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Has the US Government Been Supplying Hemp Instead of Marijuana for Research?
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A new study found that the cannabis supplied by the US government genetically resembles hemp way more than it does marijuana. The study , conducted at the University of Northern Colorado, compared the governments weed to other sample groups, which included industrial hemp and commercial cannabis, further divided into three subgroups (indica, sativa, and hybrid). Genetic analyses showed the governments cannabis shared more in common with hemp than it did with the commercial stuff, reports Marijuana Moment . Thats bad news for researchers, who require higher-quality weed to study the plants effects on sick people. In order to do research with cannabis, scientists are only allowed to use plant material provided by a government-run facility at the University of Mississippi. For years, researchers have complained that the governments weed contains incredibly low amounts of THC and CBD, two principal plant compounds with medical properties . One of those researchers is Dr. Donald Abrams, an oncologist based at the University of California-San Francisco. In 2014, he told Vox that the quality of the buds supplied to him for cancer research was so subpar he ended the project before it even began. But that was back in 1999. Today, researchers say its much easier to get government approval for weed research, but considerable hurdles remain. For example, if they receive approval, theyre guaranteed bricks of seedy, crumbly weed that even the Mexican cartels wouldnt sell. Fortunately for scientists, the situation may soon improve. Last summer, the DEA announced it would increase the production of marijuana for scientific research, and it would work on increasing the quality, too. In the US, hemp is defined as cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC, the intoxicating chemical produced by the plant. Marijuana is legally defined as cannabis with more than 0.3 percent THC. Most state-legal commercial and medical marijuana contains around 15 to 25 percent THC.
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https://merryjane.com/news/has-the-us-government-been-supplying-hemp-instead-of-marijuana-for-research
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Will Copa America Delay Help Messi And Argentina?
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The one-year postponement of the Copa America gave Argentina vital time as they sought to avoid squandering probably the most precious asset ever granted to any international team in football history. A yawning gap remains in Lionel Messi's glittering collection of honours. At club level, the Barcelona superstar has won it all, won it again and won it some more just for good measure. For Argentina, he is yet to lift a major honour. Rather than an international tournament, Messi spent the last close-season negotiating his next move which ultimately meant staying in Catalonia. His contract is up again in 2021, but the legendary forward must also negotiate the rearranged Copa this time. Realistically, this tournament and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar represent his final shots at glory for La Albiceleste, with the nagging sense his best chance to emulate the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona with a defining triumph at the highest level might already have passed him by. THE GOLDEN GENERATION Over recent years, Messi has frequently appeared wearied as a man carrying the weight of his team on his shoulders for club and country. Of course, this was not always the case. At Barcelona he was the shimmering jewel in Pep Guardiola's slick and sublime masterpiece before starring as part of Luis Enrique's turbo-charged MSN forward line. Argentina's more forlorn efforts of late make it easy to forget what a defining generation of talent Messi once spearheaded. Any heavyweight football nation collecting back-to-back Olympic gold medals, as Argentina did in 2004 and 2008, would reasonably expect the senior honours to follow with or without arguably the greatest of all time at their disposal. Names from those podiums in Athens and Beijing trip off the tongue. Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez, Javier Saviola, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando Gago, Ever Banega, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero are all Olympic champions. At the 2010 World Cup, the fairytale combination of Messi and the Messiah the late Maradona inimitably entertaining but evidently ill-cast as head coach fell to Germany in the quarter-finals. Die Mannschaft also beat them in 2014 this time as Mario Gotze scored the only goal in the final during extra time. Alejandro Sabella's steadying hand brought them to the brink of sporting immortality and Messi was named player of the tournament, despite some underwhelming showings by his own standards. NEAR MISSES, RETIREMENT AND SHAMBLES Gerardo Martino managed not to win a major trophy when he led Barcelona in 2013-14 and, unfortunately for Messi, history repeated during his tenure with the national team. Gonzalo Higuain missed a glorious chance in the World Cup final and he and Banega erred from the spot as Chile won the 2015 Copa America in a penalty shoot-out. Against the same opponents at the Copa America Centenario 12 months later, Messi himself failed amid further heartache from 12 yards. As emotions ran high in the aftermath, the number 10 announced his retirement from international football, with rumours other stars would follow suit due to disaffection with the Argentine Football Association. By the time Messi returned for a 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Brazil that November, Edgardo Bauza's tenure as head coach was already on the rocks. Jorge Sampaoli replaced him and Argentina needed an utterly majestic hat-trick from their talisman away to Ecuador to snatch a place at Russia 2018. Perhaps they shouldn't have bothered. Having brought Argentina to their knees while in charge of Chile, Sampaoli inadvertently did the same again during a shambling turn ended by eventual champions France in the last 16. There was a near revolt after a group-stage thrashing from Croatia and the coach left with his reputation in tatters. LIONEL, LIONEL AND LAUTARO Star names such as Martino and Sampaoli not working out probably help the cause of the unheralded Lionel Scaloni, who emerged from the rubble of Russia to take temporary and then full charge. The 2019 Copa America got off to a similarly inauspicious start, but they scrambled out of the group and were arguably a little unlucky to lose 2-0 to hosts and eventual winners Brazil in the semis. A feisty third-place match against Chile was won 2-1 thanks to goals form Aguero and Paulo Dybala, despite Messi bizarrely getting sent for being repeatedly butted by Gary Medel. An indignant post-match interview brought a four-game ban, although a more vocal Messi leading through words as well as deeds was a pleasing development. In his absence, 4-0 and 6-1 wins over Mexico and Ecuador suggested brighter times ahead with a younger core. Goals in the early stages of World Cup qualifying this season have been slightly more sparse six in four games but Argentina have still taken 10 points to remain unbeaten, second to Brazil in the standings. Lautaro Martinez has been involved in half of those qualifying goals (two goals, one assist) and has now firmly established himself as the number one option at centre-forward, where Argentina's surplus of riches makes their lack of reward so embarrassing. Going slightly further back, since Scaloni first took charge, the Inter star has 11 goals in 20 games averaging one every 120.3 minutes and outstripping his expected goals (xG) figure of 7.8. Messi has six goals at 193.7 minutes per goal from an xG of 8.0 over the same period. European club form coming back home to the national team has not always been a given during the Messi years, as evidenced by that slightly more ordinary return, so it is encouraging to see Martinez scoring at a faster rate under Scaloni than he has to date during his 100-game Serie A career (37 goals at one every 172.4 minutes). THE NEW GENERATION Aguero a regular until Martinez came to the fore may still have a role to play in trying to right a journey of heartache he has charted alongside Messi in blue and white. But Scaloni has come to rely on new faces as he quietly shapes a team in his own image. Moulding the ramshackle embarrassment of three years ago into a compact and hard-working unit necessitated high-profile casualties. A pair of substitute appearances in November were Di Maria's first international outings since being dropped during the Copa. Paulo Dybala is fit again but seemingly now no longer even a bench option in the coach's eyes. Argentina's all-action midfield creator is now Udinese's Rodrigo de Paul, whose 122 completed dribbles led Serie A this season, while his 18 goal involvements (nine goals, nine assists) ranked joint-third among midfielders. Di Maria's Paris Saint-Germain colleague Leandro Paredes has started alongside De Paul in each qualifier to date, and Giovani Lo Celso has two assists in just 159 minutes of international action this season. Disappointingly, winger Nicolas Gonzalez has been dogged by thigh injuries since scoring twice in November. With a goal every 155.8 minutes in the Bundesliga this term, he had been one of those set to profit from the Copa's new date. Selection has also been consistent in defence this season, but German Pezzella's ill-timed injury absence meant Lucas Martinez Quarta was the Fiorentina defender allowed to settle in the heart of the back line. Pezzella a stand-in captain for the national team not so long ago remains the main man in Florence, playing 32 league games to Martinez's 21, yet his younger colleague averages more tackles (1.9), interceptions (2.4) and blocks (0.6) per 90 minutes. It looks like a case of either/or next to Nicolas Otamendi and his frequent reversions to slapstick, although Atalanta duo Cristian Romero and Jose Luis Palomino are also both now in the mix. Elsewhere, despite the new call-ups Emiliano Buendia is another debut option but has been plying his trade in the Championship Scaloni's reliance on a steady XI might hint at a lack of depth. When the Copa was delayed by 12 months, one of world football's heavyweights might have hoped for more than the development of Inter's second-best striker and a wealth of defensive options in the meantime. Instead, the narrative remains frustratingly familiar: Argentina need Messi to fire.
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https://www.beinsports.com/us/copa-america/video/will-copa-america-delay-help-messi-and-argent/1696797
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How Many Episodes Are There In 'The Kominsky Method' Season 3 Starring Michael Douglas?
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The Kominsky Method came to an emotional conclusion at the end of season 3. The final season of the show was aired on Netflix after a wait of two long years. The Kominsky Method season 3 was released on May 28, 2021. The show follows the story of Sandy Kominsky who was once a hit star but now is a revered acting coach. Season 3 of The Kominsky Method has the shortest run as compared to its predecessors. The Kominsky Method season 3 had only 6 episodes as compared to the previous two seasons which had eight episodes each. The total episodes of The Kominsky Method combining all three seasons of the show come to twenty-two. Each episode is written by Chuck Lore, with occasional co-writing by Al Higgins and David Javerbaum for each season. A look at The Kominsky Method season 3 cast The Kominsky Method Season 3 cast saw the comeback of the main lead Sandy Kominsky played by veteran actor Michael Douglas. Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and director Barry Levinson also appeared as a fictionalised version of themselves of the show. Alan Larkin, who played the role of Norman Newlander on the show, departed in season 3. Christine Ebersole plays the role of Estelle, Martin Schneider's mother. Sarah Baker appears as Mindy Kominsky, Sandy's daughter who runs the acting studio with him. Paul Reiser plays the role of Martin Schneider who is Mindy's boyfriend on the show. Haley Joel Osment plays the role of Phoebe's son, Robby. Phoebe is Sandy's estranged daughter and also suffers from drug addiction. Kathleen Turner appears as Dr Roz Volander, Sandy's ex-wife. About The Kominsky Method The Kominsky Method follows Sandy Kominsky as he navigates his life as an ageing acting coach, his familial and professional relationships. The series has won two Golden Globe Awards in 2019. The show focuses on the life of the two leads Sandy Kominsky and Norman Newlander as they deal with life and ageing they question their existence and struggle with new choices and relationships. The show takes its title from "The Kominsky Method" the acting studio owned by Sandy Kominsky in the show. (Image: Michael Douglas' Instagram) Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
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https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/web-series/how-many-episodes-are-there-in-the-kominsky-method-season-3-starring-michael-douglas.html
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Why supporting MSMEs during Covid -19 will help socially backward groups?
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With State governments imposing restrictions and lockdowns to control the second Covid-19 wave, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the country are once again witnessing business disruptions. Various industrial bodies have demanded more relief to the MSME sector to support them in such difficult times. The data available with the Ministry of MSME show that helping the sector would help socially backward groups to combat the pandemic. The Ministrys annual report 2020-21 shows that socially backward groups own almost 66.27 per cent of MSMEs. The bulk of that is owned by OBCs (49.72 per cent). The representation of SC and ST owners in the sector is low at 12.45 per cent and 4.10 per cent respectively. Rural areas have reported more Covid-19 cases in many States. And in rural areas, almost 73.67 per cent of MSMEs are owned by socially backward groups, of which 51.59 per cent belong to the OBCs. In urban areas, almost 58.68 per cent belong to the socially backward groups, of which 47.80 per cent belong to the OBCs. The report has used the National Sample Survey (NSS) 73rd round survey (2015-16) data. The analysis of enterprises owned by socially backward groups in each of the three segments of the MSME sector reveals that the micro sector had 66.42 per cent of enterprises owned by the socially backward group, whereas small and medium sectors had 36.80 per cent and 24.94 per cent of enterprises owned by socially backward groups, respectively. MSME employment The sector has been creating 11.10 crore jobs (360.41 lakh in manufacturing, 0.07 lakh in non-captive electricity generation and transmission, 387.18 lakh in trade and 362.82 lakh in other services) in the rural and urban areas. The MSME sector has contributed significantly over the last five years by fostering entrepreneurship and generating large employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital cost, next only to agriculture. Widening domain MSMEs are complementary to large industries as ancillary units and contribute significantly in the inclusive industrial development of the country. The MSMEs are widening their domain across sectors of the economy, producing a diverse range of products and services to meet the demands of domestic as well as global markets. Males dominate in ownership of proprietary MSMEs holding 79.63 per cent of enterprises compared to 20.37 per cent owned by females. There is no significant deviation in this pattern in urban and rural areas, although the dominance of male-owned enterprises was slightly more pronounced in urban areas compared to rural areas (81.58 per cent as compared to 77.76 per cent).
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https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/why-supporting-msmes-during-covid-19-will-help-socially-backward-groups/article34701707.ece
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Where To Watch The Telugu Adult Comedy Film 'Ek Mini Katha' Starring Santosh Shobhan?
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Ek Mini Katha has finally found a home after much delay. The film was supposed to release in theatres on April 30, but owing to the pandemic situation, it premiered online on an OTT platform. Read on to find out where to watch Ek Mini Katha and other details about the film. Ek Mini Katha was supposed to release in the theatres first. The teasers and posters for the same were released accordingly. But, owing to the aggravated pandemic situation all over the country, the release was postponed. The makers of the film soon sold the rights to an OTT platform. Now, the film has found a place on the popular online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. The world premiere of the adult comedy film took place on May 27, 2021. Amazon Prime Video announced the same via their Twitter handle, a week before the film's release. The trailer for the film was released online as well. About Ek Mini Katha's plot Ek Mini Katha is an adult comedy film. It follows the life of Santosh, played by actor Santhosh Shobhan, who suffers from a psychological problem that causes him to get insecure as well. He falls in love with Amrutha, played by Kavya Thapar and rethinks his decision to not marry at all. What follows next is the comical story involving Santosh, his family and friends as he tries to find a solution for his problem. A look at the cast of Ek Mini Katha Ek Mini Katha stars Santosh Shobhan in the lead role. He is known for films like Thanu Nenu and Paper Boy. The movie also stars Kavya Thapar who plays Amrutha. Kavya Thapar has previously worked in Telugu and Tamil films like Ee Maya Premito and Market Raja MBBS, respectively. Both movies marked her debut in the respective film industries. Popular Telugu actor Posani Krishna Murali is seen as a doctor in the film. His character is that of a comical doctor. Other cast members of the film include popular names from the Telugu film industry like Bramhaji, Harsha Vardhan, Duvvasi Mohan, Saptagiri, among others. (Image: Amazon Prime Video India's Twitter) Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
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https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/web-series/where-to-watch-the-telugu-adult-comedy-film-ek-mini-katha-starring-santosh-shobhan.html
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Are "Sell Signals" Useless In "Mania" Markets?
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Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, A recent Bloomberg article made the case that since 2009 sell signals are useless during mania markets. To wit: If you bailed because of Bollinger Bands, ran away from relative strength or took direction from the directional market indicator in 2021, you paid for it. Its testament to the straight-up trajectory of stocks that virtually all signals that told investors to do anything but buy have done them a disservice this year. In fact, when applied to the S&P 500, 15 of 22 chart-based indicators tracked by Bloomberg have actually lost money, back-testing data show. Investing Based On Hindsight Bloomberg goes on the clarify essential points. Of course, few investors employ technical studies in isolation, and even when they do, they rarely rely on a single charting technique to inform decisions. But if anything, the exercise is a reminder of the futility of calling a market top in a year when the journey has basically been a one-way trip. Bloomberg In the short term, which can even include a 12-year bull market cycle, there are periods where buy and hold investing outperforms any other form of asset management. The problem is that you only know for sure that buy and hold was the proper strategy in hindsight. Most only have a limited amount of time to invest for retirement for investors, so getting it right largely depends on two factors. When you start your investing process; and Avoiding major drawdowns With the vast amount of individuals already vastly under-saved, the current bear market cycle will reveal the full extent of the retirement crisis silently lurking in the shadows. The Fed, Government bailouts, and low interest rates cant fix this problem. Such isnt just about the baby boomers, either. Millennials are haunted by the same problems as their prospects of economic prosperity get set back years. But here is the real problem for baby boomers. Crashes Matter Financial advisors regularly tell clients that the market grew 6% annually since 1900. Therefore, that is what returns will be in the future. The chart below shows $100,000 invested at 6% annually from 2000 or 2007. Unfortunately, it didnt work out that way. During the past 20-years, the annual return for stocks has been just 4.96% annualized. Since the peak of 2007, returns have annualized roughly 8.14%. Over the next decade, current valuations suggest average returns will return to 2% or less. For boomers who start in 2000, whose financial plans assume high return rates to offset a savings shortfall, they are now well short of their retirement goals. For those who started in 2007 they finally got back on track this year. Unfortunately, investment returns are far worse, as a vast majority of fully-invested individuals in 2007 liquidated out of the market by the end of 2008. It took years before they returned to the market. As such, actual returns are vastly different than what the index suggests. Here is the sequence of events by age: 30s: In 1980, the baby boomer generation is working, saving, and investing during the 80-90s bull market. 50s: From 2000 to 2002, the Dot.Com crash cuts investments by 50%. 53-57: From 2003-2007, the market grows savings back to breakeven. 57-58: The 2008 Financial Crisis wipes out 100% of the gains of the previous bull market and resets savings values back to 1995 levels. 58-63: From 2009-2013, financial markets rose, growing savings back to the turn of the century. 63-71: In 2021, investors finally made some progress towards their retirement goals. Today, for most individuals heading into retirement, the importance of mean-reverting events should not be dismissed. A Simple Backtest To successfully invest for the long-term requires the avoidance of the destruction caused by crashes. Such is where even the most basic forms of technical analysis can supplement a good portfolio allocation strategy. Using Portfolio Visualizer, I show a simplistic backtest of a switching model from stocks (SPY) to bonds (TLT.) Tactical asset allocation model results from Aug 2002 to Apr 2021 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is a function of a 10 calendar month simple moving average and 15 calendar month simple moving average crossover. The tactical asset allocation model is invested in the S&P 500 index when the short moving average is greater than or equal to the long moving average. Otherwise, the portfolio is invested in iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). I used this time frame to capture: The post Dot.com crash bull market, The Financial Crisis bear market, And the 12-year Central Bank infused one-way bull market. Portfolio Visualizer illustrates the annual returns and volatility: Just An Example Importantly, this is just an example of how technical analysis can improve returns over a buy and hold strategy during full-market cycles. During a bull cycle, buy and hold will outperform. However, as stated, you wont know when that has changed until it is too late. For example, an individual runs 100 stop signs without consequence and saves an hour driving to work. It is easy to assume that such activity is risk-free because no negative outcome has occurred. On the 101st event, the driver is hit and killed. The same applies to the markets. Just because there has been no consequence to investors taking on excess risk over the last 12-years doesnt mean there wont be. Risks Are Mounting The temptation to book profits and bail is getting hard to resist after the S&P 500s best 12-month rally since the 1930s. Increasing the anxiety are a mountain of charts signaling a market thats stretched to its limits. Bloomberg Bloomberg is correct. Numerous measures are suggesting risk far outpaces reward currently. But technically, the market remains in a bullish trend for now. It is essential to understand that no one ever said you must be 100% allocated to equity risk at all times. The chart below shows three allocation models since 1999: 100% Stocks, 60% Stocks and 40% Bonds, and 100% Bonds. Most would assume that the blue line is 100% stocks. You would be wrong. Since 1999, an all bond portfolio (blue line) and a 60/40 blended allocation (orange line) outperformed investors who were 100% long stocks. The reason is the reduction of capital destruction during mean-reverting events. It is true that over the last 12-years, a 100% stock portfolio grossly outperformed other models. However, given the more extreme valuations, deviations, and speculative activity in the market today, it is unlikely the current streak will go uninterrupted into the future. Investing Isnt A Competition. The markets are indeed currently exceedingly exuberant on many fronts. With margin debt at records, stock prices near all-time highs, and junk bond yields near record lows, the bullish media continues to suggest there is no reason for concern. Of course, such should not be a surprise. At market peaks everyones in the pool. The investors chief problem and even his worst enemy is likely to be himself. Benjamin Graham Such brings up some essential investment guidelines as we head into the last half of the year. Investing is not a competition . There are no prizes for winning but there are severe penalties for losing. Emotions have no place in investing. You are generally better off doing the opposite of what you feel. The ONLY investments that you can buy and hold are those that provide an income stream with a return of principal function. Market valuations (except at extremes) are very poor market timing devices. Fundamentals and Economics drive long-term investment decisions Greed and Fear drive short-term trading. Market timing is impossible managing exposure to risk is both logical and possible. Investment is about discipline and patience. Lacking either one can be destructive to your investment goals. There is no value in daily media commentary turn off the television and save the mental capital. Investing is no different than gambling both are guesses about future outcomes based on probabilities. No investment strategy works all the time. The trick is knowing the difference between a bad investment strategy and one that is temporarily out of favor.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/are-sell-signals-useless-mania-markets?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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Should taxes on petro products be reduced?
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Petrol and diesel prices have been galloping at the retail level in the last couple of months, and in some places petrol has breached the 100/litre mark. The Central Government is facing lot of criticism on this score. To understand the issues involved, all the components of petroleum products production and distribution should be analysed dispassionately. First, India is heavily dependent on the import of crude to meet its oil requirements. Petroleum exporting countries, on their part, try to keep the price of crude as high possible. And to achieve this, they generally enter into agreements to keep the production lower. When Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had urged the producers group to ease output curbs to fulfil their promise of stable oil prices, the response was not positive. The price of crude during March 2020 was $32.01 a barrel. During the period November 2020 to March 2021, the price was on a steady rise, at $42.69, $49.99, $54.77, $62.28 and $65.41 respectively (www.statista.com). Second, oil marketing companies now fix the price of end-products based on their own cost of production plus reasonable margin of profit. Earlier, under the administered price mechanism, the companies were facing losses and they had to be bailed out using taxpayers money. The oil marketing companies, therefore, cannot be expected to absorb the increased imported price of raw crude to help the end- consumer. Third, oil refining companies are importing crude by paying in dollars. During the last one year, the rupee has depreciated by 1.75 per cent and this has to be naturally loaded into the retail price of petroleum products. Fourth, the cost of refining and distribution up to the last mile has been on the rise. Fifth, the role of Central and State taxes. Central excise duty accounts for 39 per cent of the price of petrol and 42.5 per cent of that of diesel. After considering local sales tax or VAT, the total tax incidence is about two-thirds of the retail rate. The public expect that the taxes should be reduced by the government, so as to offset the increase in crude price. According to 15th Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, India is below its tax potential to the extent of about 4 per cent of GDP. This is a lot that is, about 25 per cent of the total taxes collected by the Centre and States. Any government needs funds for its various activities and the avenues open are either to borrow or to tax. It is prudent to tax where the leakage is minimum and where it is easier to administer. Tax on petroleum products is easy to administer and the chances of tax evasion are remote. Curb consumption As petro products are not under GST now, the Central and State governments tax them separately. State governments expect the Centre to reduce its tax. The Finance Minister recently said that if the Centre reduces the tax, some State governments may increase their tax and, thereby, nullify the cut. At least when the tax is on petro products, the users pay the tax without any cross-subsidy by others. Indias crude oil imports in December soared to their highest level in nearly three years to around five million barrels a day as the refiners cranked up output to meet a rebound in fuel demand. As crude imports involve huge outflow of foreign exchange, consumption of petroleum products cannot be encouraged by artificially lowering the price. In fact, only when the price is high, there will be incentive to look for alternative sources of energy. As pointed out by Dharmendra Pradhan, High oil prices could benefit a group of producing nations but if you push customers that could lead us to find alternatives. The government may try to bring petro products under GST. And there is no point is reducing the tax on petrol and diesel and increasing it on other items. People must accept the reality and either be willing to pay more or reduce their consumption. After all, those who own motor vehicles are not the poorest of the poor or below the poverty line. Commercial vehicle owners not only pass on the price increase down the line but try to enrich themselves disproportionately. Such exploitation should be curbed. The writer is a retired banker
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https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/should-taxes-on-petro-products-be-reduced/article34701363.ece
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What does the Norfolk data tell us about Covid easing on June 21?
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Published: 5:00 PM June 1, 2021 Half of people aged over 16 in Norfolk have had two Covid-19 jabs. - Credit: Sonya Duncan Experts are divided over whether the government should push ahead with its road map to lift all coronavirus restrictions on June 21. Two important points to bear in mind are that the government's decision will be based on national, not local, data, and that it will be based on the latest information available in the run-up to that date. The government has said that, at each step of easing restrictions, the assessment will be based on four tests: 1. The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully. Statistics for Norfolk and Waveney are impressive, with the NHS providing than a million vaccination doses so far. Weekly data published by NHS England and NHS Improvement last Thursday showed 76pc of people aged 16 or over had received their first jab - compared to 70pc in England. That ranked Norfolk and Waveney as third out of 42 health and care systems in England. And some 50pc of people aged 16 or over in Norfolk and Waveney had received both vaccinations, compared to 43pc in England. That ranked Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group sixth out of the 42 health and care systems. More recent figures, published on Monday, May 31, not broken down county by county show that across the UK as a whole, almost three-quarters (74.8pc) of the adult population has had their first Covid jab, with almost half (48.5pc) having had their second. 2. Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated. As of Tuesday, May 25 - the latest available figures, there were five patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 in Norfolk's hospitals. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn had four, the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston had one and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital had none. A year ago, that figure was at 108 and, during the peak of the second wave, in December and January, there were days when there were more than 800 cases in Norfolk. Nationally, between May 24 and 30 there were 60 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, an increase of 42.9pc compared with the previous seven days. A further death was reporter on Monday, May 31. No deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday - the first time that happened since July 30 last year. The government also said that, as of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 3,165 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. 3. Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS. Coronavirus case rates for England stood at 27.2 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to Wednesday, May 26. That was an increase of 23pc on the previous seven days. Norfolk remains below the national average, with 13.8 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to May 26. However, that rate has gone up by 41pc on the previous week. The rate was 9.8 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to Wednesday, May 19. The low numbers in Norfolk overall mean just a handful of cases can mean large percentage changes. Breckland saw the biggest increase - up 224pc from 10.7 cases per 100,000 to 33.6 cases. Broadland's rate increase from 8.4 cases per 100,000 to 15.3 cases per 100,000 was an 84pc rise. Great Yarmouth has one of the country's lowest coronavirus case rates. - Credit: James Bass But Great Yarmouth was down 57pc, from seven cases per 100,000 to just three - the seventh lowest case rate in England. The fall from 9.2 cases per 100,000 to 4.3 in South Norfolk was a drop of 53pc, while North Norfolk was up 51pc from 5.7 cases per 100,000 to 8.6. Cases in Norwich were up 11pc, from 14.2 per 100,000 to 15.7, while King's Lynn and West Norfolk rose by 6pc, up from 11.2 cases per 100,000 to 11.9. 4. Assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern. The emergence of the Indian. or B.1.617.2, strain of the virus is one of the prime reasons why some scientists are calling for a delay in the June 21 further easing of restrictions. It is thought to be more transmissible than the Kent variant and is causing the majority of infections in 'hot spots' such as Bedford, Bolton, Blackburn, Chelmsford and Canterbury. In the seven days up to Saturday, May 22, 8,250 of England's 13,170 Covid-19 cases were caused by the Indian variant - a total of 63pc. That was up on the 3,867 cases over the previous seven days, when the Indian variant was behind 33pc of the total 11,755 cases. Norfolk has had about 15 cases of the Indian variant - and no new cases in the past week. Cases have been identified in Breckland, South Norfolk, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Broadland. The Pizer Covid-19 vaccine is 88pc effective against that variant after two doses and the AstraZeneca jab is 60pc effective, a study by Public Health England found. However, they were only 33pc effective three weeks after the first jab.
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https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/coronavirus-rates-for-norfolk-8018732
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What do the Toronto Maple Leafs do now after another disappointment?
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If you are the Maple Leafs there can only be one question rattling around inside your heads today. Of all of the postseason shortcomings over the past two decades. All of the disappointments. All of the missed opportunities. This has to be the one that they look at and, I dont know, just scream in anger. This was the season. This was the team. Everything was lined up perfectly right in front of them. Maybe not to win the Stanley Cup, but to at least give their fans a reason to believe in them and a reason to celebrate them. They did not have to worry about Boston or Tampa Bay until the semifinals. They were in a division and a playoff format where they should have been heavy favorites in the first two rounds. It maybe should not have been a cakewalk to the semifinals, but it was the most manageable path they were ever going to get. Then they fell flat on their face in a way that only the Maple Leafs can achieve. After taking a 3-1 series lead against a Canadiens team that had the NHLs 18th-best record, that they beat seven out of 10 times during the regular season (7-2-1), and that they finished 18 points ahead of the standings, they not only managed to lose three consecutive games to lose the series. They. Never. Held. Another. Lead. Not even for one second. Over three games. With the season on the line. With a chance to win a playoff series for the first time in 17 years. They faced deficits of 3-0, 2-0, and 3-0 in each game, and while they managed to at least rally and force overtime in the first two games, they quickly lost both on mind-bending mistakes at the worst possible time. In a vacuum you can forgive a playoff appearance like this. Overreacting to a seven-game sampling can usually have negative long-term effects that make your team worse than it needs to be. Sometimes you have to trust your process and count on the fact you will not always run into a Carey Price going on a three-game heater, or that your stars will score in another series. But this is not a one-time thing. This is a recurring problem, and it seems to be a team that has hit its peak as currently constructed. For five years now the Maple Leafs have shown us who and what they are. They are a very good, but not great team. They will finish somewhere between seventh and 10th in the league standings, they will finish third in their normal division, and they will lose in the First Round. At least those pre-Cup Capitals teams would win the Presidents Trophy on a regular basis, win their division every year, and win a playoff round before running into Pittsburgh. Same with the old Joe ThorntonPatrick Marleau Sharks who would at least make the Western Conference Final on a regular basis. Same with the pre-Cup Lightning. It can not even get by a 14th-ranked Blue Jackets or an 18th-ranked Canadiens team in the First Round. The problem here is not the money they invested in their stars. Pittsburgh, Washington, Tampa Bay all put a significant chunk of their salary cap space into a small number of players and have still found success. It is not a problem if you invest in the right players. I am loath to suggest a team trade its star players because those players are incredibly difficult to find, and you can not win without them on your roster. Auston Matthews had 39 shots in seven games. Thats not so much underperformance as much as it is unlucky. I am not going to crush Mitch Marner for going 18 playoff games without a goal because, believe it or not, it happens. Brad Marchand once went 20 consecutive playoff games without a goal. Jonathan Toews once went 19 games with only one goal in the same postseason. William Nylander actually did produce in this series. But, you also cant hide from the team-wide results. This core group has not won a single thing. If there was some kind success here to build off it would be easier to say stick with the plan. It is just a matter of time. That is not happening. In response to that, the Maple Leafs spent the past year trying to stock their roster with gritty, tough to play against veterans that were supposed to give them an edge in these close playoff games. They traded Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. They brought back Jason Spezza, signed Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Bogosian and T.J. Brodie, and then acquired Nick Foligno and Riley Nash during the season. Outside of maybe Brodie and Spezza, none them fit the way Toronto plays. And outside of Spezza (who was very good), none of them did a single thing in the playoffs. Pick a path, stick with it. Either way, this Toronto team in its current form keeps showing us what they are. It seems like the problem in taking the jump from good to great runs deeper than another coaching change or reshuffling fourth line given the way they keep falling short. The good news is reshaping a significant chunk of the roster should not be a problem. They have 12 unrestricted free agents going into this offseason, and there is no reason to bring back any of them (including Zach Hyman). The problem is they only have $12M in salary cap space to replace them. That is going to make it difficult. Maybe you do move somebody, and somebody significant. Because something is not working here. By year five in this rebuild, and year seven of Brendan Shanahans tenure as team President, they should have more to show than one first place finish in a watered down division and zero trips to the Second Round. Not winning the Cup is not the failure. Doing absolutely nothing is the failure. Because now you are back to a third-place finish and another First Round matchup against a team that is probably better than you. We have all seen that movie before.
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https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2021/06/01/what-do-the-toronto-maple-leafs-do-now/
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Is Berner Getting Ready to Start a Cookies Skate Team?
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Lead image via Berner does it all. The owner of the Cookies cannabis brand is responsible for some of the industrys most hyped strains and clothing. Hes also a rapper with more than 30 projects under his belt, a marketing mogul with his fingers in everything from G-Pen to his new rolling paper project Vibes, and now a newly-minted podcaster with his new show, The Round Table . On the latest episode, Berner sat down with longtime pro skater Paul Rodriguez to talk Nike deals, the unique avenues of Latinx celebrity, and of course, skateboardings longtime love affair with weed. And while P-Rod abstained from smoking during the show, that didnt stop Berner from lighting up, or from letting us in on his plans to bless a few skaters with a few bags of GSC, Gelato, Cereal Milk, and Georgia Pie. Who do I need to go bless? Berner asked P-Rod. I know weed and skating go hand-in-hand and I wanna provide some of this good herb for some of the boys out there putting in work. And while Rodriguez racked his brain but came up empty on suggestions for a Cookies skate team, here at MERRY JANE, we like to consider ourselves something like experts on that eternal handshake between stunt wood and skunk. Therefore, we figured we could help out with some suggestions. So Berner: if youre looking for a crew of heavy-toking rippers to rep Cookies in the skate world, weve got the squad for you: Kevin Bradley : A SoCal native affectionately known as the Kush Cowboy, Bradley is a stoner savant with the ability to party for months straight without ever losing a step on his board. Bradley is already pro for Fucking Awesome, Supreme , and Nike, so adding a Cookies sponsorship to complement the worlds most hyped brands would fit in perfectly. Brian Delatorre : If theres gonna be a Cookies skate team, theres gotta be at least one San Francisco-based skater on the squad, and Brian Delatorre is the perfect pick. Originally from Florida, De La has made the hills of SF his home, with a joint or blunt constantly close at hand as he flies down the avenues. Come to think of it, GX1000 would make a pretty great strain name. Jamal Smith : Okay, so were a little biased with this one, but if Jamal was your friend, you would be, too. A weed smoker of the highest degree, Jamals mind-bending lines and otherworldly ability to land seemingly every trick he throws with no regard for balance has already outshined his viral fame. And like his current sponsors Palace and Adidas, Cookies would be wise to turn Jamal pro as soon as possible. Stephen Lawyer : Last time we checked , the San Diego stoner with the quickest feet in the West was still a weed company free agent. A Sk8Mafia pro, Lawyer has never shied away from his love for all things reefer, and if Berner is looking for a trendsetter to bring into the Cookies fold, theres really no other choice. Well tune into the next episode of The Roundtable, but take our suggestions to heart. We want a Cookies skate team as much as you, Berner!
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-berner-getting-ready-to-start-a-cookies-skate-team
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Is Israeli Cannabis a Bubble Waiting to Burst?
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Photo via iStock/ stellalevi Though cannabis might be all the buzz these days especially in Israel, where the government has allowed research on medical marijuana since the 1960s Israeli authorities are exercising a great deal of caution when it comes to including cannabis businesses on the national stock exchange. An article published on the Israeli news site Calcalist described the Israel Security Authority (ISA) a chief financial regulator in the country as having "cold feet" following a wave of excitement after shares of cannabis companies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) jumped hundreds of percentage points in a relatively brief period. Despite false rumors to the contrary, the ISA hasn't excluded cannabis companies outright. Rather cannabis firms, like cryptocurrency companies (which have also recently drawn the attention of Israeli regulators, according to Calcalist), are "regularly and constantly examined," explains Offir Eyal, senior advisor to the ISAs chairwoman and director of its international affairs department. Stock valuation and growth of Israeli cannabis companies; chart via Calcallist. But the ISA itself doesn't choose which companies will make it to public indices that's up to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. "[The ISA] can direct TASE to exclude some sort of companies from the indices (as was done recently regarding crypto companies), but beside that TASE runs the show," Eyal explains. Despite Israel's pioneering efforts in the realm of medical marijuana, the Israeli cannabis market is now facing some uncertainty. Whereas the Israeli cannabis industry had recently looked forward to exporting products into Europe and elsewhere, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered all export plans to be frozen for fear of product spilling over to the black market, as well as concerns of upsetting President Trump in the U.S., according to reports. If the freeze isnt lifted, Israeli cannabis firms may face considerable hurdles in growing beyond their small national market. Despite this setback, pot stocks have been hot on the TASE, where cannabis companies, soaring into triple-digit percentages, had overtaken cryptocurrency shares as recently as last month. However investors should be wary, in case pot's triumph on the TASE turns out to be a bubble, according to industry insiders. Saul Kaye, founder and CEO of iCan, who is also an active cannabis and blockchain investor, says that limiting the exposure of mom-and-pop investors is a good thing which keeps their financial risk in check. Experts in the cannabis space tend to agree that the ISA's cautious approach to cannabis might actually be for the better. Its true that cannabis companies may be perceived as "pump-and-dump strategies" by more rapacious stock traders, says Nachshol Cohen, co-founder of cannabis-backed cryptocurrency Cannabium, and so it's good policy, he echoes, that they be supervised carefully by the ISA and TASE. Heavy regulation is good, as long as it's not suffocating, he adds. "Some companies are traded in a very strange manner: Companies that don't even have sales, don't have revenue or plants in the ground are already traded according to a 700 million shekel worth," says Cohen. "It's clearly a bubble, and in Israel they don't know how to address it." As with any other new industry, be it crypto or cannabis, there will be some disruption or uncertainty in the sector, he says. Cohen's own company Cannabium, a cryptocurrency backed by Colombian-grown CBD, will not even be registered on the TASE. "We're not even trying with the Israeli stock exchange; we're just going to the U.S. and Cayman Islands," he says. "I feel sorry for it the Israeli [cannabis] industry has the potential to become worth a few billion, but exports weren't allowed by the government." By the time the government changes its mind on exporting cannabis, the Israeli marijuana industry may already be left behind by more advanced countries like Canada, or even places like Colombia or Uruguay, Cohen suggests. Some companies, Cannabinum included, are even looking for production outside Israel because of the export policy. The environment for canna-business stocks is becoming increasingly favorable abroad, as well. Earlier this year, Canadian company Cronos Group became the first cannabis company to be listed on the U.S. stock exchange, while in Canada alone upward of three dozen cannabis companies are listed on its national exchanges. TASE, however, lists fewer than half a dozen. While the Israeli cannabis stocks will eventually even out, Cohen adds, the ebb and flow of international politics and finance may already put the the marijuana businesses behind them at a disadvantage.
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-israeli-cannabis-a-bubble-waiting-to-burst-stock-exchange-exports
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Is Legal Cannabis Coming to the Caribbean?
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Tourists looking to smoke up on an island getaway may soon be able to do so completely legally. At a recent meeting of The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an organization of 19 island nations including Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, and the Bahamas, the islands' heads of state discussed a new report recommending that all member nations "review marijuana's current status with a view to reclassification," according to Marijuana Moment. The CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana recently released a report advocating that "the end goal for CARICOM should be the dismantling of [cannabis] prohibition in its totality, to be replaced by a strictly regulated framework akin to that for alcohol and tobacco, which are harmful substances that are not criminalized," the Nassau Guardian reports. "The commission is unanimous in its view that ultimately, legal policy toward marijuana should be informed, not by punitive approaches, but by public health rationales, within a human rights, social justice, and developmental perspective." In order to accomplish these goals, the report recommends that "all criminal penalties from marijuana laws should be removed," and that nations should allow former cannabis offenders the chance to expunge their prior criminal records. As a first step, the report recommends the establishment of medical cannabis programs alongside the decriminalization of private adult recreational use. Following this, the report encourages the creation of fully regulated retail sales, including legal imports and exports of cannabis products. The commission conducted a study on the economic impacts of legalization, concluding that "the highest financial benefits will come from a fully legalized model that is strictly regulated and the lowest benefit will come from decriminalizing only. Cannabis can be produced for export as well as for local healing and can be the foundation for a new and vibrant wellness tourism industry. Savings will also accrue as a result of lower public health bills as Caribbean nationals substitute expensive pharmaceutical drugs with often more effective cannabis at lower costs and often with lower side effects." In a joint statement, the nations' leaders said they "welcomed" the commission's report, taking note of "its findings, conclusions, and recommendations in particular with respect to human and religious rights; the social and developmental impact of use among adolescents; the economic benefits to be derived and issues related to its classification," Marijuana Moment reports. "Heads of Government recognized that the current classification of marijuana as an illicit drug presented a challenge in the conduct of research to fully understand and ascertain the medicinal benefits to be derived." "CARICOM Heads agreed that each Member State, in accordance with its own circumstances, would determine the path it will pursue in relation to the Law Reform Models proposed by the Regional Marijuana Commission," Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness explained in a recent tweet. Jamaica may be able to serve as a model to other Caribbean nations when it comes to cannabis reform, as the country has been working on its own to relax its prohibitive marijuana laws over the past three years. Despite the country's traditional ties with ganja, Jamaica passed a law to criminalize cannabis in 1913. This law, which imposed severe penalties to anyone caught using, growing, or dealing pot, was amended in 2015 to reduce the penalty for low-level pot possession to a petty offense with a minor fine. This new law also legalized medical marijuana, and this February, Jamaican ganja farmers harvested the country's first legal crop of weed in over a hundred years.
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-legal-cannabis-coming-to-the-caribbean
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Is New Mexico Too "Poor" to Legalize Weed?
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Photo via U.S. Bureau of Reclamation In a statement last week, Republican Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico a candidate in the states current race for governor suggested that relatively poor states could not afford to legalize marijuana. "I do not see how in combating poverty you can put one more obstacle in front of people who are struggling to get out of poverty," he said, "so I don't see where I would support recreational marijuana." He added that wealthier states, such as Colorado, could more easily handle the alleged detriment of legal weed. "Colorado has deeper pockets to rely on," he said. "[New Mexico is] at the bottom of everything and to say that we want to make one more [obstacle] for people who are just trying to get themselves on their feet and get back in the workforce and work their way out, I just dont see how it fits. I dont see how it fits that were going to deal with addiction and yet were going to people, This one is OK. Keeley Christensen, Pearce's press secretary, says the congressman's message isn't so simple; to reduce it to such, she says, would be a "deliberate distortion of his words." Instead, Pearce meant that wealthier states like Colorado have more resources "to pay for more drug addiction, more jails, and more law enforcement," says Christensen. "They have their right to spend their tax money mitigating the destructive effects of drug addiction how they chose. The Congressman believes New Mexico would be wiser spending its money on creating jobs, hope, and opportunity for everyone." That said, the legal cannabis industry is projected to create more jobs than the manufacturing sector by 2020. And if weed were legal, New Mexico wouldn't need to "pay for more jails," or rather pay to incarcerate nonviolent drug offenders. Rather, tax money from legal weed could help fund more drug education and addiction treatment. Legalizing marijuana in New Mexico would result in greater economic justice, says Emily Kaltenbach, New Mexico state director for the Drug Policy Alliance. "There's no obvious reason a poor state is better positioned to maintain prohibition which costs public resources than a rich state," says Mark Kleiman, professor of public policy at NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management, who helped Washington State develop their own cannabis regulations. But, he adds, "a poorly run state might do worse in terms of regulation." At a glance, most of the canna-legal states hail from the top-half of the country's GDP/capita distribution but that also happens to largely be the blue and liberal half, so it's unclear which factors specifically are involved, Kleiman points out. "We're still so early in legalization that I don't think what we've seen to date is a good indicator of the long-run," says Jonathan Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, who frequently publishes studies on cannabis policy. With prices falling and the industry consolidating, Caulkins says, cannabis markets haven't reached an equilibrium yet, and with federal illegality taken into account, it's too soon to make blanket statements about industry trends and how they intersect with the greater economic context or other trends from state to state. But, he adds, once some states have legalized, that undermines the benefits of prohibition elsewhere, partly because cannabis can be relatively easy to smuggle across state lines, arguably making maintaining prohibition more expensive. "So we should expect most states to legalize after there is national legalization, he says. "That is, although some states may remain dry, I think most will be wet within ten or so years after national legalization." The eventual decline of federal prohibition (fingers crossed) will also lower the production costs of cannabis overall, Caulkins surmises, which would give poorer states a more competitive advantage. "So a poor state might well decide to offer zero taxes and very little regulation in order to woo the industry away from states like California and Colorado," he says. "Unless foreign suppliers with even lower labor costs displace current production modes entirely to offshore locations, leaving only mechanized industrial forms of production in the United States." Nonetheless, despite Pearce's economic position against legal marijuana, some New Mexico lawmakers such as state Representative Javier Martinez believe that legalization could not only alleviate some of the social ills of the drug war, but also help put a dent in New Mexico's own opioid epidemic saving lives and perhaps even money on more serious rehabilitation programs. However, legalization in the state cannot succeed through the legislature if the governor were to block a bill. And while Pearce's statement may very well be part and parcel to campaign trail rhetoric, it may also appeal to the nearly 40 percent of state residents against legal cannabis.
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-new-mexico-too-poor-to-legalize-weed-congressman-steve-pearce-comments
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Is South Parks Parody of MedMen a Foreshadow of Deeper Ties to Legal Weed?
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Tegridy Farms started when one stalwart Coloradan, Randy Marsh , became fed up with big-wig, corporate-cannabis types hijacking the Lords good weed for mere profits and a little fame. Unlike the moneyed cannabis operations, Tegridy Farms only provides fresh, no-frills cannabis grown from Mother Earths soily bosom, with a little sweat from honest work, and a whole lot of heart. The only thing is, Tegridy Farms isnt real. At least, its not real yet. Created for last years South Park episode of the same name, Tegridy Farms was originally a dig at the explosive rise of so-called Big Weed massive, multi-million-dollar cannabis retail chains that have begun swallowing up the burgeoning industrys original mom-and-pop pot shops. A play on the word integrity, Tegridy became yet another of South Parks ubiquitous catchphrases, a mocking soundbyte that satirizes its subject while simultaneously acknowledging its widespread influence. Last weekend, the South Park Studios YouTube channel premiered a faux Tegridy Farms commercial that parodies a Spike Jones-directed ad from the California-based reefer retail chain MedMen . MedMen caught flak last year for lobbying to ban marijuana home grows in New York State , and its been in the news for hemorrhaging millions in investments as it attempts to leapfrog its revenues by wantonly opening new locations. In the parody spot, Randy Marsh narrates, And then a bunch of young corporate banker types come along telling us were all in the new normal as they try to turn Gods green miracle into an easy buck for themselves. They even hire fancy Hollywood directors to make them look all hip and cool. Fuck those guys. They aint got no integrity, he continued. Dont you wish everyone had some goddamn Tegridy? Even Towlie, the perpetually stoned, anthropomorphic bath towel, makes a guest appearance in the joke ad. South Park isnt exactly known for being a neutral observer. The shows creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have blasted just about every celebrity, political issue, and social demographic in the US. And considering that the edgy cartoon is based in a sleepy Colorado town, it was just a matter of time before the showrunners roasted the nations legal pot industry. But the joke didnt end there. A little digging by Kyle Jaeger at Marijuana Moment revealed that South Park is taking this Tegridy thing way beyond some YouTube clips. Last year, the South Park Twitter account listed the weed strains mentioned in the episode, including Catatonic Tegridy Bud. All mentioned strains now have official domains on the web. strains mentioned in this scene: Purple Skunky Kush Super Hindu Haze Green Willy Stranger Catatonic Tegridy Bud South Park (@SouthPark) November 1, 2018 Additionally, since Tegridys TV debut, someone registered Tegridy Farms as LLCs in Colorado and Oregon. (Jaeger couldnt confirm if it was actually the guys behind South Park.) Someone also purchased a web domain for Tegridy Farms , which only features the faux TV spot and an email subscription field. Thats a suspicion both Marijuana Moment and Denvers Westword flirted with, but it could just be clever marketing for the show. After all, the online retailer line from Tegridys Instagram could indicate the launch of non-weedy Tegridy swag like t-shirts, since online orders and weed delivery services arent yet permitted in Colorado. Weed deliveries are allowed in Oregon, however. Maybe South Park is biding its time and waiting on Colorados weed delivery law to go into effect , which begins for medical marijuana in 2020. Recreational shops can begin deliveries in 2021.
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-south-parks-parody-of-medmen-a-foreshadow-of-deeper-ties-to-legal-weed
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Is the TSA Hiring Kids to Get Through the Government Shutdown?
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Step away from the luggage, Doogie Howser. Its been over a month since Donald Trump shuttered the federal government as a bargaining chip in his border wall temper tantrum, and an end is still nowhere in sight. But as the president suggests that furloughed employees could somehow borrow groceries from their local store , federal workers are struggling without paychecks, and federal agencies are struggling with record numbers of absentee call-outs. Bruh they got kids helping TSA now pic.twitter.com/hIEcoK5TnN Culuh Munay (@2forme2foryou) January 25, 2019 According to a post from Twitter user Culuh Munay , a young boy dressed in a button down work shirt and tie walkie talkie afixed to his hip and everything can be seen passing personal belonging bins through the TSA conveyor belt. Uploaded Friday morning with the caption Bruh they got kids helping TSA now, the picture quickly went viral, with Twitter users comparing the apparent underage employees look to the viral Wal-Mart yodeler Mason Ramsey , and others instantly turning the photo into a meme. Munay has not responded to MERRY JANEs request for comment about his photo, and with no more information available, it is still not clear where the picture was taken, or if it is even real. After all, we could be looking at a simple take your kid to work day miscommunication. Of course, child labor laws restrict kids from working in America, and any facade of security would seem to be null and void by the presence of a pre-pubescent bag checker rubber gloves or not. Still, with so many TSA workers calling out around the country, it wouldnt surprise us if the security experts were really that desperate, and called in the best Fortnite player they could find.
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-the-tsa-hiring-kids-to-get-through-the-government-shutdown
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Is the U.S. Market for Weed Edibles Actually Booming?
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This article is excerpted from a cross-border weed trend series MERRY JANE is publishing in partnership with VICE Canada via Sticky . Here, we look at the state of edibles in America's legal weed zones. While Canadas adult-use edibles market remains suspended in year-long limbo, several US states will have already sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of chewable, drinkable, slurpable cannabis. In 2014, Colorado and Washington became the first two states to let anyone 21 years or older buy cannabis-infused edibles. Since then, eight additional states plus D.C. came online, all serving up THC-laden foodstuffs with slightly varying degrees of regulation. And best believe folks are gobbling it up. According to the cannabis data firm BDS Analytics , edibles are the industrys fastest growing segment alongside concentrates . Gummies have long led the pack in sales, but chocolate, tincture and pill sales recently spiked along the West Coast. California, the nations largest weed market, saw 108 percent growth in edibles sales this year, jumping from $18 million in January to $37.5 million by August (USD). Another data firm, the Brightfield Group , projects cannabis edibles will rake in $2.3 billion USD by the end of 2018. By 2020, Americas edibles may net $5.3 billion USD, putting the infused foodie sector on par with the K-pop and zombie industries. Or Richard Bransons net worth . US consumers can now snag a wide variety of foodstuffs loaded with cannabis extracts. There are weed chewing gums, pumpkin pies, pizza pies, beers , margaritas , and sports and energy drinks. Theres even weed beef jerky . Although cannabis-infused candies, chocolates, wines and teas go back hundreds if not thousands of years, todays edibles are arguably better, stronger and some can kick in much faster, too. Novel products, like flavorless weed powders or liquid drops, are designed to infuse any dish imaginable, freeing dope diners from the sugary, fatty limitations of confection- or cookie-only options. Medical marijuana patients in Arizona will be especially spoiled, as the Grand Canyon State will soon host the nations first cannabis take-out restaurant . Nevada could be next if its legislature greenlights social consumption spots like cannabis clubs or weedy eateries early next year . Generally, edibles on the recreational markets are limited, by state laws, to 10 mg of THC per serving with a maximum of ten servings per package, or 100 mg THC altogether. The serving is equivalent to smoking a joint or a large pipe or bowl stuffed with weed. Medical edibles can go higher, but usually no higher than 20 to 30 mg THC per serving. A combination of lightweights, novices, bad info, and highly publicized sensationalism. Shortly after Colorado launched recreational weed sales, emergency rooms observed a sharp rise in the number of children and teens being admitted for overdosing on pot candies. Granted, none of these kids died. But with the figures quadrupling between 2005 to 2014, alarms sounded. To be fair, it wasnt just kids. Within the first year of legalization, authorities attributed two adult deaths to cannabis edibles. One death involved a 19-year-old African exchange student jumping (or tripping, depending on the account) from a hotel balcony after eating an entire 65 mg weed cookie. Another involved a suicidal Denver-area man shooting his wife because, as his attorneys argued, he ate too many weed candies at once. The media didnt help matters, either. In June 2014, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maureen Dowd penned an op-ed at the New York Times recounting her hellish experience with a Colorado edible: she chased down several bites of a THC-infused chocolate bar with a bottle of wine, flipped out, then blamed the states lack of regulations on her lack of foresight. How to Keep a Sky From Falling Andrew Livingston is the director of economics and research at Vicente-Sederberg , an international pot law firm based in Denver. Livingston helped shape Colorados rules for edibles prior to and after legalization, and he told us by phone that regulators tried their best to prevent debacles like Dowds. He largely attributed these horror stories to Colorados transition from a medical to a recreational market. When Colorado went rec, many former medical marijuana dispensaries converted to recreational licenses. At the time, medical cannabisincluding edibleswerent as tightly regulated as recreational products are. Converted pot shops could hock their old medical edibles on the adult-use market so long as those edibles contained no more than 100 mg THC per package. Single servings were ill-defined at the time, and many medical products were incredibly potent relative to their tiny, bite-sized packages. Imagine trying to split a miniature peanut butter cup into ten equal parts. Medical products were designed for medical patients, who have a much greater need for high-THC products, Livingston said. But regulators, business owners, and activists realized there needed to be potency limits for the general public, as tourists and casual users would have much lower tolerances to THC than medical cannabis patients. According to a 2013 report from the Amendment 64 Task Force, the limit was determined by compiling several scientific studies, anecdotal reports, and consultations from medical doctors. At 10 mg, the average adult will fully feel the positive effects of THC (giggles, munchies) with minimal adverse effects (paranoia, dizziness). The upper limit for this range is 20 mg, but that can be too much for some people, especially rookies. The lower limit is 5 mg, but too little THC carries an additional caution Livingston called stacking. Stacking is when someone eats an edible but doesnt feel anything right away, so they eat more edibles to compensate for the lack of high. Often, these nibblers will underestimate how much THC theyve ingested and end up tripping balls like Maureen Dowd did in 2014. The regulatory slap-down didnt end with just dosing for edibles. Edible shapes and designs that could appeal to children, like gummy bears, were banned in 2015. Infused foods would also require an edible diamond stamp labeled with bold letters spelling out THC. Package labels warned users that the edible products were not for children as well. Some companies implemented child-proof mechanisms that are so tricky to unlock theyre nearly adult-proof as well. By mid-2016, the new regulations went into full effect. So far, they appear to be working. Other states such as Washington and Oregon soon followed Colorados lead. In fact, Oregon took it a step further and capped edible servings at 5 mg THC. This year, Washington state almost banned cannabis gummies altogether but scrapped the ban at the last minute. Worrying over edibles aside, business is booming, and technological advancements are soaring at supersonic speeds. For one, cannabis edibles are rarely made with butter, once the key ingredient in infused foods. Bud butter may work wonders in the home kitchen , but it usually creates edibles with inconsistent dosing. One half of a brownie may hold more THC than the other half, which is no good in an industry beholden to stringent lab testing requirements and state regulations. To craft edibles with homogenous dosing across every batch, the industry switched from butter to hydrocarbon or carbon dioxide extracts. In the concentrates market, these extracts are known as wax or shatter hashes which can reach up to 90 percent THC by weight. Because the extracts are relatively pure, they can be reliably dosed into single servings. Furthermore, a new generation of edibles are water-soluble. Earlier versions of infused drinks like sodas, coffees and teas were made with heat-activated kief or hashish, which led to cloudy mixtures and gunky buildups. Newer recipes employ emulsified cannabis powders (THC bonded with starch) or sonication (THC broken up into microscopic particles with sound waves) to dissolve the weed in water, something unheard of just a few years ago. Water-soluble THC confers a few major benefits over edibles made with oils. Emulsified THC is absorbed through the bodys carbohydrate channels, which are present in the mouths mucous lining. Because starch molecules carry the THC, the weed absorbs directly into the bloodstream and bypasses the digestive system. Drinks, drops, sublingual films and powders designed this way will get someone high within five to ten minutes, leagues faster than traditional edibles. Quicker onsets mean less chance of stacking doses and overdoing it. We may also see edibles marketed for their flavonoid content. Flavonoids are another class of chemicals in cannabis that may be responsible for the different kinds of highs consumers experience. Regardless, given the rapidly expanding size of the market coupled with the blitzkrieg progress of legalization, its safe to say edibles are here to stay. Bon apptit, stoners. Follow Randy Robinson on Twitter
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https://merryjane.com/news/is-the-us-market-for-weed-edibles-actually-booming
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Is RwandAir the safest airline in Africa?
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RwandAir has become the first African airline to be awarded the top Diamond status rating for Covid-19 prevention measures. The rating is the highest attainable level. The award from APEX Health Safety and powered by SimpliFlying honours the airlines sustained work to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation for its customers and crew. The Diamond rating positions RwandAir as the safest airline in Africa and comes after it was recently announced as the first African airline to vaccinate all staff. "APEX Health Safety sets the industry benchmark for customer-centric Covid-19 certification and provides a scientifically-based validation system to encourage airlines to reach the highest possible standards for health and hygiene," APEX Health Safety said. Each participating airline has to complete a 58-point checklist, which covers submission, verification, validation, and a quarterly review certification process. RwandAir chief executive Yvonne Manzi Makolo said the health and safety of its customers and staff was its priority. "We are delighted to be awarded Diamond status from APEX Health Safety, for our Covid-19 prevention measures. Reaching the highest attainable level for hygiene standards is a powerful clean bill of health for the airline and validation for all the hard work we have put in to ensure the safest possible traveller experience for our customers and staff. We know that restoring customer confidence to fly is critical to resume safe international travel, which is why we have undertaken a 360-degree approach to ensuring that every aspect of our operations meets the highest standards. From the deep cleaning and disinfection of aircraft to automatic hand sanitiser dispensers available throughout Kigali International Airport, our hub, we have looked at every aspect of the customer journey to ensure we keep Covid-19 at bay and protect those who fly with us," said Makolo APEX chief executive Joe Leader said RwandAir proved that reaching that level of health safety did not depend upon the size of the airline, but rather the incredibly proactive steps taken for customer and staff well-being. "We are deeply proud of RwandAir as a rising star for our entire airline industry in Africa. RwandAir has made a great breakthrough in implementing their health safety strategy along the whole customer journey since the beginning of the pandemic," said Leader. SimpliFlying chief executive Shashank Nigam said that taking such measures ensured health safety would bolster trust among travellers. "The award gives airlines a proactive role in helping resume international travel, creates a common standard for airlines for the health and safety of passengers and highlights successful aviation industry practices," Nigam said.
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https://www.iol.co.za/travel/africa/is-rwandair-the-safest-airline-in-africa-8db9ecf8-969c-4e7c-bce2-9eb2860a21cb
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How will businesses handle new mask guidelines?
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I think it is too early to tell what the impact of this will be, Thomadsen says. My sense is the business effect does not come directly from the rules, but on whether people feel safer with these recommendations. Travel and restaurants were already beginning to pick up beforehand. That said, I suspect that there is a segment of the population that will be assured by the CDC recommendations and will start going out. In that sense, I think that the recommendations will probably help the restaurant and bar category in particular, where wearing a mask might not be feasible. For everything else, it is harder to know at this time since there is evidence that masks helped people be confident that they are safe while shopping. On the other hand, those studies are from before the time of vaccines, so there is good reason to think that the masks may not make as many people feel safe as before. I also think it may take a while to tell the impact of the new guidelines. But my reasoning is that many local governments and business are hesitant to relax the mask requirement yet, Yao says. Talking with some colleagues and friends, I also notice that many people say they will still wear masks, and some even says they would reduce their visits to groceries if those stores start to relax right away. In a couple of weeks, if the case number remains low, local governments, business, and, more importantly, customers may become more confident going out shopping. In short, the guidelines probably do little to boost the business. Rebuilding confidence is more crucial, which requires more vaccinations and reduction in case numbers.
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https://www.futurity.org/new-mask-guidelines-businesses-2574632/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-mask-guidelines-businesses-2574632
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Was Halston Americas premier fashion influencer?
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Following the Netflix series on the late designer, interest in his life and work spiked and so it should have, as his impact on fashion is more relevant now. than ever There was a time when high street collaborations with high end designers Simone Rocha and Maison Margiela for H&M; Richard Quinn for Debenhams; Proenza Schouler and Isaac Mizrahi for Target were seen as a dangerous business decision. As the New York Times reported in 2019, in an article on the lure of the declining sales model, Mizrahi was particularly worried about teaming up with the U.S. store in the early 1990s, due to Halstons disastrous partnership with JC Penney a decade ago. It was a very scary thing, he said. Halston was my idol at the time, and he had failed. Mizrahi, however, did not, setting a precedent for subsequent alliances between the runway and retail chains that would follow in the years to come. In 1981, when Halstons first collection with JC Penny was launched, a fashion designer who had dressed figures like Jackie Kennedy, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minelli, Elizabeth Taylor and Greta Garbo, in form-fitting, sexy designs that would later inspire the Tom Fords high octane glamor. at Gucci, creating clothing for the masses was unprecedented. And although, as Mizrahi said, Halston did indeed fail at the time, he created a blueprint for current fashion that was vastly underestimated in the mainstream. However, the Ryan Murphys Netflix biopic, starring Ewan McGregor as Roy Halston Frowick, has sparked renewed interest in the designer and his story, which the five-part miniseries have been accused, by some, of too sensationalistic. Photography by Robin Platzer / Images / Getty Images The Halston Archives, run by late niece of creators Lesley Frowick, said of the show in a official statement earlier this month: Those people who didnt know him well, maybe because they were just kids during Halstons heyday, often like to focus on the most sensational parts of the story . These details tend to be exaggerated rather than rightly emphasizing his incredible artistic gift, the depth of his contribution to American fashion, his work ethic and his success as one of the first. true influencers of American fashion. Frowick also points out that a 2019 documentary directed by Frdric Tcheng, which like the series is also simply titled Halston, offers a deeper insight into the complexity of her uncles life and its impact on fashion today. [It] should be taken as the full account of her story, she said. Certainly, for those curious about how Halston struggled to balance a brilliant creative mind with corporate interest as the 1980s economic boom took hold, the documentary provides a almost forensic investigation. This includes several tales around rather insidious characters, such as Carl Epstein, who became Managing Director of the Halston brand in 1983. The film also reflects on the sale of the Halstons name and the inextricable bond that has been forged between the man and the brand, while investigating the toll a person can have. Tcheng spoke to Another man at the time of its release. I was at a point in my career where I had so many interactions with the corporate world and those interactions could be very painful and traumatic, he said. As a creative person you are faced with a corporate wall of interest and these people speak an entirely different language. In the fact that Halston lost control of his business in the 1980s, I saw a story that would allow me to investigate this socio-economic change from the time Ronald Reagan came to power and deregulated them. financial markets. Halston was almost the first victim. And thats the world we still live in today. Photograph by Robin Platzer / Twin Images / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images / Getty Images
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https://exbulletin.com/fashion/956945/
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Why does WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston have a sunken chest?
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Kofi Kingston made his WWE main roster debut in 2008. He quickly proved himself as a top-level performer and became a popular figure among WWE Universe. Kofi's impressive athleticism certainly made him an exciting prospect. However, one of the most discussed topics about Kofi Kingston is his sunken chest. The Jamaican superstar has an abnormal-looking chest that is slightly curved inwards. It affects Kofi's physical structure to some extent. People keep wondering whether this unusual condition is genetic or caused by any injury. In this article, let's find answers to all these questions. The Big Show has some frightening chops. In July 2020, Kofi Kingston talked about the unique condition of his chest. Speaking on The New Day's Feel The Power podcast, Kofi discussed how The Big Show wounded his chest with his vicious chops in 2009. He claimed that his chest was never the same again after this incident. Many people seemed to believe the statement, but it wasn't true at all. Kofi keeps busting fake theories about his sunken chest from time to time. While The Big Show is indeed known for his dangerous chops, it was clear that he was not responsible for Kofi's condition. EskoBomb (@EskoBomb) July 4, 2019 Kofi was actually playing with these so-called internet experts, who keep making fake theories about his unusual appearance. Kofi Kingston revealed the real reason behind his unique condition in 2019 Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35. In 2019, several theories began floating around that Kofi Kingston had a pectus excavatum or concave chest. It is a medical condition in which a person's breastbone sinks into the chest. This problem could be caused by birth or could develop after puberty. However, the former WWE Champion cleared the air about this rumor through an informative tweet. As explained in the tweet posted below, Kofi's condition has nothing to do with Pectus excavatum. He does not have a concave chest as believed by many. Ah a fellow Sternumonian. So this is what I know: A lot of people think that I have pectus excavatum, or concave chest. Not true. My sternum is not concave at all. Rather, my pectoral muscles connect from closer to the sides of my sternum, rather than the center of my sternum. KOFNAN the Barbarian (@TrueKofi) August 16, 2019 Instead, his pectoral muscles have a very unusual structure as they are connected closer to the sides of his sternum instead of the usual center position. Fortunately, Kofi Kingston's caved-in chest has not affected his wrestling performances in any way. Kofi Kingston has been gaining momentum on WWE RAW recently Kofi on WWE RAW Kofi Kingston has been on a roll lately. Three weeks ago, Kofi pinned current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley in the main event of WWE RAW. This victory marked his return to the main event picture as The New Day member once again set his sights on the WWE Championship. Duri the latest episode of WWE RAW, Kofi collided with Drew McIntyre to determine the number #1 contender for the WWE title. It was a brilliant match, filled with fast-paced action. In the end, The Scottish Warrior picked up the victory after decimating Kingston with a mid-air Claymore Kick. Despite losing the contest, Kofi Kingston looked strong in defeat. He brought a proper fight to Drew McIntyre which was enough to solidify him as a future title contender. Sound off in the comments below. Here's the link for it.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/why-wwe-superstar-kofi-kingston-sunken-chest
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What is Covid Level 1 in Scotland and how different are the rules from Level 2?
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PARTS of Scotland have been moved to Level 1 restrictions today as Covid curbs are eased. Nicola Sturgeon confirmed a number of local councils - including Aberdeen, Falkirk and the Highlands - would all see Level 2 restrictions relaxed. Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates 1 Scotland could move to Level 1 Credit: PA It comes amid falling hospitalisations and deaths due to Covid as the nation's vaccine rollout continues. Here's all you need to know about Level 1 Covid rules north of the border, and how they're different from Level 2 curbs. Under Level 1 restrictions, outdoor gathering rules are relaxed further, with 12 Scots from 12 households able to socialise together. A total of six people from three separate households are allowed to meet indoors, with overnight visits permitted. This is extended to eight people from three different homes when meeting in a restaurant or pub. Scots will also not be required to socially distance from loved ones when going to stay with them. Up to 100 guests are permitted to attend weddings and funerals, with alcohol permitted. But attendees are still expected to follow two-metre distancing rules and avoid close contact with people from other households. Limited numbers of spectators can attend footie games and other outdoor events. Employees are still encouraged to work from home if possible in Level 1 - with businesses urged to do all they can to help prevent Covid from spreading. Most read in News HORROR PLUNGE Man dies after plunging from third-floor window as Scots street sealed off SMASH SCENE Shocking video shows moment Scots woman causes head-on crash overtaking lorry 'SWIPED' Scot reunited with wallet he lost 20 YEARS ago with video rental card CITY BLAZE Fat blaze triggers massive emergency response in Glasgow south side BUMP IN THE ROAD FM DELAYS unlocking for central belt - as some Scots areas move to level 0 BEER WE GO! Glasgow WILL move to level 2 with pubs finally allowed to serve pints inside Scots can travel anywhere in the UK under Level 1 restrictions, but must avoid any areas that are still in Level 3 or 4. The Scottish Government have encouraged members of the public to continue following key virus protocols even when meeting others indoors, such as washing your hands regularly, and not sharing food utensils. Nicola Sturgeon has previously said she hopes Scotland can move to Level 0 curbs if cases and deaths remain low once Level 1 curbs have been enacted. June 21 Freedom Day should be pushed back by a MONTH after Indian strain threat, Government scientist warns We pay for your stories and videos! Email us at [email protected] or call 0141 420 5300
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https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/7192382/covid-level-1-scotland-level-2/
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Will the school day be extended?
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COVID lockdowns have forced pupils across the UK to miss valuable time in the classroom. Yes, according to a leaked presentation the school day is set to be extended. The school day is expected to be extended by 30 minutes each day. This will establish a minimum 35-hour week for pupils and teachers. The Government has been working on a "catch-up" plan for colleges and schools and is expected to be revealed before the summer holidays. A leaked proposal, revealed by The Times, says each pupil needs 100 hours of extra schooling from 2022 to help plug the gaps caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the new proposal, teachers will be told they must keep pupils in school for an extra two-and-a-half hours a week as part of a new Covid rescue plan. The leaked presentation, written by education tsar Sir Kevan Collins, who has been tasked with sorting out kids' missed learning, reveals plans for youngsters to face a 35-hour week as a minimum. In addition, in England five million of the worst-hit students will get extra tutoring on top of that, while 500,000 teachers will get more training. The details come from a 56-page document on which the PM has reportedly already been briefed. MORE SCHOOL NEWS BREAK TIME Best holiday park deals over the school summer holidays from 119 per stay BREAK OUT UK holiday spots during school summer break without the crowds - breaks from 269 TAKE A BREAK Here's when you can enjoy the late May bank holiday 2021 in the UK SCHOOL WINNERS Cheap seaside deals for the school summer holidays from 278 KIDS ARE ALRIGHT Schools ARE safe as children 'get used to' taking Covid tests, expert says And officials are even considering an extra year of college for sixth-form students if teens are unable to complete A-levels in time. It is rumoured that the price for the plan is 15billion averaging 700 per pupil over three years. If the Government doesn't act quickly, it's feared it'll cost the UK 1.5trillion - 100 times the cost of the three-year programme.
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https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/7193252/will-school-day-extended/
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Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the Road to Secret Wars?
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^ Keep Houston Press Free Support Us Local Community Journalism I Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free. Support Us As the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets properly underway with a combination of movies and television shows, the big question is what will the next Endgame look like. My guess is that the MCU is laying down the foundation for it to be Doctor Doom and an adaption of the 2015 mega-crossover event Secret Wars. The series was both a storyline and a solution for a practical problem. The Ultimate line of Marvel comics was coming to an end, and the company wanted to find away to introduce break-out fan favorite Miles Morales into the mainstream continuity. To a lesser extent, they also wanted to find room for other characters from different universes like Old Man Logan. What they did was set it up so that different universes were crashing in on each other. With little hope left, Doom, Dr. Strange, and the Molecule Man devised a plan to salvage chunks of different realities and combine them into one patchwork universe. Doom being Doom, took over and created Battleworld, a realm where different facets of the multiverse would swear allegiance to him as God-Emperor. Think of it like Game of Thrones where Doom sits on the Iron Throne. The MCU has a similar problem to fix right now. They have the rights to the X-Men characters back again and no real way to put them in the current world they have built. Its hard to have a set of players who represent a long-time oppressed minority that no one has heard of in the 80 years of Marvel Earth history represented in current crop of films and TV shows. The obvious answer is multiverse, something that WandaVision teased by having Evan Peeters, known for playing the X-Menverse version of Quicksilver, guest star as Scarlet Witchs dead brother Pietro. That turned out to be a red herring, but we know for a fact that the MCU is starting to embrace the multiverse concept. The next Dr. Strange film openly delves into alternate dimensions based on the title, Multiverse of Madness. Scarlet Witch is known to star in the film, as is Tom Hollands Spider-man. Spidey is about to have his own dimension hopping adventure in No Way Home, where villains from previous, unrelated Spider-man movies as well as possibly other Spider-men are rumored to be appearing. Opening the multiverse is a simple way to see an alternative world where mutants already existed and even interacted with the current crop of heroes and villains. Once that concept is established, entire movies can be made where, say, Wolverine and Hulk have their epic showdowns without sacrificing the carefully constructed world built over the last decade. I think its telling that the end of Marvel Phase 4 is slated to finish off with Fantastic Four. While I could personally care less about Marvels First Family, Ive always been excited for the rights to Doom to be returned to the MCU. Hes by far the most compelling villain in the companys entire history, and his absence has always created a massive hole in the franchise. Much as Avengers did in Phase 1, I expect Fantastic Four to end with a teaser showing Doom as the person pulling the strings on whatever conflict is occurring by then. If they slowly and carefully establish Doom as a cosmic threat the way they did with Thanos, the setting will be ripe for a multiverse cataclysm where Doom establishes the Battleworld and all bets are off on what realities can be shaped into the new paradigm. The X-Men, Deadpool, Blade, Defenders, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., maybe even Man-Thing can easily find a home on a new clean slate from which the next epic trilogy can be built. This is all just a theory, but I think its one of the clearest paths forward for the tangled mess of Marvel movies that have existed since the 1990s. One of the best things about the MCU is just how tightly it all fits together canonically. Secret Wars can be the thread that sews it all together, with Doom holding the needle. I guess well see if Im right in 2023.
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https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/mcu-looks-like-it-is-setting-up-secret-wars-11571541
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Is technology rapidly sweeping the world and society moving in the right direction?
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Over the last few centuries, society has gradually witnessed technological advances that make everyday life easier, more convenient, and more interesting. But in the 21st century, augmented reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing were just a few of the latest inventions, and technology made a real leap forward. Several areas where technology has changed our lives Technological advances have already been incorporated into all areas of life, the impact of which is particularly pronounced in these segments. Lifestyle. From working remotely to ordering food deliveries to booking hotel rooms online, most people now rely on the Internet as an irreplaceable part of their lives. Advances in technology have completely reshaped the daily lives of modern people. health. Telehealth, EHR, 3D medical imaging, and smart wearable devices that track heart rate and blood oxygen levels are just a few of the technological advances that have been introduced in healthcare over the last few decades. privacy. Privacy is more important than ever in the digital world. The incidence of cybercrime is increasing, but this is another recent innovation, but advances in encryption and antivirus software have hit hard and protect user privacy online. Youth attitude. Most of the modern generation cant literally imagine their lives without technology. Use your smart device at home or school, google anything you want to know, wear your smartwatch, make video calls, and own a robot or self-driving car. business. Innovations such as cloud computing, big data, data science, and AI / ML have completely restructured the modern business environment. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and has prompted most businesses to switch to remote mode. Human behavior. With the mass adoption of mobile smart devices, people have virtualized most of their day-to-day operations. Theres a dedicated mobile app for everything from booking a ride, tracking your diet and sleep habits, and even seeing what youre doing as you get older. There is no doubt that technology will give our predecessors a chance to live a life they never dreamed of. Alternatively, the impact of technological innovation may be rather vague. Positive impact of technology With the rapid digitization of all areas of human activity, it is easy to become insensitive to the importance of innovation and progress for the progress of society as a whole. But technology helps us a lot. For example: Now that the agricultural process is mechanized and automated, farmers may grow and harvest more crops. Advances in transportation have enabled people to travel long distances quickly and comfortably by air, land, or water. Powered by online channels, video calling and 5G technology, communication has reached new heights that connect people around the world. Radio, television and electronic media are essential means of news and information for people in any country in the world. Education has recently become more accessible to all, regardless of geographic location, thanks to advances in the latest technologies such as online classrooms, electronic curriculum, and digital learning management systems. How to get the most out of technology o remains painless and empowered by modern technological advances. Everyone needs to use them when and where they need them. For example, when you feel a lack of concentration or self-discipline, you can take advantage of the productivity and time tracking apps available on your smartphone or PC. Similarly, if youre interested in health and lifestyle, you can choose from a variety of wearable devices and fitness apps. Most digital tools are free to download, making them even easier to use. Adverse effects of technology On the downside, some technological developments have proven to be curses, not blessings. Here are some examples: Excessive use of gadgets, lack of offline communication, and abuse of social media have proven to adversely affect mental health. In online communication, people are often obsessed with expressing nonverbal cues, causing misunderstandings and crime. Relationships between people who spend more time communicating online than offline can become tense and more vulnerable over time. Digitally Poisonous young people in the real world can lose their skills and the desire to communicate face-to-face with their peers. Video game addicts often stay home for weeks and lead a sedentary life. This ultimately damages your health. Serious mental health problems as teens tend to take too long to scroll through Instagram and TikTok feeds and compare them to the perfect images of other peoples dummies looking online. Is causing. How to reduce the negative effects of technology Excessive use of technology can be more harmful than profitable. This needs to be kept in mind before we digitize our lives. Its important to monitor the use of technology in every aspect of your daily life and, while not too late, limit the amount of time you spend in front of your smartphone screen. We also recommend using an all-in-one app to manage complex tasks instead of switching between dozens of smaller apps per activity (for example, consolidating all your email accounts and messengers in one place). To). Instead of playing video games or scrolling through social media, find a paper book that interests you and spend your time outdoors on a regular basis. Instead of watching another Netflix episode in front of your TV, talk to your family or start gardening. More time spent outdoors without electronic devices promotes life-work balance and is generally suitable for a healthy lifestyle. Advances in modern technology While it can be difficult to predict the next advances in technology, some innovations have already changed our beliefs about the world around us. For example, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). What people thought was magic just a few decades ago is now gaining popularity in business, games and team building. Wearable screens, gesture-based computing, and other recent innovations are expected to soon replace regular PC and phone screens. Robots, another buzzword in the business world today, have already replaced humans in some workplaces where robotic arms work on assembly and packaging lines. Flying cars quickly address the problems of limited ground space and long traffic jams. Well, the people of Earth are even predicted to use technological innovations to colonize other planets in the foreseeable future. The sky is no longer the limit! Conclusion Technology improves every aspect of human life and makes them easier and more diverse. Technological advances are generally regarded as positive changes, but some people perceive them in a negative way. Being content with the use of digital apps and smart devices, or over-reliance on online tools can have tragic consequences. But if technology development is used wisely, it will only bring good things to society. Obviously, the technology itself is neither good nor bad. All that matters is the method and scope of its use. 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/tech/956953/
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Is gas-guzzling Formula One a better bet for carmakers than going electric?
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Formula One has overhauled its rulebook, prompting a wave of investment into teams that have struggled to compete for years The likes of Aston Martin may be betting that success on the track will revive demand for their ailing sports car businesses In 2009, over a decade before plans for a football Super League shook up the sporting world, the Formula One elite were plotting a breakaway competition of their own. Eight of the top racing teams, including those owned by Ferrari (IT:RACE) and Red Bull, were infuriated by what they saw as the autocratic leadership of Max Mosley, president of the sports governing body, who wanted them to agree to a 40m annual budget cap. Mosley must resign, the group threatened, or they would form their own league.
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https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2021/06/01/is-gas-guzzling-formula-one-a-better-bet-for-carmakers-than-going-electric/
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What is the photo of Ellie Kemper as a Veiled Prophet Queen?
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THE Veiled Prophet Ball is an annual ball that has been held every December in St Louis, Missouri since the 1800s. Ellie Kemper has been trending on Twitter after fans discovered an old picture of the actress at the elitist ball with a "racist" history. According to a 2014 article in The Atlantic, the Veiled Prophet Ball was formed in 1878 by Confederate Colonel Alonzo Slayback and his brother Charles Slayback. They held an elaborate festivals and rituals for an exclusive group of people invited. It featured one unknown member each year who was secretly dressed as the "veiled prophet," which was meant to generate interest in the event and St Louis as a city. 4 The Veiled Prophet as illustrated in an 1878 edition of the Missouri Republican Credit: Wikipedia The now renamed event is still held on the Friday before Christmas each year and is attended by thousands. The event has given the platform for protest groups such as Black Lives Matter Members, and St. Louis based group Missourians Organized for Reform and Empowerment in more recent years. Ellie Kemper is being scrutinized after a young photo surfaced of the actress attending the Veiled Prophet Ball. Attending the event as a 19-year-old in St Louis in 1999, the actress was specifically named queen - a role chosen by the 'veiled prophet' that historically leads the gathering. In the photo, Kemper can be seen dressed in all white, smiling and chatting to a pair of young girls referred to as her "pages" in the photo caption. 4 Ellie Kemper features on The Office Credit: Getty On May 31, 2021 a debate ensued online as some Twitter users deemed her participation at the "racist ball" as an acceptance of it's ideals which they believe mirror aspects of the KKK. Twitter users familiar with the Prophet organization made the link via the wealthy Catholic elites in St. Louis, Missouri who attempted to silence railroad workers at its inception. According to a 2014 article in The Atlantic, the debutante ball was founded by wealthy White elites back in 1878 and emphasized the existing power structure. 4 The Veiled Prophet Ball is a debutante ball held each December in St. Louis, Missouri, by the Veiled Prophet Organization, founded by prominent St. Louisans in 1878. Credit: Getty The ball has run in the region since 1878, but excluded any black members from joining until 1979 due to racial segregation. The event was therefore considered white only for more than 100 years. In addition, much of their early attire in the 1880s also bears a striking resemblance to members of the Ku Klux Klan, though it has been pointed out that KKK members did not begin wearing white hoods and robes until 1915. Khloe fans ask 'what happened to your face?' Ellie Kemper has not yet publicly reacted to the comments made online. She has also never given her views on the Veiled Prophet Ball that she attended when she was younger. There is no suggestion of any connection between Kemper and the KKK or any other similar group.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2994309/ellie-kemper-veiled-prophet-queen-photo-twitter/
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How many children does Terry Crews have?
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MEET actor and host Terry Crews and his family. The America's Got Talent host has a big family that includes five kids with wife, Rebecca King-Crews. Terry Crews is an actor, comedian, artist, TV host, bodybuilder, and former professional football player. Crews was born in Flint, Michigan, and received an athletic scholarship to attend Western Michigan University. He played in the NFL for six years with different stints on different teams: L.A. Rams, San Diego Chargers , Rhein Fire (NFL Europe-Germany), Washington Redskins (now Washington Football Team) and Philadelphia Eagles. His first big break in acting was becoming a series regular on the extreme sports show Battle Dome. He is now known for his appearances in White Chicks, Brooklyn 99, Everybody Hates Chris, Starsky and Hutch, and as the host of America's Got Talent. Rebecca King-Crews was born in Gary, Indiana and also attended Western Michigan University, but to pursue musical theater. Rebecca and Terry were married in 1990. She currently works as a singer, actress, and producer. She appeared on the BET reality show The Family Crews, which followed Terry, Rebecca, and their five kids' lives for 17 episodes before it was cancelled. Rebecca and Terry have had five children in their over three decade marriage. Naomi Burton-Crews Naomi, 34, was born to mother Rebecca and father Charles Burton. Rebecca was 21 at the time and still in college. This was prior to Rebecca's marriage to Terry, but she has since been adopted by Terry and raised as his own. She has one daughter, Miley, who is Rebecca and Terry's first grandchild. Azril Crews Azril was born the same year that Rebecca and Terry got married: 1990. The 31-year-old is known professionally as Azril Patricia. She is known for acting roles in Katy Keene, Younger, and High Maintenance. Tera Crews Tera was born nearly nine years after her biological sister. She has also followed in her father's footsteps appearing in The Family Crews, Family Brainsurge, and Terry Crews Saves Christmas. The 22-year-old has also worked in advertising. Wynfrey Crews Daughter Wynfrey was born in 2004 and is currently 18-years-old. She also appeared on The Family Crews with the rest of her siblings. Khloe fans ask 'what happened to your face?' Khloe's DM confronting Tristan Thompson's 'baby mama' exposed as 'fake' THAT'S MY BOY What you need to know about Clint Eastwood's son Scott Eastwood 'MY BEST FRIEND' Romy Walthall, star of The House of Usher and Face/Off, dies aged 57 RISKY REBEL Rebel Wilson nearly slips out of plunging swimsuit after losing 60 pounds Isaiah Crews After four girls, Terry and Rebecca welcomed a son Isaiah in 2007. The 16-year-old appeared in the Nickelodeon film, Side Hustle.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2994401/terry-crews-five-children/
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What Happened To Daniel Sturridge? Where Is Daniel Sturridge Now?
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Daniel Sturridge has been one of the gems produced by English football that has gone missing in the recent past following his move away from Liverpool in 2019. The English striker is at the fag end of his career as we look to answer the question "What happened to Daniel Sturridge?" and "Where is Daniel Sturridge now?" Daniel Sturridge career Daniel Sturridge made his professional debut with Manchester City in 2007 before moving on to join Chelsea in 2010. The Englishman was sent out on loan at Bolton Wanderers by Chelsea in the second half of the 201011 season before coming back and successfully playing for the Blues in English football. After spending some time in London, Liverpool came calling for the English striker as Daniel Sturridge joined the Merseyside outfit in January 2013. He featured for the Reds in the Premier League, taking the English top-flight competition by storm while forming a solid partnership with Luis Surez, scoring over 21 goals during the 201314 Premier League campaign. However, injuries curtailed his growth with the striker stuck to making substitute appearances for the Reds over the next five years. The English attacker had yet another loan stint going out as he featured for West Bromwich Albion during the 2017/2018 campaign before coming back to the Reds next season. Since the loan spell, most of his appearances came from the bench under manager Jrgen Klopp along with a taste of success as Daniel Sturridge went on to win the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2019 before leaving them on a free transfer. Daniel Sturridge stats reveal that the English attacker made over 218 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 76 goals while providing 21 assists during his stint in the English top-flight football. The England international has also won 26 caps scoring 8 times for the country with his last national appearance coming in 2017. After being released by Liverpool, the 30-year-old English striker was seen plying his trade with Trabzonspor in Turkish Sper Lig. However, things did not go down well for Daniel Sturridge as his contact with Trabzonspor was terminated in March 2020 after he received a four-month ban for betting. Since then the English striker has been a free agent and is often seen enjoying life as evident from his posts on social media. Meanwhile, the Three Lions fans will be eagerly awaiting news on the England squad Euro 2020 that will be selected for the European Championship with Gareth Southgate has a tough task at hand. The England boss will be looking to cut down his provisional 33-man squad into a 26-man team by axing seven players ahead of Euro 2020.
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https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/football-news/what-happened-to-daniel-sturridge-where-is-daniel-sturridge-now.html
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Why Did Mason Greenwood Withdraw From England Squad For Euro 2020?
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Mason Greenwood had a fantastic end to his season. His 12 goals have helped him revive after a shaky start to the year. Greenwood made his debut for England against Iceland but after a Covid regulation breach, he was sent back and did not get a call back since then. It was expected that he would make his comeback into the national side after being named in Gareth Southgate's provisional squad, but it looks like it is over for him as Manchester United have officially said that he will be out of the Euros due to an apparent injury. There have been no confirmations as to Why Mason Greenwood has withdrawn from the England squad. But a statement from the club has stated that "Mason Greenwood has withdrawn from the provisional England squad in order to recover fully from an underlying injury that also kept him out of the Under 21 Euros in March." Greenwood's exit has opened the door for Ollie Watkins who has also been in great form all season. England Squad for Euro 2020 Euro 2020 is set to resume on June 11. Most of the teams have already locked their sides, but England are yet to announce their final squad as they face a huge selection problem which can be attributed to the brilliant performance of their players for their clubs. The Champions League final had 7 players from the England national team and that has furthermore affected the decision. But after carefully analysing all the players, Southgate named a 33-man provisional squad, but it is reported that 6 players will be axed out of this selection including Mason Greenwood who has opted out. "Well have a lot more information in seven days and be able to make the best possible decisions that we can." The boss explains why he will wait until next week to confirm his final #EURO2020 squad: pic.twitter.com/xYkEeXM7un England (@England) May 25, 2021 England squad for Euro 2020 [Provisional] Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale Defenders; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Ben Godfrey, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Mason Mount, Kalvin Philips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Ollie Watkins England schedule for Euro 2020 Group F: England vs Croatia at Wembley Stadium Sunday, June 13 at 2:00 PM [Sunday, June 13 at 6:30 PM IST] England vs Scotland at Wembley Stadium Thursday, June 18 at 8:00 PM [Friday, June 19 at 12:30 AM IST] England vs Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium Tuesday, June 22 at 8:00 PM [Wednesday, June 23 at 12:30 AM IST] Picture Credits: England/Twitter
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https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/football-news/why-did-mason-greenwood-withdraw-from-england-squad-for-euro-2020.html
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Who won Americas Got Talent last year?
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AMERICA'S Got Talent welcomes a wide range of talents every year to compete for $1 million. Beyond the pandemic, last year was a year of first with new talents and new wins. Brandon Leake was the first spoken-word poet on the talent competition and went on to become the first spoken-word poet to win the show. The Stockton, California, native, proved he was a top contender from the beginning when he earned a Golden Buzzer during his audition from Howie Mandel. Leake continued to wow the judges getting especially kind remarks from Mandel. 3 Leake performed his poem Bigger Than Just Me in season finale Credit: Getty After his quarterfinals performance Mandel commented, "I've never been more moved in my life on this show by any other act. We need you on this show. We need in this world You matter." The 27-year-old walked away with the $1 million prize, a brand new Kia Stinger, and the chance to headline a show for AGT in Las Vegas. Reflecting on his win Leake said, "This is a huge win for the spoken-word community. For an art form that has not been on the main stream ever to have a chance to win 'America's Got Talent' is bigger than anything." "I am going to show the world what a spoken-word poet can do." Dwindling down from the 71 auditions the finale welcomed the top 10 talents for their last performance. Five acts were eliminated first including singers Archie Williams and Kenadi Dodds, dancing team Bad Salsa, singer Daneliya Tuleshova and the acrobatic Bello Sisters. The final five had singing duo Broken Roots in second place, singer Cristina Rae in third, singer Roberta Battaglia in fourth, and aerialist Alan Silva in fifth place. All the finalists joined together with a special tribute performance of "Lean On Me" from Bill Withers who had recently passed away. Season 16 will begin airing auditions for America's Got Talent starting Tuesday, June 1 on NBC with episodes airing weekly at 8 pm EST. America's Got Talent airs on NBC and streams on Peacock and Hulu.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2994625/who-won-americas-got-talent-last-year/
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What was Elvis Presleys cause of death?
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ELVIS PRESLEY was the biggest musician on the planet before he sadly passed away in August 1977, aged 42. Here's everything you need to know about the American star, regarded as the biggest music artist of the 20th Century. Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 following drug abuse, with his official cause of death ruled as a heart attack. At the time of his death, Elvis was suffering from the following ailments - high blood pressure, an enlarged colon, liver damage and emphysema. Its also reported that he was bed-ridden and weighed 25 stone. But since his death, there have been many conspiracy theories that he is still alive. In the 2018 documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher it is suggested that the singer suffered from a painkiller addiction and committed suicide. On August 16, 1977, Elvis was found dead in the bathroom, face down in front of the toilet at his home in Graceland, Memphis. When the paramedics arrived, he was cold, blue, and had no vital signs - it is thought he had been dead for an hour. But he was transported by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital where a vain attempt at resuscitation occurred because he was Elvis. Despite it being over four decades since the King of Rock and Roll's death, in 2018 his daughter Lisa-Marie Presley released a new album featuring a duet with her father. Elvis has left a huge legacy and certainly put his print on the music industry, with a string of insanely successful tracks. One is Return to Sender, which was a hit in 1962 and peaked at number one in the UK - it was the Christmas number, although it was released in September. His remaster of B.J Thomas' track Always on My Mind was made weeks after he separated from his wife Priscilla and is widely considered as one of his most successful songs from the seventies. Other major tracks on his roster include Blue Suede Shoes, All Shook Up, Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock. Elvis' song Suspicious Minds, released in 1969, was his last number one single in the US and reached number two in the UK. Graceland is a mansion and estate in Memphis, Tennessee, specifically Elvis Presley Boulevard, Whitehaven. It attracts thousands of visitors every year because it was once the property of Elvis himself and Graceland now exists as a museum, which was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. The site was declared a National Historical landmark in 2006, and it is the second most visited house in the US, with 650,000 visitors a year, only behind the White House. The name Graceland comes from the original landowner Stephen Toofs daughter Grace, and it was eventually purchased by the King in March 1957.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/2995287/elvis-presley-death-when-cause-graceland/
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When is the next solar eclipse in the UK and US?
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AN awe-inspiring solar eclipse is due to grace skies across the globe next week. The "ring of fire" eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun - and only a few people around the world will witness it. The annular solar eclipse will see the Sun, Moon and Earth align on Thursday, June 10. The Moon will partly obscure the image of the Sun for viewers on Earth, creating a spectacular effect for sky gazers. The June 10 event is a "ring of fire" eclipse, named after the red halo that appears around the Sun during the alignment. As the Moon covers the centre of the Sun, the edges will emit a glowing circle creating an illuminated "ring of fire". 4 The Moon will partly obscure the image of the Sun for viewers on Earth Credit: AFP It will not be a total eclipse, a rare form of eclipse during which the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The spectacle will be visible over swathes of North America, including parts of the US and Canada, according to astronomers. According to experts at the Farmers' Almanac, the "weird and dramatic" event will begin at around 5.24am ET with the point of maximum eclipse reached about eight minutes later. The spectacle is expected to last for about one hour and six minutes. The Farmers' Almanac said: "The viewing zone will fall anywhere north and east of a line running roughly from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Evansville, Indiana, extending on to the Atlantic coast near Savannah, Georgia. "Depending on where you are, if your sky is clear, the rising Sun will be somewhat unusual and appear slightly dented, deeply crescent-shaped, or ring-shaped." In the UK, observers will see as much as 32 per cent of the Sun covered by the Moon. That means Brit sky gazers won't see the "ring of fire" spectacle that's on offer for US viewers. Instead, the Moon will appear to take a bite out of the Sun at around 10:10 BST. It will reach maximum eclipse shortly afterwards and then move off the Sun by 13:21 BST on June 10. Solar eclipses are fairly common, with between two and five happening every year. A total eclipse, in which the Sun is completely obscured, is visible from somewhere on Earth around once every 18 months. The next total solar eclipse will be on December 4, 2021. However, you'll have to travel to Antarctica to see the total phase of the eclipse. Parts of southern Africa, including soits in South Africa and Namibia, will see a partial solar eclipse. Unfortunately, the UK will not see a total solar eclipse again until September 23, 2090. A solar eclipse takes place when the sun, moon and earth align together in a straight line. The moon blocks the suns rays and gives people a chance to witness its fiery corona. Astronomer Patrick McCarthy is the vice president of the GMT and told the BBC that anyone who witnesses a solar eclipse is completely "mesmerised" by it. "Going into a total solar eclipse is a remarkable feeling," he said. "The colours get bluer, the shadows change and everything on the ground looks washed out. Its as if the world is becoming darker, almost monochromatic." ROYAL RUMBLE World's longest earthquake lasted 32 YEARS, research shows TO THE MOON Bitcoin price SURGES with Ethereum, Cardano, Dogecoin all 'looking bullish' TRUTH IS IN THERE Unclassified UFO files may be released as early as TODAY TRUTH IS IN THERE Unclassified UFO files may be released as early as TODAY Live Blog THE X-FILES Unclassified UFO files may be released as early as TODAY SPACE BALLS UP Space junk hits and damages ISS leaving gaping hole in robotic arm IWANT Apple to unveil next major iPhone update next week GREAT SCOT Prehistoric carvings of deer dating back 5000 years found in Scottish tomb COIN SURGE Rising XRP price could overtake Bitcoin - plus Ethereum, Cardano, dogecoin news Exclusive STILL BURNING World of Warcraft returns to EPIC 1st expansion as game boss reveals secrets Stargazers will also want to check out our guide for when to spot every lunar eclipse until 2030. Read about the wacky Blood Moon conspiracy theories here. And read about the space mysteries Nasa still can't explain. Let us know in the comments! We pay for your stories! Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
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https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech/171287/next-solar-eclipse-uk-us-date/
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Who was Sarah Everard and what was her cause of death?
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SARAH Everard vanished while walking home from a friend's house in Clapham, South West London on March 3. Sarah Everard was a 33-year-old market manager who lived in Brixton, London. Sarah, who was originally from York, moved to the capital for work about 12 years ago after gaining a 2:1 in her geography degree at Durham University. She has a brother and sister who also live in London. Sarah, one of three children, has been described as an exceptional friend who would drop everything for her pals. Dad Jeremy, 67, is a professor of electronics at York University and mum Sue, 64, is a charity worker. Sarah disappeared after leaving a friend's house in Clapham, South London, on the evening of Wednesday, March 3. At about 9pm she left the property and began walking to her home in Brixton. Her boyfriend reported her missing on March 4, the prosecutor said. Detectives investigating her disappearance have charged a serving Met Police officer in his 40s - later identified as Wayne Couzens. A week after she disappeared, her body was discovered in a woodland in Ashford, Kent. On June 1, post-mortem results revealed that Sarah died from compression to the neck. The Metropolitan Police said: "A post-mortem examination into the death of Sarah Everard held at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford has given cause of death as compression of the neck. "Sarah's family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers." An inquest opened and adjourned in March heard how the pathologist had "not given a medical cause of death". Sarah went missing on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. She vanished after she left a friend's house in Leathwaite Road in Clapham at about 9pm. Sarah was captured on CCTV at 9.30pm in Clapham after spending 15 minutes on the phone with her boyfriend. A huge search was launched after she disappeared with police searching ponds in the area. Her remains were discovered nine days later in Kent. PC Wayne Couzens, 48, is accused of kidnapping and murdering the 33-year-old after she vanished in Clapham. The gun cop, who joined the Met Police in 2018, appeared in the dock in person at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, March 13. MORE NEWS ABOUT SARAH EVERARD Exclusive MET SARAH PROBE Over 30 cops & staff face action for looking up Sarah Everard case details FIGHTING TALK Boxers Jonas, Yafai and Rankin back No Means No after Sarah Everard tragedy 'DEMONISING BOYS' Top 15k-a-year school accused of 'teaching pupils all men are sexist' VIGIL BACKLASH Met chief slams 'social media pile-on' as she backs cops who stormed vigil 'LACK OF RESPECT' Critics slamming cops over Sarah Everard vigil 'eroded public confidence' ROYAL SUPPORT Kate Middleton sends 'deeply personal' letter to Sarah Everard's family Flanked by two police officers, Couzens sat with his head in his hands while wearing a grey jumper. He appeared to have a red wound on the top of his forehead. The court was told Sarah's body was discovered in a builder's bag and had to be identified through her dental records. Dad-of-two Couzens has been remanded in custody ahead of a plea hearing on July 9 at the Old Bailey.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2465876/who-sarah-everard-what-cause-death/
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What is China bird flu?
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THE first case of the bird flu in humans has been reported in China. Learn all about what experts know about the disease so far including its symptoms and probability of occurring. A man in the province of Jiangsu in eastern China has contracted the first case of H10N3 bird flu in humans. China's National Health Commission announced this on June 1, 2021. The 41-year-old man was hospitalized on April 28, 2021 and is in stable condition according to the NHC. He was experiencing a fever and other flu-like symptoms when hospitalized. He was officially diagnosed with the bird flu on May 28, 2021. The bird flu is found mostly in specific birds and poultry. However, the H10N3 strain of bird flu, which the man was diagnosed with, is a less severe form of the virus, according to the NHS. There have been 160 reports of the virus in the 40 years leading up to 2018, mostly in wild birds or waterfowl in Asia and some parts of North America. The strain is "not a very common virus," said Filip Claes, regional laboratory coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organization's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases at the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and has not been detected in chickens thus far. This infection is an accidental cross-species transmission, the NHC's statement said. The risk of large-scale transmission is low. Claes added that more tests will need to be conducted to determine if this resembles old viruses or not. Most read in News MANSLAUGHTER RAP Lord Ashcrofts daughter-in-law CHARGED over Belize cop's shooting RAPPER DEATH Rapper Lil Loaded dead at 20 after arrest for 18-year-old friends shooting 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash HIDDEN PAST Office star was Queen of 'racist' ball where members wore KKK-style hoods THAT'S PUSHING IT Crazy moment woman PUSHES BEAR off garden wall to stop it mauling dogs Latest BEHIND BARS Socialite pictured in jail after 'shooting dead Belize cop' while drinking No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally, the NHC said. Other strains of avian influenza are present in China and can infect humans who regularly work with poultry. There have been no signifigant interactions since the H7N9 strain killed about 300 people in 2016-17.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2994113/bird-flu-first-case-contracted-china/
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Could Donald Trump go to prison?
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FORMER President Donald Trump is facing two investigations into possible criminal conduct. If charged, he'd become the first former president charged with a criminal offense. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance has been probing the Trump Organization's finances as well as Trump's personal monetary affairs for at least two years, court records show. He convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in a criminal investigation into Trump's finances, the Associated Press reported. The development signals that prosecutors are moving toward seeking charges against the former president in their investigation, which included a lengthy battle of Trump's tax returns. Vance's investigation concerns a variety of matters, such as hush-money payments paid to women on Trumps behalf, property valuations and employee compensation. 3 The former president's business dealings are being investigated by New York State's Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney Credit: AFP The Democratic prosecutor has been using an investigative grand jury through the course of his probe to issue subpoenas and obtain documents. The investigation also includes scrutiny of Trumps relationship with his lenders, a land donation he made to qualify for an income tax deduction, and tax write-offs his company claimed on millions of dollars in consulting fees it paid. The former president's business dealings are also currently being investigated by New York State's Attorney General. The AG's office confirmed last week that the probe into the organization was "no longer civil," and that the company was being investigated in a "criminal capacity." A grand jury will determine if Trump, other high-ranking members of the Trump Organization, or the business itself should be indicted if prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to prison. New Yorker journalist Jane Mayer told NPR'S Terry Gross that people in Trump's circle believe the former president is immune to prison time. "People I've talked to who know Trump, including - I think it was Barbara Res who was an engineer who worked with the Trump Organization and for a number of years. She said to me, he will never, ever serve time in prison," Mayer explained. 3 Trump could face prison time if convicted of any charges as a result of the criminal investigations Credit: Getty "He would - she predicts that he would flee. And so do other people suggest that he would get out of the country. I don't - it's hard to know what to expect." "But it's - for me, anyway, it's hard for me to contemplate him truly in an orange jumpsuit at, you know, Rikers Island," she said. Trump contends the investigation is a witch hunt. This is purely political, and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the Presidential Election, and its being driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors, he said in a statement. Most read in News MANSLAUGHTER RAP Lord Ashcrofts daughter-in-law CHARGED over Belize cop's shooting RAPPER DEATH Rapper Lil Loaded dead at 20 after arrest for 18-year-old friends shooting 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash HIDDEN PAST Office star was Queen of 'racist' ball where members wore KKK-style hoods THAT'S PUSHING IT Crazy moment woman PUSHES BEAR off garden wall to stop it mauling dogs Latest BEHIND BARS Socialite pictured in jail after 'shooting dead Belize cop' while drinking Trump also complained that he was being "unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system. He claims the investigations are part of a Democratic plot to silence his voters and block him from running for president again. Vances office declined to comment on Trump's remarks.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2994114/donald-trump-criminal-investigation-prison-time/
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Who was Lee Harvey Oswald and how did he die?
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LEE Harvey Oswald is infamous for his role in the assassination of United States President John F Kennedy in 1963. In September 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone when he assassinated Kennedy. Oswald was a former US Marine, who joined the Marines at the age of 17. Oswald was court-martialed twice while in the Marines and jailed. He was honorably released from active duty in the Marine Corps into the reserve, then promptly flew to Europe and defected to the Soviet Union in October 1959. He lived in Minsk, Belarus, married Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova and had a daughter, June Lee. 5 Oswald and his wife Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova, and their daughter June Credit: Getty - Contributor In June 1962, Oswald returned to the United States with his wife, and eventually settled in Dallas, where their second daughter was also born. On November 22, 1963, from a window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building, Oswald allegedly fired three shots that killed President Kennedy and wounded Texas Governor John B Connally in Dealey Plaza. After the shooting, Oswald allegedly took a bus and a taxi to his rooming house, departed and about a mile away was stopped by Patrolman J.D. Tippit, who believed that Oswald resembled the suspect. Oswald proceeded to kill Tippit and entered the Texas Movie Theatre, where he was eventually arrested by police officers responding to reports of a suspect. November 23, 1963, he was formally arraigned for the murder of President Kennedy, but he denied responsibility for the killing, stating that he was a "patsy." On November 24, 1963, Oswald was fatally shot by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live television in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters. Detectives were escorting Oswald through the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters toward an armored car that was to take him to the nearby county jail. Ruby approached Oswald from the side of the crowd and shot him once in the abdomen at close range. An unconscious Oswald was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later died at. Journalist Ken Klippenstein trolled Republicans, including Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp and conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza into sharing the picture of the infamous killer. Klippenstein tweeted at the conservative figures and pretended Oswald, who was pictured wearing his army uniform, was a family member. He asked Gaetz: "Congressman, my grandpa's a big fan of yours and is a veteran, he would be thrilled if you could RT this photo of him for Memorial Day. Here he is as a young Private First Class." "Happy Memorial Day." 5 The since deleted tweet retweeted by Republican representative Matt Geatz Credit: Twitter Most read in News MANSLAUGHTER RAP Lord Ashcrofts daughter-in-law CHARGED over Belize cop's shooting RAPPER DEATH Rapper Lil Loaded dead at 20 after arrest for 18-year-old friends shooting 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash HIDDEN PAST Office star was Queen of 'racist' ball where members wore KKK-style hoods THAT'S PUSHING IT Crazy moment woman PUSHES BEAR off garden wall to stop it mauling dogs Latest BEHIND BARS Socialite pictured in jail after 'shooting dead Belize cop' while drinking Gaetz retweeted the photo and Klippenstein's comments along with a flag emoji while Schlapp said: "Wow @kenklippenstein it's my honor to retweet the photo of a veteran on a day we remember his fallen friends. God bless your grandfather." D'Souza also retweeted the photo along with Klippenstein's comments. Gaetz, D'Souza and Schlapp all deleted the photo after it came to their attention it was Oswald in the photo.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2994187/meet-lee-harvey-oswald-president-jfk-assassination/
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When will the Pentagons UFO report be released?
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THE Pentagon's UFO report complied with decades of classified documents will be released as part of the $2.3billion coronavirus spending package passed in December 2020. Congress' spending package required the Department of Defense and the Office of Director of National Intelligence to deliver an unclassified report on UFOs to Congress within six months. The legislation President Trump signed on December 27 said intelligence officials should submit their report within 180 days, which would fall in late June. However, the bombshell report could arrive as early as June 1. The report will be unclassified and is expected to contain everything the US Government knows about "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." It will examine if UAPs constitute a threat to US airspace, Deadline reports. 4 The Pentagon has until late June to submit their report to Congress Credit: Handout - Getty The report is unlikely to conclude that highly advanced extraterrestrials are the cause, but it may not rule them out. It's expected that recommendations for further UFO research and funding will be included within the dossier. Former President Trump discussed the upcoming report with conservative commentator Dan Bongino last week. He said: "I'm a believer in what you see, but there are a lot of people out there who are into that. I get that so much: 'is it true, sir?' "I'm not such a believer, but some people are, so I don't want to hurt their dreams or their fears." Republican Senator Marco Rubio warned that US officials should take UFOs entering the country's airspace seriously and "shouldn't laugh them off". 4 Former President Donald Trump said he's 'not such a believer' in UFOs Credit: AFP He told CBS 60 Minutes that investigating aircraft from foreign powers or another civilization should be given more time and resources. Sen. Rubio said: I want us to take it seriously and have a process to take it seriously. I want us to have a process to analyze the data every time it comes in. That there be a place where this is cataloged and constantly analyzed until we get some answers. Pentagon officials last year took the unprecedented step to release a trio of remarkable videos which showed "encounters" with UFOs. Perhaps the most striking was a video known as the Tic Tac which showed an unidentified object being pursued by fighter planes. 4 The report will be unclassified and is expected to contain everything the US Government knows about 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' Credit: Social Media - Refer to Source Lt Commander Alex Dietrich was training with a strike group approximately 100 miles southwest of San Diego when she and another pilot spotted the mysterious object. Dietrich told CBS 60 Minutes fighter pilots had struggled with how much to reveal about the encounter as the descriptions sounded crazy. She said: Over beers, we've said, 'Hey man, if I saw this solo, I don't know that I would have come back and said anything.' Most read in News MANSLAUGHTER RAP Lord Ashcrofts daughter-in-law CHARGED over Belize cop's shooting RAPPER DEATH Rapper Lil Loaded dead at 20 after arrest for 18-year-old friends shooting 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash HIDDEN PAST Office star was Queen of 'racist' ball where members wore KKK-style hoods THAT'S PUSHING IT Crazy moment woman PUSHES BEAR off garden wall to stop it mauling dogs Latest BEHIND BARS Socialite pictured in jail after 'shooting dead Belize cop' while drinking Because it sounds so crazy when I say it. The pilot was flying a F/A-18F fighter jet when she spotted an anomalous object flying in her vicinity. Dietrich said: "It was unidentified, and that's why it was so unsettling to us because we weren't expecting it. We couldn't classify it."
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2994696/the-pentagons-ufo-report-to-be-released-soon/
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Is er een kans dat de schorsing van Onana lager uitvalt in zijn beroepszaak?
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Ajaxkeeper Andre Onana tijdens de eredivisiewedstrijd tussen Fortuna Sittard en Ajax. Beeld ANP 1. Volgens een verklaring van Ajax voelde hij zich op 30 oktober 2020 niet lekker. De international van Kameroen wilde daarvoor een tabletje nemen en pakte toen onbewust een middel dat zijn vrouw voorgeschreven had gekregen. In zijn urine werd tijdens een zogeheten out-of-competitioncontrole furosemide aangetroffen, een plasmiddel dat snel overtollig vocht afvoert en op de dopinglijst van het Wereldantidopingagentschap (Wada) staat. Onana (25) zegt dat hij dacht aspirine te nemen. De Uefa schorste de keeper voor twaalf maanden. 2. Onana en Ajax zijn na de schorsing in beroep gegaan bij het hoogste sporttribunaal: het Cas. De uitspraak volgt op 2 juni en is in principe definitief. De feiten staan niet meer ter discussie, maar de procedure wordt juridisch getoetst. Een tijdrovende klus. De partijen conformeren zich aan de uitspraak van het Cas. 3. Marjan Olfers, bijzonder hoogleraar sport en recht aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, is heel duidelijk: Ik zie geen juridische grondslagen om de straf lager te laten uitvallen. De dopingregels laten heel weinig ruimte om onder een schorsing van een jaar te gaan. De Uefa heeft al geconcludeerd dat Onana geen intentie tot valsspelen had; dit is de laagste straf die hij met de huidige regelgeving kon krijgen. Wie een dopingovertreding begaat, krijgt altijd een schorsing. De regels zijn rigide. Ja. Nee. Minimaal een jaar. 4. Olfers: Je kunt zeggen dat de schorsing disproportioneel is. De actie is dom, maar Onana gaat van dit middel niet beter keepen. Het is niet prestatiebevorderend, want furosemide is een maskeringsmiddel. Daar valt iets voor te zeggen, maar dit argument vindt geen grondslag in de dopingregels die we kennen. Dopingzaken leggen ze bij het Cas soms liberaler uit dan andere rechtspraakinstanties. Dat is waar Ajax op hoopt. Volgens de regels heb je weinig ruimte, maar het blijft mensenwerk. Ajax kan met hagel schieten, in de hoop dat ze sympathie winnen. 5. Ja, zegt Olfers. Elke topsporter is verantwoordelijk voor alles wat hij inneemt. Onana is een beroepssporter en krijgt zijn inkomen uit voetbal. Deze actie betekent kapitaalvernieting voor Ajax. Als voetballer kun je niet zomaar medicatie nemen, het risico is enorm. Dat zie je nu. Onana mag een jaar lang niet trainen en spelen bij de club. 6. Volgens de technisch directeur van Ajax, Marc Overmars, niet. We zijn niet voor niets gestopt met de onderhandelingen over een nieuw contract. Dat contract loopt pas over een jaar af, maar Overmars verwacht dat Onana deze zomer vertrekt. Als zijn dopingschorsing wordt gereduceerd, kan Ajax wellicht nog wat transfermiljoenen voor hem opstrijken. De club gaat door met Maarten Stekelenburg (38) als eerste keeper. en heeft de ervaren Remko Pasveer (37) van Vitesse aangetrokken als stand-in. Ajax hoopt nog Jay Gorter (21) van Go Ahead Eagles te strikken. Hij zou de doelman van Jong Ajax moeten worden. Overmars wil de 21-jarige Kjell Scherpen verkopen aan het Engelse Brighton & Hove Albion, of anders een seizoen verhuren aan een eredivisieclub om de keeper van Jong Oranje daar verder te laten rijpen.
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https://www.parool.nl/sport/is-er-een-kans-dat-de-schorsing-van-onana-lager-uitvalt-in-zijn-beroepszaak~b190a3f0/
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Is Ethereum d Bitcoin-killer?
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Ethereum zit Bitcoin op de hielen, maar is het de Bitcoin-killer die zoveel mensen denken dat het is Bitcoin is natuurlijk zowat het uithangbord van de cryptocurrencies. Bijna iedereen kent de munt en bijna iedereen kent wel iemand die er in heeft genvesteerd. Maar de munt heeft concurrentie van een hele goede andere munt: Ethereum. Ethereum. Als je kijkt naar de waarde van Ethereum is het de tweede grootste digitale munt. De marktkapitalisatie van Ethereum is op het moment van schrijven een goede 295 miljard dollar. Bitcoin staat op 690 miljard dollar. Daar zit dus nog wel een groot verschil in. Maar volgens diverse experts hoeft dat niet in de weg te staan, Ethereum kan de stap maken om nog groter te worden. Dit schrijft de Amerikaanse bank Goldman Sachs. De bank zegt dat Ethereum een grote kans heeft om Bitcoin te overtreffen als de dominante opslag van waarde. Ook een andere bekende econoom gaf vorige week aan dat deze kans er best in zit. Nouriel Roubini zei namelijk dat Bitcoin geen intrinsieke waarde heeft. Tevens wordt het niet ondersteund door enig onderpand en is het geen wettig betaalmiddel. Tegelijktijdig is Ethereum het standaard betaalmiddel geworden in de wereld van onder andere NFTs. De munt heeft hiernaast een veel hogere transactiecapaciteit per seconde dan alle andere munten. Naarmate het gebruik van cryptovaluta bij DeFi en NFTs steeds gangbaarder wordt, zal ether zijn eigen first mover-voordeel opbouwen in toegepaste cryptotechnologie, schrijft Goldman. Verdere voordelen Goldman Sachs beschrijft verder in het rapport dat Ethereum ook de potentie heeft om een grote positie te verkrijgen als het gaat om veilige informatieopslag. Aan de informatie kan een token gekoppeld. Dit maakt het mogelijk om er handel mee te drijven. Dit is een kleine vooruitblik op het daadwerkelijke gebruik van ether in de praktijk, aldus Goldman. De zakenbank denkt dat Ethereum een belangrijke rol kan spelen bij de veilige opslag van medische gegevens, die vervolgens verkocht kunnen worden aan farmaceutische bedrijven. Om maar een voorbeeld te noemen. Ethereum heeft het voordeel dat het gedecentraliseerd is, in plaats van de cloudoplossing van bedrijven als Microsoft. Dit kan mogelijk een oplossing bieden voor problemen over het delen van persoonlijke gegevens, legt de bank verder uit. Een veelbelovende munt dus, waar we ongetwijfeld nog meer over gaan horen.
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https://www.apparata.nl/nieuws/is-ethereum-de-bitcoin-killer-53914
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What are the 2021 hurricane names?
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The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is on. The season officially starts June 1 and extends through November 30. Just a few days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released this years hurricane season outlook, predicting a busier-than-average hurricane season, Tropical Storm Ana became the first named storm of the season when it formed off Bermuda on May 22. That makes 2021 the seventh straight year in which at least one named storm has developed in the Atlantic basin before hurricane seasons official start date. Meteorologists long ago learned that naming tropical storms and hurricanes helps people remember the storms, communicate about them more effectively, and consequently stay safer if and when a particular storm strikes a coast. These experts assign names to hurricanes according to a formal list of names that is approved before the start of each hurricane season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center started this practice in the early 1950s. Now, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) generates and maintains the list of hurricane names. Here are the hurricane names for 2021 Atlantic hurricane names (season runs from June 1 to November 30) are: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda. Although NOAA forecasts a busy 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, the agency doesnt anticipate the historic level of storm activity seen in 2020s record-breaking season, which had 30 named storms. It was only the second time the list of storm names was exhausted in a season since naming began. But, in case all 21 names are used again this year, heres a new supplemental list from the WMO: Adria, Braylen, Caridad, Deshawn, Emery, Foster, Gemma, Heath, Isla, Jacobus, Kenzie, Lucio, Makayla, Nolan, Orlanda, Pax, Ronin, Sophie, Tayshaun, Viviana, and Will. Eastern North Pacific hurricane names (season runs from May 15 to November 30) are: Andres, Blanca, Carlos, Dolores, Enrique, Felicia, Guillermo, Hilda, Ignacio, Jimena, Kevin, Linda, Marty, Nora, Olaf, Pamela, Rick, Sandra, Terry, Vivian, Waldo, Xina, York, and Zelda. If youre interested, you can view those names, and names for upcoming years, at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. While people have been naming major storms for hundreds of years, most hurricanes were originally designated by a system of latitude-longitude numbers, which was useful to meteorologists trying to track these storms. Unfortunately, this system confused people living on coasts seeking hurricane information. In the early 1950s, the U.S. National Hurricane Center first developed a formal practice for storm naming for the Atlantic Ocean. At that time, storms were named according to a phonetic alphabet (e.g., Able, Baker, Charlie) and the names used were the same for each hurricane season; in other words, the first hurricane of a season was always named Able, the second Baker, and so on. In 1953, to avoid the repetitive use of names, the National Weather Service revised the system so that storms would be given female names. By doing this, the National Weather Service was mimicking the habit of naval meteorologists, who named the storms after women, much as ships at sea were traditionally named for women. In 19781979, the system was revised again to include both female and male hurricane names. Tropical storms are given names when they display a rotating circulation pattern and wind speeds reach 39 miles per hour (63 kilometers per hour). A tropical storm develops into a hurricane when wind speeds go above 74 mph (119 kph). Experts have developed lists of hurricane names for many of the major ocean basins around the world. Today, there are six lists of hurricane names in use for Atlantic Ocean and Eastern North Pacific storms. These lists rotate, one each year. That means the list of this years hurricane names for each basin will come up again six years from now. Theres an exception to this practice, however. The WMO retires the names of extremely damaging hurricanes for legal, cultural sensitivity, and historical reasons. For example, the use of the name Katrina was retired in 2005 following the devastating impact that Hurricane Katrina had on New Orleans. In March 2019, the WMO removed the names Florence and Michael from its lists for the Atlantic Ocean basin and replaced the names with Francine and Milton. Hurricanes Florence and Michael, which respectively struck the coasts of North Carolina and Florida in 2018, each caused tremendous damage and dozens of fatalities. Bottom line: How hurricanes get their names, and the hurricane names for the 2021 season.
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https://earthsky.org/earth/how-do-hurricanes-get-their-names/
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What kind of salads did the Canaanites eat?
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Located in central Israel, between the Judean Foothills and the southern Coastal Plain, Gath is prominently featured in the Bible in events considered to have taken place several centuries later including as the city of origin of Davids giant foe Goliath A new macrobotanical investigation has offered unprecedent insights into the daily lives of its residents. During that period, in what is known by experts as the Early Bronze Age, the land went through some major transformations, as Suembikya Frumin from the Archaeobotany Lab, Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University , explained. Frumin was the lead author of a paper published in the June 2021 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, together with Bar-Ilan scholars Aren Maeir the director of the excavations at the site Ehud Weiss, Yoel Melamed and University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada) Haskel J. Greenfield. This is the first time that we look at huge settlements, real fortified cities surrounded by thick walls, she said. We tried to understand what this form of communal organization looked like. In order to do so, the researchers analyzed the plant assemblages found in the relevant levels at the site. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} The botanical finds, mostly charred seeds and other plant remains, allowed the researchers to understand not only what kind of food the ancient Canaanites ate, but also how they warmed up their houses, where their fields were located, the seasonality of the crops, how the work split between agriculture and herding, and how Gath related to the contemporary commercial routes. For example, we found a lot of weeds in the houses, near where people cooked and eat, Frumin said. If I go to the supermarket today, I expect to buy vegetables that are already sorted and clean and are ready to be cooked and eaten. If those residents in Gath had bought the produce, it would have already been clean. The fact that weeds were still mixed with it tells us that they were the farmers themselves, they probably went out in the fields during the day and came back to the city at night. The researchers analyzed more than 3,500 plant finds and identified emmer, lentils, pistachio, grass peas, figs, olives, flax, barley and grapes, among others. The scholar noted that the farmers likely did not want to go too far from the city, in order not to lose contact and the protection it offered. Indeed, the large hill where Gath stood appeared to have offered a diversity of habitats. The ecology of the crops suggests exploitation of gentle slopes for cereals, the open slopes in the vicinity of water sources as prime locations for fig cultivation, the well-drained soil pockets among rocks for olives and grapevine, while the lowermost alluvial river plain habitats could have been used for flax, reads the paper. Frumin said that there was no evidence of irrigation systems, suggesting that rain and a nearby stream provided enough water. Everything was very simple and ecological, she remarked. According to the scholar, as it often happened in dried climates, the dung of the animals was used as a fuel. This way, the city was clean, the food was cooked, and the houses were warmed, she said. While most of the species found - including wild herbs grew in the area of Gath, it was the samples of species that were likely brought from further away that offered a different piece of the puzzle. The presence of these species suggested that Gath entertained contacts with neighboring regions such as the Sharon and Coastal Plains, the Judean Mountains, and Northern Negev. The land was very densely populated back then, as soon as someone leaved their areas, they would immediately crossed into another city so it is interesting to look into what kind of relations they had, Frumin said. The routes suggested by the analysis of the plant assemblages are very similar to well-known trade routes in the region at the time. Our results fit the spatial spread of two other important economic constituents Canaanean blades (used as sickle elements for reaping) and basalt ground stones (used for cereal threshing), the researchers wrote in the paper. The striking similarity in the spatial spread of agricultural tools with evidence for occasional animal movements across biogeographical boundaries, raises the possibility of that these movements occurred along the same routes, they added. Long distance caravans of donkeys plied the trade routes across the region during the Bronze Age and may have been manned by such seasonally specialized workers who took their wares from settlement to settlement. The picture of Gath that emerges is the one of a very well organized city, Frumin said. It was active in agriculture, visited by many craftsmen and apparently with good connections between different groups, since it was not an isolated city but had many interconnections, she concluded. Some 4,500 years ago, Canaanites residents of Gath, also known as Tell es-Safi, ate figs, olives, wheat, barley and grapes, and many other species which have been considered a symbol of the land of Israel for the millennia to come, from the time of the Bible to this date.
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https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/what-kind-of-salads-did-the-canaanites-eat-669805
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Will the real Bernie Sanders please stand up?
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Bernie Sanders was not so favoured and fashionable at the international stage, until he ran for the Democratic presidential election nomination in 2016. The 2016 election was also remarkable in terms of the opposition he gained. However, his overly left wing political assertiveness struck a chord with the Democratic American youth, and other disenchanted voters, who believed that America was under a new revolution under his aegis. They went out in large numbers to support him, but his eventual defeat to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic elections was called as one of the greatest upsets in modern political history. In reality, the election gimmick which Sanders used as a Democratic presidential candidate was to foster a motivated, rapid, growing interest in socialism, that would be channeled behind the Democratic Party, where it could be trapped so that it could lose its bearings. The white liberal imperialist Americans called his political strategy as a softer imperialist approach with the liberal version of what passes off as socialism in the US. By the rightists, in their red baiting accusations, he was called as a pinko communist, who reimagined some form of pro Soviet communism. However, his ideals of democratic socialism seem to be fraudulent, because he cannot claim to oppose policies of financial oligarchy, in his own country, while endorsing wars fought on their behalf abroad, in a quest where American capitalist class maintain their dominance. Beneath the sounding rhetoric, Sanders is actually pro capitalist. As for Sanders alleged socialism, when he tried to manifest his support for universal healthcare for all Americans, and his support for free public education, social positions that he shared with western allies such as Canada, he didnt call for any broader socialist measures, such as nationalisation of electricity, phone companies, the oil industry, or major US banks or corporations. So, his political slogan was never socialist in its truest sense, that he wanted the Americans to believe. Since then, the Vermont senator has been actively involved as a political commentator on American foreign policy. However, the real Bernie Sanders is someone, who is not an anti-war mongrel at all. His unblemished past records stand a testimony for this. He is often seen wrangling anti-Semitism accusations for his vocal chord in support for Palestinians, but the U.S. lobby and American public, in their amnesia, seem to forget that Sanders is hundred percent pro-Israel. He declared that with an interview with CNN. He also claimed to have written books in Israel, spent his youth at Israeli kibbutz Shaar Haamakim, in 1963, with a Zionish group Hashomer Hatzair, on the lands of Palestinian villages of Sheikh Bureik and al-Harthiya, where people were forcefully evicted in the 1930s for settler colonists, even though the Zionist group was defined by US conservatives as a Stalinist one. He even has family in Israel. Despite Sanders declaring Netanyahus policies as unjust would not override the fact that banished Palestinians would not be allowed to come back to their homeland, even on Israeli political policies that are not based on a rightist spectrum. The fact remains that Israel, in its inception, was formed on racial grounds, and on quintessence of Jewish supremacy. On establishment of Israel, he once commented: I think it is very important for everyone, but particularly for progressives, to acknowledge the enormous achievement of establishing a democratic homeland for the Jewish people after centuries of displacement and persecution. Sanders, as an individual cannot claim to have a moral voice, when he sees it right in establishing a State by displacing its native Palestinian Muslims. In a 2014 town hall meeting, Sanders shouted down an antiwar protester, who challenged his support for Israel, even as it was committing egregious crimes against the Palestinian population. Sanders support for protecting Israel was not just in terms of words, but by votes to provide billions in military hardware and aid to the apartheid state in 1997, 1999, and 2004. When Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006, Sanders voted in favor of imposing sanctions in order to remove them from power. He has also voted for resolutions in favour of Israeli military actions against Lebanon in 2006, and Gaza in 2014. In 1993, he supported US military intervention in Somalia to instill a puppet regime. In the 1990s, he supported wars in Haiti by sending marines there. In his political career, Sanders went on to become more hawkish regarding the Balkan wars, as decades passed by. In the Balkan wars, when the administration led a full scale NATO air war against Serbia to force Belgrade to withdraw from its restless, predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo, Sanders was happy to come on board. He voted for a Senate Concurrent Resolution (sponsored by Senator Joe Biden) that authorised president to conduct air operations, and missile strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). When antiwar activists occupied Sanders office in 1999, due to his support for the war, he had them arrested. He also supported the US war in Afghanistan, despite claiming it to be a mistake. Since then, he continued to endorse US wars in the Middle East, including a proxy war in Syria, with a decision to support Obamas inclusion of 250 U.S. troops to that country, purportedly to train, and lend a hand to moderate Syrian rebels, trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assads regime. Sanders had even endorsed the U.S.-led military campaign against Libyas Muammar Qaddafi, by sponsoring and voting for a resolution, condemning Qaddafi, and calling on the UN to pressure him to leave office. When Trump announced a partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria, in late 2019, Sanders joined in the Democratic led aggressive warlike chorus, condemning the move as a betrayal of Washingtons Kurdish allies in Syria. He also defended a war mongering in Russia, including backing U.S military to Ukraine. In 1998, Sanders voted for the Iraq Liberation Act and another resolution that supported American measures, to overthrow Saddam Hussein. In 1996, he voted in favor of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act, which imposes sanctions on persons exporting certain goods, or technology, that would enhance Irans ability to explore for extract, refine, or transport by pipeline petroleum resources, and for other purposes. In 2001, he voted to extend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act. He also supported arming the Saudi Arabian monarchy to fight ISIS. He has refused to end the drone program, but promises to use it very selectively. The War on Terror also marked the beginning of Sanders support for the war budget, and appropriations to the military in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. As for the oppositions of war in Iraq in 1991, and 2003, they were mostly pro imperialist argumentations. During Iraqs invasion in 2003, he commented: UN inspectors in Iraq should be allowed to do their jobs with clearly defined timelines, and that these inspectors should undertake an unfettered search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and destroy them when found, pursuant to past UN resolutions. If Iraq resists inspection and elimination of stockpiled weapons, we should stand ready to assist the UN in forcing compliance. But despite his initial opposition to the invasion, Sanders voted in favour of congressional bills to fund the Iraq war, inviting Bush to use force, if necessary. Moreover, Sanders has publicly voiced support for the use of assassinations and extraordinary rendition, in the so-called war on terror. In 2015, when asked whether anti-terrorism policies under a Sanders administration would include drones and special forces, Sanders replied that he supported all that and more. In his interview with NPR, Sanders evaded answering when asked whether he would leave special operations forces in Iraq, after withdrawing ground troops. Sanders support for war is closely connected to his longstanding support for trade war with China, which raises a looming danger of a shooting war with a nuclear power. In fact, his first piece of legislation in Congress was a bill he enacted with Nancy Pelosi opposing favourable trade relations with China. By invoking praise in his speech for presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, the architects of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Sanders concealed himself in the role of Cold War-era anticommunism. Sanders, in his radical period, only opposed militarism when it affected the jobs of American workers. During the 1980s, Vermont was one of the largest recipients of Defense Department weapons contracts, such as the General Electric Plant in Burlington, which produced gatling guns, for Central American death squads. When peace activists planned to block the gate to the GE factory on June 20, 1983, Sanders refused to support them and had them arrested. He would use the same rationale when he justified a long-standing support for the F-35 fighter jets, which at 1.5 trillion US dollars was the most expensive program in military weapons history. Sanders had made no secret that he wanted that investment in Vermont, which would provide at least 1400 jobs and $124 million worth of investment. If Bernie Sanders is serious about leaving himself leeway to act militarily where necessary, it would be useful to articulate that idea to his supporters in the context of the campaign, Suzzane Nossel once said, a former State Department official in the Obama administration. Although, he has not voted for every war authorisation, in his tenure, his stances on war are mixed, murky, complex, which makes it understandable that hes not a clean slate. It is because when he uses the term necessary wars, he is not referring to popular revolutions against bankrupt social orders, or revolts by colonial peoples against their imperial masters. He is referring instead to those wars that are necessary to advance the interests of American imperialism. Naveed Qazi is author of six books. He is the editor of Globe UpFront, and can be mailed at [email protected] GET COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX
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https://countercurrents.org/2021/06/will-the-real-bernie-sanders-please-stand-up/
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What Explains Covid Youth Shaming in Ireland?
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There was much crying and gnashing of teeth from politicians and government officials Saturday over mass outdoor gatherings of mostly young people in Dublin and Cork. After over a years worth of lockdowns, the drink-filled gatherings were lambasted by a wide variety of sources, including Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan (pbuh) who said he was absolutely shocked by them, comparing them to an open-aired party. This outrage however was met with stern opposition. Other commentators, on both the left and right ends of the political spectrum came out against the campaign of castigation, often citing the relatively low level of risk posed by the gathering, as well as the multiple failings of both the government and local authorities to adequately prepare for gatherings that any reasonable individual could see were ultimately inevitable. The controversy serves as the latest flashpoint between Irelands ruling class and the youth of the nation. While the modern State has always had an issue properly catering for the youth under its charge, the relationship between the two has only soured with the pandemic. What was once a relationship of mild disdain now drifts ever towards abject hatred, as the younger generations move ever more towards the populism of Sinn Fin and the nascent right-wing in response to inept governance. As the world collapses around them, all that is left for the youth of our nation is to rampantly abuse alcohol and other substances on the streets of our cities, desperate to forget the times they are living in. The government, weak and ineffective in its ability to maintain and administer justice, has left these generations with little to nothing to hold on to, both ideologically and materially. The levels of opportunity within the State have utterly withered with the growth of globalism. As talking heads remind us that Irishness is nothing more than a piece of paper, they simultaneously expect the youth to carry the brunt of the States financial burdens caused by both this health crisis as well as the financial crises before it. In response, our generation lashes out. Binge drinking culture has always been a problem for the Irish nation, but recent years have seen a substantial increase in the use of hard drugs, such as cocaine, as well as gang violence amongst the young people of this country. While I believe Holohans comments to be narrow-minded at best, I do agree that Saturdays events in Dublin can only be described as shocking indeed. I myself had business in the city at the time, and traversing the streets felt much like journeying through an Irish variant of Dantes inferno. As I struggled to avoid pools of vomit and splatters of blood, my own contemporaries screamed and shouted, out of their mind in Dionysian revelry as they roamed the absolute kip that is Dublin city. This is not the world Pearse dreamed of. Hell, I would wager that its well beyond what were his worst nightmares. As our island slowly drowns under a multitude of crises, the various generations of young people are left with nothing better to do than to drink, smoke and snort the night away, with no care for the world around them. Those older of course look on at this behaviour in disgust, asking how these youngsters could act with no regards to their city. But they are hardly unique in this. The government has been so lax on public safety that the women in my life are no longer willing to walk the streets alone at night, and the local councils dont seem to care what happens, so long as the vomit-soaked pavement the many homeless must sleep on is rainbow-coloured. As our ruling class starts another round of castigation aimed at the youth of our nation, let us remind ourselves of how we got here. A shambolic pandemic response, combined with a housing crisis and a boat load of national debt has left Young Ireland with little hope. I know Im not.
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https://www.theburkean.ie/articles/2021/06/01/what-explains-irish-covid-youth-shaming
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Will there be a season 2 of The Pact?
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THE Pact has thrilled viewers with its tale of a workplace prank that goes very, very wrong. The BBC One drama has had us all hooked and now fans want to know if there will be a second series. At the moment there is still no word on whether The Pact has been renewed for another season. The show has been a big ratings hit for the BBC, so they may consider doing a second series. However the series does tie up the loose ends in the final episode, so this could mean there isn't anywhere for the story to go. But if we hear any news on a potential series 2, you'll hear it here first. WARNING: The below contains MAJOR spoilers from the final episode of The Pact. The six-episode series tells the story of four employees - Anna, Louie, Kat and Nancy - who work at a Welsh brewery under a cruel and manipulative boss, Jack Evans. After a work party, the women decide to bundle Jack into a car and dump him in the woods as a prank, to teach him a lesson. However, Jack is found dead not long after, prompting the four women to enter into a pact of silence. But it then turns out that Jack was murdered - and a game of whodunnit ensued. In the end the murderer was revealed to be Anna's wayward daughter Tasmin. The Pact concludes tonight on BBC One at 9pm. It has been running twice a week for three weeks. However, all six episodes are available now on the BBC iPlayer.
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https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/tv/7193012/the-pact-season-2/
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Is the Supreme Court Sending the Democrats a Message About Court-Packing?
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Legal analyst Jonathan Turley thinks the United States Supreme Court is sending a message to the Democrats about their not-so-secret plans to pack the courtand I think his theory has merit. Turley believes that four recent unanimous decisions by the Court are a message to the Democratic majority that the Supreme Court is not so rigidly ideological as Democratic members and activists suggest. In the Garland case, the court ruled (again) unanimously to reverse the Ninth Circuit in an opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch on the rule in immigration disputes regarding the credibility of noncitizens testimony. cannot be reconciled with the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In Cooley, the Court unanimously ruled in an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer that a tribal police officer has authority to detain temporarily and to search a non-Native American traveling on a public right-of-way running through a reservation. Last week, there were two unanimous opinions making this six 9-0 rulings in two weeks. Justice Sotomayor wrote the opinion in United States v. Palomar-Santiago, an immigration decision that ruled for the government and against an immigrant. It also ruled unanimously in Territory of Guam v. United States, in an opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas. The Court ruled in favor of Guam on the collection of funding from the U.S. government to remediate environmental pollution on the island. Turley also notes that a number of current and former justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, have publicly warned against packing the court. If anything would make the court look partisan, it would be thatone side saying, When were in power, were going to enlarge the number of judges, so we would have more people who would vote the way we want them to, RBG said shortly before she died. But, that hasnt stopped Democrats from insisting that the court needs reformor, as some Democratic leaders have tried to brand it, unpacking. Democrats have laid down the groundwork to (falsely) claim that the Republican Party has packed the court, and they are simply trying to bring balance back. To do this, they deem various acts by the GOP court-packing when they are most certainly not. The litany of unanimous rulings amplifies the fact that most cases are resolved with compromise and different alignments of the justices, suggests Turley. There are always big ticket cases that produce more ideological divisions but they are the exception rather than the rule for the Court. These are honest ideological differences and we want the justices to be consistent on their underlying principles. However, most of the work of the Court remains less ideologically driven on issues ranging from statutory interpretation to evidentiary rules. Sadly, no matter what message the court is or isnt trying to say, Democrats have shown they dont particularly care what they think. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently threatened the court, saying that if they dont rule the right way on major cases, It will inevitably fuel and drive an effort to expand the Supreme Court if this activist majority betrays fundamental constitutional principles. He added, Its already driving that movement. Chipping away at Roe v. Wade will precipitate a seismic movement to reform the Supreme Court. It may not be expanding the Supreme Court, it may be making changes to its jurisdiction, or requiring a certain numbers of votes to strike down certain past precedents.
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https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2021/06/01/is-the-supreme-court-sending-the-democrats-a-message-about-court-packing-n1451203
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Is Indian Idol trying to generate interest by creating controversies?
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A source very close to the show who is also an expert on reality television says these ongoing controversies are self-generated. Suddenly you have contestants being pulled up for being not good enough; you have judges pulled up for not being honest enough. These are all planned gimmicks, the source informs me adding, The platform is open to many interpretations on how contestants should be judged. First there was a judge, singer Amit Kumar claiming he was instructed to say only good things about the contestants. You now have a lyricist (Manoj Muntashir) criticizing Amit Kumar for talking against the show. Its all a cleanly designed spiral of publicity. I asked host Aditya Narayan once and for all if the guest judges are asked to make only favourable comments about the contestants, Aditya replied, No, they are not. It is common practice on music reality shows to generate controversies when there are none. In 2019 the internet was ablaze with a story on Adnan Sami and Armaan Malik indulging in a spat on the sets of the talent-hunt show The Voice where they both serve as a judge. The truth is, there was no such incident at all on the sets of the show. Adnan spoke to me and called the whole incident a figment of the PR teams imagination. One morning they decided to boost the TRPs of the show (The Voice). They decide to plant a manufactured war between the two most popular judges of the show. Shockingly, Adnan Sami and Armaan Malik were not taken into confidence, probably because those who created this work of sickening fiction knew their idea would be nipped in the bud if either of the two came to know of the planned publicity gimmick. And thats exactly what happened when Adnan and Armaan came to know of their war on the sets. Said Adnan, Armaan and I were shooting for the show when the story broke out. We were aghast. And livid. There was never any hostility between us. Armaan respects me too much to even talk loudly in my presence. It didnt take us long to know where the made-up story came from. We were even told to lie low and not comment. Also Read: Sunidhi Chauhan reveals she was asked to praise contestants on Indian Idol; talks about doctoring of songs Click HERE to read more and view the original source of this article. Yes No View Results
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https://www.oyetimes.com/cinema/masala/341944-is-indian-idol-trying-to-generate-interest-by-creating-controversies
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Will Gavin Hunts sacking affect Phathutshedzo Nanges Kaizer Chiefs move?
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On Friday, Kaizer Chiefs dropped a massive bombshell on their official social media platforms, with the announcement of Gavin Hunts sacking. Hunt, who worked with Nange at the now-defunct Bidvest Wits before his unsuccessful spell as Chiefs coach, was rumoured to be the one who invited his former midfielder to come train at Naturena at the beginning of this season. Hunt seemed to fancy a reunion with more than just Nange The rumour heightened even further with the arrivals of Hunts other former players in the form of Bafana Bafana international left-back Sfiso Hlanti as well as goalkeeper Brandon Pietersen. It then became even harder to doubt the influence Hunt was having on the Chiefs transfer policy, seemingly looking to reunite with some of his most trusted soldiers. Nange and co. would have to wait, however READ | NEW KAIZER CHIEFS SIGNINGS CONTRACT LENGTH REVEALED Chiefs would have their FIFA ban upheld, however, and with that Nange and Hlanti would be forced to find new homes, at least in the interim. Hunt would then drop an even bigger clue of that when he named dropped Nange as a player that Chiefs had already had an agreement with which now may prove to be true. However, what may have been false is the overstated influence Hunt had on the deal. Nange to Chiefs was done before Hunts arrival According to a Kickoff.com source, the deal taking Nange to Chiefs was concluded well ahead of Bidvest Wits takeover talks, therefore Hunt could not have possibly pushed for it. The thing is the midfielder wasnt signed by Gavin anyway, the source explained. Nange signed with Chiefs last season already before they even went to bio bubble, way before even Bidvest Wits revealed they were selling a status. With terms that were saying If Bidvest Wits sold their status to TTM, he will join Kaizer Chiefs. When Wits beat Chiefs in the bubble he had already [agreed to] join them and Gavin was still at Wits that time. Although Chiefs fans can breathe a sigh of relief with regards to Nange, it remains to be seen what will happen to the likes of Hlanti, Petersen and Buhle Mkhwanazi who were all mooted as Hunts other targets.
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https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sport/soccer/psl-south-africa/will-gavin-hunts-sacking-affect-phathutshedzo-nanges-kaizer-chiefs-move/
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What's Up With ENGlobal Stock Today?
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ENGlobal Corp (NASDAQ: ENG) is trading significantly higher Tuesday morning on above-average volume. ENGlobal is a specialty engineering services firm focused on engineered modular systems, automation integration solutions and select engineering, procurement, construction and management projects. On May 6, ENGlobal reported first-quarter revenue of $12.45 million, which was down from $19.26 million year-over-year. The company is currently working on engineering and fabricating a complete modular hydrogen production facility. The facility will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and will utilize a hydrogen reforming technology that consumes 20% less feed and fuel gas than that of conventional hydrogen plants. The company says the technology will substantially lower operating costs and its carbon footprint. Price Action: ENGlobal traded as high as $9.40 and as low as 69 cents over a 52-week period. It's up 4.53% year to date. At last check, the stock was up 32.40% at $3.39.
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https://www.benzinga.com/markets/penny-stocks/21/06/21370116/whats-up-with-englobal-stock-today
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How were the carbon contents in terrestrial and lunar mantles established?
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According to the theory of planet formation, rocky bodies such as the Earth were formed by repeating collisions from dusty materials. In this process, a number of Mercury- or Mars-sized planetary embryos, were formed, and eventually these bodies merged together and formed terrestrial planets in our solar system. During the formation of the planetary embryos, the interior of these bodies was likely to be molten due to the heat by radiative-decay elements and a collisional energy of the planetary embryos. At this stage, iron and silicate separate, and form the metallic core and silicate mantle. Elemental partitioning occurs between the metallic core and mantle, and siderophile (iron loving) elements are removed from the mantle. Previous studies have experimentally investigated carbon partitioning between liquid core and molten mantle in terrestrial planets, and pointed out that carbon partitioned into the mantle was much smaller than the estimated carbon contents in the Earth's mantle today. Thus, how and when most of the carbon in the Earth's mantle was delivered in was a great mystery. In previous experiments, the sample was saturated with carbon because of the use of a graphite capsule. However, given the carbon contents in chondrites which are considered as the main building block of the earth, it is unlikely that the bulk Earth is saturated with carbon. Moreover, element partitioning between two phases varies with the concentration of the element of interest even if the pressure and temperature conditions are identical. Thus, care must be taken when previous experimental results under carbon-saturated conditions apply to terrestrial planets. Nevertheless, the effect of the carbon concentration on its metal-silicate partitioning behavior was not investigated. Researchers of Ehime University, Kyoto University, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) conducted new high-pressure experiments on carbon partitioning between metal and silicate using chondritic starting materials and an SiO 2 glass capsule instead of a graphite capsule. As a result, they found that the carbon partitioned into molten silicate in the sample using an SiO 2 capsule was nearly saturated with carbon. This suggests that if planetary embryos contained the similar amount of carbon as chondrite, their mantles may also have been nearly saturated with carbon. In addition, if the mixing between metallic core and mantle was not efficient during the merging impact of planetary embryos, the mantle of proto-planets would be expected to retain nearly saturated amounts of carbon. Indeed, the solubility of carbon in magma equilibrating with metallic iron is very consistent with that in the Earth's mantle, suggesting that the carbon content in the Earth's mantle may be a natural consequence of the core-mantle partitioning of carbon during the formation of the Earth. ###
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https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/eu-hwt053121.php
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Will the Senate amend restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution?
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The Senate of the Philippines found itself in the unenviable position of facing a task that the nation wants so badly, to improve policies designed to attract foreign investments. The House of Representatives, on its own, passed the proposal to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Philippine Constitution by 3/4 vote of its members. The need to speed up and strengthen economic recovery. To amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution announces to the world the most concrete effort of the nation regarding its readiness to welcome more foreign direct investments. It is a move that truly signals a reform to seek external private partners for more job creation, a step in raising labor productivity, and consequently, rising incomes. The Senate now faces a diminished window of time to act on pressing legislative issues, one of them being the amendment of the economic provisions. It is time to get down to the most important matters. Perhaps, the government administration could influence the actions by emphasizing the countrys needs. It could exercise political will. The restrictive economic provisions on foreign investments. The provisions of law under question were originally found in the 1935 Philippine Constitution under Article XIII, Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources. These provisions limited the economic rights of foreigners on land ownership and usage, on the business exploitation related to the nations natural resources, and on the operation of public utilities. Within the context of corporate enterprises, the limitation was a strict minority position of 40 percent for foreign enterprises. However, the provisions of the Constitution under question in the recent amendments of the House, the bill they hope the Senate will also pass, is found in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the nations current basic law Under the 1987 Constitution, Article XII encapsulates all the said economic provisions. They are not substantially different from the Article XIII of the 1935 Constitution. In many other respects, the expanded wording of the section is just a bigger sea of unnecessary prose. The original sin of Philippine development policy. These provisions of the Constitution which limited certain sectors of the economy only to Filipino citizens and enterprises were placed there by our early zealous leaders who had wanted to announce that future investments in critical areas of the economy be reserved for Filipino citizens. Below, I outline the history on why those provisions have sowed the seed of our original sin in the nations conduct of development policy. Though the provisions in the Constitution were prospective provisions, they were directed at the ownership of major enterprises, which in those days were owned by American investors. That was clear from the beginning, a plan to control the directions of the economic future. Manuel L Quezon was the leader of the Philippine independence movement who emerged triumphant in winning the fight for independence in the US Congress. His political ally and follower, Claro M. Recto, was the president of the Constitutional Convention. They staked their demands on future investors at the outset. One wonders whether our leaders then sufficiently calculated the reactions of their potential adversaries to understand the implications of their actions by crafting these sensitive provisions in the Constitution. When then US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Philippine independence law (the Tydings-McDuffie Law), his main problem was focused on solving the countrys main headache the Great Economic Depression. America was in deep depression. He had just been elected president. The American president was in control of Philippine destiny until the final grant of independence. As long as the US held the card on the sovereignty of the Philippine peso through a fixed exchange rate, the US president could protect American investments in the islands. He also held other important leverage on trade and other economic policies trade and other economic relations that benefited the former colony, especially future relations. When we woke up from the ashes of the Second World War as a country devastated by war destruction, the grant of independence was imminent. Ahead of independence, the object against which those economic provisions were written American economic interests in the Philippines spoke to their leaders and demanded that American citizens in the country be given all the rights of Filipino citizens. This was the parity rights for American citizens. Looming in exchange for this demand were war damage compensation cum rehabilitation assistance, and the adjustment in trade and economic relations for a period of 28 years. Though goodwill between America and the Philippines permeated, the Filipino people amended the political Constitution through a plebiscite to accommodate this demand. And the grant of political independence proceeded as scheduled. One consequence of this was that it began its political independence with many opportunities not available to other countries. There continued heavy doses of American expenditures after the war military bases expenditure, economic aid, and, as important, war damage compensation cum economic rehabilitation program. There was also a period of adjustments in trade and economic relations that lasted until 1974. This was a great amount of cash and capital inflows that enabled the country to recover quickly and resume economic development. With all these developments, the Philippines was still poised to become well-endowed with opportunities that could make it succeed well in development. It was not surprising, therefore, that we were considered likely to succeed in development next only to Japan. A seemingly perverse and unintended consequence of this new arrangement was that two classes of foreigners appeared within the context of Philippine economic policy: Americans and other foreigners. Most countries give national treatment to foreign direct investments or at least, what is known as the most-favored-nation clause in international agreements. So, for a number of years, the treatment of foreigners appeared dualistic for as long as the special rights for American citizens existed. This aberration was part of the original sin in early economic policy. For archives of previous Crossroads essays, go to: https://www.philstar.com/authors/1336383/gerardo-p-sicat. Visit this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/
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https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/06/02/2102393/will-senate-amend-restrictive-economic-provisions-constitution
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What Does Abbott Laboratories Debt Look Like?
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Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) moved lower by 6.46% in the past three months. Before we understand the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Abbott Laboratories has. Abbott Laboratories's Debt According to the Abbott Laboratories's most recent balance sheet as reported on May 5, 2021, total debt is at $18.44 billion, with $17.49 billion in long-term debt and $955.00 million in current debt. Adjusting for $8.05 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $10.39 billion. Let's define some of the terms we used in the paragraph above. Current debt is the portion of a company's debt which is due within 1 year, while long-term debt is the portion due in more than 1 year. Cash equivalents include cash and any liquid securities with maturity periods of 90 days or less. Total debt equals current debt plus long-term debt minus cash equivalents. Shareholders look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Abbott Laboratories has $72.78 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.25. Generally speaking, a debt-ratio more than one means that a large portion of debt is funded by assets. As the debt-ratio increases, so the does the risk of defaulting on loans, if interest rates were to increase. Different industries have different thresholds of tolerance for debt-ratios. A debt ratio of 40% might be higher for one industry and average for another. Importance Of Debt Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives. However, due to interest-payment obligations, cash-flow of a company can be impacted. Having financial leverage also allows companies to use additional capital for business operations, allowing equity owners to retain excess profit, generated by the debt capital. Check out Benzinga Pro, a market research platform which provides investors with near-instantaneous access to dozens of stock metrics - including debt-to-equity ratio. Click here to learn more.
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https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21368998/what-does-abbott-laboratories-debt-look-like
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Could Chiefs second-year CB BoPete Keyes be poised for a breakout year in 2021?
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The Kansas City Chiefs 2020 NFL draft class had a lot of early contributors, but there was one player who was on the 53-man roster for the bulk of the season who didnt see much action during the course of the year. The Chiefs traded back into the draft to select Tulane CB BoPete Keyes in the seventh round at pick No. 237 overall. He recorded 95 total tackles, two interceptions and 15 passes defended in his four seasons with the Green Wave, but his rookie campaign in Kansas City got off to a slow start. Keyes was placed on the NFI list with an orbital fracture and wasnt removed from the list until about the halfway point through training camp. He was behind in the on-field work and even with early injuries and absences at the cornerback position, Keyes couldnt find his way onto the field. When it was all said and done, Keyes would appear in eight games on the year, starting in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Take out his lone start and the majority of his snaps came on special teams. With his rookie season in the rearview, Keyes seems to be putting in the extra work to make sure hes ready to take a step forward in 2021. Chiefs defensive leader Tyrann Mathieu sent out a tweet last Tuesday about a young teammate asking to run extra gassers after the teams first OTA practice. My young blood ask me to run extra gassers with him today after practice I didnt think for a second I was like yeah all in gang. Watching young men become their own leaders is better than making your all pro list. I gotta admit that was highlight of my day. Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) May 25, 2021 Mathieu later revealed that player to be Keyes. 29 Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) May 25, 2021 Later that week, when Mathieu spoke to the media, he set some expectations for the young defensive backs in the room. Itd appear that hes already seeing from Keyes what he wants to see out of the rest of the young players on the defense. Story continues I think for any young guy, you just want to see those guys take the next step in the system, Mathieu told reporters. I think for a lot of them things move fast. Weve got a pretty complex defensive scheme that we run, so any guy thats going into his second or third year in the system, you would just hope that they take the necessary steps to get better. Whether that be communicating, whether that be showing up to work early, showing up to meetings early, you just want to see the young guys continue to grow and put themselves in a position to be successful. The Chiefs traded up back into the seventh round to grab Keyes for a reason. While that reason wasnt realized during his rookie campaign, hell have a chance to prove himself a contributor throughout this offseason. Its clear that hes motivated to do his part during offseason training to become the best possible player that he can be. He just needs to put that plan into action once he hits the field during training camp and the 2021 NFL preseason. List
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https://sports.yahoo.com/could-chiefs-second-cb-bopete-152718531.html?src=rss
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Which celebrities have appeared on Pointless?
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Celebrities have taken to the podium to raise money for charity for a number of series (Picture: Shine UK) Pointless Celebrities is back to entertain quiz lovers on Saturday evenings, as a new host of famous faces try their best to lift the Pointless trophy and raise money for their chosen charity. Presented by Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong, the Pointless questions test the general knowledge of some of your favourite celebs. Richard Osman has hosted Pointless from day one (Picture; BBC) Pointless Celebrities has been going for 14 series, and in that time many celebs from across TV, film, sport, and politics have appeared as contestants on the show. The most recent episode included comedian Lou Sanders, TV presenter Chris Hollins, actor and presenter Dallas Campbell, actor Phil Daniels, comedian Jayde Adams and reggae singer/chef Levi Roots. Actor and comedian Lucy Porter and I, Daniel Blake actor Dave Johns also featured as part of the lineup. Other recent episodes of Pointless celebrities have followed a theme, as is tradition for the show. A stand-up comedian special featured Rosie Jones, Miles Jupp, Russell Kane, Lucy Beaumont, Rhys James, Lloyd Griffith, Phil Wang, and Sindhu Vee. The footballer special meanwhile had Chloe Morgan, Jenna Schillaci, Peter Shilton, Paul Parker, Jackie McNamara, John Hartson, Rachel Brown-Finnis, and David James step up to the Pointless podium. Previous celebrity contestants include Gok Wan, Sally Phillips, Dick & Dom, Rick Stein, Katherine Ryan, Katy Wix, Lee Mack, and Josh Widdecombe. Another themed episode can be seen pictured above, which saw a collection of stars form the 80s put their general knowledge to the test, which included John Kettley, Bob Champion, Jo Durie, Carol Decker, and Dennis Seaton among-st the line-up. Check out the full list of celebrity contestant over on the BBCs Pointless Celebrities page. How to apply to Pointless Celebrities from the world of comedy, sport, TV, and more have featured on the quiz show (Picture: BBC) You dont have to be a celebrity to appear on Pointless. You can apply to appear on Pointless through an online form on the shows website. Applications are currently closed, but the website recommends that you keep an eye Facebook page for the show for any news on when they reopen. Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday at 7:50pm on BBC One. MORE : Upcoming EastEnders episodes can now all be watched at the start of the week on BBC iPlayer Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share your views in the comments below
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https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/01/pointless-celebrities-who-has-appeared-on-the-show-14682210/
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Whats the highest jackpot ever won on Pointless?
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Pointless has dealt out a lot of money over the years (Picture: BBC) Pointless has become a staple of teatime TV over the years, with countless contestants showing off their knowledge in front of hosts Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman. In case youve never actually seen it, the show involved teams of two having to guess, through a series of rounds, correct but obscure answers to questions, in their big to nab as much cash as possible. While its possible to walk away from Pointless without becoming a whole lot richer, some big jackpots have also been won on the show. The highest of these came in 2013, when father and son team David and Jonathan Hammond Williams took home an impressive 24,750. They bagged the enormous sum after managing to answer a question related to Enrique Iglesias song Maybe although the format of the final round has changed since then. Jonathan and David bagged a huge sum of money between them (Picture: BBC) Back then the pair who made it to the final round would select from a choice of categories, and have to answer one question in that category. The categories for the final round now offer teams a choice of three questions and they pick one they will try and find the pointless answer for. Once a team has won a jackpot on the show, it will be reset to 1000 although it begins at 2,500 in celebrity versions of the show, when each teams winnings will go to the charity of their choice. Pointless is on BBC One on weekdays at 5.15pm. If you miss out on any of the episodes, you can catch up via the BBC iPlayer. Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Share your views in the comments below.
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https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/01/pointless-whats-the-highest-jackpot-ever-won-on-the-show-14644798/
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How much salary cap space do the Saints need to sign their draft picks?
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Some analysts and fans on Twitter love to use this topic like a cudgel, but no one is sweating the salary cap hurdles between the New Orleans Saints and signing their draft picks less than the team itself. While the Saints are kind of strapped for cap space right now, its only a matter of time until enough resources are freed up to ink their rookie draft class. The first step towards that goal will happen soon with Drew Brees $1.075 million base salary reverting to New Orleans after June 1. Rookie contracts are planned out under the new NFL collective bargaining agreement, so those deals are now tied to draft slots and are easier to project and plan for. The team over at Over The Cap have put together estimates of what each Saints draft pick will count against the 2021 salary cap once theyre signed. Ill reference those projections often, but keep in mind nothing is official until contracts are signed and the Saints report their cap numbers to the league. Because only the top 51 contracts are factored against the cap during the offseason, not all of New Orleans draftees will even be counted. Remember, whenever a new cap hit is added to the books, it pushes lesser-valued deals below that top-51 threshold. Some of the Saints draft picks will carry 2021 cap hits that dont even meet that bar. After factoring in which cap hits will be displaced, only the Saints top four draft picks will rank among the top 51 contracts, at a combined cost of roughly $1.94 million. Lets run through the estimates from Over The Cap and consider how each of them factors in to the salary cap: Round 1: DE Payton Turner NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 19: Payton Turner #98 of the Houston Cougars celebrates a tackle during the first half of a game against the Tulane Green Wave at Yulman Stadium on September 19, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) New Orleans' first-round pick is, of course, their most valuable. Turner's first-year cap hit clocks in just over $2.2 million, which is comparable to what the Saints are accounting for Tre'Quan Smith ($2.38 million) and James Hurst ($2.07 million) this year. And because Turner's addition pushes a smaller cap hit off the books (in this case, one of the $780,000 hits the Saints have for several different players), it costs even less than that to make his contract official. Estimated 2021 cap hit: $2,290,807 Net cost for the Saints: $1,510,807 Story continues Round 2: LB Pete Werner Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Pete Werner (20) watches as the ball falls to the ground after helping break up a pass intended for Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Pat Freiermuth (87) during the second quarter of a NCAA Division I college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, November 23, 2019 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. [Joshua A. Bickel/Dispatch] Osu19psu Jb Xtra 09 The Saints' second rounder carries a significantly lower salary cap charge at just over $1.03 million, which clocks in between deals with players like C.J. Gardner-Johnson ($1.04) and Adam Trautman ($1.02), both former third round selections. Like them, Werner should expect to push for playing time right out of the gate. And like with Turner, Werner's addition would push another $780,000 minimum contract below the threshold, resulting in a net change of about $250,000. Estimated 2021 cap hit: $1,033,579 Net cost for the Saints: $253,579 Round 3: CB Paulson Adebo Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo (11) intercepts a pass intended for California wide receiver Vic Wharton III in the fourth quarter of a football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/John Hefti) We continue on into the third round, where Adebo's $917,275 estimate is the lowest number so far (noticing a pattern?). That's similar money to what players from the 2020 practice squad are counting against the cap this year: Will Clapp, Christian Ringo, and Ryan Glasgow are each drawing $920,000. And that's a tremendous value if Adebo can compete for a starting job right away opposite Marshon Lattimore. But he'll be displacing a slightly higher-paid teammate in the top 51 rankings, either Malcolm Roach or Marquez Callaway, who share cap hits of $783,333. Estimated 2021 cap hit: $917,275 Net cost for the Saints: $133,942 Round 4: QB Ian Book Dec 5, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book (12) throws in the second quarter against the Syracuse Orange at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports Book is the last Saints draft pick whose estimated 2021 cap hit would qualify for a top 51 slot, and he barely makes the cut at $828,396. He's quit literally No. 51 out of the top 51. He'll wipe out another $783,333 cap charge upon signing, making for a meager net change on the Saints salary cap table. He himself would be pushed down below the threshold if the Saints add higher-priced veterans. Fun fact: Book's projected rookie cap hit is 82.31% of what the Buccaneers are on the hook for Kyle Trask ($1,006,426), 87.22% of what the Vikings are paying Kellen Mond ($949,712), and 87.24% of what the Texans owe Davis Mills ($949,474). Not bad considering they'll all probably see the same opportunities to play and Book was picked a round and a half later. Estimated 2021 cap hit: $828,396 Net cost for the Saints: $45,063 Rounds 6 and 7: OT Landon Young and WR Kawaan Baker LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 26: Landon Young #67 of the Kentucky Wildcats looks on against the Missouri Tigers as heavy rain falls in the second half of the game at Kroger Field on October 26, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) Neither of these rookies have estimated cap hits that would qualify for the top-51 rule, but let's review the numbers for the same of completionism. Young, the Kentucky left tackle cross-training to line up on the right side for the Saints, is projected to cost $702,445 against the salary cap in his first year. That's far beneath the threshold, though, so don't expect him to factor into the cap sheet until at least next season. As for Baker: the South Alabama slot receiver was one of the final picks in the draft, and his cap hit estimate reflects that, lining up with some of his undrafted rookie teammates at $680,019. His numbers would go up in future years, but first he has to make the team. South Alabama wide receiver Kawaan Baker (15) out runs Southern Mississippi defensive back Natrone Brooks (18) on his way to a 52-yard touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Hattiesburg, Miss., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. South Alabama won 32-21. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) 1 1
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https://sports.yahoo.com/much-salary-cap-space-saints-153010423.html?src=rss
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What Are the Signs of Elder Abuse?
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by Alabama News Network Staff The Alabama Department of Human Resources is encouraging the public to help protect older family members, friends, neighbors and others from elder abuse by learning to recognize the warning signs of mistreatment. Thousands of elderly and disabled adults are abused, neglected and exploited in Alabama every year. Last year alone, DHRs Adult Protective Services Division investigated 10,566 reports of elder abuse across the state. Gov. Kay Ivey declared June 15, 2021, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Alabama to raise awareness about the problem. Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner said, The older adults in our lives cared for us and kept us safe when we were young and vulnerable. Now, it is time for us to return the favor by protecting them from those who wish to cause physical, emotional and financial harm. We owe it to them to speak up if they are being mistreated. An estimated 1 in 10 Americans over age 60 have experienced abuse. Victims include adults of all genders, races and incomes. The problem is expected to worsen as adults live longer and become more dependent on others for care. Alabamians can help protect those at risk by watching for these warning signs: Increased fear or anxiety Isolation from friends or family Withdrawal from normal activities Unusual changes in behavior or sleep Unexplained injuries, bruises, cuts or sores Unsanitary living conditions and poor hygiene Unusual or sudden changes in financial spending patterns, will or other important documents Report suspected elder abuse by calling the Adult Abuse Hotline at 1-800-458-7214, emailing [email protected] or contacting a local DHR county office. All reports are confidential and may be made anonymously.
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https://www.alabamanews.net/2021/06/01/what-are-the-signs-of-elder-abuse/
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Was May a Record Month for Rainfall?
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As much as it seems like we just experienced the wettest May on record in DFW, it wasn't. In fact, it wasn't even close. Download our NBC DFW mobile app for Apple or Android to get alerts for local breaking news and weather. With a jaw-dropping 19 of 31 "wet days" for the month, the total for May 2021 was 7.77 inches of rain. (Yes, that's right, 7.77" - Vegas, anyone?) While that number may be viewed as good fortune for those who depend on rain, for others, it was simply too much. The normal rainfall for the month of May is 4.78 inches. This year's total was an impressive 2.99 inches above that! Not by a long shot... May 2021 pales in comparison to the all-time record of nearly 17 inches in 2015. May 2021 doesn't even make the top 5. In fact, it doesn't even make the top 10. May 2021 sits much farther down the list - at a comfortable 21. That's right, 21 in 2021 - another peculiar coincidence. So there you have it. Yes, it was an active month for rain and storms, but it wasn't anything Earth-shattering. The jet stream was simply in a more favorable pattern for frequent rounds of showers and storms this season. And by the looks of things, June is going to pick up where May left off - with more rain. As for the year, we have a nice surplus 1.78 inches of above-normal precipitation. Again, nothing Earth-shattering, but it perhaps seems that way since much of it has been all at once lately. How quickly we forget that January through March was drier than normal (despite the major snowstorm in February). Lastly, while the rain may be a serious inconvenience for some, we should always stop just short of complaining. Those of us who've been in Texas for a while know how quickly the rain clouds can disappear come summer. Then, we find ourselves talking about drought and the water-rationing that comes with it. Who wants that?! No one. So, in the meantime, grab a good book, a cup of coffee, maybe take a nap...and let it rain. Continuing Weather Coverage Stay up to date with the latest weather forecast from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts by clicking here or by watching the video below.
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/weather-connection/was-may-a-record-month-for-rainfall/2646163/
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Is the U.S. Understating Climate Emissions from Meat and Dairy Production?
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Methane emissions from North American livestock may be routinely undercounted, a new analysis by researchers at New York University and Johns Hopkins University finds. The work also notes that in developing countries, where animal agriculture is becoming increasingly industrialized, methane emissions could rise more than expected. These assessments are based on a review, appearing in the journal Environmental Research Letters, of eight existing studies. Methane is a global warming gas even more powerful than CO2. Its amount and lifetime in the atmosphere are smaller than CO2, but quantities are still increasing. The United Nations has recently urged that reducing methane emissions is a highly effective way of rapidly reducing global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports these emissions in a national greenhouse gas inventory every year using complex models. But, the researchers write, existing methods that the EPA and other international agencies use to estimate methane emissions from animals are not corroborated by measuring concentrations of the gas in the air. This omission is significant. Some previous studies have monitored methane directly in the air using tall towers, airplanes, and satellites, collected above and downwind of animal production facilities. The recent Environmental Research Letters analysis compiled and reviewed several of these atmospheric studies over North America through the last decade. These studies consistently found more methane than the EPA and other agencies expected coming from livestock, in amounts ranging from 39 percent to 90 percent higher than previously estimated. "Back in 2013, we found that atmospheric methane emissions were higher from livestock and oil and gas producing regions than the EPA was reporting," says Scot Miller, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University and coauthor of the Environmental Research Letters paper. "Since then, the models and atmospheric measurements don't appear much closer to coming into agreement. It's increasingly likely that methane emissions from farmed animals could be higher in North America than is often being reported." Methane comes from cows' and sheep's digestion, as well as from stockpiles of manure from all farmed animals. In the U.S. and Canada, animal production is nearly entirely divorced from other farming practices like crop production. Pigs and chickens are raised in crowded sheds and their manure is stored in large stockpiles. Dairy cows are crowded into milking parlors and produce more manure than some small cities. These industrialized changes to rearing animals allow producers to use less feed like hay, corn, and soybeans, translating to fewer resources needed on farms. It was long assumed by the scientific community that this also translates into lower greenhouse gas emissions, too. "North American meat and dairy producers often tout improvements in their efficiency, claiming that concentrated feeds and confinement have reduced greenhouse gas emissions greatly over the past few decades," observes Matthew Hayek, an assistant professor in NYU's Environmental Studies Department and a co-author of the paper. "Our findings throw those claims into doubt. Individual cows may be belching and emitting less, but that doesn't necessarily translate to entire herds and warehouses of confined animals, and their stockpiles of manure, emitting less." These assessments have international importance as well, the authors note. Since re-entering the Paris Agreement in 2021, the U.S. is preparing to reduce emissions from all greenhouse gases, including those from animal agriculture. "This research indicates a need to reexamine or improve reporting methods for methane, which are critical to tracking progress over time," Hayek says. Other countries may have cause for concern in the future, too. For instance, throughout Asia, meat and dairy consumption is on the rise, and this production is becoming increasingly industrialized. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization previously predicted that East and Southeast Asia's animal emissions will peak around 2030 because U.S.-style technological efficiency in Asia could reduce emissions afterward. The findings reported in Environmental Research Letters, however, indicate that emissions could actually continue to rise through the year 2050. "This would further undermine international goals to limit global warming, surpassing 1.5 or 2 Celsius even more quickly than expected," Miller says. The authors highlight the role of international agencies, development banks, and corporations in hastening the transition toward industrial animal agriculture production. "This evidence suggests that the banks and government agencies who are funding intensive animal facilities' expansion might be accepting more climate risk than they realize," says Hayek. "Policymakers should consider methane emissions along with a gamut of other major environmental issues stemming from concentrated meat and dairy production, including water pollution and infectious animal-borne disease breakouts, to inform policies that guide food systems toward a better direction." ### DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac02ef
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https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/nyu-itu060121.php
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How do plants hedge their bets?
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In some environments there is no way for a seed to know for sure when the best time to germinate is. In spring, cues like light, temperature and water may suggest to seeds that conditions are optimal for germination, but a week later an unpredictable drought or frost could kill the emerging seedlings. There is evidence that some plant species produce seeds that germinate at different times to hedge their bets against this risk. Many species produce seeds that can enter a dormant state and exist in the soil for several years and some also produce seeds that germinate at different times within a season. This means that if lethal environmental fluctuations do occur, a fraction of a plant's offspring will survive as seeds, which can go on to germinate at another time. This variability in germination time can be seen even with genetically identical seeds grown in an identical environment. In agriculture, the variability in germination time can be a problem when you want to harvest the whole crop at the same time. Instead, farmers have to monitor their crops' maturity, taking measurements from multiple individual plants to estimate when the best time is to harvest. "We already know that two plant hormones - abscisic acid (ABA) that inhibits germination and gibberellic acid (GA) that promotes germination - interact with each other to control the decision to germinate, but we wanted to know how this interaction creates variability in germination times between seeds", said Dr Katie Abley, researcher at SLCU and joint first author of the research published in eLife. "By measuring the levels of variability in germination times for hundreds of genetically distinct strains of Arabidopsis, we were able to identify two regions of DNA (genetic loci) that control how variable germination time is. Both loci contain genes that influence how sensitive seeds are to ABA and testing mutants of these genes provided evidence that they regulate variability in germination timing." Using this new information, the researchers generated a mathematical model of the ABA-GA network to understand how the interactions between ABA and GA could cause a batch of identical seeds to have a range of germination times. They wanted to understand how the network could give rise to different levels of variability in germination time. "We found that changing ABA sensitivity in the model replicated the experimental germination time distributions that we observed", explained Dr Pau Formosa-Jordan, joint first author and now research group leader at Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany. "In the model, groups of seeds with higher sensitivity to ABA germinate in a more spread-out way because, upon sowing, each one of these seeds relies on stochastic fluctuations in the ABA-GA network to switch from a non-germination state to a germination state - which is known as a bistable switch behaviour. Yet, seeds with lower sensitivity to ABA more rapidly and synchronously get to the germination state after being sown, without the need for the stochastic fluctuations. Our stochastic model suggests an ABA-GA bistable switch can generate variability in germination times, with the germination time being influenced by stochastic fluctuations in the levels of hormones." While the researchers expect there to be other genetic and biophysical effects at play that affect variability in germination time, their findings show that this plant trait is genetically controlled and high or low variability in germination times could, therefore, be specifically selected for in crop breeding programmes or to rehabilitate natural areas with highly variable environments. ### Reference Katie Abley, Pau Formosa-Jordan, Hugo Tavares, Emily Y. T. Chan, Mana Afsharinafar, Ottoline Leyser, James C. W. Locke (2021) An ABA-GA bistable switch can account for natural variation in the variability of Arabidopsis seed germination time, eLife. DOI: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 7554/ eLife. 59485 Funding This research was supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
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https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/uoc-hdp060121.php
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Is third time a charm for $1.9M Monticello school relief bill Cuomo has vetoed twice?
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State lawmakers are making a third attempt to spare Monticello School District a $1.9 million state penalty that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has upheld by vetoing bills each of the last two years. The state Education Department had fined the district that amount for failing to file reports about state-subsidized building projects, the last of which it finished 14 years ago. Lawmakers for the district want the state to waive what they see as a harsh penalty against a low-income district for a clerical mistake made long ago. Cuomo has signed bills quashing fines against other school districts that made the same mistake, including Newburgh, Chester and Roscoe. But he vetoed the Monticello bill in 2019 and again in 2020, citing budgetary constraints and lack of "extenuating circumstances" that he said justified the waivers he signed for other districts that failed to file building-aid reports. The Assembly passed the Monticello bill for the third time in a unanimous vote this week. It is now awaiting a vote in the Senate in the final two weeks of this year's legislative session, which is scheduled to end on June 10. Vetoed again: Cuomo rejects Monticello relief bill for second time Split decision: Cuomo waives penalty for Roscoe schools but not Monticello Rejected: Cuomo vetoes Chester bill cited in developer's lawsuit Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, a Forestburgh Democrat who sponsored the bill and voiced outrage after Cuomo's latest veto in November, said Friday that she planned to press Cuomo's office for his support once the Senate approves it. The Senate sponsor is Mike Martucci, a Republican freshman from Wawayanda. "I'm going to do a full-court press," Gunther said. "There's no reason he shouldn't sign it. This is taxpayers' money." Cuomo signed waiver bills in 2019 that eliminated penalties of $12.75 million against the Newburgh City School District, $4.58 million against Chester School District and $1.1 million against Roscoe School District. State lawmakers also have revived another local bill Cuomo vetoed in 2019. That legislation would allow the town of Chester to seek voter approval to tax property sales and use the proceeds to preserve desirable properties, by buying them or their development rights. The Town Board has proposed a 0.75% tax that would exempt the first $50,000 in vacant land sales and $100,000 in home sales. Cuomo vetoed a bill authorizing the tax based on claims of discrimination: the developers of the 451-home Greens at Chester project had argued in a lawsuit that the conservation push was meant to block new housing for Hasidic families. The proposed tax was cited as one of several biased actions by the town. "Given that this legislation is specifically cited in the litigation, it would be inappropriate to sign at this juncture, while the facts are still being gathered," Cuomo wrote in his veto message. But that objection disappeared this year with a court settlement in which the Greens at Chester developers pledged to support preserving open space in town through various methods. Among them: "the judicious and non-discriminatorily applied use of public tax revenue to purchase open land to be preserved for public use." The Chester bill cleared the Senate in a 39-24 vote on Wednesday and is awaiting an Assembly vote. The sponsors are Sen. James Skoufis, D-Cornwall, and Assemblyman Colin Schmitt, R-New Windsor. A similar bill allowing a land conservation tax in neighboring Blooming Grove is pending in both legislative chambers.
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https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/local/2021/06/01/bill-revived-cancel-1-9-m-monticello-school-fine-after-cuomo-vetoes/7485639002/
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Can CNN Become a Podcasting Powerhouse?
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This article first ran in Hot Pod, an industry-leading trade newsletter about podcasting by Nick Quah. Photo: CNN CNN has been wrapped up in a wild assortment of headlines lately the WarnerMedia-Discovery spinoff merger! The Cuomo scandal! Cicadas! but the companys most important storyline remains pretty much the same: its primary cable-oriented business model continues to be on a secular decline, and now that the Trump bump is over, theres not much to paper over that fact. Given that existential trend, its worth paying some close attention to what the organization is doing by way of experimenting with new content forms and business models beyond its core cable operation. Im particularly interested, of course, in CNNs growing adventures in podcasting, which popped up with unexpected prominence in the earlier days of the pandemic, when its contribution to the cohort of pop-up pandemic pods, Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction, rocketed up the podcast charts and stayed there for an extended stretch of months. Short and succinct, Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction took a relatively simple approach to covering a chaotic time: build a show around the subject matter expert, in this case Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and have him run a short ten-minute-or-so episode every day unpacking a different thread of the rapidly evolving pandemic. The end product was notably comforting in its reliable presence, and it developed a considerable following as a result. It was, honestly, a podcast we hadnt anticipated, said Courtney Coupe, CNNs SVP of Digital Productions, when we connected in late April to discuss where the companys podcasting efforts go from here. As Coupe recalls, the show came together very quickly over the course of a weekend. At that moment, the companys podcast team was still being assembled, with its executive producer, Megan Marcus, having just been hired a few months prior. The digital team had also just secured a firm commitment from management that CNN was formally getting into the on-demand audio business. Not that there hadnt been any prior activity, of course. The company had already published a number of podcasts for years, mostly a mix of interview shows, like Brian Stelters Reliable Sources podcast, and cross-media repackages of its television content. According to Coupe, the shift thats happening is one of intentionality, describing how those previous efforts were mostly individual teams throughout the organization launching their own shows and side projects without a unifying strategy. The focus now is to build new shows on a framework that ties everything together. A good example of this emerging integrated approach can be found with 5 Things, which started out as a popular newsletter product that CNN has since adapted for podcasting and smart speakers. (It was also converted into a television segment.) You can discern a replication of Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fictions merits in terms of its structure: The 5 Things podcast is a bite-sized daily audio product that delivers the five key headlines of the day, perfect for a quick podcatcher download or a response through an Alexa query. That adaptation effort seems to be highly successful. According to Digiday, the 5 Things podcast, which drops morning and evening editions, accounts for 43% of CNN Audios total podcast downloads, and there appear to be plans for the company to even roll out international editions of the product. (5 Things is additionally available in Spanish.) The company is also said to be hiring a dedicated team of 10 people to support the effort. Were really focused on the 5 Things podcast and building out another team dedicated to that and additional short-form content, Coupe told me. If you think about how audiences relate to CNN, its almost Pavlovian. When news breaks, they turn on the television. We want to create that with other platforms. Though CNN Audios portfolio contains a few other standard news and politics shows, the two aforementioned daily short-form podcasts, along with the Pavlovian orientation they represent, offer the best lens to read the current state of CNN Audios audience metrics. The divisions podcast downloads as a whole are up by a whopping 91% since 2019, driven in large part by the dramatic increase in publishing volume as facilitated by Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction and 5 Things. Having established that foundation of listenership, the company is now working to press harder into the medium. After 14 months and over 300 episodes, Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction still said to be CNNs best-performing podcast in terms of downloads was converted into a new show called Chasing Life in early May, which retains the feed (along with its subscribers) and its primary host. The switch is thematically in keeping with the shifting coronavirus picture and gives Dr. Gupta the opportunity to further his coverage through another lens: by exploring how people can readjust to life after the pandemic with a specific focus on the science behind health, happiness, and fulfillment. Chasing Life does involve a structural shift, however, as the show sheds its predecessors daily publishing schedule for a weekly one. Elsewhere, the CNN Audio team has also started pressing into more evergreen content. Its first release in this area was Behind the Desk, which served as a companion podcast to the CNN Original documentary series The Story of Late Night. For what its worth, companion podcasts often strike me as a fairly unexciting frontier of content strategy, but I do want to take a beat to point out that theres a tremendous amount of potential around CNN and audio documentaries more generally. Personally speaking, Ive been plugged out of CNNs live news programming since the elections like many other people, I reckon but I continue to engage through its various documentary and docuseries projects, which Ive always found to be CNN at its most interesting. The channel was, of course, the home of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, and it continues to produce a suite of really high-quality nonfiction television programs including W. Kamau Bells United Shades of America, the various decades-oriented documentary series (The Eighties, The Nineties, etc. ), hunky Stanley Tucci running around Italy gloriously stuffing his face that dont feel as commoditized and anonymous as they would, say, if they were produced and distributed by Netflix. Point being: I think theres considerable room here for CNN Films and Original Series, the divisions that oversee these docuseries, to do some really interesting stuff with CNN Audio, and when I asked Coupe if theres any deeper collaboration going on, she tells me that the two teams are communicating, and that theyre finding the best places to work together. A quick word on revenue, because this is a trade newsletter. At this writing, the audio division is principally monetized through advertising. The Digiday writeup notes that this mostly takes the form of custom ads that CNN produces for its audio advertisers, though they are apparently running limited tests around programmatic audio advertising. But there are also some experiments on this front. Most notably, the division has an upcoming show with Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo called The Handoff that appears to be exclusive to the CNN Channel that will be built using the Apple Podcasts Subscription product that is, whenever Apple finally rolls that out. Well see what comes of that. Im intrigued by CNN Audio and am genuinely curious to see if it meaningfully contributes to the reshaping of CNNs prospects over the long term. For now, though, theres still fundamental work to be done, as the company endeavors to broaden out its brand from just being thought about as a cable news company with some digital trimmings to something thats quite more than that. Audiences dont necessarily know that CNN is in the audio game just yet, said Coupe. So what were aiming for is to be top of mind and to be one of the biggest brands in the audio space the same way we are in television and in digital. Thats what our goal is right now. Apple Delays Podcast Subscriptions Rollout for Publishers The company made the announcement last Friday through a newsletter sent out to creators using its podcast-distribution tools. The notice read: Were writing to provide an update on the availability of Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and channels. Weve been delighted by the response to last months announcement and its exciting to see the hundreds of new subscriptions and channels submitted from creators across the globe every day. To ensure we are delivering the best experience for creators and listeners, Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and channels will now launch in June. We will communicate further updates on availability, and best practices to help you prepare your subscriptions and channels, through this newsletter. Over the last few weeks, some creators have experienced delays in the availability of their content and access to Apple Podcasts Connect. Weve addressed these disruptions and encourage creators experiencing any issues to contact us. Weve also heard from listeners and made adjustments based on their feedback with iOS 14.6, which was released on Monday. We will introduce additional enhancements to Library in the coming weeks. An inauspicious development for what had already been an inauspicious string of weeks for Apple Podcasts, whose platforms appear to have seen a sharp uptick in bugs and usability problems that was seemingly tethered to the rollout of iOS 14.5 and updates to the Apple Podcasts Connect portal in late April. Apples podcast-subscription tools, which some consider paradigm shifting for the ecosystem given Apples status as the incumbent distribution platform, was originally scheduled to launch for publishers in its entirety in the latter half of May, and last weeks iOS 14.6 update had included an adjustment to the Apple Podcast app allowing it to support the new feature. If this product push is the big deal that its being positioned to be, the shakiness of this rollout, combined with the recent wobbliness of its back end, does not bode well. Despite its historically dominant position, Apple Podcasts has never been the most technically robust, and the platforms status feels unsettling in its fragility, perhaps more so than ever, at this point in time. Selected Notes Podchaser, the podcast-database company, has launched a podcast API meant to help developers access unique data and engagement features to build powerful new products. More details here. Monitoring this story: Hold Still, Vincent, a star-studded table-read podcast about the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, has come under criticism for not contacting the Chin estate or Helen Zia, a leading figure in the Justice for Vincent Chin campaign, over the course of production. A-Major, the Valence-Media-funded studio that produced the series with QCODE, Automatik, M88, and Writ Large, issued an apology over the weekend and stated that they are disabling the podcast until further notice though it seems to still be available on Spotify and third-party podcast apps. Hit Rafu Shimpo and the Reappropriate blog for more detail. Spotted in the wild: a job posting stating that Spotify is launching a new daily show based in Los Angeles [that] will mix music and talk segments, in a modern take on afternoon drivetime radio. This production will work under the direction of Gimlets New Formats team. Speaking of which, I gotta find a way to get my hands on a Car Thing. While were on Spotify: I didnt know that the Slack group for Gimlet Members launched years ago, back when Gimlet was still a startup in search of robust business models and had a strong sense of a follower community was still operational, but no longer. The company apparently shut down the Slack this morning, to the dismay of the forty-some people who had continued using it. CBC Podcasts and the BBC World Service have launched a joint podcast-commissioning effort, and theyre currently seeking proposals for a factual narrative podcast, unique in story and treatment, told over 8-10 episodes, which will be presented as a major joint series in 2022. Pitches are accepted until late June, and the results will be announced at the end of September. The IP ownership situation is unclear to me in the current available materials, so be sure to check on that before you send in your pitches. Heres the link. Speaking of the CBC, theres a rather small subplot going on involving that podcast operation Im fascinated with: The division recently released a documentary series called A Death In Cryptoland that takes on the exact same subject as Aaron Lammers Exit Scam, which beat them to release by about two weeks. The footrace itself is interesting to me, but more interesting are the differences between approaches of the two productions, one a national broadcaster, the other a small independent team. May the best (told) scam win. I feel like I can walk into a party saying, Oh, yeah, I brought the Topo Chico, says area podcast man. The Wild World of Audio Internships By Skye Pillsbury After Melissa Lent graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a double major in media studies and English, she was eager to land a job in journalism ideally, audio journalism. There was reason to feel optimistic about her chances: During Lents time as an undergrad, shed managed to pack in over five internships (including one with WNYCs podcast Nancy), land two fellowships, and create her own four-part podcast about Gen-Z anxiety. But despite these accomplishments, looking for an entry-level position proved challenging. It was pretty daunting, to be honest, said Lent. Youre thinking about an entry-level job and a lot of [the hiring companies] want you to already have a year or two of experience. I dont have that, but I know that Im able to do the work. She eventually landed a part-time position as a lecturer in the media studies department at Hunter College, but she still had her eye on actually working in audio. It was during this period that Lent came across a post on an audio listserv from Laura Joyce Davis, the host of independent podcast Shelter in Place. Davis and her husband Nate were offering a ten-hour-per-week apprenticeship program designed to mentor women who are interested in becoming podcasters, audio editors, and creative entrepreneurs. It sounded great. There was only one catch: Apprentices would not be financially compensated for their work. I was hesitant to do it when I learned that it was unpaid, Lent told me last month. Especially as a young woman of color who is navigating this industry, I want to make sure that Im signing up for opportunities that are the best for me and getting paid for my work. But the reality was that she didnt have any paid options, aside from a few freelance gigs and her part-time lecturer position. She decided to apply and, along with a few others, was accepted. Together, they made up the first apprentice cohort at Shelter in Place. Earlier this year, Lent completed the program and says positive things about the experience. I created a [project-management] role for myself, which is now being offered as an option for future apprentices. As part of that new role, she onboarded the team to a new project-management tool and created a series of guides for future interns to use, which covered everything from assistant production work to social media. It was exciting for me to create those systems, she recalls. First of all, because I love being organized. But second, because then other apprentices would already have a frame of reference going in, which would make the process easier for them. She was also given the chance to pitch a story idea to the team (which she eventually helped produce as its own episode of the show) and said that Davis and her husband made speaking with the group about their goals and ambitions a regular part of the curriculum. As great as this sounds though, unpaid work in any capacity even a ten-hour-per-week apprenticeship with a well-intentioned boss raises a host of thorny issues. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employers should consider a seven-point test, when determining whether or not an internship should be paid. This guidance which has been used in court cases involving unpaid interns essentially boils down to whether the position mostly benefits the employer or the intern. If it mostly benefits the employer, the intern should be paid, and conversely, if it benefits the intern, the intern doesnt need to be paid. However helpful this guidance may be in court, in real life, its a bit squishy. Regardless of governmental guidance, one of the more troublesome issues connected to unpaid internships in the U.S. is that it excludes applicants who cant afford to work for free. In the view of many, this inequity perpetuates the socioeconomic and ultimately, classist and racist hierarchies we see at the top of countless companies in this country. Further, when underprivileged groups are denied upward mobility within the media industry, they not only lose the work, but also the chance to bring narratives specific to their experience into public view. I reached out to Davis and asked what she would say to an applicant who really wanted the position but simply couldnt afford to work without pay. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, but she eventually posited that if [an applicant] is coming at it from a situation of, like, Ive only got ten hours, and I really have to make money to make ends meet, then I just dont know that they will get very much out of it, if theyre already feeling so stretched thin in life. In researching this story, I didnt come across any evidence that would suggest that if a person lacks funds, theyll get less out of an opportunity. In fact, I would argue that the opposite outcome might be more likely that the hungrier you are, the harder you might work in order to improve your circumstances. In any event, Ive seen enough to suggest those able to afford unpaid internships are often viewed by hiring managers and influential decision makers as the hungriest. During a 2019 Third Coast panel discussion titled All Workplaces Are Workplaces About Power, Carla Murphy, a journalism educator (and one of the sessions panelists), said she believes this point of view is pervasive within the media industry. A good journalist has been used to define someone whos able to stick it through, said Murphy. The person whos able to work those unpaid jobs theyre valorized. [Imitating a hiring manager:] Oh I know that you really want it because you had four unpaid internships. Exploitation is baked into the system. Unpaid audio internships are nothing new. Up until 2011, NPR only paid their summer interns, rather than their fall and spring cohorts. (Today, all NPR interns are paid $15 per hour across the board.) Over the course of my reporting, I spoke with a number of people who couldnt afford an unpaid internship back then and applied to NPRs paid summer program instead. One of those people was John Asante, now a senior managing producer at Pineapple Street Studios. He was offered and accepted the summer internship but recalls that it was still tough. I literally had just enough money between getting paid [by NPR] and money I had received from my family for graduation to actually move to [Washington D.C.] to do the internship. I dont think I wouldve been able to do it, had I not had a little bit of support. Today, Asante is part of a team at Pineapple that in addition to its regular work making podcasts actively mentors the firms apprentices and interns. (Pineapple pays $20 per hour to the former, who are expected to have some experience, and the same amount to the latter, who arrive with little to no experience.) Pineapple began paying their interns and apprentices right out of the gate; in fact, I was told that founders Jenna Weiss-Berman and Max Linsky paid those employees before they started paying themselves. Erin Kelly, Pineapples production operations manager, said that interns and apprentices work closely with lead producers, who include them in all elements of audio production, from story development and cutting tape to archival licensing and legal review. Interns and apprentices also get multiple opportunities to learn about each role within the organization by talking directly to the people who hold those positions. By the end of the experience, the participants complete an audio sizzle reel for one of Pineapples podcasts that they can add to their CV. We see this as a way for them to have something tangible to share and add to their resume for future jobs. We want them to leave feeling prepared, said Asante. Another podcast studio, Dustlight Productions, offers an apprenticeship program that carries a similar philosophy. The main responsibility [of our apprentices] is to learn as much as possible, Rachael Garcia, Dustlights development and operations coordinator, told me. We are firmly against giving them busy work. Garcia also clarified that despite the title apprentice, Dustlights entire program is designed for people relatively new to the medium. (The terms intern and apprentice are sometimes interchangeable, but not always. At Pineapple, a comparable candidate to Dustlights would be called an intern, and someone with more experience would be referred to as an apprentice.) We want people who maybe havent had the opportunities that other people have had, she said. Pretty much all of our past apprentices were people who had a passion for audio and a passion for the medium and maybe had made their own projects, but had never had professional experience before. According to Garcia, apprentices are encouraged to informationally interview as many people at the company as they can, sit in on as many recordings and production meetings as possible, dive into everything from editing to sound design, and even pitch their own ideas to senior staff. Whenever possible, the Dustlight team introduces their apprentices to useful contacts within the industry and provides feedback on cover letters and resumes. Dustlight also pays their apprentices: Each participant receives a flat fee of $8,000 for four months of part-time work. Participants are expected to work between 20-25 hours per week, which Garcia tells me works out to somewhere between $20 and $25 per hour, depending on the number of hours worked. (For what its worth, I did the math, and it checks out). Interestingly, Dustlight founder Misha Euceph has been able to fund a portion of the program through a sponsorship deal with Simplecast; the rest of the money comes from Dustlight. Its reasonable to assume that Dustlight and Pineapple have access to more resources (and in the case of Dustlight, additional sponsorship funds) to support their internship and apprenticeship programs than does the team behind Shelter in Place. And I will admit to a certain amount of worry in making comparisons between podcast operations of different sizes and financial means. However, if the audio community is committed to rectifying inequalities within its ranks, I would argue that that commitment should come from everyone who is in a position to bring new people into the industry. Which is also to say: If a company cant financially compensate an intern, maybe they shouldnt have an internship program altogether. Toward the end of my reporting for this story, I reached out to Doug Mitchell, the founder and project director of an NPR-affiliated training program called Next Generation Radio. Mitchell and his team run a five-day training for people interested in breaking into audio, which is sponsored by NPR member stations as well as by colleges and universities around the U.S. Each selected participant spends five days with a mentor who helps them report and produce a non-narrated audio piece, along with a few other related projects. The mission, said Mitchell, is to find and develop a more diverse set of people who end up in public media. Mitchell and his team have always secured enough funding to keep the program free to participants. But over the past few years, Mitchell has fought to do something even better: pay the participants. (A quick clarification here: Audio training programs often charge participants a fee, as they are predicated on the idea of providing teaching, as opposed to internships, where participants are expected to support the work of the employer and receive mentorship in exchange.) Mitchell said the idea to pay the trainees stemmed from a conversation hed had with the dean of a university where he was recruiting for Next Gen. According to the dean, his student body included kids who were already juggling multiple jobs while attending school. The dean worried that some students wouldnt be able to participate because they couldnt afford to lose a weeks worth of pay. That conversation spurred Mitchell to search for additional funding both for that particular cohort as well as others around the country. The effort is still a work in progress, but Mitchell told me that this year most of the participants in the program have been paid a stipend of between $300 and $500 for a weeks worth of training. We pay them to be with us, basically, he said. And its not just about the four or five days. Its the long game of mentorship and coaching that we provide. We are always at the disposal of our alumni. Always, always, always. Toward the end of our conversation, Mitchell shared a bit more context around his efforts to fund the program. To be honest, I never did an unpaid internship. Never, he said. There is a systemic exclusion if people cant afford it. The idea is to not leave people out. Everybody needs a mentor, right?
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https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/can-cnn-become-a-podcast-powerhouse.html
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Does Jumia stock have long term potential?
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African e-commerce giant Jumia Technologies (NYSE: JMIA) has been a hot stock to follow in the past year. The share price rocketed throughout the start of 2021, peaking at $65 in early February. However, the large-scale tech market sell-off, which I explained in a previous article, has driven share prices down drastically, even though its still up nearly six-fold in a year. Tagged the Amazon of Africa Jumia is a Nigeria-based e-commerce company. With over 40m listed products, the firm sells to an enormous African market of over 1.2bn consumers. The firms business model consists of four parts: JumiaPay, Jumia Marketplace, Jumia Travel, and Jumia Food. Having such an extensive portfolio of products is one of the things I like about it. 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... The African e-commerce market has seen an explosion in growth during the last five years as more and more countries are expanding internet capabilities. Analysts have projected e-commerce could be worth $75bn in leading African economies by 2025. Jumia seems to be harnessing this momentum, reporting a 50% rise in transactions during the first six months of 2020. Its stock price is likely to directly benefit from the increasing e-commerce presence in Africa. Still no profit One problem that has haunted Jumia since its 2019 IPO is its losses. In its 2021 Q1 results, the firm announced operating losses of $41m. These are largely reflective of its ongoing infrastructure building to keep up with a growing consumer base. This gives the firm a temporary excuse for excessive losses. However, as a nine-year-old company, I would hope this investment would lead to some profits in the next few years. In addition to this, there are still problems with the lack of internet infrastructure in much of sub-Saharan Africa. The International Telecommunication Union estimates that just 28.2% of individuals use the internet there. This could severely curtail Jumias capabilities as well as its stock price. Future prospects for Jumia Stock Alphabets Google is one big-hitter thats looking to capitalise on Africas extensive population growth. Through its Loon and Taara projects, the business is developing super-fast internet speeds through invisible light beams transmitted at high altitudes. Google has picked Africa as a target for this project and operations are already kicking off in Kenya. Facebook has announced a similar project to connect 23 countries in Africa and the Middle East to Europe via a 37,000km long undersea cable. Projects like these will massively increase Jumias reach, and will no doubt add millions of new customers to the internet-based business plan. I like the current price of Jumia stock. Though it has taken a drastic tumble from its February highs, I believe this marks a good value buy opportunity. While there are certainly some short-term profitability hurdles that need to be overcome, I own Jumia shares as I believe its in a position to capitalise on the rapidly growing African market.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/does-jumia-stock-have-long-term-potential/
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How long are cicadas out?
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WASHINGTON We've told you a lot about Brood X 17-year cicadas. The bugs have emerged by the billions around the DMV, filling the air with their song. But now that they're here, some of you are wondering when we'll hear the sound of cicada silence. In some parts of our area, the sound of the cicadas has been measured at as loud as 80 decibels. That's similar to the sound of a jet moving overhead. We spoke with University of Maryland Entomologist Dr. Paula Shrewsbury about the song. She told us the cicada song is actually called a chorus, and the cicadas have three songs, because there are three species of cicadas currently active. "It is the male cicada that makes the noise," Shrewsbury said. "The males go up into a tree by the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds... The louder they are, the more females they'll attract to the tree." If you're already over the noisy red-eyed bugs overtaking D.C., Maryland and Virginia, you're not alone. The good news is, according to Dr. Shrewsbury, cicada season is coming to a close. Shrewsbury estimates the Brood X song will fade into memory by mid to late June. You can share your cicada photos and videos with us by using the Near Me feature in the WUSA9 app.
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https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/cicadas/how-long-are-cicadas-out-brood-x-cicadas-2021/65-aeb9ee6d-277d-4bb3-b3ee-8c2377c758db
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Is the AMC Entertainment share price a bubble?
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2021 has been an exciting year for retail investors. Following the infamous short-squeeze on GameStops share price, AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) has become the new darling among speculators. Over the last 12 months, the AMC share price is up over 400%. And year-to-date, the stock price has surged by 12 times. Thats some extraordinary growth. The bull case for the AMC share price Ignoring the influence from speculators buying to profit from the short-squeeze, there are some reasons to be optimistic about the long-term potential of the AMC share price. And one of the main ones is the reopening of the US economy. 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... Much like here in the UK, for a prolonged period of 2020, cinemas around America remained closed. This decimated the firms gross income, with total revenue falling to $1.24bn versus $5.47bn a year before. Fortunately, cinemas have now reopened in most states, albeit at a reduced capacity. So the money is finally flowing again. And due to the relatively rapid rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, around 60% of the US population aged 18 and up have received their first dose. This is potentially excellent news for the AMC management team, as an accelerated vaccination rate might enable them to increase their cinema capacity sooner than expected. Another encouraging sign is the surprisingly stellar performance of Godzilla vs Kong that debuted in March this year. Despite many cinemas being closed worldwide, the film has become the highest-grossing release since the pandemic began. Thus demonstrating large pent-up demand among consumers to return to the big screen experience. This sounds like it could be time for the AMC share price to make a comeback after the chaos of 2020. But as promising as it seems, one look at the balance sheet made me seriously sceptical over the long-term potential of this business. Dwindling AMC potential growth Disregarding the exceptional year that was 2020, the business behind the AMC share price does not look particularly attractive to me. There are a few reasons. First and foremost is the contraction of its industry. Looking at historical data, the volume of cinema tickets sold has been declining since 2002. Cinema operators like AMC have managed to offset the reduced number of tickets sold by increasing confectionary prices. However, now that streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ are either releasing films directly to their platforms or reducing the window of cinema exclusivity, maintaining growth has become quite challenging. To overcome this issue, AMC has been employing acquisitive strategies to expand its chain of locations. But this has led to an enormous build-up of debt that has pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. In 2019, AMC had over $4.8bn of debt on its balance sheet that meant a $317m interest bill in 2020. Thats nearly three times more than the firms operating profits. And last year, this level of debt increased by a further $1bn. The management team is now turning to investors to raise additional capital to keep its lights on. And so, with a shrinking market size, an enormous pile of loan obligations, and a massive amount of equity dilution ahead, the AMC share price definitely looks like a bubble waiting to burst, in my opinion. Therefore I wont be adding the shares to my portfolio.
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https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2021/06/01/is-the-amc-entertainment-share-price-a-bubble/
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Should adult children contribute to household expenses?
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For some families, it is clear that once you reach the age of reason, especially when you are already earning, you either move out or contribute to household expenses. But in most Pinoy families, it is not very clear and we normally resort to pakiramdaman. For families who are hardly making both ends meet, the adult children normally take it upon themselves to contribute because it is a matter of having food on the table or none. But for those above this level, it is quite unclear. The pusong mamon Pinoy parent will not ask for it directly and will want to still play the role of the provider. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused a lot of parents to lose jobs or experience reduced earnings. This is coupled with the children coming back home and doing work from home. While it may have been a great family reunion at the start, it may be a financial drain to some parents by now as we have been in this situation for over a year. Here are some steps that will help you talk about the elephant in the room. 1. Compute household income and expenses. It would be great if you had been keeping tab of your income and expenses prior to COVID-19. This is a great starting point for parents who actually need help from their children but are just hesitant to say it. 2. Estimate the share of each adult child in the total expenses. If your children used to live on their own, it will be great to have a comparison of their actual total expenses versus the share amount you computed. Include rent, food, electricity, water, wifi, helpers salaries, dues, etc. Decide whether to do a socialized sharing (i.e. the one who earns more contributes more) based on what you believe is best for your situation. The share of each child should not just be limited to monetary contribution but should also extend to household chores. 3. Call for a family meeting to discuss this matter. Be loving yet candid in your manner of speaking. Make sure that husband and wife are united in their stand before the meeting. If you can, it would be great to have the computed amounts together with images that can make your presentation great. Put it on powerpoint or keynote if you want. Include your retirement dreams so that this important item is not missed in the discussion. Asking your children to help out is your way of protecting your retirement nest egg . Impress upon them that youre also doing this so that you will not grow old and dependent on them for your financial needs later on. 4. Expect some resistance but respond with the data that you prepared. If your children feel that you are being stingy on them, hear them out. Find out where its coming from, and discuss your respective opinions and feelings in a healthy way. 5. Overcome guilt. As mentioned earlier, parents will always want to take the role of the provider and having this conversation will most likely make them feel guilty. If you actually need your children to help out, channel that guilt to the fact that you are actually depriving them of proper training for independence and at the same time, risking your own welfare. That is something to be more guilty about. 6. If you feel that your children are also in tight financial condition, agree on an expiry date on this freeloader arrangement. (To read, click links 1, 2, 3) The umbilical cord is the connection between the fetus and the mothers placenta. The cord enables the supply of oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood from the placenta to the fetus. Conversely, the fetal heart pumps deoxygenated, nutrient-depleted blood trough the umbilical cord back to the placenta. Nature provides an expiry date for this arrangement as the placenta is expelled after the baby is delivered; otherwise, the mother will be poisoned. Its the same thing for the financial umbilical cord. It has to be cut at a certain time. 7. When your children agree to contribute and start doing so, be grateful and show pride in them. Remind them to still do their own saving and investing for their own future. It may not be an easy undertaking to follow the above, but you are better off discussing them to understand each others sentiments on the matter, rather than resorting to pakiramdaman, expecting them to do what you have been hoping for them to do. In the end, nothing beats healthy family conversations about money. Cheers to a healthy family FQ! ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Please join me tomorrow live on Kumu or FB Page with my son Anton to discuss "Money Dance" 2. To learn more about your money behavior, get your copy of FQ Book 2. Get copies for your loved ones too. The principles you will learn from here are not only applicable in your financial life but all the other important aspects of your life. https://fqmom.com/bookstore/ To know more about FQ Book 2, watch this short video. 3. Take the FQ test and get hold of your finances now. Scan the QR code or click the link http://fqmom.com/dev-fqtest/app/#/questionnaire. ATTRIBUTION: Freepik, Millenian Money Mart, Pngaaa, PNGkit, Vector Stock, Shutterstock, iStock
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https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/the-budgetarian/2021/06/02/2102388/should-adult-children-contribute-household-expenses
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Will former Boise State QB Kellen Moore be on 2022 College Football Hall of Fame ballot?
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Prosser High grad Kellen Moore went 50-3 as the starting quarterback at Boise State and was a backup quarterback with the Lions and Cowboys. Hes now the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys. AP The ballot for the College Football Hall of Fames 2022 class will be announced Wednesday, and the question on the mind of every Boise State fan is whether the most successful quarterback in program history will be on it. Kellen Moore went 50-3 at Boise State from 2008 to 2011 setting an NCAA record for wins by a quarterback and he became the first Bronco in any sport to win three conference player of the year awards. The native of Prosser, Washington, was the Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the year in 2009, tied former Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick for the award in 2010 and earned Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2011 Boise States first season in the conference. He was also the WAC freshman of the year in 2008. Moores accomplishments are well known across the college football landscape. He left Boise State with 142 career touchdown passes and 14,667 passing yards both of which are still program records and ranked Nos. 2 and 5 in NCAA history, respectively, when his college career ended. He still ranks No. 2 all-time in touchdown passes behind former Houston quarterback Case Keenum, who finished with 155. Moore is now No. 6 in NCAA history in career passing yards. Moore led the Broncos to three conference championships and was the first player in program history to be named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing fourth in the voting in 2010. He wasnt selected in the NFL Draft, but Moore signed with the Detroit Lions in 2012 as a rookie free agent. As soon as his playing career ended in 2018, he caught on with the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff spending one year as quarterbacks coach and the past two as offensive coordinator. The answer is yes. Heres a look at the criteria: A player must be recognized as a first-team All-American by one of five organizations: the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, the American Football Coaches Association and Walter Camp. Moore was named an All American in 2010 by FWAA, which only named one team that year. He also earned All American nods during his career from CBS Sports, ESPN, AP and Sports Illustrated. Players become eligible for the Hall of Fame 10 full years after their final season of college football, and they must have played within the past 50 years. Coaches and players who move on to the professional ranks arent eligible until after they retire. Moores final college season was 2011. While what a player did on the field carries the most weight, their record as a citizen is also taken into consideration, and both academic honors and whether or not the player earned their degree may be taken into consideration. No issues here. Players are nominated by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director of the college they played for or the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation. If he makes the cut, Moore will be the second Boise State player to earn a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Former defensive lineman Randy Trautman a key member of the Broncos 1980 Division 1-AA national championship team was inducted in 1999. The ballot for the 2022 class will include 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 33 coaches from the NCAA divisional and NAIA ranks. The class is expected to be announced in early 2022. Players will be officially inducted during the 64th annual National Football Foundation awards dinner on Dec. 6, 2022 and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
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https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/boise-state-football/article251813418.html
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Is a housing crash coming?
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Image source: Getty Images Average UK house prices have surged to new record highs in the last two months. The month of April saw prices go up by 2.1%, the highest monthly increase in 17 years. The question now for buyers, sellers and agents is whether the figures can keep going up or whether we are heading for a housing crash. 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. House prices in the UK have soared since the easing of lockdown. The boom is attributable to a combination of factors that include: pent up demand due to lockdown. changes in peoples living requirements and preferences (e.g. demand for more room, outdoor space etc.) the stamp duty holiday that has seen many people bring forward their planned house moves in order to save on stamp duty. Several other factors have also come into play in recent months, positively affecting house prices. One is a relative scarcity of housing inventory, which has resulted in demand exceeding supply. There has also been an increase in household savings. Those who have kept their jobs during the pandemic have been able to save more. They are now in a better position to buy a new home and many have moved their anticipated home purchase forward. Another factor is government support for 95% mortgages through the mortgage guarantee scheme. This has increased many first time buyers ability to access a mortgage and get on the property ladder. The result of all this has been soaring house prices. Few analysts expect the current pace of growth to continue forever. In fact, some are already warning that the market is overheating. However, the outlook for the next six months is quite positive. Many analysts predict that prices will continue to rise and that a housing crash is unlikely in the short term. That is because some of the main conditions or factors that are currently driving prices up are expected to remain in place. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the ratio of buyer demand to supply is at its highest level in nearly two decades, owing to a severe shortage of houses for sale. Even though the stamp duty holiday is coming to an end soon, the current imbalance between supply and demand is likely to continue fuelling price growth alongside the other aforementioned factors. No one knows for certain when the current situation will ease. Previously, one concern was unemployment, and whether the end of the furlough scheme in September would result in an increase in job losses. However, massive progress in the countrys reopening and the rapid pace of the vaccination programme have cut down this risk. The outlook for the UK economy has become increasingly positive, with experts predicting the biggest economic boom since the post-war period. Early signs are that unemployment could be lower than previously anticipated, meaning fewer homeowners will be forced to sell. Of course, nothing is guaranteed and things could change. New Covid-19 strains, such as the Indian variant, could set the economy back and affect market confidence and optimism. At the moment, however, demand continues to outstrip supply. According to analysts, until supply levels begin to rise and the current imbalance between demand and supply is resolved, house prices are likely to continue rising. 4 iron-clad rules for saving money on everything Our Editor Sam Robson has been on a personal cost-cutting mission for years and its time to share his wisdom. Check out his choicest saving tips and tricks in this free report, Sams 4 Iron-Clad Rules For Saving Money On Everything. Just enter your email below for instant access to your free copy. Click here!
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https://www.fool.co.uk/mywallethero/mortgages/learn/is-a-housing-crash-coming/
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Should Pot Shops Use Facial Recognition Technology to Catch Thieves?
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Marijuana dispensaries are beginning to use facial recognition software to help employees and local authorities catch shoplifters and staff members giving themselves five-finger discounts. According to a new report by VICEs Motherboard , several pot shops have already begun rolling out facial recognition technology. This software logs an individuals facial characteristics into massive databases that can match the person to police mugshots, spot if theyre carrying a concealed weapon, or confirm if theyre stealing company property while on the clock. There are no state laws that prevent customers with criminal records from purchasing legal cannabis. But, as it always goes with mass surveillance, the potential to abuse this technology is higher than some of the weed industrys most loyal customers. "It is hard, if not impossible, to find an example of a surveillance technology that has not been turned against groups that are already vulnerable in our structurally inequitable system," Shankar Narayan, Director of the ACLUs Technology and Liberty Project, told VICE. The ACLUs website mentions that when private facial technology joins forces with state image databases, privacy and other constitutional concerns go right out the window. The biggest danger is that this technology will be used for general, suspicionless surveillance systems, the ACLU website states . State motor vehicles agencies possess high-quality photographs of most citizens that are a natural source for face recognition programs and could easily be combined with public surveillance or other cameras in the construction of a comprehensive system of identification and tracking. Gallery Photos of Cops Smoking Weed: In recent years, police departments across the US have grossly abused facial recognition technology to make quick and easy busts. Cops will feed flawed police sketches or even photos of celebrities who may resemble the suspect into facial recognition software. The most (in)famous example used images of actor Woody Harrelson to catch a beer thief in New York, but that case serves as just one (possible) success in a sea of failures. In May, Popular Mechanics detailed how this lazy investigation method often leads the costly arrests of the wrong suspects. Facial recognition isnt perfect. Wearing sunglasses or Juggalo makeup can thwart facial recognitions algorithms. The technology isnt smart enough yet to discern tiny, minute physical details of someones face, so cameras getting Person A confused with Person B isnt just some hypothetical dystopian scenario; its already been happening . Of course, the legal weed industry, which is struggling to pay its bills since it cant make tax write-offs , wouldnt implement such expensive technology for no good reason. Theft of weed products from shoppers and employees alike has been an incredibly rampant problem since the industrys inception. And dispensary robberies are usually staged by company insiders, such as current or former employees. Since the weed industrys regulatory frameworks conflict with federal laws, no comprehensive data exists for the losses associated with dispensary thefts or robberies. However, dispensary robberies have increased in states with legal weed. Otherwise, dispensaries have little to no effect on local crime rates. "Despite what developers may say, facial recognition technology has the potential to reinforce the racist and classist policies of prohibition, Kamani Jefferson, founder of North Star Liberty Group, told VICE . It's a classic case of a slippery slope, and until there's a guarantee that not one innocent person will be thrown in jail due to the faults of this technology, I wouldn't recommend cannabis facilities waste their money."
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https://merryjane.com/news/should-pot-shops-use-facial-recognition-technology-to-catch-thieves
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Is Super Animal Royale free?
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Super Animal Royale is a 2D top-down shooter battle royale taking place in the wild as 64 woodland creatures fight it out to show who is the true apex predator in the forest. This battle royale is slightly different from other games in the genre you will see, like Fortnite or Apex Legends, but much larger companies made those games. With so much disposable income, those companies can afford to make their games free-to-play. Yes, Super Animal Royale is free-to-play both on Steam and Xbox consoles. While the game is currently in the Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview programs as of this writing, even when it fully releases, it will remain free-to-play with some extra DLC on the side for those that wish to purchase it. It is also set to release on Nintendo and PlayStation platforms in the future, but with no early access programs, only Steam and Xbox currently have access to them. To download the game, boot up Steam on PC or the Xbox Store on Xbox One or Series X|S and find the game by searching for it. You can download the game from its store page while in Early Access or after. Keep in mind that while the game is in Early Access, it is not fully released, meaning that you may experience some bugs and glitches. The best way to make sure those issues are taken care of is by sharing your experience by contacting the developers.
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https://www.gamepur.com/guides/is-super-animal-royale-free
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Can people vaccinated against covid-19 still spread coronavirus? Does that leave the unvaccinated vulnerable?
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Check out the details below to know what the US CDC says about the possibility. We all know that the dreaded disease of Polio has been eliminated as an endemic disease in most developed and developing countries. Outbreaks have occasionally occurred in subsets of unvaccinated susceptible individuals. According to a paper published in the US National Library of Medicine, Infection in the intestinal tract with the vaccine strain of poliovirus results in virus shedding in the faeces and the risk that the contacts of a recipient might become infected. The vaccine virus can revert to a virulent form, and this lends demonstrated biological plausibility to the finding that occasional contacts of vaccine recipients contract polio. This means that all children in the vulnerable category need to be vaccinated otherwise exposure to the virus in this form that is shed through the faeces of the vaccinated children can turn the unvaccinated ones vulnerable. A growing body of evidence indicates that people fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) are less likely to have an asymptomatic infection or to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. Studies are underway to learn more about the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine. However, the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of the virus. At this time, there are limited data on vaccine effectiveness in people who are immunocompromised. People with immunocompromising conditions, including those taking immunosuppressive medications, should discuss the need for personal protective measures after vaccination with their healthcare provider. This updated science brief synthesizes the scientific evidence supporting CDCs guidance for fully vaccinated people and will continue to be updated as more information becomes available. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines about mask-wearing on May 13, 2021, it declared that anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden, said the new guideline is based on the evolution of the science and serves as an incentive for the almost two-thirds of Americans who are not yet fully vaccinated to go ahead and get the shot. Yet there remain some sections of the population who cannot be vaccinated for reasons other than vaccine hesitancy, such as: Some have underlying health conditions in which vaccines are contraindicated Some others live with weakened immune systems, from cancer or medical treatments, or have auto-immune disorders Some may be on steroid or immunosuppressants due to organ transplants Children aged 12 to 15 have become eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine only recently and only in the US, India is still playing catch-up Children under 12 years of age still have no approved vaccine against COVID-19 Vaccines are no guarantee against infection: Though the World Health Organisation demands vaccine efficacy of at least 50% before granting approval, the current lot of vaccines against COVID-19 has vastly outperformed expectations. For a vaccine to be effective, it doesnt need to prevent the germ from infecting an immunized person. Vaccines train the bodys immune system, so when it actually encounters the disease-causing pathogen, its ready to mount an optimum response. Immunology experts also work on the part of enabling a vaccinated person to transmit a lesser viral load after vaccination. But one cannot say for sure whether a vaccinated person does carry a lesser viral load by the virtue of having been vaccinated against COVID-19. This disease is new and poses a particular challenge because people with asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections can spread the disease and insufficient contact tracing and testing mean those without symptoms are rarely detected. One thing that researchers have realised though is the fact that if a previously vaccinated individual does get sick with COVID-19 in what is called a breakthrough infection, he or she manifests symptoms that are by far milder. People who test positive for COVID-19 after getting just their first vaccine dose are found to have lower levels of virus in their bodies than unvaccinated people who tested positive. This decreased viral load perhaps makes them less infectious as they have much fewer virus that could be spread to others. A preprint study that has not yet been peer-reviewed suggests that the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine can produce coronavirus-fighting antibodies in the oral and nasal fluid, reports The Wire. The jury is still out on that. Meanwhile, follow the COVID-appropriate SOPs even if you have been vaccinated. Wear the mask when in public or in the presence of anyone who is not quarantined with you, wash hands with soap and water often, maintain appropriate social distance, use sanitiser as and when necessary. Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.
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https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/can-people-vaccinated-against-covid-19-still-spread-the-coronavirus/764890
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What Is The Safest Way To Trade Bitcoin In 2021?
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Lets find out by comparing it with the competitors and the asset it is often (wrongly) paired with. Very often when talking about Bitcoin with people who have just met it there are many questions that arise and sometimes remain unanswered. From this point of view, the media certainly does not help novices to deeply understand the intrinsic qualities of cryptocurrency by bringing examples and false myths that result in extreme ignorance in the field. It all starts with a simple step that no one takes to fully understand how Bitcoin works: reading the whitepaper. The analogy is similar with any equipment and software language that surrounds us: before using it or allowing yourself to have an opinion about it maybe its good to read the instruction booklet. Knowledge of the inner workings therefore leads mainstream finance experts to compare Bitcoin to Dutch tulips in the 1600s rather than other systems that have nothing to do with cryptocurrency. So lets try to get some clarity in understanding why Bitcoin is the hardest currency ever invented on earth.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263983601878/what-is-the-safest-way-to-trade-bitcoin-in-2021
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What is spinal muscular atrophy and how is it treated?
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Five-month-old baby Arthur Morgan has become the first NHS patient treated with a drug for the rare genetic condition, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Between 600 and 1,200 children and adults are currently living with the condition in England and Wales. SMA most often affects babies and children and makes it hard for them to use their muscles. It causes the nerves that control muscle strength and movement to break down. As it progressively destroys motor neurons - nerve cells in the brain stem and spinal cord - people with SMA will have issues with speaking, walking, breathing, and swallowing. SMA is a genetic condition that makes the muscles weaker and affects movement and, in some cases, breathing. There are four types of SMA and symptoms will depend on which type a person has. There is a wide spectrum of how severely children, young people and adults are affected, but it's a serious condition that gets worse over time. Increasingly, there are treatments to help manage the symptoms. Around 1 in every 40 to 60 people is a carrier of the main faulty gene (SMN1 ) that causes SMA. This faulty gene does not make enough of a protein needed for the motor neurons to work properly, and when the motor neurons break down, they can't send signals to the muscles. In most cases, a child can only be born with SMA if both of their parents have a faulty gene that causes the condition, although they will not usually have SMA themselves. If both parents are carriers, there's a 25% chance their child will have SMA; 50% chance their child will be a carrier of the faulty gene, but not have SMA; 25% chance their child will not have SMA and will not be a carrier His father Reece Morgan was by Arthur's side. Credit: PA What are the different types of SMA?SMA Type 1: The symptoms and effects of SMA Type 1 usually begin from birthor within the first few weeks or months of life. Generally, the earlier the onset of symptoms, the more severe the condition. This is the most severe type and life expectancy for babies with SMA type 1 has been usually only a few years, but treatments, such as that being given to five-month-old Arthur Morgan, are helping affected babies live longer.SMA Type 2: Symptoms usually appear between seven and 18 months of age. Babies and toddlers with type 2 are usually able to sit but not walk independentlySMA Type 3: There are two types of SMA Type 3: SMA Type 3a: Symptoms usually begin between 18 months and three years of age. SMA Type 3b: Symptoms will usually begin after three years of age. Children with both types are usually able to walk, though they may lose this ability overtime. Difficulties usually appear later than for children who develop symptoms earlier. SMA Type 4: Symptoms begin in adulthood and will affect the ability to walk What are the symptoms of SMA?Symptoms will vary depending on the type of SMA. Some babies with SMA are often described as "floppy" and don't learn to roll or sit at the expected age. While there is no cure for SMA, treatments can help children with SMA live a better life. Until two years ago, there were no treatment options available for children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which is the leading genetic cause of death for children. But babies could potentially have the ability to sit, crawl and walk after being treated with US gene therapy Zolgensma, which has been called the most expensive drug in the world. Zolgensma, which has a list price of 1.79 million per dose, was made available on the NHS after the health service struck a deal with manufacturers Novartis Gene Therapies in March. Breathing exercises and equipment can help people manage the symptoms, while physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation can help to improve posture and mobility. Braces or surgery can be used to treat problems with the spine or joints. The earlier Zolgensma is given for SMA the better, with pre-symptomatic treatment shown to give the very best possible outcomes. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital and campaigners are calling for newborn screening for SMA to be introduced in the UK.
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https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-01/what-is-spinal-muscular-atrophy-and-how-is-it-treated
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Why did fragile Naomi Osaka even go to the French Open if she was battling mental demons?
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Naomi Osaka said she did not want to be a distraction after quitting the French Open on mental health grounds in reality, this misguided melodrama should raise questions over what she was doing there in the first place. Announcing her decision to walk away from the clay courts of Roland-Garros after the first round this week, Osaka revealed she had been suffering long bouts of depression ever since the US Open in 2018. Anyone that knows me knows Im introverted, Osaka added in her withdrawal announcement. Though the tennis press has always been kind to me and I want to apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the worlds media. Although the likes of rent-a-gob Piers Morgan would have you believe otherwise, Osaka genuinely seems to be struggling with the expectations and obligations that accompany her status as one of the leading luminaries of the sporting world. Painfully shy, the 23-year-old often stumbles her way through interviews and press conferences, grateful just to survive the ordeal. Her off-court demeanor could hardly come in starker contrast to the gritty character Osaka has demonstrated on her way to winning four Grand Slam titles. According to her statement, Osaka will now take some time away from tennis, which most right-minded observers will hope can give her the space she needs to think about where she goes from here. A protracted absence from the sport is not what anyone wants that much is clear. Also on rt.com Woke-ravaged world: Piers Morgan likens cynical Naomi Osaka to Meghan & Harry after tennis aces sister admits she f*cked up Whats equally evident, though, is that the French Open debacle has done little to aid Osakas personal well-being, or the cause for which she professes to be campaigning. Her media omerta may have projected mental health issues into the broader conscience once again, but we now live in a world so saturated with stories of depression and mental anguish that they become commonplace, inducing eye-rolls rather than sympathy. That is especially the case when coming from someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in the world, pocketing an annual $37 million at the last count by Forbes. As such, Osaka has left herself open to accusations of being privileged and pampered, attempting to shirk an aspect of her job that lesser names see as among their only chances to engage with the media and earn some publicity. Osaka appears content to court attention and take advantage of her platform, but only on her own terms whether that's launching a new swimwear collaboration leading up to Roland-Garros, or championing the Black Lives Matter cause. This time, tennis bosses have taken a tough stance, with the organizers of the four Grand Slams banding together to warn Osaka that she risked expulsion as a result of her recalcitrance in Paris. The swipe by the French Open Twitter account which shared images of various stars performing media duties, along with the caption they understood the assignment was petty and ill-conceived, but the overall response was robust and unequivocal: you either play by the rules, or dont play at all. Among her fellow players, its hard to find many who have overtly backed Osakas stance as the Japanese star herself belatedly seems to have realized. "I understand her but for me, without the press, without the people who are writing the news and achievements that we are having around the world, probably we will not be the athletes that we are today," said mens icon Rafael Nadal. Also on rt.com The media made us what we are: Rafael Nadal slams Naomi Osakas refusal to take questions from the press during the French Open That seemed to be the prevailing theme sympathy, but no real willingness to fundamentally change the current relationship between tennis players and the media who cover them. At best, that seems a misguided millennial pipedream at worst, it comes across as myopic and self-centered, and is perfect ammunition for the likes of Piers Morgan. By projecting her personal struggles onto the broader stage, Osaka has assumed that they were in the best interests of all in her sport, when many fellow players would disagree. Osaka now finds herself in a mess largely of her own making, starting a campaign she is in no position to finish. Journalists, meanwhile, will be left tip-toeing around Osaka in future, afraid to ask the tough questions in defeat that should be asked of her or any fellow player. Considering all of the above, its not insensitive to ponder why Osaka even turned up at Roland-Garros this year. She or at least the people in her team could have seen the response to her media plans coming and braced themselves for it. After all, Osaka even alluded to the pushback in her initial media boycott message, speaking of her willingness to accept the fines that would come with forfeiting her obligations Also on rt.com She wants everything straight away: Russian tennis ace hailed for words on Osaka as rebel slams anger', lack of understanding Osaka could have saved herself more torment by announcing in advance that she was feeling too fragile to play in Paris, a move which would have precipitated a similar discussion without turning it into the mid-tournament circus it has now become. Osaka has made the right decision by pulling out in Paris but perhaps its one she should have made even earlier. By Liam Tyler
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https://www.rt.com/sport/525370-why-did-fragile-naomi-osaka-play-french-open/
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Is er een beautycollectie van Harry Styles op komst?
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Het gonst van de geruchten dat zanger en acteur Harry Styles binnenkort een beautylijn zal lanceren. Volgens Page Six, het showbizzgedeelte van The New York Post, werkt de 27-jarige wereldster aan een eigen collectie cosmetica en parfum. Volgens documenten in handen van Page Six Style werd de Watermelon sugar-zanger onlangs benoemd tot directeur van een nieuw geregistreerd bedrijf. Dat belooft parfum en cosmetica aan te bieden. Hij zal niet alleen aan het hoofd staan. Emma Spring, al jaren Harrys assistent, wordt vermeld als codirecteur. Het bedrijf heeft ook al een naam. Pleased as holdings limited werd op 25 mei geregistreerd bij de UK Company Directory in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Afgelopen vrijdag werd het opgespoord door een fanaccount van de ster. Of Harry Styles, die zich de laatste maanden opvallend stil hield, echt bezig is met een beautylijn is nog niet officieel bevestigd door zijn entourage. Intussen grijpen fans wel de geruchten aan om te fantaseren over hoe Harrys collectie er zou kunnen uitzien. Velen suggereren dat de lijn uniseks make-up en nagellak zou kunnen bevatten, omdat de zanger zelf graag pronkt met opvallende manicures en een look heeft die genders fusioneert.
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https://www.hbvl.be/cnt/dmf20210601_95719709
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Is Richaun Holmes the answer for the Spurs at center?
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Murray scored six points (3-10 FG, 0-2 3Pt) to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and one steal across 30 minutes in Sunday's loss to the Suns. Murray returned from a one-game absence that was caused by a back injury, though he didn't perform particularly well. He wasn't aggressive in looking for his shot, and he also failed to shoot the ball well. However, the game was largely meaningless and this close to the regular did nothing to take away from a strong campaign for Murray. He took a large step forward in role by playing a career-high 31.9 minutes per game, which allowed him to set the best marks as a professional in most counting stats while also largely maintaining his efficiency. Murray will be a key player for the Spurs if they hope to make any noise in the playoffs.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263996511239/is-richaun-holmes-the-answer-for-the-spurs-at-center
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Is there a reprieve from the gas tax hike brewing?
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(MissouriNet) The governor is expected to sign off on gas tax increasebut an advocacy group is moving forward in trying to put the question on a general election ballot. Lawmakers approved the states 17-cent-a-gallon gas tax to 29.5 cents over five years, including a refund if consumers collect receipts. The increase is to cover an additional $455 million annually to put toward maintaining Missouris roads and bridges. With up to 40% coming from out-of-state drivers coming through the state. But the group Americans for Prosperity has gotten as far as the Secretary of States office and the referendum is open for public comment on the Secretary of States website. The gorup must collect signatures to get it on the ballot, which would delay the tax until the 2022 election.
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https://kwos.com/2021/06/is-there-a-reprieve-from-the-gas-tax-hike-brewing/
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Should Cowboys Trade Leighton Vander Esch or Jaylon Smith?
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With an influx of new talent at the linebacker position for the Cowboys, will there be an 'odd man out?' FRISCO - In the blink of an eye, the Cowboys find themselves with an influx of talent at the linebacker position. They signed Dan Quinn favorite Keanu Neal as a free agent, who will be playing linebacker for Dallas, and grabbed Micah Parsons and Jabril Cox in the 2021 Draft. That's a lot of talent on one roster at the linebacker position. On paper, anyway. If we look at Jaylon Smith's contract for 2021 and his decline in play, plus the trade rumors, we can imagine this is most likely his last season for the Cowboys. This brings us to maybe the biggest question mark at linebacker for the Cowboys in 2021, Leighton Vander Esch. We already know the Cowboys have declined his fifth-year rookie option. So it's possible the last-year scenario stands true for him as well, with 2021 possibly being his final bow in a Dallas uniform. We can assume the Cowboys would like to use both veterans in the upcoming campaign, but neither performed particularly well last season. We've seen Jaylon's struggles during games with our own eyes, but Vander Esch, by the numbers, has been even worse. In 2020, he saw career-worsts in missed tackles (16.7%), completion percentage allowed (86.4%), and snaps played (44%). We've compared the Vander Esch saga to that of Sean Lee. But the difference is Sean Lee was good when he was healthy. Recently, we can't even say that about Leighton - though in his defense, maybe he's never really been quite healthy. Keanu Neal is a Quinn guy, so it can be expected as long as he performs well, he'll see snaps. Parsons will get snaps as well, by virtue of being the team's first-overall pick in the draft. That concept leads to trade gossip involving Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith. We can tell you this: The NFL Draft night buzz about Jaylon's name being discussed in trade is valid. But the ensuing talk of the Cowboys suddenly being "close to trading'' Vander Esch is not coming from inside The Star and carries no weight. There is ample time to sort this all out. The Cowboys need to see if what they have on paper translates to the field ... and whether Jaylon or Leighton are truly as expendable as some critics prematurely believe.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/should-dallas-cowboys-trade-leighton-vander-esch-or-jaylon-smith
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Can Washington Football Team 'DC Triplets' Climb NFL Ranking?
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While the Washington defense gets all the attention, the offensive skill positions lack national respect. Most of us became aware of the NFL concept of The Triplets as a result of the Dallas Cowboys 1990s Super Bowl success featuring future Hall-of-Farmers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. The 'original' triplets. A great quarterback. A great running back. A great wide receiver. While that may be most people's definition of 'NFL triplets', not all teams can boast the word 'great' in front of those three positions. Washington Football Team might be one of those. CBS is ranking all 32 triplets in the NFL, and Washington Football Team came out at 19. ... One spot behind division rival New York, and one ahead of the 49ers. That depends on who the 'triplets' are. The article by Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, defines the 'triplets' in Washington as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Antonio Gibson, and WR Terry McLaurin. Durbin's commentary regarding the three is this: "Fitz has a very high ceiling and a very low floor, so a ranking just slightly below-average seems about right for a team that he's quarterbacking. Gibson looked electric as a runner at times during his rookie season, but the team strangely did not involve him in the passing game often enough -- a surprise, considering he was a hybrid receiver/rusher in college. McLaurin is a true No. 1 wideout who now has some help on the outside in the form of Curtis Samuel, and should find himself operating in more space, more often this year." READ MORE: Chase Young Leadership Style Explained By Washington Coach Rivera The assessment certainly seems fair. McLaurin is a star on the rise in the NFL and might be the only one of the three to whom the 'great' tag might apply. Gibson enters his second year in the league, and expectations are high as he scored 11 touchdowns in 2020 while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. This brings us to WFT's new quarterback, a player who knows the league well. If 'Fitzmagic' shows up, he can lead this offense to wins. If 'Fitztragic' makes an appearance, it will be difficult for the team to repeat as division champs. For now, just below average seems appropriate. But with just a few things going WFT's way, the 'DC Triplets' could rank much higher.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/washingtonfootball/news/the-triplets-washington-football-team-climb-nfl-ranking
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Do SAGE Members Calling for Lockdown to be Extended Beyond June 21st Not Believe the Vaccines Work?
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Thats certainly the impression youd get from the way various members of SAGE are carrying on, warning of new waves and new variants and the need to delay the end of lockdown even further (completely ignoring the fact that half of America is now open without any problems so far). Instead of discussing how quickly vaccines could spell the end of restrictions, the commentariat fixates on the risk of another wave as if absolutely nothing has changed. Somehow, despite low deaths, the Indian variant rather than the vaccine has become the game changer. We have become wearily used to these media interventions from SAGE members in the build-up to key decisions around lockdowns, usually pushing some skewed version of the scientific evidence to frighten the public and pile pressure on the Government to tighten or maintain restrictions. This was bad enough in the autumn before the vaccines were on the scene, but now it leaves you wondering if they know something we dont about how well the vaccines prevent death and serious disease. The Government has been continually putting out new research showing how effective the vaccines are, including against the Indian variant, and while I have written on a number of occasions about the shortcomings of these studies, I had been assuming that the vaccines do work, or at least that the Government and its scientists believe they work. With all this talk of third waves and extending lockdown, you have to wonder. The latest line to justify extending the lockdown is from NERVTAG member Professor Ravi Gupta, who argues for just a few more weeks to let more people get vaccinated, saying there are signs an explosive third wave is on the horizon. Yet according to the latest figures, 51.3% of the adult population has now had one vaccine dose and 31.4% has had two. Over 90% of the over-70s are now fully vaccinated. The vaccines are supposed to be up to 90% effective at preventing symptomatic infection, including in the over-65s. They are also claimed to be a 90% effective at preventing hospitalisation or death (though presumably their efficacy is reduced somewhat in the frail elderly). This means any new surge will have something like one tenth of the infections of earlier waves, while hospitalisations and deaths should be up to a hundred times less a non-event in infectious disease terms. While these are likely overestimates of vaccine effectiveness, especially among those most susceptible to the disease, there is also naturally acquired immunity and prior immunity that will help to bring the disease burden down. However you look at it, if the vaccines are going to do their thing then they are already doing it and theres no point postponing the unlocking. If theyre not working then theres nothing we can do about it now anyway so we might as well get back to living fully. Either way, the SAGE prophets of doom should be roundly ignored.
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https://alethonews.com/2021/06/01/do-sage-members-calling-for-lockdown-to-be-extended-beyond-june-21st-not-believe-the-vaccines-work/
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Is It Time for Us to Send Astronauts Back to the Moon?
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The series For All Mankind (2019) is a fictional alternate history that imagines a world where the Soviet Union was the first power to send an astronaut to the moon. From that starting point, the two rival superpowers compete to establish their own lunar station. Just a few short years later, the scenario is no fantasy. Fifty years after the Apollo 11 mission in 2019 the United States announced its intention to return to the Moon in 2024. In light of the concept of New Space, this new ambition highlights a growing geostrategic competition, particularly given Chinas precipitous rise. Artemis, one step ahead To succeed on this mission, NASA has promoted the Artemis program, a consortium led by the United States that brings together eight other countries Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. NASA and Brazil signed a statement of intent in December 2020 to join the program. Each participant will contribute to the completion of the mission with technical and scientific support. NASA is also counting on the private sector, including the SpaceX Starship (SN1), to fulfill the human landing system (HLS) program. The program will have three stages: Artemis I, an unmanned flight scheduled by the end of 2021. Artemis II, a manned flight with the goal of positioning the spacecraft in orbit around the Moon in 2023. Artemis III, which will launch the lunar lander with two astronauts in 2024. In Japan, the Toyota Group has partnered with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to propose a pressurized lunar vehicle that would participate in future missions of the international program. China also has an ambitious program in the works the January 2019 landing of the Change-4 spacecraft on the far side of the Moon demonstrates its spectacular progress. In the summer of 2020, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) reiterated the countrys intention to create an international lunar research station (ILRS) as soon as 2036. Moscow signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2021 with China to create a lunar station, but no further details are known at this point. India is another contender. While the countrys space program does not currently envision the construction of a lunar base, it is preparing astronauts for a lunar mission. However, critical failures such as the Chandrayaan-2 crash have slowed down the programs development. Along with the Gaganyaan program, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) planned to send a manned flight to the Moon, but it will not occur before the next decade. Some consider the Moon as a necessary step before a manned mission to Mars, serving as a training ground for astronauts and forming the basis for a long-term human presence. However, the differences between their respective environments limits the validity of this hypothesis: Mars has an atmosphere that changes the access conditions. For the time being, these projects remain in the realm of wishful thinking. Although no one really knows the possibility and profitability of mining activities on the Moon, groups such as the Planetary Society argue that there are significant resources that could favor such an enterprise. In recent years, discoveries have indicated significant water-ice deposits at the poles of the Moon. In a multitude of microcraters, 60% of the deposits would be set in the South Pole as recent studies suggest. Although no one has ventured to attempt a complete estimation, some research indicates that a significant volume of water is present ranging from 100 million to 1 billion tons for each polar area. NASAs interest in establishing a lunar station in this region is linked to the possibility of extracting water, a critical resource for sustainable human presence. However, the determination of water-ice morphology, concentration, distribution and abundance remains essential, because the energy cost of its extraction depends on its nature. These data will determine the ability to execute any plan to exploit water-ice on the lunar surface. The lunar soil could also conceal important reserves of helium-3, whose volume would represent nearly 2.5 million tons according to Russian researchers. Rare on Earth, this non-radioactive isotope could potentially serve as fuel for nuclear fusion reactors. But such reactors do not yet exist, and few people dare to make predictions about when they will be built. Very hypothetical to date, the use of helium-3 in the long term would require the design of a cost-effective extraction method with adequate infrastructure and the ability to transport it to Earth. Furthermore, mining raises major legal issues as the United States has yet to sign the 1979 Moon Treaty along with China and Russia. On April 6, 2020, then-president Donald Trump issued an executive order stating that the United States did not consider outer space to be part of global commons. In his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden signed more than 60 executive orders, but had not yet indicated if there would be a change in the US position on space resources. Finally, NASA has unveiled the LunaNet architecture in its Artemis program. This device would facilitate the transfer of data between the Earth and the Moon, allowing astronauts to be alerted in real time when solar flares threaten space-based weather instruments. Complemented by positioning and navigation services, this architecture would secure human activities on the Moon. Limits and challenges Returning to the Moon implies significant budgetary efforts, even as the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have hit world economies hard. NASAs 2021-2025 budget for the Artemis program is assured until 2024, set at $28 billion, including $16 billion dedicated to the lunar lander. As yet the Biden administration has not stated that it will increase spending to enable humans to return to the lunar surface, and it could be delayed until after 2024. The political context of the current Moon project differs from that of the Apollo program in the 1960s. At that time, the United States wanted to assert its superpower status, and the program had bipartisan support from the start. The current NASA program has the support of Congress, but budget negotiations are always troubled in the United States, particularly with the current partisan divisions. While the Democratic party controls the House and Senate, the margin is exceedingly thin, particularly in the Senate. Therefore, NASAs program needs lasting political support to be successful. Given the financial uncertainties, technological hurdles, and logistical obstacles, a successful implementation of the US space program faces a wide range of challenges. Written by: Florian Vidal Associate Fellow, University of Paris Jos Halloy Physics professor, University of Paris Originally published on The Conversation.
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https://scitechdaily.com/is-it-time-for-us-to-send-astronauts-back-to-the-moon/
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What Does the Latest Pot Legalization Wave Means for Jobs and Social Equality?
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More than a month has passed since the 2018 midterm elections. However, many cannabis advocates remember November 7th as it were yesterday, as we woke up to news of Michigan legalizing recreational cannabis a first for the Midwest and Utah and Missouri passing ballot measures to allow their residents to use medical cannabis. As the day went by, we also saw Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime opponent of the sweet leaf, resign as per President Donald Trumps request, and Pete Sessions (no relation) whod also blocked numerous cannabis-related votes as Chairman of the House Rules Committee lose a re-election vote for Texass 32nd Congressional District. This made November 7th a holy shit kind of day in the world of weed. Every time there is another successful cannabis initiative at the state level, that only adds further pressure on Congress to take action at the federal level, John Vardaman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at payment and banking technology company Hypur , told MERRY JANE. These ballot measures come at an interesting point where the national sentiment seems to be that ordinary people can't make the government do what we want, but somehow we've managed to collectively drive the conversation about marijuana towards legalization, added Sarah Sicard, an editor at The Bluntness. I think this shows we have a great deal of power in deciding what we value as a society. But, beyond the political impact, many are curious what the recent legalization wave could mean for jobs and racial equality in the industry especially now that recreational sales have commenced in Massachusetts, New Jersey seems closer than ever to adult use legalization, and Utahs legislature passed a compromise medical marijuana bill. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Karson Humiston, CEO of Vangst , often considered the cannabis industrys largest staffing agency, believes recreational legalization in Michigan and medical legalization in Missouri and Utah will lead to a surge of pot jobs in all three states. According to Humiston, Colorado has created over 30,000 new full-time jobs since legalizing cannabis in 2012 and this number is still on the rise. We can expect the same to happen in Michigan, she said. By means of comparison, we can look into The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, Sixth Edition, a report published by Arcview Market Research in partnership with BDS Analytics. As per their estimates, Michigans legal cannabis spending will surpass $1.3 billion by 2022, employing almost 28,000 people. Based on the expected number of licenses in Missouri and Utah, we can expect at least 10,000 jobs to be created in each state over the next four years, Humiston of Vangst said. Racial Equality While the job creation estimates are certainly impressive, MERRY JANE was curious about how this affects minorities, whove paid the highest price for prohibition. For the time being, it seems like they arent. Some research has stated that only 4.3 percent of cannabis businesses in the U.S. are owned by African Americans, and just 5.7 percent are owned by Latinx people even though they represent about 14 percent and almost 18 percent of the total population, respectively. Further confirming this trend, a survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily revealed that minorities hold 17 percent of executive positions at cannabis businesses, even though they account for almost 40 percent of the American population. I believe as more states become legalized we will continued to see a rise of interest from the black and Latinx communities wanting to enter this industry, said Gia Morn, Executive Vice President at women-focused cannabis industry networking organization Women Grow . Unfortunately we are still seeing the recurring pattern of lack of access to capital, job opportunities, or training. Ownership numbers will continue to remain low if black and Latinx people are not receiving the same financial backing as many our counterparts in this industry. Morn continued: It is no secret that the playing field was unleveled from the start. The fact that people are working with governments to ensure these mandates are in place for minorities and minority owned businesses is a clear indication. That said, I do understand that in order to see the change, we must work towards creating ones we want to see, which is why I commend and respect the social equity work people in these states are [focusing on]. It is imperative we create solutions to address these challenges my communities are facing. A shift is happening in the industry. But equality is not just about ownership. Its also about employment. Well, change doesnt happen on its own, as Morn mentioned. Inclusion relies heavily on the advancement of social equity programs, such as whats being pushed in California, Maryland, and Massachusetts , as well as the emergence of social equity incubators like The Hood Incubator or Growing Talent , and other educational, training, and internship programs like those offered by the National Diversity & Inclusion Cannabis Alliance . Social Equity on the Rise Some state and local governments have sought to offer incentives and mandates that would help enable new opportunities, specifically for minority-owned cannabis businesses, or businesses that look to ensure that people of color are properly represented within their staffs, said Jeff Siegel, a well-known cannabis stock analyst and socially-responsible investor whos been championing progressive causes for years. Lawmakers embracing legislation that would ensure cannabis businesses can legally operate in minority communities also offer an assurance that these communities are not left out of what will prove to be one of the greatest job growth opportunities of the 21st century. One such state is Massachusetts, which recently rolled out an equity program that stipulates prioritizing license applications from people most impacted by the War on Drugs, as well as from companies that commit to helping disadvantaged sectors of the society. The initiative also seeks to hand out smaller-scale, more accessible licenses for micro businesses and craft marijuana cooperatives formed by small farmers who seek to pool their resources. California is also trying to embrace social equity. As Randy Robinson explained in a recent MERRY JANE article , social equity programs may do more for licensees beyond granting business permits. City offices [in several California towns] can assist licensees with obtaining loans, finding start-up capital, or securing business space under incubators business owners who may participate in the program if they pay the rent for an equity recipient. For instance, the Social Equity Program in Los Angeles will enable a 2-to-1 ratio of ownership and equity on retail shops to those who qualify under the SEP requirements i.e. being low-income, having a previous cannabis conviction, and having resided in a qualifying zip code. In LA, the challenges may outweigh the benefits for SEP applicants if certain requirements to qualify for a temporary license in Phase 3 are not changed or excluded, said Bonita Money, founder of the National Diversity Inclusion & Cannabis Alliance. Commenting on these programs, Siegel added: Certainly legislation can play a role in establishing regulatory frameworks that guarantee people of color are not excluded from the incredible economic opportunities that will continue to spawn from the rapid development of this industry. But to embrace real social justice within this industry, the industry itself must be proactive. While government can provide regulatory frameworks, it is the cannabis industry that must operate in a socially responsible manner. One company that has been committed to racial equality is Simply Pure, whose CEO is Wanda James , the first African-American woman to own a dispensary in Colorado. James believes her role in the industry is simple: I help open doors, she told MERRY JANE. Diversity inspires more diversity. It is not about being a woman or being black that makes change happen. It is because I am black and a woman that I focus on making change happen. James continued: We think about the optics of our company, and we intentionally and purposefully reach out to minority communities and women-owned firms for employees and contracts. It is a core value of who we are. A New Leaf Adam Vine of Cage Free Cannabis is one of the organizers of National Expungement Week (or NEW for short), a series of organized events that took place across the U.S. in October. NEW offers expungement assistance and other forms of legal relief to people with cannabis convictions. The 298 people who began the process of cleaning their criminal records during National Expungement Week will see increased access to jobs, including jobs in the cannabis industry, said Vine. The bulk of $3 million in public benefit created by National Expungement Week consists of increased wages available to expungement applicants. Many states, such as Colorado and Pennsylvania, continue to prohibit people with certain drug convictions from working in the cannabis industry. With these expungements, the benefits of the green rush should soon begin flowing to people who have previously been incarcerated. By means of conclusion, Bonita Money voiced: Corruption and greed is most prevalent when it should be a time of creating opportunity and generational wealth for the people and communities that have suffered from the failed War on Drugs. We couldnt agree more.
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https://merryjane.com/news/what-does-the-latest-pot-legalization-wave-means-for-jobs-and-social-equality
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Who Planted Weed in the Vermont Capitol Flower Beds?
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Photo via mynbc5 Montpelier police have discovered an unexpected kind of weed growing in the flowerbeds of the Vermont State House this week: Cannabis sativa. On Monday, a visitor to the State House pointed out what looked like a pot plant nestled among the fragrant flowers growing on the capitol lawn. Capitol Police arrived on the scene and discovered not one, but 32 young cannabis plants growing in the gardens. On Thursday, two more plants were discovered. "The beds are maintained as you can see very well by Buildings and General Services, Capitol Police Chief Matthew Romei told CBS affiliate WCAX3 . They really know how to run a flower bed. It's an impressive display every year but I don't think they included this in their annual rollout. We were kind of surprised. I don't think anyone was expecting to find that. "If there is a typical Vermont story this is probably it, Romei told NBC5 . The police chief explained that although cannabis is legal to cultivate... there are limits on where you can do it, and the statehouse flower beds certainly aren't one of those permissible sites. Even so, cops have no intention of arresting the individual who planted these seeds. We still don't know whether it's marijuana or hemp and, quite frankly, don't intend on spending the resources to test it because there's not a criminal case to be had over it," Romei told WCAX . Last year, Vermont became the first US state to legalize adult-use via an act of legislature. Since last July, adult residents of the Green Mountain State have been able to grow two pot plants for personal use, possess up to an ounce, and get lifted in the privacy of their own homes. The adult-use law does not include provisions for cannabis sales, which still remain strictly prohibited, and recent attempts to establish an adult-use retail market in Vermont have failed. Local police are still curious as to exactly why these pot plants were planted amongst the capitol gardens. "We also have no thoughts on why someone would plant it," the department said, according to CNN . "But if anyone wants to claim it and let us know why they planted it, we are happy to listen." The mysterious pot planter has yet to come forward, but it's possible to imagine that some merry prankster may have planted them just to give Montpelier residents a legal place to score some weed.
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https://merryjane.com/news/who-planted-weed-in-the-vermont-capitol-flower-beds
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Why Did the Feds Spend More on Weed Busts Than Fighting Domestic Terrorism?
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Last weekend's tragic mass shootings in Texas and Ohio have re-focused the country's attention on domestic terrorism. Political leaders continue warning of the threats posed by immigrants and religious minorities, but right-wing extremists born on US soil have been responsible for launching more attacks and killing more Americans than foreign terrorists have for almost two decades now. Yet, as the number of deadly assaults increase, the Trump administration has cut funding for government agencies created to fight domestic terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drastically decreased funding and staff dedicated to fighting deadly homegrown extremism, in favor of ramping up its anti-immigration efforts. This administration has shown that they are minimizing the issue of domestic terrorism, said former DHS analyst Daryl Johnson to VICE News . At a time when we have heightened activity and the body count keeps rising, training is being defunded and grant money taken back. Related: Fuck-Tons of Weed That Will Never Get Smoked ... Except Maybe By Cops Under the current administration, funding for programs targeting right-wing radicals like those responsible for the recent shootings has been cut. The funding for these programs has been re-allocated to new initiatives that target immigrants, refugees, Muslims, and other minority groups. The government in fact has reduced resources to counter domestic terrorism, leaving our communities vulnerable to the next inevitable tragedy, said George Selim, former head of the DHS Office of Community Partnerships (OCP), to Congress, VICE News reported. In the final year of the Obama administration, the OCP received $21 million in funding. The current administration cut the budget down to $3 million, reducing its staff from 16 employees and 25 contractors to just 8 employees. The OCP was created to fund community efforts to end extremism on a local level. The agency distributed grants to organizations like Life After Hate, a group that helps people leave white supremacist groups. I think those grants are important, said Mary McCord, former DOJ national security official, to VICE News . The federal government is never going to be truly successful in countering violent extremism without help, because anything with the words US government slapped on it is going to be suspect in the community. Last year, the government spent $18 million the same amount Trump cut from the OCP on seizing and destroying cannabis plants. This funding was granted to the DEA's Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program (DCE/SP), a program that has been finding and destroying pot farms since 1981. Much of the program's funding was reportedly used to help California destroy its thriving black market , but the DEA apparently doesn't even know where all of its money goes, according to the Government Accountability Office . Even though the multimillion dollar DCE/SP budget seems extreme, it actually pales in comparison to other government funding excesses , VICE News unveiled. Just last September alone the Department of Justice spent $21 million on furniture. In just two months of 2017, the DHS and the Department of Defense spent $14 million on security details accompanying Trump's golfing vacations to Mar-a-Lago. That same year, the DHS gave another $14 million to a consultancy firm just to hire two border patrol agents. It seems unlikely that the current administration will change its stance on fighting right-wing extremism, but next year, the country will have a chance to elect leaders who realize that domestic terrorism is far more serious than cannabis prohibition.
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https://merryjane.com/news/why-did-the-feds-spend-more-on-weed-busts-than-fighting-domestic-terrorism
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Why Does the Brazilian Government Care More About Cocaine Than the Amazon Fires?
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Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro may be turning a blind eye to the burning Amazon rainforest, possibly because his government is far more concerned about cartel violence than it is with preserving 20 percent of the planets oxygen. The fact that cartels are now the countrys Public Enemy Number One should come as no surprise, seeing as Brazil is the worlds second-largest consumer of cocaine (with the US being first, of course). According to the German news agency Deustche Welle , Brazil also has a murder rate of 30 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2018 alone there were some 60,000 murders, nearly double the number of people killed in the drug cartel war in Mexico that year. For comparison, the US has a murder rate of around 5 per 100,000 people . Most other industrialized nations hover around 0.8 homicides per 100,000 people. For starters, the nation shares borders with the three top cocaine-producing nations: Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Also, cocaine is so cheap in Brazil that just about everyone can afford it at $1 a gram. In the US, a gram of coke goes for anywhere between $50 to $100, depending on where you are. Of course, governments and their police forces often collude with organized crime, and whats going on in South America isnt unique. Nor is the US government innocent here. Gallery Insane Vintage Cocaine Advertisements: According to investigations at The Intercept , the Brazilian government exploited an anti-corruption operation dubbed Lava Jato purely for political purposes. Lava Jato exposed several corrupt Brazilian politicians and business leaders, who exchanged bribes and favors to ensure certain petroleum and ranching corporations received government contracts. Lava Jato also derailed former Brazilian President Luiz da Silvas reelection bid in 2018; da Silva is currently in prison and awaiting trial. The anti-corruption campaign is credited with putting President Bolsonaro into office, and elevating him to national-hero status, even though hes now suspected of illegally colluding with petroleum and ranching companies , too. But Lava Jato is also under fire: Judges and federal attorneys allegedly coordinated with one another to smear and incarcerate their political foes, which is against the law in Brazil. Theres also evidence that the US DOJ, since 2014 , quietly supported Lava Jato to facilitate social and political unrest in Brazil. It means the War on Drugs rages on, and things wont get better with Trump at the helm in the US and Bolsonaro running Brazil. Both presidents have taken a tough on crime stance, which has, historically, exacerbated problems stemming from drug use and illicit drug trades rather than improved them. And last but not least, its difficult for a president to appear tough on crime when members of his own military are dealing cocaine . I wouldnt be surprised if, to shirk international pressure for his failure to curb the Amazons fires, Bolsonaro is ramping up counterdrug operations to appear as if hes actually doing something besides stoking racial tension for cheap media airtime. In case youre wondering if either Trump or Bolsonaro have done much to stop cocaine production in either country, consider that the US just made the biggest cocaine bust in its history . Although the Trump administration twisted that as a major victory, in reality, a bust that size indicates the problem is getting worse , not better.
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https://merryjane.com/news/why-does-the-brazilian-government-care-more-about-cocaine-than-the-amazon-fires
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Why Is Canada Giving All Its Weed Taxes to Cops?
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Adult-use cannabis legalization will sweep the Great White North on October 17th, making Canada the second country after Uruguay to federally legalize the plant. Bill C-45, the landmark legislation which reached Royal Assent in June , will bring a projected windfall of C$690 million in sales tax revenue over the first five years, and hopes to cut into an already booming $6.2 billion black-market . After campaigning on a tax and regulate platform, Prime Minister Trudeau announced Bill C-45s success with a tweet : Its been too easy for our kids to get marijuana and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Though government officials are hesitant to say how much tax revenue to expect in the first five years of legalization, a 2018 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) report estimates that Canadas 10 provinces stand to capture up to 70% of the profits. With provinces controlling cannabis distribution across the country and levying their own sales tax on retail purchases, the report projects a provincial gain of $3 billion from either earned profits or tax revenues by the year 2020. But where that money goes and exactly how it will be spent is still up for debate. The federal government will levy an excise tax of 10%, or about $1 per gram, on all cannabis sales. Last December, Premiers rejected a 50-50 split of the taxes collected, arguing the provinces would bear the brunt of regulation and enforcement costs. Ottawa agreed to to keep only a quarter of the excise tax revenue for the first two years of legalization with the remaining 75% going to individual provinces. Municipalities argue that cities and local law enforcements will shoulder most of the costs associated with legislation from public education campaigns to zoning and by-law enforcement. Mayors across Canada have been pressuring their Premiers to fork over a large chunk of the tax revenue to local governments. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) which represents over 2,000 local governments initially proposed that local governments receive one-third of the excise tax. We think its a few million dollars worth of bylaw enforcement issues were going to have to deal with, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said in the Edmonton Journal of the additional costs he expects the city to incur, as well as several million more in policing costs, in the $10- to $12-million range, all put together. Were still asking the provinces for a share of this. As legalization looms, local mayors and councilors have been asking provincial governments to formalize their cannabis tax distribution plans. "There hasnt been any commitment to date that those revenues will be made available to the municipalities," Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said in the Winnipeg Free Press . "I dont want to see taxpayers and property owners having to subsidize pot. I dont think thats fair." Iveson, who is also chief of FCMs Big City Mayor caucus , warned if the province did not step-up and share revenue, cities like Edmonton with a population just under a million, and six pot shops set to open Oct. 17th might have to raise property taxes to cover regulation costs. We have no indication whatsoever that the property taxpayers wont be left on the hook for this, and thats still unacceptable, Mayor Don Iveson told The Edmonton Journal . We understand therell be some transitional costs, but Im frustrated that it probably looks like Im gonna have to ask taxpayers to chip in in our next budget. With no plan from Albertas provincial government in sight, a press request to the Edmonton Mayors office yielded a cheeky response: We have no deal from the Province yet we have no commitments other than last week the Premier [Rachel Notley] says she heard the cities' desire and she will work with us, so you are welcome to go ask the Province how they plan to do that :) Mike Brown, Press Secretary for Albertas Finance Minister, told MERRY JANE the province expects to operate at a loss of around $90 million for the first two years of legalization, as it will shell out money on building a regulatory framework before sales and distribution are a go. Alberta has committed to providing funding to municipalities when it comes to the costs associated with cannabis legalization, Brown wrote in an email. Those details have not been announced but will be in the near future. Only two out of Canadas ten provinces and three territories have unveiled their plans to share the loot with local municipalities. Ontario committed to giving $40 million to municipalities upfront from the first two-years of the cannabis excise tax kickback. The percentage was determined by number of households, adjusted so each municipality receives at least $10,000. If the province receives over $100 million from the feds, 25% of that excess will be diverted to municipalities. In Quebec, municipalities will receive a total of $60 million over the next two years, even if excise revenues are lower than expected. Whether federal, provincial, or municipal, the majority of the budget bump seems to be heading straight to law enforcements bottom line. As the Liberal Party explains on its website , To ensure that we keep marijuana out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals, we will legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana. Subsequently, unlicensed sales and distribution remain high-priority for law enforcement, with some provinces setting up special forces to crackdown on black market activity. Nova Scotia, where the province will control distribution and retail, has introduced fines ranging from $150 dollars to $25,000 for people selling or buying unlicensed weed . Cannabis activists such as Alison Myrden , a medical marijuana exemptee since 1994, feel left out of the cold when it comes to recreational legalization. The government is so concerned with social users [that] theyre pushing medical patients to the side, Myrden said from her home in Burlington, Ontario. We are just as important as those bigwigs who have million-dollar investments and buy-ins in their LPs and dispensaries. Prescription use marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. A government-run program provides cannabis for patients by mail, but no health insurance covers it. Myrden, who uses cannabis to treat multiple sclerosis, says she spent $600 on marijuana last month, and wants to see some of the tax revenue be put into a fund to help medical patients cover costs. Theyre looking at making a heck of a lot of money from cannabis in this country, said Myrden. Social, medical, and religious consumers. On the phone, Myrden, a former corrections officer, also advocated for a blanket exoneration of cannabis offenders, and that grower and sellers whod lost property and plants to government forfeiture be compensated. Like America, Canadas cannabis conviction rates are racially disparate with black and indigenous people overrepresented . Tyler James, director of advocacy group Sensible Ontario , wants to see some of the excise tax funds go towards community sensitive training for police officers. Referencing the spike in cannabis charges for black and Latinx youth after Colorado legalized , James told MERRY JANE, Police need more appropriate community outreach training to avoid targeting minority and low-income communities. Over the next five years, Trudeaus government earmarked just over $274 million for law enforcement and border patrol and over $100 million towards cannabis public education, awareness, and surveillance including $62.5 million to community organizations, Indigenous groups, and local governments to educate communities on safe consumption. The 2018 Budget also set aside $20 million for government-led research on the impact of cannabis use on Canadians mental health, though exactly how much of that comes directly from cannabis tax revenue is unclear.
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https://merryjane.com/news/why-is-canada-giving-all-its-weed-taxes-to-cops-october-2018
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Will Cops Get Access to Oklahoma's Medical Marijuana Patient Database?
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The owners of an Oklahoma medical marijuana clinic are suing the state over a new law that gives cops unfettered access to the state's database of licensed medical cannabis users. Senate Bill 1030 , the bill that sparked the lawsuit, was actually created to protect medical marijuana patients during police traffic stops. State Senator Lonnie Paxton told Oklahoma News 4 that under the current law, a registered patient who is caught with weed but does not have their state-issued MMJ card on them could either get fined or actually be arrested and put in jail for the weekend. But Senate Bill 1030 clears that up. Paxton explained that if a person is found with an ounce-and-a-half or less of marijuana and they dont have their card with them, they cannot be arrested. They can still be fined, however. In order to make it possible, SB 1030 directs the state Department of Health (OSDH) to make all of its information on registered medical cannabis patients available to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (OLETS). Police making a traffic stop would then be able to use this information to verify whether or not an individual is legally allowed to possess cannabis in the state. While the law at first seems like a welcome protection for medical marijuana patients, critics of the legislation discovered that an ambiguity in the law actually could allow police to single out patients during traffic stops. This Monday, attorney Rob Durbin filed a petition in the Tulsa County District Court on behalf of Tulsa Higher Care Clinic Inc., a local medical cannabis clinic, and 11 patients. Gallery Fuck-Tons of Weed That No One Is Smoking Except Cops: The lawsuit argues that SB 1030 does not make enough of a distinction between business and patient licenses, creating a privacy concern for over 170,000 licensed patients. Patient information is not part of what was supposed to be disclosed to OLETS and law enforcement, said Durbin to Tulsa World . What they intended to be disclosed was business license information," he said. "What this bill does, by allowing patient information to be released, is it essentially brands every medical marijuana patient license holder with a scarlet letter in the state of Oklahoma. State law allows police to charge any driver who has any amount of a Schedule I drug in their system with a DUI. Cannabis is still considered a Schedule I drug under Oklahoma law, even though it is technically legal for medical use. The lawsuit argues that the current wording of SB 1030 would allow police to single out patients for DUI arrests solely based on prior knowledge that they are licensed medical marijuana users. Im asking that when I get pulled over, the police dont already know that Im a medical marijuana patient, said Whitney Wehmeyer, co-owner of the Tulsa Higher Care Clinic and plaintiff in the suit, to Tulsa World . Not that I have shame for it, but there arent people that get tagged for using opiates.
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https://merryjane.com/news/will-cops-get-access-to-oklahomas-medical-marijuana-patient-database
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Will the NYPD Finally Stop Arresting People for Smoking Weed in Public?
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This weekend, the New York Police Department implemented a new marijuana policy intended to finally put a stop to the disproportionate enforcement of prohibition laws against communities of color. The new policy, which took effect on Saturday, September 1st, directs police to issue a court summons to any individual caught with up to 25 grams of weed, or for smoking in public, rather than arresting them. The summons will come with a fine of up to $100. The city expects that the new policy will result in 10,000 fewer arrests per year. Were going to see a humongous drop in people of color being arrested for marijuana, said NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison to ABC7. "And that was one of the whole goals of this whole new policy." The city also expects the change to reduce the amount of paperwork connected with such arrests.Its going to free up our cops to stay out on patrol, Commissioner James ONeill said during a radio interview, the New York Post reports. Its also going to prevent people that have no prior criminal record from entering into the criminal justice system. While this new policy looks great on paper, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD have made these promises before. In 2014, de Blasio and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced that anyone caught with 25 or fewer grams of weed would be subject to a summons, not an arrest. Regardless, the NYPD made 9% more cannabis possession arrests in 2016 than they did in 2015, and a full 90% of those arrested for these minor offenses that year were minorities. Since the implementation of this supposed decriminalization policy, the NYPD has arrested over 75,000 individuals on misdemeanor pot charges, with people of color accounting for 86% of these arrests. This year, the numbers got even worse. In the first half of 2018, a full 93% of the 6,604 people arrested for minor cannabis offenses by the NYPD were people of color. In May, de Blasio made another promise to cut down on these arrests, and within a month, announced the city's new arrest policy alongside Commissioner O'Neill. The bottom line is, and Ive said this many times before: the NYPD has no interest in arresting people for marijuana offenses when those arrests have no direct impact on public safety, ONeill said at the time, Metro New York reports. Just like the citys previous decriminalization policy, individual NYPD officers still have the discretion to choose whether to issue a summons or to arrest an individual. People need to know that smoking marijuana in public is still illegal, and you can be subject to a summons or arrest, O'Nell said, according to the New York Post. If youre on parole, probation, if you have a history of violenceyoull still be subject to arrest. Additionally, police are still directed to arrest any pot user who fails to provide proper identification, is driving a vehicle, or in a situation where a legitimate law enforcement exception exists. The new policy gives individual cops a lot of leeway to decide if they want to continue putting people behind bars for minor pot crimes, or to let them off the hook with a fine. But even if they choose not to follow the new policy, there is still hope that NYC can still put an end to its history of disproportionate cannabis enforcement. District attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan have announced that they will no longer prosecute minor pot offenses, and up in Albany, state legislators are breaking ground on a new bill to legalize pot throughout the entire Empire State.
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https://merryjane.com/news/will-new-york-city-cops-finally-stop-arresting-people-for-smoking-weed-in-public
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Will South Korea Become the First Asian Country to Legalize Medical Marijuana?
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Photo via iStock/ Reabirdna Although a growing number of Western nations have embraced medical cannabis in some form over the past two decades, such reform has been slow to come to Asia. However South Korea may be in line to become the first Asian country to legally embrace the medicinal properties of cannabis, as the country's food and drug ministry has just announced their support for a new medical marijuana bill that is currently being debated by the country's lawmakers. Unlike many Western countries, where cannabis was prohibited in the 1930s, South Korea did not fully prohibit cannabis until 1976. But like many other Asian states, Korean cannabis laws are far more extreme than Western nations, giving courts the power to sentence pot smokers to death. The country's Narcotics Control Act currently prohibits all forms of cannabis cultivation and use, including marijuana and hemp, but does allow some limited use of cannabis seeds and fibers for textile production and academic research. This January, Democratic Party of Korea Representative Shin Chang-hyun proposed a bill to the National Assembly that would legalize medical marijuana in a very limited form, allowing the importation of a small range of cannabis-derived drugs. A similar bill was proposed in 2015, but lawmakers voted it down, citing a lack of social consensus on the matter. This year's version has a much greater chance of success, however, as the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has announced that they are in full support of the legislation. The proposed law is very restrictive, though, and would only allow patients to take cannabis-based substances that have been approved by other countries' drug administrations. This effectively limits patients to four drugs Epidiolex, Marinol, Sativex, and Cesamet which have been approved in the U.K. or the U.S. to treat epilepsy or wasting syndromes connected with cancer or HIV. Patients would not be allowed to use or grow actual cannabis flower, nor would they be allowed to use edibles or oils. The bill also wouldnt legalize the cultivation or processing of cannabis within the country, but only authorize the import of these four approved medications. But medical cannabis advocates throughout South Korea are already pushing lawmakers to expand the law to allow additional forms of natural cannabis-derived medicine, and the health ministry has agreed to consider advice from doctors and patient advocacy groups on the matter. Canna-businesses in Canada and Israel are already anticipating that these expansions will be approved, and are preparing a range of products to meet the country's expected demand. Tikun Olam, a major cannabis cultivator in Israel home to one of the world's most developed medical cannabis industries recently announced that they were working with Korean cannabis advocates to prepare a supply of medical cannabis for the country's new program. Israeli lawmakers approved the export of medical cannabis last year, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked these exports in February, citing concerns that these products could be diverted to the black market. Tikun Olam's plans are still moving ahead, however, as they have partnered with York Bridge Capital, a private equity firm based in Canada, where all forms of cannabis will be legal as of October 17th. In the meantime, a growing number of South Koreans have been attempting to import medical cannabis products from other countries on their own, despite the legal risk. "There are many types of products including tablets and ointments outside Korea," Kang Sung-suk of cannabis advocacy group Organization of Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Korea, said to the Korea Times. "And it's so easy to buy. You can even buy them from a supermarket or a pharmacy. The current law doesn't reflect what's going on outside Korea or help sick people who need medical help." Customs officials reportedly intercepted 80 attempts to smuggle medical marijuana into the country last year, up from 10 attempts in 2016, illustrating increasing public demand for medical marijuana.
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https://merryjane.com/news/will-south-korea-become-first-asian-country-to-legalize-medical-marijuana
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Who are Chatham Dockyard's hidden heroines?
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Video report by ITV News Meridian's Tom Savvides Women who worked, or are still working, at Chatham's Historic Dockyard are celebrated in a new exhibition called 'Hidden Heroines'. They include those who worked in factories in the World Wars, and some who would dress up as men to get out to sea. Below are just two of the many stories being told through the exhibition. Leanne Clark Leanne Clark Credit: ITV News Meridian Leanne Clark has been working in the ropery at Chatham's historic Dockyard for nine years. She's the only woman in this section, making ropes using Victorian machinery. Leanne is one of dozens of individuals celebrated as a Hidden Heroine. She says: "It's the historical side. We are keeping a tradition alive by using the Victorian machinery. "You don't see that anywhere really these days. And being a part of that is something quite unique and sort of, cool!" Grace Mulford Grace Mulford Grace Mulford was one of 18 car drivers and one of three motorbike dispatch riders working out of Chatham Dockyard in the First World War. Some of her relatives had no idea of her involvement with the Royal Navy. Grace's grandson John Mulford said: "Until a few months ago we didn't know she was around at the Dockyard but we found the information by accident when were clearing out my aunt's house. "We saw the photograph and we were amazed quite honestly." The exhibition's curator Alexandra Curson says it is a chance to explore a perhaps unknown part of history. Hidden Heroines Credit: ITV News Meridian She says: "They've often been overlooked by the traditional narrative of museum or history telling. "What we've been able to do is find stories that have just been missed out from the history books and we've done some amazing research into the archives."
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https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2021-06-01/who-are-chatham-dockyards-hidden-heroines
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Will T2 Biosystems Continue to Rally?
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June 1, 2021 4 min read This story originally appeared on StockNews An invitro diagnostics company, T2 Biosystems, Inc. (TTOO) is involved in the development of diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. TTOOs stock has gained 12.1% so far this year. The gain is attributable primarily to the companys T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel, a COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test that can detect the Brazil (P.1) variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, TTOOs shares have declined 5.4% over the past month after the company reported losses in its first quarter financial results. Also, ongoing investigations into TTO related to possible breaches of fiduciary duty could be of concern to investors. In addition, TTOOs poor profitability, as competition intensifies in the coronavirus diagnostic market, could cause the stock to experience further declines. Click here to checkout our Healthcare Sector Report for 2021 The stock is currently trading 63.3% below its 52-week high of $3.79, which it hit on February 8, 2021. Here is what we think could influence TTOOs performance in the near term: Intense Rivalry In the COVID-19 Diagnostic Market The coronavirus diagnostic-supplies industry has been evolving rapidly, and the development of diagnostic kits, technological innovation and rapid launch of testing products worldwide continues to support its growth. A significant upsurge in COVID-19 cases last year motivated diagnostic operators to invest substantial amounts in the development of rapid diagnostic testing solutions. Market leaders like Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Roche Holding AG have also launched their respective COVID-19 diagnostic testing products. In fact, with more suppliers entering the market, it could be challenging for TTOO to retain its market share. Ongoing Investigations Can Be a Concern On May 15, Levi & Korsinsky, LLP commenced an investigation of TTOO concerning alleged fiduciary duty breaches by the companys board of directors and certain officers. Also, in March, Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm, started investigating TTOO for possible breaches of fiduciary duty. Since these actions could make investors anxious about the stocks near-term prospects, its share price could exhibit further weakness. Inadequate Financials TTOOs net revenues came in at $6.96 million for the first quarter, ended March 31, 2021, representing a 173% improvement year-over-year. However, it generated a $9.7 million loss from operations, while its net loss came in at $10.66 million. It reported an $0.07 loss per share over this period. The companys total costs and expenses rose 3.4% year-over-year to $16.66 million. Poor Profitability TTOOs net income margin, gross profit margin, ROA and ROTC came in at negative 188.6%, 73.9%, 60.7% and 47%, respectively. Furthermore, its trailing-12-month levered free cash flow margin and EBIT margin are negative 109.2% and 164%, respectively. Also, the companys trailing-12-month cash from operations came in at a negative 37.18 million. POWR Ratings Reflect Bleak Prospects TTOO has an overall D rating, which translates to Sell in our POWR Ratings system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors with the weighting of each optimized to improve overall performance. Our proprietary rating system also evaluates each stock based on eight different categories. TTOO has a D grade for Quality and Momentum. The stocks weak profitability and negative price returns over the past month are reflected in these grades. Also, it has a C grade for Value. This is consistent with the companys forward EV/Sales ratio of 8.85x, which is 27.8% higher than the industry average of 6.93x. In addition to the grades weve highlighted, one can check out additional TTOO ratings for Sentiment, Stability and Growth here. TTOO is ranked #161 of 181 stocks in the C-rated Medical - Devices & Equipment industry. Click here to view the top-rated stocks in the Medical - Devices & Equipment industry. Bottom Line TTOOs efficient product pipeline, which includes its T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel and its T2Resistance Panel, has helped its stock soar over the past year. However, the deep market penetration of dominant players in the COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing industry and the companys ongoing fiduciary duty breach investigations have raised investors concerns. Furthermore, its weak profitability and financials could limit its growth prospects. As such, we think the stock is best avoided now. Click here to checkout our Healthcare Sector Report for 2021 TTOO shares fell $0.01 (-0.72%) in premarket trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, TTOO has gained 9.68%, versus a 13.25% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. About the Author: Imon Ghosh Imon is an investment analyst and journalist with an enthusiasm for financial research and writing. She began her career at Kantar IMRB, a leading market research and consumer consulting organization. More... The postappeared first on
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https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/373349
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What does a cloud FinOps technologist do?
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Fidelity Investments Noel Crowley discusses the value of financial operations when it comes to reducing cloud spend. According to Gartner, worldwide spending on public cloud services is expected to reach more than $332bn this year, an increase of more than 23pc from 2020. But as cloud spending increases, cloud FinOps (financial operations) professionals are becoming increasingly important to ensure cloud spend within companies is optimised. In his role as a cloud FinOps technologist at Fidelity Investments, Noel Crowley is responsible for ongoing cloud platform cost optimisation. He works with business groups and development teams across the company to provide analysis, recommendations and optimisation actions for cloud activities. Here, he discusses his work, the skills he uses and how his role has evolved from simply checking that a cloud usage bill was correct to actually analysing ways to optimise the value of the cloud spend. I honestly dont think there is a typical day for my job, but in saying that I think there are some things that I do on regular basis. I work across all of Fidelity to assist business partners in understanding their current cloud spend and I coach them in managing their cloud spend. I educate them in the new responsibilities that cloud migration has brought to every user of the cloud, specifically that of financial responsibility for their cloud usage. The projects I work on can vary from time to time. A large amount of my time is spent analysing the different ways teams within Fidelity use the cloud, looking for patterns to see if there are opportunities to reduce cloud spend. When doing this, I always ensure I am not just reducing cost for the sake of it, there must always be an understanding that the business value should be the driver of any cloud cost decision. The other major part is keeping a very close eye on what the major cloud service providers are doing and what services they are releasing and investigating if these might be a good fit for Fidelity application. My favourite type of project is when I need to work with application teams to educate them in the ways of FinOps and help them to learn how they are finding ways to reduce their current cloud spend and reinvest their saving into improving their applications. I would need to regularly use my interpersonal and communication skills to try and educate users of the cloud on how they are using the various services. I used to be a very technical person before I migrated into FinOps, and thankfully having a very strong understanding of how cloud services work with each other helps me in this part of my role. Helping people who are not familiar with cloud optimisation to best utilise their spend and [highlighting] the benefits that offers the business and their own team. If you can do it now, do it. When I need to do a task, I will turn off my email and internal communications tools and just get it done. I used to always try to multitask, but I have learned that it never works for me. In my FinOps role, concentration and attention to detail are important. I manage my time accordingly. I was surprised to learn how adopting use of impactful presentations can deliver effective communication to any audience. The FinOps role has changed dramatically over the last few years. Like many people who work in the FinOps role, I started by just ensuring that the cloud usage bill was correct and paid on time. As we used the cloud more and more, I began to analysing our usage to find ways to optimise our value. Saving money I mean, who doesnt like saving money! This is the best outcome of my role. I can work with a team whose cloud spend is climbing at a high rate. After we analyse their spend, we can find some areas to reduce cost. Once we incorporate the changes to the project, seeing the outcome occur quickly is one of the most enjoyable things. The only thing better than helping a team is when that team no longer needs me, having educated them in the ways of FinOps, and then the development team taking on the ownership of their cost is a great feeling.
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https://www.siliconrepublic.com/people/cloud-finops-fidelity-investments
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Should lockdown lifting go ahead as concerns swirl over Covid variants?
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The final step out of lockdown in England is set for 21 June, when the government will remove all legal limits on social contact although some social distancing and mask-wearing rules will remain. However, a senior government minister has said that it is too early to speculate about whether this will go ahead as planned, amid concern about increasing cases of the Delta variant, first detected in India and known as B.1.617.2. The Guardian spoke to a number of experts about whether the planned 21 June lockdown lifting should be delayed and if so, why. John Bell, immunologist John Bell, regius chair of medicine at the University of Oxford, said that he had looked at the numbers on Tuesday and that he was not concerned with hospitalisations, which are pretty flat, or mortality, which is very flat. He puts this down to the rapid rate of vaccinations, saying that the most important thing is that among those who would get sick and die from the virus, around 80-90% of people are now vaccinated. He said that vaccines would, undoubtedly, prevent hospitalisations and deaths. He says trying to get rid of the virus entirely from the UK is foolish and will never happen. If, on the other hand, you are trying to manage the disease and are aware of the fact there will be other variants and a certain amount of disease activity in the background but low hospitalisation and deaths, then that is another question. You need different strategies for the two approaches, he said. I think we have to watch the figures and at the moment I dont see anything that makes me anxious, there are more cases but not that many. Susan Michie, behavioural scientist Susan Michie, professor of health psychology and director of the centre for behaviour change at UCL, said that she wished there had been more focus on data and not dates. But the emphasis has been on dates rather than data, and it would have been good if this was not the case, she said. She added that what was happening now was similar to the spread of the Alpha variant, first detected in Kent and known as B.1.1.7, in terms of increasing transmission, adding that we should be concerned. We all suffered the consequences of not acting soon enough with another lockdown, she said. No one wants that to happen again so the starting point in communication should be focusing on preventing another wave. The key thing is to learn from the past and the mistakes we made and one thing we learned about the virus is that you cannot wait until you are certain of another wave. You have to act when there is the possibility of it or you lose control over the virus rising exponentially. Michie added that an increasing number of epidemiologists and public health experts, who had knowledge about the pandemic, were saying it would be extremely unwise to lift more restrictions. Fiona Donald, consultant anaesthetist President-elect of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, Fiona Donald, said that her views on the easing of restrictions came from the viewpoint of the millions of patients on waiting lists for operations. She worries that if restrictions are lifted too soon, hospitals will struggle once more and there is already a huge backlog of people waiting for non-Covid related surgery. If hospitals get busy or even overwhelmed by Covid cases then they are unlikely to get surgery in a timely fashion and that is my main concern really, she said. Donald added that we should be guided by what the science shows and there is a timeframe for that, but whatever decision should be made on the basis that the NHS can cope. She said it was not just about hospitals filling up but also when there were lots of infected patients in hospital you use up disproportionate amounts of space and personnel and resources. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality Kate Nicholls, whose organisation represents pubs, restaurants, bars and clubs across the country, said the government delaying its roadmap for easing Covid restrictions in England would be hugely damaging for the industry. Its critical we move ahead to step four of the roadmap. Weve still got a quarter of premises that cant open at all. Those that can open are trading under such severe restrictions theyre not profitable. Leaving restrictions in place is not viable. Every day restrictions are in place businesses are losing money and jobs are in jeopardy. Any delay would require the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to bring forward a package of fresh economic support measures to prevent a fresh wave of job losses, she said. More than 3m jobs were furloughed at the start of May, according to the latest official figures, with almost half of staff in the hospitality sector receiving emergency wage support. The support is critical. For those businesses that cant open yet its been 16 months without revenue at all. Particularly nightclubs, music venues, wedding venues and the events business that support them, those businesses are clinging on by their fingertips, Nicholls said. She said any reintroduction of tougher controls would be devastating for hospitality firms. It would be a catastrophic, retrograde step. Businesses would close their doors for good almost immediately. We see no reason why there should be a delay. There is nothing coming out in the epidemiological research or case numbers to suggest the roadmap is not on track. Jagjit Chadha, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research Jagjit Chadha said there would be costs from delaying, but that the economic fallout would be much less than during previous lockdowns. The good news is that it looks like the economy has shown more resilience in the face of every successive lockdown. Weve kind of learned how to deal with them, he said. Britains economy shrank by about a quarter during the first lockdown from March 2020. However, GDP fell by about 10% in the second lockdown last autumn and by less than 5% at the start of this year during the third, he said. The direct economic cost of lockdown seems to be less. Chadha said there was a strong case for delaying reopening because the economy had adapted over the past year, and that containing the virus was key for the countrys long-term economic recovery. So its got to depend on the growth of the infections and the virus. We should not stop ourselves from doing these things because of the impact on the economy. Its a secondary question, he said. Research by the International Monetary Fund shows the economic impact from lockdown is about equal to the effects from people voluntarily social distancing when worried about higher rates of infection. This could strengthen the argument for keeping some restrictions in place, he said. People are so aware now of the infection and where its hitting. If we didnt control it, you would see a reduction in expenditure in any case, as people wont go out. Getting the virus under control is also the only way you can get back to normality on the economy.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/01/should-lockdown-lifting-go-ahead-as-concerns-swirl-over-covid-variants
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Will CoJ's plans to take over electricity distribution from Eskom work?
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The City of Joburg says it plans to take over electricity distribution from Eskom, which currently distributes power to around 38% of all the electricity supplied to customers in the city. Some have warned that this move will drive up operational costs for businesses across the city. Frank Hinda, acting general manager at the City of Johannesburg, explained to John Perlman the implications thereof. That will allow us to source electricity, not from distribution, but from Eskom transmission... our purchasing structure would - as a result of this change - it would then have a benefit for us to share some of its benefits with our customers in future. Frank Hinda, Acting general manager at the City of Johannesburg The intention is that by taking over these functions... that we would afford a better price from Eskom, compared to what we are getting today. Frank Hinda, Acting general manager at the City of Johannesburg Listen to the full interview below...
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https://www.702.co.za/articles/418097/will-coj-s-plans-to-take-over-electricity-distribution-from-eskom-work
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Could Julio Jones be latest and greatest of Kyle Shanahans reunions on 49ers?
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Julio Jones could be the pice de rsistance in Kyle Shanahans never-ending reunion tour. Since Shanahan took over as the 49ers coach in 2017, hes made a habit of acquiring players that he previously coached. Jones could be next, if the Atlanta Falcons trade the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and thus ditch his $15.3 million salary. Such salary cap-saving moves can kick in at 1 p.m. PT., effectively pushing dead money onto next years cap. The link to Shanahan makes the 49ers a logical candidate, not to mention their need for another wide receiver to complement Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel on a playoff-ready roster. The advantage to having been with someone is you know what type of guy they are, Shanahan said in March 2017, when his initial crop of free agents included reunions with quarterback Brian Hoyer and wide receiver Pierre Garcon. Jones made All-Pro the two seasons Shanahan served as the Falcons coordinator, in 2015 and 16. That reunion would be Shanahans biggest since trading for left tackle Trent Williams a year ago, all due respect to center Alex Mack coming aboard last month. This was a preferred destination of mine, just because of the familiarity I have with Kyle and the offense, Williams said last April. Obviously with this being an ascending team, I thought Id fit right in. Im champing at the bit to get on the field with a Super Bowl-caliber team. Williams, 32, parlayed his comeback last season into the richest contract ever for a NFL offensive lineman this past March. Jones, 32, is five years removed from helping the Falcons to the Super Bowl with Shanahan, who likely isnt deterred by Jones hamstring injury that limited him to seven games last year for the last-place Falcons (4-12). Anyone Ive coached in the past that I have relationships with, especially a great dude like Julio, obviously I have a ton of respect for, Shanahan said last Tuesday when asked about possibly trading for Jones. Shanahan hasnt had any real disastrous reunions, the closest being Hoyers 0-6 mark as a starter and Garcons career-ending neck injury in 2018. Most players have aptly filled roles. Williams is the only one to make a Pro Bowl. Here is a reminder of whose past relationships with Shanahan led them to a reunion on the 49ers: In 2017: Wide receiver Pierre Garon Wide receiver Aldrick Robinson Tight end Logan Paulsen Quarterback Brian Hoyer Cornerback KWaun Williams Running back Tim Hightower In 2018: Running back Alfred Morris Guard Mike Person In 2019: Running back Tevin Coleman Center Ben Garland Tight end Levine Toilolo In 2020: Left tackle Trent Williams Tight end Jordan Reed Guard Tom Compton Wide receiver Travis Benjamin Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu In 2021:
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https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/06/01/could-julio-jones-be-latest-and-greatest-of-kyle-shanahans-reunions-on-49ers/
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Will China become the new digital currency superpower?
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(Bloomberg) China forced banks to hold more foreign currencies in reserve for the first time in more than a decade, its most substantial move yet to rein the surging yuan. The nations financial institutions will need to hold 7% of their foreign exchange in reserve from June 15, according to a central bank statement Monday. Thats an increase of 2 percentage points, and the first such hike since 2007. The move, which the Peoples Bank of China said will help liquidity management, effectively reduces the supply of dollars and other currencies onshore putting pressure on the yuan to weaken. The Chinese currency gained 0.1% on Tuesday.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2264214431621/will-china-become-the-new-digital-currency-superpower
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What could a summer travel boom mean for kids who cant be vaccinated yet?
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The eagerness to leave mask mandates and pandemic practices behind may leave families with young children exercising extra vigilance while vacationing. WASHINGTON After the opening act of a post-pandemic America showed a remarkable resurgence in long-delayed and now delivered vacations, U.S. health authorities will closely track any increases in COVID-19 cases among millions who havent been vaccinated. For children under 12 years old, unable to be inoculated yet, parents and pediatricians face an increasingly likely scenario of unvaccinated adults ditching both masks and social distancing around kids. The eagerness to leave mask mandates and pandemic practices behind may leave families with young children exercising extra vigilance while vacationing, doctors and experts noted ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. In response to this reality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released tips and guidelines for families traveling with unvaccinated kids. The recommendations, above all, advise shorter trips, as direct as possible. If you must fly, try to take flights with the fewest stops or layovers, the agency said. Short road trips with members of your household or fully vaccinated people with few stops along the way are the safest vacations, with long-distance trains, buses, and cruises to be avoided. The CDC also urged parents to seek home rentals over hotels, and getting takeout with their children as opposed to venturing out to restaurants while on vacation. You just can't throw caution to the wind at this point, said Dr. Roshni Mathew, a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatric Infectious at Stanford University. Children, just like adults, could potentially also have the long COVID. That is, persistent symptoms, beyond a few weeks. Pfizer said it plans to request emergency use authorization for its vaccine in children ages 2-11 by September. The pharmaceutical giant also plans to ask for authorization in children aged 6 months to 2 years old during the fourth quarter of this year.
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https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/travel-boom-kids-who-cant-be-vaccinated-yet/65-a129bc7b-297d-4023-a778-eb34698af7f1
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Does Jean Slater in EastEnders really have cancer again? Is she dying?
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Jean Slater in EastEnders is mum to Stacey and Sean Slater. Shes actually only a Slater by marriage, having been married to Brian Slater Stacey and Seans dad. Jean first appeared in 2004, for just one episode, and then returned as a regular character a year later. Jeans been in EastEnders for many years (Credit: BBC) After a few years of being in and out of the show, she returned full-time in 2018. Shes a hugely popular character with Jean providing some of the Squares most heart-wrenching drama and a lot of laughs, too. Jean Slater in EastEnders is played by experienced actress Gillian Wright. Alongside her career in television playing roles in Casualty, Holby City and Coronation Street Gillian is a theatre actress. Read more: EastEnders: Chelsea Fox will be Gray Atkins next victim, fans predict She is also a visiting director and workshop leader, working with drama schools, universities and children with special needs. Jeans bipolar disorder Jean Slater has bipolar disorder. Her condition has made things difficult with her daughter Stacey who has inherited the disorder and son Sean. Jean and Stacey both have bipolar disorder (Credit: BBC) Early in her time on EastEnders, Jean attempted suicide and was sectioned. Stacey helped her mum through her troubles, and the pair built bridges, though Jean found it harder to make amends with Sean. Jean also intervened when Stacey showed signs of having bipolar and helped her daughter. Since then, Jeans mental health has been the catalyst for many of Jeans stories. She won some money on a lottery scratchcard, and was horribly manipulated and conned out of her winnings by Michael Moon. Occasionally Jean is disbelieved, taken advantage of, or made fun of, thanks to people knowing about her mental health issues. Actress Gillian Wright has researched the condition widely and she won Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards in 2019. One of the thing Jeans most famous for is her special Sausage Surprise which she loves to cook for her family and friends! Jean Slaters romances in EastEnders Widow Jean has had a number of romances in her time on the Square including with Ian Beale and Billy Mitchell. She married former policeman Ollie Walters and they moved to Brighton together. But when she returned to Walford she revealed that Ollie had cheated on her and their marriage was over. Jeans most life-changing romance was with Daniel Cook. Who she met when she was having treatment for cancer. Jean Slaters cancer diagnosis and romance with Daniel Jean was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and struggled to cope initially. She even fled to a caravan in Wales for a while. But son Sean helped her come to terms with her diagnosis and accompanied her to her first hospital appointments. Sean took his mum to her chemo appointment (Credit: BBC) At the hospital, Jean met Daniel who was making a nuisance of himself with the nurses. Despite Daniel being difficult, he and Jean grew close. And she was devastated when she passed away. She and Kush Kazemi went to the memorial ceremony. But then Jean discovered Daniel had faked his own death. He had worried he was growing too close to Jean and he didnt want her to watch him suffer. Daniel and Jean had a lot of fun together, despite Daniels terminal illness (Credit: BBC) When it was revealed that Daniel had faked his death, Jean was initially furious. Daniel was sweet and so sorry, that she eventually forgave him and finding out hed paid the Slaters rent helped too! The pair admitted their feelings for one another, and Daniel promised he wouldnt die until he knew Jean was cancer free. As he got worse, Jean found out her cancer had gone. Jean told a fib and said she hadnt got her results, but Mo let it slip. Daniel passed away as he and Jean sat on the bench (Credit: BBC/iPlayer) Jean and Daniel sat together on Arthurs bench in the Square. Jean went to get hot chocolates and when she returned, Daniel had passed away. Late in 2020, Jean found a lump in her breast. She believes her cancer has returned one of the reasons she was so devastated when Stacey went to jail and doesnt want any more treatment. Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.
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https://www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/soaps/jean-slater-gillian-wright-eastenders-cancer-dying/
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Whats the Difference Between FICO Credit Scores and VantageScore?
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Photo : fizkes ( Shutterstock ) You might be familiar with the idea of a singular credit score, but theres actually two major credit score providers that rate your creditworthiness: FICO and VantageScore. While FICO is used for 90% of all lending decisions, VantageScore can still play a role in whether you get approved for a loan. Heres what you need to know. FICO and VantageScore are similar in that, for the most part, your score is ranked on a 300 to 850 scale (versions preceding VantageScore 3.0 range from 501 to 990), based on data collected by the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Although FICO compiles credit scores based on data from the major credit bureaus, it does not collect credit report data on its own. To compete with FICO, the three bureaus created VantageScore in 2006. 40% payment history 21% age and type of credit 20% percent of credit used 11% total balances/debt 5% recent credit behavior and inquiries 3% available credit Confusingly, each credit score has different versions with slightly different weighting, kind of like software updates. With FICO, however, there are scores designed for specific situations, like applying for a mortgage or a car, although its not always clear which one a lender will use. FICO is much more commonly usedif you apply for a loan, credit card, or some other type of financing, the lender is most likely using your FICO 8 score when reviewing your application. There are other differences relating to weighting, too, as FICO treats all late payments equally, whereas VantageScore has harsher penalties for late mortgage payments. FICO also puts more weight on your current credit balances than VantageScore, which has more emphasis on the length of your credit history and the types of credit you carry. FICO also compiles a separate score for each of the three bureaus, unlike VantageScore, which reports just one number. Advertisement Per the Points Guy, VantageScore is increasingly popular, but its mostly used for educational purposes (like the free credit score that you get from apps like Credit Karma), pre- qualification screenings for credit cards, and non-financial score checks (such as an apartment application). Nevertheless, a lender still might use it for other approvals, too, as lenders often use a variety of information to evaluate your creditworthiness, so you dont want to ignore it, either. No, because its impractical to track dozens of scores. Your best bet is to keep a close eye on the FICO score provided by your bank (monthly, or even weekly), and check your VantageScore once in a while too (like, once a quarter), just in case it drops unexpectedly due to a missing payment or fraudulent purchases. Advertisement Youll also want to check your credit history reports every few months, if you can, especially since you can request them for free until April 2022, here.
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https://lifehacker.com/what-s-the-difference-between-fico-credit-scores-and-va-1847004074
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What does Level Zero mean?
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June 1, 2021 at 2:52 pm Orkney is set to move to Level Zero from this Saturday, June 5, the First Minister has confirmed. According to the Scottish Government, communities living in Level Zero are allowed to: meet socially in groups: of up to 8 people from 4 households in your home or theirs and can stay overnight of up to 10 people from 4 households in an indoor public place like a caf, pub or restaurant of up to 15 people from 15 households outdoors Under 12s do not count towards the total number of people or households meeting outside but count towards the household numbers indoors. You do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home. You can travel anywhere in Scotland in Levels Zero, One or Two but must not enter a Level Three or Four area unless for a permitted reason. You can travel anywhere in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands before you travel you must check the travel rules in those countries. You can provide informal childcare, for example to look after a grandchild. Up to 200 people can attend weddings and funerals (subject to venue social distancing requirements). Tradespeople can carry out any work in your home such as painting, decorating or repairing. You should work from home where possible. Nightclubs and adult entertainment are not permitted to open. Further information can be found on Level Zero and Scotlands coronavirus measures by visiting https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/pages/protection-levels-by-area/ Share this: Tweet
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https://www.orcadian.co.uk/what-does-level-zero-mean/
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When Does Time Start To Run For Limitation In Tort Where A Transaction Has Gone Wrong?
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The Court of Appeal (CA) decision in Elliott v Hattens Solicitors [2021] has been handed down. This dispute relates to a negligence claim against a firm of solicitors and whether or not the claim was time-barred by the time that proceedings were commenced. In this article, we review the judgment and analyse the key points. Background In 2011, Kelly Elliott (KE) instructed Hattens in a transaction relating to a workshop in Grays, Essex owned by her husband. The plan was that Mr Elliott would grant a lease to KE and in turn, she would grant an underlease of the premises to Mr Jamie Malster. It was intended that Mr Malster's parents would guarantee Mr Malster's obligations under the underlease. Hattens prepared a lease, underlease and rent deposit deed, which were executed on 24 February 2012. Unfortunately, Hattens negligently failed to name Mr Malster's parents as parties to the underlease meaning that they did not execute the underlease, nor did they otherwise become guarantors. Additionally, Hattens did not advise KE to insure the property, even though she was obliged to do so under the lease and the underlease. On 6 November 2012, the workshop burned down; Mr Malster then vacated the premises without undertaking any repairs. KE was left without a rental stream, and her losses were uninsured. Mr Elliott had insurance but cover was declined by the insurer on the basis of breach of warranty. KE commenced proceedings against Hattens on 10 April 2018 seeking damages in negligence. This was more than six years after the lease and underlease were executed, but less than six years after the fire. Hattens accepted that they had been negligent in drafting the documents and in failing to advise KE to get insurance; they did however plead a limitation defence, as set out below. Hattens' limitation case In the tort of negligence, time starts to run for limitation purposes on the date of "actionable damage" and proceedings must be commenced within six years of that date, after which the claim will be time-barred. The damage in this context must be more than minimal and this will turn on the facts of each particular case. It was argued on behalf of Hattens that that the lease documentation had been executed more than six years prior to the issue of proceedings (on 24 February 2012), meaning that KE's action in tort was time-barred. KE's case was that the cause of action in tort had not accrued until she suffered damage, which was the date of the fire - as the loss was purely contingent up to the fire. A preliminary issue trial was ordered on the limitation defence. Preliminary issue hearing - first instance Following a preliminary issue hearing, HHJ Bailey held in favour of KE that: prior to the fire, any loss was 'purely contingent'; in accordance therefore with the House of Lords' decision in Law Society v Sephton & Co [2006] (Sephton), this meant that there was no actionable damage sufficient to crystallise a cause of action in tort until the date of the fire; and KE issued proceedings less than six years after the date of the fire and so her claim was not statute-barred. The court gave permission for a 'leapfrog' appeal to the Court of Appeal. Court of Appeal Hattens won on appeal - the CA held unanimously that KE's claim was statute-barred in its entirety. We set out below the key points from the leading judgment of Lord Justice Newey. The transaction point Negligence claims against solicitors often relate to transactions, alleging that, but for the solicitors' negligence, either: the transaction would not have been entered into at all (a "no transaction" case); or the transaction would have been a better transaction (a "flawed transaction" case). KE's claim against Hattens is a flawed transaction case - if Hattens had not performed negligently, KE would still have entered into the transaction but, as described by Privy Council in Maharaj v Johnson [2015] (Maharaj), it would have been "an analogous, but flawless , transaction" [emphasis added]. As stated by Lord Wilson (delivering the lead judgment) in Maharaj, where the transaction is flawed, this does not necessarily mean that the claimant suffered actual damage immediately on entry into that transaction - each case will turn on its facts. If the flawed transaction is objectively less valuable from the outset (the date of the transaction), that is when the cause of action accrued. Not a contingent liability This was not a case where KE had a contingent liability from the date of the transaction - in Sephton (House of Lords), Lord Hoffman stated "[a] contingent liability is not as such damage until the contingency occurs". In other words, contingent liability (merely incurring a possible future liability) does not count as immediate damage for the purposes of a claim in tort, so the time for limitation does not start to run until there is actual loss. As Lord Justice Newey said: "Hattens' negligence did not cause Mrs Elliott to assume any liability: the position is rather that she obtained less advantageous rights". The CA held that Hattens' failure to ensure that Mr Malster's parents were guarantors caused KE damage as soon as the lease and underlease were entered into in February 2012 - therefore, her cause of action accrued at that point (the date of the transaction) and was statute-barred by the time the proceedings were commenced. Commentary Whilst the CA Hattens is not new law, it is a reminder to be vigilant about limitation dates. One of the dangers lies in making assumptions about when the case of action accrued - each case needs to be carefully considered on its particular facts. Always err on the side of caution by working to the earliest possible date that the limitation period could end. Read the original article on GowlingWLG.com. The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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https://www.mondaq.com:443/uk/landlord-tenant-leases/1074246/when-does-time-start-to-run-for-limitation-in-tort-where-a-transaction-has-gone-wrong
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