, and limit the increase in coal consumption during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period and reduce it during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). While the National Energy Administration has asked regional grids to increase the purchase of non-fossil-fuel energy from 28 percent in 2020 to 40 percent by 2030, the government plans to lower the countrys carbon emissions per unit of GDP by more than 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to 25 percent, and raise the total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts. China has also been the world leader in electric vehicles. In 2020 alone, China sold 1.3 million electric vehicles, or 41 percent of the global total. In comparison, the United States accounted for only 2.4 percent of the global sales. China leads the world in electric two- and three-wheelers and buses, too. Of the 500,000 electric buses in the world in 2019, the majority were in China. And over the past decade, China has become a leading manufacturer of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehiclesin precise terms, it makes more than 70 percent of the worlds solar modules, 69 percent of lithium batteries and 45 percent of wind turbines. The country is also a global leader in construction of dams. Besides, China has made remarkable achievements in research and development. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences estimates that Chinas spending on R&D exceeded that of the US in 2020. In fact, during the past two decades Chinas R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP has more than tripled, and primarily due to Chinas efforts, the costs of solar and wind energy have reduced drastically across the world. Since China has been making technology more energy efficient in all sectors, and reducing the cost of renewable energy, it is in a good position to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, without hampering its economic development. Yet China needs to restructure its development model to realize the carbon neutral goal. Preliminary estimates by some Chinese ministries indicate the cost may be around $14.5-15 trillion. In comparison, the Marshall Plan to rejuvenate Europe after the end of World War II cost $135 billion in todays value. Phasing out coal from the economy is likely to affect Chinas coal-producing provinces. But by 2018, renewable energy provided 4.1 million jobs, more than the fossil fuel extraction sector. Investments in low-carbon energy are now nine times higher than in fossil fuels, compared with only 1.1 times in 2008. And nearly 90 percent of the new investments in power generation is going to non-fossil fuel sector. In 2020, China imported more than 10 million barrels of oil a day. So a shift to renewables will save China a huge amount of foreign exchange while enhancing its energy security. In a world where geopolitical events can suddenly disrupt oil imports, a steady shift to renewable energy sources makes good economic and political sense. In particular, China will have to reduce the use of oil in the transportation sector if it wants to bring about major structural changes. At present, only about 20 percent of freight moves by train, compared with 50 percent by road. So China will have to substantially increase investments to further improve urban public transportation networks and increase the number of freight trains. The shift from fossil fuels to clean energy will also bring considerable health and social benefits. For example, the implementation of strong policy measures has reduced PM2.5 in the atmosphere between 2015 and 2019, which has resulted in 90,000 fewer premature deaths. And further reductions will have significant health and social benefits. And latest studies indicate that benefits from an aggressive climate change-mitigation strategy will increase GDP by 2-3 percent, reduce demands for fossil fuels by 80 percent, and cut carbon emissions by 75-80 percent by 2050. Such developments will improve Chinas global competitiveness, make its economy more resilient, and boost its soft power. If these goals are achieved, China will become a leading decarbonization technology provider for the world. Source: China Daily
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https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/can-china-be-carbon-neutral-before-2060/
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Can exports come to the rescue of Indian economy?
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Skier Export and Import Pvt. Ltd is a small textile unit that makes towels, blankets, and bedsheets in a factory in Ghaziabad on eastern edge of New Delhi, and exports them to foreign markets, including the US and Europe. Vikas Singh Chauhan, who handles international business at the firm, which records annual sales in the range of 20 crore, is suddenly confronted with a problem of plenty. Skier has been flooded with more orders from overseas buyers than it can possibly meet, said Chauhan. Last time we saw this type of orders, it was five years ago, he added. At a time when Indias domestic demand is muted due to persisting covid-induced caution and regional lockdowns, exports are emerging as a surprising silver lining. Indias exports grew more than 60% year-on-year to a record $34.5 billion in March and earned a robust $32 billion in April, the first month of FY22. While the figures for May are expected to slip a bit due to movement restrictions, the March and April shipments have given rise to optimism about the short- and medium-term prospects. The reason: global demand, particularly in the West, is recovering much faster. In FY20, Indias overall exports (by value) plunged by 7.3% to $291 billion. But, this year, exporters and government policymakers have seen enough signs of a rebound that a steep target has been setat least $400 billion. Biswajit Dhar, professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said in the short run, the surge in external demand is a window of opportunity for the Indian economy. Domestic demand is not going to pick up soon. So, foreign demand will be critical for the economy. Minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal recently picked pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, auto components, fisheries and agricultural goods as the key focus areas. V-shaped mirage Most economic forecasters have begun to pare Indias FY22 growth projections, holding that the earlier presumption of a swift V-shaped economic recovery is unlikely to be realized since a second covid-19 wave has abruptly cut short a nascent economic recovery. Moodys Investors Service, for instance, has slashed its FY22 growth forecast for India to 9.3% from the earlier estimate of 13.7%. S&P Global Ratings expects Indias gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 9.8% in a moderate scenario and 8.2% under a severe scenario. The rapid spread of the virus into the hinterland, which has rudimentary healthcare infrastructure, has added to the uncertainty about the economys growth trajectory in the months ahead. In sharp contrast, the key export markets for Indiasuch as the US and the European Union (EU)are experiencing a strong economic rebound, boosted by a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus programme by the Joe Biden-led US administration and a sharp drop in covid-19 infections. An accelerating vaccination drive and the easing of lockdowns has led to a rebound in household confidence levels in the US and Europe to well above the pre-pandemic levels. Morgan Stanley has projected the US and the EU to grow by 7.5% (the fastest since 1984) and 3.5%, respectively, in 2021. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), prospects of a rapid recovery in global trade has improved as merchandise trade expanded quicker than expected in the second half of 2020. According to the new WTO estimates, the volume of global merchandise trade is expected to increase by 8% in 2021 after having fallen 5.3% in 2020. The pandemic-induced collapse had clearly bottomed out by the second quarter of last year. Crisil Ltd wrote in a recent research note that Indian exports were above their pre-pandemic levels and the momentum remains strong. Faster recovery in advanced economies will spur global demand in the second half of 2021, thereby supporting Indias exports (too), it added. To be sure, India has a paltry share of the worlds merchandise exports, at 1.7%as against Chinas 13.2%. Indias share of global services exports is 3.5%, compared to Chinas 4.6%. But despite this limitation, Indias exportsboth merchandise and servicesas a share of the domestic GDP are around 20%, and their performance is a key factor in overall economic expansion, particularly at a time when other growth cylinders arent firing. Although the economy is primarily driven by domestic demand, exports can offset a slump in the home market to some extent. Demand environment The product composition of Indias export basket has remained largely unchanged in the past five years, with petroleum and mineral products, precious stones and metals, and chemicals and textiles making up the largest chunk. The share of machinery and electrical equipment has increased during the last five years, reflecting, in part, a shift towards medium technology exports that involve greater local value addition. Over the past few months, the US has emerged as the main destination for Indian exports after Britain exited the EU, which is now the No.2 market. Around a third of the countrys exports are destined for other nations in Asia, where the principal markets remain China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The share of Indias exports destined for the Middle East (West Asia) and Africa has been declining. India has a net surplus in its services trade, in which the main components are computer, information and telecommunications services. Travel services and transportation are other key services exports. A spokesperson for the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said although the industry body has stopped making growth projections for the information technology (IT) sector, the demand environment looks very healthy for FY22. Of course, the healthcare situation in key Western markets will be a key determinant, the spokesperson said. In FY21, the IT sector grew by 2.3% to touch $194 billion of revenue in a demonstration of its resilience amid the first wave of the pandemic. Trade shy However, apart from the highly successful IT sector, Indian industry has been largely reluctant to look at opportunities beyond the shores, often content with serving the large domestic market. This is in sharp contrast to the growth model of China and other East Asian economies. Indias liberal foreign direct investment (FDI) policy has also not succeeded in orienting overseas inflows towards boosting exports. After a false start through Make In India in September 2014, the Narendra Modi government realized in its second term that without fiscal incentives, it is difficult to boost manufacturing and exports. It first offered a massive corporate tax rate cut in September 2019 and followed it up with sector-specific production linked incentives worth 2 trillion for 13 sectors under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan last year. It has also hiked tariffs on one-third of its tradable goods in the last five years in order to protect domestic industry and to reduce import dependence. Indias average tariff increased to 14.3% in FY21 from 13% in FY15, with policymakers frequently using trade policy measures to encourage domestic production and curb inflation. That may now conflict with Indias plans to start negotiations on free trade agreements with the EU and the UK, which may require tariff elimination on up to 90% of product lines. Due to this mix-and-match approach, Indias external posture remains obscure and seemingly inconsistent, wrote Suman Bery, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in a recent report published by the Hinrich Foundation. But it does appear that India is reducing its bets on integration with its East Asian neighbours and (is) investing greater energy in links with Europe and the US. The deeper message is that in its post-covid recovery, Indias pursuit of strategic trade and industrial policy means it prefers the flexibility offered by bilateral trade agreements over more ambitious regional structures (in Asia), he added. Immediate challenges Although states have not completely halted manufacturing activity during the second wave, many have put stringent conditions in placelike limiting the workforce to 50% (West Bengal) and making it mandatory to house workers within the factory premises (Karnataka). Luckily, we have not gone for a national lockdown. Also, the Centre has not restricted the inter-state movement of goods and most export-related services are in the exempt category, said Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) chief executive Ajay Sahai. So, this time we are not facing many challenges with logistics as was the case in the first wave. But one cannot deny that when you are facing such a virulent second wave, there is bound to be some impact, he added. Many workers, for instance, have returned to their villages, resulting in localized labour shortages. Oxygen has also been in short supply. It is a key input both in the steel and automobile industry. The ban on the supply of industrial oxygen is threatening to bring the metal works industry to a standstill because pre-heated metal cannot be cut without oxygen, said former chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India Anupam Shah, who is concerned about how that will affect engineering exporters who are flush with orders from overseas. If the oxygen ban is not lifted soon, there will be a long-term damage because our customers from developed countries are going back to China and Brazil, and getting a customer back once you lose them is very difficult, he said. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that contribute roughly 40% to Indias exports are, meanwhile, battling liquidity challenges. After losing a case at the WTO, the commerce ministry has stopped the Merchandise Export Incentive Scheme (MEIS) that used to offer sops to exporters. The government replaced it with the WTO-compatible Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme starting 1 January, but is yet to finalize the incentive rates for exports, making it ineffective. Exporters claim that 10,000 crore is still pending with the government under the MEIS for FY21 and around 4,000 crore on account of the RoDTEP for the first four months of the calendar year 2021. The Centre has also not yet notified the Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) since FY20, denying incentives to sectors like travel and tourism, healthcare, and education. We understand the Centres concern that at this point of time, providing health and creating health infrastructure should be the priority. We are not looking at new incentives or fiscal support. But we expect the money that is stuck with the government to be released on a priority basis. Then, the liquidity situation would ease significantly, Sahai said. Meanwhile, at the Skier textile factory, Chauhan is cautiously optimistic that the order influx would last. We have a duty disadvantage of around 8% as against our competitors in Pakistan, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, he said. But the high freight cost of the past few months is moderating and yarn prices are also easing. Our Christmas orders will start arriving from May-end. If cases fall and if the government supports us, our exports can double. Source: Mint
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https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/can-exports-come-to-the-rescue-of-indian-economy/
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How does changing a way of life help anybody in Lakshadweep?
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Find Free WordPress Themes and plugins. By: Sushil Kutty Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran stands with the people of Lakshadweep who want Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel upended in the Arabian Sea at a spot far away from Gujarat, which is where Patel, a close acquaintance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, belongs to. For those walking in late, the people of Lakshadweep, a Union Territory in the Arabian Sea, are up in arms against Khoda Patel because he has come up with a clutch of draft regulations that, they claim, will significantly alter the political architecture and cultural ethos of Lakshadweep, which is 96% Muslim and uniquely tribal. Actor Prithviraj has the support of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and, more important, the shoulder of Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP, who has expressed his solidarity with the people of Lakshadweep, saying that the ignorant bigots in power are destroying Indias jewel in the ocean. No one will dispute that. Lakshadweep is, indeed, a jewel in the ocean. But there are folks who dont agree with Rahul Gandhi, people who insist that not everything Patel is doing is wrong. For example, the claim that Lakshadweep is crime-free is offset by the fact that there are frequent illegal berthing of foreign vessels at the islands and that there have been hauls of narcotics made from the islands. There is also the allegation that the opposition has joined hands with Islamists to organize a Social Media campaign against Patels reforms and that disinformation is being spread to brand the reforms a Sanghi plot to undermine the Islamic character of Lakshadweep. That said, the outcry against the reforms is only growing. And administrator Patel is feeling the heat. If its not Rahul Gandhi, its Rahuls sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra piling on the pressure, demanding that Patel stop harassing the people of Lakshadweep and stop trying to destroy the heritage of Lakshadweep with arbitrary restrictions, insisting that the rich natural and cultural heritage of the islands should be protected and nurtured. How can someone who knows nothing about their heritage be allowed to use his power to destroy it? Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked. But none of the appeals appear to have had an effect. The Modi Government has chosen to stand by the decisions of the administrator. Also, the Kerala High Court declined to stay the operation of the Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021, giving the administrator two weeks time to respond to a PIL against the regulation. The court declined to stay the implementation of the regulation. The PIL speaks of the illegal interference with the social, political and cultural realities in the island(s) of Lakshadweep by the administrator, specifically Regulation 21, which gives the Lakshadweep Administration the powers to remove or usurp the small holdings of property owned by the islanders belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, and affecting their right to livelihood. The PIL also assails the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) which was introduced in January 2021, and which gave the administration the power to detain a person without any public disclosure for a period of up to one year. The islanders did not know that Praful Khoda Patel would with his decisions seek to change their choices of food, their culture and livelihood, which are against articles 15, 16, 19 and 21. The Congress party has also objected to the decision to open a liquor store in the archipelago, besides opposing the anti-Goonda Act. Those opposed to the new regulations do not forget to mention that Patel was chosen by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and, therefore, wouldnt be without bias. Patel cannot be objective in his decisions because hes out and out a political appointee, the first time a politician has been appointed administrator of Lakshadweep. Patel is no fisherman and he does not own a fishing boat to understand the livelihood of fishermen, their feelings for the sea and its subtle mood changes. In short, Patel wouldnt understand what to fish, when to fish and where to fish, and here hes indiscriminately demolishing the dwellings of fishermen and their dependents. Patels trespasses were resented, and now people fear that his unilateral and anti-people decisions would spell the death of traditional livelihood. Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran understands better by far than administrator Patel. My first memories of this gorgeous little group of islands are from a school excursion when I was in my 6th grade. I remember being in awe of the turquoise waters and the crystal clear lagoons, he wrote on Social Media. Years later I was part of the crew that brought filmmaking back to the islands with Sachys Anarkali. I spent a good two months in Kavaratti and made memories and friends for a lifetime. Terming the changes completely bizarre reforms, the actor believes that any law, reform or amendment should never be for the land, but for the people of the land. Its never the geographical or political boundary that makes a country, state or union territory, but the people who live there. How does disrupting the way of life of a centuries-old peaceful settlement become an acceptable means of progress? (IPA Service)
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https://www.thehillstimes.in/featured/how-does-changing-a-way-of-life-help-anybody-in-lakshadweep/
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How the public healthcare in Canada emerged as a global model?
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Find Free WordPress Themes and plugins. By: Dave McKee Canadian media and politicians claim that the countrys public health care system is what separates us from the Americans. Social democrats have baptized Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)/New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Tommy Douglas as the Father of Medicare, the official name for Canadas health system. Election after election, opinion polls position healthcare as one of the key public concerns. Yet, for all this attention, the history of the struggle for socialized medicine in Canada remains poorly understood. Douglass moniker is not an unfair onewithout a doubt, he placed a high priority on creating universal provincial public healthcare when he was the CCF premier of Saskatchewan mid-century. He implemented key reforms and fought the medical establishment in Saskatchewan (and throughout North America) in 1962, paving the way for his successor, Woodrow Lloyd, to fully implement the universal healthcare programthe first in North Americawhich Douglas had introduced just prior to assuming federal leadership of the newly created NDP. Saskatchewans provincial system was used as the model for the Canada-wide health system created four years later by Lester Pearsons Liberal Party government. But leaving the story therewhich far too many sources dosuggests that health care was designed and delivered to a passive population by a small handful of enlightened social reformers. Nothing could be further from reality. For decades prior to Douglass government, workers and socialists had pressed for socialized medicine. This included communists who campaigned for health care at all levelsmunicipal, provincial, and federal. A full three decades before the successful breakthrough in Saskatchewan, members of the Communist Party of Canada won a majority on the municipal council of Blairmore, Alberta, where one of their key reforms was expanding the local public health service during the Great Depression. The first motion for provincial health care in Manitoba was introduced in the legislature by James Litterick, who was elected for the Communist Party in 1936. The motion was defeated but reflected the growing demand among the working class. The first legislation for a cross-Canada health care system was introduced in the federal legislature by Fred Rose, a Communist Party member who was elected for the Labor-Progressive Party in 1941 and re-elected in 1943. The communist who is best known for championing healthcare is Norman Bethune. His commitments to medicine and socialism eventually led him to the Spanish Civil War, where he developed the mobile blood transfusion unit with the International Brigades, and to the struggle against fascism in China, where he trained and led volunteer medics in the Chinese Communist Partys guerrilla medical service and saved tens of thousands of lives. Following medical school, Bethune established his first practice in Detroit in 1924. His office was located among the citys working poor, and he quickly encountered the restriction and misery that is the sad accompaniment to the affluence of capitalism. He commented that practicing medicine in the midst of the shabby housing, poverty, and sickness was like putting a mustard plaster on a wooden leg. By the time he returned to Montreal in 1928, Bethune was full of anger at the class-based realities of health care and grappling with the contradiction between, on the one hand, the capacity of modern medicine to cure sickness and, on the other, the unwillingness of modern capitalist society to facilitate the universal provision of that care. He was increasingly drawn to radical political pamphlets and newspapers in an effort to explore and understand this connection. It led him to the Soviet Union in 1935, where he learned that health care was provided free of charge, as a constitutional right, in well-furnished facilities. Inspired by the Soviet experience, Bethune joined the Communist Party of Canada and organized the Montreal Group for the Security of the Peoples Health. This group of doctors, nurses, and social workers met regularly well into 1936 to plan a socialized medical system for Canada. Leading up to the Quebec provincial election in 1936, the Group prepared a detailed set of proposals for a socialized provincial medical system and released a manifesto on the eve of the vote. As part of their preparatory work, they helped to establish a Montreal-wide scheme of medical care for people on unemployment relief. This municipal effort and the pre-election work brought a large part of the population into action on the issue of socialized medicine. In addition, much of the logistical and administrative details pertaining to a socialized medical system were worked out, and these provided some of the groundwork for the introduction of universal public health care across Canada years later. Central to the Communist Partys work on health care has always been its understanding that it is the masses who make change. Notwithstanding the importance of political leadership, without strong organizations of workers, farmers, health professionals, and intellectuals, the dream of socialized medicine would have been just that and nothing more. In the current context of neoliberal cutbacks and privatization, the struggle to defend and expand health care requires the same degree of militant mass mobilization. Informed by the work of its earliest members and driven by the needs of the working class and the dynamics of capitalist society, the Communist Party of Canada has continued to be a key voice for defending and expanding healthcare. This is reflected in the current push for universal pharmacare that includes a nationalized pharmaceutical industry, free prescription drugs, and for publicly owned and operated long-term caredemands that have become urgent during the coronavirus pandemic. The struggle for socialized medicine and healthcare is one of the clearest examples of how the history of the Communist Party is intertwined with that of the labor and peoples movements. (IPA Service)
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https://www.thehillstimes.in/featured/how-the-public-healthcare-in-canada-emerged-as-a-global-model/
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Is James Bond Better Off Without Daniel Craig?
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Daniel Craig's appointment as the new 007 in October 2005 was met with much hesitancy. Until then, all other actors to play the character were of a very similar profile; white, slim with dark brown hair. However, Craig challenged this model, having blonde hair and being considerably more stocky than previous iterations of the character. Daniel Craig quickly proved doubters wrong when his debut outing as Bond proved to be one of the greatest entries in the franchise. Casino Royale blew fans away with a more rough-and-ready, loose canon, style of character. The film drew from the Jason Bourne franchise, where large action set-pieces and cold-blooded kills were interwoven with a deep and meaningful storyline and intriguing character development. This style of film was continued, with 2008's Quantum of Solace attempting to duplicate the spectacle of Craig's first appearance, whilst also dealing with the fallout of the origin-focussed movie's storyline. However, a change of director and a lack of gaps between the action resulted in a less successful release. The second entry into Craig's 007 timeline earned $589.6 million at the box office, in comparison to Casino Royale's $616.5 million. A change of tack followed, with 2012's Skyfall marking the franchise's 50th anniversary. As such, the Sam Mendes-directed entry drew from Bond movies of the past as a homage to the franchise's origins. From the Aston Martin DB5 first seen in Goldfinger, to the return of Q and his trademark gadgets, Skyfallwas a return to the old days of Bond and it's box office results show its success. Proving more powerful than the Golden Gun, nostalgia worked for Mendes who's film hit $1.2 billion, earning the director another shot at the franchise. The result of this, 2015's release Spectre, proved that although nostalgia may work once it, unlike Bond, does not live twice. Despite a greater box office result than Craig's first two outings, Spectre failed to match the success of Skyfall, even with a larger budget to begin with. Daniel Craig's next depiction of Ian Fleming's famous spy is also set to be his last, with Cary Fukunaga's No Time to Die set for release later this year. Now would seem the time for a return to the grittier, darker style that made Daniel Craig a success in Casino Royale. This alternative approach is what made Craig different from his predecessors, and to go full-circle for his final outing would be an effective way to sign off. However, despite the undoubted success of Skyfall, Mendes' shadow looms large over the franchise, with some events that cannot be undone. The reintroduction of Q's gadgets, the ever-returning DB5 and Bond's new girlfriend Madeleine Swann will be factors hard to ignore in No Time To Die.This could mean that a return to the grittier, Bourne-like style that fans loved so much about Daniel Craig's Bond may have to wait until a new actor is cast in the role. One much-touted replacement for Craig is Inception, Peaky Blinders and Venom star Tom Hardy, who would certainly fit the bill. His depiction of Bane in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises shows a more physical element to his acting, while his roles in Inceptionand This Means War very much compare to the character of 007. Hardy is an actor who would allow for a return to the Casino Royale style that fans crave, a style that seemingly cannot be recreated whilst Craig still portrays the character. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Movieweb.
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https://movieweb.com/daniel-craig-done-as-james-bond/
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Are The Chareidi MKs Planning An Alternative Government?
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Chareidi MKs are working to form a unity government that would exclude Avigdor Leibermans Yisrael Beiteinu party and the left-wing Meretz and Labor parties and wouldnt depend on the support of Arab parties, Arutz Sheva reported on Monday. The report said that Chareidi party officials told Arutz Sheva that in the wake of Naftali Bennetts announcement on Sunday night on his decision to join a unity government with Yesh Atid, Chareidi MKs offered an alternative plan to New Hope chairman Gideon Saar. The government would be comprised of the Chareidi parties, Yamina, New Hope, Yesh Atid, Blue and White, and the Religious Zionist party, which would bring the number of MKs to 60. The 61st member would be MK Ofir Sofer, a member of the National Union party who was part of the Likud list in the previous election but would now join the government as part of the Religious Zionist party. The government would not include the Likud, solving the problem of those parties that refuse to sit under Netanyahu. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)
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https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/1979026/are-the-chareidi-mks-planning-an-alternative-government.html
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What Are the Main Causes of Car Accidents?
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According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), there were more than 33,000 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2019. This resulted in more than 36,000 deaths. There are more than six million car crashes in total in the US each year, with a variety of causes and injuries sustained. In this blog post, we will look at causes such as speeding, distracted driving, and drunk driving, highlighting how prevalent they are in causing dangerous road traffic accidents in the US. 1. Drunk Driving Drinking alcohol impairs our ability to focus and function properly. When this is paired with driving a vehicle, it becomes incredibly dangerous. As per the IIHS, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was reported for almost two-thirds of fatally injured drivers in 2019. This figure was highest in Hawaii, where 29 of the 31 drivers killed had a BAC (94%). It is always best to plan your night ahead of time and organize a designated driver. 2. Speeding Speeding continues to be a leading cause of road traffic accidents, deaths, and injuries. By speeding, drivers have less time to react in a dangerous situation. In 2019, speeding was a factor in 26% of road traffic deaths in the US. Speeding is most dangerous on roads with ice, frost, mud, dirt, or gravel. Some 43% of fatal crashes on roads with ice or frost in 2019 were linked to excessive speeding. 3. Distracted Driving Talking on your cell phone, eating food, applying makeup, or reaching for a moving object inside a vehicle are all common examples of driver distractions. Distracted driving is a major cause of car crashes and fatal accidents. Distracted drivers are not just a danger to other motorists. In 2018, 20% of people who died in crashes involved distracted drivers were not in vehicles, with many simply walking along the street or road or riding their bikes. 4. Inclement Weather As we have already noted with speeding, inclement weather increases the likelihood that we will be involved in a car crash. Rain or ice, for example, can make roads slick, resulting in reduced braking effectiveness and a higher likelihood of spinning out of control. Other weather conditions, such as fog, can significantly reduce visibility and the probability of car crashes. 5. Inexperienced Drivers Young and inexperienced drivers who are nervous on the road or unsure of driving laws are another common cause of car crashes. Teenagers or new drivers with less experience of handling a vehicle often struggle to cope in difficult driving conditions, such as during inclement weather or heavy traffic. Explore here to learn when to hire a car accident attorney. An auto accident lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve following a car accident. The Leading Causes of Car Accidents Each year, thousands of preventable deaths occur on our roads. The causes of car accidents are many, but it only takes small changes to reduce their prevalence. Driving more slowly (especially in inclement weather), paying greater attention, and avoiding any alcohol before driving are some of the ways to reduce your likelihood of being involved in a car accident. Be sure to check out our other interesting articles on our blog post today. Share this: Twitter Facebook
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https://www.artvoice.com/2021/05/28/what-are-the-main-causes-of-car-accidents/
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Is It Better to Be a Full-Time Artist or Keep It as a Hobby?
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Millions of people dream of becoming artists, but it can be tough to generate a full-time salary from it. Youll have a ton of competition to contend with, and not everyone appreciates art as much as you do. Plus, there may not be a market for your signature style. If you do, you might not have as much time to develop your creative work as youd like and you may be so fatigued from your day job that you cant summon up the energy to pursue your art. The Advantages of Pursuing Art Full-Time There are several advantages to pursuing art full time, which include: More time to hone your skills. The obvious benefit here is that if you have 40 hours a week to dedicate to art, youll have plenty of time to hone your skills. You can practice constantly and achieve those 10,000 hours necessary to become a true master (though the 10,000 hour rule neednt be taken literally). A greater volume of work. Working on your art full-time should also result in a larger body of work, which you can sell for a greater amount of money, at least in theory. If you can produce a new piece every 20 hours or so, you can churn out two new pieces every week instead of one or two per month. If you manage to sell consistently, youll make more money. No distractions or energy vampires. Lets face it: full-time work can be draining. If youre working full time at something else, at least some of your free time may be prey to distracting concerns and mental fatigue. But if youre a full-time artist, these shouldnt pose an issue. Branding and reputation. Its also worth noting that being a full-time artist can be better for your reputation. Some people will take you more seriously if youre known to have gone deeply into your work, rather than treating creative activity as a fun thing to do on the side. This judgment isnt necessarily accurate or fair, but the assumption is common and all but unavoidable. The Advantages of Relegating Art to a Hobby On the other hand, there are significant advantages to keeping art as a part-time hobby. A steady stream of income. If youre not selling art, youre not making money which can be stressful. With a stable full-time job to back you up, youll be making enough money to put gnawing financial concerns to rest. Keeping art as a passion. Working on art full-time may turn it into a job and whether you see it coming or not, this could make you fall out of love with your creative drive. Keeping it as a hobby tends to preserve it as a passion, which you can pursue as you see fit, with no obligations or constraints. Outside inspiration and opportunity. Sometimes, working a different career can provide you with inspiration and new opportunities. You may discover some aspect of life you never would have discovered if you had stayed aloof in the creative arena. Less pressure. When you work on art full time, you may feel enormous pressure to create new works on a regular basis and keep improving yourself. If you have a full-time job on hand, however, your art may feel more open and free. Variables to Consider Every artist is different, so the pros and cons could look different for you than they will to anyone else. To make the decision easier, focus on the following variables: Personal disposition. Consider your personal preferences. Career opportunities are available. Experience with art. Current savings. Previous success. Your dream may be to become a full-time artist, but that may not be the best course, in view of your career prospects compared to your momentum in the art world. Fortunately, you can change your mind at any time, so dont feel too much pressure to make a permanent correct decision. Do what feels right for now and keep your mind open to other possibilities. Share this: Twitter Facebook
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https://www.artvoice.com/2021/05/31/is-it-better-to-be-a-full-time-artist-or-keep-it-as-a-hobby/
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Was Tim Dakin made Bishop of Winchester without being validly ordained priest?
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There is something very peculiar going on in the Diocese of Winchester (which may or may not have spent 500,000 on NDAs). Not only has its Bishop stepped back or stepped down for six weeks after being threatened with a vote of no confidence, but there is some grave doubt about whether he should ever have been enthroned as the 97th Bishop of Winchester at all. If so, that temporary stepping back or stepping down may become rather more permanent. Setting aside whether Tim Dakin was ever suited by temperament for the office of bishop (he has variously been called a bully, a megalomaniac, and a sociopath by people who worked with him or crossed him [sometimes couched as an abrupt management style in public]), there are some very serious questions raised by gaps in the CV, and unanswered questions about his education and ordination. Stephen Parsons observes at his Surviving Church blog: Whenever a public figure is questioned over their ability to do a job, there will always be someone who goes back to look at the appointment process to see if all protocols were followed. It has been widely commented on that +Dakin had no parish experience in the Church of England and that has come to be a important issue in the discussion about his suitability to be appointed as the bishop of a diocese in 2011. A second area of query is his formation and training for the priesthood and his other academic qualifications. There are various breaks in +Dakins published CVs which have not been accounted for. His first BA degree is from a University in Plymouth followed by a MTh in 1987. The MTh was obtained from Kings College London and, according to Wikipedia, this was linked to ordination training. As far as I know the days of ordination training at Kings were long over by 1987. Students who studied at Kings went on elsewhere to complete training. Even if that year in London was counted for full time training, it was a very short period. Most ordination candidates were then required to do at least two years. The missing period between 1987 and 1993 also needs clarification. The published account on the Diocesan website refers to him being in Oxford doing doctoral research with no dates given. The circumstances of his ordination, already discussed on Thinking Anglicans, need to be explained further. The account that is given suggests that the ordination was in 1993 when he took up the job of Principal of Carlile College in Nairobi. The Crockford entry we have, also seems to suggest that the curacy at Nairobi only came into operation the year after he was made Deacon in 1994. In short, the title parish seems only to have been added to the process of his ordination as a kind of afterthought. Tim Dakin has not apparently passed through any Anglican selection conference. He applied to the Advisory Board for Ministry (now the Bishops Advisory Panel) and was reportedly turned down for ordination in England. He did not train formally for the priesthood. Kings College London used to send graduates to St Augustines Canterbury for a pastoral year, but this ended before Tim Dakin was there. His Wikipedia page says he was ordained deacon in 1993 and priest in 1994, but there is no evidence that he was canonically ordained in Nairobi. It would not be hard to produce such certification (or even photographs with the presiding bishop), but it has not happened (yet). There is a widespread suspicion that if he was ordained at all, it was not by an Anglican bishop in a public service in the Cathedral. If that is true, his episcopal orders are canonically in question, and so are those of anyone he ordained (should he have done so without the company of two other bishops). He would also be sitting in the House of Lords under false pretences. He claimed membership of Christ Church Oxford in this yearbook entry, but there is no formal evidence of this. He certainly didnt graduate with any higher Oxford degree, which is a little odd after studying (if that is what he was doing) for so many years. There is a discussion thread on the Thinking Anglicans website which raises some important questions: FAITH: The 1987-1993 years in Tims CV now need to be clarified. At present there seems to be no record of his ordination as a deacon or as a priest. There should be certificates or a record of the ordination such as an Order of Service. I cannot think of any ordination Ive attended where the newly ordained are not pictured with the ordaining bishop, and other photos of proud parents, children etc. If none of this evidence can be produced the CofE has a major crisis on its hands. It would raise fundamental questions about due diligence and the role of Lambeth Palace, and what scrutiny goes on at the Wash House. And that would just be for starters. I really do think the Diocese needs to be reassured that their Bishop was a fit and proper person to assume the See of Winchester. At present I have very grave doubts. I really do hope my fears are unfounded. But we need evidence of his ordinations as deacon and priest to allay our concerns. CLARE AMOS: I am fairly sure that Tim was ordained as both deacon and priest in Kenya by a bishop in that country linked to his post as Principal of Carlile College (which he had moved to as a layman as far as the C of E was concerned). I am sure I have either heard him talk about, or seen a comment about, him being ordained in Kenya in effect as a Kenyan ordinand. I expect there is some record of his ordinations in Kenya, although record keeping may be slightly more ad hoc than in the C of E. Since those days there is now far more scrutiny of those coming to minister in the C of E having been ordained in another Province. Indeed in some circumstances people have to go before a C of E candidates committee before they are then allowed to minister in England. But back in the 1990s there werent the cross checks there are now. ROWLAND WATERIDGE: Somewhere, I think actually on this thread which currently has 237 posts, I have read that he was ordained priest in Africa in 1994. I think it was similarly suggested as deacon there in 1993, but I am less sure of that. It is certainly stated that he served his curacy in 1994 at Nairobi Cathedral. I know nothing about C of E ordination records; clearly there must be registers, but I would have thought it unlikely that Lambeth Palace would keep, or have access to, any records of the Anglican Church in Kenya. JEREMY PEMBERTON: I would have thought the question of Tim Dakins ordination was simplicity itself to resolve. Whether he was ordained by letters dimissory, or directly by a Kenyan bishop he must have letters of orders. It would be unusual for him not to be ordained to a particular ministry. But if he wants to quash the speculation that he is not ordained, then he should produce his letters of orders forthwith. If he cant, then this all looks very concerning indeed. He would, I expect, have been subject to the requirements of the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967. FROGHOLE: Indeed. Canon C6 (2) (a) requires anyone wishing to be ordained deacon or priest to exhibit letters of orders to the bishop who is to perform the rite. Canon C1 (on the consecration of bishops) contains no like requirement, presumably because no one who ever had a hand in drafting that canons would ever have thought it possible that a person might become a bishop without first having valid and proven orders as a deacon and priest. It should be comparatively easy for the bishop of Winchester to produce a certificate of his ordination as deacon and priest, or else some other record. The burden of proof should be upon him, and he ought to be able to produce credible and conclusive evidence without delay. Since Mr Wateridge has cited the great Norman Sykes, the Dakin case has taken me back to Sykes Birkbeck lectures, Church and State in the XVIIIth Century (1934) in which he notes how diligent were some bishops, during the so-called age of negligence, in ensuring that incumbents had valid letters of orders: for example, William Wake, when bishop of Lincoln (later archbishop and the subject of Sykes excellent 2 volume 1957 biography), deprived William Bannester, of Upton, Lindsey, of his living in 1709 despite the latters dubious protestations that be had been ordained by the massively erudite Narcissus Marsh of Dublin, or driving the more creditable Jonas Elwood out of his curacy at Newport Pagnell, Bucks; Elwood then attempted to seek a living in the diocese of Lichfield & Coventry, only to be driven out again in 1719 by its bishop, Edward Chandler, on the advice of Wake, by then archbishop, who had, in turn, been advised of the doubtfulness of Elwoods ordination by the bishop of Meath, John Evans (at 222-24). If the bishops of the late Stuart and early Georgian period could personally conduct diligent investigations into the status of the lowliest of their clergy, even in dioceses like Lincoln or Lichfield which were vastly larger than they are now, it ought not to be difficult for the CNCs of today, with ample IT at their disposal, to undertake more effective due diligence. In the early church, and during the Byzantine empire, it was not uncommon for laymen to be elevated direct to bishoprics, or even patriarchates. They would proceed through the stages of ordination and consecration within a few days (think of such luminaries as Tarasios in 784, the great St. Photius in 858, Gregory of Cyprus in 1283 and Glykys in 1315, appointed to the see of Constantinople, despite the tenth canon of the Council of Sardica (343)). However, I cannot think of a single instance where a layman has been consecrated bishop without passing through the lower orders, or of any retrospective ordination to correct any doubt, or to heal the scandal. Others may be better informed, however.
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https://archbishopcranmer.com/was-tim-dakin-made-bishop-of-winchester-without-being-validly-ordained-priest/
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How many political parties is enough?
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The Registrar of Political Parties and Candidates Dr Alphonse Gelu says new political parties that want to participate in next years National General Election must register and points to a deadline. We find this rather ridiculous! Too many political parties, especially the one-man parties, is the source of the countrys mismanagement and leadership problem which shows up in political instability year in, year out. The unbelievable irony is that when it all comes to flash point with the famous Waigani vote, the justification put forward is that political stability is important and that horse-trading happens in the interest of the electorates. The politicians may see this as a normal way of politics in PNG, but after observing and reporting on politics for a long time, it is our considered opinion that politics needs to mature for the long-term good. The country has a single chamber of just 111 MPs and you encourage more political parties. If the peoples House is being used in this way, it has to stop and the man who can steer things in the right direction is Dr Gelu. There are hardly any independent MPs left and this development came about when political parties were insisted upon in the interest of stability in politics. MPs turning the House into a circus and the people seeing them as clowns. There is no responsible debate; there is flouting of the Constitution and endless seeking of interpretations by the courts. We suggest that these are signs of bad governance where the peoples resources are manipulated for political expediency. Independent minded leaders had to align themselves with political parties to be rewarded with projects, well, then projects do not belong to the power broker or anybody; they are the rights of the people and these rights are being denied in the corridors of power, even in the chambers of the House itself. The Registry can collaborate with the Electoral Commission to bring about reforms. One much reform could be the electoral system concerning biometric voting. This trek has been on the drawing board for a few years. We say that until we build integrity into the systems that matter, it will be a roller coaster ride. The electoral system is at the root of development and change and it is time to get serious. Otherwise, the talk of next years National General Election is another great festival with its usual mixed bag of surprises. We pray earnestly for a government that the people can trust. Ideally, a government that will set its foot down and get the House in order.
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https://postcourier.com.pg/how-many-political-parties-is-enough/
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How do I trim my beard with my Philips OneBlade?
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Your Philips OneBlade comes with different trimming combs, which allow you to trim your beard to different lengths. Place the comb onto the blade, with the teeth of the comb pointing upwards. Switch on your OneBlade and place it on your skin. Make sure that the trimming comb is in full contact with your skin to obtain an even trimming result. Start trimming your hair in the direction of the teeth of the comb and move against the grain for the best results. Once you are done, switch off the OneBlade and remove the comb by holding it by its edges and pulling it off. Clean your appliance after each use. Handle the blade gently and do not tap it against a surface, as this can damage it. Note: The quantity and types of trimming combs may vary by OneBlade model. For specific instructions, always check your digital user manual or contact us.
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https://www.philips.co.uk/c-f/XC000002108/how-do-i-trim-my-beard-with-my-philips-oneblade
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How do I clean my Philips OneBlade?
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To avoid causing damage to your OneBlade, do not bang the handle against the sink or any other hard surface. After each use blow off any hair accumulated on the blade, before turning on your OneBlade and rinsing it with some lukewarm water. Remove any combs or attachments and rinse them separately with lukewarm water. Allow your OneBlade and any attachments to air dry. Do not dry the blade with a towel or tissue.For more details on how to use, clean and maintain your Philips OneBlade please refer to your digital user manual or contact us. : the accessories provided with your product may differ from those shown in the illustration below, however the cleaning instructions provided are applicable to all OneBlade models.
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https://www.philips.com.qa/c-f/XC000002109/how-do-i-clean-my-philips-oneblade
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Why are home insurance rates increasing in Florida?
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By now you may have already learned that 50,000 homeowner insurance policies are getting dropped across the state by three insurance companies. This is happening as an industry is spiraling to stay afloat. Facebook Q&A: Rising home insurance costs in Florida South Florida and Treasure Coast homeowners are seeing their premium rates increase by 20 percent or more. In some cases, rates have doubled. MORE: Insurance cancellations, rate hikes force homeowners to search for options It was a letter that local resident Cable Neuhaus was dreading. He was notified that his insurance company, Gulfstream Property and Casualty, is dropping his coverage. Gulfstream is one of three major companies approved to drop 50,000 residential property policies in Florida over the next month. Neuhaus called his insurance agent immediately to find new coverage. WPTV Cable Neuhaus discusses having his home insurance dropped recently by his provider. "He came back with a new equivalent policy in terms of coverage, but it was triple the annual premium," Neuhaus said. Lee Wiglesworth, president & owner of Wiglesworth-Rindom Insurance agency in Stuart, said stories like this don't shock him. "If someone is calling me with an increase of 20 to 40, 50 percent that doesn't surprise me ever," Wiglesworth said. Wiglesworth said his employees work with over 40 insurance carriers to get their clients coverage for their homes. He said some clients are seeing quotes double or triple depending on their location. "That is a short question with a long answer," Wiglesworth said. WPTV Lee Wiglesworth said some clients are seeing quotes triple from their previous payments. As of last year, estimated losses from Hurricanes Irma and Michael totaled about $29 billion in claims. But the major problem driving up the costs of insurance is litigation. The downward spiral of the property and casualty insurance market didn't start in the court system, but that's where it's being held up. MORE: Florida bill could help homeowners with rising insurance costs Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute said, believe it or not, it started at your door. "A roofer comes knocking on your door and says, 'We just did your neighbor across the street, beautiful new roof. Your neighbor didnt even pay for that beautiful new roof. We could do the same for you. Let us look at your roof and see if it requires any repairs or complete replacement, if it does require that, we will take care of everything with your insurance carrier,'" Friedlander said. The policyholder signs what's called an assignment of benefits or AOB over to the roofing company, which basically means the third party can "stand in the shoes" of the insured and seek payment directly from your insurance company. WPTV Mark Friedlander lays out how and why litigation lawsuits are occurring in Florida. "Now, when the roofer sends the bill to the insurance carrier, the insurance carrier says, Wait a second. This is an outrageous expense. This is not customary charges for this repair,'" Friedlander said. "Then the roofer gets together with the attorney and the attorney files a lawsuit against the insurer. And the policyholder, the homeowner, has no idea this is happening." According to a report presented to the Florida Legislature, analyzing the state's property insurance market in 2019, insurance companies alone paid nearly $3 billion in lawsuit costs. "These types of frivolous lawsuits are being filed by the thousands. That's what's the major driver of these expense hits that insurers are facing now," Friedlander said. The report also found that while a significant number of claims filed after storms are driving up costs, about 60 percent of the lawsuits filed against insurers are unrelated to catastrophes. Based on 2019 data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 76% of property claim lawsuits in the U.S. were filed in Florida. WPTV Mark Friedlander says some frivolous lawsuits can start from just a knock on your door. "Now, we've created a situation where the Florida insurance market is in a very precarious position. You now have insurers that need to take drastic actions to keep operating really to stay above water to keep [their] business running," Friedlander said. Neuhaus feels like he's treading water himself, up against a deadline of 30 days now, to get his home insured at an affordable price. "You have to do what you have to do, you have to have your home insured," said Neuhaus. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, OIR, said it seeing an increase in proposed average annual premiums for insurance rates for Florida homeowners. The office says last year OIR saw a "dramatic increase in the number of rate filings approved with a rate increase of more than 10%. Specifically, of the 105 homeowners' multi-peril rate filings the OIR approved, 55 were ultimately approved for an increase greater than 10%." The office went on to say that "it carefully reviews proposed rate filings to ensure they comply with all applicable laws and are not excessive inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Rates must be adequate to maintain insurer solvency and pay claims." Consumers can also view sample rates by county available through the OIR Choices rate comparison tool to further research their options. The OIR has also created a database of companies filing for rate increases. Click here to search for your insurance company.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263031010805/why-are-home-insurance-rates-increasing-in-florida
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Has Indias central bank changed its mind about cryptocurrencies?
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After years of outright dislike for cryptocurrencies, Indias central bank appears to have had a change of heart. On May 31, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told banks and other financial institutions in the country that they should not cite its 2018 circular that barred them from dealing with cryptocurrencies while cautioning customers against virtual coins. The 2018 circular was struck down by the Supreme Court in March 2020, which made it invalid. It has come to our attention through media reports that certain banks/ regulated entities have cautioned their customers against dealing in virtual currencies by referring to the RBI circular dated April 06, 2018 (pdf). Such references to the above circular by banks/ regulated entities are not in order as this circular was set aside by the supreme court, the latest RBI circular read. RBI's website Screenshot of the RBI latest circular on cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency ecosystem in India is interpreting the RBIs stance as a support for the industry. This is positive news for the entire crypto industrybusinesses, stakeholders, and investors. Investing in crypto has always been 100% legal in India and the new RBI circular clearly confirms the right to do business with crypto firms, said Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO at ZebPay. RBIs cryptocurrency stance Indias central bank as well as the countrys government have never supported virtual coins. Besides the 2018 circular that nearly stifled the cryptocurrency ecosystem in India, RBI has time and again issued warnings against investments into bitcoins and other virtual coins. In 2017, Indias then-finance minister Arun Jaitley had said the government does not recognise Bitcoin as legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payments system. But the central bank perhaps thought it ethical to warn banks against illegally quoting an outdated circular. RBIs recent statement came after several leading Indian banks, including the State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, sent emails to their customers warning them against the use of cryptocurrency. The banks cited RBIs 2018 circular in these emails stating that users who deal in virtual currencies may face account suspension. There have also been reports that WazirX, Indias largest cryptocurrency bourse, faced many issues with financial transactions with its banking partners due to the confusion related to the RBIs earlier notification. The crypto industry has been facing a lot of issues when it comes to using formal banking channels for trades and this circular will clear the air. RBIs stance on crypto asset trading was not changed since the supreme court order in March 2020 and it was highly unpleasant to see banks pulling the plug on crypto exchanges which impacted millions of investors across the country, said Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, a Delhi-based cryptocurrency exchange.
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https://qz.com/india/2015145/has-indias-central-bank-changed-its-stance-on-cryptocurrencies/
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How to order liquor online in Delhi?
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New Delhi oi-Deepika S New Delhi, June 01: In a bid avoid overcrowing, Delhi government on Tuesday allowed home delivery of liquor amid COVID-19 induced lockdown across the national capital. As per the new rules, Delhiites can order liquor through mobile app or online web portal. According to the Delhi Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2021, published in a gazette notification on Monday, holders of L-13 license will be allowed to deliver liquor at the doorstep of people. "Licence in Form L-13 for home delivery of Indian liquor and Foreign Liquor by ordering through mobile app or online web portal. "The licensee shall make delivery of liquor at the residences only if order is received through mobile app or online web portal and no delivery shall be made to any hostel, office, and institution," says the notification. The order contains some restrictions as it permitted only those traders in possession of the L-13 license to carry out home delivery of liquor booked via mobile apps or portals developed for this purpose. Home delivery was not explicitly barred, but holders of L-13 license were allowed to carry out such delivery "at the residences only if order is received through e-mail or by Fax (not on telephone)". But home delivery of liquor eluded the capital. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 11:10 [IST]
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https://www.oneindia.com/new-delhi/how-to-order-liquor-online-in-delhi-3267550.html
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Why are these westernized turkish dramas and kpop all over Pakistan?
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I am guilty as charged and I am not even Pakistani or from Pakistan but I do watch Kdramas not Kpop tho good riddance there is huge difference.. Also I watch Turkish shows the historical once.. I was actully one of the early Kdrama viewers and it was due to Boys over flowers.. Lee Min Ho! Gu Jun-pyo the criminal got me into Kdramas but I honestly don't watch kdrama anymore it just got to repetitive.. He was such an outlandish character that if he was real he would have been jailed but nonetheless interesting and he makes for good TV and his girlfriend is crazy and it was crazy+crazy and it made for good TV.. there is alot of potential in PK..
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https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/why-are-these-westernized-turkish-dramas-and-kpop-all-over-pakistan.712912/
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What does LGBTQ+ stand for and what's the meaning behind each letter?
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Subscribe for news and features from the capital's diverse communities Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Theres lots of reasons to celebrate if youre LGBT this Pride Month. Since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, we have seen vast improvements in the lives of LGBT people and the attitudes towards LGBT people. In recent years, weve seen discriminatory practices towards homosexual individuals outlawed in many countries, while several others have introduced same-sex marriage in a bid to become more accepting and welcoming of LGBT people. Theres also been an expansion of the LGBT acronym, and it now takes in more identities. In its most basic form, LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. These refer to sexual, emotional, romantic and gender identities. In its longer form, the abbreviation takes into account queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and ally identities. Again, these refer to sexual, emotional, romantic and gender identities, apart from ally, which we'll get to later. There is also an even longer acronym, which includes people who identify as pansexual or demi-sexual. Some other identities which would fit under the LGBT umbrella can also be included. These include non-binary, genderqueer and gender non-conforming. There are other terms too and more identities are being added all the time. If youre wondering, the plus sometimes put at the end of LGBT refers to all the other identities not stated in the aforementioned abbreviation. The plus can also be shown as an 'asterix'. As already mentioned, there are lots of different identities which make up the LGBT+ acronym. Were going to list some of those here and pick out what they mean: Lesbian (L) If a woman identifies as lesbian, it means they have an emotional or sexual attraction to other women. Some women prefer the term gay to lesbian to describe themselves. Gay (G) If a man identifies as gay, it means they have an emotional or sexual attraction to other men. Bisexual (B) If a person identifies as bisexual, it means they have an emotional or sexual attraction to more than one gender. This can mean they are attracted to men and women, but it also includes the many other gender identities, including genderfluid and genderqueer. Transgender (T) If a person identifies as transgender, it means the sex they were assigned at birth does not match their actual gender identity or gender expression. Gender expression can refer to the way the individual lives their life, including things like their behaviour and interests. Its important to note that transgender people have different sexual orientations, and may be straight, bisexual, gay or something else. Plus (+) Plus refers to the extended identities in the LGBT acronym. These include queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and ally. We will explain each of these in turn: Queer (Q) If a person identifies as queer, it means they are not straight and they do not see their gender as matched with the sex they were given at birth. It can also be used by an individual who rejects the other labels entirely. Its important to say that queer used to be a pejorative term, but in recent years it has been reclaimed by LGBT people. Many people now identify as queer. Questioning (Q) If a person is questioning, it means they are yet to decide what their sexual orientation and/or gender identity is. In other words, they are trying to figure out how they best identify. Intersex (I) If a person is intersex, it means they have biological features which do not match what is expected from a male or female person. This includes some individuals who have internal sex organs or different genitalia. Intersex is a natural trait in humans. Its not related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Asexual (A) If a person is asexual or ace, it means they experience a low amount or no sexual attraction. Its important to say that asexual people can still have sex and they can also be romantically attracted to another person. Different sexual orientations and gender identities can identify as asexual. Ally (A) Allies are people who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth and as straight, and believe in social and political equality for LGBT+ people. There are a number of other terms relating to the LGBT acronym that you should know about. Some of these can be included in the abbreviation. Cisgender If you are cisgender, then the sex you were assigned at birth matches the gender with which you identify and express yourself with. Non-binary If you identify as non-binary, then you do not identify as male or female, or you may identify as somewhere on the male/female spectrum. Those people who identify as non-binary may also identify with identities including agender or genderfluid. Singer Demi Lovato recently said they were non-binary, and asked for people to use they/them pronouns to describe them. Pansexual If you are pansexual, then you are romantically, emotionally or sexually attracted to individuals, excluding their sex or gender identity. Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran came out as pansexual earlier this year, believed to be one of the UKs first parliamentarians to do so. Demi-sexual If you are demisexual, then you have to first experience an emotional attachment before you can experience sexual attraction. Homosexuality was outlawed in the UK in 1533 after Parliament passed the Buggery Act. This completely criminalised sodomy between two homosexual men and made it punishable by death. The death penalty for sodomy was later scrapped in 1861 when Parliament passed the Offences Against the Person Act. Laws were tightened again in 1885 when any homosexual act was criminalised. But it was after the Second World War that real change began. Celebrities and other people, including Alan Turing, were arrested for homosexual acts, leading many to wonder if the law was acceptable. After a lengthy review, homosexual acts were partially decriminalised in England and Wales for men aged 21 and over, in 1967. This paved the way for further changes to the law in relation to gay people. Since then, there were some tightening of the laws, including the introduction of Section 28 - which outlawed what was then described as the "promotion of homosexuality". However, the 21st century has seen a big boost for LGBT rights. Section 28 was repealed, and now, there are laws in place to protect gay people and to be more inclusive towards LGBT people. These include anti-homophobia laws and same-sex marriage. There are, though, calls for laws to go further - to provide protection for groups not covered by many pieces of legislation, including asexual and non-binary people.
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/what-lgbtq-stand-whats-meaning-20676246
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What Do Developments In The Packaging Industry Mean For The Plastic Products Market?
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Plastic Products Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact And Recovery To 2030 The Business Research Companys Plastic Products Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030 LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UK, May 31, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The plastics products manufacturing market is affected by the growth of the packaging industry. There are a number of new developments in the packaging industry that will drive the demand for plastic materials. Convenience features, such as resealable packs, easy-to-open stand-up pouches and smaller pack sizes for single-servings are being introduced and more promotional packs and brand extensions are being developed to ensure customer loyalty. These developments in packaging will increase the consumption of plastics and are driving the market. The plastic products market consists of sales of plastic products by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce packaging materials, film and sheet, foam products, plastic bottles and all other plastic products which have domestic and industrial applications. These businesses use polymers and resins as raw materials which are primarily sourced from polymer suppliers. The processes used in plastic products manufacturing include compression molding, extrusion molding, injection molding, blow molding and casting. Read More On The Global Plastic Products Market Report: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/plastic-products-global-market-report-2020-30-covid-19-impact-and-recovery The global plastic products market is expected to grow from $931.3 billion in 2020 to $993.9 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 6%. Plastic products market growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The plastic products industry size is expected to reach $1258 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 6%. Asia Pacific is the largest region in the global plastic products market, accounting for 37% of the market in 2020. North America is the second largest region, accounting for 30% of the global plastic products market. Africa is the smallest region in the global plastic products market. Major companies in the market include Newell Brands Inc, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S., Sonoco Products Co, Sealed Air Corporation, Berry Plastics Corporation. The global plastic products market is segmented by type into plastics packaging materials and unlaminated film and sheet, plastic pipes and shapes, laminated plastics plate, sheet, and shape, plastics bottle, polystyrene foam products, urethane and other foam product, other plastics product, by technology into injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, others, and by end-user industry into automotive & transportation, electrical & electronics, medical, construction, others. Subsegments covered are bags and pouches, films and sheets, unlaminated plastics profile shape, plastics pipe and pipe fitting HDPE plastic bottles, PET plastic bottles, PP plastic bottles, other plastic bottles. Plastic Products Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030 is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides plastic products market overview, forecast plastic products market size and growth for the whole market, plastic products market segments, and geographies, plastic products market trends, plastic products market drivers, restraints, leading competitors revenues, profiles, and market shares. Read more about us at https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/about-the-business-research-company.aspx The Business Research Company is a market research and intelligence firm that excels in company, market, and consumer research. It has over 200 research professionals at its offices in India, the UK and the US, as well a network of trained researchers globally. It has specialist consultants in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and technology. Call us now for personal assistance with your purchase: Europe: +44 207 1930 708 Asia: +91 88972 63534 Americas: +1 315 623 0293
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https://www.einpresswire.com/article/542351414/what-do-developments-in-the-packaging-industry-mean-for-the-plastic-products-market
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Will the Joint Arab List oppose the new government?
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A senior official in the Joint Arab List has told Israel Hayom that his party may support the proposed unity government. According to the official, there is a disagreement within the Joint Arab List regarding whether to support a unity government led by Yesh Atid Chairman MK Yair Lapid and Yamina Chairman MK Naftali Bennett. The official added that in light of recent talks between Lapid and several Joint Arab List MKs, including its chairman Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi, and MKs from the Hadash and Ta'al parties, the list is not expected to oppose the new government. However, the list's third partner, the Balad party, opposes a government headed by Bennett. Under the agreement which unites the factions of the Joint Arab List, the decision whether to support the proposed government must be unanimous, not made by a majority.
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https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307275
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Can Bitcoin (BTC) remain an example for altcoins to follow?
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The last day of May seems to be bullish for traders as all of the top 10 coins are in the green zone. Top coins by CoinMarketCap BTC/USD Bitcoin (BTC) has gained the least today from our list as the rate of the main cryptocurrency has risen by 4.59% over the last day. BTC/USD chart by TradingView Bitcoin (BTC) has once again successfully bounced off the $34,000 mark, confirming bullish influence. However, the buying trading volume is at its lowest level, which means that bulls are not ready yet for sharp growth. In this case, the sideways range between $37,000 and $38,000 is the more likely scenario for the next several days. Bitcoin is trading at $37,045 at press time. ETH/USD Ethereum (ETH) has shown greater growth than Bitcoin (BTC) with a price change of +10.36%. ETH/USD chart by TradingView The ongoing rise of Ethereum (ETH) is not accompanied by a growing trading volume, which means that bears may seize the initiative soon. If bulls can fix above the vital mark of $2,700, the level of $3,000 may be attained by the end of the week. Ethereum is trading at $2,612 at press time. XRP/USD XRP is the biggest gainer today, rocketing by 15% since yesterday. XRP/USD chart by TradingView XRP is an exception to the rule to a certain extent as the rise may continue, supported by increasing trading volume. If buyers can hold the vital mark of $1, the next level at $1.09 can be achieved very soon. XRP is trading at $1 at press time.
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https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/can-bitcoin-btc-remain-an-example-for-altcoins-to-follow-202106010540
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How to buy active and legit YouTube subscribers?
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A lot has changed in the marketing and content consuming patterns these days. Earlier television, radio, and newspaper were the primary source for content consumption. The millennials and generation Z have moved to social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. With a preference towards more videos, viewers are spending more time on YouTube as it offers two-way communication between the creator and the audience. The viewers have the option to watch what they like, comment on the videos of their choice, and share them with family and friends. The viewers ultimately subscribe to the channel if they feel connected with the video. Thus, there's a huge pressure on the creator to keep the content creative and unique, failing to which there might be a loss in the number of subscribers. You can buy YouTube subscribers that are active and legit from growrealsubscribers.com as they have helped more than 50,000 creators to give a boost to their channel. As YouTube works on algorithms, it is important to capitalize on organic methods that align well with YouTubes algorithm. A lot of factors are taken into account before giving a boost to the YouTube channel. And, the number of subscribers is the crucial factor that decides the destiny of your channel. You can easily buy YouTube Subscribers from growrealsubscribers.com as they offer active and legit subscribers. With the support of marketing experts, growrealsubscribers.com leverages various organic methods such as social media optimization, search engine optimization, and distribution by a network of influencers to help you reach your target audience. Thus, attracting subscribers through natural methods always boosts a channels organic ranking in the SERPs. And the fact is the higher the ranking, the better is the viewership and watch hours. Having said that, the onus also lies on the creator to put the effort in creating quality content that will keep the viewers glued to their channel. If you are looking for the best way to organically boost your YouTube channel without investing much time and energy, growrealsubscribers.com is your answer. All you need to do is fill the form with the essential details such as your email id, contact number, residing country, and your link to the YouTube channel. Your channel must have public visibility and you must have uploaded at least one video on your channel. The experts will analyze your details. The team once convinced will start organic ways to give a boost to your channel. The marketing experts will use SEO (search engine optimization), SMO (social media optimization), and blogging methods to promote your channel organically. The team will also share your channel to their partner networks, distribution channels, and on social media platforms. These steps are taken to ensure that your channel receives real, legit, and active subscribers that would organically help your channel grow. Growrealsubscribers.com offers 100% safe and quality solutions that will protect your account. They have packages ranging from 500 YouTube subscribers to 10,000 YouTube subscribers. The prices are pocket-friendly and you are sure to experience the results within 24-48 hours. Get in touch with the team to know more about their packages and buy the ones that fit your requirement. Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT journalist is involved in creation of this content.
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/brand-post/how-to-buy-active-and-legit-youtube-subscribers-101622462368889-amp.html
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Is filtered and purified water the same?
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To put it simply, No. Filtered and Purified Water is not the same. Although used interchangeably, there are significant differences between both. Filtered Water is stored, passed through sediment filters, carbon filters, and then rarely through a microfilter. This cleaning is superficial. It is not filtered at a microscopic level. It may be safe to drink, but it is not 100% pure. On the other hand, Purified Water refers to an in-depth, molecular level of cleaning that involves long processes of purification. It is an advanced form of providing the best quality water to the people. The easiest way to understand the difference between filtered and purified water is to know that while all purified water is filtered, not all filtered water is pure. Another example would be, Gravity-Based water purifiers provide filtered water, and RO+UV water purifiers offer purified water. You can check out this water purifier reviews website to learn more about all these water purification technologies. The availability of Filtered Water is vast, and its cheap. The processing of Filtered Water does not involve any big fancy machines or the inclusion of chemical agents. It is a primitive form of filtration. Basic filtration removes small pebbles, common dirt visible to the naked eye, any foreign objects, etc. Filtration does not remove dissolved solids like natural minerals and harmful heavy metals. Filtration also does not use UV purification. In UV purification, water is passed through a closed chamber with a high UV lamp. This UV lamp produces high intensity UV rays which kill or deactivate all disease-causing microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, pathogens, etc. This water is then packed and supplied to the local areas in convenience stores in a bottled form. Though the origin of Purified Water is the same as Filtered Water, the former is an improved version of the latter. How purified water is manufactured is a long and complex one compared to ordinary Filter Water. The processes are lengthy and involve chemical reactions of displacement, reverse osmosis, deionization, etc. It uses cutting-edge technology and gives the best to its consumers. It can also be speculated that Purified Water is the next step performed after Filtered Water is produced. Purified Water is always heard in connection to the latest hot topic of pure and hygienic water. This chain of conversation then includes the advertisements of RO+UF purifiers seen on TV. Hearing all the discussions around RO+UF Water Purifiers and how they are the best water purifiers makes you wonder what they are and what they do that makes people go all gaga over them. They are Reverse Osmosis and Ultrafiltration, respectively. Pushing impure water through a semipermeable membrane to get pure water on the other side is the standard mechanism of both. However, UF filters bacteria, viruses, and parasites but retains minerals through that membrane, while RO does not. RO removes dissolved solids like natural minerals and harmful heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., but IF cant. Both in combination give the purest drinking water. Here are 5 reasons why Purified Water is recommended - 1. Mineralization The addition of minerals is called Mineralization. Essential minerals necessary for our bodys growth and development are added during the purification processes. These minerals are Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, to name a few. They eliminate any deficiencies that a person may have by drinking them. 2. De-Chlorination Chlorine is a disinfecting agent. It has been known for its purification ability since time immemorial. Water supplying agencies and municipal corporations worldwide add Chlorine to make water infection-free. However, the smell and taste of it are not suitable for us. During purification, the water is passed through a carbon filter removing all the chlorine. Note that eliminating chlorine will also not remove its effect. The disinfection done by it is still valid. 3. Appealing Smell and Taste Addition of minerals, removal of chlorine; both these reasons give the water a sweet smell and taste. For children, this helps them drink more water in a day, which is beneficial for their health. 4. Devoid of all Microbes Microorganisms occupy every inch of our living. They are in everything and everywhere, and most of them, when consumed, are harmful and produce ill effects in our bodies. Hence, these must be gotten rid of. In the multi-process purification of purified water, all microbes: bacteria, viruses, fungus, algae, and parasites are removed from the water. This leaves the Purified Water fit for drinking and saves us from many waterborne diseases. 5. Reduces Health Issues Drinking water helps reduce weight. But, drinking purified water aids in the loss of weight more efficiently. It also rejuvenates skin and hair scalp, which leaves them glowing and firm, respectively. Digestion-related issues like constipation or acidity are foremost solved on the consumption of purified water. Conclusion The confusion of whether Filtered Water and Purified Water are the same has been going on for a long time. Now that we have gone through their processes and understood their attributes, the conclusion is that they are not the same. The above article clearly states the differences between them, and they should not be confused any further. Among them, though Purified Water is preferred, it is not available to every household. Hence, it is not so common. The usage poll results reveal that Filtered Water is still consumed in far greater numbers than Purified Water. The awareness on the importance of Purified Water has become mandatory. It needs to be spread everywhere so that people of all backgrounds have access to it and lead healthy, happy lives. Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT journalist is involved in creation of this content.
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/brand-post/is-filtered-and-purified-water-the-same-101622461813722-amp.html
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Would last nights Supermoon affect peoples behaviour?
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Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page Send by Email. There was a time when people would believe Parents are next to God. But, as the desire for materialism grew, most of us are no longer holding this opinion. Time has changed our priorities. While on one hand, we flauntingly celebrate days to honor parents but on the other hand, parents are not valued much in most families. Sanctity of the sacred Parent-Child relationship has become fouled in many households. Nowadays there exists disagreement of worst kind between parent and ward. Some homes have broken due to parent-child discord. Especially old-aged people are being maltreated and are having poignant tales to narrate. Ill-fated families prefer to get rid of them by consigning them to Old-age homes which have increased in number worldwide. The fact that Muslims are no exception to these acts makes the situation more depressing.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263088371123/would-last-night-s-supermoon-affect-people-s-behaviour
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How can we really stop unauthorized immigration?
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Vice President Kamala Harris took a step in the right direction Thursday when she enlisted a dozen corporations to help address the push factors that are driving Central Americans to leave their homes and flee north. Companies like Microsoft and Mastercard are agreeing to make various investments in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Microsoft, for instance, has agreed to offer internet access to as many as 3 million people in the region by July 2022. Mastercard hopes to gain 5 million customers who currently lack banking services and offer electronic banking to 1 million micro and small businesses, according to reporting from Reuters. These are worthy projects in a part of the world where violence is common and opportunity isnt. At a panel discussion hosted by the George W. Bush Presidential Center two days before Harris announcement, policy analysts from all three nations said their citizens are fleeing because of violence, especially from drug traffickers. That problem is amplified because citizens there have little confidence that their governments will protect them or uphold the rule of law. Harris is walking a fine line here between addressing push factors on behalf of desperate Central Americans and propping up the very governments that make them desperate. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department released a list of 17 Central American officials suspected of corruption. That list included Honduran and Guatemalan legislators as well as a close aide to El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele. In April, Guatemalan lawmakers refused to install a judge known for fighting corruption. In March, a U.S. court sentenced the brother of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to life in prison for drug trafficking. The task here is a difficult one, but we suspect it will help to have global brands involved. Theres not much prestige on offer when developing countries receive aid from the U.S. government, but there is when a company like Mastercard opens operations there. This effort has to be profitable for the companies involved. Microsoft may be agreeing to build community centers, but they also want to sell software. Finding the nexus where business expansion meets regional stability is smart. Harris approach doesnt replace much-needed improvement to U.S. border systems where the Biden administration has struggled, but its a welcome shift from the wall-it-off-and-forget-it policy of the Trump administration. In a speech about this issue to the Council of Americas in May, Harris said, We have to think beyond government. Thats a surprising line coming from an administration that has proposed the most expansive government intervention in generations. Its a philosophy we would encourage Harris to consider for domestic challenges as well. We would also like to see this administration take a similar step with nonprofit and faith-based agencies, many of whom are well-equipped and already working in the region.
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https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2021/06/01/how-can-we-really-stop-unauthorized-immigration/
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What will decide the four big calls facing Gareth Southgate?
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Gareth Southgate will cut seven players from the initial 33-man squad he selected on Tuesday. England have a wide array of talents at right back and in attack, but central midfield looks less strong. Telegraph Sport analyses the key decisions that Southgate has to make. You see right backs, I see outstanding footballers, Gareth Southgate suggested when naming four in his extended squad. That may be so Gareth, but ask Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Trent-Alexander-Arnold and Reece James to state their preferred position, and they are not replying with versatile wide man. James exceptional Champions League final performance served only to exacerbate Southgates migraine. The Chelsea man looked like he was in such form to be in the starting XI for Englands opening game, not just join the squad. It certainly didnt help Alexander-Arnolds cause given many believe the choice is between the duo. For the England manager there is no escape from a dilemma many will argue is welcome but in reality looks like a diplomatic nightmare. Southgate tried to give himself wriggle room when suggesting Alexander-Arnold could play midfield, although it seems a bit late in this international cycle for reinvention. If all are named, we have already heard a preview of Southgates explanation, emphasising the multi-functionality of Walker and Trippier, how often James has been the right centre-back for Chelsea this season, and that Alexander-Arnolds ability to pick a pass or deliver a Beckham-esque set-piece under pressure is too valuable an asset to leave behind. Should he opt to leave Alexander-Arnold out, there will be criticism that he omitted such a game-changing talent. Southgate will know by now what he considers his ideal line-up, so the fine-tuning of the squad over the final days must have been focused on those who might offer that X-factor if required from the bench. Southgate must be asking himself if Alexander-Arnold will be the first England defender picked ahead of a midfielder or striker for such a purpose. Reece James performance in Porto was reassuring, but John Stones edgy display must have given Southgate palpitations. If Harry Maguire is not available for any period of the competition, Southgate will be toying with the extra security of three centre-backs. The smart money is on the England coach being prepared to switch formations as the tournament progresses, presuming Maguire makes it. Maguire was named on the bench for Manchester Uniteds Europa League final defeat, which - depending on your cynicism levels - was because he is nearing full fitness, or because he wanted to be in his full kit in the event of lifting the trophy. England have often suffered by risking their stars in international tournaments. It has always backfired. In Maguires case its another gamble worth taking. Ask Manchester United fans. They would have taken Maguire on one leg ahead of the alternatives against Villarreal. Even if the group games come too soon, Southgate must optimistically think ahead to June 26, when the round of sixteen kicks-off, or even July 2 when England will hope to be in the quarter-final. Its inconceivable a fit Maguire will be watching such a game at home for the sake of another two weeks of rehabilitation, especially given the shortage of top class alternatives in a back four. One would imagine the late call-ups - Ben White and Ben Godfrey - will make way as many predicted a week ago, especially as Walker and James can slot in as right centre-backs if required.
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/2021/06/01/will-decide-four-big-calls-facing-gareth-southgate/
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What does Upano mean in Genshin Impact?
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Every day in Genshin Impacts Mimi Tomo event, players will need to find a couple of helpful Hilichurls. They will give players words and phrases that they will need to translate. One of the Day 6 phrases is Upano. The good news is that players are not expected to magically know what this means, and have access to a Handy Handbook of Hilichurlian that was given to them at the start of the even by Ella Musk. They can use this to work out the meaning. For Upano, this is quite simple. The phrase roughly translates to flying or upward movement. The handbook says it is difficult to translate directly, so there is not much clue as to a specific item you need to give the Hilichurl for the Mutual Exchange quest. We gave him Butterfly Wings which he was happy with, giving us further information we needed to progress the quest. Players who dont have Butteryfly Wings can find them at the Statue of the Seven in Windrise, or at Dawn Winery quite easily. The can also be found at just outside the Domain of Guyun at Guyun Stone Forest in the Sea of Clouds, Liyue. Players can open the Handy Handbook of Hilichurlian at any time by going to the Mimi Tomo section in the events menu and hitting the prompted button for the Handbook near the bottom of the event description. There are quite a few Hilichurlian phrases in there, but its still pretty easy to figure out what these little guys are talking about, thankfully.
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https://www.gamepur.com/guides/what-does-upano-mean-in-genshin-impact
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Is Netanyahu's 12-Year Rule About to End?
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An extreme right-wing leader is on his way to lead an anti-Netanyahu coalition with partners ranging from left-wing parties to Joint Arab List. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is facing the most potent political challenge of his lifetime, which is likely to push his Likud party into the opposition. From some parts of the judiciary to media organisations, many powerful institutions of the country are eager to see Netanyahu lose grip on power. Since the Likud premier ruled the country for 12 years, the "Netanyahu fatigue" combined with multiple corruption charges continue to hurt his prospects for another term. Netanyahu's fall from grace will become certain if Israels far-right leader, Naftali Bennett, who is more right-wing than Netanyahu, accepts to enter a large coalition with the countrys left-wing and centrist parties including the Joint List, which is a political bloc of Palestinian citizens of Israel. The Israeli society is so polarized against Netanyahu, and its body politic is so poisonous that the difference between left and right in the formation of the government is now blurred, says Sami al Arian, a prominent Palestinian-American academic. But the prospect of Bennett becoming the next prime minister is alarming for many regional experts since his Yamina party commands only seven seats out of 120-member Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Out of seven, six members support his bid to join the anti-Netanyahu political league. It would be unprecedented in Israeli politics (or any politics for that matter) when the head of a party with only 6 seats out of 120 (5 percent of Knesset members) would become prime minister. This fact only solidifies the notion that Israeli politics have become dysfunctional and fractured, Arian tells TRT World. He [Bennett] demonstrated a rare ability unprecedented in Israels political history to exploit opportunities and leverage his political power, managing to leap from the status of a loser who didnt even win enough votes to enter the Knesset in 2019 to almost being prime minister, wrote Aluf Benn, a columnist at Haaretz. While the Israeli right-wing parties have accumulated over 70 seats in the 120-member Knesset, they have failed to form a stable government after four inconclusive elections in two years. Of course there are many causes for that. But the main reason is Netanyahu, Arian says. Because he is such a 'polarizing, deceptive, and manipulative' politician, many of his former partners on the right and extreme right like Avigdor Lieberman, Gideon Sa'er and Bennett "hate him so much that they are willing to work with other parties, which they disagree with on most issues just so they could get rid of him, the professor adds.
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https://www.albawaba.com/news/netanyahus-12-year-rule-about-end-1430710
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What will college life be like in the new academic year?
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The coming academic year will be like no other in the history of further and higher education, both within Ireland and internationally. Third-year undergraduate students will be returning to colleges they last attended in person in March 2020 during the early weeks of semester two in their fresher year. Incoming first- and second-year undergraduate students will, in many cases, be setting foot inside college grounds, lecture theatres and tutorial groups for the first time. What they will encounter will be shaped by individual lecturers, departments and faculties experiences of enforced changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Never in the history of university life, stretching back to when the oldest existing, and continually operating, educational institution in the world, the University of Karueein, founded in 859AD in Fez, Morocco, has there been such dramatic change in how education is delivered as has occurred in the past 18 months. Within Europe young people have been attending universities since students first gathered in Bologna in Italy in 1088AD and in Paris la Sorbonne from 1160AD. The advent of the printing press and the arrival of printed books, in the Middle Ages, could be regarded as an equivalent dramatic change to those brought about by Covid-19, in relation to how education is both delivered and consumed. Firstly, it must be acknowledged that herculean challenges have been successfully overcome by the teaching and lecturing staff of our higher and further education institutions over the past two academic years. A system, based on a model of students turning up in person to attend lectures, studying from printed books and written lecture notes, and successfully navigating written or face-to-face assessment processes which remained largely unchanged for over a thousand years became inoperable overnight. The entire system of delivery and assessment was reimagined and delivered, initially in a matter of days, and then refined and adapted as the days turned into weeks, and now into a second full academic year. Roles across the academic, administrative and IT support structures of colleges were transformed, and changes, which would have taken a generation to introduce and bed down, were rapidly adopted. The spectrum of success stretched from those academics who simply recorded their lectures on camera and put them up online for students to view in their own time, to those who completely reimagined how to teach their programmes through the medium of online education. Covid-19, having transformed how programmes were delivered remotely, also forced a complete reimagination of how to assess students competency. Trinity College Dublin: Student access to the college was limited and there was no public access due to Covid 19 restrictions. Photograph: Alan Betson From my own involvement in the management of a number of higher and further education institutions, it is clear many of the innovations developed are recognised now to be best practice, and will be integrated into how programmes are delivered into the future. The printed prospectuses published by colleges in the autumn of 2020 to inform future students of their offerings went to the printers in mid-summer 2020, and probably were signed off by faculties by May of that year at the latest. They are, in many ways, pre-Covid documents. Their course content and competency targets for each academic semester may still be accurate, but in terms of how programmes are delivered and assessed, these documents are, in many cases, historical. Over the next three months our universities, institutes of technologies and further education institutes will have to determine how they will re-engage face to face with the student body from September 2021 onwards. This process will, of course, be guided by Government regulations following advice from the public health specialists under the direction of Dr Tony Houlihan. There will be no big bang reopening of institutions with thousands of students mixing freely on campus and in residencies. We saw the outcome of that experiment in the UK in September 2020, where hundreds of students became infected with Covid-19 within days of returning to campuses. The next academic year will follow the pattern of the past 18 months, incremental steps back to a new normal, with ongoing reviews. It is unlikely we will see hundreds of students sitting in the likes of Theatre L & M in UCD, with a lecturer standing behind a podium, delivering a face-to-face lecture to students transcribing verbatim what is being said. Post Covid-19, such a method of delivering content seems outdated and a massive waste of resources and energy, both on the part of lecturer and student alike. The role of any good academic is to make content available to students with which they can familiarise themselves. Following that initial exploration of content, real learning takes place through discussion, analysis, presentations to tutorial groups, etc. This interaction between teacher and student which has been taking place online for the past 18 months will hopefully migrate to face-to-face encounters early during the coming academic year. Student assessments will also change radically as we return to campus life, taking on board the learning of the past two academic years. As with course delivery, how this evolves will probably take at least the next academic year to become clear. What is also less clear is the extent to which students are going to have to be physically present on campus. For many prospective students, the whole point of further education is to leave home, live full-time near college and engage fully with their fellow students in the social, cultural, sporting and, yes, academic life. The prospect of working partially from home and attending college only when required will fill many Leaving Cert students and third-level students who have been working from their bedrooms for the past two years with dread. But undertaking a degree programme partially remotely might offer opportunities to others whose personal or financial circumstances might make full-time attendance impossible. For this years sixth-year students, the main focus now, and in the immediate weeks ahead, will be their written papers. But at some stage over the next four weeks students will have to finalise their CAO course choices, and any further education programmes they may be considering. Students should communicate directly with programme directors and admissions office personnel, and ask how the specific courses they are interested in may have evolved and changed. Colleges may not be in a position to provide much clarity just yet as the nature of what eventually emerges from the ongoing changes is still unclear and may remain so for some time to come. In many ways the next academic year in all institutions will be more fluid than in any year in the history of higher education. How everything operates within our educational institutions will evolve in academic, social, cultural, sport and other aspects of college life over the next few years. There is no roadmap or template other than our shared experience of battling and overcoming this deadly virus. Savannah Turnbull and Anna Eustace, first-year students, at Trinitys main square. Photograph: Alan Betson What is truly exciting is this rite of passage for young people leaving home, securing accommodation, grappling with self-directed learning, mastering a discipline, forming life-long friendships and intimate relationships which was incompatible with a coronavirus world in which the virus was still dominant, will hopefully become a reality for tens of thousands again this coming September. This hope and expectation depends on how we as a society treat the threat of the virus during the coming summer months. Pre-Covid online providers Another option for aspiring college applicants would be to focus their third-level course choices on institutions which have a pre-coronavirus culture of delivering a significant proportion of their content online. The National Institute for Digital Learning in DCU is a world leader at the forefront of designing, implementing and researching new blended, online and digital models of education. DCU Connect, its online platform, offers a series of humanity and IT programmes originally designed for online delivery. All Irish third-level colleges had, prior to Covid-19, elements of online programmes, but not as core parts of the delivery of their core functions. Covid-19 has banished that world forever, with online now and into the future being central to all teaching and learning. Mainstream online learning opportunities Many aspiring learners outside of the CAO process may opt for an online course over the more traditional university, on the basis that the quality of course delivery is proven, and that the programmes on offer, many at very low cost, were designed for online delivery from inception. The methodology of delivery, support and assessments are of the highest quality, as providers such as the Open University or alison.com, one of the worlds leading online course providers, which is based in Galway, have been in the business of delivering learning through this online model for many years. Further education options The CAO is, of course, not the only route forward for aspiring learners, nor are Leaving Cert students the only cohort hoping to reap the benefits of a more blended learning environment. Many potential students of all ages who have a specific area of knowledge or study in mind, but who would benefit hugely from a preparatory pre-university year, both in terms of their knowledge of their subject matter, and their level of maturity and capacity to engage successfully in self-directed learning, may decide to consider a one-year QQI level 5 or two-year level 6 award, offered in their local or regional further education colleges. Following completion of their programme they can go on to third-level study with a far lower possibility of college drop-out, according to data published by the Higher Education Authority, than those who proceed directly to college from school. Similarly to their third-level colleagues, the teaching and lecturing staff of further education colleges have had to transform their methods of delivery and assessment over the past two years, and the advances and benefits of online delivery will be built into their programmes when they restart in September.
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https://www.irishtimes.com/what-will-college-life-be-like-in-the-new-academic-year-1.4564303?localLinksEnabled=false
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What Makes the BTS Meal Special For McDonalds Customers in the United States?
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ABOUT At Showbiz Cheat Sheet, our goal is to delight our 30+ million visitors with all things show business, including the latest entertainment and celebrity news, exclusive interviews, television and movie reviews, and behind-the-scenes content that connects the viewer to the big screen. From guilty pleasure reality shows like the Real Housewives of New York City and Keeping Up with the Kardashians to fan-favorite franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe to must-watch series like Handmaids Tale and Stranger Things, our team covers a range of topics that appeal to movie buffs and binge-watchers alike. In addition to movie and television, we pull back the curtain on our favorite celebrities and royal family members, offering an inside look at their lives behind the lens.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263025823744/what-makes-the-bts-meal-special-for-mcdonald-s-customers-in-the-united-states
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Will marriage change Pooran's IPL fortunes?
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June 01, 2021 13:02 IST IMAGE: Alyssa Katherina Miguel and Nicholas Pooran. Photograph: Nicholas Pooran/Twitter West Indian ODI and T20I cricketer Nicholas Pooran married childhood sweetheart Alyssa Katherina Miguel on Monday. 'Jesus has blessed me with many things in this life. None greater than having you in my life. Welcoming Mr and Mrs Pooran,' Nicholas tweeted. The couple began dating in 2014 and Pooran popped the question in November 2020. Usually a dependable T20 batsman, Pooran, who plays for Punjab Kings in the IPL, didn't have the best outing this season scoring just 28 runs in 6 matches, scoring 4 ducks. Here's hoping marriage brings him a change of luck when he wields the bat on IPL's resumption in September in the UAE, shortly before the Trinadadian turns 26 on October 2.
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https://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/will-marriage-change-nicholas-poorans-ipl-fortunes/20210601.htm
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What weather is on the cards for Leitrim and surrounding areas for June 1?
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Today, Tuesday, June 1 will start generally cloudy or dull, with outbreaks of rain or drizzle. This will clear to sunny spells and scattered showers through the afternoon. Highest temperatures of 13 to 21 degrees, warmest in east Connacht, with light to moderate, northerly or variable breezes. TONIGHT Dry with clear spells in most areas early in the night, although it will be cloudy with outbreaks of rain or drizzle at times along the west coast. Scattered showers will move up across the country from the south overnight, most frequent in the west. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 12 degrees with light to moderate east to northeast winds.
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https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/home/637453/what-weather-is-on-the-cards-for-leitrim-and-surrounding-areas-for-june-1.html
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Was kann Grohnde von Wrgassen lernen?
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Wrgassen/Grohnde. Das Kernkraftwerk Grohnde wird zum 31. Dezember 2021 seinen Leistungsbetrieb einstellen, im Anschluss beginnt die rckbauvorbereitende Manahme, der sogenannte Nachbetrieb. Mit Inanspruchnahme der ersten Stilllegungs- und Abbaugenehmigung Anfang 2023 beginnt der Rckbau. Die fr die Begleitung des Rckbaus eigens vom Hameln-Pyrmonter Kreistag beschlossene und gegrndete Begleitkommission BK Grohnde hat im letzten Jahr ihre Arbeit aufgenommen und begleitet das Kernkraftwerk Grohnde politisch und gesellschaftlich bis zum konventionellen Rckbau voraussichtlich Ende 2039. Jetzt war die BK Grohnde auf Einladung des Betreibers im Kernkraftwerk Wrgassen zu Besuch, um sich ber die praktische Seite eines Rckbaus informieren zu lassen. Den ausfhrlichen Bericht lesen Sie im TAH vom 01.06.2021
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https://www.tah.de/newssingle/was-kann-grohnde-von-wuergassen-lernen
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How do we raise the cow of the future?
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Willem van Laarhoven, member of the Breeding for Longevity Foundation and Joost Klein Herenbrink from CRV mention the importance of older cows, persistence, feed efficiency and low methane emissions. The good news, according to Klein Herenbrink: low methane emissions and high feed efficiency go hand in hand. We really expect that in the coming years much more attention will be paid around the world to breeding for high feed efficiency and low methane emissions. The good news is that feed efficiency and low methane emissions are closely related. This provides breeding opportunities, says Joost Klein Herenbrink of CRV. Klein Herenbrink works in the Global Product Management Department of Genetics. This focuses on recognizing the trends for years to come in beef farming around the world. To then translate them into breeding values for practice. Half of the seed sold by CRV goes to farmers in the Netherlands and Flanders. The other half go to countries around the world. Important differences between countries The themes of food efficiency and climate are omnipresent, but there are also major differences, continues Klein Herenbrink. For example, grazing is a strong factor for us and even more so in countries like the UK, South Africa and New Zealand. But not at all in many parts of the United States. So what you focus on to raise the best cow of the future depends in part on where in the world you are active. The lifespan doesnt really want to increase on many companies Willem van Laarhoven, member of the Breeding for Longevity foundation Longevity is another topic that receives a lot of attention from breeding around the world, but certainly also in the Netherlands. Partly because of the influence of social discussions, this is only expected to increase. one hundred tons Klein Herenbrink explains that you can learn a lot about target breeding by looking at cows that have exceeded the 100,000 liter limit. Another important step and a symbol of longevity. On average, these animals achieve a significantly higher than average lactation value as heifers. This means that the best performing animals, in terms of lifespan and lifetime production, are already off to a good start as heifers. According to Klein Herenbrink, one difference that will become more visible in the years to come is that more and more dairy producers are marking their calves on the basis of genomics and making choices based on that. Previously, a farmer would mate with, for example, a bull like Altantic which performs well on hoof health. Because the dairy farmer attaches great importance to this, he consciously breeds with the offspring of this bull. He now marks all young animals and selects animals to continue breeding on that basis. No, you can compare the marking of young females in this regard to that of a third cow with calf, Klein Herenbrink replies. Gain one year of lifespan Willem van Laarhoven is affiliated with the Breeding for Longevity foundation. This organization tries by breeding to encourage efforts to increase the lifespan of dairy cattle. Nutrition and management are important, but selection really matters, says Van Laarhoven. From a genetic point of view, the majority of Dutch farms can gain at least a year of life from the dairy herd. The holding figures for daughters of bulls presented annually prove it. The number of daughters that are still in production 5 years after first calving can differ by up to 25 percent between bulls, explains Van Laarhoven. According to Van Laarhoven, it is above all the attitude of many dairy farmers that the lifespan still does not really want to increase in many farms. Early calving, for example, has become very fashionable in recent years. It sounds interesting, but one should not forget the following: Previously, a heifer averaged 75 percent of her maximum production as a mature dairy cow. In recent decades, this figure has risen to an average of 83%. It sounds positive, but its not always the case. Earliness has a strong negative correlation with longevity. Van Laarhoven notices from the field projects that many young farmers are focusing on living production. They want to achieve this through high milk production. Heifers should give 30 liters or more. Well, I can tell you that they wear out too quickly on a lot of companies. a Treat longer Keeping an older cow can be done often and for a long time, explains Van Laarhoven. As long as you think the cow can still go through another lactation, you should still go and make sure you keep milking her. The counselor calculates that an example heifer produces 8,000 kilograms of milk per year. If this is 80 percent of her peak, that means she is producing 10,000 pounds as a mature cow. With breeding, you gain an average of 100 kilos per year in milk production. A five-year rearing will give you an average of 500 kilos more milk. But maturity at five lactations will give you 2,000 pounds. A new heifer with five years of targeted breeding that produces 8,500 kilos is therefore not easily more attractive than an older cow that produces 10,000 kilos. And you have already paid the costs of raising that older cow. This has to be redone for each new heifer , advises Van Laarhoven. In order to obtain better results, the Breeding for Longevity foundation is campaigning to orient more and better breeding towards the transformation of fodder and grazing. We know of companies that feed a lot of corn, companies that process a lot of silage and fresh grass, and companies that are fully committed to grazing. It would be best to be able to present a total index for these enterprise systems in the future, suggests Van Laarhoven. You have to separate the concentrates and the forage in terms of efficiency. TMR and forage efficiency are different things. Long term business Van Laarhoven points out that being able to present full bull maps for different farming systems based on forage efficiency is a long-term process. Its not something you write and organize in the late afternoon. But the time has come to look at it more and more carefully. Klein Herenbrink agrees that research into feed efficiency takes time. And expensive. Nevertheless, CRV has been investing in it for some time. We are testing feed efficiency at five practical farms. To be fair, they feed a fair amount of corn on average. However, we can correctly measure the consumption of concentrate and forage separately. There seems to be a strong correlation between the two. Sometimes difficult research The CRV man would like to see more research, but besides time and money issues, it is difficult to implement in some areas. You can measure grazing time, for example, but with that you are not measuring the exact record. But the development of sensors and associated formulas and models continues. This way we can plan more and better, says Klein Herenbrink. I can imagine that in five to ten years we will be able to tell for each bull whether their model of inheritance is a good fit for a farmer of a certain type of operation. CRV: Persistence will gain in importance in the selection Late last year, the CRV conducted a survey of its members to indicate the direction in which the breeding goal should be taken over the next five years. The results are known, but the breeding organization is still working on the analysis and would like to share the results with the members later this year. Joost Klein Herenbrink is curious about the results. He expects the fertility trait to change at the farm level in the years to come. A lower value can be attributed to the characteristic of the calving interval (TRT). Aiming for a longer TRT in combination with good persistence may also be better suited to circular farming. Persistence will thus gain in importance in breeding. Fertility will primarily involve as few inseminations as possible per pregnancy. Klein Herenbrink sees an increase in the popularity of high quality components around the world. We hope to be able to take advantage of our lead in this area.
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https://dodofinance.com/how-do-we-raise-the-cow-of-the-future/
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What can Arsenal fans expect from Mana Iwabuchi?
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Opinion Published: 8:30 AM June 1, 2021 Aston Villa's Mana Iwabuchi (left) and Chelsea's Melanie Leupolz in action during the FA Women's Super League match at Kingsmeadow, London. Picture date: Sunday March 28, 2021. - Credit: PA Arsenal completed the signing of Mana Iwabuchi earlier this week as she left Aston Villa. Iwabuchi was a long term target for the Gunners, so what can Arsenal fans expect from the 28-year-old. Vision: Iwabuchi has very good vision completing 71 per cent of her progressive passes while she was at Aston Villa last season. With better quality players around her at Arsenal, this side of her game will flourish. The Japanese international plays through defences very easily and with a lot of skill due to her vision, her football brain is one of the best in not only Europe but indeed the world. You may also want to watch: She also has 71 touches on average per game showing that she is heavily involved in the build up play and, due to the way that Arsenal play, she will have more of them. Iwabuchi is a perfect player for Arsenal in how she plays football and her style with her vision being key. Arsenal fans can expect the former Bayern Munich star to be vital in the build up play and her switches of play out to the wings will be vital in how the Gunners break down teams next season. Leadership: At 28, Iwabuchi is very experienced and has won a lot of trophies including the FIFA Women's World Cup. Arsenal have a young squad overall but Iwabuchi with join the likes of Jordan Nobbs, Kim Little and Jennifer Beattie as the leaders in the dressing room. Iwabuchi has played in the biggest matches against the best opponents so she has plenty of not only quality but leadership. She will bring a lot of confidence and leadership to the squad. Goals: Iwabuchi scored just twice for Aston Villa in her 13 WSL games but with a full season at Arsenal she will offer goals. The attacking midfielder scored a stunning strike from range against Tottenham in the WSL, that was voted Villa's goal of the season. When the 28-year-old scores it's usually something special. She was part of the Japanese side which stunned the USA in the final of the 2011 World Cup, and which finished as runners-up in 2015. Iwabuchi also has a silver Olympic medal to her name, earned at London 2012. She isn't a stranger: Iwabuchi played with Vivianne Miedema, Lisa Evans, Manuela Zinsberger and Viktoria Schnaderbeck at Bayern Munich so she isn't a stranger. Iwabuchi will know the strengths of those players and has a good friendship with them. Arsenal fans can expect to see her develop a good partnership and understanding with Miedema. Hard work: The hard-working Iwabuchi covers a lot of ground. She completed 66 per cent of her ball carries forward in 2020-21 for Villa, showing she is very direct. Arsenal are patient in their build up play - a style that the new signing can play - but, depending on the new manager, she could play in a high energy system. Iwabuchi will give everything to the cause and will be a real fans' favourite in north London.
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https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/sport/what-can-arsenal-fans-expect-from-mana-iwabuchi-8016862
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Did The Greens Peak Too Soon In Germany?
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Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, 'n Guns blog, For the past year the Green Party has surged in popularity, riding from what I can gather, a kind of anti-government wave coming from the left thanks to Angela Merkels continued mishandling of the COVID vaccination program and the exhaustion from multiple rounds of lockdowns. Protests across Germany, under-reported in the news, have proliferated and the rise of the Greens can be seen as a kind of simple protest vote against the existing government, another of Merkels Grand Coalitions between her nominally center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). The SPD has lost considerable support over the term of this government and the Greens have been the beneficiary. Ive talked about this previously and how Merkel uses the Greens as her whip hand in the Upper House, the Bundesrat, to push German policy along the vector set by her masters in Davos. Thats resulted in both a loss of support for the CDU and the SPD nationally as the Greens have gained such that the electoral map in Germany is now functionally no better than the mess in Spain or Italy. And from where Im sitting this has always looked to be the plan. Germany, Ipsos poll: CDU/CSU-EPP: 25% (-8) GRNE-G/EFA: 23% (+14) SPD-S&D: 13% (-8) AfD-ID: 13% FDP-RE: 11% LINKE-LEFT: 9% +/- vs. 2017 election Fieldwork: 18-25 May 2021 Sample size: 2,014 https://t.co/bbexiPyox9 pic.twitter.com/fw6PxriFjv Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 28, 2021 The problem, however, is that after peaking nationally at nearly 28% earlier this year, Green support is coming back down to earth as people being listening sincerely to what they actually stand for. Theyve become increasingly bellicose, supporting war in Ukraine to counter Russia as well as their silence recently over the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Theyre led by interventionist and increasingly neoconservative people internally while trading on their pacifist roots. And that dichotomy is beginning to catch up with them apparently among German voters. This is because the Greens, just like Merkel, are a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Davos Crowds agenda to make the world safe for communism and the Green New Deal, itself a 593-page piece of EU legislation that is bogged down in ideological infighting within the European Parliament as members there fight over typical things like the definitions of words and what is or is not ideologically pure enough. Its Jonathan Haidts Elephant and the Rider problem playing out at a policy level. In a post for my Patrons back on March 23rd I said then that the biggest enemy of the Green New Deal is the Greens. So much of the culture war which is now turning into a Hobbesian War of All Against All is due to the spiraling of logic built on false premises, like man-made global warming, and amplifying from there. W.B. Yeats called it a widening gyre but thats why the EU will never get its Green investment rules set in place and certainly not in time for the 2030 time frame. Remember, I think of the EU as the Western Oligarchs last attempt to colonize the world through regulatory dominance a la California. The relentless talk of expanding the EU is all about bringing more countries under its regulatory rubric forcing more people to adhere to its standards which then increases the pressure on trade partners to do the same. Its California on Leninist Steroids. And I still fear not the Green New Deal itself but the haphazard way it gets implemented once the lobbyists get a hold of it. It will be a horrifically bloated piece of rotting pork which the average, fiscally-conservative German voter knows they will ultimately have to pay for. So, with that in mind and the Greens peaking in the polls four months out from the Bundestag elections, itself a zombie institution thanks to the Greens veto power in the Burdesrat thanks to Merkel, it is possible that we see a sharp U-turn in the polls by the time the election actually happens. State-level elections. Next week state elections happen in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. And the closer we get to this election, for the first time in months, German polling is interesting. Because the heretofore incompetent Alternate for Germany (AfD) has successfully placed themselves in the position to win that election making it very difficult for Merkel, the very definition of lame duck, to keep them out of the government there through backroom dealings. Its one thing when the CDU is the dominant vote-getter, but its another thing when after two election cycles in Saxony, AfD is denied a seat at the table when they have a stable 23-25% level of support which is surging as we get to election day. In this way if AfD wins this election it will be a black eye to all the other parties if they again pull the same stunt as in the last round of elections, refusing to even talk with them. And this could be the thing that catalyzes real movement in the polls come October. I still maintain that AfD has squandered its many chances this far to become the center-right standard bearer for the average German. They are still mired below the critical 16% Chasm nationally while the SPD have fallen into irrelevance. Recent polls have the national number rising off of post-Coronapocalypse lows. And the question now is whether they see this opportunity in front of them to put Davos agenda on its back foot at a critical juncture in European history and position themselves as the true anti-war, pro-German middle class party. Im not sanguine about this given its leaderships history, but it bears watching as the split between the former East and West Germany politically widens. Davos is always pushing events to ensure weak leadership in key countries. And it looks to me that the situation in Germany is fluid in a way that could see their best plans compromised. * * * Join my Patreon if your Elephant needs a new Rider Donate via BTC: 3GSkAe8PhENyMWQb7orjtnJK9VX8mMf7Zf BCH: qq9pvwq26d8fjfk0f6k5mmnn09vzkmeh3sffxd6ryt DCR: DsV2x4kJ4gWCPSpHmS4czbLz2fJNqms78oE LTC: MWWdCHbMmn1yuyMSZX55ENJnQo8DXCFg5k DASH: XjWQKXJuxYzaNV6WMC4zhuQ43uBw8mN4Va WAVES: 3PF58yzAghxPJad5rM44ZpH5fUZJug4kBSa ETH: 0x1dd2e6cddb02e3839700b33e9dd45859344c9edc
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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/did-greens-peak-too-soon-germany?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
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How Kindness Can Ease Mental Stress During Hard Times?
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The overwhelming deluge of devastating news, lost lives, disrupted routines, and unending uncertainty makes it easy to give in to the negativity. But this is a reminder for the readers to help their loved ones, send some positive vibes, and not give up. No matter how much suffering we witness, only kindness holds the key to restoring the loss. Kindness during the pandemic transcends as a mere virtue, it can heal the global economy. In one of the studies at the University of California, Berkeley, the researchers found that about half of the participants reported feeling stronger and more energetic after helping others while many others reported feeling calmer, less depressed, and claimed to have an increased sense of self-worth (see here). This feeling was also compared with the literal drug-induced high. The simple act of making a small financial donation triggers the reward center in our brains that leads us to experience dopamine-mediated euphoria. Science has also found that kind people have 23% less cortisol (stress hormone) in their bodies. In general, a Harvard Business School survey conducted across 136 countries has found that kind people were the happiest (see here). Hence the experimental studies have persistently taught us that kindness towards others causes us to be happier, enriches, and lengthens our lives. So, a small step to be kinder to the people scarred by pandemics will be a significant step to heal oneself. Register your Domestic Help for Vaccination It highly likely that our domestic help is either is technologically challenged or does not have access to the internet. Offer to register them for vaccination on the government portal. This will expedite the vaccination process and also help the people who are disproportionately shouldering a higher burden of the pandemic. Lend a Helping Hand to Feed People The pandemic-induced mobility restrictions might leave the elderly and isolated people unable to fetch groceries. Offer them help. We dont need to pay for their groceries, but if one is heading out to buy it, then simply offer to buy it for them too. If we hear about the unfortunate demise in our social circle and are unable to pay them respects, then send them food. Check-in on people Make a deliberate effort to reach out to your friends, family, and colleagues. Keep checking in and asking them if they are doing okay and if they need help. Better still, organise group calls to encourage social interaction. Bring joy in others lives In India, a beedi worker from Kerala donated Rs 2 lakh to the covid relief fund. This was his entire life savings. He had Rs 850 left in his bank after the donation. While the bank staff showed skepticism on his withdrawal, the man smiled and told the staff that while he is still able to roll beedis and is entitled to a disability pension, his countrymen are dying. They needed financial help more (see here). This man is a stellar example of selflessness. However, there are other ways to help too, ways that will not dig a deep hole in our pockets. For instance, residents in Australia are painting rainbows and etching messages like we are all in this together and SMILE on the sidewalks. Italians are singing and playing the guitar and singing on their rooftops to engage the neighbourhood and to boost morale. Understand that these are tough times when people need support and crave company. Be the reason for their smile today. Lets find our talent and channel it accordingly. Or simply, let's salute our fellow mask-wearers on the street and make them feel appreciated for following the protocols. Buy local If possible, then try to support the local businesses. If we are worried about stepping out and buying groceries and are thinking of getting them delivered online, then lets pause for a second. If feasible, ring out a local vendor/ vegetable seller and ask them if they can deliver it instead. Try not to haggle with them, let them earn that extra Rs 20. [1] It will help them stay fed. They need it more than us. A positive takeaway from this raging pandemic is that we are all in this together (credit: Australian residents) even if we are forced to be apart. Practicing mindful kindness by investing in each others and ones well-being will help us heal and overcome the crisis on a positive note. (Payal Seth is a consultant at Tata-Cornell Institute, Cornell University, and is a Ph.D. Scholar at Bennett University.) [1] Idea credit: Abhishek Ananth For in-depth, objective and more importantly balanced journalism, Click here to subscribe to Outlook Magazine
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https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/opinion-why-should-we-practice-mindful-kindness-during-hard-times/384056
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Is it the right time to invest in Bitcoin?
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Bitcoin prices broke comfortably over the $35,000 price levels at the first trading session in June, though recent price action reveals Bitcoin (BTC) bulls face a herculean task reclaiming the $40,000 price levels. As the Crypto market value deteriorated, Bitcoin continued to experience resistance over environmental and regulatory concerns, further weakening its upside. The flagship crypto has lost more than 40% of its value since mid-April. Recent data retrieved from Glassnode postulates that the Bitcoin market currently has three supply trends in play: Short Term Holders are distributing; Long Term Holders are HODLing/Accumulating; and Bitcoin Miners are accumulating. This further suggests that the Bitcoin market is currently a battleground between the bulls and the bears. Market commentators envisage that the flagship crypto might take some time to recover full steam on the bias that it recently posted its worst sell-offs on May 19, thereby, printing the largest bearish daily candle in Bitcoins history with an intra-day price range of $11,506. Such dramatic fall stunned crypto investors especially coming at the time of Bitcoins most widely observed bullish run, with some investors liquidating their positions amid record profit-taking. It is critical to note that during the sell-off, the average spent output lifespan plunged significantly, back to levels below the accumulation range seen when Bitcoin was near its record high. This further indicates that long term investors did not panic sell or capitulate. Instead, they primarily held their positions through the dip. The flagship crypto is still sitting on major gains over longer time-frames. Using the yearly time frame especially, these assets are still posting returns fairly better than any traditional investments. Adding credence to Bitcoins investor accumulation bias is data collated from Glassnode revealing the number of Bitcoin Exchange Withdrawals on a 7-day moving average just reached a 5-month low of 2,079.524. A previous 5-month low of 2,079.899 was observed on 31 December 2020. Market pundits are cautiously bullish on the crypto asset, taking into consideration concerns on rising inflation which remains a major worry for traditional investors. Moreover, summer months are usually good for bulls, meaning there may yet be cause for optimism, though recent price actions show the asset can be erratic. Andrew Bailey, the leader of Englands apex bank, had recently advised investors against excessive exposure to crypto investments as they have no intrinsic value, meaning that investors could lose all their capital invested in such assets. In his words: That doesnt mean to say people dont put a value on them, because they can have extrinsic value. But they have no intrinsic value. Im going to say this very bluntly again, buy them only if youre prepared to lose all your money. At the time of writing this report, the flagship crypto traded near $37,000 on the FTX exchange posting gains of over 6.29% for the day.
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https://nairametrics.com/2021/06/01/is-it-the-right-time-to-invest-in-bitcoin/
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When and where to watch Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series?
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The three-match Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series will begin on June 2 in Utrecht, Netherlands. Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd will play host to this ICC Cricket World Cup Super League series. It will be the first series for the Dutch under this new league. Ireland, meanwhile, will play their third series, having previously squared off against England and Afghanistan, recording one victory in six games. Het Nederlandse nationale mannen cricketteam speelt op woensdag 2, vrijdag 4 en maandag 7 juni vanaf 10:30 uur tegen @cricketireland in Utrecht. Support Oranje tijdens hun eerste #CWCSuperLeague serie door live te kijken op @ZiggoSport !#CricketNL #NEDvIRE pic.twitter.com/oQItwRajWJ CricketNetherlands (@KNCBcricket) May 31, 2021 The Netherlands will be keen to open their campaign with a victory. Last month, the Dutch team played two ODIs against Scotland, winning one and losing one. The Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series should be a closely-contested one. Both teams have some big names in their squads. With the series set to begin soon, here's a look at the full schedule of the tour. 1st ODI - June 2, 2:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local Time) 2nd ODI - June 4, 2:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local Time) 3rd ODI - June 7, 2:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local Time) FanCode will live stream the Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series in India The visitors will try their best to earn as many points as possible in the Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series FanCode has acquired the rights to live stream the Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series in India. Fans will have to buy a pass worth 15 to watch the first ODI of this series. Currently, FanCode has a 52% discount offer for the Netherlands vs Ireland ODI series. If fans wish to buy the pass for the entire series, they will have to pay only a fee of 29. The original price of the pass for the three ODIs is 60. : LIVESTREAM Weve just had word that the World Cup Super League ODI series between Netherlands and Ireland will be available to watch in Ireland via: https://t.co/goZrru5OOF#BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/nuLNfKcle9 Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) May 31, 2021 Fans in Ireland can enjoy live streaming of these three matches on Cricket Nederland YouTube channel. Please spend 30 seconds answering this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your cricket needs.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/ned-v-ire-2021-live-streaming-telecast-channel-when-watch-netherlands-vs-ireland-odi-series
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How Many Ford F-150 Lightnings & Mustang Mach-Es Will Ford Build?
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We have been enthusiastically writing about the Ford F-150 Lightning since it came out, and the Mustang Mach-E is one of our 2021 CleanTechnica Car of the Year contenders. Both vehicles seem to have what it takes to become mass-market models not just token electric vehicles. Note: I reached out to Ford regarding figures in this story and the core questions. A Ford representative responded, More detail will be shared later. Stay tuned. So, for now, we have imperfect data, various assumptions to play with, and a note that specifics will be coming from Ford sooner or later. Stay tuned. The first topic to discuss is a brief and simple one. Rod Lache of Wolfe Research put out an analyst note right after the F-150 Lightning was revealed to indicate that they were forecasting 80,000 F-150 Lightning sales a year (to start, at least). My first question for Ford was about that. Since we have no specific response regarding that forecast yet, it is up to you and me whether to side with Rod or come up with a higher or lower forecast. All things considered, Rods estimate seems reasonable to me for the F-150 Lightnings opening year (2022). Let us know down in the comment section if you disagree or have any other intel on this topic. Some official info from Ford regarding batteries does get us into more interesting number games. A Ford press release from May 20 indicates that BlueOvalSK, a joint venture between Ford and SK Innovation, will produce 60 GWh (gigawatt-hours) of battery cells and array modules starting in the middle of the 2020s. Additionally, Fords global BEV plan calls for at least 240 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell capacity by 2030 roughly 10 plants worth of capacity. Approximately 140 GWh will be required in North America, with the balance dedicated to other key regions, including Europe and China. Running with those numbers and a few different assumptions, here are some things these numbers could mean: 60 GWh (mid-2020s) 600,000 electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 100 kWh a year with average battery size of 100 kWh 666,667 electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 90 kWh a year with average battery size of 90 kWh 750,000 electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 80 kWh 140 GWh (North America, 2030) 1.4 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 100 kWh a year with average battery size of 100 kWh 1.56 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 90 kWh a year with average battery size of 90 kWh 1.75 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 80 kWh 240 GWh (globally, 2030) 2.4 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 100 kWh a year with average battery size of 100 kWh 2.67 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 90 kWh a year with average battery size of 90 kWh 3 million electric vehicles a year with average battery size of 80 kWh We have one more clue regarding 2030. Ford announced a few days ago that it expects for 40% of its global vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2030. We still dont know what the total figure is that Ford is aiming for. However, a few million seems much more possible with this 40% target in mind. Ford also added these eye-catching figures regarding its first two hot models: Mustang Mach-E, which is bringing new customers to Ford 70% of buyers, to date The F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of the worlds most popular pickup truck, which has amassed 70,000 customer reservations since it was unveiled one week ago. I think its safe to say that the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning will remain central components of Fords electrification evolution. With those numbers in mind, lets skip 2022 and jump to some possibilities for 2023 and 2024 leading into the 60 GWh mid-2020s figure. If we consider 300,000500,000 Ford electric vehicle sales a year, dominated by the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, we could see both models solidly north of 100,000 within a couple of years. By 2025, we could be talking hundreds of thousands of these inaugural electric Fords (ignoring the earlier Ford Focus Electric). Im hesitant to make any more specific forecasts or wild assumptions at this point. However, thats what the comments are for! Jump down in there and get wild.
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https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/31/how-many-ford-f-150-lightnings-mustang-mach-es-will-ford-build/
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Should a postponement of the elections even be considered?
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Prof Dirk Kotz The appointment of Judge Dikgang Moseneke by the IEC to investigate the pros and cons of postponing the October local government elections is unprecedented. It is justified in terms of section 14(4) of the Electoral Commission Act. It reads: The commission may, if it deems it necessary, publish a report on the likelihood or otherwise that it will be able to ensure that any pending election will be free and fair. The emphasis is therefore on whether an election would be free and fair. Postponement is ostensibly not part of the legislative purview. Postponing a municipal election is a constitutional matter. Section 159(1) determines that the term of office of an elected local authority is five years and a window of opportunity of 90 days is allowed for the elections. It can therefore not be changed by the president, by the IEC or even by the Constitutional Court. Judge Mosenekes conclusion will be a recommendation to the IEC, which can thereafter consult with the national party liaison committee and ultimately with the president, but they cannot decide to postpone the elections. Firstly, the Covid-19 pandemic, expectations of a third wave and uncertainty of its impact on a general election is an obvious consideration. If the IECs mandate to Judge Moseneke is taken into account, the point is whether the pandemic could threaten the free and fair nature of an election. A free and fair election depends on whether the voters feel free to participate in the elections. The pandemic should not make them scared to be in public and cast their vote at a voting station. Consider the fact that the election is scheduled for October 27. Given the patterns of the past, there would be a slim chance that the third wave will still be rampant at the beginning of the summer. Free and fair elections also depend on the ability of parties to campaign in a fair manner with free access to the voters. It is taken for granted that not all forms of traditional campaigning might be possible in the months before the election date. But the question is whether only those forms of campaigning can make an election free and fair. Political parties have neglected the opportunity in the last year to develop new and innovative forms of campaigning and forms of public communication. Like other parts of society, they are also expected to make adjustments. A second possible motivation for an election postponement is because of the negative impact of the new Political Party Funding Act. It is now already general knowledge that most political parties expect a decline in their income from private donations since the act took effect on April 1. It might be also too soon to receive any significant income from the two public funds established by the Act. While the existing Represented Political Parties Fund since 1998 only funded parties in national and provincial legislatures, it is unclear whether its role in the new Act as well as the new Multiparty Democracy Fund will include funding parties at local level. A third possible motivation for a postponement could be that the trends in the latest local by-elections is voter turnout percentages of between 30% and 40%. They may be ascribed to the impact of the pandemic on voter behaviour. These voter turnout trends are however normal since 1995. By-elections dont solicit active voter involvement. Local elections in general trail by almost 20% behind national and provincial elections voter turnout in South Africa. The average voter turnout in 2016 was the highest ever, at 57%. The pandemic therefore does not have a significant impact on voter turnout. A fourth possible motivation is arguably because some parties are not ready for the election. The EFF has been in support of postponement since the ideas has been raised. The ANC was also initially in favour of it but since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the election date, the ANC has become silent on it. The DA has been consistently against a postponement. The EFF has not performed well in any of the almost 200 by-elections since November 2020. Arguably, it hopes that a postponement might give them time to improve their prospects. The DA has also suffered some losses in the by-elections and could therefore also benefit from a postponement but does not support such a call. The EFF is in favour of a long postponement until the 2024 general election. It should then be synchronised with the national and provincial elections. No other options are publicly discussed. Any postponement should be as short as possible. Most municipal councils need new mandates. Many of them are coalition governments which require that voters can indicate any changes in their preferences. It would be untenable to allow for a term of eight years until 2024. The most important consideration is to prevent a precedent from being established which can justify electoral postponements on a regular basis. It is even less tolerable when public opinion and the opinion of the political parties are divided on this. In absolutely exceptional circumstances a consensus on postponement might be possible and can justify it, but it does not exist at the moment. * Kotz is Professor in Political Science at Unisa. ** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.
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https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/should-a-postponement-of-the-elections-even-be-considered-efdcec01-723c-4819-b80b-26b415c5c242
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Who Wears Blue Best in NCAA Football?
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Normally you dont hear much about what specific color is best worn in the NCAA, usually the best uniform or helmet. pic.twitter.com/WjWJVZdj1Y FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) May 31, 2021 So, without taking suggestions from the internet, stick with the eight nominated teams and rank them from eight to one. 8 State of Boise Way too much blue. 7 UCLA Not visually appealing. 6 West Virginia Bad combination. 5 Michigan Just as bad. 4 Kentucky Just a little too light. 3 North Carolina Big fan of baby blue, but the next two were just a bit more simplistic to the eye. 2 Notre Dame I didnt have the Irish on top, mainly because Im a much bigger fan of the green. 1 Penn State Hate the school, but the blue and white combination is the best out there. What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos
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https://exbulletin.com/sports/956143/
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How old is Kate Winslet?
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OSCAR winner Kate Winslet has wowed telly fans with a stunning performance in the critically-acclaimed drama Mare of Easttown. Heres everything you need to know about the actress. Kate Winslet is British actress, who became a household name when she played Rose in the 1997 classic Titanic - one of the biggest blockbusters in history. The Hollywood star has since appeared in countless movies, including Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Little Children and Revolutionary Road. Shes won plenty of awards during her career, including an Oscar, a Grammy, four Golden Globes and three Baftas. Kate has also received a CBE from Buckingham Palace for the impact she's had on the TV & film industry. Her most recent work in the Mare of Easttown has been praised by thousands on social media and could see the star pick up even more accolades. Kate is 45. She was born in Reading on October 5, 1975. Kate was the first actress to receive four Oscar nominations by the time she was 30. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kate is worth $65million - around 45.7m. As she comes from a working class background, her wealth derives from her stellar acting career. She told the Radio Times in July 2019: "I would have been upset and disgusted if I had come from wealth or royalty. "There was never any money in our family, but I always felt very fortunate because I came from a lovely, wonderful, loving family. "My roots are socialist, working class and, in a funny way, my parents frowned upon the wealthy." As well as those aforementioned, Kate has starred in countless other TV shows and popular movies - including Contagion, The Holiday and Extras. Her Best Actress Oscar win came for her stunning performance in the 2008 romantic drama The Reader. Kates first Bafta came before she starred in Titanic, winning the Best Film Actress in a Supporting Role award for playing Marianne Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility. Speaking to Variety in January 2021, the Hollywood regular recalled how Sense & Sensibility kick-started her career. She said: "I'm a working-class scrapper who got f*****g lucky. "To be in a situation where I'm auditioning for a film at age 17, let alone cast in the goddamn role, that was not supposed to happen to anyone with a surname that was Winslet. "We were grafters who did acting in the back garden and maybe got paid for it sometimes And then to be nominated for an Academy Award [for her role in Sense & Sensibility]. It was the stuff of dreams. "Whenever Ive been to the Academy Awards since then, I still think that its the stuff of dreams." We have you covered... New on Netflix: The best series and films released every day The best movies on Netflix to watch right now The best series to watch on Netflix The most terrifying horrors to watch on Netflix right now The best documentaries to watch on Netflix right now The best comedies to watch on Netflix right now The best thrillers to watch on Netflix right now The best kids' shows on Netflix to watch right now The best true crime series to watch on Netflix The best movies to watch on Amazon Prime The best series to watch on Amazon Prime The best series on Disney+
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2989726/how-old-is-kate-winslet/
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What was Turn Me Up Joshs cause of death?
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FANS are mourning the death of award-winning producer Turn Me Up Josh. Rapper Lil Durk announced the musician's passing in June 2021. Turn Me Up Josh's death was revealed on June 1, 2021. Details surrounding his passing have not yet been released, and his cause of death is not known. His long time collaborator Lil Durk tweeted the sad news. The rapper shared a photo of Josh working in the studio and wrote: "Rip turn me up josh smh." Turn me Up Josh's real name was Joshua Samuel. He engineered Migos' 2013 track Versace and Metro Boomin's hit Not All Heroes Wear Caps. He received a Grammy nomination in 2020 for his work on Drake and Durk's song "Laugh Now Cry Later". He also worked alongside artists DaBaby, Tinashe and Def Loaf. Fans and musicians have paid tribute to the musician after news of his death broke. One said: RIP turnmeupJosh smh. What you created will keep hitting our souls. Another posted: Bro had such good and melodic beats. Atlanta DJ Alex Tumay tweeted: "Can't believe I'm reading this. RIP TurnMeUpJosh man. A pillar of the Atlanta recording community."
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2992217/turn-me-up-josh-cause-of-death/
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Who is Clint Eastwoods son Scott Eastwood?
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YOU'D be hard to find someone who didn't know who Hollywood movie star Clint Eastwood was. But to actor Scott Eastwood, he is simply known as dad. Scott, 35, was born on March 21, 1986 and is an American actor and model. He is the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood and flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves. Scott is one of Clint's eight children and he has seven half siblings. Before moving to California to pursue an acting career in lived in Hawaii with his mother. Scott has certainly carved a name for himself in the movies. Scott is believed to be currently single. Though the actor is not married, he was in a serious relationship with a woman in the early 2010s. Most read in Celebrity RISKY REBEL Rebel Wilson nearly slips out of plunging swimsuit after losing 60 pounds WET & WILD Kylie and Travis Scott get in a water balloon fight with daughter Stormi Exclusive FIGHTING BACK Teen Mom Jenelle Evans sues blogger for claims she was 'fired' from podcast BACH IN LOVE Matt James & Rachael huddle together on rainy Hamptons trip after rekindling LOADED GONE Lil Loaded indicted on manslaughter charge following arrest for friend's death RIP LOADED Dallas rapper Lil Loaded has passed away He has never revealed the womans name or details about their relationship, but he said it ended in tragedy when she died in a freak car accident. I dated a girl a couple of years ago, he told GQ Australia in August 2016. Ive lost friends before; Ive lost some great friends. But I had never lost someone I had been really intimate with, you know, like in that way, in a relationship. Scott said she died because there was a recall on airbags, he explained. It was a fender bender. Her airbag exploded. It shot a projectile through her body. It split her spine.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2992365/clint-eastwood-son-scott-eastwood/
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What did Dr Jessen say in his tweet about Arlene Foster?
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CELEBRITY doctor Christian Jessen was ordered to pay Northern Ireland's former First Minister Arlene Foster damages caused by a tweet in 2019. On December 23, 2019, Dr Jessen posted a false allegation about Arlene Foster stating that she was having an extra-marital affair. The Embarrassing Bodies Doctor, who has 307,400 Twitter followers, left it up for two weeks and it was liked 3,500 times and received 517 retweets. The tweet was deleted on January 7, 2020. In May 2021, a judge at Belfast High Court, Mr Justice McAlinden, said the tweet was a "serious libel". "Her marriage, her family life and her faith are the most important things in her life," Mr Justice McAlinden said. "These things provide important pillars of support and it was these things that were publicly trashed." Ms Foster, a mum-of-three, said that the tweet was categorically untrue, and had caused her grave upset, distress, embarrassment and humiliation. The High Court judge ordered Dr Jessen to pay 125,000 in damages to Ms Foster. Following the ruling, the TV host has claimed he has just 20,000 to his name - and must raise money through crowdfunding to pay for an appeal. Dr Jessen said: Im down to my last 20,000 and that wont last long. I dont have the money so if the crowd-funding doesnt work, I may have to declare myself bankrupt. Its obviously not helped my mental health in any way at all and while Im keeping afloat at the moment I can feel it cracking. Dr Jessen is now pleading with supporters on Twitter to donate to his GoFundMe page, where he has so far raised more than 4,900. 'SEVERELY WORRIED' DUP's Arlene Foster may be ousted as letter of no confidence circulates D-UP IN ARMS Arlene Foster lashes BoJo for reneging promise not to put up Irish Sea border He has asked for 150,000 in total - though the total legal bill is likely to reach 300,000 should he appeal. He continued: Obviously, I deeply regret it, and if Arlene Foster says the claim in the tweet isnt true, then Im sorry for causing her any hurt. But I dont agree with the judgment. Id been brutally honest about my mental health in court and the circumstances that led to the tweet, and for that to be dismissed is really concerning.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2992325/what-dr-jessen-tweet-arlene-foster/
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Who is Lil Loadeds girlfriend?
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RAPPER Lil Loaded died aged 20 on May 31, 2021. The tragic news was confirmed by his attorney the same day. The identity of Lil Loadeds girlfriend is currently unknown. The unnamed woman was believed to have been dating the rapper prior to his death. Lil Loaded passed away on Monday, May 31, 2021. He started making music in 2018, but only rose to promimemnce a year later after his song 6locc 6a6y went viral and received 28 million views on YouTube. His follow up hip hop track Gang Unique gained a further 39 million YouTube views, as he went onto to release a number of albums. In 2020, he was accused of allegedly shooting teenager Khali Walker, who was found dead in Texas on October 25. Lil Loader was subsequently arrested in November on a murder charge, but was indicted on a lesser charge in March. Despite a flurry of claims on social media, the cause of Lil Loadeds death is unknown. He was just 20 at the time of his passing. The Sun reported that the rapper left a tragic Instagram post before his death suggesting that he was ready for his "heart and soul" to "join" God. Shared online by rap media outlet Rap House TV, it began as he asked for forgiveness for his short comings. The rapper then went on to thank God for all of the people in his life that kept him "grounded and humble through everything," and said he loves every single one of those people. "I ask for entrance to your kingdom thru all of my mistakes. " I know you love all of your children and I'm ready for my heart and soul to join you," he concluded the note. 3 A tragic Instagram message was revealed after his death Credit: Instagram/Lil Loaded The news of his death spread quickly on Twitter over the following day as many expressing their shock. One user wrote: What the actual f**k man RIP bruh Most read in News RAPPER DEATH Rapper Lil Loaded dead at 20 after arrest for 18-year-old friends shooting Live Blog 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash Warning BRUTAL SLUG Man smacks Asian woman, 55, in NYC's Chinatown amid hate crime epidemic JUST IN TIME Cop saved by bystanders after anti-Asian homeless man puts her in 'death grip' LAST WORDS Rapper Lil Loaded said he's 'ready to join God' in tragic final Instagram post SOCIALITE CHARGED Billionaire's daughter-in-law CHARGED with manslaughter in cop shooting Another added: Damn wtf i thought he was in jail for the accidental murder of his bro. A third replied: This some bulls*** I was just bumpin my n*** lil loaded yesterday fam damn bro rest easy.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2992354/who-is-lil-loadeds-girlfriend/
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Can Stem Cell Therapy Patients Get the COVID Vaccine?
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The COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Pandemic Caused global turmoil in the last year and a half vaccination The drive came as a relief for the population.India is making steady progress Immunity Overall qualifying population in stages, given the countrys huge population. Currently, there are two major vaccines approved for emergency use in India. Recombinant viral vector (Covishield, Indian Serum Research Institute / AstraZeneca) and inactivated virus (inactivated virus).Kovacin, Bharat Biotech), with other candidates for the pipeline. The Ministry of Health has issued guidelines on vaccination eligibility. It provides an extensive list of general conditions in which patients can be safely vaccinated. Patients are advised to consult their healthcare provider if they are not on the other list. Your healthcare provider can advise you on vaccination by changing your medication as needed based on your current health. Patients with general condition, especially long-term cases, are generally considered to be at high risk of developing the disease. COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Infectious diseases and associated mortality due to existing disease burden. Stem cell therapy is indicated for patients with some health conditions who need treatment, such as targeting immune system dysfunction and reducing systemic inflammation, to increase survival and improve quality of life. Will be done. The Ministry of Health has made it clear that recipients or people on the waiting list for stem cell therapy can be vaccinated. Dr Pradeep Mahajan, a regenerative medicine researcher at StemRx Bioscience Solutions Pvt, said: Navi Mumbai Co., Ltd. Here are some things to keep in mind: (Source: Getty Images / Sinkstock) However, for the same reasons that he is immunosuppressed (especially during the post-transplant period), he said it is important for patients to stay in touch with their healthcare providers and monitor adverse events after vaccination. In addition, care must be taken during the period between the two doses of vaccination, and for the weeks following the second dose in which the immune system is responding to the vaccination. This period is such. It may increase the patients susceptibility to opportunistic infections or COVID-19 itself, said Dr. Mahajan. Nonetheless, manufacturers and ministries have not issued serious warnings or precautions to such patients, and vaccination does not cause adverse events or worsening of the condition in stem cell therapy patients, he said. I added. Therefore, patients with stem cell therapy do not have to be afraid of the sequelae of vaccination. Positive lifestyle and dietary changes, continuation of prescribed medications, and follow-up of caregiver advice, as well as overall health. With close scrutiny, such patients can acquire immunity to COVID-19 after vaccination, which is a priority given the current situation. Follow us for more lifestyle news: Twitter: Lifestyle_ie | Facebook: IE lifestyle | Instagram: ie_lifestyle .. What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos
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https://exbulletin.com/world/health/956137/
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Can influenza vaccination protect children from COVID-19 infections?
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The symptoms of COVID-19 in children are similar to those faced by adults. They may experience continuous coughing, loss or alteration of the senses of smell and taste, sore throat, congestion, or runny nose and chills. In the case of severe infections, children can develop Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), which includes a variety of bodies such as the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin and eyes. Causes severe inflammation of the organs. .. What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos
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https://exbulletin.com/world/health/956151/
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Should Bradley Beal ask for a trade out of Washington?
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There are only a handful of NBA stars who have stuck with one team for the duration of their career in this current era of basketball. Former Florida one-and-done star Bradley Beal has spent nine seasons with the Washington Wizards where theyve been stuck in mediocrity. Washington has only made the playoffs five times where it has failed to escape the first two rounds of the postseason. Sports Illustrated NBA writer Howard Beck wrote a column about how much longer Beal can take playing for one of the bottom dwellers in the NBA who is currently facing another first-round exit. Beck and other NBA front-office executives believe its time that Beal embraces change while he remains in the prime of his career. The former Gators shooting guard has proven hes one of the best scorers in the league, averaging 30 points per game the last two seasons. I agree with Beck and the executives he spoke with that its time for Beal to ask for a trade. He has been snubbed for individual awards due to his teams poor play and hasnt sniffed playoff success. I also think it would work out well for both sides in the long run. For Beal, he can join a contender with another or a pair of superstars next season like when James Harden was traded from the Rockets to the Nets. He has been great to Washington and his loyalty to the Wizards should be greatly appreciated. Washington would benefit from trading him because it can finally escape this wash, rinse and repeat cycle of making the playoffs and then being eliminated shortly thereafter. Trading for former Houston point guard Russell Westbrook helped satisfy Beal, but Westbrook turns 33 in November and his level of play has started to decline. If the Wizards hit the reset button, they can get draft capital and a host of young players in return for Beal because hes under contract until 2022-2023. For example, the Thunder got five first-round picks, two pick swaps and a budding all-star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Paul George. They can also have a better chance of earning a higher draft pick to build around Rui Hachimura, their top pick in 2019. Both parties would have a greater chance of achieving their goals if Beal asked for a trade out of Washington. Gallery PHOTOS: Highlights from Bradley Beal's NBA All-Star Game appearance View 9 photos
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https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/31/bradley-beal-washington-wizards-trade-request/
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Will Saka make the cut? Which 7 should Southgate axe today?
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By Dan Gareth Southgate today has to whittle his 33-man squad down to 26 for the European Championships. Bukayo Saka has to avoid being one of the unlucky 7 or England will not have an Arsenal representative at the Euros for the first time since 1980. Its believed the Three Lions boss already told players individually whos part of his squad and whos been training just for the week, just in case there were any injuries in the two European Finals. In a strange way by UEFA increasing the number of players each association can submit, it actually hurts Sakas chances of being selected. The smaller the numbers you can register, the more each position becomes valuable. Thats where Sakas versatility would have helped him, a coach can cover 3-4 roles with the one pick. With 26 options though there is no need to do that. Southgate himself prefers 24 being the maximum to register as too many people not feeling involved affects morale. Not that he will be copying Spain who have volunteered not to take the whole quota free to them. Originally planning for only 24 players to work with, Southgate might view the extra spots as free hits. Harry Maguire might not be fit enough to start the tournament, while Henderson hasnt started a game in months but is involved due to his leadership qualities on and off the pitch. Taking talent not 100 per cent fit contradicts what Southgate has said in the past, but that was when he was preparing for a 24-man party. He might feel he can use the additional places to take risks. Theres talk that without the Man United captain, the Three Lions would switch to a back 5. In a three he likes Kyle Walker; Stones will start so its one of Mings or Coady. With a Mings or Coady on the bench and Maguire to come back, Uncapped Godfrey and White have only been invited to the recent camp for experience. Obviously, theres no need for 4 keepers. I think he will pick Ramsdale as his number 3 because he works within the set up for the under 21s. That leaves us with 4 players to leave at home (even though we are playing at Wembley). The issue is Saka is yet to be as important to his country as he is his club. There are gooners who think our players are a lot better than they are based on simply because they play for the Gunners. Its not a slight on the youngster to say hes not as good (at the moment) as a Rashford, Sancho, Sterling, Foden or Grealish. Equally with our options at full back I dont see where he fits in. Plus at 19 its always easier to let down a player on the pretense that they will have another chance in the future. Let me stress that inmost other years Saka makes the squad, its just England right now are blessed with so many options in his position. As a teenager, its a credit to him to even be in the conversation. Yet also it may maybe a reality check to a section of our fans in terms of how far away we are from our previous levels. One of our best players this season and he might not make the England squad. My 7 Not to Go! Be kind in the Comments
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https://www.justarsenal.com/will-saka-make-the-cut-which-7-should-southgate-axe-today/283804
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How do I select a data analytics solution for my business?
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In todays data driven world, an organization should have full insight into its database, not only because it is important to have control over it but also because it can drive business and strategy decisions based on trends and patterns. Data analytics is and in-depth way of knowing your data and making the most of it, while protecting your assets. To select a suitable data analytics solution for your business, you need to think about a variety of factors. Weve talked to several industry professionals to get their insight on the topic. Joe Hellerstein, CSO, Trifacta Successful data analytics incorporates everyone at the organization, including non-technical users across departments. Getting data and analytics right requires a comprehensive approach that connects data experts and domain experts, hand-coders and no-coders, to blend engineering discipline with business agility. The first thing to look for in a data analytics product is that it empowers everyone. Modern cloud products, with zero setup and easy to use interfaces, often do this well. There are no walls in the cloud, which eliminates any artificial barriers between teams. And cloud solutions give organizations the flexibility to scale up and scale down depending on their needs. Another crucial thing to seek is the ability to see the data. When users can visualize the data at every step as they refine, transform and analyze it the quality and speed of the results increase dramatically. The most advanced products combine visual interaction with AI/ML intelligence to recommend quality rules and suggest transformations that guide users to the best outcomes. In these products, AI meets human intelligence in a guide and decide approach so every user can maximize the value from data, regardless of how technical they are. Finally, look for products that empower extended teams by supporting code and no-code approaches, with robust sharing and collaboration capabilities to leverage and extend existing work. Alan Jacobson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Alteryx Digital transformation is enabled with world-class data and analytic software that can accelerate your knowledge workers journeys to become data-driven. In the end, data and analytic solutions perform math. They will get the same answers to your questions; however, most solutions cant be used by your accountant, your HR professional, or your marketing operations expert and instead can only be leveraged by data scientists. This simply wont get the best outcome, as you do not have enough data scientists to answer all your business questions. An end-to-end platform that solves for all of your data and analytic needs can replace any disconnected, clunky point tools that only perform specific functions. With an outcome-first approach, you can spend more time focusing on business impact and less time upfront completing tedious back-end work. Vishal Kasera, Senior Director of Product, ThoughtSpot When selecting a data analytics solution for your business, its important to look at the use case for which youre trying to solve. Id argue enterprises benefit most when all users are empowered to access, interact and derive insights from data themselves. This leads to increased productivity and efficiency, and inspires rapid, data-driven, decision-making which drives organizations bottom lines. Business and data leaders need to prioritize a solution that offers a familiar consumer-grade experience which is simple and intuitive for all users. Asking them to learn a tool that requires multiple days of training means that the analytics solution is dead in the water. When its as simple as search, however, people instinctively start unlocking value. Its even more powerful when users can then use those insights to automatically trigger action in other apps or services. All of this has to happen with large volumes of data without sacrificing the controls, security, and governance requirements associated with managing the variety and volume of data today. Monzy Merza, VP Security GTM, Databricks Data driven companies are 19 times more likely to achieve above average profitability. Data analytics solutions drive decisions that create competitive advantages. Choosing the right analytics platform isnt just an IT decision, its a strategic imperative that will impact the daily work across the organization. Making a sub-optimal choice will be reflected on your balance sheet. The right solution must fit your business culture, be aligned with your IT strategy, be built on modern tech and be economically advantageous. Culturally, the solution must provide fast time to value to business users, operational analysts and serve engineers, developers and data scientists. Strategically, it must be an open system to integrate with your IT and security operations and have compliant governance controls. Technologically, it must be multi-cloud native to give you the scalability of workloads and freedom of vendor choice. And economically, its pricing must be attractive, transparent and predictable to grow with your business. Recognizing these requirements, leading global brands in every industry vertical are employing cloud native lakehouse architectures. The architecture combines the advantages of data warehouses with data lakes via managed cloud services. Not all lakehouses are open platforms or multi-cloud capable. Ask those questions if you want to avoid vendor lock in or if you expect to operate in multiple geographies or if you have independent subsidiaries. Abhishek Rungta, CEO, Indus Net Technologies Defining the business problem is of utmost importance. Based on the business problem, you need to identify what sort of data is required for your task. This is very crucial as it may lead to Garbage in Garbage out. Now that you have identified what kind of data is to be collected, the next step is to pinpoint the source of this data. Internal sources, external sources, paid data sources etc. can be leveraged, tool stacks that can be used, starting from data collection to insights building. Consider the following while selecting your data analytics solution: The data pipeline that you are intending to integrate should be compatible with your other applications. Create an ecosystem. Your data pipeline should be agile, scalable and future-ready. You should get real-time reports rather than post facto insights. Perform a cost-benefit analysis before selecting and deploying any analytics solution. It should not compromise with your data security. The learning curve for the people using the solution should not be steep. Start small, start now. A lot of times, businesses tend to get deviated with buzz words like ML/AI, deep learning, big data etc. We need to understand that an organization can not be ML/AI compliant overnight. It takes time. It is key to start with basic and small analytics solution, learn from it and keep building on it.
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https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/01/select-data-analytics-solution/
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Is Chupke Chupke season two on the cards?
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Actor Osman Khalid Butt has responded to rumours about the second season of the highly popular sitcom Chupke Chupke. A lot of you are asking whether a second season of Chupke Chupke is in the works, he said. As of yet, theres no news or development on that front. Photo: Instagram/Osman Khalid Butt Chupke Chupke started airing in Ramazan and went on to become one of the most liked Ramazan sitcoms, with viewers praising Osman and Ayeza Khans chemistry. It attracted criticism, however, for its portrayal of ghar damaads (live-in sons-in-law). Ali Safina played Mira Sethis husband Miskeen, who lives with her family and is constantly let down. Some people said the character reinforced stereotypes as men already find it hard to live with their in-laws due to societal pressures even for genuine reasons. If the writer is inspired to write a sequel and the channels content heads approve, only then we will get to know, as actors, if anything is happening, Osman said. Chupke Chupke starred Osman and Ayeza in the lead, and Mira, Ali and YouTuber Arslan Naseer in supporting roles. It has been written by Saima Akbar Chaudhry. Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Advertisement
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https://www.samaa.tv/entertainment/2021/06/is-chupke-chupke-season-two-on-the-cards/
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Will Pokhriyal announce CBSE decision on June 1 after SC gives Govt time till June 3?
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After the Supreme Court heard a plea on Monday regarding the cancellation of Class 12 board exams and asked the Central Government to provide a decision on Thursday, June 3, it remains to be seen whether the Education Ministry will say something on June 1. "There is a broad consensus among states about conducting Class 12 board exams and an informed, collaborative decision will be taken by June 1," Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had announced last week. Chances are, the decision will be communicated to the court first as the AG had asked for two days to submit their decision. Students across the country have been eagerly waiting for the government's decision on this matter since the Class 10 board exams were cancelled in April. After the SC's decision to hear the matter on Thursday, students all over social media said it is becoming extremely difficult for them to wait further. First, it was supposed to be declared by May end, then June 1 and now June 3, we are getting anxious," a student wrote on Twitter. While another wrote, "Please don't risk so many lives amid a pandemic and cancel the exams. There are many ways to promote students other than offline exams." The SC on Monday was hearing a petition filed by advocate Mamta Sharma that urged the apex court to direct the authorities to scrap the exam and conceive an objective methodology to declare the Class XII results within a specific time frame. The court asked the Attorney General whether they would follow last year's decision to cancel the exams or provide good reasons to depart from that. READ ALSO: #CancelBoardExam2021: Government should consider taking revision exam scores as final The SC last year on June 26, 2020, had approved the schemes of the CBSE and CISCE for cancellation of remaining board examinations scheduled from July 1 to 15, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also approved their formula for alternative assessment. During Monday's hearing, the Attorney General told the bench, "The government will take a final decision within the next two days. We are hoping that your lordships will give us time till Thursday (June 3) so that we can come back with the final decision. The bench has posted the matter for hearing on June 3." "List on Thursday as requested by the attorney general as the competent authority is examining all the aspects of the matter and is likely to take an in-principle decision which will be placed before the court," the bench said in response.
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https://www.edexlive.com/news/2021/may/31/will-pokhriyal-announce-cbse-decision-on-june-1-after-sc-gives-govt-time-till-june-3-21231.html
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Why Did a North Korean Cargo Ship Sink Near Japan?
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Eli Fuhrman Chong Bong, Authorities reported on Saturday that the Chong Bong sank roughly 30 miles off of Japans Oki Islands. The Chong Bong reportedly alerted the Japanese Maritime Security Agency (MSA) that it had begun to take on water, after which time the crew boarded lifeboats. Authorities reported on Saturday that the Chong Bong sank roughly 30 miles off of Japans Oki Islands. The Chong Bong reportedly alerted the Japanese Maritime Security Agency (MSA) that it had begun to take on water, after which time the crew boarded lifeboats. The crew was rescued by a small North Korean tanker several hours later, with no reported injuries and no crewmembers reported as missing. Japanese authorities reported that the Chong Bong was transporting iron from the port of Chongjin on North Koreas east coast to the west coast port of Songnim. Officials also reported the presence of a large oil slick near the location that the Chong Bong went down, and are carrying out an investigation into the contents of the ships cargo. In 2016, both the Chong Bong and its parent company, Chong Bong Shipping Co. LTD, were added to the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN). Prior to its sinking, the Chong Bong remained on OFACs SDN list. In addition to unilateral U.S. sanctions, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has also levied sanctions against North Korea on nine separate occasions dating back to 2006 in response to activities related to the DPRKs nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The more recent UNSC sanctions resolutions levied against North Korea, adopted in response to accelerated nuclear and ballistic missile testing, have included sweeping sanctions measures targeting specific sectors of the North Korean economy. These broader sectoral sanctions measures were enacted in order to prevent North Korea from accessing resources and materials needed to continue the development of its strategic weapons program, as well as to prevent it from generating the funds necessary to enable such development. North Korea has employed a wide range of techniques designed to evade the international sanctions regime, including the use of foreign middle men and state trading company operatives embedded in foreign countries as well as the use of diplomatic personnel as procurement operatives. North Korea has also engaged in illicit maritime practices designed to evade sanctions, including illegal ship-to-ship transfers, falsification of documents and records, obscuration of ship identities, and altering and shutting off ships Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) while at sea. Accidents and sometimes even fatal incidents involving North Korean ships have become more common in recent years as North Koreas aging fleet of cargo ships continues to engage in dangerous and illegal practices at sea. International sanctions have thus far not prevented the continued development of North Koreas various weapons programs. In October of 2020, North Korea unveiled its largest model of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) so far, while in March of this year the DPRK tested what it reported to be a new model of advanced short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM). Eli Fuhrman is a contributing writer for The National Interest.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263041735466/why-did-a-north-korean-cargo-ship-sink-near-japan
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Are African brands out of touch with Africans?
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African brands are not getting enough love from home and we need to resolve this. According to the annual Brand Africa survey for the 100 most admired brands in Africa, only 13% are home grown while the rest of the list is dominated by European and North American brands. Photo by Godisable Jacob from Pexels South Africa's Top 50 most valuable brands for 2021 The Top 50 most valuable South African brands were initially forecasted to lose over R65bn in cumulative brand value (15%) during the pandemic. However, resolve and resilience have meant the Top 50 have only recorded a 2% (R8.8bn) decrease in cumulative brand value... Media planning: How brands and agencies should strategise during the pandemic With the possible third wave emerging in South Africa, brands and agencies need to be reminded that media planning during a pandemic must be curated with continued consideration for people's health and safety... Data from Brand Africa also reflects that for the past decade, on average about 20% of the leading brands admired by Africans are made in Africa. This figure stood out for me as it signifies that we have a huge task ahead of us in making sure that people fall in love with African brands.We need to interrogate what makes global brands likable in Africa. A beer brand like Guinness for instance is consumed more in Nigeria than in Ireland where it originates.Not to say that there is anything wrong with Africans consuming and admiring foreign brands. But the imbalance is so wide that it cannot be ignored. Brands are entities that represent the image, aspirations and vision of the people who craft them.It is only fair for us to imagine a better world as one where Africans embrace the brands that are created at home. At the end of the day people support brands that they love, and this translates into profit margins and on a larger scale impacts on the economy.The rankings are based on a comprehensive pan-African survey across at least 25 countries spanning all the five economic regions. This accounts for over 80% of the population and over 80% of the continents GDP.Crafting brands that win admiration at home also shows that we have confidence in our own ability to inspire growth as a people. The African Renaissance movement calls upon us to achieve economic, cultural, and scientific renewal. We cannot achieve this, without investing into the local brands in our respective countries.The work is not only cut out for marketing and PR agencies but also for African brands themselves. Some learnings we can take from global companies is that they invest a lot into branding, they aggressively pursue customer connections, and they create impactful experiences for their customers.African brands must do much of the same so that they can gain prominence. There is nothing stopping South African brands the likes of Bathu or Drip for instance from kicking American sports and fitness giant, Nike from the number one spot on the list. Nike has secured the number one spot on that list for the past four years.There is also room for others to join African brands like MTN and Dangote to be amongst the 100 most admired brands on the continent. It is not like African people from Uganda, Zambia, Libya, Nigeria and elsewhere on the continent have not been coming up with innovative businesses.But how we share the story such enterprises will make all the difference. The best marketers in the world have figured out the key to winning their customers hearts in an information intense world. Creating and sharing great content seems to be one of the secret ingredients. People admire brands that speak to them and provide solutions to their problems.African brands must be the leaders when it comes to creating content that answers the questions to African challenges. We cannot always be looking outward for progress.View the Top 100 Most Admired Brands in Africa
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https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/82/216414.html
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What is the Delta variant? Why are scientists warning Boris not to lift June 21 rules?
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When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forhealth tips to live a long and happy life Variant cases in the UK have raised concerns amongst local experts. Scientists and researchers fear the current trend is the beginning of a third Covid wave. And some have advised the Prime Minister against fully reopening the country in three weeks. You can catch Covid after being vaccinated - four symptoms to spot 'So confusing!' The culprit behind the recent rise in Covid cases is the B.1.1.7 variant. Sequencers first identified B.1.1.7 - which has two distinct protein mutations - in India. World health officials have renamed the variant and several others, directing countries away from using their colloquial monikers. READ MORE: BBC's Adam Fleming highlights measures Boris could keep on June 21
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https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1443778/What-is-Delta-variant-Covid-Indian-variant-cases-June-21-reopening-evg
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When was the first cell phone call?
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Samsung is a well-known brand in the mobile market and they also released the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy S9 in 2016, 2017, and 2018. But you may be surprised that none of the phones has an inbuilt call recorder feature. Some people prefer recording while making or receiving phone calls. It is also beneficial for you to record if you short memory and easily forget things. If you looked at other Android phones that are released in recent times, have a call recorder built-in that can be enabled within the call options. Dont panic if you dont have this option in your Samsung phone because here I will guide you step by step: How to Record Phone Calls on Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S8+, S9, and S9+.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263147303491/when-was-the-first-cell-phone-call
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What caused the Canterbury flood?
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After earthquakes, flooding happens to be New Zealand's second-costliest natural hazard and the weekend's deluge in Christchurch reflects why. New Zealand Herald Science reporter Jamie Morton looks at three questions surrounding the disaster. There's no question the weekend storm was a significant one. Places like Akaroa, Methven and Winchmore received around twice their normal monthly rainfall in under three days. At Lismore, near Ashburton, 238mm dropped that's the same amount that it had received in the previous 187 days. Such was the storm's intensity that some labelled it a "once in a century" downpour. But it's really that not simple and indeed such a calculation could be impossible to make. Dr Rob Bell, a scientist specialising in coastal hazards, said categorising events in such a way as had become ingrained because of past practice was a "problematic issue". "We now face the ongoing influence of climate change on weather-related events that no longer fits with the assumption of no underlying change in our weather systems, climate or sea level." The term has long been used as a measure of the likely timeframe, on average, an event exceeds a certain level whether that be a flood height, rainfall total, or storm-tide sea level based on a record of historic measurements. The Canterbury flood was the result of a deep low pressure system, an "atmospheric river", and dry soils which couldn't absorb the deluge. Photo: NZ Herald That meant calculating a "one-in-100 year" event from 50 years - or even 100 years of records came with obvious uncertainties. Bell said a slightly better measure was the "annual exceedance probability", or AEP. By this, a "one-in-100-year" event had a chance of one percent each year of being reached or exceeded. "So the clock doesn't get reset once such an event occurs, such that it won't occur again for 100 years," he said. "It's like a computer picking randomly from numbers one to 100 and getting a one, then five rounds later it could be a one again." The usual way the AEP of a flood is calculated was with river gauges, which measure the height of the water in a river at a given time. This was converted into a "flow" or how many cumecs, or cubic metres of water, per second, were flowing down the river using a rating curve. "So for rivers where we have gauges, we have measurements of the flow in that river over time," said Dr Emily Lane, a hydrodynamics scientist at Niwa. "To calculate the AEP of a flood in that river, we take the largest flow in the river each year and we look at the values we get for this over many years. "If we had hundreds of years of data this would be easy and the one in 100 year event would be the one that happened on average once in 100 years. "It is a bit trickier though, because we don't have that length of data, so we have to use mathematical techniques to work out what these would be if we have shorter records." That meant that, the shorter the record was, the more uncertainty there'd be with the result. "If there happens to have been a big flood in that time, it might overestimate - or if there haven't been any floods, it might underestimate." She also pointed out that floods didn't happen regularly. "Just because there is a big flood now it doesn't mean there won't be another one in the near future. They still might on average only happen once in a 100 years." And the other obvious problem: the planet was warming and changing our weather. "One of the big assumptions in this method is that the climate is not changing - of course we know that this is not the case at the moment," Lane said. "So we are using the past record to calculate the probability of a flood occurring but because of climate change the probability of that flood occurring might be increasing." Especially because of climate change, Bell said using the AEP measure was causing confusion. "The past measurements are no longer a reliable guide to future events both the size and how often they will occur," he said. "An event that in the past might have occurred, on average, once in 100 years is likely to occur, on average, once every 50 or 80 years or so over the next few decades." "That is a tricky one," Lane said. The flooding was widespread across Canterbury. Photo: NZ Herald "People always ask what the probability of a flood is and a lot of our planning and design and hazard management are based on probability of events happening. "I think we need to ensure that whenever we talk about the probability of flooding we acknowledge that we are in a changing climate and that probability of flooding might increase. "We are also working hard to understand how climate change might affect these probabilities but there is a lot of uncertainty in that not least what we as the human race are doing to reduce our carbon emissions." Such was the complex nature of the atmospheric and ocean processes driving the storm, that it remained difficult to ascribe this or any other weather event to climate change. The deluge came as a result of a deep and slow-moving low-pressure system that helped siphon moisture through an "atmospheric river" stretching thousands of kilometres back to the subtropics. The way that moisture was slung around the low and on to the eastern South Island where moisture-packed air masses dropped their loads before climbing the Southern Alps was something seen more commonly with big West Coast rain events. Further in the background, the moisture coming from the tropics had been charged by the presence of a pulse of rain and thunderstorms that circulates the planet every 30 to 40 days called the Madden-Julian Oscillation, or MJO. But that wasn't to say a warming climate wasn't a factor. "As the climate warms, there is more moisture in the air on average, so when it rains it is likely to rain harder than it used to," Victoria University climate scientist Professor James Renwick explained. "That's why we expect the occurrence of heavy rainfalls and floods to increase over time as it continues to warm up. "At the same time, the very heaviest rains are getting heavier, so records will be broken and the once-rare events will become more commonplace. "Unfortunately, the terrible damage we've seen done in Canterbury over the past couple of days is something we are likely to see more often in future." Lane said the sheer amount of water that fell was the main factor in Canterbury's storm, but there were also other exacerbating factors. "The sea level is higher than usual at the moment because of the spring tides from the super moon last week and storm surge driven by strong winds and low air pressure," she said. "This intensifies the flooding in coastal areas as the water can't drain away as fast. With the drought conditions Canterbury has been experiencing recently, the ground is less able to absorb water so more of it ends up in the rivers." Renwick added that rivers actually flooded naturally, and could change course unpredictably over their floodplains. "For instance, the Waimakariri River has in the past flowed through the area where Christchurch now is," he said. "Building stop banks reduces the chances of such events and are a good protection against most floods." The downside, he said, was what was called "maladaptation" or where communities developed a false sense of security through the presence of the stop banks. "That can lead to increased urban development close to the river, and even greater damage and misery when the really big flood comes." As for climate change, Lane said the deluge highlighted an important point. "Canterbury was in the grips of a drought recently and lack of water was a far bigger problem," she said. "Then suddenly when the water came, it came all at once. These sorts of extremes are expected to occur more frequently under climate change. "The expected increase in these types of drought-flood cycles needs to be incorporated into future planning." Atmospheric rivers aren't anything new but scientists are learning more about them all the time. Flooding in the Ashburton River following the deluge. Photo: Ashburton Courier Otago University senior lecturer Dr Daniel Kingston described them as "long, thin filaments" of atmospheric moisture transport that could carry more water than the Amazon River. "Atmospheric rivers more commonly occur on the West Coast of the South Island, but this one made landfall on the east coast instead." Associate Professor Asaad Shamseldin, of Auckland University's Faculty of Engineering, said these rivers were known to a major contributor to the water cycle, severe floods, droughts breaking, and strong winds worldwide. On average there are only three to five atmospheric rivers present in each hemisphere, covering just 10 percent of the globe's mid-latitude circumference but accounting for 90 percent of moisture transport in the same region. But so far, there was a very limited understanding about the impacts they'd had in New Zealand specifically. Around 40 atmospheric rivers make landfall in New Zealand every year, with around 20 being weak, 10 to 15 being classed as "rank one", or at the lower end of scale, and four or five being strong, predominantly occurring during summer. Atmospheric rivers had the greatest impact on the West Coast of the South Island, accounting for much of the heavy rain commonly seen there. One dramatic example was the March 25, 2019, storm which washed away the Waiho Bridge near Franz Josef on the West Coast. That event packed the highest ever total of rainfall over a 48-hour period in New Zealand recorded history reaching 1086mm. While the most severe happened around once every five years, evidence suggested that these bigger events may become more frequent and more intense in a warming climate. Earlier this year, an Otago University study provided the first detailed analysis of their effects on local weather events. "In very basic terms, one of the results of a warmer climate is a wetter atmosphere," said the study's lead author, Hamish Prince. "With more moisture in the atmosphere the frequency and magnitude of atmospheric rivers making landfall in New Zealand is expected to increase. "The increase in extreme precipitation is not expected to occur equally throughout the nation however, with indications that the landfalling location of atmospheric rivers is shifting southward in New Zealand."
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https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/what-caused-canterbury-flood
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What is a Caregiver Subject Matter Expert?
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Golden CO - Pamela D Wilson, MS, BS/BA, CG, CSA is a caregiver subject matter expert. Caregiving is a topic not readily discussed within families or in society until the need arises. Adult children are shocked when an unexpected event tosses their lives upside down and results in daily care responsibilities for aging parents or a spouse. Adult children and spouses who are retirees, Baby Boomers, and Millenials are becoming caregivers at a more rapid rate due to the pandemic. The needs of aging parents concerned about the virus are demanding more time and attention from families. Why Companies Benefit From a Bona Fide Caregiver Subject Matter Expert Caregivers are concerned about trusting interactions with the healthcare system and caregiver services. At the same time, information for caregivers is available in increasing quantities on the Internet. Accessing information but not having the knowledge or experience to put it to practical use is one reason Wilson offers 1:1 eldercare consultations for family caregivers. Caregivers are looking to establish relationships with experts that have similar experiences they can trust. Wilson receives feedback from caregivers that support developing relationships and breaking down complex topics into relatable information. A website visitor recently shared this with Pamela: "Solutions offered by well-meaning ones are often empty and unrealistic. Out of all articles I've ever read, you have hit the nail on the head. Thank you. I can tell you have been thru all of these things. Your advice I value. Others who just shoot from the hip . . . not so much. Thank you for publishing these caregiving thoughts." Specific to work with corporations and groups, Wilson: Creates and offers unique education programs on-site or on-line for employees, customers or potential clients Engages audiences through storytelling and sharing real-life professional experiences Places audiences at easeeven when speaking about uncomfortable topics Presents as poised, trustworthy, credible, and balanced Offers unique experience to respond to timely caregiver issues and questions at events and for the media Relates in a practical, down to earth matter that establishes a comfort level to support two-way communication The Care Navigator Becomes the Caregiver Subject Matter Expert Wilson transitioned from president and owner of her company, The Care Navigator, in July 2018 to speak, educate and develop educational content for caregivers after twenty years as a direct service provider for aging adults and caregivers. Wilson's website and content for caregivers are extensive and feature:: The Caring for Aging Parents Blog The Caring Generation podcast The Caring Generation library for family and professional caregivers Wilson's book, The Caregiving Trap: Solutions for Life's Unexpected Changes Access to a membership site that hosts the caregiver library and online eldercare courses: Taking Care of Elderly Parents Stay at Home How to Get Guardianship of a Parent Caregiver videos from Wilson's YouTube Channel Personal experience with family caregiving issuesthe loss of both parents, a brother, a sister, grandparents, aunts, and unclescombined with her interest in helping the elderly was the impetus that began a career that Wilson continues to pursue with passion today. Corporations, public relations, or content marketing agencies interested in discussing projects related to Wilson as a caregiver subject matter expert or interest in caregiver spokesperson opportunities may contact Wilson at +1 303-810-1816 or through the Contact Me page on her website.
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https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/What-is-a-Caregiver-Subject-Matter-Expert,2021256803.aspx
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Is Mali experiencing a coup within a coup?
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Two days later, Ndaw and Ouane resigned, according to a spokesperson for the military junta, known as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). Mali has been under a transitional government for 18 months, following the coup dtat of 18 August, 2020, in which the military overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Kita. General elections are scheduled for early 2022, between February and March. This current situation seems to be taking the country back to the starting point of August 2020. A tense background The popular fervour that accompanied the 2020 coup dtat faded very quickly. The junta, which had initially embodied the much-hoped-for change, eventually appeared to be a repeat of the system it overthrew. None of the dignitaries of the old regime was questioned, including those against whom there were strong accusations. On 14 May, Ouane submitted the resignation of his government to Ndaw, who then immediately reappointed the prime minister to his post and asked him to begin discussions with the political class with a view to forming the next government. This was seen as a welcome step because it re-established a dialogue between the new authorities and the political class, which had broken down in the months since the 2020 coup. But it seems to have gone badly. The 14 May cabinet reshuffle took place in an extremely tense context. The M5 protest movement which opposes the transitional government and is calling for the dissolution of the National Transitional Council had already scheduled a demonstration for 4 June. Meanwhile, the Mali National Workers Union (UNTM) had begun a second straight week of strike action, which was to continue until 28 May. Given the political situation, and having no one to talk to in the absence of a government, the union suspended its strike and called on its members to return to work on 26 May until the situation returned to normal. The colonels of the ex-CNSP were informed of the new government at the same time as ordinary Malians that is, through the media when the list of new ministers was published on 24 May. They were surprised to see that two of their members: the minister of defence, Sadio Camara, and the minister of security and civil protection, Modibo Kon, had been left out. Africa Insight Wake up to the essential with the Editor's picks. Sign up Also receive offers from The Africa Report Also receive offers from The Africa Report's partners SUCCESS ERROR Their reaction was not long in coming: barely an hour after the publication of the new composition of the government, Ouane and Ndaw were arrested and taken to the military camp in Kati. The role of the vice-president Colonel Assimi Goita, the vice-president of the transitional government, who is also the leader of the junta, could not have been clearer in a communiqu that was read out on national television on 25 May. In it, he denounced the prime minister and the president for forming the new government without consultation with the vice-president, namely himself. READ MORE Mali: Assimi Gota is playing a dangerous game Goita also underlined his attachment to the transition charter. But this charter clearly stipulates that he does not have the right to replace the transition president. The post of vice-president did not exist before the coup, and was created specifically to be occupied by a member of the junta its therefore seen as a way for the junta to plan for the possibility of leading the transition. For this reason, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) made the lifting of sanctions on Mali conditional on adding to the charter a provision clearly stipulating that the vice-president cannot himself replace the president of the transitional government. It remains to be seen whether the detention of the president and prime minister is a temporary impediment or a permanent removal. In the second case, which seems to be the most likely, Mali is facing a coup dtat within a coup dtat. Courting M5 On 25 May, ECOWAS sent its transitional envoy, former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, to Mali. The attitude of ECOWAS, and more generally of the international community France, the United States and the UN through its Malian mission, Minusma will be decisive in the outcome of events. The coup plotters are aware of this and are now seeking to secure the support of the people and political actors, in particular, M5 the protest movement that, in weakening Kitas power, allowed the 2020 coup to take place. Although M5 was at the heart of the earlier coup, it ended up being mostly excluded from the transition, with the exception of a few of its members. Things may not be the same this time. The junta invited the M5 movements leaders to Kati just hours after the arrest of the president and prime minister. This may have been a way for the military to offer the leaders of the movement new positions in government, both to secure their support and to make amends for excluding them in the past. France v Russia Since the president and his prime minister were arrested, a certain opinion has been formed by supporters of the junta who believe that the current situation comes down to a confrontation of two divergent points of view. The first, represented by the arrested executive, is seen as beholden to the interests of France the publication of the new cabinet came barely 48 hours after Ndaws return from Paris. The second, representing the junta, opposes the influence of Malis former coloniser, promoting instead a rapprochement with Russia. The article continues below Free download Get your free PDF: Top 200 banks 2019 The race to transform Complete the form and download, for free, the highlights from The Africa Reports Exclusive Ranking of Africas top 200 banks from last year. Get your free PDF by completing the following form Email Address * Title * Last name * First name * Country * Industry * Position * Get information from Jeune Afrique Media Group: subscription deals, special offers Close By downloading this PDF you agree to subscribe to The Africa Report Daily newsletter SUCCESS ERROR This latter argument carries a lot of weight with those who have a negative view of the French military presence in Mali, and who regularly protest against operations in the country. An immediate analysis that can be made regarding this latest power grab is that the members of the junta are worried they have not been sufficiently involved in the formation of the new government, especially after the dismissal of two of its members. Beyond the simple loss of these ministerial posts, its probable the junta saw the announcement of the new government as the beginning of the process of its removal from Malis political affairs. This could also have meant the beginning of legal problems for those involved, given that the Malian constitution makes coup dtat a crime for which there is no statute of limitations. The transitional government will probably receive the support of ECOWAS and of Malis international partners, first and foremost France. It is now up to these different players to intervene because they are the only ones able to resolve this fast-moving situation. Boubacar Haidara, Chercheur associ au laboratoire Les Afriques dans le Monde (LAM), Sciences-Po Bordeaux., Universit Bordeaux Montaigne This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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https://www.theafricareport.com/93636/is-mali-experiencing-a-coup-within-a-coup/
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How are tiny towns in US accessing COVID vaccines?
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In Nevada, Arizona, Kentucky and elsewhere, FEMA has dispatched the mobile units to places that lack pharmacies, clinics and other vaccination sites. FALLON, Nev Pick-up truck drivers motor up to a white trailer in a parking lot on Fallon Paiute-Shoshone land in Nevadas high desert and within a few moments theyre handed forms to sign, jabbed with coronavirus vaccine and sent on their way. The pop-up clinic 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Reno is one of 28 locations in the state where the Federal Emergency Management Agency has dispatched mobile vaccination units to ensure people in far-flung rural areas and one stop-light towns can get inoculated. Its one of the tactics health officials are using across the country to counter waning interest in vaccinations. In tiny towns, churches, ballparks, strip clubs and even marijuana dispensaries, officials are setting up shop and offering incentives to entice people as the nation struggles to reach herd immunity. In Nevada, health officials acknowledge theyre unlikely to hit their initial goal of vaccinating 75% of the population believed necessary to reach herd immunity. Ironically, their push in northern Nevada is headquartered at the Reno Livestock Events Center, where 65-year-old Dan Lavely and others are showing up for shots. Lavely said he teared up while thanking the nurses who vaccinated him. I told them I was just so thankful that they were volunteering their time to help get us back to normal so I can go shop at the mall or go to the beach at Lake Tahoe, said Lavely, who works at a big box store in neighboring Sparks. Waiting to get vaccinated had nothing to do with safety concerns or distrust of the government, he said. It was a scheduling deal. Plus, my middle name is procrastinator, Lavely said. Two FEMA mobile trailers have meandered through Nevada to towns without pharmacies, clinics or other vaccination sites, giving doctors, nurses and National Guardsmen a first-hand look at rural and tribal communities where finding vaccinations has been difficult for residents. Thats our philosophy: it doesnt make any difference if there are two (people) nor 200, said Peggy Franklin, a volunteer nurse who has traveled alongside a FEMA trailer to Fallon, Alamo, Panaca and other towns To preserve the vaccine, the trailers are equipped with ultra-cold refrigerators powered by generators-on-wheels. On Monday, the two mobile clinics completed six-week loops through Nevada that included returning to finish two-shot regimens in the state that covers an area that would stretch from Boston to Baltimore and Buffalo, N.Y. Initially, the goal was to vaccinate 250 people a day at each stop. But the numbers have varied, as vaccine supply has increased and demand has fallen. Just a month ago, people were still having a hard time finding vaccination sites. Thats really changed in the last three or four weeks and now were trying to find people that are more vaccine-hesitant, said Marc Reynolds, a doctor from Fallon who has volunteered at the mobile clinic in his hometown and the state prison in Lovelock. The clinics have delivered 7,600 shots during two tours of Nevada and have also been used in Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky and other states. Nevada Division of Emergency Management Chief Dave Fogerson said people in the remote communities of the state probably would not have got it any other way. Gerlach, for example, is 100 miles (160 km) from the closest pharmacy in Reno-Sparks. With just 34 people, it was once home to a booming gypsum mine on the edge of the desert that hosts 80,000 visitors each year for the Burning Man Festival. The desolate landscape was featured in this years Academy Award-winning movie, Nomadland. Nearly half of Nevadas eligible population has had at least an initial vaccination against COVID-19. But rates have varied geographically. In Clark and Washoe counties, home to Las Vegas and Reno, respectively, about half of those eligible have gotten at least one dose, the state reported. The rate has been about half of that in Eureka and Elko counties, while Storey County has seen just a 15% rate. As infection rates drop and the state moves further away from the height of the pandemic, officials acknowledge persuading the vaccine-hesitant to get shots wont get easier. As a result, on the heels of the FEMA effort, officials have been preparing similar pop-up events in urban centers, suburban neighborhoods and unconventional venues ranging from a Las Vegas strip club to a Sparks truck stop along an interstate that runs to Utah. Its important that the people running the vaccination events look like the community, said Jeanne Freeman of Carson City Health and Human Services. Comfort levels are important. Sometimes just being in a familiar location. Nevada has long struggled with some of the nations worst vaccination rates. It improved to fifth-worst last year with 42% of adults vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC. Part of the current outreach effort targets the 340,000 people who got those flu shots but have not yet gotten a COVID-19 vaccination. Nevada is refining its messaging based on a growing understanding of why some people remain reluctant to get shots. Much of the focus so far has been on cultural and historical barriers that make certain groups less open to vaccinations, but for many, it may come down to simple convenience. A lot of individuals are not opposed to getting vaccinated, its just not fitting well in their daily life, said Karissa Loper, chief of Nevadas Bureau of Child, Family and Community Wellness. Thats truly what were moving to work on now with all of our partners, to do those mobile and pop-up clinics." Jackie Shelton, a vice president with the public relations firm that Nevada hired to help promote vaccine equity and outreach, said the latest ad campaign intends to show people who look like you peers who are getting the vaccine and why. People dont want to be told what to do but they love to see their friends and others talking about why they are doing it, she said. Its all about empathy. And reminding people what they have missed during the pandemic and what they can get back. Future promotional ideas include raffles open to residents who are fully vaccinated by July 4. Colorado, Maryland, Ohio, New York and Oregon are among several states already enticing people with lottery prizes approaching $5 million. Immunize Nevada is planning vaccination pop-ups at breweries, churches and parks complete with swag like water bottles and scheduling them to coincide with holidays such as Juneteenth to target specific populations. In Reno, shots are offered at minor league baseball games, and the Medical Social Justice League at the University of Nevadas School of Medicine was set to co-host a clinic Saturday at a Catholic church with a large Latino congregation. We need to meet them where they are and where they feel safe, Diana Sande, spokeswoman for the university's School of Community Health Sciences, said about outreach efforts to the Latino community. Kyra Morgan, Nevadas chief biostatistician, has suggested it may not be possible for the state to reach its initial goal of vaccinating 75% of the population. Still, communities may be able to return to normalcy even if they dont reach the threshold needed for herd immunity, added Dr. Nancy Diao, division director for epidemiology and public health preparedness in Washoe County.
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https://www.fox43.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/mobile-vaccination-units-hit-tiny-us-towns/507-88c0678d-3ef3-42c5-b3d7-b43cb059e1ec
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Who Is Eric on Doubling Down with the Derricos?
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Doubling Down with the Derricos on TLC is a reality series that follows Deon and Karen Derrico and fourteen of their children. The couple also has an older adopted son called Derron, who is not part of the show. Instead, the viewers often see Eric Jefferson with the family. Although Eric is technically not a Derrico, he is a significant part of their lives. Deon introduced Eric as a tenant in the first episode of the series, but now the couple refers to him as their oldest son or bonus child. Naturally, you must be curious to know who Eric is and his connection to the famous Derrico family. Here is everything you want to know! In episode 1 of the series, we first met Eric, as he got a cake for Deon and Karens kids. Although Eric came into their lives as a tenant, he gradually became a member of their family. Initially, Deon started to take help from Eric in his real estate business, and he soon became Deons employee. As Eric started to spend more time around Deons family, he got extremely attached to each one of them. He even called himself an honorary Derrico. Being a part of the large family means a lot to Eric since he grew up without parents in a foster care system. The 31-year-old admitted that he had seen some major changes in himself after being around the Derricos. He used to have trouble trusting people, but Karen and Deon have held a rock-solid presence in his life. Eric considers them an inspiration and feels that being around the family has been an important catalyst in his healing process. Eric also holds a special place in Deon and Karens hearts since their adopted son Derron is estranged from the family. He is not seen in the show and is not around for the young Derricos like Eric is. Naturally, Eric comes close to filling a significant void in their family. He also has a small family of his own, which currently comprises him and his wife, Felicia Jefferson. The couple has been together for many years and celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary in January 2020. Currently, they do not have kids of their own but spend a lot of time hanging out with the little Derricos. Karen and Deon look forward to Eric and Felicia having kids so that they can shower them with affection, as the couple has done for the Derrico kids. Eric has a variety of interests. He models sometimes and is a passionate boxer. He initially began boxing in Spring 2011 as a part of mixed martial arts training. Since there were no boxing gyms in Enid, Oklahoma, at the time, he joined the Hard Knocks MMA Gym. However, circumstances put a pause on Erics dream of pursuing boxing, but he did not give up and trained himself to the best of his abilities. He even watched films on boxing and taught himself new techniques whenever he got the time. No matter what happens in other aspects of Erics life, his family life has turned out to be unique and filled with love. While there are many ways for a family to come together, some relationships are beyond labels. Apart from considering him a son, Deon also refers to Eric as a nephew, a cousin, a friend, and a confidant.
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https://thecinemaholic.com/who-is-eric-on-doubling-down-with-the-derricos/
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Why Is Jesse Metcalfe Leaving Chesapeake Shores? Is Trace Riley Leaving?
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Based on the book series by Sherryl Woods, Chesapeake Shores is a drama television show on Hallmark Channel. Set in the eponymous town in Maryland, the series follows Abby, who returns from New York 16 years after leaving suddenly. Apart from all the things she has to face when she returns to Chesapeake Shores, she is most anxious about bumping into her old flame, Trace Riley. Jesse Metcalfe portrays Trace, a successful singer-songwriter who has returned home from Nashville. While the fans have been eagerly waiting for the shows fifth edition, they received some shocking news. On March 31, 2021, it was made official that Metcalfe would soon be stepping out of the show. Even though the announcement came ahead of season 5s premiere in August 2021, it was clarified that the actor would reprise his role so that his characters storyline can be wrapped up early in the season. Naturally, this news came as a shock to the fans since the season 4 finale suggested that Abby and Trace might get back together after all. Here is all we know about the matter. Ever since the news came to light, the fans have been heartbroken and curious to know why Jesse Metcalfe is moving on from the series, especially since he is one of the main cast members. Fortunately, the actor did not keep the fans in the dark for long and directly engaged with them on social media. He revealed that he did not like the direction in which the characters storyline was headed and wanted to leave things on a high note. Fans probed further since they felt that he possibly did not want Trace and Abby to end up together. The actor was quick to respond and clarified that he is a big fan of #Trabby (Trace and Abby) and wanted them together. However, Metcalfe is grateful for having been a part of the hit Hallmark series. He enjoyed portraying the character, especially since he had the freedom to develop his role as he would have liked. In a podcast interview with Us in October 2020, he said, I tailor-made that role for me. I mean, the series is based on a series of books, where the character is an architect. So, I was given the liberty to completely change the character and kind of make [him] just, like, [me]. The actor shares a love for architecture and interiors. Since he plays the guitar and sings, he has poured that into his character as Trace. Metcalfe said that he was grateful to Hallmark for being supportive and collaborative. He added, They treat their talent incredibly well. So, I love working with them and for them. Im definitely pretty picky with what I do on the network now. And Im thankful I have the liberty to do that. Even though Metcalfe has decided to leave the show, it does not mean that he has ended his relationship with Hallmark. A representative from the channel told Deadline in March 2021, Jesse is a valued member of the Crown Media family. We look forward to continuing to work with him on projects, including original movies on Hallmark Channel, as well as his Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie series, Marthas Vineyard Mysteries, the next installment of which premieres on May 16. In addition, we are currently in development on another movie in the series. Keeping all of this in mind, you must be wondering how the fifth season will shape up for Trace and Abby. Before the show was renewed for the fifth round, the executive producer Michael Berns shared that the future storylines could look at whether or not Trace and Abby will decide to reunite. If they do get back together, it would be interesting to see what their relationship would look like. Berns even teased marriage but knowing that Metcalfe will appear for the final time in early season 5, we will only know what lies ahead for the onscreen couple when new episodes arrive.
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https://thecinemaholic.com/why-is-jesse-metcalfe-trace-riley-leaving-chesapeake-shores/
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Does the MyPillow Guy Think Hes a Governor?
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Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and Trumpist conspiracy-peddler, flew his private jet to the Republican Governors Association meeting the other day. The guvs promptly threw him out. Subscribe to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Overcast. To listen to our weekly members-only bonus episodes, join Beast Inside here. You can listen here and sign up for new episode email alerts here. Spoiler: Making MyPillows does not make you my governor. Now, chances that Mike Lindell could actually become governor of a small Republican state, 80 percent, she quips on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. Like, its not even that hard for someone that famous and insane in the Republican party to become a governor. Lindell claims he wouldnt run to be a dogcatcher right now, because he doesnt trust the voting machines. Plus, hes from the blue state of Minnesota. So maybe the risk of a Governor Pillow isnt quite so high. But L.A. Times columnist Virginia Heffernan would like to quickly add something about Mike Lindell being a cosplay governor. I think we need to understand that being in politics leads to governing and governing is boring. It is not a PR operation, she says. And I feel like we have made these jobs celebrity roles. Public service should not beis notbeing on a reality show. Like, I feel like we need to really dial down the razzle-dazzle, really play up the drudgery, Heffernan continues. I just don't know why every single industrialist and every single lady with abs or gorgeous arms would want to be, of all things, a governor. Biden, Heffernan opines, is doing a pretty good job at the drudgerydollars going out, jabs going out, all leading to Trump signs going down. Sure, the Donald has his cultists, like Lindell. But, I don't think people can hold onto this much insanity for this long, especially when it's a tiny minority of people who believe it, Heffernan adds. The Democrats are bringing an ice cream sundae to a knife fight, Jong-Fast says. Plus! Politicos Tara Palmeri talks about her search to find Liz Cheney supporters in Wyoming. And Battle for the Soul author Edward-Isaac Dovere gives us a peek into how Biden sees the political landscape. The presidency that he has in front of him now, he knows, is so different from what he ever expected to have, Dovere says, And part of that is rethinking how he incorporates the progressivism within the party that took root and that was so much part of this campaign. And its just, its a really complicated evolution for him. Its not the presidency he thought itd be running in 2019 when he got into this race.
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https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-mypillow-guy-mike-lindell-think-hes-a-governor
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Why Should I Use Display Boxes for My Business to Grow?
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The global job market is getting worse day by day due to a limited number of investors left behind in the market. Pre-pandemic situations were not good but the pandemic has made the recent situations even worst. Therefore, a huge number of people have lost their jobs and are not in a position to support their families well. As a result, many people are moving towards start doing their own businesses and hence the global business community is becoming larger and larger with the passage of time. Every business around the globe is associated with particular products manufacturing and producing a wide range of different items. Every product needs proper packaging right after passing through the manufacturing process. Without appropriate packaging, the survival of any business becomes almost impossible in todays market. The basic idea behind the packaging is to attract customers and to deliver your products safely to the desired destinations. The products being manufactured by different suppliers are available in different shapes, styles, and sizes. So, they cannot fit well in any standard-sized boxes. For this purpose, packaging industries have introduced packaging boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The challenge is to find a perfect box for your product. The dimensions of your box must be exactly in accordance with the dimensions of your item. There should not be any empty space between your product and the box you used. It will ensure safe shipping throughout the journey from the supplier to the customers. The product display boxes belong to the family of custom boxes and are even more effective in branding i.e. to promote your business around the globe. To focus on business growth right from the beginning is a must to keep yourself boosted and motivated. Significant growth can only be achieved by satisfying maximum customers in a short period of time. Hope you agree! Once you become successful in getting a higher rate of customer satisfaction, you will be the market leader very soon for sure. According to the various recent market surveys, the product display containers are proved to be an efficient tool to give your business a strong boost. The reason for these kinds of results is you can showcase your creatively produced items packed inside the personalized custom boxes. The people appreciate these efforts and they love to see the products directly before making any purchase. This is something exactly according to the customers psyche and this is why they get attracted to such things. The basic purpose of making display cases is to display your items from inside the box so that they can be seen externally to grab the attention of more and more people. Therefore, such boxes must be placed somewhere where there is a crowd most of the time. Keeping in mind this factor, the best place for these boxes to be placed is the retail stores. A large number of people visit the retail shops on a daily basis to buy things for their routine use. The product display containers can be a lot helpful in grabbing customers attention while sitting on a rack or somewhere else within the premises of retail stores. An effective way is to place these kinds of boxes at the main entrance of the shops from where the customers enter into the shop. This way, the chances of getting your products noticed by the customers are quite high and it is a positive sign for your business to get recognized among the potential buyers. This must be your topmost priority all the time. At the beginning or when launching a new product, you can start giving giveaways with premium packaging to increase your customers in the community. Final Words Hopefully, this guide has provided you with enough information about the importance of product display containers in your business growth.
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https://www.abcmoney.co.uk/2021/06/01/why-should-i-use-display-boxes-for-my-business-to-grow/
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Which Macs will be officially supported by macOS 12?
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If Apple is true to its annual cycle of operating systems, it will announce macOS 12 at WWDC next week. It has made it clear in its version numbering that the next major version of macOS will be 12, rather than 11.x, and a little speculation following firmware updates suggests which Macs it will support. Some time between May and August, Apple likes to release firmware updates which come close to those required for the first release of the autumn/fall macOS. In a good year, the updates released in that period may remain current until well after that major release. Similarly, those Macs whose firmware isnt updated during the May-August period are those which are most likely to be unsupported by that major release. My current firmware analysis runs thus: All Macs with a T2 chip, and M1 Macs, have had firmware updates in macOS 11.4. iMacs up to and including iMac16 havent had a firmware update for several months, but from iMac17 onwards they have recently been updated in macOS 11.4. MacBooks up to and including MacBook8,1 havent been updated, but from MacBook9,1 they have. MacBook Air models without a T2 chip havent been updated. MacBook Pros up to and including MacBookPro12 havent been updated, but from MacBookPro13 they have. Mac mini models without a T2 chip havent been updated. Mac Pro models without a T2 chip, including the MacPro6,1, havent been updated. Interestingly, most of those non-T2 models which were updated in 11.4 have standardised on a single firmware version number of 429.120.4.0.0, which is the first time that I have seen such uniformity across models. The only exception to those is the iMac19,1, with its oddball 1554.120.15.0.0, which is close, but not identical, to the EFI firmware in T2 models. On that basis, macOS 12 is most likely to be officially supported on the following hardware: iMac Late 2015 onwards, iMac Pro, MacBook Early 2016 onwards, MacBook Air 2018 onwards, MacBook Pro 2016 onwards, Mac mini 2018 onwards, Mac Pro 2019. That seems more brutal than usual, particularly with MacBook Air and Mac mini models, and its possible that the next round of firmware updates in macOS 11.5 might redeem some older models. (I am very grateful to Pico for unravelling the firmware updates in 11.4, without which this speculation wouldnt have been possible.)
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https://eclecticlight.co/2021/06/01/which-macs-will-be-officially-supported-by-macos-12/
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What is the hardest language to learn?
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Mastering any new language is a challenge, but some take much more time and effort to reach proficiency. The ability to learn a certain foreign language depends on a number of factors. These include how similar the foreign language is to an individuals native language (or any other foreign language they might speak), how immersed a person is into the language (studying from books at home versus conversing with the locals), and cultural differences, as well as the complexity of the language itself, in terms of grammar, writing system, and linguistic concepts. For English-speaking students, the hardest foreign languages to learn include Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. On the other hand, some of the easiest foreign languages to become proficient in include Spanish and Portuguese. Reddit user Fummy made a map based on the FSI data. Fummy used six categories of difficulty rather than four for the purpose of this map. Countries are colored according to the difficulty of acquiring their official language for a native English speaker. Credit: Fummy/Reddit. There is no official consensus as to what foreign language is widely regarded as the most difficult for an English speaker to learn. However, there is some research undertaken by the United States Foreign Service Institute and the Defense Language Institute that ranked foreign language acquisition by the number of hours students have required, on average, to become proficient in them. After 70 years of experiencing teaching languages to American diplomats, the U.S. Foreign Service has grouped foreign languages into four categories of difficulty. The easiest require 575-600 hours of study (23-24 weeks of classroom study) for students to achieve sufficient competence to be posted overseas, whereas the hardest group requires at least 2,200 hours of study (88 weeks of full-time classroom study) to achieve the same level of proficiency. In other words, some languages can be 3-4 times harder to master than others. Category I Languages: 24-30 weeks (600-750 class hours) ADVERTISEMENT Danish (24 weeks) Dutch (24 weeks) French (30 weeks) Italian (24 weeks) Norwegian (24 weeks) Portuguese (24 weeks) Romanian (24 weeks) Spanish (24 weeks) Swedish (24 weeks) Category II Languages: Approximately 36 weeks (900 class hours) German Haitian Creole Indonesian Malay Swahili Category III Languages: Approximately 44 weeks (1100 class hours) Albanian Amharic Armenian Azerbaijani Bengali Bulgarian Burmese Czech Dari Estonian Farsi Finnish Georgian Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Kazakh Khmer Kurdish Kyrgyz Lao Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Mongolian Nepali Polish Russian Serbo-Croatian Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Tagalog Tajiki Tamil Telugu Thai Tibetan Turkish Turkmen Ukrainian Urdu Uzbek Vietnamese Category IV Languages: 88 weeks (2200 class hours) Arabic Chinese Cantonese Chinese Mandarin Japanese Korean Why some languages are harder to learn than others Although the degree to which an individual manages to master a foreign language can depend a lot on their motivation, almost everything else comes down to how similar your native language is to the one youre trying to learn. According to Dr. Cindy Blanco, Senior Learning Scientist at Duolingo, what makes a language easy or hard is all about what languages you already know so your native language is really important, but so are any other languages you know or have studied. Adults studying a new language have to suppress the language(s) they know best in order to learn the new system: they have already learned first language conceptual categories for vocabulary and grammar, intricate articulatory motions to pronounce sounds with precise acoustic targets (or manual targets, in signed languages), and maddeningly arbitrary connections between written squiggles and sounds, syllables, or words, Blanco told ZME Science. One obvious way that a language can be radically different from another is in the writing system. French uses the same writing system as English, apart from a few extra symbols, so it is much easier to learn than Japanese or Hindi, which have completely different writing systems. Japanese uses three different writing systems, the imported Chinese characters (Kanji), as well as two syllabaries Hiragana and Katakana. Each writing system has its time and place so you must learn all three. A vocabulary and syntax that is similar to that of your native language can also make it easier to pick up a new language. If youre an English speaker youre quite fortunate, since other languages tend to borrow words from it due to it being spoken across the world. Were apt to transfer properties of our first language to the new language, and that could be helpful if the properties are the same across the languages and more challenging if they differ. Properties include things like first language sounds, concepts and meanings (what counts as blue isnt universal! ), patterns for what order to put words in, and rules about politeness, Blanco said. However, a common vocabulary isnt always helpful. In fact, it can sometimes work against you. For instance, a French prservatif is not something you add to your food, but a condom. Languages can also differ substantially through the use of different tones. There are four tones in Mandarin high pitch (say G in a musical scale), rising pitch (like from C to G), falling (from G to C) and falling low then rising (C to B to G). So the same word can have totally different meanings based on its pronunciation. Theres a famous poem in Mandarin by Chinese-American linguist Yuen Ren Chao called The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den, which translated into English sounds like: In a stone den was a poet called Shi Shi, who was a lion addict, and had resolved to eat ten lions. He often went to the market to look for lions. At ten oclock, ten lions had just arrived at the market. At that time, Shi had just arrived at the market. He saw those ten lions, and using his trusty arrows, caused the ten lions to die. He brought the corpses of the ten lions to the stone den. The stone den was damp. He asked his servants to wipe it. After the stone den was wiped, he tried to eat those ten lions. When he ate, he realized that these ten lions were in fact ten stone lion corpses. Try to explain this matter. In Mandarin, the same poem is made of the syllable shi repeated 107 times in various intonations. Sh Sh sh sh sh Shsh shsh Sh Sh, sh sh, sh sh sh sh. Sh shsh sh sh sh sh. Sh sh, sh sh sh sh sh. Sh sh, sh Sh Sh sh sh. Sh sh sh sh sh, sh sh sh, sh sh sh sh shsh. Sh sh sh sh sh sh, sh shsh. Shsh sh, Sh sh sh sh shsh. Shsh sh, Sh sh sh sh sh sh sh. Sh sh, sh sh sh sh sh sh, sh sh sh sh sh. Sh sh sh sh. And thats nothing Cantonese actually has nine tones. Its safe to say, if youre tone-deaf, you shouldnt try to learn this language. Im joking of course, but this extreme example illustrates how tonal differences can contribute massively to making a language extremely hard to acquire. A foreign language may be based on concepts that are entirely absent in your native tongue, and that may make it more challenging to acquire proficiency. For instance, unlike English, Romance languages such as Spanish and French have gendered nouns, articles, and adjectives. Similarly, in Arabic, you have to conjugate the verb differently depending on the gender of the person, whereas in English it is the same for both genders and very straightforward. That being said, all foreign languages will present their own unique challenges. But it does get a lot easier the more new languages you acquire. Get more science news like this... Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong. Daily Weekly I have read and agree to the terms & conditions. Leave this field empty if you're human: For an English speaker, the sounds of Japanese will be (relatively) familiar, and Japanese doesnt have tones like Chinese or Vietnamese. But the three Japanese writing systems are hard to learn, as are its politeness categories and word order (both really different from English). On the other hand, Chinese has a really challenging sound system for English speakers, but Chinese doesnt have verb tensesand that might sound like a relief to any English speaker who has studied Spanish!, Blanco said. Language transfer gets even more interesting when you learn a third or fourth language: you might actually be more likely to transfer properties of your *second* language rather than your *first*! Depending on when and how you learned your languages, your brain might treat your second language as a sort of template for all other languages. This generally means that once youve learned multiple languages, each subsequent language is a bit easier: youre better prepared for the ways in which languages can vary, after you overcome the difficulty of un-learning your first language, she added. The languages mentioned earlier are spoken by a sizable number of people, which makes them of interest. But there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, but just 23 of them account for half of the worlds population. Roughly 40% of languages are now endangered, often with less than 1,000 speakers remaining. Perhaps some of them are a lot harder for an English speaker to master than Japanese or Cantonese. Learning any new foreign language can be daunting, but theres no evidence that suggests theres any language that cannot be learned by another person despite their linguistic background. Some languages may take much longer to master than others but ultimately its all a matter of how motivated you are to rise to the challenge.
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https://www.zmescience.com/science/what-is-the-hardest-language-to-learn/
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Is Catriona Gray open to doing showbiz project with boyfriend Sam Milby?
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Catriona Gray is not closing her doors on the idea of being an actress, aside from pursuing a career in music. In a virtual press conference for her latest single, "RYF," the former Miss Universe said she is willing to try acting, but was quick to admit that she does not "have any experience whatsoever." If given the chance, she said she would love to be a part of an action movie, citing her black belt in karate. "I would love to be given the opportunity to have an action movie because I have a black belt in karate from when I was younger. And I would love the opportunity to like have a fight scene or something," she said. "So I guess that would be something I'd be super open to." "In regard to working with different people, honestly I would not be picky whatsoever because I feel like it would be a learning experience either way, and that is what I would need as a newcomer into that type of field," she added. Gray was then asked if she welcomes the idea of being in a showbiz project with her boyfriend, actor Sam Milby. "Yeah, I would be open to it," she replied. "But I guess we really enjoy keeping our relationship private." "So it's not that we're opposed to working together, I guess it's that it would be different, di ba?" she pointed out. "Parang it's either marketing your relationship with a project, or keeping it for yourselves. So 'yun lang." Gray and Milby earlier performed the song "We're In This Together" live on the Wish Bus as part of a charity campaign. The two admitted their relationship in May 2020, with Milby declaring that Gray is "the one" for him. Related video:
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https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/01/21/is-catriona-gray-open-to-doing-showbiz-project-with-boyfriend-sam-milby
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When will the green list be reviewed?
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On 17 May, foreign leisure travel got the go-ahead in England. From 17 May, holidays can resume under a traffic light system, with destinations graded as red, amber or green according to the level of risk of travellers reimporting Covid-19 infections. According to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, recreational travel is only recommended to countries on the green list; travellers have been advised they should not be travelling to amber and red countries for leisure. The green list was first revealed on 7 May. For the initial international travel restart, only 12 places were designated green. Heres what we know so far. A mere 12 destinations made it onto the first green list, many of which do not currently let in British travellers or are impossible to reach directly, thereby necessitating travel through an amber country. The only possible holiday destinations look to be Portugal, Gibraltar and Iceland. The lists will be reviewed every three weeks from early June the first update is expected to take place between 1 and 4 June. Any changes will then come into effect a week later (8-11 June). Any amends to the lists will be informed by public health advice, including the Joint Biosecurity Centres assessment of the latest data. These regular review points will allow the government to balance helping the public to understand Covid requirements when travelling to England while allowing us to constantly evaluate the risk for different countries, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). The government will also be publishing a green watchlist in the future, to provide an indication of which countries are at risk from moving from green to amber. There are no guarantees, but there has been much speculation that the US and much of Europe could join the green list at some point in June. We believe Europe will mostly turn green by end of June, as will the USA, tweeted travel consultant and CEO of the PC Agency, Paul Charles, at the end of April. Even if this prediction is correct, its difficult to say whether countries will switch colours in the next review or the following one. If trends continue as expected, the first update could include destinations that many thought would be on the initial green list but ended up being amber: Morocco, Malta, Finland and much of the Caribbean. Green list countries have the lightest restrictions on arrival, with no quarantine imposed and travellers merely required to take one PCR test within two days of entering the UK. All travellers must also show proof of a negative Covid test PCR, rapid antigen or lateral flow before departure to the UK.
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https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/green-list-review-june-countries-b1857408.html
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Why Are Insurance Companies Getting Into ETFs?
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Insurance companies were big fans of fixed income ETFs in 2020, according to a CFRA Funds in Focus report. Fixed income ETFs got a helping hand in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. To shore up the bond markets, the Federal Reserve stepped in to help prevent credit defaults. The Fed cast a wide net into the debt market, picking up even risky high-yield assets. This included bond ETFs that focused on highly leveraged corporate debt that was less than investment grade. Investors tailed the Feds actions by piling into fixed income ETFs as a safe haven scramble amid the equity volatility. Based on the CFRA data, insurance companies were no different. Insurers were net sellers of equity ETFs last year despite a strong recovery from first-quarter lows, but the industry collectively added $5 billion to fixed income ETFs, the report noted. A record 36% of U.S. insurance companies owned ETFs at the end of 2020, the report said further. While the $37 billion in ETF assets for this institutional investor segment represents a tiny fraction of the then $5.5 trillion in ETF assets held by all investors, it comprised an even smaller percentage of the $7.2 trillion of invested assets by insurance companies, according to research from S&P Dow Jones Indices based on NAIC data, creating what we see as significant potential. Those companies that previously used ETFs purchased even more ETF shares in 2020 after testing the waters in prior years. Vanguards VCSH Sees High Demand One bond ETF enjoying strong interest from insurance companies was the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCSH). The fund lends investors corporate bond exposure while limiting duration risk. VCSH seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted corporate bond index with a short-term dollar-weighted average maturity. The fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index. This index includes U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable securities issued by industrial, utility, and financial companies, with maturities between one and five years. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the funds assets will be invested in bonds included in the index. While equity ETFs comprised most of the assets owned by insurance companies, ETF trading skewed toward fixed income products, the report added. In 2020, insurance companies traded $34 billion of fixed income ETFs and $28 billion of equity ETFs. For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Fixed Income Channel.
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https://www.etftrends.com/fixed-income-channel/why-are-insurance-companies-getting-into-etfs/
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Could a novel form of immunotherapy revolutionize cancer treatment?
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A novel form of macrophage-based immunotherapy is effective at treating a broad spectrum of cancers, including those at advanced stages, according to a groundbreaking study led by Georgia State immunology professor Yuan Liu . Lius treatment works by leveraging macrophages, specialized white blood cells involved in the detection and elimination of cancer cells and other pathogens. Macrophages also activate T-cells which then attack and destroy cancer cells. Under normal conditions, this system works well to limit the growth of abnormal cells. However, cancer cells are tricky. Macrophages are vulnerable to cancer cells masquerading as healthy cells by co-opting mechanisms normal cells rely on that evade immune surveillance and detection. These mechanisms can profoundly increase cancers ability to grow and resist traditional treatment. ), a receptor whose primary function is to prevent macrophages from engulfing and destroying healthy cells. by expressing a marker (CD47) that disguises them as normal cells. In the animal study, published in Nature Communications, Liu and her team found that Sirp?-deficient macrophages initiate a robust immune response against cancer by triggering inflammation and activating tumor-specific T-cells. The immune system is built to fight off invaders and aberrant cell growths like cancer. But cancer can also suppress and subvert the natural immune response by making it difficult for the body to recognize cancer cells as abnormal. While immunotherapy, which helps recruit the immune system to attack cancer cells, has revolutionized the treatment of tumors, the therapies only work for a limited number of patients. Scientists recognize that tumor-specific T-cells are the best weapon we have against cancer, but immunosuppression prevents them from doing their job, Liu said. Our treatment uses macrophages like a general to call up an army of T-cell soldiers to kill cancer. The study demonstrates the treatment is effective and does not destroy large amounts of healthy cells when delivered locally to the tumor site in conjunction with radiation therapy (RT), one of the cornerstone treatments for cancer. To kill the cancer without harming the patient, you need to localize the effects, Liu said. We developed a method that is very effective while minimizing the global adverse effects. The researchers found that local RT cured colorectal cancer and two types of pancreatic cancer in SIRP?-deficient mice with advanced tumors. The findings are significant, given that colorectal and pancreatic cancers are often treatment-resistant with high mortality rates. The mice in the study developed inflammatory immune responses, and in most cases the tumors stopped growing immediately after irradiation. Within four to 12 days, mice with small and medium tumors had cleared the cancer completely, without apparent long-term adverse effects, and the animals remained tumor-free for the remainder of the study. In general, mice that were cured of their cancer exhibited similar longevity (about 18 months) as healthy mice. The treatment also prevented one of the major negative effects of RT its tendency to drive a strong wound-healing response that can result in the regrowth of cancer, as the local immune response is suppressed to promote new tissue growth and repair at the site of the RT. This mechanism, however, was absent post-RT in the SIRP?-deficient mice. The mice exhibited long-lasting immunity to the cancer, which Koby Kidder, a Ph.D. student at Georgia State and co-author of the study, said is the result of an immune response robust enough to control the tumor cells throughout the body. Even when the cured mice were injected with new cancer cells, these cells failed to form tumors, suggesting the animals had acquired long-term immunity that prevented tumor recurrence. The reason we achieved such a high degree of efficacy is that we directly used the macrophage to mobilize other cells within the body, Kidder said. The mounting of a consummate anti-tumor immune response in concert with removing immunosuppressive factors (cells and cytokines) from the tumor microenvironment drastically affected the immune response. is a master controller of immunity inside the tumor microenvironment, directing post-RT wound healing, strengthening immunosuppression, conferring treatment resistance and allowing the cancer to progress. In the absence of SIRP?, however, antitumor immune responses are significantly enhanced. The treatment has the potential to become a pan-cancer therapy, meaning it could be used to cure a broad spectrum of cancers, including those at advanced stages with metastasis. The study provides strong proof-of-concept for developing Sirp?-negative macrophage-based cell therapies, Liu said. The cell therapy approach has already been tested against the entire NCI-60 cancer panel made up of 60 various human tumor cell lines representing leukemia, melanoma, lung, colon, brain, ovary, breast, prostate and kidney cancers and has been found to be effective. The researchers are applying for approval of the therapy as an investigational new drug by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and hope to begin human clinical trials in 2022. Liu has received grants from the National Cancer Institute, the Georgia Research Alliance and Biolocity to support this research. Currently, the treatments using immune therapy only benefit a small percentage of patients, Liu said. This therapy has already proven effective in the laboratory and could be the key to fighting all types of cancer. This is basically a battlefield in the body, and if we are able to activate the proper delivery signals, our bodies win. Original Article: A Novel Form of Immunotherapy Developed by Georgia State Has the Potential to Revolutionize Cancer Treatment More from: Georgia State University
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https://innovationtoronto.com/2021/06/could-a-novel-form-of-immunotherapy-revolutionize-cancer-treatment/
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Did Wendy Williams Snub Angela Lee and Miss Jones?
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Wendy Williams is making headlines for the wrong reasons. The talk show maven, who got her start in radio, stopped by Carolines comedy club Thursday with Miss Jones, who has been an icon of hip hop radio for decades. Angela Yee of 105.1s The Breakfast Club was also there. Yee and Miss Jones wanted to mark the occasion; per Page Six, Miss Jones asked comedian Donnell Rawling who was onstage, if they could step on and snap a shot. Williams reportedly refused to leave her seat, stunning onlookers. One audience member reportedly yelled: Wendy get up and go onstage to take the picture. Why wouldnt she get up? If pity was a person, they lamented. Yee and Jones got onstage for a shot.
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https://1010wcsi.com/entertainment-news/did-wendy-williams-snub-angela-lee-and-miss-jones/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=did-wendy-williams-snub-angela-lee-and-miss-jones
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Who is the second confirmed contestant of Bigg Boss 15?
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Mumbai: One of the popular and biggest reality show on Indian television, Bigg Boss is gearing up to make a grand comeback with its new season. Salman Khan announced 15th season in the last episode of Bigg Boss 14 which was concluded in February this year. Since then, many celebrities names are cropping up who are likely to take part in the Salman Khan-hosted show. Earlier, Balika Vadhu actress Neha Marda spilled beans on her participation in Bigg Boss 15, confirming that she has been approached by the makers. Apart from her, other popular faces like Divyanka Tripathi, Sanaya Irani, Vivek Dahiya, Rhea Chakraborty, Disha Vakani among others are also likely to take part in the show. According to latest reports, TV actress Gulki Joshi, who is known for her role in television show Maddam Sir, has also been approached by the makers of Bigg Boss 15. A source close to the show informed SpotBoye, Gulki has been approached to participate in the reality show. The official confirmation is still awaited. Speaking about Gulki Joshis professional front, she has portrayed the role of Sugni in Zee TVs show Phir Subah Hogi and Meher in Life OKs show Nadaan Parindey Ghar Aaja. She is most popularly known for playing the role of S.H.O. Haseena Malik in Sony SABs Maddam Sir. Reportedly, Bigg Boss 15 is expected to premiere in October 2021. However, the final date is yet to be announced by the makers. This year, the makers of Bigg Boss 15 have been keen on approaching couples and ex-couples on the show along with the few commoners who may also enter as jodis.
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https://www.siasat.com/who-is-the-second-confirmed-contestant-of-bigg-boss-15-2144696/
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Will RBI warning of a bubble in stocks require followup action?
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US Department of Justice has opened a probe into the $20 billion implosion of the family fund Archegos Capital Management that led to more than $10 billion (approximately Rs 72,000 crore) losses for several blue-blooded banking giants including Credit Suisse, Nomura UBS , Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.The meltdown led to an erosion of $33 bn in value in stocks that the fund had gambled on.The Archegos saga should serve as a wake-up call for financial regulators and governments all over the world, who have swamped the markets with tens of trillions of dollars of monetary and fiscal stimulus with the objective of resuscitating "real economies" ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.A large part of this torrent of liquidity has found its way into the financial markets creating unsustainable bubbles.The root cause of Achegos' meltdown was its avaricious appetite for external debt-funded investments in stock markets and an equally criminal neglect by the lending behemoths in granting massive leverage risking the savings of millions of deposit holders.There are reports of banks lending as high as 20 times the value of collateral offered, effectively meaning that even a 5% drop in the underlying collateral i.e. shares in which the fund had punted on was enough to wipe out the fund.As long as Archegos' concentrated bets in a handful of high-flying stocks were rising at blistering pace, the lenders were all too happy to oblige the fund with higher and higher debt.Unfortunately, the party came to an abrupt halt in late March 2021 when one of the biggest bets, Viacom CBS, plunged by 50% in just a week. With its inability to fulfill margin calls that started pouring in; Archehos defaulted and panicked lenders were forced to launch an avalanche of sales of Archegos' portfolio to salvage whatever little they could.This cataclysmic sell-off wiped out $10 billion of lenders' profits forcing some of them to raise fresh capital to maintain capital adequacy and shore up their own leverage ratios to support their credit rating.The Archegos saga is particularly relevant in the wake of the caution issued by the RBI over the meteoric rise in Indian stock market amid GDP contraction and its stark warning of a bubble fueled mainly by rising money supply and foreign portfolio investor ( FPI ) investments.Of particular concern to RBI is the widening dichotomy between real economy ravaged by crimping aggregate demand, rising health expenditures in the wake of widespread Covid infection even in rural and semi-urban India, large death toll, propensity to conserve depleting savings and concomitant rise in risk aversion towards consumption of goods and services; and exuberant financial markets.Rising inflationary trends in the US in the wake of strong economic growth as a result of rapid vaccination drive is worrying analysts about an imminent announcement by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to start tapering its monthly bond buying program.This has the potential to trigger an abrupt reversal in flows out of emerging markets leading to a spike in risk aversion and weakening of emerging market currencies, forcing central banks to raise interest rates puncturing bubbles in stock markets.Although the august regulator has sounded a dire warning about a bubble, its actions alone will speak louder than words.Heightened regulatory vigil is all the more important as small investors contribute more than 50% of the daily volumes on stock exchanges.The regulator needs to weed out excesses, if any, among lenders (banks and non-banks) in terms of their exposure to capital markets. Should the warning by RBI not be accompanied by a commensurate rise in counter-cyclical measures like increase in provisioning requirements for banks and non-banks towards advances to capital markets and also an increase in risk-weights for exposure to capital markets?Both 1992 and 2000 exemplify the dangers of lax regulatory oversight and feather-light touch in monitoring of banks and non-banks resulting in disastrous consequences. NHB/Citi Bank/SBI/Standard Chartered Bank/Bank of Karad/ Canbank Financial Services etc in 1992 and Global Trust Bank/Tata Capital/ Madhepura Merchantile Coop Bank etc in 2000 and their linkages to excesses in capital markets need no recollection.As the principal regulator, Sebi along with stock exchanges too needs to hawkishly monitor disruptive signs, especially in the midcap and smallcap universe, where the propensity of loss of wealth for small investors lured by the bubble are the highest.
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/will-rbi-warning-of-a-bubble-in-stocks-require-followup-action/articleshow/83137137.cms
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Can the Persimmon share price keep climbing?
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The Persimmon (LSE:PSN) share price has been on fire lately. Since the start of 2021, its moved up by around 16%. And over the last 12 months, it has increased by 35%. Obviously, this level of growth is hardly extraordinary compared to the upward trajectories of other stocks. But considering that Persimmon is a homebuilder, this growth is quite impressive. At least, I think so, especially since even after this jump in price, the dividend yield is still above 7%. The rising Persimmon share price The pandemic has disrupted many businesses, and Persimmon is no exception. Its share price crashed by more than a third in early 2020 as housing construction came to a halt. But over time, as lockdown restrictions eased and the vaccine rollout continued, it could resume building homes. And looking at the most recent trading update, it seems Persimmon and its share price have made a complete recovery. 5G is here and shares of this sleeping giant could be a great way for you to potentially profit! According to one leading industry firm, the 5G boom could create a global industry worth US$12.3 TRILLION out of thin air And if you click here well show you something that could be key to unlocking 5Gs full potential... Build rates have returned to pre-Covid levels, and the management team expect the first half-year 2021 project completions to be in line with 2019 levels. Whats more, due to the continually rising demand something Ive previously pointed out the firms forward sales position has increased to 3bn. By comparison, this figure was only 2.4bn in 2020 and 2.7bn in 2019. So thats an 11% increase versus pre-pandemic levels. Combining a rising top line with a healthy balance sheet, the management team has announced further dividend payments of 55p in August and December this year. Merging these with the previous interim dividend of 125p last March indicates the reinstatement of its 235p per share annual payout. In other words, the current 7.4% dividend yield looks sustainable in the eyes of management. Thats a promising sign for any income investor. Nothing is risk-free Income stocks are often perceived as low risk. But there is no free lunch in the world of finance, and Persimmon has some threats on the horizon. The main one being government support schemes. For several years, the Help-to-Buy scheme has made housing considerably more affordable for individuals, especially for the younger generation. Consequently, homebuilders like Persimmon have greatly benefited from the increased volume of sales. But this scheme is soon coming to an end and has already been getting more limited. Maximum home price restrictions were recently added, and the entire programme is timetabled to end in March 2023. Given how dependent homebuilders and buyers have become on these support programmes, I think were likely to see some volatility in house prices when they come to an end. Needless to say, thats not good news for Persimmon or its share price. The bottom line This looming threat remains a prominent issue. However, the management team still has another two years to prepare. During that time, sales are likely to keep rising, with the proceeds being returned to shareholders through dividends. And so, I believe the Persimmon share price can continue climbing from here. At least, for now. Therefore I would consider adding this business to my income portfolio. But, Ill be keeping a close eye on how the company intends to move forward post-2023.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/for-tuesday-can-the-persimmon-share-price-keep-climbing/
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Is the British American Tobacco (BATS) share price still too cheap?
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The British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) share price has tumbled over the last 12 months. Having traded at around 3,220p a year ago, the stock is now priced at around 2,710p. Thats a decline of about 16%. While this is nowhere near as large as its crash seen in 2018, its still notable. Ive actually previously explored the possibility of the BATS share price being too cheap. As a quick reminder, looking at the businesss overall performance, 2020 revenue came in flat. But due to margin improvements, operational profits rose by 10%, more than sufficient to cover debt obligations as well as maintain its substantial dividend yield. 5G is here and shares of this sleeping giant could be a great way for you to potentially profit! According to one leading industry firm, the 5G boom could create a global industry worth US$12.3 TRILLION out of thin air And if you click here well show you something that could be key to unlocking 5Gs full potential... Since then, there has not been much new information published by British American Tobaccos management team beyond dividend announcements. A study into tobacco consumption was recently published that revealed some interesting news for this business and its shareholders. Despite the efforts made by governments to discourage smoking over the last decade, the level of consumption has never been higher. The study showed that at the end of 2019, roughly 1.14bn people around the world were active smokers. Whats more, this figure could continue rising by around 10% a year due to rapid population growth. Before investing in any business, I look specifically for certain competitive advantages that will allow it to thrive over the long term. And in the case of British American Tobacco, it has an incredibly addictive product that continues to attract new customers every year. This makes me believe the current BATS share price is still a bargain with its 8% dividend yield. The regulators are coming Both the 2018 and 2020 drop in the BATS share price appear to be primarily linked to fears of increased regulation. And I think investors are right to be concerned. Its no secret that smoking is an unhealthy habit. And the previously mentioned study revealed that in 2019 alone, smoking killed more than 8 million people. To put that in perspective, Covid-19 has resulted in 3.5 million deaths so far. To make matters worse, the vast majority of smokers becoming addicted today are between the age of 15 and 25. Consequently, regulators have begun exploring new restrictions to limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Given this substance is what makes these products so addictive, any limitations would likely have an adverse impact on future revenues. The management team has begun exploring alternative products that dont carry the same level of health risks. If, or more likely when, these new regulations come into force, British American Tobacco should be able to adapt. But currently, 88% of the firms income originates from the sale of cigarettes. This may not be enough time for the business to transition. Therefore in that scenario, I think the BATS share price is likely to drop once again. In its current state, British American Tobacco looks like an undervalued income gem. But add in the looming regulatory threat, the valuation may not be as attractive as it seems. For now, Im going to be cautious and look for income opportunities elsewhere.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/is-the-british-american-tobacco-bats-share-price-still-too-cheap/
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Is the GameStop (GME) share price a ticking-time bomb?
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2021 has been a fascinating year for the GameStop (NYSE:GME) share price. The company saw its stock rise from $17.25 to nearly $350, only to then crash. But despite all the volatility caused by the short-squeeze, its now trading at around $220. Thats a 5,000% increase in 12 months! Lets take a look. The bull case for the GameStop (GME) share price 2020 has been a challenging time for most retailers. After all, lockdown restrictions made footfall in physical stores drop significantly. But GameStop has been struggling for many years due to the rising popularity of downloading digital copies of video games instead of buying a physical disk. This transition by gamers effectively made the company an unnecessary middleman, which saw its revenues slashed and earnings drop into the red. 5G is here and shares of this sleeping giant could be a great way for you to potentially profit! According to one leading industry firm, the 5G boom could create a global industry worth US$12.3 TRILLION out of thin air And if you click here well show you something that could be key to unlocking 5Gs full potential... Following the recent events, activist investor Ryan Cohen bought a 13% stake in the business and will become chairman of the board in June. He previously co-founded the online pet food business Chewy and intends to use his knowledge to transform GameStop into a digital-first, omnichannel retailer. Beyond this, the firm has also replaced its CEO and CFO, resulting in a brand new management team. This move towards higher-margin e-commerce appears to have given investors hope for the future potential of this business. And if successful, could enable the business to make a comeback. Its also worth noting that the new management team recently signed a partnership with Microsoft. While there is limited information about this deal, it does include a royalty-like structure in which GameStop will receive a cut for each Xbox game sold on its website. But as promising as this may be, I remain quite sceptical about the GME share price. Troubling financials Whether new management can achieve its goals remains to be seen. As it stands, theres limited information available on what a digital-first GameStop will look like as no guidance has been issued. Looking at its recent financial statements, there appear to be some misleading signs of recovery that may be inflating the GME share price. While revenues declined by a further 22%, net losses were almost halved from $400m in 2019 to $238m in 2020. The lack of advertising, receiving, and distribution costs last year due to the pandemic substantially reduced the costs of sales. And this led to a seemingly improved bottom line. But looking at the gross profit margin, the firms profitability actually declined from 29.5% in 2019 to 24.7%. On the balance sheet, long-term debt was reduced from $420m to $216m. This is an encouraging sign for me. Yet the money didnt come from sustainable sources such as operating profits, but rather from closing and selling 462 stores. The bottom line To keep the lights on, the management team turned to shareholders to raise additional capital. And in April this year, it successfully issued 3.5m additional shares, raising $551m. These new funds certainly give the business some breathing space. But, the online transformation of GameStop has only just started. And beyond the brands nostalgia factor, I cant identify any discernible competitive advantages this business has in the online space. As far as I can tell, the valuation of the GME share price is being driven entirely from speculation rather than fundamentals. Im not interested in adding it to my portfolio.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/is-the-gamestop-gme-share-price-a-ticking-time-bomb/
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Why did the Versarien (VRS) share price jump last week?
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The Versarien (LSE:VRS) share price has been pretty volatile recently. This year, the company saw its stock price surge from 45p to over 70p in early January, only to fall back again a month later. And looking over the past 12 months, it has fallen by around 20%. Last week, the VRS share price once again surged by over 20% within 24 hours. Seeing this level of volatility in young public businesses is not uncommon. 5G is here and shares of this sleeping giant could be a great way for you to potentially profit! According to one leading industry firm, the 5G boom could create a global industry worth US$12.3 TRILLION out of thin air And if you click here well show you something that could be key to unlocking 5Gs full potential... Last weeks explosive growth Ive explored Versariens business before. But as a quick reminder, its a specialist materials manufacturer for the industrial sector. Operating through eight subsidiaries, it develops and commercialises new materials used throughout multiple industries, including aerospace, energy, and electronics. A few months ago, the management team completed an acquisition in South Korea to expand the firms production portfolio to include graphene-based materials. It seems this decision was quite prudent. Because last week, Versarien announced it had signed a series of agreements with another South Korean graphene company called Graphene Lab Co. This appears to be the main catalyst behind the surge in the VRS share price. Firstly, Graphene Lab can now utilise 14 patents from the previously mentioned acquisition to develop their own products. In exchange, Versarien will receive a 5% royalty fee on each resulting product sale. Furthermore, Graphene Lab can also use certain trademarks owned by Versarien in exchange for a 2% royalty fee. These are hardly impressive percentages. But it does mean that the firm has just gained another much-needed revenue source, with no operational expenses involved. However, these royalty agreements are not the end of the story. Graphene Lab has also purchased a 15% stake in Versariens South Korean subsidiary, consequently flooding the balance sheet with an additional 1.93m of cash. With a nice boost of liquidity to hand and two new expense-free revenue streams, Im not surprised to see the VRS share price take off. The Versarien (VRS) share price has its risks Despite the promising progress Versariens management team has made, this business is far from risk-free. The firm is still unprofitable with no clear timetable as to when that might change. Therefore, it remains largely dependent on outsiders to raise additional capital. This latest share deal with Graphene Lab certainly provides some nice liquidity. But that money will likely run out before Versariens bottom line turns positive. The volatility of the VRS share price is also a bit of a concern. Investors expectations surrounding young companies can often lead to absurd valuations. Looking at its peak in January this year, the market capitalisation of Versarian reached around 140m despite only generating 8.3m in gross revenue. Today the business is priced at about 75m, which is certainly more reasonable but still carries a high level of investor expectations. Needless to say, if the business fails to deliver, the VRS share price could fall once again. Overall, Versarien looks like a promising company. Having said that, I still think its too soon to invest. Therefore its staying on my watch list for now.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/why-did-the-versarien-vrs-share-price-jump-last-week/
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What is the significance aspect of Alawi rule?
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SHAFAQNA It is narrated that the first Shia Imam, Ali ibn Abitaleb (AS) appointed Amr ibn Salamah as the Governor of Isfahan. One day Amr brought taxes and gifts to Kufa and among them were containers of honey. Umm-e-Kolthum, the daughter of Imam Ali (AS) sent someone to Amr in order to buy some honey. Amr sent two containers for her. When Imam Ali (AS) was inspecting treasury property realized that two containers are missing. When Imam (AS) asked Amr about this case, he replied: Do not ask about them, I will replace them myself. But Imam (AS) insisted to find about this case, and Amr explained what happened. Imam (AS) ordered for those two honey containers to be returned immediately. Then it became clear that some of the honey has been eaten. Imam Ali (AS) asked the honey traders to calculate the price of the eaten honey. They said it was about three dirhams. Imam (AS) sent for Umm-e-Kolthum to pay back the amount to the treasury. And then all the honey was distributed among Muslims [1]. [1] Tabaqat-ul-Mohadditheen, Vol. 1, Page 279.
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https://en.shafaqna.com/215688/what-is-the-significance-aspect-of-alawi-rule/
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Why is Elon Musk backing Dogecoin over other cryptos?
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Image source: Getty Images Elon Musk, the legendary tech entrepreneur, futurist and visionary, has been a bit of an enigma in the cryptocurrency world. More specifically, his continued support for Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started out as a joke, has left some scratching their heads. Lets take a look. Plot your path towards financial freedom with our Heros Journey tool! MyWalletHero is here to help you learn about taking control of your money, whether thats paying off debt, working towards a short-term money goal, or investing for your future. This tool can help you understand the next steps on your journey simply choose a goal that best describes your current interests to get started. Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that started as a joke in 2013. It was created on the back of the popularity of the doge meme at the time. The meme involved an image of a Shiba Inu dog which could be accompanied by captions or text meant to symbolise the inner monologue of the dog. The coin was created as a fun version of Bitcoin. Since its origins as a joke, the Doge has grown to become one of the worlds fastest-growing cryptocurrencies. Its value has increased by more than 11,000% in 2021 alone. The coin has hit a high of more than $0.70 (0.50) from lows of $0.0023 (0.0016) back in summer 2020. This is due in large part to Elon Musk. He has been one of the most vocal supporters of the meme coin, referring to himself as the Dogefather and the digital token as the future of cryptocurrency. Musk has tweeted about Dogecoin frequently this year, causing its value to skyrocket. Recently, he announced that Tesla would no longer be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment due to environmental concerns and proposed Dogecoin as a potential replacement. Many have questioned Musks continued support for a meme coin when there are other cryptocurrencies that are potentially more efficient, faster, have lower fees and are more environmentally friendly. The tech guru recently took to Twitter to joke about why hes backing Dogecoin. When responding to a user query, he said that Dogecoin has dogs and memes, whereas others do not. According to Forbes, his joking, combined with his February statements that his Dogecoin-related comments should not be taken seriously, has cast doubt on how much attention people should pay to his frequent market-moving Dogecoin posts. But it hasnt all been a joke. Musk indeed appears to be taking a more serious interest in Dogecoin, particularly its development. His joke response to why he was supporting Dogecoin over other cryptocurrencies came right after he issued a call to developers to submit ideas for Dogecoins upgrades and improvements. Earlier, he had also announced that he was working with Doges developers to improve system transaction efficiency. Compare stocks and shares ISAs If youre planning to open a stocks and shares ISA, choosing the right platform is important. To help you narrow down the choices, weve created a list of some of the top stocks and shares ISAs. Its hard to say. Despite Musks support, Dogecoin is still part of a notoriously volatile cryptocurrency market. Dogecoins value, for example, has plummeted in a few short weeks. From its highs of more than $0.70, its currently trading at $0.3378 (0.24). Simply put, no one truly knows what will happen to Dogecoin in the future and whether its here to stay. As with any other cryptocurrency, those looking to invest in the Doge should do their homework and only invest what they can afford to lose. These all-too-common investing errors can cause you to miss out on the long-term wealth-building power that shares can hold. To help you side-step these pitfalls, and move forward on your path to wealth-building, weve created a free report, The 3 Worst Mistakes New Investors Make. Just enter you best email below for instant access to your free copy. Click here!
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https://www.fool.co.uk/mywallethero/share-dealing/learn/why-is-elon-musk-backing-dogecoin-over-other-cryptos/
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Has Marks and Spencer really got it right at last?
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Marks and Spencer has said it plans to close 30 more stores over the next decade after it swung to a 201.2m annual loss as clothing and homeware sales fell sharply in a year of lockdowns.The retailer has already closed or relocated 59 stores and cut 7,000 jobs. It plans to expand or open 17 sites over the next two years.M&S hailed the successful launch of an online grocery partnership with Ocado but food sales could not make up for declining sales elsewhere in the business.The loss for the year to 27 March follows a 67.2m profit in the previous...
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263077229927/has-marks-and-spencer-really-got-it-right-at-last
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Which top players have dealt with injuries in the 2021 NBA playoffs so far?
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The 2020-21 edition of the NBA has been one of the most entertaining and surprising seasons in recent years. Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons for the same has been injuries to some of the top players in the league. One of the teams to face the brunt of key injuries is the LA Lakers side. They were expected to finish the regular season as the top-ranked team in the NBA's Western Conference but now find themselves playing as the seventh-seed in the 2021 NBA playoffs. Long-term injuries to Anthony Davis and LeBron James were the primary reasons why they found themselves in a tough spot with regards to defending their NBA championship this post-season. Injuries have followed some of the other teams in the 2021 NBA playoffs as well. Multiple players have suffered injuries in the first round, which could have major implications for their respective sides. We list down the top players to have gotten injured during the NBA playoffs so far and analyze the impact it has had on their team. 2021 NBA Playoffs: Injuries continue to remain a threat in the post-season; we list four top players whose absence has hurt their respective teams #1 Joel Embiid Joel Embiid (center) The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a huge blow after talisman Joel Embiid left the floor in the first quarter of Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs first round series against the Washington Wizards on Monday night. The 76ers had been dominating the series and were leaning towards a clean sweep. No official word from the Sixers yet on Joel Embiids injury, but heres the fall he took not long before leaving for the locker room.pic.twitter.com/s3NufD3LXs Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) June 1, 2021 However, the game swung in favor of the Wizards after Embiid left the floor. He almost played the full quarter, and the 76ers entered the second quarter with a two-point lead. With the Wizards being the team that attacks the paint, they capitalized on Embiid's absence for the rest of the game to clinch a 122-114 win. The injury was diagnosed as knee soreness, and there are chances he may return in the next game. However, only further evaluation will give more clarity on the extent of his injury and how many games he will probably have to sit out. The 76ers will remain the favorites to advance to the next round, regardless, but could find it difficult to stay alive in the 2021 NBA playoffs if Embiid misses a few games of the second round as well. He has been their primary scorer all season long, and the 76ers will struggle to get going against strong defensive teams in his absence. The mastery of Joel Embiid. 1) scans court, recognizes double coming but its too far away, gets up an in-rhythm fadeaway to avoid. 2) very next play: scans court, recognizes imminent double-team defender is now cheating too close to him, the pass, cash. pic.twitter.com/7UW84LGO1U Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 30, 2021 #2 Anthony Davis Anthony Davis The LA Lakers continue to fight their way through injuries this NBA season and are once again going to have to deal with an injury to star player Anthony Davis. He has been their most lethal weapon against the young Phoenix Suns in their 2021 NBA playoffs in the first-round series and has suffered multiple injury blows in back-to-back games. Davis suffered a knee injury in the third quarter of Game 3 but managed to play the rest of the game. He started Game 4 despite being listed as questionable. However, this time he suffered a groin injury and wasn't able to carry on. The Lakers, who were the favorites to win that game and take a 3-1 lead, ended up losing the tie and will now head back to Phoenix with the series tied 2-2. While they have managed to win games in AD's absence during the regular season, the playoffs are a different ball game, and it won't be easy to win big games anymore without him. The Lakers have relied heavily on their size and have made Davis the focal point of their offense. AD carried out the Lakers assault in the paint where they scored the majority of their points as their three-point shooting has been abysmal during this series. Without him, they will struggle heavily to stick to that plan in case their long-range shooting disappoints yet again. There is no clear update on his return, but NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Monday that AD is "unlikely" to play Game 5. Lakers star Anthony Davis is unlikely to play in Game 5 vs. Suns on Tuesday due to strained groin, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Theres optimism about Davis status as series continues and as he is evaluated day-to-day. Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 31, 2021 #3 Chris Paul Chris Paul Chris Paul started the 2021 NBA playoffs with a right shoulder injury in Game 1. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time a CP3 team had to suffer with him not being 100%. He did play in Games 2 and 3 but the Suns struggled with their veteran leader playing limited minutes. Paul was barely able to shoot or make the kind of passes he usually can when he is fit. The young Suns' offense struggled because of this and eventually lost both games. Nonetheless, despite head coach Monty Williams considering ruling the veteran out of Game 5, Paul returned and played at 100%. Chris Paul says he and Head Coach Monty Williams met before the game and Williams told Chris he was going to sit him. CP3s response was hell nah, 18/9/3/3 in 31 minutes. pic.twitter.com/fLD7ifQd7w Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 30, 2021 He played 32 minutes, scored 18 points and made nine assists in that outing to lead his team to a win. Paul seemed confident about his condition during and after the game, but there is always the threat of re-aggravating the injury. If the same injury bothers him in the next few games, the Suns could struggle again as they perform much better with CP3 as the floor general. #4 Kemba Walker Kemba Walker Kemba Walker and the depleted Boston Celtics shocked everyone when they claimed an unexpected win in Game 3 of their 2021 NBA playoffs first-round series against the star-studded Brooklyn Nets. The young C's team, who were already without Jaylen Brown, started to look positive after suffering two huge defeats before that. However, Kemba Walker, who has been crucial to the team's offense, was the latest player to be ruled out along with Robert Williams. He suffered a bone bruise on the injured knee that had kept him out for the majority of the regular season. The C's played without three starters in Game 4 and lost the tie, conceding a 3-1 series lead. Celtics Kemba Walker and Rob Williams are out for Game 4 vs. Nets. Boston now down three starters. Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 30, 2021 They have been struggling with injury woes since the start of the 2020-21 NBA campaign, which was one of the major reasons they entered the 2021 NBA playoffs as the seventh seed. The Celtics had minimal chances to win the series, but after going down 3-1, and with Game 5 to be played in Brooklyn, it has all but diminished their hopes of taking this series deep.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/which-top-players-dealt-injuries-2021-nba-playoffs-far-we-analyze-impact-respective-teams
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When and where to watch England vs New Zealand Test series?
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The two-match England vs New Zealand Test series will kick off the 2021 English summer. The Black Caps will look to use the series to get familiar with the English conditions ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final against India. New Zealand have not played a Test match in the United Kingdom since 2015. In their last Test match on English soil, the Black Caps beat the home side by 199 runs after having lost the previous Test by 124 runs. The upcoming England vs New Zealand Test series features two matches as well. The English team will try to get back on the winning track after losing three Tests against India. Meanwhile, New Zealand will be keen to extend their six-match winning streak in the longest format of the game. With the England vs New Zealand Test series set to begin on June 2, here's a look at the schedule of this brief series. 1st Test - June 2-6, Lord's, 3:30 PM IST (11:00 AM Local Time) 2nd Test - June 10-14, Edgbaston, 3:30 PM IST (11:00 AM Local Time) Sony SIX to live telecast England vs New Zealand Test series in India Joe Root will be the player to watch out for in the England vs New Zealand Test series Sony Sports Network has secured the rights to telecast the England vs New Zealand Test series in India. The two Test matches will be aired live on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD. Live streaming of these games will be available on Sony LIV. England: Sky Sports New Zealand: Spark Sport NZ OUCH! Cheers coach! @Sky_JamesCole reports from @HomeofCricket on an injury scare for Englands Joe Root safely negotiated and the hosts options ahead of the 1st #EngvNZ Test. Join us for every ball on Sky Sports Cricket at 10am on Wednesday Can't wait! Please spend 30 seconds answering this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your cricket needs.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/eng-v-nz-2021-telecast-channel-live-streaming-when-watch-england-vs-new-zealand-test-series
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What are Freemode Events in GTA Online and how can players participate in them?
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There are a lot of things that Rockstar Games have to improve when it comes to GTA Online, but one thing that they have excelled at supremely is variety. One can spend weeks in GTA Online and still not be able to discover all that the game has to offer. An undeniably underrated and fun feature of GTA Online is the Freemode Events. These were added to the game as part of the Freemode Events Update, which is exclusively available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. How to join a Freemode Event in GTA Online Freemode Events trigger automatically in most sessions (Public, Invite-only, Crew, and Friends-Only). However, they will not be triggered in a solo session. There must be at least four players in a lobby for an event to take place, while some might even require 10 players. The event will be canceled if players leave the session and the minimum number of users is not met. Here is a list of Freemode Challenges in GTA Online: Air Checkpoints Business Battles Checkpoints Criminal Damage Hold the Wheel Hot Property Hunt the Beast Kill List King of the Castle Freemode Events will occur at roughly the following times in the game: 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00. The events will last for 12 minutes, and the player must complete the required set of tasks within that period. GTA Online also has Freemode Challenges, which are much shorter and less time-consuming. In addition, Time Trials will also become available in the session. Players will be notified of a Freemode Event as it will appear on their screen. Meanwhile, the objectives will automatically appear on the map. Players do not need to navigate to any menu or options in order to participate in the event. All they need to do is simply complete the objectives when notified.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/gta/what-freemode-events-gta-online-can-players-participate-them
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Is Tyron Woodley still in the UFC?
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Tyron Woodley is no longer contracted as a fighter by the UFC. His last octagon outing came against Vicente Luque at UFC 260, where 'The Chosen One' lost via submission in the first round. The loss marked the former welterweight champion's fourth consecutive octagon defeat. Following the fight, the MMA circuit was rife with speculation that Woodley had been cut from the UFC. However, this was only partially true. The rumors stemmed from the exclusion of 'The Chosen One' from the UFC welterweight rankings. Woodley's manager took to Twitter in a bid to ease his fans' tensions and reassure them of his position. No they didnt. His contract was up. https://t.co/mkdQ7Pa8CT malki kawa (@malkikawa) April 24, 2021 This essentially means that Tyron Woodley is currently a free agent. Although he is not explicitly a part of Dana White's roster, he technically has not been 'cut' from it either. However, his status as a free agent bars the UFC from ranking him alongside other contracted welterweights. What's more, his profile on UFC.com lists his status as 'Not Fighting'. Tyron Woodley is not the first UFC veteran to be out of the rankings At the age of 39, Tyron Woodley can very well be regarded as one of the veterans of the sport. However, unlike the fighters that came before him, T-Wood's peak was over way before he could be regarded as an old warhorse. Woodley's heyday is long gone, recording four losses on the trot against Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque. The UFC is infamous for its ruthlessness when it comes to offloading fighters that are past their prime. Yoel Romero, Yorgan De Castro, Alistair Overeem, and Junior Dos Santos were some unfortunate few who found their heads on the chopping block. 'The Chosen One' is scheduled to take on Jake Paul in the squared circle sometime soon. If Tyron Woodley manages to find his way back to winning ways against 'The Problem Child', the wrestling maestro could undoubtedly raise his stock in the eyes of the MMA world. Also Read: Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley: Height, weight and reach comparison Sources: Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley have agreed to a deal for a boxing match. Jake recently signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime. Friday face-off in Miami planned to promote the event. Paul coming off first-round KO of Ben Askren Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) May 31, 2021 Tyron Woodley is set to be in a prime position to avenge Ben Askren's loss, considering how the former was in his corner when Jake Paul put him to sleep. A win against this young gun could be just what Woodley needs to rally for the support he has lost from much of the MMA community over the last couple of years. Also Read: 3 reasons why Jake Paul has made a big mistake by agreeing to fight Tyron Woodley Please take 30 seconds to answer this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your MMA needs.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-is-tyron-woodley-still-ufc
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When will the Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley boxing match date be announced?
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YouTube star-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul will fight former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley next, according to reports from The Athletic and MMA Fighting. The date, venue, and rules for the boxing match have yet to be announced, but Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley have reportedly agreed to a deal. Mike Coppinger first reported the news and was followed by a tweet from 'The Problem Child' minutes later, which spoke of an incoming fight announcement. Sources: Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley have agreed to a deal for a boxing match. Jake recently signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime. Friday face-off in Miami planned to promote the event. Paul coming off first-round KO of Ben Askren Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) May 31, 2021 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW GOTCHA HAT (@jakepaul) May 31, 2021 It's safe to assume that Paul's next tweet will indicate the date and other details of the bout, in addition to confirming whether his opponent will be Tyron Woodley or someone else. The last time Jake Paul saw action was in April against former UFC welterweight Ben Askren, who had Woodley in his corner. The controversial YouTube star sent shockwaves across the combat sports world when he knocked Askren out in round one to notch his third straight victory. Paul is currently undefeated after three pro-boxing fights. His other two victories came against fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib and retired NBA guard Nate Robinson. Meanwhile, Woodley will make his pro-boxing debut after spending twelve years fighting in the cage. The 39-year-old is on a four-fight skid since dropping the UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman in 2019. Also Read: Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley: Height, weight and reach comparison Jake Paul's feud with Tyron Woodley Animosity has been brewing between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley since the two got into a heated argument backstage at the Paul vs. Askren Triller event. After the fight, Woodley decided to confront Paul, sticking up for his longtime friend and former teammate. The boxing showdown between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley was foreshadowed during a brief exchange on Twitter in April. Paul shared a video of Askren announcing his retirement with the caption: "WHO SHOULD I RETIRE NEXT?" The tweet elicited a response from Woodley, who fired back at the YouTube star. The MMA veteran dared Paul to fight him and implied that the 24-year-old wouldn't stand a chance against 'The Chosen One'. Enjoy saying you are a fighter for another day. Try that shit against me i'm catching a body @jakepaul And you mob with hoes. I wouldn't walk into a pillow fight with them. https://t.co/CKVwEH5Yj2 Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) April 18, 2021 In the aftermath of his embarrassing knockout loss, Ben Askren told media members that he'd love to see Woodley avenge his defeat to the YouTuber: "I would love Tyron to whoop him up. He wants to fight Oscar de la Hoya, but I would love for Tyron to fight Jake Paul. He's a significantly better boxer than I am so that would be my guy". Soon, Askren will get his wish as a matchup between Paul and Woodley is reportedly a done deal. Also Read: 3 reasons why Jake Paul has made a big mistake agreeing to fight Tyron Woodley Please take 30 seconds to answer this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your MMA needs.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-when-will-jake-paul-vs-tyron-woodley-boxing-match-date-announced
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Why has Azerbaijan declined the offer of Turkey's nationalist party to build a school in Shusha?
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The Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) which is a member of the ruling coalition in Turkey, was planning to build a school in the city of Shusha in Karabakh, which returned under the control of Azerbaijans after the second Karabakh war in the fall of 2020. However, the project was later canceled, despite being previously approved by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, the Azerbaijani government still intends to build a school in Shusha. MHPs plans to build a school in Shusha In January 2021, the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced its intention to build a school in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, liberated from occupation as a result of the second Karabakh war. The school will bear the name of the great Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli, and the foundation of the educational institution will be laid on January 30, said party leader Devlet Bahceli. An appropriate place will be chosen for the construction of a school in Shusha, our ancient cultural center, and after that, its foundation will be laid, I wish you good luck! Bahcheli said during a speech at a meeting of the party faction. Bahcheli added that the proposal to build a school named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli in Shusha was approved by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey. I thank the heads of state for their attention at such a sensitive time. Each stage of the project will be reported to the distinguished presidents. Meeting with Aliyev in Baku At the end of January 2021, a delegation from the MHP arrived in Baku. The delegation was led by the deputy chairman of the party Mevlut Karakaya and it also included the head of the Gray Wolves movement Ahmet Yiyit Yildirim, the former head of Isparta municipalities, and an architect Yusuf Ziya Gunaydin. On February 2, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Mevlut Karakaya and during the meeting, they discussed the planned construction of a school in Shusha. Mevlut Karakaya, when asked by the journalists, explained how the school in Shusha would be managed: He stated that the decision on the form of school management will be made by the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan: This is how the school in Shusha was supposed to look like according to the Turkish project After completion of construction, we will hand over the school to the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan. They will decide how to run this school. Our business is to build and hand over a school, we will not interfere with other issues. We will try to hand over to Azerbaijan a school corresponding to the history, culture, and atmosphere of Shusha. Later on, Mevlut Karakaya posted an unexpected announcement on his Twitter page, stating that MHP opts out of the project: On January 16, 2021, I announced on my social media that we are launching construction of the nine-grade school, with the support of the Culture and Education Fund of the Gray Wolves, in the city of Shusha which plays a significant role in the spiritual and cultural life of Azerbaijan. For this purpose, we have released our complete project of the construction of the school, and we wanted to name it after the composer of the national anthem of Azerbaijan, the late Uzeyir Hajibeyli, who was born in Shusha. The plan was to lay the foundation for this school on January 30th. But the Azerbaijani authorities considered our project inappropriate and prepared a new, excellent project. Of course, this is their natural right, and we can only treat this with respect. The party of the nationalist movement abandoned the school project precisely because of this. Help and donations for the construction of the school that we have received from our brothers will be returned to them soon and in full, Bahceli wrote. Reaction of the Azerbaijani authorities While receiving the Minister of Education of Turkey on May 27, President Ilham Aliyev said that within the framework of the expected visit to Shusha of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ceremony of laying the foundation of the school offered by the Turkish side as a gift was included in the program, said Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, commenting on Bahcelis statement. It was proposed to hold working discussions at the level of specialists in order to bring the architectural design of the building of the school of arts in line with the original architectural style of the city of Shusha. There can be no talk of giving up this kind initiative. It is possible that the lack of a full report has led to a misunderstanding. We are confident that architectural issues of a technical nature will be discussed at the working level in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, and soon the construction of the Shusha School of Arts named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli will begin, Hajiyev said. Expert opinion The project for the construction of a school in Shusha by MHP was not accepted by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani political scientist Shahin Jafarli said. Bahceli might not have spoken about it publicly. I think this is due to the fact that he was dissatisfied with the behavior of the Azerbaijani government. There is no information about this. Another interesting fact is that since April 17, the transportation of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey has been suspended on the basis of a bilateral agreement. This agreement is not part of the TANAP project. Gas supplies under a bilateral agreement were to continue until next year. Currently, negotiations are underway on this issue, Shahin Jafarli explains.
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https://jam-news.net/why-was-the-turkish-school-construction-project-in-shusha-canceled/
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Where was Lil Loaded from?
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RAPPER Lil Loaded has died at the age of just 20. His death comes just months after the musician - real name Dashawn Maurice Robertson - was arrested over the fatal shooting of his friend. Lil Loaded grew up in Dallas, Texas. He moved there with his family when he was 10 years old. Lil Loaded died on May 31, 2021. Where he died is yet to be revealed. Despite growing up in Dallas, Lil Loaded was actually born in San Bernardino on August 1, 2000. His birth city can be found in Southern California. It is not known where he attended school and why his parents chose to move to Dallas. Lil Loaded only shot to fame in 2019, so not much is known about his family or where his parents were from. We do know he had an older sister, a younger brother, and a younger sister. However, when he was 15 years old his older brother was killed. As mentioned, Lil Loaded's cause of death is still unknown. According to CBS46, the rapper had allegedly shared a cryptic message on his Instagram prior to his death asking God for forgiveness. The post has since been deleted. Most read in Celebrity RISKY REBEL Rebel Wilson nearly slips out of plunging swimsuit after losing 60 pounds WET & WILD Kylie and Travis Scott get in a water balloon fight with daughter Stormi Exclusive FIGHTING BACK Teen Mom Jenelle Evans sues blogger for claims she was 'fired' from podcast BACH IN LOVE Matt James & Rachael huddle together on rainy Hamptons trip after rekindling LOADED GONE Lil Loaded indicted on manslaughter charge following arrest for friend's death RIP LOADED All we know about Dallas rapper Lil Loaded who has passed away aged 20 Lil Loaded took up rapping in 2018 and came to prominence when YouTuber Tommy Craze posted a reaction video about his song Blocc Baby. He was best known for his songs 6locc 6a6y, Gang Unit, and Link Up. Loaded released an album - A Demon In Blue - in October 2020, which peaked at No19 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2992536/where-was-lil-loaded-from/
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What does Pride look like in small-town Canada?
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In todays Big Story podcast, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal Canada truly has some of the worlds biggest and most beautiful Pride celebrations. But it also has some of the smallest. In places like Taber, Alberta (POP: 9,000), Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia (POP. : 500) and Norman Wells, Northwest Territories (POP: 800) communities have begun holding Prides of their own, often marked by some of the same traditions you find in big cities. GUEST: Chelle Turingan, co-director, producer, editor, Small Town Pride You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.
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https://www.680news.com/2021/06/01/what-does-pride-look-like-in-small-town-canada/
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Are 420-Friendly Queer Dance Parties the Key to Equality in Weed Culture?
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Photo Credit: Keegan Marling The ring of smoke that hung around LA last 4/20 is the stuff stoner dreams are made of. But one hazy Arts District party hosted by 420 Queer showed promise for something much greater than getting blitzed-out-the-skull. DJs played bass-heavy grooves that connected house and hip-hop. The crowd diverse in ethnicity and gender dressed in club-kid-casual with flashes of sparkling glitter across day-lit faces. At the entrance sat a stack of information pamphlets branded with the words: "Did you know?" You couldnt miss them. The fold-out pamphlet offered a few brief points about cannabis and social justice. It pointed to the work of Dennis Peron, the late, gay marijuana activist whose work led to the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, California's medicinal marijuana law. A small collection of facts and stats highlighted devastating numbers, like the fact that over 600,000 people were arrested in 2017 for weed-related offenses; and, more than 200,000 students lost financial aid eligibility because of drug-related convictions. In fact, many people in the US particularly communities of color are still impacted by the War on Drugs. And 420 Queer's pamphlet was an important reminder that the fight isnt over. It also drove home the fact that state-level cannabis regulation (meaning, the cannabis industry as we currently know it) is the result of LGBTQ+ activists , like Peron, Harvey Milk and Brownie Mary. Yet, that may not be popular knowledge among most Californians. Similarly, electronic music and club culture developed largely in LGBTQ+ communities of color, which is a history often lost on the dance floor. That these two movements converged on 4/20 is an incredibly poignant statement about social justice and the future of both weed and dance music events. Courtesy of 420 Queer Under the 420 Queer banner, Urs Mann and Irene U. plan on building a cannabis-centered social community with LGBTQ people at the front. They want to ultimately provide visibile representation for people whove been overlooked in mainstream cannabis narratives. It's a scene that the couple who first met while working in different areas of the cannabis industry thought was missing. "It was something that we talked about when we started going to events together how we didn't see any gay representation , if at all, at typical industry events," said Irene, whos been a DJ for about a decade. She was even a brand ambassador for the influential queer-centred dance party, Mustache Mondays. Now, she currently promotes the semi-annual event Lez Croix . "I would go to the [cannabis] events and feel completely invisible as a queer person," said Mann, a videographer who produces for MERRY JANE. Courtesy of 420 Queer When they threw the second 420 Queer party in July, the thick crowd proved that Irene and Mann weren't the only ones craving this kind of space. But, 420 Queer isn't just a party. "It was always an idea to create a queer collective," said Mann. That collective began to take shape on Instagram back in 2017 with a mix of historical posts, memes, and snapshots of stoner life. "I thought about it so much," he recalled. Should we be literal?" That answer was yes. Mann explained that it became increasingly clear to him and Irene that they needed to make their collective intentionally queer so that the community knew it was the place to assemble. "We wanted to do it this way because the queer community is who we want to connect with." As their Instagram garnered more attention, Mann and Irene figured that 420 Queer should manifest IRL. And since April 20 fell on a Saturday, it was a perfect opportunity to bring together the burgeoning community in a new way. They made accessibility, good food, and stellar music central to this groovy daytime bash while leaving out the typical stoner-party jams and avoiding all elements that objectify women. "I don't need that with my weed," said Irene, whos known behind the decks as Your Muther. Once word spread, Irene and Mann heard from people who wanted to get involved. "We have a lot of really loyal sponsors, but they aren't paying us anything. We just call them sponsors because they support us and gifted us things to give to people," said Mann. "Its been really generous and cool getting people together and having gatherings that are not about a brand or selling you something it's just about a vibe." "Puff at the Stud" by Keegan Marling 420 Queer isnt alone in its mission of creating LGBTQ-forward weed communities. In San Francisco, Puff is a monthly weed-centric drag party held at The Stud, a bar that's been part of the city's gay, progressive nightlife for more than half a century. Sylvester, the late disco star, and RuPaul are amongst the icons who have performed there. And, just a few years ago, The Stud was saved from closure when it became a worker-owned co-operative. Puff is hosted by Dan "DJ Dank" Karkoska, whos been spinning tunes for 14 years and has experience working on several different drag shows. Similar to 420 Queer, the seeds of Puff were planted online. Karkoska and drag queen Maria Konner were interviewing local artists, which led to a video series of conversations with people in the weed game. Although the series didn't hit big, their launch party did. Karkoskas intent was to bring together the cannabis community and LGBTQ+ nightlife. While that concept wasnt initially an easy sell he said the idea was rejected by multiple venues Puff has been that inclusive space for about three years. "Puff at the Stud" by Keegan Marling I've really been trying to push the club as something for everybody, Karkoska told MERRY JANE by phone, because I believe in bringing the marijuana nightlife communities together, whether theyre queer or not. Puff events begin with a DJ set from Sergio Fedasz, known for the disco bash Go BANG!, which is then followed by a drag show. You might catch someone dressed up as a joint, but performers also take on other zeitgeist-y topics, like Orange is the New Black. "I want to see all kinds of art," Karkoska said. Throughout the night, they host a "stoner raffle," where giveaways include items like small pipes or glass rigs. Over time, however, more and more companies have shown interest in working with Puff. "I'm seeing sponsorships come in, and [theyre] paying money to be part of the show and be on the poster and stuff," Karkoska said. "I couldn't do that when we started." He anticipates parties proliferating in the not-too-distant future, particularly after the success of GrassLands , the weed-garden at Outside Lands Music Festival, which wasnt just a gold mine, but also the cleanest and chillest area of the whole festival (obviously), according to reports. "Coming off of that, it's showing that there can be events where cannabis is involved that don't end badly," he said. "Puff at the Stud" by Keegan Marling Right now, however, LA seems to be a hub for LGBTQ-weed spaces, however. On an early Sunday afternoon in August, a small crowd lounged on a hilltop at Elysian Park, just above Dodger Stadium. Local DJ Masha, popular in the citys underground dance music scene, dropped a dub-heavy set with Carly Simon's early '80s club classic "Why?" wafting over the field as dogs played with each other and people grabbed frozen treats from a nearby ice cream truck. This part of the event, called Weedstock, was the tail end of a weekend-long celebration that aimed to bridge together the Saturday night party crawlers and fresh, Sunday morning revelers. The event was a collaboration between the Weed Rave, an event brand launched by Michelle Lhooq , journalist and author of the book Weed: Everything You Want to Know But Are Always Too Stoned to Ask; Ostbahnhof , and Acid Camp to bring together Queerstock, a counterculture celebration of underground art, music, hedonism, and inclusivity. Image via Weed Rave "In general, queer-centered spaces, as well as spaces that are led by women and other so-called marginalized groups, are really important and really inspiring," Lhooq said over the phone. "I don't think that there are enough of [these spaces] in the cannabis scene. Lhooq pointed out that, since legalization, a lot of white corporate interests are taking over in the cannabis world. Undoubtedly, one could say the same thing happened to dance music and club culture years ago, as festivals and bottle service clubs came to dominate subcultures that mostly existed in underground circles. Weedstock, a free meet-up in a public park with essentially zero corporate branding, had a DIY approach that felt rebellious in an era of slick, marketing-driven experiences. In a way, it brought both cannabis and dance music back to their counterculture roots. Image via Weed Rave But, it takes more than parties to build communities. For 420 Queer, the events are just one facet of their mission. Online, Irene and Mann have met kindred spirits outside of Los Angeles through their burgeoning collective, and it's inspired some of their goals. "We want to travel and capture stories of people who we've met and have reached out to us," said Irene. Meanwhile, the response to the Did You Know? pamphlet sparked them to think about other ways of bringing information to party-goers. We had people coming up to us and saying that it was information that they had no idea about," Mann said in a follow-up phone call. Now hes considering expanding on those facts in a brochure for future events, or possibly even crafting a zine. "I love the idea of people taking away a DIY informative piece that's so specific like that." But, these LGBTQ+ weed events are doing more than providing visibility. Theyre honoring the activist history at the center of the legalization movement while showing others that inclusivity and representation are necessary in order to move forward. "What were doing is definitely rooted in activism, sharing information, and bringing queer people together who have radical ideas," said Mann. Its the only way were going to move the dial on ensuring a just future in cannabis culture. Follow Liz Ohanesian on Twitter
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https://merryjane.com/culture/are-420-friendly-queer-dance-parties-the-key-to-equality-in-weed-culture
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Should Whitecourts downtown parking be up to the town or the business community?
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During a recent Policies and Priorities Committee meeting, Stephanie Schaffner, Development Officer for the Town of Whitecourt, explained in detail what was before them. What we are looking at is removing the minimum option parking requirements for the downtown. With that comes removing the option to provide money in lieu of parking, also known as a Parking Levy. Right now, the Land Use Bylaw says how much parking a property has to provide, and in the downtown, there is also an overlay that further reduces the parking requirements. If the proposed amendments were to go through, business and property owners in the downtown would be responsible for figuring out their own parking needs. The proposed amendments were advertised through multiple forms of media, including newspapers and the towns website and mailed to the property owners adjacent to the downtown. On April 26, council heard a public hearing on these amendments. Before that public hearing, five written submissions were received, all from property and business owners in the downtown, and all five written submissions were in support of the amendments, explained Schaffner. The Whitecourt and District Chamber of Commerce also submitted a package before Aprils hearing, which focused on discontinuing the parking levy, tax funds for parking, and future parking studies. Included in their package was a membership survey which showed 89.2 percent of those who voted were in favour. They also included a formal letter signed by eight different property and business owners from the downtown. During the hearing, there were four presentations. The first two were from the Chamber of Commerce, and they were in support of the amendments. The second two were from property and business owners in the downtown, and they were also in support of the amendments. Schaffner stated that the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) raised three questions for Council to consider before making their decisions on the changes. What would happen with the parking levies that have already been paid? Currently, a business owner must provide a certain number of parking stalls. If they couldnt, they could pay a parking levy which is essentially the cost of a parking spot. Levy fees can go towards future construction of parking areas to help plan for future developments. Removing the levies would mean not taking in those funds. Any business that has paid the parking levy previously might look for a refund from the town if they remove the requirement. Councillor Derek Schlosser asked where the onus would lie if there were any parking issues. Director of Community Safety Doug Tymchyshyn was very clear. If council approves these amendments to the bylaw, what it means is that either the business owners would have to look after the parking requirements on their own or they could approach the council of the day asking for assistance at that time. That is always an option available to them. But at this point, the position that we have taken is that the businesses will be responsible for providing their own parking. Councillor Schlosser said that he supported it. I can get behind the elimination of the levies because the Chamber of Commerce and their members would like to take that over. I would be more than willing as a councillor to let them do so. Mayor Chichak asked for clarification on the percentage provided by the Chamber of Commerce. Because 89.2 percent of 40 businesses or 89.2 percent of five businesses is a totally different weighted average. Administration clarified that 65 businesses voted, and of that, 89.2 percent voted in favour. It was not clear if all 65 were downtown businesses. Mayor Chichak then asked if other comparable communities have parking requirements. Yes. Most municipalities have some sort of parking requirements in their Land Use Bylaw. Edson and Hinton also allow shared parking agreements. If I have a really large parking lot and you have a small parking lot, then we can come to a mutual agreement to share parking, responded Schaffner. Following the answer, Mayor Chichak said that she could get behind it if thats what the businesses want but noted that it must be clear to the business community and property owners. In my opinion, the parking is the onus of the business community. In no way, shape or form do they come back in ten years or fifteen years and say, hey, were short on parking, we need a couple million dollars for you to do a couple of parking lots to help us out. Since its inception, weve always planned for the future (of our municipality). I think if were going to discontinue that practice, then the onus has to be clear as to why and what the repercussions could be in the future. Councillor Bill McAree jumped on the train with a bunch of questions. We have a few empty storefronts downtown. Its not bylaws business anymore. Can they come to the town complaining? Tymchyshyn replied. If it is a public parking stall on the street, anybody can park in it. We wouldnt be policing who parks on it. Right now, there are no time limitations, so unless that changes, then we will continue business as usual. McAree felt it was a slippery slope. Were not planning for the future, and we have no say if somebody moves into the corner spot with 35 customers an hour, and they take up both sides of the street. Whos going to stop that war and clean up that mess? Councillor Ray Hilts spoke in support of the changes. Weve heard from the business community, and they want to see changes. History shows us that downtown continues to be a quieter part of our community. If this moves us in the direction of getting investment downtown, long-term investment that is, then I am fully supportive of it. The P & P Committee voted unanimously, aside from Councillor Chauvet, who was out due to conflict of interest, to send their recommendations to Council for the final decision. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Read more about:
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https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/06/01/should-whitecourts-downtown-parking-be-up-to-the-town-or-the-business-community.html
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Are Mario Carts Legit? And What Do Fake Vape Carts Look Like?
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Image via With the exploding popularity of weed vapes comes an equally rising popularity in unlicensed, untested, and potentially life-threatening counterfeit weed vapes. And spoiler alert! The hot new Mario Carts thatve popped up on the illicit markets are incredibly fake. Puff on them at your own risk to your health and your freedom as people are now facing prison time for peddling these dangerous products. So-called Mario Carts look incredibly appealing, especially to kids, who will instantly be enticed by the fun and adventurous packaging. Keep reading. Mario Carts Violate Major Trademarks The first, and biggest clue, that Mario Carts are fake is the fact that theyre biting the Mario Bros. characters, designs, and titles trademarked by Nintendo Co., Ltd. Nintendo, which is based in Tokyo, Japan a country where marijuana is beyond outlawed. And unlike the US, where we have a cultural tradition of bucking the system and challenging federal laws, no such rebellious tradition is respected in Japan. Trust us: If Nintendo got into the weed game, MERRY JANE would be one of the first media outlets to let you know. As far as we know, Nintendo has never announced that it would lend its characters, titles, or their likeness to an American weed vape company. If Nintendo ever did that, theyd issue a press release ASAP. Note the spelling, too. Mario Carts is spelled with a C on carts, whereas Mario Kart, the Nintendo game, is spelled with a K. Previously, even state-licensed, legal weed companies have been sued for biting trademarks. The weed strains Girl Scout Cookies and Gorilla Glue #4 both switched to new, trademark-neutral names (GSC and GG#4, respectively) after their breeders were taken to court. Cease-and-desist orders were also issued to weed products named after Disney characters and edibles manufacturers that copied mainstream candies . Big-name companies are not playing around when it comes to pot producers riding their coattails into undeserved fortunes. It says it's lab tested but no proof of lab results Packages Do Not Contain Lab Test Results The second biggest clue that Mario Carts are fake is the complete absence of lab test results anywhere on their packaging, nor do they include specific THC values for their products. Every licensed, lab-tested weed product should contain lab test results and an exact THC value for that particular product batch. If the information is not included on the package, it should be included somewhere on the vape cartridge itself. Gallery Here's What Fake Vapes Actually Look Like Lab Results for Mario Carts Products Look Bad Although whoever produces Mario Carts hasnt tested their products, other people have, independently. Those results are not flattering for Mario Carts either, as the THC values from the test were way below what was reported on the package. Additionally, the tested carts contained way more contaminants than allowed by law. One test reported by Dab Connection showed that a Mario Cart product claimed to contain 83-87 percent THC, but the cart itself only had 69 percent THC when tested. That may look like splitting hairs to some consumers, but for the results to vary that wildly indicates that something is very, very wrong. No weed product coming that short under its purported THC values should be allowed on the legal markets. Typically, the state (or company) would issue a recall if that happened. No One Knows Who Produces Mario Carts If youre ever in doubt as to whether a vape cart is legit, check its packaging for company information. If you cant find any company info on the package, look for the vape brands website online. In Mario Carts case, you wont be able to track down either. No one knows whos making these carts or who the distributor is. Furthermore, there is no company website for Mario Carts, so theres no way to look up the companys info, or to even contact the producer. Transparency is king right now in the compliant, state-legal weed industry. Pot companies want the public and the state regulators to know that they arent hiding anything. Legit vape producers often list all of their authorized retailers on their websites, as well. If it seems like a vape producer is hiding who they really are, or making it incredibly difficult to track them down, youve likely got a fake on your hands. Why Its Important to Only Buy Legit, Licensed Vape Products Since Mario Carts are unlicensed and not lab-tested, you have no idea whats in the oil or if the carts were made in compliance with state and federal safety regulations. Theres a vaping illness crisis rocking the US right now, which has sent over 1,600 people to the hospital and killed at least 34. Authorities still dont know whats causing the illness, but they suspect that unlicensed, unregulated, underground vape products are responsible like those offered by whoevers slinging Mario Carts.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/are-mario-carts-legit-and-what-do-fake-carts-look-like
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Are Smart Cart" Vapes Legit? And What Do Fakes Look Like?
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Lets start with an important caveat for todays vape lesson: All Smart Carts, which are supposedly produced by a California dispensary called Smartbud, are fake. As in, all Smart Carts are unlicensed, black market products that are not tested for safety. So, to spot a fake, just spot a Smart Cart. That said, there are now counterfeit versions of this popular unlicensed brand so you may be dealing with a knock-off of a phony brand. A meta-fake vape, if you will. Smart Carts are supposedly manufactured by Smartbud, but neither Smartbud nor Smart Carts show up as licensed cannabis businesses at the California Bureau of Cannabis Control. There is one dispensary in LA called the Smart Collective Corporation, but it has no association with Smartbud or Smart Cart products. The big giveaway, besides the fact that youre looking at a Smart Cart to begin with, is the labeling on the packaging. Smart Carts packages have THC contents printed directly onto the package. Printing THC contents or other lab test results into the package just isnt done in the regulated weed industry. Since lab tests will vary with each batch, packages or products should have stickers presenting the lab test information; it should never be printed directly onto the box. The second giveaway is that the Smart Cart label directly rips the Smart Water logo a no-go if youre a legal company. The third giveaway is the oil thickness. The oils in Smart Carts are usually much thinner and runnier than the oils found in legit vape cartridges. However, since illicit vape cart manufacturers can add thickening agents like vitamin E acetate to the oil, going by oil consistency alone isnt the best way to spot a fake cart. The fourth giveaway is your state of residence. If you bought Smart Carts (or any carts) in a state where weed isnt legal, then youve likely got an unlicensed product. If the answer is no, then you probably have an unlicensed and untested vape cartridge in your hands. Check the Companys Credentials Smart Carts are currently sold through the website Smartbud Shop . Smartbud Shop claims that its a mail-delivery cannabis company, but heres the kicker: Mailing weed through the postal service is illegal, even in weed-legal states. Furthermore, all cannabis companies in California must have a physical location (office, etc. ); Smartbud Shop doesnt appear to have a physical location. A tried-and-true licensed vape company will have a website that lists all local retailers who are authorized to carry and sell their products. There should also be a contact form or phone number so you can reach out to the company directly to confirm whether or not your products are licensed, tested, and legal. Since unlicensed, black market vapes dont undergo lab testing and arent regulated, you have no idea whats in them. Given that theres a vaping lung illness epidemic rampaging across the US an illness that has hospitalized over 1,000 people and killed at least 23 and that this illness is likely being caused by a contaminant that may only show up in black market carts, you should probably stick with the real stuff. First, look for stickers either on the outside of the packaging or inside of it, on the product itself. The sticker should contain lab data as well as a black triangle with a weed leaf and an exclamation point inside of it. Somewhere outside of this triangle you should see the letters CA. This is the official, state-approved sticker for all legit and tested marijuana products in California. Second, only buy from licensed dispensaries. If you live in California, theres a master list of all licensed weed companies in the state. You can also cross-reference the businesss weed license at the Bureau of Cannabis Control .
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https://merryjane.com/culture/are-smart-cart-vapes-legit-and-what-do-fakes-look-like
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Are VSOP Space Vapes Legit? And What Do Fake Carts Look Like?
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VSOP Space Vape carts are known for their out-of-this-world alien aesthetic, ornate packaging, and delicious flavors. As it goes with spotting any fake vape cart , there are a few universal, tell-tale signs that youve got the real McCoy in your hands. If youve got a VSOP Space Vape, chances are youre handling an unlicensed, unregulated product thats not actually lab tested. VSOP Space Vapes Arent Legit According to one of the moderators at the subreddit r/cleancarts, Space Vapes are listed as a fake cart brand . This means that no ones been able to verify that Space Vapes or VSOP is a licensed cannabis company compliant with its states marijuana laws. A license search at the California Bureau of Cannabis Control turns up nothing for queries involving space, alien, VSOP, or very special, which is where VSOP comes from (an alcohol industry term for very superior old pale). Furthermore, the Space Vape website shows incomplete lab testing results for only one product batch. Typically, when cannabis companies share their lab data, they will show multiple results for only the most recent batches to hit the market. Space Vape has only provided lab data for a single batch from 2017, and the data lacks additional, key information, such as the batchs pesticide levels and any error values. (For an example of what real lab results look like for licensed weed products, check one out here .) The Space Vape website also features a photo in its product gallery of what, according to the companys own Instagram account, should be counterfeit Space Vape packages . Space Vape says its flavors should always contain the word Alien, yet these Space Vape products featured on the Space Vape website have plain flavors like Skywalker and Purple Dragon. Most legit vape manufacturers will list all of their authorized retailers on their websites, too. Space Vapes does not list any authorized retailers on its website. Its not even clear where the company is based. So, if youre wondering how to spot whether your Space Vape is a legit product or not, theres your answer: Theyre all fake. However, even fake, unlicensed products are being counterfeited meaning meta-bootlegs. For curiositys sake, you can distinguish fake Space Vape carts from the even faker knock-offs. Gallery Here's What Fake Vape Carts Actually Look Like: Step One: Check the Packaging In 2017, the old Space Vape Instagram account posted a checklist for identifying the companys real vape products. Although the old Space Vapes account is no longer available, you can still catch updates at the companys new Instagram account . According to the 2017 Instagram post, every legit Space Vape product should bear an embossed Canna PK at the bottom of the black plastic insert. Some other signs that youve got an original Space Vape: There should be no alien head design on the cartridge, nor will the cartridge itself feature the words Space Vape. Additionally, the flavors name should always start with the word Alien, e.g. Alien Strawberry. The new VSOP Space Vape packaging is gold and black. Older packaging and fake ones come in see-through plastic, and knock-off Space Vape packaging may feature copyrighted cartoon characters. Knock-off Space Vapes likely originate in China, as well, and sketchy companies overseas rarely invest in good, quality translators. If you see inconsistently capitalized words on the package, or if you see misspelled words, youve likely got a fake Space Vape. Step Two: Check Your Space Vape Flavor VSOP Space Vape has only eight vape flavors listed on its official website : Alien Cookies, Alien Gelato, Alien Melon, Alien Strawberry, Alien Punch, Alienberry Pie, Alien Sour Tangy, and Alien Grapefruit. If your Space Vape product comes in any other flavor besides the eight listed above, youve got a knock-off of a knock-off. Fake vape carts are unregulated and untested. That means youve got no idea what youre vaporizing and inhaling with an unlicensed product. There is currently a vaping-illness epidemic rocking the US thats likely being caused by the proliferation of fake vape cartridges. You can avoid being one of the 27 people whove died from the illness (thus far) by sticking to real, licensed, and lab-tested vape carts. Furthermore, there are other health issues stemming from fake vape carts. If youre hitting a weed cart for medicinal purposes, you may not get much benefit from fake carts, which could contain very little or no THC or CBD. They may also contain toxic-levels of pesticide residues, heavy metals , or other dangerous contaminants. Basically, there are a lot of legit, hard-working companies that are going above and beyond to ensure youve got clean vape oil going into your lungs.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/are-vsop-space-vapes-legit-and-what-do-fake-carts-look-like-fresh
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Are Weed Terpenes Contributing to Denvers Ozone Problem?
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When most of us hear or see the word ozone, we may think of the ozone layer, an area of the upper atmosphere that stretches 6 to 30 miles above the ground, where ozone gas collects and protects us from harmful radiation showering our planet from outer space. The ozone in the ozone layer is generally seen as a good thing. However, when ozone builds up at the lowest level of the atmosphere the troposphere, which hovers directly above ground it can be dangerous . High ozone levels, which are only a problem in Americas biggest cities, can complicate issues with asthma or lung disease. They can exacerbate cardiovascular issues and increase rates of infection, too. In some cases, ozone can even cause cancer. Denver, Colorado is currently ranked as the 12th worst US city in regards to air quality. Throughout any given month, highway signs will warn drivers that high ozone levels are present in the city, prompting people to carpool or to skip on mowing their lawns that day. Thats because ozone is a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms, formed when heat and sunlight trigger a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides which are mainly produced by carbon emissions from industry and transportation and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are defined as carbon-based chemicals with incredibly low melting points, often in the negative-degree Celsius ranges. (Water freezes at 0C.) The terpenes or terpenoid compounds produced by cannabis are VOCs. The most prominent cannabis terpenes limonene, pinene, linalool, and myrcene are incredibly volatile, with melting points ranging from -101C to -10C, respectively. Although VOCs have not yet been linked to ozone levels in Denver, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) wants to know if there is a connection. According to Kaitlin Urso , an air quality researcher and consultant at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, theres a good possibility that cannabis terpenes could be contributing. She doesnt believe that weed is the biggest contributor far from it, in fact. She notes that the biggest ozone offenders are the fracking and petroleum companies operating in the northern end of the state, as well as emissions from cars, trucks, and other automobiles. But if Urso finds that weed does contribute to ozone production, that information could be helpful for other weed-legal states that are also tackling high ozone levels, such as Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California, Louisiana, and Texas. To find out more, MERRY JANE reached out to Urso by phone. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Alicia Frazier (L), Kaitlin Urso (center), and Dr. Daniel Bon (R) collecting air samples within a post-harvest processing area at a marijuana cultivation facility. Photo courtesy of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment MERRY JANE: A lot of cannabis consumers are wary of any government study into the plant or its industry. Kaitlin Urso: Yes, I did. Im an advocate for the cannabis industry. I supported legalization. I definitely believe in a legal market. I support federal legalization, as well, because I think a lot of these concerns that were facing now are mainly environmental and public health concerns. I hope that people see this study as a collaborative effort with the industry. We definitely did not step into this study with any intention of getting an I gotcha! on the cannabis industry by any means. We see it as supportive of small businesses, educating a sector that maybe doesnt have the resources to do it themselves. Ozones not an easy problem to address. Its not a direct pollutant; we cant just control one source. It has many types of sources, and it also depends on our atmospheric chemistry. The air division is looking for any new sources of VOCs and nitrogen oxide that we havent typically regulated or controlled in the past. The cannabis industry being primarily small businesses in Colorado with the way it was legalized, and the licensing structure was a new industry of focus. Now, we know that all plants put out biological VOCs. Trees, grass, flowers, everything. What makes cannabis unique are two things. The first thing is the types of terpenes that are emitted from cannabis: myrcene, pinene, limonene, terpinolene. Those are the most common, and they also happen to be incredibly reactive for ozone formation when they come into contact with combustion emissions. The other thing that makes cannabis unique is the way that we legalized it. When we legalized cannabis, all of the regulations were focused on safety, security, and preventing diversion [of cannabis products] to the black market. Environmental concerns werent really considered. Zoning forced 70 percent of the industry into Denver proper, into industrially zoned areas at the heart of our city center. Thats important because the grows are co-located next to all these nitrogen oxide emissions [from the highways, I-70 and I-25]. Theyre also co-located next to industrial sources of nitrogen oxide, such as power plants and other industrial manufacturers. Any new source for VOCs is going to readily react with the available nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight. What weve essentially done with the cannabis industry is relocated the biological source of terpenes into these nitrogen-oxide rich areas. If we had legalized cannabis in an outdoor setting and allowed for farms away from the city center , these VOCs would not be a problem. Theyre only a problem when youve got them in the heart of the city center. There are quite a few factors that play into Denvers air quality. Colorado is kind of unique in that weve got the plains out east, then weve got the urban city-heart areas. Weve got about three on the Front Range: Fort Collins up north, Denver in the middle, and Colorado Springs down south. Then we have the mountains to the west, then west from there, we get back to the plains. That creates some specific meteorological conditions, as well. Storms flow out from the plains to up north, then they push down along the mountains. All of the air from up north is pushed down to Denver in this circular pattern. Theres a lot of mixing going on. Up north, we have a lot of oil and gas production. Those facilities, as they pull the product out of the ground, thats a source of VOCs. Those VOC emissions get pushed southward along the mountain, then deposited right on Denver. In Denver, weve got a lot of nitrogen oxide emissions because we have a lot of cars and industrial activity. Those fuel-burning activities emit nitrogen oxide, then the VOCs from up north, as well the local VOC sources, all combine to create this perfect storm for ozone formation. Plus, the other ingredient is sunlight. In Colorado, we boast that we have 300 days of sunlight every year. We have more of an ozone problem than other states do, and anything that can be done about it, were trying to do about it. Ozone isnt only toxic to us, its toxic to plants, too. Its three oxygen molecules put together, and theyre very good at oxidizing things. As we breathe them into our lungs, they oxidize our lung tissue. They affect plants during their photosynthesis processes. If you look at photos of plants exposed to high levels of ozone, they almost look as if theyre bruised because theyre being oxidized, too. Like when metal rusts; thats metal being oxidized. The good thing for this issue is carbon filtration, the same technology that controls odor. The reason why its controlling the odor is because its trapping the terpene molecules within the carbon filter. Theyre no longer released into the atmosphere, so theyre not reacting to form ozone. The cannabis industry has inadvertently solved their own problem through odor control practices. The main thing we can encourage, for the public health impact, may be making sure those carbon filtration systems are managed properly. One of the biggest mistakes I see at cultivations is with the high HVAC loads from overcoming the heat from the lighting. The HVAC is working overtime, where its pulling more and more air through the filter. And if you exceed the maximum flow rate of air through the filter, those terpenes arent going to have the opportunity to stick inside of those carbon pores. It will be going so fast that theyre going to blow right through. Same thing goes with keeping the humidity under control. If they have a high humidity environment, those water molecules will take up the pores in the carbon filter, then theyre not able to absorb the VOCs. Typically, operations only change out the filters every year, or maybe every six months if theyre really diligent about it. If theyre going to keep that schedule, ensure that new carbon filters are installed at the start of the summer, when the ozone levels are the highest. We didnt have thousands and thousands of cannabis plants being grown in our city center prior to legalization. Now that we have it, we want to quantify the impact. Typically, when new industries start up, the EPA does these types of studies to come up with universal emission factors for that industry. Take, for instance, mining. The EPA did a lot of studies on mining to come up with emission factors for, say, per pound of gravel crushed that released dust into the atmosphere. We dont know the answer to that, since the EPA usually does that study. But given the legal status of cannabis, the EPA isnt going to step in and do that. Were working very collaboratively with the industry. We have four facilities that we sampled at, who all volunteered for this study. We collected samples from the grow rooms, the flowering rooms, the curing rooms, and other processing areas. From there, we can calculate how many VOCs are being produced per pound of cannabis. With that information, we can assess how many VOCs are being produced in a particular area with our computer modeling software. By summer of 2020. It seems like a long way off, but theres a lot of math that goes into it, a lot of data validation. And the biggest time-suck is the computer modeling the atmosphere chemistry. A device set-up for collecting air samples. I dont foresee the cannabis industry being one of the more significant contributors [to ozone production]. We have large contributors in our state: transportation, the oil and gas industry, our power generation, and those are going to be our biggest contributors. But were still looking at overturning even the small rocks for small businesses in making sure we quantify what that sectors contribution is, and making sure were arming that sector with best management practices. Lets assume the worst scenario: We find out that terpenes from cannabis grows are contributing significantly to our ozone problem in Denver. The industry can continue to implement carbon filter technology and have best management processes. Make sure you stick to your maintenance schedule. Plan to have a fresh filter at the beginning of summer at the height of the ozone season. Keeping temperatures and humidities within correct ranges, and just making sure the cultivation environment is sealed [will help]. It doesnt help to have a carbon filter right next to an open window. Additionally, having a pre-filter on the outside can extend the filters life, too, by capturing dust and larger particles so the VOCs have more space to be absorbed in the filter. The other impact that the industry has on ozone is not just the plants; its the extraction activities, too. THC extractions for marijuana and CBD extractions for hemp. Many extraction processes use solvents like butane, propane, ethanol, hexane, or pentane. Even though theyre done in a closed-loop system with solvent recovery, those systems are only about 70 to 80 percent efficient. After every run, youre losing 20 to 30 percent of that solvent to the atmosphere. The cultivation of plants is considered an agricultural activity, and agricultural activities are exempt from air quality regulations. Even if we find, in this study, that the cultivation of cannabis plants is a significant contributor to ozone, theyre still not subject to our air quality regulations. At the end of the day, no matter what this study says, you guys are an agricultural industry and are exempt from air quality regulations. Keep in mind that when manufacturing that agricultural commodity into an end product, thats considered a manufacturing process. So, extraction with solvents is a manufacturing process, and that is subject to air quality regulations. There can be some regulations and controls on the manufacturing side of things, but not on the cultivation side.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/are-weed-terpenes-contributing-to-denvers-ozone-problem
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Can Cannabis Terpenes Really Customize or Direct Our Highs?
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While the rest of the world is still catching up to the difference between THC and CBD , more seasoned cannabis consumers are turning their attention away from cannabinoids and toward a more common class of plant molecule: terpenoids or terpenes . Terpenes, unlike THC, arent unique to cannabis. Theyre found in practically every plant, from fruits to flowers to roots. Terpenes are responsible for the aromas and flavors found in cannabis (and other plants), and according to a growing number of cannabis patients, advocates, and marketers terpenes may be responsible for the different kinds of highs people experience from weed, too. The Science, in a Nutshell The main chemical in weed that gets people intoxicated is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. (Though scientists recently discovered another naturally-occuring weed compound, THCP, that may be 30 times stronger than plain ol THC, so stay tuned for updates on that.) We know that if someone consumes pure THC (e.g. a THC distillate or isolate ), they will get high. But the effect from pure THC feels much different from, say, smoking a joint of cannabis flower or hitting bud out of a bong. People who dab distillates or who have been injected with pure THC report feeling more anxious and paranoid than those whove simply blazed a joint. Based on self-reports with pure THC, we know that THC isnt the only part of cannabis that affects the head high. Other cannabinoids such as CBD likely blunt THCs high rather than enhance it, but we have some clues indicating that terpenes may be the other primary ingredients when it comes to weeds psychoactive effects. For instance, weed with high levels of THC (25 percent or more THC by dry weight) isnt always the most potent. Sometimes buds with just 15 percent THC can hit much harder , according to self-reports. We also have self-reports that weed rich in terpenes such as limonene, myrcene, linalool, pinene, and beta-caryophyllene trigger a creep effect , where the THC high comes on much slower and lasts much longer than highs from low-terpene strains. Again, scientists dont really know. But, we do know that many terpenes bind to our CB receptors, the parts of our cells that interact with the compounds found in weed. When THC binds to the CB1 receptors in our brain and nerves, it gets us lit. However, a 2019 study found that the most common weed terpenes dont activate our CB1 receptors the way that THC does, but they will stick to those same receptors, which temporarily blocks THC from doing its thing. So, whats likely happening is when someone smokes or dabs a terpene-rich weed product, the CB1 receptors get saturated in terpenes. And as those terpenes fall off the CB1 receptors, THC takes their places, hence the creeping effect of the weed high coming on slower and lasting longer. There are also studies that show that inhaling certain terpenes can activate smell receptors in our nose, which can trigger certain psychoactive effects. For example, when mammals smell limonene , it usually causes them to feel more alert and awake. However, many of these aroma studies are still in their infancies, and the findings dont apply to all terpenes found in cannabis. Any cannabis consumer can test for themselves the effects terpenes have on weed intoxication. Simply dab a relatively pure THC product such as diamonds or distillate, then compare that experience to a similar product that contains added terpenes, such as a sauce or high-quality weed vape oil. Consumers often report that the added terpenes will feel significantly different from hitting pure THC, but those differences will vary from consumer to consumer. Right now, many cannabis companies market their products according to mood or effect. Youve likely seen this at your local dispensary: A weed extract, vaping cartridge, or even edible may be sold not by its strain of origin, but rather by its intended effect. For example, you may see a product branded for Relaxation, Energy, Focus, or even Horniness. The idea is that these products contain specific terpene blends designed to provide users with these effects. However, the science on whether a particular terpene always generates a particular effect remains hazy at best. Terpene Effects Likely Vary Among Individual Consumers So, yes, terpenes very likely influence what kinds of moods or highs we experience, but those experiences will vary depending on the individual consumer. For instance, limonene and other fruity-smelling terpenes may cause some consumers to feel sleepy or couch-locked, while other consumers may feel a jolt of energy from these same terpenes. Others may find that myrcene or skunky-, gassy-smelling terpenes cause them to feel paranoid, while still others may find deep, soothing relaxation from those same stanky terps. Basically, only you, the individual consumer, can know which terpenes or terpene mixtures will give you the desired effects youre looking for. If fruity smelling weed products knock you out, then you know to avoid those products if you need something to keep you awake during the day. Ones personal reactions to terpenes doesnt necessarily invalidate the way cannabis companies currently market their weed products, though. If anything, promoting a product for Relaxation or Focus may give consumers some idea of what theyre about to buy, even if their brains and bodies dont exactly jive with the products labeled effect. In the same vein, allergy medications such as Benadryl usually cause drowsiness in most people, but some people find that allergy meds do the exact opposite and will provide them a burst of energy, just as some people feel lethargic from drinking coffee whereas other people cant even get through the workday without slamming 10 cups of espresso. Some Additional Info on Eating Terpenes Some cannabis edibles, tinctures, and drinkables are marketed for directional or customized highs based on their terpene contents, just as inhalable products are. However, terpenes are incredibly fragile, and most quickly degrade in the stomachs highly acidic environment. Although the science is still out on whether terpenes can affect a weed high when theyre swallowed, they likely dont do much after passing through the digestive system. However, inhaling terpenes in addition to consuming an edible or drinkable may still confer the terpenes effects on the weed high if smoked, vaped, or dabbed at just the right time.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/can-cannabis-terpenes-really-customize-or-direct-our-highs
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Can Interstate Commerce Help Solve the Cannabis Industry's Equity Problem?
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Over the past several years, a debate about social equity has intensified as large consumer states with unconscionable histories of discriminatory drug law enforcement have moved towards adult-use cannabis legalization. Perhaps we can. The concept is simple. Traditional cannabis importing states, especially states with long histories of racially-biased criminalization and enforcement (basically all of them), should create a class of cannabis licenses that would allow licensees to import, distribute, and sell at retail cannabis from producer states like Oregon and California. And these licenses would only be available to qualified social equity applicants. Under such a system, equity-licensed businesses and only equity-licensed businesses in large consumer states like New York and New Jersey could fill retail shelves with an unbeatable selection of the best cannabis products from legal markets around the country. And they could offer those products almost immediately upon their states legalization. This would alter the entire economic structure of the cannabis industry, says Jason Ortiz, president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA). Those equity licensees wouldnt just compete, they would dominate the industries in traditional import states. This concept promises economic justice at a much more significant scale than anything were currently discussing at the state level. Between 1994 and 2008, in New York City alone, more than 430,000 people were arrested for low-level cannabis offenses. And despite the fact that people of color are no more likely to use or sell cannabis than white residents, they accounted for more than 85% of those arrested. Flashforward a decade, and the data is no different. In the first half of 2019, New York City police made 805 fifth-degree cannabis possession arrests, and 94% of those arrests targeted were people of color . The story differs only in scale in cities and states across the nation, as millions of mostly young people of color have, for decades, been cuffed and booked for marijuana offenses at rates more than four times that of white people . The cumulative damage that millions of discriminatory arrests have done to the educational, employment, and housing prospects of generations of people of color cannot be addressed by simply expunging criminal records or offering discounted licenses in newly legal markets. This is especially true when its clear that the economic gains of legalization would still go primarily to large corporations unless another path is taken. Some people exploit the social justice piece of legalization, Bertha Lewis, president of The Black Institute and a chief strategist for activist group We Rise to Legalize , told the New York Times . You cant talk to me about justice and not talk to me about economics. They are inextricably joined. So last year, with New York State on the verge of legalizing adult-use cannabis, legislators of color stood up to demand real equity for their communities. They thought we were going to trust that at the end of the day, these communities would be invested in, Lewis continued. But thats not something I want to trust. If its not required in the statute, then it wont happen. Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose administration authored New Yorks failed 2019 legalization bill, is himself on record demanding that legalization in New York account for the discriminatory history of cannabis enforcement. Lets stop the disproportionate impact on communities of color, lets create an industry that empowers the poor communities that paid the price and not the rich corporations that come in to make a profit. ~ New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, via Envisioning, much less constructing, a system and an industry with significantly equitable economic impacts has proven difficult. Governor Cuomos bill faltered, due in large part to doubts among legislators of color that their communities would gain significant benefits from legalization. Illinois subsequently passed a legalization bill that included unprecedented racial equity provisions. But as important an achievement as that was, its provisions will not significantly change the underlying economic equation. As long as states where cannabis is difficult to grow are forced to cultivate all of their own weed, economic power will remain in the hands of a few large corporations that can afford to invest tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in massive, mostly indoor production facilities. But if large consumer states like New York and New Jersey were to create a class of equity-only licenses that allowed holders the exclusive right to import, distribute, and sell high-quality, low-cost cannabis from traditional producer states like Oregon and California, it would lay the foundation towards a very different outcome. And it would force governors like Andrew Cuomo (NY) and Patrick Murphy (NJ) to add their powerful voices to the growing chorus calling on the federal government to allow or at least tolerate commerce in cannabis under interstate agreements between legal markets. It could be game changing. The movement for interstate commerce began out west, where most of Americas cannabis, and virtually all of its finest cannabis, has always been grown. In June of this year, Oregon passed legislation allowing the state to enter into interstate agreements to buy and sell cannabis. To become operable, the bill requires that the federal government either allow such transfers via federal statute, or else simply express tolerance of the practice in a Department of Justice memo or policy statement indicating that they will not use federal resources to prosecute businesses transporting cannabis between legal markets under interstate agreements. In July, in response to the passage of the Oregon bill, the State Cannabis Commerce Act was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) in both the US House and Senate. The Act would forbid federal agencies from interfering in state legal cannabis industries, and specifically protects licensed interstate commerce. By permitting interstate commerce in statute, the bill would satisfy the either/or federal requirement contained in the Oregon bill. The federal bill is important for several additional reasons. It is the first federal bill to contemplate interstate commerce prior to full federal legalization. It also places the issue of interstate commerce in the context of protecting the legal state industries, which is essential. We cannot support functioning state legal industries unless we allow them to move cannabis from markets where theres excess capacity to markets where theres excess demand. Because thats how healthy markets function. Finally, even if Congress does not pass the bill, the concise, specific language forbidding federal interference in licensed interstate commerce could be adopted into any legislation that moves forward protecting state industries from federal interference. In 2020, California legislators will consider an interstate commerce bill similar to the one passed in Oregon this year. Should that bill pass, two of the nations best and most important cannabis-producing states will be joined in a call to normalize licensed interstate transfers between states in the legal US market. Its clear why states like Oregon and California would want to sell their legal cannabis into the markets they have supplied illicitly for generations. Between 2017 and 2018, for example, Oregon faced a tremendous cannabis glut , as the bounty of the production region far outpaced the relatively tiny Oregon consumer market. This resulted in a price crash and a ton of business failures. Today, that problem has been temporarily addressed by growers artificially ramping down production during the past two growing cycles, as well as a continued squeezing of local producers. But there are also plenty of reasons economic viability, environmental sustainability, patient access, consumer choice for traditional cannabis importing states to demand interstate access to the best cannabis that legal producers can supply. In most US states, where high-quality outdoor cultivation is difficult or impossible, its environmentally irresponsible and economically unsound to invest billions of dollars to grow cannabis at scale. And it will take years to license and ramp up that type of production into a viable retail market. Legal interstate commerce would not only fill shelves, it would move millions of consumers out of illicit markets years sooner than would otherwise be possible. In many medical states, where legal cannabis production is limited or non-existent, legal patients who are currently risking their health on unknown and untested products from the illicit market would instantly have access to a broad selection of tested, dependable, world-class medicines to meet their specific needs. In addition, before we watch tens of billions of dollars invested in production capacity across the country, we must keep in mind that once federal prohibition ends, it will no longer be possible for states to keep other states products out. This means that all of those in-state producers will suddenly have to compete with better, cheaper cannabis from places far better suited to grow it. When that happens, many state-based production industries will go belly-up entirely, wiping out capital, companies, and jobs. But none of these reasons for allowing licensed, interstate trade may be as compelling as the chance to make significant amends for the historic, discriminatory harms of prohibition. Our black and brown communities have paid an enormous price for the political obsession with looking tough on crime, says Jason Ortiz of the Minority Cannabis Business Association. I was one of those people who was demonized and arrested, and now were looking at entire communities that were violently disrupted for economic activities that are making foreign corporations billions. If anyone is going to make a living selling cannabis legally, it ought to be the folks who have been aggressively denied that opportunity in the past. And make no mistake, giving equity applicants the exclusive right to import would create a substantive advantage. It will take years for giant corporations to build and stand up enough production capacity to fill shelves in states like New York or New Jersey, says Jesse Peters, co-founder of Oregons Eco Firma Farms, and now CEO of Mantis Growth Investments. When they do, it will be almost impossible for them to compete on cost, particularly with outdoor producers, and especially on biomass for oil extraction, which is a significant and growing part of the market. More than that, it will be extremely difficult for their output to compare in quality to what Oregon and California produce every day. The world class outdoor cannabis production region of the Pacific Northwest stretches more than 500 miles from the Emerald City of Eugene, Oregon, south to the bottom of Californias famed Emerald Triangle (Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties). This region, generally considered one of the best, if not the best, grow areas on the planet, has historically produced the vast majority of Americas domestic cannabis. Thats no accident. This is one of the very best, and certainly right now the single most important, cannabis-producing region in the world, says Eric Sklar, CEO of Fum Brands, and a co-founder of Alpha Omega Winery in Napa, CA. We have always grown a lot of cannabis here, because this is where it grows best. Its no different than the wine industry, Sklar continued. You can grow grapes in various parts of the country, and some of it isnt bad, but the meta-wine producing region of the Pacific Northwest is world class. Nowhere else in the country even comes close. We have the right climate, the right soil types, high-quality water, and an unbeatable combination of genetic and human capital. Its the same with cannabis. The illicit cannabis market in the US has always flowed from west to east. Products move from where they are best produced to where theyre most in demand. No one had to be told to set it up that way. Again, thats just how markets work. Weve spent the past two years talking about how to achieve racial equity justice, really as we legalize cannabis in huge consumer states, said Khurshid Khoja, the National Cannabis Industry Associations Policy Council Co-Chair and Board Member. However, weve been assuming it as a given that everything consumed in a state must be produced there. But thats a by-product of prohibition, and its not how healthy markets function. Thats not how the cannabis market in the US has ever worked, which is why self-contained state markets are inherently more turbulent. Last month, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania met to discuss legalizing cannabis in the region . Together, they concluded that building entirely different systems right next to each other would lead to problems, including the inevitable criminal arbitrage that will occur when prices and availability vary widely on every side of every state border. In the end, they said, the only sensible solution is to work together to reach common policies on key issues including tax rates, testing and labeling requirements, and how to create industries that address the very real issues of social and economic justice. In January, the legislatures in each of those states, and likely several others, will again take up the issue of legalization. After a century of prohibition created with specific racist intent, ramped up into a War on Drugs in the 70s, and brought to new lows in the 80s and 90s era of Just Say No, cannabis enforcement has had disastrous consequences particularly for communities of color. Now, as we contemplate the end of this terrible chapter of our history, and as state after state renounces prohibition, there is both an opportunity and a responsibility to think creatively about how to do so in ways that account for, and are accountable to, the systemic harm done in its name. Of the millions of young people of color arrested for cannabis over the past half-century in states like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, virtually none were arrested for growing their own marijuana. Thats not what they were doing. Instead, they were arrested for distribution, sales, and possession of cannabis that came from elsewhere, mainly Oregon or California. Legal or otherwise, cannabis in the US naturally moves west to east, from the hills of the Pacific Northwest to Northeastern cities and everywhere in between. Perhaps the best way to achieve racial and economic equity is to recognize that reality, and start from there.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/can-interstate-commerce-help-solve-the-cannabis-industrys-equity-problem
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Can Synthetic Urine Really Beat Drug Tests?
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Mandatory - or worse, random - drug screenings leave all tokers wondering how to pass a drug test. Besides being unnecessarily invasive, drug tests are one of the easiest ways for most employers to legally discriminate against otherwise productive , law-abiding workers. For a lot of potheads, what happens next may sound gross, but it has worked for some folks in the past: Strap a small plastic bag or condom filled with someone elses (preferably clean) pee to your leg, sneak it into the drug testing facility, and hope no one sees you snake that stuff into the collection cup. Or, if you dont happen to know anyone whos chronically sober (and thats to be expected in our circles), you can buy some fake, synthetic urine to fool the drug screens. But, before we dive headfirst into an ethically questionable topic, heres a quick disclaimer. In some instances, trying to fool a drug test can be a crime, especially if youre peeing in a cup because your parole officer told you to, or because it was ordered by a judge. If you try to cheat a government agency, you could be facing prison time for fraud, among other potential crimes. So, if youre on judicially mandated time-out, so to speak, dont mess around here. Additionally, although its not illegal to cheat a drug test ordered by an employer, it could result in losing your job. In fact, if youre caught, its considered an automatic fail at most labs, which essentially means the laboratory and your employer will assume you were bumping ketamine and boofing cocaine all weekend. Position #1: Synthetic Urine Works. Real human urine is mostly made of water, but it also contains salts, sugars, and proteins excreted by our organs as waste. Synthetic urine is also made mostly of water, but it contains many of the same compounds found in genuine urine. And best of all, it doesnt contain any THC or THC metabolites , the little chemical buggers that the drug lab is looking for. Chemists arent stupid, and tokers have been trying to cheat their tests since the first ones rolled out decades ago. So, while the lab may be looking for drugs in your pee, thats not all theyre looking for. Theyre also looking for other markers that verify the sample actually contained urine in the first place. Some of those markers include pH levels, temperature (it better be body temperature or close to it), and creatine content. Synthetic urine manufacturers claim that their products meet all of these criteria: The fake stuff should still feature the same colors, transparencies, salts, and creatine and pH levels as real urine. Thats why folks sneak this stuff in strapped to their leg: By keeping the sample close to the body, it should maintain body temperature, as well. In fact, some synthetic urine kits come with an entire leg-strapping, heated padding system , for your convenience, of course. With these in mind, synthetic urine has beaten some drug testing labs. In fact, the drug screening industry recognizes it as a huge problem (for them), which is why pouring fake pee into a cup may not get you off the hook. Position #2: Synthetic Urine Is Total BS In the drug screening industry, theres a perpetual game of cat-and-mouse among drug test manufacturers and people who, yknow, like to do drugs. As the psychonauts cleverly devise new ways to beat the tests, the testing companies figure out ways to detect the cheats . As the tests become increasingly fool-proof, someone comes up with another trick to ultimately fool those tests, and the cycle continues. But drug screeners arent only trained on how to analyze the samples. Theyre trained to recognize foul play, too, from the moment you step into the clinic, to when youre actually doing the deed in the bathroom, all the way up to the very second you place that sample into the technicians gloved hands. Theyre assessing the sample on its temperature, theyre looking for prints of bags, straps, or tubes poking through your pants, and theyre observing any other giveaways, like whether youre sweating profusely, speaking nervously, or if you just came in reeking of skunky-ass weed. Since most legit, respected labs utilize the newest equipment and the latest drug-screening techniques, which includes sizing you up and watching you closely for any signs of cheating, you probably shouldnt bet any money, your career, or your freedom on synthetic urine. Position #3: Synthetic Urine Works, but You Need Lady Luck on Your Side, Too In reality, not every drug screening lab has the latest and greatest gadgets for catching cheaters. Nor is every lab employee operating at 100-percent capacity at all times. Drug labs are incredibly busy these days, and many screening companies will process hundreds if not thousands of samples in a day. Theres a good chance someone may slip up somewhere along the drug testing process, and if you inadvertently happen to dip into some of that luck, you can skate by scott-free. Furthermore, not every lab is equipped to recognize the latest synthetic urine formulas. Whether the lab you go to is up-to-date or lagging behind is a crapshoot, and you can guarantee none of them will tell you whether or not they can determine if you gave them fake urine. (In fact, even asking that question is certain to result in an automatic failure.) So, in reality, theres a chance that fake urine could work in your favor. But if you decide to go this route, make sure your fake peepee product was actually designed for drug screens and not for kinky bedroom excursions . A lot of synthetic urine manufacturers sell their products to the watersports market (and Im not talkin about jet skis here), so theres a good chance the synthetic urine for golden showers doesnt contain stuff, like correct creatine levels, found in human urine.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/can-synthetic-urine-really-beat-drug-tests
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Are Movies And Streaming The Next Frontier For NFTs?
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A series of exclusive NFTs released for the feature film Deadpool 2 by Atom Tickets, Marvel, Fox ... [+] Filmed Entertainment and the GFT Exchange. Deadpool is a trademark of Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Image via Opensea.io and Twitter Few industries have had to adapt as dramatically to digital and transform as the film and entertainment sectors. Gen Xers witnessed VHS triumph over Betamax in the VCR wars, the first major format to bring movies into households. Before the VHS tape, TV ruled and entertainment was dispensed at the discretion of network programmers who dictated what you were going to watch and when. The format transformed again to DVDs, which offered greater audiovisual output quality with HD and Surround Sound and sometimes included bonus content such as behind the scenes interviews, bloopers, and documentaries, not to mention box set packaging with supplemental merch. The Band of Brothers DVD bonus documentary with the real heroes of the 101st Airborne Division, the first parachute infantry, and their families, reduced me to tears. I always choke up reciting the lines of Sergeant Dick Winters whose grandson asked if he was a hero in the war. It brought the real story to life for me and the sacrifices they made to keep our world free. As the age of broadband dawned and download speeds improved, companies like Apple attempted to corner the market in digital media sales of movies and TV box sets. Within a few years, the DVD was flat lining, and streaming now ruled. Today, we consume most of our movies and TV shows via streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, or Hulu. During the pandemic, many big movie releases went straight to streaming, leading to an outcry from beleaguered movie theaters. Streaming effectively put an end to special edition DVD products as one-size-fits-all subscription models were introduced. NFTs are offering the opportunity to reintroduce collectible movies and TV shows, which pretty much disappeared when streaming overtook DVD sales. As the NFT hype of early 2021 begins to recede, many industry sectors are examining opportunities to capture some of the value thats been poured into digital art NFTs. Fans, at one time, were happy to pay a premium for for a limited-edition DVD that came with exclusive extras such as cover art, cast interviews, directors cuts, blooper scenes, and merchandise. Solving Blockchains Storage Challenge For Film NFTs One core challenge is that legacy blockchains cannot store data, meaning that until now, it has not been possible to issue anything other than short videos as NFTs. Dapper Labs smash-hit NBA Top Shot trading game turned it into a multi-billion dollar blockbuster. While exclusive clips undoubtedly hold value for eager fans, theres an opportunity to capture larger file sizes on NFTs. Halsey Minor, who previously founded CNET and Salesforce, is now heading up VideoCoin, a project aiming to remove the limits for video NFTs. VideoCoin has teamed up with decentralized storage service Filecoin to crack the storage problem. The aggregated storage capacity of the entire Filecoin network already exceeds over 2.5 billion gigabytes enough to store 725 million 1080p high-resolution movie files. VideoCoin has recently announced the development of proof of ownership of an NFT. Problems could emerge with NFTs if the issuer goes under, putting tokens at risk, and possibly becoming worthless. Proof of ownership uses an encryption key with cross-platform compatibility, meaning that the NFT keeps its market value independently of what happens to the issuer. VideoCoin isnt the only project to enter the market with the idea of a blockchain-based video platform. Theta has attracted investment from Samsung and Sony to develop its peer-to-peer video distribution network. Theta is building its own network of storage and distribution and will accommodate the number of nodes to host all the video content on its network. Decentralizing Video On The Blockchain VideoCoin and Theta share some common goals. The streaming markets are extremely centralized in a small handful of large companies, including the cloud storage firms that host the videos. Decentralization offers the opportunity to redistribute some of the control, which would be to the benefit of smaller filmmakers and studios. Furthermore, the use cases for these platforms isn't limited to movies and TV and can be extended to other genres such as sports, concerts, and event-driven broadcasts. While VideoCoin and Theta are currently squaring up to take on the video NFT markets, there are other plays entering this space. Audius is attempting to do for music what VideoCoin and Theta are doing for video, and there are opportunities for these new platforms to expand into new verticals in future. Minor believes that the NFT revolution is only just beginning and has an ambitious vision for the future stating, I think NFTs will go places that have not been described yet, and even that NFTs as an acronym will disappear. Your drivers license is an NFT. Its an object digitally stored that confers ownership. That idea is known; it just does not use blockchain yet. Whats happened is the industry has stumbled into the most important enterprise use case, the one IBM has been describing in millions of dollars of advertising. Crypto has seized upon that same technology and now its turned into a new kind of gold rush. Its interesting companies like IBM couldnt understand what they had. Of course, all of this assumes that theres a market of eager fans willing to buy NFTs for the opportunity of owning their favorite media title and new swag. When considering the market for movies and TV shows, there was an established market of DVD collectors that existed before streaming came along, so it seems plausible that fans with a propensity to collect would wish to re-engage. Image by Christian Braun via hobbyDB Digital Merchandising and Memorabilia Projects are already paving the way for digital movie memorabilia. One example is Terra Virtua which has previously released NFTs based on content officially licensed by the Godfather trilogy. OpenSea also offers a selection of digital movie poster NFTs. So far, the offerings have been limited to already-released movies. However, if the appetite for NFTs sustains, it seems realistic we could soon see digital movie merchandise used to promote upcoming releases. Mogul Productions, a decentralized film financing project, has highlighted the market gap here, and Forest Road, an NFT platform for independent filmmakers, raises the idea of indie filmmakers monetizing NFTs as a means of funding their work. Lisa Sun, President at Mogul Productions, believes that these new ways of financing could spark a new trend for indie filmmaking, stating: There are too many great films out there not getting made, due to the studios holding all of the power and making it nearly impossible for the little guys, including indie filmmakers and movie fans, to have their voices heard. With NFTs, movie fans can engage with the filmmakers and their favorite projects in deeper, more meaningful ways, from voting for which films they want to watch, to earning engagement points that are redeemable for prizes like one-of-a-kind film posters, red carpet tickets, and invitations to exclusive events. A series of exclusive NFTs released for the feature film Deadpool 2 by Atom Tickets, Marvel, Fox Filmed Entertainment for people who had purchased a movie ticket. This was also done with Sony and Goosebumps with a set of digital trading cards that use blockchain technology to guarantee their authenticity. Both NFTs were co-developed and offered on the GFT Exchange. Theres even a buzzing secondary market for this kind of merchandise, which ties into another benefit of NFTs programmable revenue sharing. Someone selling an NFT digital movie poster or collectible via a secondary market thats programmed to do so, can automatically redistribute a share of sales to the rights holders, creating a further incentive for studios and filmmakers to get involved. IP Owners Finally Get To Know Their Fans For 100 years the film business has been hidden behind the cloak of distributors and has never been able to establish a one to one relationship with movie goers. Early day theatrical and exhibitor releases, to movie rental and Big Box chains, to todays streaming services are built on the backs of Hollywoods intellectual property owners who own the fan relationships. Mitch Chait, Co-Founder of GFT says, The big blockchain opportunity for all IP owners is the ability to engage and exchange value directly with customers. In 2016 GFT began to invent ways to leverage the unique proposition of using Blockchain and NFTs to build such relationships. Using catalog and new productions they helped their customers develop properties that resulted in meaningful and sustainable revenues streams for them, and value and excitement for their customers, a win-win. This is just the beginning or the courting stage of these newfound relationships, says Chait, IP owners can now target and engage their customers directly, through a fully disintermediated value chain, driving efficiencies on their end, which enables their ability to give more value with greater frequency and delight to customers. With this model, studios can redirect promotional and marketing spend directly into the pockets of fans. The emergence of super-fans can be attributed to value driven promotions that include NFTs born from rare snippets from a popular film, to premiere tickets and soon to be released films. Legendary film maker Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling, Trailers From Hell), has created a series of NFTs to influence fans to connect and engage with new productions. This also extends beyond film and to all IP. In the last month GFT enabled several popular entertainment icons to develop NFTs and campaigns to drive awareness, retention and excitement around their products and releases, including the NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming, bundling his premiere Yao Family Wines The Chop with an NFT and legendary comic icon George Lopezs launch of his new line of beer at Kroger using NFTs as a collectible promotion. For IP owners, the blockchain is a two-way highway lined with essential psychographic data leading to customers where value flows both ways, said Jonas Hudson, Co-Founder GFT, and an ex-Warner Bros promotions and marketing executive, By leveraging blockchain and NFTs, studios can now monetize down to the pixel, literally. The Studios have spent decades uncovering ways to derive value from catalog and movie props and weve taken this model to a whole new level by converting catalog and prop properties into compelling and perpetual revenues streams, our secret sauce at GFT. The future for IP owners is bright, as more money, data, transparency and connectivity to fans occurs, todays friction from middleman will become a thing of the past, adds Hudson. Nobody is suggesting that the film industry attempts to recreate the hype-driven NFT bubble weve seen in early 2021. A more sustainable approach would be to replicate the success of markets in physical merchandise and limited-edition DVDs, but in a 21st century digital NFT format with new concepts for fan economies and one to one engagement, that is environmentally friendlier and accessible to everyone. Most of the world is non-fungible and everything than can be tokenized will be. Get your tickets, popcorn, and a front row seat for this epic commercial thriller, coming soon to an NFT near you.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencewintermeyer/2021/06/01/are-movies-and-streaming-the-next-frontier-for-nfts/
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Could Discount Weed Fix California's Black Market Marijuana Problem?
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For decades, the cannabis movement promised that if we legalized weed, wed get rid of the black markets for it. Organized crime syndicates, street gangs, and shady basement dealers would go out of business if they had to compete with legal pot shops. Or so the logic went. But that promise hasnt materialized in California, which began recreational cannabis sales in 2018. In fact, analysts estimate that the illicit weed game generates three times the revenue as legal sales ($9 billion and $3 billion, respectively). Furthermore, there may be as much as three times more unlicensed pot shops in California than licensed ones (2,835 unlicensed versus 873 licensed ones, according to recent estimates). The problem has become so unmanageable that Governor Newsom ordered the states National Guard to aid local police during raids on black marketeers last summer. Then the state kicked off a public awareness campaign on billboards dubbed #WeedWise which encourages folks in California to buy only from the legal market. Cali is unlike other places with adult-use regulations. For starters, its the largest cannabis market in the US if not the world . Its also the birthplace of todays legalization movement , as California approved the first medical marijuana program back in 1995. Ironically, its because of that rich, sordid history that the Golden State is in a royal mess today . When California first approved medical marijuana, there was no business licensing system in place. Most medical weed was grown in private residences, then donated or sold untaxed to patients. In the years following 1995, the state enacted a new regulatory framework that eventually established business licenses for cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers, and delivery services. Now, there are strict rules for everything from the widths of doorways to the heights of shelves at cannabis businesses, ultimately creating a series of hurdles that complicate things for cannabis entrepreneurs looking to sell through the recreational market. But the unlicensed (or traditional) market never went away. In fact, Californias black market flourished alongside medical and recreational legalization and it still does to this day. Unfortunately, theres no easy answer. Its partially because a lot of people refuse to leave the traditional market, either due to loyalty for the old-school way of operating, or the insanely high price of getting licensed in the legal weed game. Startup costs for a new cannabis business can easily reach into the millions, a consequence of attorneys fees, annual licensing fees, high rents, and the astronomical prices of manufacturing equipment, for starters. And all of these costs lead to additional expenses for the consumer, who has to make up for the differences in operating costs. In contrast, the black market doesnt have to deal with these same expenses, hence why unlicensed weed can be sold much cheaper than the legal stuff. To give you an idea of the price differences between states with legal markets, lets take a look at Colorado. You can buy an ounce of legal cannabis in the Centennial State for as low as $80, with tax included. But depending on where you are in California, an ounce can sell for as high as $400 before tax. Taxes are a big part of it. The state taxes legal weed at nearly every step of the seed-to-sale process, from planting seeds to cultivating mature plants to the final sale at the cash register. Depending on the context, the tiered tax system for Calis legal weed can reach as high as 30 to 50 percent, when taken altogether. But taxes alone dont explain the bloated prices. There are a bunch of other overhead costs to consider. For instance, all licensed cannabis companies must regularly send their products for lab testing, also dictated by state law. Each test can run over $1,000 a pop, and when you account for some companies producing and processing hundreds if not thousands of batches per financial quarter, thats a lot of additional overhead. (Though, admittedly, this is probably one regulatory cost that the industry and its customers can get behind especially after the recent vaping ordeal.) Then there are all the other factors affecting price points, like the fact that new regulations have, in the very recent past, forced the industry to destroy (or divert onto the black markets, ironically) an estimated $350 million worth of previously compliant products. Not to mention that no licensed pot company anywhere in the US can make standard business deductions on their tax returns. In other words, they pay in full for all overhead costs . They cant deduct employee payroll (the largest expense at any company), cost of supplies or equipment, licensing fees, or fees paid out to attorneys, accountants, or consultants. No other business in the US suffers from that kind of financial handicap. Taken altogether, these factors mean Calis cannabis operators are constantly hit with big expenses, and those losses get passed onto the customers. And sure, legal weed is lab tested for quality, potency, and safety, whereas black market weed could contain anything from carcinogenic pesticides to human poo . At the moment, it may look like Californias legal weed industry was doomed from inception. But there may be a solution in sight, and it boils down to simple economics. Legal California cannabis companies are starting to offer products at significantly lower prices than the states current (legal market) averages. Although these discounted products arent competing on a totally even playing field with black marketeers, licensed companies expect that their lower price points will encourage more customers to ditch the unregulated space. Sometimes, people are forced to choose between safe products and products they can afford, said Ted Lichtenberger, the co-founder of Flower Co. cannabis delivery service. Were offering affordability to pull people from the illicit market into the legal one. Described as the Costco of Cannabis , Flower Co. sells weed only as quarter-ounces or more, and only by delivery. Any adult age 21 or over can buy from Flower Co., but exclusive members who pay an annual fee of $119 can get up to 40 percent off. While that membership fee may seem steep at first glance, think about how 40-percent price slices adds up for the consumer. For instance, if Flower Co.s Forbidden Fruit strain usually sells for $192 an ounce, members can get that same ounce for just $142. After the first three one-ounce purchases, the companys membership fee basically pays for itself. Tech-savvy potheads may also want to look into Splitbud , a company that offers regular delivery-only deals on legal weed. Splitbud is partnered with two dispensaries in the LA area, though its operations are expanding. The way the California market has been going, theres a need for selling cannabis in an affordable manner, said Splitbuds Director of Communications, Alice Moon. She explained that Splitbuds discounts can reach up to 65 percent, with some buds selling for about $50 a quarter ounce, which is closer to Colorados pricing than much of Californias. And though the companys main focus is on flower, they also offer discounts for other weed products like edibles. However, like Flower Co., to get the discount, youll need to buy in bulk of at least one quarter ounce or more. The above mentioned businesses have all slashed their prices by selling cannabis in quarter ounces or greater amounts. This is how wholesale and bulk purchases work, even in underground markets: The more you buy at once, the more you save. Loudpack Farms , and its discount-weed brand Dime Bag , has your back. Dime Bag is branded as an affordable cannabis product line offered by the gram rather than the quarter or ounce. Although the company wouldnt reveal exactly how it keeps costs low, a Loudpack representative said the companys vertical integration model contributes to its pricing structure. Vertical integration is a common concept in business, and legal cannabis has cashed in on it, too. Vertical integration means the business handles its product production, distribution, quality control, and sales all in-house. So, Loudpack grows its own weed; processes some of it for extracts, vapes, and edibles; and then sells it through its own distribution network. There are no middle men or brokers skimming fees or adding additional costs. According to Danny Corral, the vice president of sales at Loudpack, selling cannabis by the gram appeals to every demographic, not just the casual or lightweight weekend toker. Whats great about Dime Bag is that baby boomers, who are the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis consumers, identify and understand what a dime bag is and can enjoy the nostalgia of their era, he wrote to MERRY JANE in an email. While at the same time, Dime Bag products are also enjoyed by millennials and everyone in between. Despite the various approaches to lower cannabis pricing in California, trying to further reduce costs under the current regulatory scheme will prove incredibly difficult. Just minimizing overhead cant solve Californias black market problem. The issue is systemic, and its built directly into the tax structures for the states legal weed. In 2018, when the market was super-volatile, I was working for one of my distribution partners, said Kyle Walton, the founder of the skater brand Devils Lettuce, to MERRY JANE in an email. I purchased a pound of flower, a mix of trim and small buds, for $100 and ended up paying a $148 per-pound tax on that same pound. That means hed been charged a whopping 148 percent tax, which is unheard of in any other industry in the US. If the people in charge want to find the sweet spot where everyone wants to get into the legal market, then it has to be taxed fairly, he added. Devils Lettuce is one California-based outfit that provides discounted weed. The brand is by pro-skaters, for skaters . And it offers other accessories like clothing, too. To keep costs down, Devils Lettuce only offers its weed in half-ounce sacks for about $70 on average. The weed also comes in a plain plastic ziplock bag, just like it was done in the days of prohibition. One lobbyist , who has worked closely with Californias regulators both inside and outside of the cannabis industry, suggested that state officials should take a three-pronged approach to price-points and outcompeting the black market: Slash the tiered tax rates, ramp up counter-drug law enforcement, and get more jurisdictions to issue more weed business licenses. We gotta give them a fighting chance, said Adam Spiker, the executive director of the Southern California Coalition , referring to Californias legal operators. I dont know many licensed members who are doing well. In fact, most of them have either shut down and given up, or theyre taking out high interest loans just to pay the bills. Spiker said that a significant tax relief bill is required to fix the taxation issue, but even that wont be enough. Earlier this year, the legislature introduced Assembly Bill 286 , the Temporary Cannabis Tax Relief bill, which would drop the excise tax on weed from 15 to 11 percent . Cultivation taxes would temporarily be suspended as well, but the bills provisions expire in 2022, just two years after the relief would go into effect. It would require another time-consuming, painstaking legislative process to extend the bill or make it permanent. But even if AB 286 alleviates some of the industrys (and states) current black market woes, just slashing taxes may end up serving as a mere band-aid over a fresh gunshot wound. Since nearly 80 percent of Californias jurisdictions have banned, or opted-out of allowing recreational pot shops in their areas, a lot of Californians have to drive hours out of the way just to reach a dispensary. Given that California has some of the highest gas prices in the country, its much easier and a lot cheaper for consumers in these opted-out districts to just buy their weed off the street. Furthermore, both Spiker and Corral at Loudpack said the states law enforcement efforts against black marketeers needed more teeth. Although state counter-drug operations for illegal pot farms and storefronts got a lot of media fanfare earlier this year, neither individual was convinced that the state has actually done much besides posture for the press. Spiker described Californias law enforcement against illicit pot shops as whack-a-mole. So, when the state or city authorities shut down one shop, another pops up just as fast. I dont think its been taken seriously enough, Spiker continued. A lot of regulators have been talking about the need for more enforcement, but its not been happening quick enough. There needs to more deterrence in the enforcement, such as prosecuting landlords who own the buildings used to front illicit pot shops, but its going to be hard to stop them all. For now, figuring out creative and novel ways to reduce overhead costs may be the cannabis industrys only avenue for competing with the black market. Discounting commercial cannabis could act as an excellent way to convert customers on the unlicensed markets into the regulated one, but its a temporary solution. The industry is essentially fighting with both arms tied behind its back while its body is tied to a chair. In order for the legal markets to truly compete with the black market, legal weed must match or beat the prices offered on the streets. And that will never happen until Californias government revises its rules and starts treating legal cannabis like any other industry, rather than as some dangerous, stigmatized vice that must bribe its way into legitimacy.
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https://merryjane.com/culture/could-discount-weed-fix-californias-black-market-marijuana-problem
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