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What if Daniel Jones shows in 2021 he isnt the answer at QB? Where do the Giants turn?
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Scouting Report: QB Sam Howell 61 225 (North Carolina) Spring 2021 Report Film Exposure: (2020) Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Miami. Mechanical system QB with average arm strength, accuracy (short and intermediate), and mobility, but a great play-action fake and surprisingly good accuracy deep. His best throws are deep. Howell has an excellent play-action fake and benefitted in the passing game in 2020 by having a very strong running game at North Carolina. Operates exclusively out of the shotgun and everything has to be just right for him to succeed. He often does the best when he knows where he is going with the ball pre-snap and makes quick decisions with the ball short range. First, read QB who often does not go through his progressions. Tends to lock in with his receivers and not release until receivers are open or are coming open. Often struggles with accuracy when things break down around him.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263939739485/what-if-daniel-jones-shows-in-2021-he-isn-t-the-answer-at-qb-where-do-the-giants-turn
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Is 'Teen Mom 2' Star Kailyn Lowry Still Feuding With Her Mother and Sister?
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In late 2010, MTV announced their new show Teen Mom 2 , and Kailyn was handpicked to be on the latest follow-up series, which followed the lives of four new teen moms. Reality personality Kailyn Lowry was first introduced to viewers on MTV's 16 and Pregnant . Her episode was centered around the lack of support she received from her own family, which meant that she had to rely on her boyfriend, Jo Rivera's family. Kailyn's first couple of seasons of Teen Mom 2 documented the breakdown of her and Jo's relationship. Then a few years after breaking up, the show centered around her new relationship with her now ex-husband Javi Marroquin. The reality show documented the pair's love story, which resulted in Kailyn having a second son. Kail's relationship with Javi came with its fair share of problems, and unfortunately, the couple decided to get divorced after four years of marriage. Since then, Kailyn has had two more kids with another man, Chris Lopez, and that relationship was packed with all sorts of issues. Now she's raising all four of her boys alone. Kailyn's failed relationships and baby daddy drama usually make headlines, but this time it's a strained relationship with her mother, Suzi Irwin, and sister Mikaila Searcy that has people talking. Keep reading to find out all we know about what's going on between these ladies. In Episode 4 of the first half of Season 10, fans watched as Kailyn received a phone call from her estranged mother, Suzi, out of the blue. She rang her daughter to tell her that her mother, Kailyn's grandmother, had passed away. Kailyn was very surprised that her mother had called her since they hadn't spoken in over three years. She told her on the phone, "I'm actually shocked you are calling me right now because I actually didn't know if you were dead or alive." Article continues below advertisement When Suzi asked if Kailyn had received the cards and letters she sent to the boys, Kailyn let her know not that she never received anything and that she can't just pop up into her kids' life whenever. Before hanging up, she added, "My son is 2 years old and has never met you. You have one child and three grandsons that have not heard from you in years. Years. Let that sink in." So as far as we know, Kailyn does not talk to her mother, but she's not the only one Kail is feuding with. Source: MTV Article continues below advertisement During a recent Instagram Q&A, Kailyn discussed the strained relationship with her mom. She pretty much said she had to get rid of the dead weight (meaning her mother) to be the best mom she could be to her boys. A fan also asked Kailyn about the relationship the Teen Mom 2 star currently has with Mikaila. The MTV's star answer to the fan's question was to take a selfie of her confused face, with a caption above that said Sister? She goes on to say, "It hasnt exactly been easy for me to block her out completely, but now that she doesnt contact me very often, Ive found keeping her out to be much more manageable." So it's safe to say she isn't really talking to her sister too much these days. But it looks like they're feuding now because Mikaila took to Twitter after Kail's jab and tweeted, "If you're over a situation - stop talking about it."
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https://www.distractify.com/p/does-kailyn-lowry-talk-to-her-mom-and-sister
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What are the Bucks doing with their week off during the playoffs? What's their reaction to recent fan incidents?
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Mike Budenholzer would only allow he and his staff are watching a lot of game film. Bobby Portis said he was ready to kick back and enjoy the Brooklyn-Boston and Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix games on Tuesday evening as just a basketball fan. Giannis Antetokounmpo said hell just immerse himself in a streaming service. RELATED:The Milwaukee Bucks have burst the bubble and are peaking at the right time For the second time in two series, the Milwaukee Bucks are finding things to do while waiting to continue their postseason. At first, they were off from May 17-21 in advance of facing the Miami Heat in Round 1 due to the play-in tournament, and Budenholzer clarified that his top nine rotation players didnt play in the May 16 finale in Chicago. And depending on the result of the Nets-Celtics game Tuesday night, theyll either be heading to New York for Game 1 on Saturday or playing next week either in Brooklyn (or perhaps hosting the Celtics, if they pulled off a huge upset). This timing and this schedule are very similar, Budenholzer said. We had a good, hard practice today. Well figure out what were going to do (Wednesday), have another practice on Thursday and then Friday and then play Saturday (if Brooklyn wins). Not literally, but very close to, the same schedule that we had leading into Round 1 and so I think the players kind of understand the rhythm of it, responded well to it, and where appropriate well just kind of do it again. As for the healthy starters, Antetokounmpo (36 minutes 16 seconds), Jrue Holiday (36:11), Khris Middleton (34:51) and Brook Lopez (28:28) averaged a heavy workload in the opening series, but Budenholzer said they came out of the series in a good place physically. Theres stretches of playoff basketball where both teams are feeling it and your execution can suffer both mentally and just the attention the detail, but you know, there were a lot of good stretches where our guys took the extra minutes, played and executed, Budenholzer said. We had a close first game, down at halftime in Game 4. I think they understand that its playoff time and theyve got to do whatever takes including playing more minutes and the focus and the effort that it takes to do that. Budenholzer added that Thanasis Antetokounmpo returned to practice in a limited capacity on Tuesday. The forward suffered an avulsion fracture in his right knee involving the right patella tendon on May 16 in Chicago. Bucks react to fan behavior All season long NBA coaches and players have spoken about the fun and energy brought back to the game with the return of ticket holders, and the gradual ramp up to the near-capacity crowds for the postseason was highly anticipated. Unfortunately, the first round of playoffs have been marred by a half dozen fan incidents in five cities. Theres no place for whats happened in our league multiple times over the last, I guess, since the playoffs started, Budenholzer said. We love our fans, we appreciate em, we want em, its been great to have em back in the stadium and the arena but the respect and the ability to kind of cheer for your team and not cross the line or do anything thats disrespectful or just inappropriate, you know, were just hoping for the best going forward that it doesnt happen again. And (we're) always concerned for our players safety. What they do on the court is special and amazing and hopefully everybody respects and appreciates it and the NBA can be the great sport for the fans and everybody that its been for a long time. May 26, Philadelphia: A fan emptied his popcorn on Washington guard Russell Westbrook as he exited the court with an injury. The fan was ejected and banned. May 26, New York: A fan spit on Atlanta guard Trae Young during play. The fan was identified after video of the incident surface and was banned. Also during that game a fan threw a beer at the Knicks bench. That fan has also been banned. May 26, Utah: The family of Memphis guard Ja Morant was harassed with racist and sexist comments, leading to the banishment of three fans. May 27: The league sent out a memo saying, The return of more NBA fans to our arenas has brought great excitement and energy to the start of the playoffs, but it is critical that we all show respect for players, officials and our fellow fans. An enhanced fan code of conduct will be vigorously enforced in order to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all involved. May 30, Boston: A fan threw a water bottle at Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving as he exited the court. The fan was arrested and banned. May 31, Washington: A fan ran onto the court while the Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers were playing in the third quarter. He was banned and Washington said charges were being pursued. The Bucks first two games with the Miami Heat had about 9,000 fans at Fiserv Forum while American Airlines Arena had 17,000. Before and during the games in Miami, fan conduct messaging was often read and displayed on the scoreboard. I dont know why the fans are doing it but its totally uncalled for, Portis said. We work hard. We come in every day, we dedicate ourselves to this. Whether a shot goes in or goes out we still put the time and put the work in. Thats our job to gout there and play basketball. I dont know why fans do it. I seen the guy (Monday) get tackled (in Washington) by the way shout out to the security guard that tackled him, that was impressive but I dont know why its happening. I know the Kyrie situation with Boston, he played there and left there and stuff so they might feel a way about that. Its just totally uncalled for and we couldnt go to their workplace and do that to them so they dont need to come to ours and do it to us.
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https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2021/06/01/milwaukee-bucks-nba-playoff-week-off-react-fan-incidents/5289082001/
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Is there any hope for a just peace in Israel and Palestine?
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Tensions flare in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, where six Palestinian families are under threat of forcible eviction from their homes, Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Illean) The conflict between Israel and Palestine hasnt appeared on this magazines editorial page in a long time. While this is not by design, nor is it exactly by accident. Our editorials aim to reflect the consensus view of the Century editors, and there has long been little consensus among us on how to talk about this conflict. The same is true of the larger Christian community we serve and are part of. Few issues are more fraught, few conversations more likely to veer quickly into knee-jerk reactions, oversimplified narratives, defensive postures, accusations of hatred, or paralyzing despair. When US Christians talk about Israel and Palestine, we should do so with care, recognize that were guests in someone elses conversation, and resist easy answers. What we sayor fail to saymay put peoples lives in danger, both in the Holy Land and in the United States. After the latest round of fighting, which killed more than 240 Palestinians and 12 Israelisand sparked a spate of attacks on diaspora Jewshere is what we believe it is responsible and necessary to say. Both Palestinians and Israelis have suffered intense trauma. It is written into their history and their bodies, handed down from generation to generation, and deepened by the fear that continues to overshadow their daily lives. Israel has the right to exist in the Holy Land as a Jewish state, yet its citizens feel threatened from all sides. Palestinians have the right to exist in the Holy Land as well, yet they are a stateless people who have been consistently deprived of adequate housing, food, water, health care, jobs, infrastructure, and administration of their holy sites. The only viable way forward is a two-state solution, despite the many limitations of that model. It is the only path that prioritizes both a Jewish-majority Israel and the basic rights of democracy for Palestinians. A democratic single state would no longer be Jewish; a Jewish-ruled single state would not be democratic (see A land divided, Jan. 9, 2013). The status quo looks a lot like the latter scenario, and this is neither politically sustainable nor morally acceptable. But the possibility of a two-state solution is being hampered by leaders on all sides. Fatah, which governs Palestinians on the West Bank, has failed to lead democratically and has been unwilling to cede power to new leadership. In Gaza, Hamas uses Palestinian suffering and death to attract international aid to build the infrastructure for war against Israel. The Israeli government has far more power in this situation than any Palestinian entity, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims to favor a two-state solution. But again and again his government sabotages this ostensible goal by supporting land grabs on the West Bank and other human rights violations in the Palestinian territories. A two-state solution seems far away. So does the possibility of a lasting peace that promises security and protects human rights, under whatever arrangement. Still, we hope for a just peacebecause all people in the Holy Land deserve to flourish. A version of this article appears in the print edition under the title No easy answer.
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https://www.christiancentury.org/article/editors/there-any-hope-just-peace-israel-and-palestine
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Are Okada And Keke Operators Above The Law?
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By Kayode Ojewale THE reckless and lawless behaviours of commercial tricycle and motorcycle riders on the roads in Lagos would make one conclude that they are either highhanded or above the law. They operate as if traffic laws were made for other road users and not for them. They now ply routes where they have been prohibited from without fear of arrest. They compete with heavy-duty trucks, high-capacity vehicles on the highways and even on Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, lanes. One major challenge the BRT drivers face daily when on their dedicated lanes is the problem created by the motorcyclists riding recklessly on BRT corridors. These motorcycle riders appear uncontrollable and above the law. They overspeed and even overtake BRT buses on the lanes assigned for BRT. They flout the laws; in fact, some uniformed security personnel who also ride motorcycles disobey traffic laws. On March 22, 2021, at about 8.00 pm, a nursing mother with her baby escaped death by the whiskers while on a motorbike at Fagba intersection, along Iju Road in Lagos. Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, were on ground to rescue the woman and her baby. The victims were lucky to have only sustained minor injuries and were moved to a nearby hospital for first aid treatment and attention. The motorbike operator that carried the woman alongside her baby, actually drove against the traffic red light and disobeyed traffic managers operating manually. The erring motorcyclist, in the process, ran into an oncoming vehicle from Jonathan Coker Road to connect Iju Road through the intersection. [ALSO READ] 50 million soldiers to the rescue The rider was then trapped by a vehicle in the opposite direction. LASTMA officers on ground rushed to save the lives of the baby and that of the mother; they were not in a hurry to apprehend the erring motorcyclist. A close observation at road intersections and junctions where traffic managers or traffic lights are positioned in Lagos, will reveal that these lawless motorcycle and tricycle riders do not wait a minute at signalised junctions to obey traffic instructions whether manually or electronically. If LASTMA officers prioritise arrest of traffic offenders instead of traffic control, then all commercial motorcycles and tricycles would have been confiscated because the riders are habitual traffic law offenders. These commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators are also known to quickly mobilise and repel any attempt by law enforcement agents to arrest them. In fact, they resort to vandalising public properties and anything that indicates or shows ownership by government to express their displeasure or announce their disagreement with the authority. At times, they claim that they are protesting against certain decisions of the government, but they end up destroying public and private properties, causing riot and unleashing mayhem on other road users. There were instances in time past where they mobilised to repel and revolt violently against arrest when they contravened traffic laws even it was clear they did not conform to regulations. There is a notion that all LASTMA officers are generally milk the motoring public when they commit traffic offences. They are seen as lions on the road seeking whom to devour. That notion is untrue, but it is not to rule out the fact that there are no bad eggs among these traffic personnel. There are many other good ones out there who have been spotted and commended by the general public. Some Lagosians, commuters in particular, however, sometimes misconstrue and misrepresent the intentions of LASTMA officials when on duty. They assume their primary assignment is to arrest traffic violators, whereas it is to manage traffic; arrest is secondary. This brings to fore the need for motorcyclists and the three-wheel riders to obey traffic laws and regulations at all times in order to prevent needless crashes or deaths. If the LASTMA men at the Iju intersection that day had dashed to apprehend the traffic offender first, the woman and her baby might not have been alive today. In all, safety of life is paramount, and cannot be negotiated or substituted for early arrival at ones destination. Passengers on board motorcycles are also duty-bound to caution their riders at every given point when they appear to be riding outside what the traffic laws stipulate. Riders of motorcycles and tricycles should learn patience and ensure they always adhere to traffic laws even when they are in haste in the overall interest of saving lives. Ojewale is of the Public Affairs Unit of LASTMA Vanguard News Nigeria
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https://thestreetjournal.org/2021/06/are-okada-and-keke-operators-above-the-law/
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Is US Understating Climate Emissions From Meat And Dairy Production?
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By Eurasia Review 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 dont appear much closer to coming into agreement. Its increasingly likely that methane emissions from farmed animals could be higher in North America than is often being reported. Methane comes from cows and sheeps 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 NYUs 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 doesnt 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 Asias 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.
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https://www.eurasiareview.com/02062021-is-us-understating-climate-emissions-from-meat-and-dairy-production/
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Why Are Spanish Male Teachers Wearing Skirts?
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Male teachers in Spain have been wearing skirts to school as part of a campaign challenging gender stereotypes. The Clothes Have No Gender (#LaRopaNoTieneGenero) movement was launched by Maths teacher Jose Pias in November after one of his students was expelled and forced to visit a psychologist after wearing a skirt to school. The drive gathered pace again last month when Manuel Ortega, 37, and Borja Velaquez, 36, of Virgen de Sacedon primary school in Valladolid ditched their trousers for skirts. Male teachers wear skirts to class after student expelled for wearing oneMale teachers are wearing skirts to the classroom to fight stereotypical gender norms in Spain Teachers across the country have joined the Clothes Have No Gender #laropanotienegenero https://t.co/EAeE1oSskF Kelly Louise (@kellyUKx) June 1, 2021 The pair put their knees in the breeze for the month of May after seeing one of their students bullied with homophobic insults for wearing a t-shirt featuring an anime character, forcing him to change outfit. Ortega said he was 'horrified' by the merciless teasing, which prompted him to team up with Velaquez and 'promote tolerance' by wearing a skirt for the month of May. He wrote on Twitter: A school that educates with respect, diversity, co-education and tolerance. Dress how you want! We join the campaign #clotheshavenogender. The pair told El Pais they had seen a noticeable a positive change in students' behaviour since they started wearing the skirts. But, they insist these results are only 'the tip of the iceberg' and say the school should do more to promote respect and tolerance in the classroom. Basque Country teacher Pias launched the movement in November after realising little had changed from his school days 20 years ago. Male Teachers In Spain Wear Skirts To School After Student Expelled For Wearing Onehttps://t.co/JWKfMq5Nns Mar Dixon (@MarDixon) June 1, 2021 Posting a picture of him wearing a skirt in front of a chalk board, he wrote: '20 years ago I suffered persecution and insults for my sexual orientation in the institute where I am now a teacher. 'Many teachers, they looked the other way. I want to join the cause of the student, Mikel, who has been expelled and sent to the psychologist for going to class with a skirt.' Mikel Gomez, 15, has since taken to TikTok to document the flood of support he has received since November. The video, which has racked up millions of views, has prompted others, including students, to take the challenge and garnered praise from teachers and parents online. Others have criticised the teachers, questioning whether the movement is necessary. This article has been adapted from its original source.
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https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/why-are-spanish-male-teachers-wearing-skirts-1430826
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Why Is It So F*cking Costly for Women to Set Boundaries?
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On Sunday, Naomi Osaka, the No. 2 ranked tennis player in the world, announced she was withdrawing from the French Open. This came after she paid a $15,000 fine for not participating in the tournaments press junkets due to the impact they had on her mental health. In a social media post she wrote that she was going to take some time away from the court now, but when the time is right I really want to work with the Tour to discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press, and fans. While her withdrawal was applauded and supported by many, including other prominent professional athletes , it also drew swift criticism. Professional provocateur Piers Morgan said Osaka got what she wanted: no more criticism, only praise. Gilles Moretton, president of the French Tennis Federation, described Osakas decision to refrain from participating in post-match press conferences a phenomenal mistake. Osakas decision is nearly unheard of in the realm of professional sports, but a womanespecially a woman of colorbeing punished professionally, financially, and in the court of public opinion for drawing boundaries that benefit her is hardly new. From the moment we women exit the womb, we are bombarded with messaging that tells us our bodies and minds are not ours, that they exist for the entertainment, consumption, pleasure, and benefit of others. And if we restrict that access, there will be consequences. Julian Finney Getty Images Were told our bodies should be a certain sizenot too thin as to draw faux concern but not too big as to take up space. If necessary, we should restrict our food and deprive our bodies of the pleasure of eating. We should wear clothes that are appealing but not too revealing; not cover up too much as to appear prude but not show too much skin that we distract boys from their learning or men from their wives or coworkers from a meeting that, yes, could have easily been an email. Our hair shouldnt be too short lest we appear ambiguous or, even worse, masculine. If youre Black, your hair should be pressed and straightened, sleek but not too oily. After all, dreads or braids arent professional. We should be conventionally attractive but refrain from wearing too much makeup or, even worse, choose to use botox or fillers or undergo any procedure that helps us inch ever-closer to societys unattainable, white-centered benchmark of beauty. In Texas, lawmakers want to give people who choose to have an abortion the death penalty, because in the land of the free there are those who would rather see us killed than live under a government that does not have a right to force us to give birth. Sex is not for pleasure but for procreation, and it certainly isnt something we should openly enjoy simply because it feels good and we like it and our sexual identity is ours to own and express and explore. We should love cis men but not too many. We should want children but not too many. If were one of the at least 20 percent of new moms who experience postpartum depression , we must hate our child because a mother, above all else, should innately live to sacrifice every part of herself in the name of parenthood. But above all, we should neverevercomplain about the messages, laws, policies, and unsaid social contracts that tell us our minds and bodies are not ours. We must be seen and not heard, but be OK with the blame of not speaking up sooner or coming forward earlier. Just shut up and dribble, stand and not take a knee, be quiet and play unless right now is the time others want us to speak. This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Osaka has undoubtedly heard these messages before. As a woman of color and a professional athlete, she has arguably heard them more so and on a grander scale than many of us are likely to ever experience. Which is why her decision to say noto draw a boundarymatters. At a time when were all coming out of a pandemic that harmed our collective and individual mental health and led to extreme burnout , the ability to set a barrier that protects our bodies and our minds is not applause-worthyits vital. It is incredibly important that all human beings, including those in the public eye, are allowed to have and choose their own boundaries and maintain them, Dr. Jessi Gold, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, tells Cosmopolitan. The thing about boundaries is that theyre individual. I think the way [Osakas] decision was viewed showed a really gross misunderstanding of boundaries as they are applied and of the purpose of them, which is to protect the person. Only they can possibly know what they need at any point in time. We should respect that. Osaka reminded the world of that very right. It cost her $15,000, a chance at a French Open title, anddespite her efforts to avoid this very thingtons of negative press. But if she hadnt taken this brave step and, instead, continued to uphold the status quo, the cost no doubt would have been far more dire. Maybe, just maybe, one day a woman setting a boundary for herself will cost nothingthe choice as free as we claim this country to be. Danielle Campoamor Danielle Campoamor, Contributing Digital Editor Danielle Campoamor is a contributing digital editor at WomansDay.com and award-winning freelance writer covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mental health, politics, and feminist issues. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
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https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a36599015/naomi-osaka-french-open-setting-boundaries/
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What Theatre Do We Want to Return To?
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Nini and I are very similar, Olivia Rodrigo said. She writes songs about boys and puts them on social media, and thats totally something that I do in my real life. Rodrigo was sitting in front of a mixing board, talking about the character she plays on television and the complicated ways in which her life and her art tend to resemble each other. It was 2019, and she was being interviewed in a Disney Channel program with a suitably recursive name: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Special, a promotional vehicle (The Special) for her television show (The Series), which was about a bunch of students mounting a stage production (The Musical) of a popular Disney Channel movie from the two-thousands (High School Musical). Later in the special, cameras captured the shows producer telling Rodrigo and her co-star, Joshua Bassett, that a duet they had written was going to be included in a future episode. You guys have your song chosen, and its called Just for a Moment. Its going to be a giant hit, he told them, and they shrieked with gratitude.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2264031829284/what-theatre-do-we-want-to-return-to
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How will Marion County government spend $71 million from American Rescue Plan Act?
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Marion County government will get a bit more than $71 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on March 11. It doesn't know just yet, but the conversation got started during Tuesday's commission meeting. Here comes the money:States, cities to receive first chunk of $350 billion in aid this week from COVID stimulus passed in March Billions and billions:Billions on the way: How much money is headed to your state, city from the COVID rescue plan Breaking it down:President Joe Biden's COVID stimulus bill explained in 6 charts A few points did seem clear. Commissioners seem inclined to spend $500,000 to conduct a countywide broadband feasibility study. That way, when state or federal money for infrastructure improvement becomes available, the county will know exactly how and where to direct it. There also is general agreement that a good portion of the money should be directed to water and sewer system expansion a longstanding budget and environmental priority that now can move closer to reality. Less clear is how much money will be directed to dozens of county funds, many of them modest, which lost money during the pandemic when sales tax or other revenue sources dipped. The specifics there will be worked out this summer, during the annual budget review process. County government staff's initial recommendation County staff initially recommended using $11.7 million to replace fund revenue that was lost due to the pandemic, $10 million to help local businesses and nonprofits through contracts with the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership and the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County, $500,000 to conduct the broadband feasibility study, and the remaining $48.5 million on county water and sewer infrastructure projects. Commissioner Kathy Bryant said the county's initial report to the feds, due Aug. 31, should be general in nature. There isn't enough information to act on just yet. "I don't think we need to rush and commit this money," she said. Fund relief Money from the federal CARES Act, which also provided pandemic relief, cannot be used for local government revenue recovery. But that use is allowed under the American Rescue Plan Act. Many county government funds not just big ones, like the general fund, but also small ones, like the sidewalk construction fund lost revenue both directly, because of a dip in sales tax or other revenue sources, and indirectly, due to depleted interest income. The feds are allowing local governments to shore up those funds, including making for lost interest revenue. Without that replenishment, some fund balances might be stressed, eventually leading to higher millage rates or assessments and/or a reduction in services. County budget staff will review the numbers, determine which funds need replenishing and by how much, and present that analysis for commission discussion. Business and social service relief As for the $10 million to help local businesses and nonprofits: The commission agreed that staff should reach out to the CEP and Community Foundation to see what kind of relief might be needed. CARES Act funding already has been directed to local businesses and social service agencies. Water and sewer projects County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes said the county could spend every dime of its American Rescue Plan money on water and sewer projects and that still wouldn't be enough to cover the need. In April, the commission said it was depending on American Rescue Plan money to provide the local match needed to provide central water in the Lowell area. That project already is moving forward, and the commission helps to add others to the list. "Bring me some projects," Bryant said. Staff will do so soon. 5 spending categories The following information comes directly from backup material that county government provided concerning the five ways that American Rescue Plan Act money can be spent by governments: Support public health expenditures, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff; Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector; Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic; Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors; and, Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet. Contact Jim Ross at [email protected]
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https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2021/06/01/marion-must-decide-how-spend-its-71-m-american-rescue-plan/5284702001/
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Will Clippers Cyborb Kawhi Break Luka Doncics Mavs?
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Luka Doncic is sick and tired, and his Mavs are in danger of being broken by Kawhi Leonard The Dallas Mavericks offensive machine is not necessarily broken beyond repair, but it is broken. He is Kawhi Leonard, and he is, as it was put to us the other day A cyborg. In a league in which some stars care little about defense, Leonard is one of the NBAs most dominance two-way forces. In this first-round Mavs-Clippers series, it took him a minute to take charge as a scorer; in Games 1 and 2, both Dallas upset wins, Mavs superkid Luka Doncic was the best player on the floor. Luka is hurt, laboring through a neck strain that doesnt allow his head or be on a swivel, which is at the root of his magic. We also bet hes sick and tired. Sick, in the sense of being ill, a bug, run-down, something. And tired, maybe of the way the Kristaps Porzingis partnership is unraveling. Those two issues are Dallas off-season concerns - with the off-season staring this franchise coldly in the face as Wednesdays Game 5 at L.A. approaches. Luka will bravely insist hes 100 percent, but the 22-year-old MVP-level star wears his truth on his sleeve - all the joys and all the pains. Kawhi, meanwhile, will reveal nothing, part of the complimentary cyborg label issued him by Mavs radio voice Chuck Cooperstein. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has talked of Kawhi and running mate Paul George essentially being able to bully their way to the rim. Adds DallasBasketball.com analyst Grant Afseth: Leonard made it a point to be aggressive getting to the rim early in possessions in Game 4. Sometimes, a straight-line drive was all it took. His ability to play through contact/traffic is incredible. He did not feel resistance even when the Mavs had a big man in position. One difference in this series: Luka - who has done some wild things in this series as a scorer, highlighted by a one-legged runner from behind the arc - has a knack for making hard shots. Leonard - maybe the sports most efficient scorer - has a knack for making easy shots. Maybe, but Dallas has to find other avenues of success, too - and one of them might have to be to concede to Leonards greatness while Luka plays through pain. They might not have that in them. The precocious Doncics BBIQ remains central to any chance Dallas has of re-taking the series lead. But it frankly might be a sidebar to what Kawhi Leonard can accomplish in his robotic ability to break down an opponent And to break an opponent.
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https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/will-clippers-cyborb-kawhi-break-luka-doncic-mavs
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Can Splunks share price continue to recover ahead of its earnings preview?
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S hares in the software group Splunk [SPLK], which collects and analyses data, climbed 80.9% from its low on 16 March 2020 to $198.11 by the end of 2020 It was buoyed by enterprises looking to boost cyber security, improve their IT infrastructure and up their customer experience through the companys utilisation of its website, network, and mobile big data. The start of 2021 was somewhat muted though. Splunks share price dropped 32.6% from $166.37 at the close on 4 January to $111.99 at the close on 13 May. It has since inched back to close at $121.20 on 28 May. Splunks share price began to spiral when it revealed in its third-quarter results in early December that total revenues had dropped 11% year over year to $559m. This was down to the COVID-19 pandemic making corporations think twice about splashing out on Splunks upfront multi-year, perpetual licences. Revenues were also hit by the companys continuing pivot from an on-premises to a cloud-based software as a service platform. Although third-quarter cloud revenues climbed 80% to $145m, these are smaller customer payments made annually on subscription. The weakness in Splunks share price continued in March when fourth-quarter total revenues dropped 6% year over year to $745m. Cloud revenues climbed 72% to $171m. $745million Splunk's Q4 total revenue - a 6% YoY drop A further blow came in April when Splunks chief technical officer Tim Tully revealed he was leaving. This led to analyst downgrades such as Keybanc Capital Markets, which moved its rating to sector weight from overweight. Keybanc analyst Michael Turits said Splunk was also being hit by sharper competition such as DataDog [DDOG] and Dynatrace [DT]. In addition, Splunks share price has suffered alongside other highly valued technology growth stocks because of the threat of higher interest rates and inflation. Reaching for the clouds According to Zacks, Splunk is expected to reveal sales of $492.8m, up 13.6% from the same period last year. It will be helped, it states, through its expanding partner base such as Amazon Web Services. Earnings are expected to come in at -$0.72 per share, down 28.57%. For the full year, it is expecting earnings of -$0.80 per share and revenues of $2.55bn, up 45.5% and 14.2% respectively. Splunk is seeing success in its drive to pivot completely towards a cloud subscription-only model and continuing to sell further and further up market into the enterprise space, Sam Quirke wrote in MarketBeat. Splunk is seeing success in its drive to pivot completely towards a cloud subscription-only model and continuing to sell further and further up market into the enterprise space - Sam Quirke Indeed, in its annual results, it stated that it has 510 customers with annual recurring revenue of over $1m in FY2021, up 44% on the year prior. It may be a few quarters yet before this strategy starts yielding fruit, and it will undoubtedly make for some unpleasant earnings reports along the way, but its harvest is on the horizon, Quirke added. Analysts, according to Market Screener, are also optimistic. They have an outperform rating and an average target price of $182.14. Splunk is in extremely undervalued territory. Eric Lim, wrote in Seeking Alpha. Data is the oil of the 21st century [and] the demand for utilising ever-increasing amounts of data will create immense opportunities for Splunk. Shareholders can finally see year-over-year revenues increasing in the next few months. Its pivot will also be boosted by the recent acquisition of cloud security data-centric platform TruSTAR. We believe the acquisition expands its detection and response capabilities and can enable its customers to utilise data from third-party threat intelligence sources in an effort to reduce the average time to remediate security issues - Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron We believe the acquisition expands its detection and response capabilities and can enable its customers to utilise data from third-party threat intelligence sources in an effort to reduce the average time to remediate security issues, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron said. The challenges of transition and squeezed corporate revenues remain but Splunks market prospects are strong, Robert Izquierdo wrote in The Motley Fool. Big Data market is on track to grow from $41.3bn in 2019 to $116.1bn by 2027. And the cloud computing industry is set to climb from over $250bn in 2020 to over $360bn by 2022. Splunk holds a 4.80% weighting in the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF [CIBR], which is flat so far this year (climbing 0.24% for the year to 28 May). Splunk is a holding in the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF [SKYY], weighted at 1.58%. The fund has risen 3.2% so far this year (through 28 May.
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https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-au/opto/can-splunks-share-price-continue-to-recover-ahead-of-its-earnings-preview
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Can Teslas share price withstand new regulations in China?
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T eslas [TSLA] share price might be down circa 11% so far this year (as of 28 Mays close), but thats not down to its success in China. As the Chinese automobile market rebounds, Tesla is seeing brisk sales. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, sales in the country came in at over $3bn in the first quarter, well up on the $900m in the same period last year. For comparison, the US, which is Teslas biggest market, represented $4.4bn in sales, up from $2.8bn year-on-year. Building cars in China is helping to keep costs down. Tesla, which has a gigafactory in Shanghai, said in the filing that the combined average cost to produce its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles fell due to lower material, manufacturing, freight and duty costs from localized procurement and manufacturing in China. Being able to build in the country means getting along with the ruling communist party, even if the US government is taking a hard line. Teslas share price has an average $661 price target from analysts tracking the stock on Yahoo Finance - a 5.7% upside on the Fridays close. Hitting that or back to its $900.4 52-week high will depend on delivering more profitable quarters and maintaining its position at the top of the EV pyramid. And that hinges on maintaining strong sales in China. Yet data protection questions are never far in the rearview mirror for companies operating in the country. New requirements from the Chinese regulator mean that foreign carmakers who collect data through cameras and sensors will have to store the information locally. To comply Tesla will open a data centre in the country to handle the localisation of data storage, with more facilities planned, according to TechCrunch. This follows Apples plans to store personal data on servers owned by a state-run firm and shows how western companies are accommodating Beijings demands at a time of diplomatic sabre-wrangling. Still building relationships with the Chinese government hasnt meant Tesla has had an easy ride in the country. This year, the company appeared before regulators to answer questions on the safety of its Shanghai made vehicles. Reuters also reports that Tesla has called off plans to buy more land to expand its Shanghai production capacity over fears it would incur a Trump-era 25% charge on automobiles arriving in the US from China. Other difficulties include the Chinese military banning Tesla cars from entering its complexes due to concerns around the cars cameras and restrictions on military personnel and other key staff driving Teslas. Chinas importance for western automobile manufacturers Beijing ramping up its scrutiny is unlikely to be limited to Tesla, yet foreign automobile manufacturers dont have much of a choice if they want to operate in the largest automobile market in the world. And it's a growing market. New vehicle sales in the country are expected to grow 4% to more than 21m this year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers figures released in January. Sales of electrified vehicles - including hybrids and fuel cell powered vehicles - are expected to grow 40% to 1.8m, according to officials at the trade group. General Motors [GM] delivered 780,000 vehicles in China in the first quarter of the year, up 69% year-on-year. Along with sales increasing in its Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, GMs China facing Wuling business saw sales double to over 347,000 in the first quarter. Ford delivered 153,822 vehicles in China during the quarter, up 73.3% year-on-year, while Nissan's [7201.T] light vehicle business saw a 70.6% increase in unit sales for the same period. 780,000 Number of vehicles delivered by General Motors in China in Q1 - a 69% YoY rise Germanys Volkswagen [VWAGY], which is tipped by UBS analysts to rival Tesla as a leader in EVs in the coming decade, saw its sales rebound 60% in China in the first quarter. At the same time, the EU was raising concerns over Chinas human rights records. As the biggest car market and second-biggest EV market on the planet, China is a market that no multinational automobile manufacturer can ignore - especially as it's still growing. If these companies want to operate relatively unhindered in the country, then they will need to comply with Beijing - even if their own governments ramp up the rhetoric.
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https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-au/opto/can-teslas-share-price-withstand-new-regulations-in-china
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Is Shells share price dependent on cutting carbon emissions?
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S hells share price performance could soon depend on its ability to cut carbon dioxide emissions. A Dutch court has ordered Shell [RDSA.AS] to accelerate planned carbon dioxide emission cuts - a ruling that could set a precedent for other energy majors. The ruling could also have a major impact on Shells profitability. This could see Shells share price come under pressure. So far this year, the stock is up 8.3% (as of 28 Mays close). However it has dipped around 1.55% over the past month, and while Shells share price is proving resilient to the ruling, however, longer-term investors' view of how traditional oil producers can or cannot fit into a greener future could determine where it heads next. What the ruling means for Shells share price Judge Larisa Alwin ruled that the Anglo-Dutch oil producer would need to cut emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. The judge said that the ruling would have far-reaching consequences for the company. Shell already has some of the more ambitious targets in the industry, having originally aimed to make a 30% cut by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 100% by 2050. That wasnt good enough for the court, which said Shells climate plans were "not concrete and...full of conditions...that's not enough," according to Reuters. Alwin said that the ruling would require a change in policy from Shell and could curb the potential growth of the Shell group. "The conclusion of the court is therefore that Shell is in danger of violating its obligation to reduce," judge Alwin said. The ruling is a big win for the environmental groups, led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands, that brought the case to the court. Shell said it was disappointed by the landmark ruling and would appeal the decision. There is a valid question about whether this is a watershed moment in the same way the first Big Tobacco legal suits were, said Nick Stansbury at Legal and General Investment Management, as reported by the Financial Times. Shells share price remained relatively steady on the news, closing last week 4.8% down. However, should it lose an upcoming appeal, then the stock could see volatility. The ruling comes as investors, politicians and the general public have been piling on the pressure for energy companies to cut fossil fuel use and increase investment in renewables. And Shell isnt the only one getting slammed for its climate plans in May. A similar case brought by local authorities and NGOs is underway in France where Total [Total SE] is being pressured to accelerate its own cuts. In the US, ExxonMobil [XOM] has been criticised for its energy transition plan, or the lack of one. Recently activist hedge fund Engine Number 1 has snagged two seats on the oil majors board. This is despite the hedge fund owning the equivalent of $50m worth of stock in a company with a $250bn value. Exxon had tried to persuade shareholders to block the appointments. No luck there as falling profits and worries on how Exxon fits into a greener future came to the fore. The Texas-based oil and gas company is also facing pressure from major investor Blackrock, which is supporting carbon neutrality by 2050. Over at Chevron [CVX], investors voted to back proposals to cut emissions in the products the company uses, underlining how shareholder action is increasingly becoming a force to be reckoned with. The oil producers investment theme Despite growing pressure to reduce carbon intensity, the oil producers investment theme is on something of a winning streak. The theme is up 4.57% over the past month (as of 28 Mays close) and 35.26% over the year as oil demand returns as the worst of the pandemic eases. Thats a better performance than the clean energy investment theme, which has cooled 1.82% over the past month. 35.26% Returns rise of the oil producers investment theme over the year For now, there could still be upside in the oil sector, although whether this will change in the mid-term remains to be seen. Shell has a 36.37 average price target from analysts tracking the stock on Yahoo Finance, which would see a 130% upside on its current price. Exxon has a $64.16 price target, which would see an almost 9.9% gain and Chevron a $120.2 target, a 15.8% gain. Yet theres no escaping the fact that the world is changing and oil and gas producers who dont make the shift to renewables will get left behind. Over 110 countries have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In the next decade, several major economies have said they will ban new petrol car sales, including the UK. Events like the ruling against Shell in the Netherlands could become commonplace as shareholders demand these companies do their part in hitting these targets.
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https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-au/opto/is-shells-share-price-dependent-on-cutting-carbon-emissions
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What does the flourishing cannabis sector mean for the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF?
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T he Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF jumped 128.6% from $17.45 on 31 December 2020 to an all-time high of $39.90 on 10 February 2021. It has been boosted by hopes that more countries around the world such as Mexico and Israel will legalise the substance. The big prize for legalisation could be in the US however, after the election of US president Joe Biden raised hopes of an end to federal cannabis prohibition. At present, the drug is legal in some form in 47 US states and fully legal in 17. There is great potential in the US where legal cannabis sales, both consumer and medical, hit $17.5bn in 2020 and are forecast to hit $41.3bn in 2026. $41.3billion Forecasted valuation of cannabis sales in 2026 However, the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETFs price fell to $22.81 on 13 May. This could have been down to investors coming that the realisation that legislation may be more of a drawn-out affair than first anticipated back in January, when Biden was inaugurated. A recent recovery in the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETFs share price to $26.04 at the close on 28 May has been driven by US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumers promise of upcoming legislation and the House of Representatives passing the SAFE Banking Act providing safe harbour for banks that service the cannabis industry. High times The actively managed Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF [CNBS] invests in what it describes as the fast-developing global cannabis industry. It covers sectors including medical cannabis use, agricultural technology and cannabis-infused products, such as chocolate. The ETF, launched on 23 July 2019, has net assets of $146.6m and, according to Yahoo Finance, a year-to-date daily return of 31.05%. $146.6m Valuation of the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF's net assets This compares with the 11.02% year-to-date return of the AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF [YOLO]. The Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF has 33 holdings with asset manager Silver Spike [SSPK] having the biggest weighting of 7.32%, Tilray [TLRY] with 7% and Canopy Growth [CGC] at 6.16%. Other holdings include Green Thumb Industries with 5.18%. Shares in Silver Spike Acquisition Corp a SPAC which acquired cannabis group WM Holdings last December climbed from $14.40 on 10 December (the day the acquisition) to a peak of $28.71 on 17 February. As of 28 May, it slipped 43.2%. WM operates Weedmaps, an online listings marketplace helping cannabis consumers find products and WM Business, a software offering helping cannabis retailers and brands to scale up. Shares in Tilray have increased from $9 on 4 January to $16.67 at the close on 28 May boosted by its merger with cannabis group Aphria in early May. It has also gained following a 27% climb in 2020 annual revenues to $210.5m driven by international medical and Canadian recreational sales. Shares in Green Thumb were up from $24.90 on 4 January to $38.45 on 10 February and now sit at $29.67 at the close on 28 May. Its first-quarter revenues rose 89.5% to $194.4m helped by demand for its medical products and Dogwalkers pre-rolled cannabis for leisurely strolls. The companys chief executive Ben Kovler told Forbes: American consumers want more weed. Its simple. Furthermore, Amplify is also bullish. Amid the evolving public perception of cannabis from largely recreational to medicinal, to both is the creation of new markets spurred by increased demand globally. Political momentum and public pressure to legalise cannabis for medical and recreational purposes have also gained traction, it said noted in a statement. Amid the evolving public perception of cannabis from largely recreational to medicinal, to both is the creation of new markets spurred by increased demand globally. Political momentum and public pressure to legalise cannabis for medical and recreational purposes have also gained traction - statement from Amplify The Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF was also bolstered in April when it announced that it had the ability to access cannabis Multi-State Operators via total return swaps. We are excited to now have access to the full plant-touching US cannabis investable universe in the CNBS portfolio at a time when we believe the US market is poised for significant growth, says Tim Seymour, portfolio manager for the fund. Despite the bullishness, Jacob Kilby has a neutral rating on the sector. Aside from legislation hopes he believes cannabis ETFs have been lifted by the COVID-19 economy of monetary and fiscal tailwinds. The prospect of rising inflation could reverse that, he warns. Most [cannabis] firms are over leveraged fledgling ventures with big promises and negligible earnings - Jacob Kilby Most [cannabis] firms are over leveraged fledgling ventures with big promises and negligible earnings, he wrote in Seeking Alpha. [They] make for a risky future bet, particularly if macro-economic headwinds start becoming present. Green Thumb, however, believes there is only one way the smoke is blowing. Cannabis is the next great American growth story. There is a tidal wave of demand coming, Kovler told Forbes.
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https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-au/opto/what-does-the-flourishing-cannabis-sector-mean-for-the-amplify-seymour-cannabis-etf
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When Is Grab Going Public?
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The Southeast Asian super app has been grabbing headlines in recent months over its plans to go public in a record-breaking deal. Grab Holdings offers everything from food delivery to ride-hailing, and banking services. This article was originally written by MyWallSt. Read more market-beating insights from the MyWallSt team here. The company announced in April that it will merge with the U.S.-based SPAC Altimeter Growth Corporation (NASDAQ: AGCUU). The merger is valued at a whopping $39.6 billion. This article outlines some of the specific details about when Grab is going public. There is not yet a definitive date for the finalization of this deal. However, the current timeline is for Grab stock to be tradable by the end of July on the NASDAQ under the GRAB ticker. It also is considering having a secondary listing in its home country of Singapore. Grabs financials Grab is a company that is growing at a rapid rate but is not yet profitable. The net loss for 2020 was $2.7 billion. However, it plans to generate a profit in 2023 and has outlined its path to achieving this goal. Total revenue in 2020 was $12.5 billion. This revenue was well-diversified between its different business segments and geographically. The ride-hailing business has maintained profitability since Q4 2019. However, expansion into financial services and deliveries are the main reason for the lack of an overall profit. Grab forecasts that the deliveries segment will be EBITDA profitable in the latter half of this year. It will take more time for the financial services to be profitable. However, once this division becomes established, it will have significantly higher margins than the other segments. Grabs growth potential Through this merger, Grab will have $4.5 billion in funds to help generate further growth. The company has already shown its ability to successfully expand into new regions and industries. While the company started out life in 2012 as a taxi service and ride-hailing app, it has since branched out into delivery services and financial services. This includes providing loans, bank accounts, and mobile payments to users. All of these different offerings are powered through a single super app. There is a huge amount of scope still for the likes of online food delivery and ride-hailing in Southeast Asia. The region is catching up on the hot trends seen in China and the U.S. in recent years. Grab is accessible in eight countries to date, covering about 400 cities. Its monthly active user base is about 25 million people. Five million drivers are registered for delivery and ride-hailing, while two million businesses and merchants use the app for selling products or accessing financial services. Many people in Southeast Asia still dont either have a bank account or sufficient access to important financial services. Grab is hoping to bring these people into the banking space. It has a lofty goal of providing standard banking services to the 670 million residents of Southeast Asia. Nearly half of these people are younger than 30 years old. This is a demographic that is likely to engage with a shift to digital banking, especially as smartphone usage becomes more prevalent in the region. Grab believes that across each of its business divisions, the total addressable market could increase from $52 billion last year up to more than $180 billion by 2025. MyWallSt gives you access to over 100 market-beating stock picks and the research to back them up. Our analyst team posts daily insights, subscriber-only podcasts, and the headlines that move the market. Start your free trial now!
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https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-au/opto/when-is-grab-going-public
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Why hasn't Labor taken advantage of Morrison's COVID failures?
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Before it is anything else, the Morrison governments failure in the vaccine rollout is somewhat bewildering. There are some who are arguing that this debacle is deliberate for what reason, I dont fully understand. I am always up for a conspiracy theory, so if any evidence is available, send it on. In the absence of such, however, Ill continue to believe in the stuff-up. Morrison gained points for his mid-period handling of COVID-19 (after the early debacle, and before the current debacle) with the national cabinet model; that effectiveness can now be seen as largely the product of state governments. Left to its own devices, the federal government has shown every feature with which we have come to be familiar: clownish incompetence, including a giveaway privatisation tender bonus, followed up with slick PR. Get your first 12 weeks of Crikey for $12. Cancel anytime. Its very hard to say, although the nature of the debacle should make it so. This is the most basic failure in a governments duty, to ensure public safety against capricious or unneccessary suffering. Yet the very nature of COVID-19 has tended to hold off the full reality of the pandemic. The fact that it overwhelmingly affects the very old, with not many years left, and the disabled and chronically ill, who are pre-marginalised, has held off the full force of this challenge to life, and the seriousness of the Morrison governments failure to address it. COVID-19 is a rehearsal for a catastrophe the next pandemic, the one that doesnt discriminate in its victims. Indeed, the new COVID variants are a first instalment of this; the so-called Indian variant has an R number of six, a substantial jump in its ability to infect, compared to earlier strains. What has not changed, thankfully, is its lethality profile, which appears to be relatively set. Perhaps that is why there is no general air of crisis with regard to these new developments and failures. Even in Melbourne, where the slow rollout has contributed to what is likely to be a fortnight-long lockdown, there is no sense of palpable anger, so far as one can tell. If anything, theres a sort of Dunkirk spirit taking over, although I suspect this varies from area to area. That may be the reason why theres no real political cut-through by Labor on the matter although, once again, its hard to tell anything. Maybe a whole bunch of people have quietly decided that ScoMo stuffed it, and theyll give that funny little guy you know, whatsisname a chance at the next opportunity. But the widespread lack of anger at Morrison & Co is troubling. The right has spent a long time training people to expect nothing from the governments they elect. Should that be the case, it has been assisted by the mainstream media, and in particular the absence of any strong left-of-centre force, now that The Age and the SMH have been nobbled by Nine (the Fairfax papers would once have been tearing the government a new one). News Corp will run interference for the Morrison government until the end of time. Commercial news is braindead. The ABC doesnt have the reach. There is a vacuum at the heart of the public sphere which benefits the right. That said, Labors difficulty in making a case against the government is largely due to the fact that some time ago they got out of the case-making business altogether. Concluding that there was no forum in which to make complex arguments, and that the publics attention was now too fractured for them to receive anything that was very joined-up in nature, they have relied on both a small target strategy and the old never interrupt the enemy while they are making a mistake argument. Well, OK, but there are limits to the latter strategy. Youve got to actually have an army in the field to sweep in as the enemy collapses, with a plan in place and an alternative on offer. Take the dont interrupt strategy too far, and people become accustomed to the idea there is no alternative to the shambles and disengage from politics altogether. Thats possibly what is currently happening. Labor has taken the gamble that the relative absence of an alternative program is more likely to give it victory this year or next. If its wrong, it will suffer a double penalty: not gaining government, and having wasted three years when it could have been filling out the idea and making the case of an alternative. The fact that the government remains substantially intact, despite extraordinary, malign incompetence, real disdain for governing, and indifference to the welfare of its own people, is a testament to the right-shifted nature of the Australian polity. But it may also be the acid test of Labors now decades-long commitment to not arguing a clear alternative. Bewilderment is becoming a general condition.
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https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/06/02/labor-morrison-covid-failures/
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Will Scott Morrison's many COVID-19 faux pas haunt him at the polls?
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On the face of it, it seems like Scott Morrison made a complete transformation from we can start treating COVID like a bad flu reopening pragmatist to "I'm not going to take risks with Australian lives" some time in April. While Morrison certainly changed his publicly facing stance after Mark McGowans landslide win in Western Australia, that timing was more likely coincidental and ignores Morrison's penchant for dishonesty and willingness to do virtually anything to get reelected. Morrison played the media and business community like fools throughout 2020. Ostensibly taking a pragmatic approach, the former Tourism Australia head regularly criticised the length and severity of the Victorian lockdown. Back in September, the ABC claimed Morrison had applied the blowtorch to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, warning that it will be important that more be done in the weeks ahead to safely ease more restrictions.
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https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/06/02/scott-morrison-covid-19-border-polls/
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Why did Ellie Bishop leave NCIS in the Season 18 finale?
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Bishop and Gibbs made a good team on the NCIS cast. Pic credit: CBS NCIS featured Agent Ellie Bishop for 172 episodes of the show, but her character arc came to an end with the Season 18 finale. For much of the episode, Bishop was in the crosshairs as it seemed like she was being framed for an NSA file that had been leaked. It wasnt until later that Bishop admitted to leaking the file as she began burning bridges with other people at NCIS. Get our NCIS newsletter! When the smoke had cleared, actress Emily Wickersham had left NCIS and the character Special Agent Eleanor Ellie Bishop was gone for good. Within the show itself, the character of Ellie Bishop left NCIS so that she could go to work on a secret mission. Odette Malone, the woman who had been watching over Ziva Davids shed, had been in the process of training Bishop to take on a mission for which she needed to be a disgraced agent. It looks like Bishop had been training for years to get to this point, improving her skills in order to go to Syria to help with refugees who had been used wrongly by the NSA. It certainly left the character with an open-ended story, providing some room for Bishop to pop up again before the series comes to a close. We would be theorizing more about what NCIS Season 19 holds for Bishop if actress Emily Wickersham hadnt stated that she was done with the show. She is moving on to other things, and it looks like she is closing the door on the NCIS chapter of her career. Below is the final scene that Bishop shared with Agent Nick Torres, showing that there might have been some more stuff taking place off-screen between the pair that we never got to witness. NCIS fans want a Bishop and Ziva team up NCIS was renewed for Season 19 by CBS, but there are a lot of questions about whats going to happen on the show. then there are those fans who would love to see Ellie Bishop and Ziva David sharing some scenes together as they track down bad guys on international missions. It would certainly be fun to see what they could do on the screen together, as NCIS fans were mostly teased when Cote de Pablo returned for a few episodes last year. The reality is that we are likely looking at a new actress taking over the episodes and the role that Bishop had for years. We may have already seen who that person is going to be in Season 19, as Agent Jessica Knight has an option to star in more episodes of the show. For now, Ellie Bishop is gone from NCIS and we will all have to tune in this fall to see what direction the show takes next. NCIS returns in Fall 2021 on CBS.
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https://www.monstersandcritics.com/tv/why-did-ellie-bishop-leave-ncis-in-the-season-18-finale/
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How to Find the Volume of Sphere?
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Geometry presents us with various patterns and shapes in two dimensions as well as in three dimensions. And it becomes essential to know about their measurements if you want to figure out the circumference, area, and volume of shapes. Here let us see how the volume of sphere is calculated. As mentioned above, geometric figures are classified according to their physical properties into two types: plane (2D) and solid (3D). The 3D ones are also called solid geometry, and these include spheres, cylinders, cones, etc., while 2D figures include lines and points. Volume is the space within a three-dimensional object. Mathematicians figured out how to measure it centuries ago, but it took centuries more for physics and calculus to show that they were correct. Solid volume refers to the space within a three-dimensional object, while surface area refers to the amount of space occupied on a two-dimensional surface. Calculating one from the other is quite simple; if you can measure an objects height, width, and length, you can find its surface area, and if you know its surface area and thickness, you can find its solid volume. A sphere is a ball-shaped object. Its volume is given by the equation: V=4/3* PI* R^3, where R stands for the radius of the sphere. If the radius of the sphere has to be expressed in meters, then the unit that were going to use is cubic meters (m^3) for volume. To calculate surface area of sphere, we can use the following equation: A=4*PI*R where R stands for radius once more, so if measurements of the sphere are expressed in centimeters (cm). The unit of the area remains in square cms. Additionally, if we know only the surface area of the ball and we want to find its radius, we can use this equation: r = square root of [A/(4*PI)] where A stands for given surface area in square meters and PI as we know is 22/7. Some intriguing sphere facts include, as previously stated, the intersection of a sphere and a plane is a circle. The contours and plane divisions of the sphere are all triangles. On a sphere, umbilics can be seen at all points. Umbilical or umbilical points are locations on a surface that are locally spherical in three-dimensional differential geometry. The normal curvatures in all directions measure equal in value at such points, implying that the major direction is possessed by the tangent vector and both of the principal curvatures measure equal. On the sphere, there is no such thing as a surface with centers. The diameter of the sphere remains constant. The geodesics of the sphere are all supposed to be closed curves. A sphere, on the other hand, does not belong in the polyhedron category. It has no edges or so-called vertices and is symmetrical. For the proper practice of such math topics presented in class, the Cuemath website includes a lot of geometry-related as well as other math topic-related worksheets. The worksheets provide a comprehensive, hands-on approach to problem-solving. These worksheets are also downloadable and are meticulously aligned to assist students in figuring out the problem on their own using high-quality graphic and visual representations, making them more effective. This is why math worksheets are such an important element of a students geometry and pre-calculus math, algebra preparation. Math can be a difficult topic for some children to master. Its the foundation for higher-level math, and if you dont grasp the fundamentals, you wont be able to apply your knowledge to increasingly challenging problems.
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https://www.thetigernews.com/how-to-find-the-volume-of-sphere/
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How Did Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez Get Back Together?
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On the right track! Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got a very rare second chance at love nearly two decades after their broken engagement, and they both agree that what they have now is truly special, an insider exclusively tells In Touch. It started innocently enough with Ben reaching out to check up on her as a friend, the insider explains about how the exes rekindled their romance following Jens high-profile split from ex-fianc Alex Rodriguez in April. But he knew exactly what he was doing. He was single and she was single. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Although the Good Will Hunting actor, 48, wasnt sure how the On the Floor singer, 51, would react to his friendly effort to connect, Jen went for it by texting funny and flirty replies, continues the insider. Ben may have initiated it, but Jen sealed the deal. She wanted him back just as bad as he wanted her. The Argo actor and Lets Get Loud singer were together from 2002 until they publicly called off their engagement in 2004 after postponing their wedding due to the extreme attention surrounding their relationship. When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate decoy brides at three different locations, we realized that something was awry, the A-listers wrote at the time about their delayed nuptials. We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families and our friends. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock The insider acknowledges Ben and Jens past romance was out of control, as they were the biggest celebrity romance on the planet at the time. Ben couldnt handle the pressure then, says the insider. However, since reuniting, They discussed their breakup and how hurt she was, divulges the insider. Second chances are very rare to come by and they got one. Thats why theyve just jumped in and are moving pretty quickly, the insider says. Theyre taking this time to get to know each other, all over again. Luckily, their connection is as strong as ever. A separate insider told In Touch the famous duo picked up right where they left off, adding, its like no time has passed at all. It looks like the future is bright for Bennifer!
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https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/how-did-ben-affleck-and-jennifer-lopez-get-back-together/
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Why is Tesla activating the in-car camera of its vehicles?
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A small camera placed above the rearview mirror will be able to film what is happening inside the Tesla Model 3. Picture courtesy of Tesla via ETX Studio Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates. NEW YORK, June 2 Tesla decided to activate the in-car camera installed in some of its models to ensure, in the event of a serious accident, that the driver was properly seated and paying attention, even in Autopilot mode. In its latest software update, Tesla is enabling activation of the camera placed in the interior of some of its cars, in order to detect the presence of the driver at the wheel when the vehicle is in Autopilot mode. This camera is placed above the interior rearview mirror and is therefore intended to capture any moments of inattention from the driver. It complements the various sensors already installed, particularly on the steering wheel, but which are much less reliable. All of them are intended to ensure the presence and attentiveness of the driver, even when they are not exercising direct control over the automatic steering of their car. They must be capable of reacting and taking action at any time, in case of danger. For the moment, this concerns Model 3 and Model Y owners. Tesla has also ensured the confidentiality of data. According to this new update, Camera data does not leave the car itself, which means the system cannot save or transmit information unless data sharing is enabled. This decision to activate the interior camera comes in the aftermath of numerous accidents that involved a Tesla with Autopilot mode activated and drivers who were not sufficiently vigilant. Tesla's Autopilot is a driving mode that allows the vehicle to maintain a trajectory, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, without the intervention of the driver. However, the driver has to keep an eye on what's going on so that they can take control at any time if something goes wrong. ETX Studio
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/drive/2021/06/02/why-is-tesla-activating-the-in-car-camera-of-its-vehicles/1978911
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Will IOOF overtake AMP as largest licensee?
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Select rating Give it 1/5 Give it 2/5 Give it 3/5 Give it 4/5 Give it 5/5 Cancel rating IOOF appears to have taken over AMP Group as the licensee with the largest number of advisers in Australia after it completed its acquisition of MLC Wealth on Monday. IOOF chief advice officer, Darren Whereat, told Money Management that with the acquisition 406 advisers were brought from MLC to boost IOOF adviser numbers to around 1500. This is higher than AMPs 1,443, according to latest figures from Wealth Data (formerly known as HFS Consulting). Wealth Datas figures as of 28 May, 2021, had IOOF had 1,111 advisers but this would increase with the acquisition. Whereat said the 406 authorised representatives accounted for 84% of the targeted advisers (around 483) with 77 advisers either moving to become self-licenced or had moved to another licensee. There were a number of advisers in the self-employed space and decided someone else was a better partner and we respect that decision its been a long process and there have been some businesses that have made decisions as to what suits them best, he said. We are fortunate and happy with advisers that chose to partner with us. For those that decided to leave us the door is always open should they want an institutional relationship. When asked about becoming the largest licensee, Whereat said they did not focus on the numbers. We want to continue to deliver to our advisers. While were very close to having that mantel of the largest we just want to be a good partner to those that have intrusted us to be their licensee, he said. If we become the biggest then so be it but its not something we specifically focus on. The challenges for us in the way were dealing with the with sheer number is that we have a clear strategy. We have our employed planners spread across three brands Shadforth, Bridges and MLC advice. Clearly they are including high net worth and operating the mass market so they are servicing different segments and have different solution. In the self-employed partnership and the traditional space they had M3, RI Advice, Consultum, Lonsdale, Financial Services Partners, and Bridges. For us its about managing each of those communities which have around 150 individuals and each have their own general manager. So, were not managing the sheer number but were managing small pockets of individual communities and brands. Only thing we dont manage differently is our assurance and governance where we have one standard for everybody and thats where we have oversight in the advice given. In our dealer to dealer space we have MLC connect and IOOF alliances. So, 1500 sounds like a big number but when we break it down to individual community and brands with their own leaders thats a better way to do it. Whereat noted that MLC advice would go under the Bridges Australian financial services licence (AFSL) and maintain its general manager and identity. Godfrey Pembroke would have its own community and AFSL, and TenFifty would operate under a consultant AFSL.
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https://www.moneymanagement.com.au/news/financial-planning/will-ioof-overtake-amp-largest-licensee
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How to Redeem Garena Free Fire Redeem Codes in June?
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To get free rewards, you should have information concerning the Redeem Codes. Free Fire redeem codes are constructed solely by sport builders that enable you to get many free cool rewards in the sport like skins, costumes, weapons, emotes & characters. Youll be able to redeem the codes at reward.ff.garena.com. Comply with this text to seize the newest redeem codes & to understand how to redeem them. India server Indonesia server FFESPORTSSQA FF8MBDXPVCB1 FFESPORTSJLC Europe server ED22KT2GRQDY H28UZG5ATK2R HP5DXHQANLB5 VNY3MQWNKEGU U8S47JGJH5MG BPDSDHCXPXWT UBJJ2A7G23L6 5KHJ8U3RNP42 8QW6TDX2D8A4 FF8M82QK7C2M FV385V6HXJ97 KNRZ89SXFG9S G3MKNDD24G9D RRF6WMKMDPJV PCNF5CQBAJLK 6XMNG242VMKV: Center East server 245QMX2MXSZN HAPPYBDAYMR1 Take a look at these newest Redeem Codes for June POYRRVNBFSLP: Justice Fighter and Vandals Revolt Weapons Loot Crate VBVVMBGDEQWR: Diamond Royale Voucher UOPKKHMNBFFG: 50,000 diamond codes ESX24ADSGM4K: Free Dragon AK Pores and skin 9G8FS6U4VGWP: Free Pet HGVFXCVZS58M: Free Fire Diamonds PLHMFRVCXZAG: Paloma Character 6U5WQRTBMGDS: Elite Cross and Free Prime Up GGHHYNKOPT56: Outfit SRTYGBOU6FOP: free DJ Alok character QWRSDYBBDAMV: Titian mark gun skins Garena Free Fire Gun Pores and skin Redeem Codes for June KCKD-DXDD-GVGV JHND-CXSD-DDGF XFDD-GDFG-BBBB SSFF-EGBF-BHFG VDGF-CVBF-DGVD JCDK-CNJE-5RTR 3RXG-5T54-4E3E FDDF- VVVF-DCDD EDXX-DSZS-SDFG KLLP-DJHD-DBJD HDFH-DNBH-NDJL VFHH-NCBU-SADF MNHG-OLDU-AXDV BMNC-EDHC-SENC VFGV-JMCK-DMHN NDJD-FBGJ-FJFK XJDJ-GFVD-FKVH XKDN-98ND-DMNJ CDDF-DGCD-FGTD JDCJ-FJGG-DSHO DJHD-GSDU-EHJP DJHN-DSBB-BGFR KILO-LOJH-UYOP Additionally Learn: Garena Free Fire Rewards: Egg Day Banner, Headpic avatar, Bear Bundle Word: Free Fire redeem codes are legitimate just for a particular time earlier than it expires. Attempt to redeem the codes as quickly as attainable. Steps to Redeem the Objects Go to the official redemption web site & observe the steps given under. Free Fire redemption web site: Click on right here Step 1: Customers have to login by way of Fb, Google, VK, Apple ID, Huawei ID, or Twitter. Step 2: Enter or paste the redeem code in the textual content field and click on on the Verify button to proceed. A dialogue field will seem on the display, confirming the redemption. Press the OK possibility. Step 3: The rewards may be collected by way of the in-game mail part. Additionally Learn: Free Fire World Sequence: Viewership Milestone Rewards; Get Gloo wall pores and skin, Free Characters & Extra
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https://www.gadgetclock.com/how-to-redeem-garena-free-fire-redeem-codes-in-june/
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Was kostete bei einem Restaurantbesuch in der UdSSR am meisten?
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In der Sowjetunion war es durchaus mglich, exklusiv essen zu gehen. Die Speisen waren dabei nicht der teuerste Posten. In der Sowjetunion hoben sich exklusive Restaurants deutlich ab von den allgegenwrtigen Kantinen oder Mensen. An ihren Tren hingen fast immer Schilder mit dem Hinweis Ausgebucht und lange Schlangen bis zur nchsten Straenecke bildeten sich vor ihnen. Ein halber Monatslohn fr den Zutritt Die Spiegelhalle des Restaurants Praga. Igor Sotin/TASS Igor Sotin/TASS Ein Men in einem sowjetischen Restaurant schien, verglichen mit heute, durchaus gnstig zu sein. So kosteten in den 1970er und 80er Jahren im Astoria, einem der besten Restaurants in Leningrad (heute St. Petersburg), Fleischgerichte wie Schaschlik oder Stroganoff als Hauptgang zwischen einem und zwei Rubel und Desserts und Kaffee 20 bis 30 Kopeken. Das monatliche Durchschnittsgehalt eines qualifizierten Facharbeiters lag zu der damaligen Zeit bei rund 150 Rubel. In Moskauer Restaurants wie dem Praga in der Arbat-Strae und dem Aragvi in der Twerskaja-Strae kostet ein sehr gutes Abendessen fr zwei Personen zwischen zehn und 15 Rubel. Dies bedeutete jedoch keineswegs, dass jeder die Mglichkeit hatte, dorthin zu gehen, denn fr den Zugang ins Restaurant musste zustzlich bezahlt werden und das war oft teurer als ein ganzes Men. Whrend man tagsber fr zwei Rubel ein Mittagessen bekam, musste man abends schon deutlich tiefer in die Tasche greifen, um am Portier vorbeizukommen. Dieser erwartete eine inoffizielle Gebhr, damit er den Zutritt zum Restaurant gewhrte. Bei einem gewhnlicheren Restaurant wurden zwischen einem und drei Rubel fllig, whrend der Eintritt in ein gutes Restaurant schon zehn Rubel und der in ein exklusives Etablissement wie dem Praga am Wochenende bis zu 50 Rubel kosten konnte. Hochkartige Gste im siebten Himmel Restaurant Siebter Himmel. Wasili Jegorow, Aleksej Stuschin/TASS Wasili Jegorow, Aleksej Stuschin/TASS Moskau hatte auch ein Restaurant, in das man nur durch den Kauf eines Tickets kam. Die Zeit, die dort verbracht werden durfte, war begrenzt. Sedmoje Nebo, zu Deutsch Siebter Himmel, auf dem Ostankino-Fernsehturm war das hchste Restaurant der Sowjetzeit. Es befand sich 330 Meter ber dem Boden. In 40 Minuten drehte es sich einmal um seine Achse. Im Restaurant fanden maximal 80 Gste gleichzeitig Platz, die zudem eine Eintrittskarte bentigten, die ab sieben Rubel aufwrts pro Person kostete. Die Speisekarte war simpel: Sandwiches, Mayonnaise-Salate und panierte Schnitzel. Das Essen wurde nur aufgewrmt. Kochen im Turm war aus Sicherheitsgrnden verboten. Dennoch wurden stolze Preise verlangt. Ein einfaches Mittagessen kostete etwa sieben Rubel. Wer sich dazu ein Glschen eines alkoholischen Getrnks gnnen wollte, landete schnell bei 20 Rubel. Meeresfrchte statt Mangel Im Metropol Restaurant. M.Anfinger/Sputnik M.Anfinger/Sputnik Eines der auslndischen Stereotypen ist, dass Russen schwarzen Kaviar lffelweise essen. Tatschlich waren Fischgerichte immer einer der teuersten Komponenten eines Restaurantmens, insbesondere in den Regionen. In Swerdlowsk (heute Jekaterinburg) gab es ein sehr beliebtes Fischrestaurant, Okean, das Mitte der 1970er Jahre erffnet wurde. In den Geschften der Stadt herrschte Mangel, aber im Okean der berfluss. Dort gab es berbackenen Lachs zu erschwinglichen Preisen, Sevruga Consomm und nahrhafte Tintenfischsalate. Am Zahltag fuhren wir zum Okean. Das Mittagessen kostete ungefhr zwei Rubel. Dafr bekamen wir zwei Pasteten mit Brhe und ein Kaviar-Butter-Trtchen, erinnert sich ein Bewohner. Ein Fischessen. M.Anfinger/Sputnik M.Anfinger/Sputnik Kein Gericht kostete mehr als drei Rubel, abgesehen vom Kaviar. Fr die ganz besondere Delikatesse Sevruga-Kaviar auf Eis wurden 16 Rubel berechnet. Das war damals eine ganze Menge Geld. Kategorie 1 fr auslndische Touristen Restaurant Intourist in Moskau. Ju.Lewjant/Sputnik Ju.Lewjant/Sputnik Manche Restaurants hatten separate Rumlichkeiten fr VIP-Gste und auslndische Touristen. Das Praga bot zustzlich zum normalen Men ein Men der Kategorie I, bei dem Kalbsfilet mit Champignonpilzen 30 Rubel kostete, das slowakische Schweinekotelett 20 Rubel und Kaviar mit Toast und Butter 54 Rubel. Meine Mutter feierte 1990 einen runden Geburtstag. Damals war es schwierig, einen Tisch in einem guten Restaurant zu bekommen, erinnert sich ein Moskowiter. Sie arbeitete fr eine wichtige Auenhandelsorganisation, und die Reservierung im Praga wurde ber deren Protokollabteilung vorgenommen. Wir wurden als auslndische Delegation eingestuft. Natrlich war alles auf dem neuesten Stand. Der Alkohol war dort sehr teuer, also bestellten wir davon nur sehr wenig, nur zum Anstoen. Unter dem Tisch hatte ich eine Tasche mit allerlei Getrnken. Sobald alle fertig waren am Tisch, holte ich sie hervor. Das dem Intourist Hotel angeschlossene Restaurant war nur fr Auslnder oder Gste auf besondere Einladung vorgesehen. Dort wurde nur harte Whrung als Zahlungsmittel akzeptiert. Die Speisekarte war dafr exklusiv und man konnte Str am Spie und alle Arten von Kaviar-Vorspeisen bestellen. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Vervielfltigung ausschlielich unter Angabe der Quelle und aktiven Hyperlinks auf das Ausgangsmaterial gestattet.
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https://de.rbth.com/russische-kueche/84936-was-kostete-bei-restaurantbesuch-in-der-udssr
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Who Got the Golden Buzzer on the AGT 2021 Premiere?
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Season 16 kicked off on June 1, 2021, with Simon Cowell back in his judging chair, alongside Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel. Read on below for the SPOILERS on the first golden buzzer winner of the season. Golden Buzzer: Northwell Health Nurse Choir Gives an Inspiring Audition America's Got Talent 2021These incredible frontline nurses earned a Golden Buzzer from Howie Mandel! The Northwell Health Nurse Choir wants to deliver the message that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Get The America's Got Talent App: bit.ly/AGTAppDownload Subscribe for More: bit.ly/AGTSub America's Got Talent Premieres Tuesday, June 1st 8/7c on 2021-06-02T00:52:48Z The Northwell Health Nurse Choir got the golden buzzer with their inspirational rendition of Stand by Me by Ben E. King. Following their performance, Mandel stood up from his chair and told the choir members that he stands by them before hitting the buzzer. Each judge gets one golden buzzer to use on any act of their choosing per season. The acts that receive a golden buzzer from the judges during auditions will automatically earn a spot in the live shows, which air sometime in early August, Golden Derby reported. Season 15 winner Brandon Leake, a poet, received a golden buzzer from Mandel during his first audition, and ultimately won the competition in 2020. Golden Buzzer: Brandon Leake Makes AGT History With Powerful Poetry America's Got Talent 2020Brandon Leake makes history by being the first spoken word artist to appear on AGT. Howie Mandel was so moved by Brandon's performance that he pressed his Golden Buzzer! Get The America's Got Talent App: bit.ly/AGTAppDownload Subscribe for More: bit.ly/AGTSub America's Got Talent Premieres Tuesday, June 1st 8/7c on NBC! The 18-person choir, which was founded in 2020, is made up of nurses from across the Northwell Health Network with headquarters in New York, according to the choirs official webpage. The singing group grew out of a nonprofit called Nurse Heroes, created by celebrities and philanthropists to raise awareness about the worldwide nurse shortage. In the premiere episode of Americas Got Talent, the nurses shared the reasons as to why they joined the choir and how COVID affected their lives, and the lives of their patients, before performing on stage. They explained that when New York and the rest of the country were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult to keep their spirits up day in and day out while caring for sick patients. Nobody knew how many people COVID would kill, said nurse and choir member Christian Montanez. During that hard time, the nurses turned to music. Fellow choir member Winnie Mele said that music is the one thing that is bringing us a little bit of light and a little bit of hope. The choir took the Americas Got Talent stage with simple choreography, powerful voices, and matching scrubs. Before Mandel hit the golden buzzer, the rest of the celebrity judges commented on the choirs performance, all giving rave reviews. We need you. The world needs you, Cowell said, adding, People are going to remember this audition. Im going to remember this audition. Vergara called the performance heartfelt and dynamic. Klum even said she got chills while watching their performance. Before Mandel stood up to hit the golden buzzer, he called the choirs performance heroic and said he thought the song choice was perfect. Americas Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC. READ NEXT: One DWTS Pro Has an Unusual Party Trick
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https://heavy.com/entertainment/who-got-the-golden-buzzer-on-the-agt-2021-premiere/
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What sparked a triumphant New York Knicks comeback against Atlanta in game 2?
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JJ opens with the Knicks closing out the regular season with three straight wins to clinch the 4-seed and home-court advantage in Round 1 against the Hawks before taking a few calls from fired-up Knicks fans (1:13). Then he breaks down his weekend trip to Baltimore and the Yankees taking two of three from the Orioles, plus the Mets getting swept by the Rays (14:57). Next, radio and YES Network host Michael Kay stops by to discuss the Yankees season, competing with Francesa, and the excitement in the city around the Knicks (25:01). Finally, JJ weighs in on the Nets getting the 2-seed and whom he wants to see them play (53:20), takes some listener voicemails (55:20), and closes it out with some hockey talk with Mollie Walker of The New York Post (1:09:11).
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2264167271467/what-sparked-a-triumphant-new-york-knicks-comeback-against-atlanta-in-game-2
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Were the endless wars wise? Were they worth the cost?
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Through the long Memorial Day weekend, anyone who read the newspapers or watched television could not miss or be unmoved by it: Story after story after story of the fallen, of those who had given the "last full measure of devotion" to their country. Heart-rending is an apt description of those stories; and searing are the videos of those who survived and returned home without arms or legs. But the stories could not help but bring questions to mind. The longest war of this new century, the longest in our history, the defining "endless war" or "forever war" was Afghanistan. In 2001, we sent an army halfway around the world to exact retribution on al-Qaida for 9/11, an attack that rivaled Pearl Harbor in the numbers of dead and wounded Americans. Because al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden had been given sanctuary by the Taliban in Kabul, who refused to give him up, we invaded, overthrew that Islamist regime and cleansed Tora Bora of al-Qaida. Mission accomplished. But then the mission changed. In control of a land that had seen off British and Soviet imperialists, we hubristically set about establishing a democracy and sent hundreds of thousands of Americans to hold off the rebel resistance for two decades while we went about nation-building. We did not succeed. All U.S. troops are to be gone by the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And the Taliban we ousted has never been closer to recapturing power in Kabul. Today's issue: How do we save the Afghans who allied with us in this war, so that they do not face the terrible vengeance of a victorious Taliban. The second American war of this century was the invasion and occupation of Iraq, to strip its dictator, Saddam Hussein, of weapons of mass destruction with which he intended to attack the United States. Begun in 2003, the war has lasted 18 years. No WMD were ever found. Most U.S. troops have come and gone. And today, the Baghdad regime rules at the sufferance of Shiite militia who look to Tehran for guidance and support. Afghanistan and Iraq cost us 7,000 dead and 40,000 wounded. In the second decade of this century, we intervened in Syria to back the "good rebels" seeking to overthrow Bashar Assad and became the indispensable ally in Saudi Arabia's murderous air war to stop the Houthi rebels from consolidating power in Yemen. In both Syria and Yemen, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been wounded, killed, uprooted or driven into exile. Both countries are listed among the humanitarian catastrophes of the 21st century. Today, after six years of fighting, the Houthi still control the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, and Assad just won a fourth term as president with 95% of the vote. In 2011, President Barack Obama ordered U.S. air attacks on Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya, beginning a NATO intervention that would lead to his overthrow and lynching. In 2020, however, the future of Libya was not being decided by the European Union or U.S. but fought over by proxy forces supported and supplied by Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. And Barack Obama had conceded that the worst mistake of his presidency was not to plan for the aftermath of his 2011 decision to topple the Libyan dictator. Again, the men and women sent to the Middle East to fight these wars did their duty and deserve the gratitude of their countrymen that they received this Memorial Day weekend. What makes these questions of importance, and not only to historians, is that the cry of the hawk may be heard again in the land. We hear calls to confront Iran before the mullahs build an atom bomb, and to challenge Putin and arm Ukraine to retake Crimea and push Russia out of the Donbass. We hear talk of the American Navy contesting Beijing's claims in the East and South China Seas, including to Taiwan. The stories of Memorial Day should make us think long and hard before we launch any more unnecessary, unwise, or unwinnable wars. SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
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https://www.wnd.com/2021/06/endless-wars-wise-worth-cost/
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Who Can Solve the Climate Crisis?
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In an article titled Understanding the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future, 17 climate scientists from around the globe state that, The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeformsincluding humanityis in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts. Yes weve heard about increasing global temperatures, but these scientists lay out the much longer list of symptoms that will come as a result of unmitigated climate disaster: mass species extinction, unprecedented migration, more pandemics, extreme weather, and food, water, and land shortages. These compounded crises are on the horizon if we do not fight for a top-to-bottom overhaul of society and an end to the for-profit economic system of capitalism. Under a subhead Political Impotence these scientists detail the contradictory reality of a rapidly worsening climate situation and the increasing clash of national interests that, if left intact, dooms the type of international collaboration necessary to avert full-scale climate disaster. The situation is so bad that it has forced a section of the global ruling class to act. The World Economic Forums 2020 conference was dubbed by Time a Climate Conference, Biden released his climate-driven infrastructure proposals, and corporations have pledged to cut emissions. All of this can be glimmers of hope to some. But the pace of change thats possible on the basis of a competitive, free-market economy, even one that has resolved to fight climate change, is far too slow. We need a socialist transformation of society on a green basis, which will only be achieved by a genuine revolt of the global working class. State of the Climate Having already surpassed an increase of 1.0 C above pre-industrial global temperatures, we are on track to reach 1.5 C between 2030 and 2052. Even if the emissions reduction goals of the much hailed Paris Climate Agreement were met (which they are not almost anywhere) we would reach 2.6-3.1 C of warming by 2100. According to the international scientific community, anything above 1.5 C would be catastrophic. CO2, methane, and nitrogen levels (three long-lived greenhouse gases that cause warming) all started to dramatically increase in 1750 with the rise of the coal-fueled industrial revolution and the rise of British capitalism. Imperialism spread these fossil-fuel-burning, resource-extracting, and industry-building methods around the globe. Today, electricity and heat production are the biggest source of emissions leading to a warming planet (25% globally), followed by agriculture, forestry, and other land use (24%), and then industry at 21%. Since 1992, CO2 emissions from energy and industry have increased by 60%. From 1990 to 2005 emissions from agriculture increased by 17%. The bulk of these greenhouse gas emissions from the rise of capitalism to today have come directly from corporations. Scientists have warned that we have either reached or surpassed a number of climate tipping points, which are a point of no return in the climate system that mean unavoidable and dramatic consequences. The conversion of the Amazon rainforest into a savannah, the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet, and the complete collapse of the Gulf Stream are all decisively underway, meaning a collapse of biodiversity, huge dumps of carbon and methane into the atmosphere, extreme sea level rise, and uncontrollable weather. Climate-related extreme weather disasters jumped by 83% globally in the last 20 years, killing 1.23 million people. Major floods have doubled and severe storms have increased by 40%. Last year saw the worst wildfire season in the West on record and the Southeast broke the record of number of tropical storms and hurricanes. This will only get exponentially worse. Right now, the West Coast is experiencing its worst drought in 1,200 years. Lack of rainfall and snowpack (frozen reservoirs that release water during spring and summer) are spelling what could be the worst fire season yet, with two fires each in California, Arizona, and New Mexico already this season. With a warming climate and worsening droughts, extreme water shortages will be nearly ubiquitous west of Missouri by 2040 according to projections from the federal government. The Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies nearly a third of the countrys irrigation groundwater and supports one sixth of the worlds grain production, could be gone by the end of the century. In response to droughts, New Mexican officials have directed farmers who rely on water from the Rio Grande and other rivers to avoid planting crops unless absolutely necessary. Floods, drought, storms, fire, and global warming pose a dramatic threat to our homes, our communities, and our water and food supply. A half-billion people around the world already live in places that are turning into desert because of destructive agricultural practices and a warming climate that will eliminate the potential for anything to grow. One billion people globally rely on coral reefs for food, which now face extinction from warming oceans. Sea level rise, caused by melting ice at the poles will cause extreme flooding, eliminating coastal land for food production and displacing entire communities. By 2060, an estimated 13 million people in the U.S. will be forced to move away from submerged coastlines, which would represent the largest internal migration in American history. In 2019, weather-related hazards forced 24.9 million people across 140 countries to move. Estimates suggest there will be anywhere from 200 million to 1 billion environmental migrants by 2050 when you factor in permanent food and water shortages. This means, in the worst case scenario, one in seven people globally will be forced to move because of climate change in the next 30 years. Already in the U.S. a historic surge at the southern border has largely been driven by devastating hurricanes and prolonged droughts in El Salvador and Honduras. Massive migration will further strain dwindling resources. As one example, by 2100 it is possible that Atlanta, GA could receive a quarter million new residents from sea-level rise displacement alone. But Atlanta may very well lose its water supply by then to drought and face worsening heat-driven wildfires. And if all this wasnt bad enough, increasingly dense cities in many countries and strained public services from forced climate migration threaten worse outcomes for future disease outbreaks. Scientists are already warning of more deadly pandemics to come, largely linked to deforestation and a loss of biodiversity. One of the most terrifying and underreported realities is that it is scientifically undeniable that we are already on the path of a sixth major extinction. One million (out of 7-10 million) species are at threat of immediate extinction, 40% of plants are endangered, and insects (including pollinators who help us grow food) are disappearing rapidly. An extinction event on this scale will have profoundly destabilizing and complex consequences on global ecosystems. It will contribute to more warming, worse food shortages, poorer water and air quality, more frequent and intense flooding and fires, and compromised human health. The Cost of the Climate Crisis All of these horrifying consequences of the unrestricted use of fossil fuels have been known to scientists, politicians, and CEOs for decades. But as scientists really started to ring the alarm bells in the early 80s, deregulation of industry and global expansion under the neoliberal era took carbon emissions to record highs. Capitalisms virtually unrestricted pillage of the natural world in the interest of profits has gone so far that it now threatens its own economic and political security. Capitalism has never factored environmental impact into its profit-making formula. This despite the fact that all of its wealth comes from the raw resources of the earth, and the work done to them by workers. According to a recent UN report, if any company did have to pay the cost of their environmental damage, not one of them would actually be profitable. Weve been operating under a severe climate deficit for centuries, but our economic and political system has blatantly ignored this fact because living sustainably is fundamentally contradictory to capitalisms constant need to expand, cut costs, and maximize profits. In the last 20 years, an estimated $2.97 trillion in global economic losses have come as the result of climate-related extreme weather events. In the most extreme climate warming scenarios, the U.S. alone could lose $520 billion a year from climate change damages. Food and water shortages, destroyed infrastructure, worse and more widespread human illness and instability, the collapse of tourism economies, and more will be extraordinarily expensive. The International Energy Agency (IEA), which informs climate policy globally and has historically encouraged the use of fossil fuels, issued a shocking report this month that sets the goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. They say that this means halting sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035, phasing out all coal and oil plants by 2040, and halting any new investment in oil or natural gas this year. This means a massive scaling up of renewable energy technologies, and the creation of new ones. To illustrate the gargantuan shift this would require, they explain that for solar power, it would be the equivalent of installing the worlds current largest solar park roughly every day. This will also mean tripling investments in clean energy worldwide by 2030 to about $4 trillion. International Response Joe Biden hosted a climate summit in April that brought together world leaders, almost all of whom belong to countries who have failed their completely inadequate Paris Climate Agreement promises, but who engaged in showboating discussions about the climate crisis nonetheless. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the summit, where he doubled down on his previous commitment to reach peak emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. But shortly after, Chinese minister Wang Yi issued a statement saying If the United States no longer interferes in Chinas internal affairs, then we can have even smoother cooperation that can bring more benefits to both countries and the rest of the world. Essentially, Chinas cooperation with Biden on the climate is contingent on broader relations between the two countries, which are deteriorating due to inter-imperialist rivalry. In order to meet Xi Jinpings carbon neutrality pledge, China will need to invest $21 trillion to remove carbon from its energy system by 2060. In order to meet this goal, there has been a rapid expansion of Chinese green finance. Over the past five years, Chinas green finance sector has become the second largest in the world after the U.S. Climate could well become a key battleground in the two countries battle for global dominance. Biden has proposed a $2.25 trillion infrastructure package in the U.S., which promises money to update and weatherize infrastructure, transition away from gas-powered cars, and ramp up research and development of renewable energy technologies among other things. In his speech unveiling the plan, Biden mentioned China six times, and explicitly framed it as an attempt to build up U.S. manufacturing and the economy to undermine growing Chinese economic influence. The Chinese economic model includes a very high level of state intervention into the economy. This has given the Chinese ruling class a certain advantage in scaling up key sectors. Seeing this, Biden is suggesting a level of state intervention into the economy not seen in decades in the U.S. This is accepted by a section of big business itself who recognize that its the only option given the scale of the crisis. For poorer countries who have been devastated by COVID-triggered economic crises and continue to face outbreaks because of wealthy countries vaccine hoarding (see page 11), trillion dollar climate spending packages are simply not an option. Bidens infrastructure package will barely scratch the surface of what is necessary to address the climate crisis in the U.S., which historically is the number one emitter of greenhouse gases. And Bidens pledge of $2.5 billion for overseas climate finance is as insulting as his pledge to send 20 million vaccine doses abroad. Poor countries, many of whom have economies that are completely dependent on dirty energy (like Nigeria, Venezuela and Iraq), were promised $100 billion a year in climate finance starting in 2020, but this is yet another Paris agreement promise left unmet. Leaving poor countries that are saddled with debt due to the legacy of imperialism and colonization to fend for themselves on the climate (or the pandemic) is the murderous logic of capitalisms reliance on the nation state. An America first approach to the climate is doomed to fail and will only fuel mass migration and leave millions of poor and working people from the Global South seeking refuge at the doorstep of advanced capitalist countries. The Ruling Class Divided Response Even Bidens very limited infrastructure package faces huge challenges ahead. Democrats will have to be fully united (meaning winning over centrist Democrat Joe Manchin, who represents the second-largest coal producing state of West Virginia) and use a special process called budget reconciliation to pass the package in its full form. Republicans, especially those representing fossil-fuel-dependent states like Texas, have already signalled strong opposition. The growing price tag of the climate crisis is driving divisions in the ruling class about what to do, as evidenced by the emerging debate around Bidens infrastructure package. Many banks who have invested heavily in major polluters for decades will act as fetters on a transition to sustainability because abandoning these investments would represent a big loss on their balance sheet. However, even among the titans of finance capital, there is a growing recognition that climate change carries tremendous fiscal risks. BlackRock, the worlds biggest asset manager, has suggested that climate change will lead to a fundamental reshaping of finance. In a similar vein, corporations like Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft have begun to pledge carbon neutrality in the coming decades. For these companies, disastrous climate scenarios pose the biggest threat to their medium and longer-term profits, meaning theyre willing to invest up front now. For Biden, the threat of losing the cold war with China and seeing the further weakening of U.S. imperialism globally has forced him to act as well. In June 2020, Goldman Sachs announced that spending on renewable power would soon overtake oil and gas drilling, and that clean energy provided a $16 trillion investment opportunity through 2030. They pointed to the growing cost of fossil fuel development (which will increase if fossil fuel subsidies are removed as proposed in Bidens infrastructure plan), which could lead to higher oil and gas prices and spur more investment in renewables. It is possible that we do see politicians and big business interests make a shift towards renewable energy to avoid full climate collapse, and to get in on a growing market. We should of course hold our applause for the companies and politicians who have waited until it was clear they would lose money to do anything at all, and we shouldnt hold our breath that any of it will be enough anyways. What is concretely needed to address this crisis is a global plan to completely rebuild energy grids that rely 100% on renewables in the next decade; ending new production of gas-run cars, scaling up electric vehicle production and massively expanding public transit; developing renewable fuel alternatives for planes, trains, and cargo ships and completely phasing out fossil fuel dependence; retrofitting, weatherizing, and building new green housing and infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and accommodate climate refugees; reforesting the planet and overhauling our food system top-to-bottom, full scale replacing of mass monocrop agriculture with local, organic alternatives; and investing to historic proportions in yet-undiscovered technologies that can help deal with the crisis of water contamination and shortages, infectious disease, coral reef and pollinator population collapse, and so much more. Despite a shift in the ruling class approach, it will inevitably be too slow because of the logic of capitalism. Inter-imperialist rivalries mean countries will work separately to develop and then hoard climate technology, instead of collaborating to most rapidly produce and share out the best innovations. Poor countries will be left behind. Corporations will continue to invest their profits in the financial markets as opposed to expanding their productive capacity in the direction needed by humanity. Fossil fuel interests, the agricultural industry, other major polluters, and their loyal politicians will work to block a transition to a sustainable future with ferocity. While were seeing increased state intervention globally, the levels required to mitigate all of these bottlenecks and speed the process up enough to put us on track is extraordinarily unlikely. That is why we need to take things into our own hands. Mass climate protests have clearly put this issue onto the agenda, and we need a dramatic ramping up of this movement. School strikes should be coordinated and planned as soon as schools open again in the fall, and should be ongoing with a plan to involve more students, teachers, and staff. The youth-led movement also urgently needs to link up with the broader working class. In the short term this could look like striking students appealing to local unions to join them for demonstrations and days of action. This will crucially need to include workers in polluting industries. Ten million people globally work directly for the fossil fuel industry, and many more rely indirectly on these and other highly polluting jobs. To build a powerful movement with political and economic power, demands for the environment need to be linked with demands to retrain these workers in new, sustainable fields with no loss of pay or benefits and a guarantee of high wages and union recognition. This type of organizing could win crucial victories for expanding renewable energy, reforestation, and general resource protection. This would help buy time. Fundamentally though, these battles will need to be waged again and again on a mass scale to address the many complex dynamics of the climate crisis caused by a system that is based on the exploitation of workers and the earth. What is actually necessary for a long-term solution to climate disaster is a complete restructuring of a society on a socialist basis. This can only be won by the global working class asserting itself in a mighty struggle against the capitalist system. Mitigating the climate crisis on the time frame necessary requires an end to a for-profit system and its replacement with a democratically planned economy run by the working class itself. This means bringing the energy industry, the transport sector, key sections of manufacturing and finance fully into public ownership. On this basis, millions could be put to work helping rebuild a green economy, the accumulated wealth of polluting industries could be reallocated to green and socially productive projects, scientific innovation would be unleashed as global collaboration would replace nationalist competition, and instead of profits for a few, all economic activity would be geared towards meeting global human need, including averting the climate crisis. In this society, economic decisions would necessarily include environmental and social impact. On the basis of a truly democratically-run economy, we could make rapid decisions about the resources of society and put the full weight of the global working class behind stopping the climate crisis in its tracks. Winning this society will require the biggest ever united struggle of the global working class against capitalism. While the size of this task is mammoth, the future of humanity depends on it.
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https://www.socialistalternative.org/2021/06/01/who-can-solve-the-climate-crisis/
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Is The Canadian Dollar Rally Nearing An End?
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In efforts to avoid a term woefully overused in financial commentaries (the term is also the title of a George Clooney fishing movie), we have opted for the literal definition instead. Over the past few months there have been several combining factors that have helped propel the Canadian dollar (CAD) higher and/or the U.S. dollar (USD) lower, lifting the CAD to 83 cents. This run has made the CAD the top performing currency among the big 11 currencies so far in 2021, up 5.3% (chart 1). A move like that over five months has turned some heads, notably when investors see their U.S. denominated assets fighting this strong headwind. Versus the USD it is clear 2021 has seen risk-on currencies such as the CAD, Norwegian kroner and Australian dollar performing much better. Meanwhile safe haven currencies including the yen and Swiss Franc have been laggards. The USD is also considered a safe haven currency. With global growth accelerating out of the pandemic, this has been a risk-on currency friendly market. CAD tailwinds There are many contributing factors that have helped the CAD rise to 83 cents. Everyone would agree the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve remain dovish by any historical metric, including the overnight lending rates and active bond buying activities (quantitative easing). However, it is the relative moves or the degree of dovishness that has favoured the CAD. The Bank of Canada has started to reduce its quantitative easing while the Fed continues. One would be hard pressed to call the Bank of Canada hawkish, but in this crazy money printing world, less dovish is the new hawkish. Perhaps the biggest tailwind of late for the CAD has been the rise in commodity prices. Like it or not, our currency is viewed in the global currency markets as a commodity currency. And the rise in commodity prices has many posturing or wondering if we are in the early innings of a new commodity super cycle. (chart 2) If you believe we are in a commodity super cycle, the CAD has further upside potential. This is not our investment committees view. While many commodity prices have appreciated to levels not seen since the last commodity super cycle, we believe this is a temporary phenomenon for a few reasons. The most obvious is changed consumer behaviour during the social distancing of the pandemic has resulted in increased spending on durable goods. Durable goods require more commodities than non-durables and services. This behaviour change has caused a demand spike for commodities while logistics and capacity remain constrained due to the pandemic. We believe this demand spike will fade with re-opening and supply chain bottlenecks ease. To have a new commodity super cycle, the world requires consistently high aggregate demand growth over many years. Similar to the ones experienced during the rapid industrialization of Japan or urbanization of China (chart 3). We do not see one of these secular demand shifts developing and believe this commodity price spike will fade. Along with it, so will the strength in the Canadian dollar. There are many reasons to be both bullish the CAD and bearish the CAD, in USD terms. In the short-term the CAD bulls can cite global growth recovery, the magnitude of stimulus in the U.S. economy, commodity prices and relative yields being pretty tight. Longer term, well there are often rumblings of the U.S. gradually losing its reserve currency status as global trade becomes more balanced. For Canadian investors the USD/CAD impact is often a zero-sum game. In CAD terms, the USD goes up in risk-off market environments and down in risk-on periods. Clearly that does make USD exposure a good diversification tool for Canadians. Now at 83 cents and enjoying a concurrence of factors, we believe the CAD has priced in a lot (or most) of good news making a move lower for the CAD as the higher probability event (aka USD higher). After this run and at 83 cents, this does look like a good time to be adding a bit to U.S. dollar exposure. Source: Charts are sourced to Bloomberg L.P. and Richardson Wealth unless otherwise noted. Twitter: @ConnectedWealth Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
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https://www.seeitmarket.com/is-the-canadian-dollar-rally-nearing-an-end/
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Which shows are scheduled when theatres reopen?
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American Cinematheque announced on Wednesday that the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica will reopen on June 10, also teasing a new partnership with the Los Feliz 3. Marking the special occasion of the Aeros reopening is a special advance screening of In the Heights, Jon M. Chus anticipated adaptation of the stage musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegra Hudes, which opens in theaters nationwide the following day. On June 14, the Aero will have Edgar Wrights debut documentary, The Sparks Brothers, on your favorite bands favorite band, fronted by Ron and Russell Mael. Then, throughout the rest of the month, the American Cinematheque will continue to celebrate the return of the theatrical experience with special 70mm screenings of classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Vertigo and Lawrence of Arabia, as well as contemporary large-format films, including Tenet and The Master.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263925367456/which-shows-are-scheduled-when-theatres-reopen
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Is Seoul wheelchair-friendly?
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A convenience store in Jung-gu, Seoul, is not wheelchair accessible. (Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald) Going to a new restaurant and eating out is not a big deal for most Seoulites, but it is a challenge for Lim Sung-hee, 42, who has used a wheelchair for about 20 years since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Many restaurants, coffee shops and convenience stores in Seoul remain inaccessible to her because of stairways and raised door thresholds. In her wheelchair, she cant get over steps higher than 5 centimeters. To avoid frustration, Lim tries to visit only those restaurants or coffee shops she has been to before. When I have a lunch or dinner appointment at a new place, I often visit it a day before, she said. She used to call ahead and ask about wheelchair access, but sometimes the information she got over the phone proved inaccurate. For nondisabled people, 5 centimeters is nothing. They dont perceive it as an obstacle because they can easily get in, she said. In some cases, I visited the place after I heard there was a ramp. But I found that the starting point of the ramp was over 5 centimeters (off the ground). In other cases, there was a ramp at the door, only to find a stairway inside, she said. In such cases, ramps are meaningless. A restaurant and coffee shop in Jung-gu, Seoul, are not wheelchair accessible. (Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald) According to the 1998 Act on Welfare of Persons With Disabilities, buildings with more than 300 square meters of floor space are required to install wheelchair ramps to ensure that older adults, pregnant women and people with disabilities can use the facilities safely and conveniently. But according to Lee Woon-yong, a manager at the Seoul office of the Korea Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities, there too many buildings that are too small for the law to apply. So we are calling for cooperation from private facilities and are pushing ahead with projects to provide free ramps through the support of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, he said. The projects will give wheelchair users better access to convenience stores, pharmacies and restaurants. About 200 million won ($180,424) has been set aside for that purpose this year. Most subway stations in Seoul are wheelchair-friendly, Lim said. Most of them have elevators, wide gates for wheelchairs and toilets for the disabled. And they are free, she said, adding that this was the result of yearslong protests. Still, inconvenience remains. Some subway stations have wide gaps between the platforms and the trains, and others have a significant height difference. Once when she tried to get off the subway at Dongguk University Station, her wheelchair got stuck in the wide gap between the train and the platform. She managed to get out because people helped her. But she was in a panic. (right) The wide gap between the subway platform and the entrance to the train at Dongguk University Subway Station in Seoul presents a hazard for wheelchair users. (left) At Euljiro 1-ga Subway Station in Seoul, there is a significant height difference between the subway platform and the entrance to the train. (Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald)
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http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210602000491
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Could hockey be coming to TSU?
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Minnesota Wilderness captain Donte Lawson posed with his cousin Patrick. Lawson following a game in Cloquet this month. It's crunch time for the Wilderness, as the NAHL junior hockey team heads into the Robertson Cup playoffs this weekend. Although the first two games of the series against the Bismarck Bobcats are away Friday and Saturday, the teams will be in Cloquet on May 25. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the pick drops at 7:15 p.m. at Northwoods Credit Union Arena Tuesday. Tickets are $5 at the door, and kids can wear their youth hockey jersey and get in free as long as children 12 and younger are accompanied by an adult. If necessary, the two teams could play in Cloquet again Wednesday and back at Bismarck on Saturday.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263929190214/could-hockey-be-coming-to-tsu
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Is COVID-19 vaccination in California equitable yet?
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As of March 2021, California had one of the least equitable vaccine distribution programs for COVID-19 in the US. To address this, Governor Newsom ordered that 40% of Californias vaccine supply be reserved for the census tracts in the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index (HPI). California is planning to lift all state-wide restrictions and fully open on 15 June, 2021 using four primary indicators to assess readiness: 1. county-wide adjusted daily case rates, 2. county-wide test positivity rates, 3. health equity measurement based on test positivity rates in the lowest-quartile HPI tracts, and 4. vaccine equity measurement based on total vaccinations in the states most vulnerable neighborhoods. Examining vaccine equity and vaccine coverage forecasts in California in various scenarios Researchers from the University of California, Davis recently conducted a short investigation to examine current vaccine equity and forecasts of vaccine coverage in California by June 15, 2020, in various scenarios. This study is published on the preprint server, medRxiv*. The researchers collected HPI data for individual census tracts from the Public Health Alliance of California and single-dose and full-dose vaccination rates for each county from the California Department of Public Health. They investigated current vaccine equity using simple linear regression between the county mean HPI and single and 2-dose vaccination rates. They also predicted future vaccination coverage per county with the help of a compartmental mathematical model based on the 30-day average rate with 4 different rate-change scenarios. Results show that at the current vaccination rate, over 50% of the population will be fully vaccinated by June 15 The study results showed a strong positive association between the county mean HPI and both the single and full dose vaccination rates. Counties in the San Joaquin Valley region had steadily low HPI values and vaccination rates. The observations predict that 66.2% of the state population will have at least a single dose of the vaccine and 53.8% will be fully vaccinated by June 15 provided the current rates are maintained. However, the model predictions have some disparities when broken down by county, as only 18 out of 58 counties are expected to reach or exceed a 50% fully vaccinated rate by June 15. Of the eight counties (San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern), seven are in the lowest quartile for county mean HPI, and Fresno currently leads the fully vaccinated rate among them at 31%. Statewide predictions from the simple compartmental model. Vaccine hesitancy due to social and demographic factors is the reason for insufficient vaccination rates According to the authors, a clear association between county HPI and vaccination rates shows that California has no equitable foundation to initiate opening plans, despite previous equity programs. Although when observed as an entire state, California may be in an optimistic position for lifting restrictions in June 2021, the success is largely restricted to urban centers and is not homogenous across the state. The least vaccinated counties are also the ones with the most vulnerable populations. Vaccine hesitancy driven by social and demographic factors is cited as a major reason for the state not achieving adequate vaccination rates. According to a vaccine hesitancy survey, the temporary pause of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine led to hesitancy in 39% of unvaccinated Hispanic women. If nothing changes with respect to vaccination rates, many of the vulnerable counties may not be ready to open without consequences by June 15. The authors recommend closer, more sophisticated examinations in order to characterize the various leading to larger-scale inequities in vaccination. This simple studys use of an aggregate vulnerability index likely obscures how different aspects of vulnerability have led to inequities across the state. *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
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https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210601/Is-COVID-19-vaccination-in-California-equitable-yet.aspx
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What does the next phase of vaccinations look like?
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Target joins other big stores that have dropped the mask requirement for shoppers and employees that have been fully vaccinated. The health and safety of our guests and team members have been Targets top priority throughout the pandemic, and weve closely and consistently followed the CDCs recommendations over time. Given the CDCs updated guidance last week, Target will no longer require fully vaccinated guests and team members to wear face coverings in our stores, except where its required by local ordinances. Face coverings will continue to be strongly recommended for guests and team members who are not fully vaccinated and well continue our increased safety and cleaning measures, including social distancing, throughout our stores. Target is offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments at nearly all CVS at Target locations for guests and team members. Were also providing paid time to U.S. hourly team members when they get their vaccines and free Lyft rides, up to $15 each way, for our team to get to and from their appointments.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263931463366/what-does-the-next-phase-of-vaccinations-look-like
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Why Is There So Much Hype Over Hydrogen?
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Nespresso is now making deliveries in Switzerland with hydrogen-powered trucks, built by Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility. They are filled with "green" hydrogen produced by Alpiq in Gsgen, Switzerland, using clean hydropower. Pierre Logez, Nespressos logistics manager, says in a statement: Thanks to this revolutionary eco-mobile technology, it is possible to reduce CO2 emission by transporting our Nespresso coffees and products. Next time you are on the road, look out because you might just spot our beautiful Nespresso green hydrogen truck. This is notable because we have long complained that coffee pods are the poster child for unsustainable design, expensive little pods that are the ultimate triumph of convenience over sensibility. For years, Nespresso has done everything they could to greenwash them with recycling programs, turning them into art, and we even once showed them being turned into batteries. But nothing could change the basic fact that it takes a lot of energy and material to package a spoonful of coffee. And most of them go to the dump or the incinerator because the operative word here was convenience. All of Europe Is Hyping Hydrogen German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier announcing hydrogen strategy. Pool/ Getty Images Now Nespresso has hopped on the hydrogen bandwagon, which seems to be happening all over Europe. The German government just announced that it is investing $9.78 million in 62 hydrogen projects. Germany's energy minister Peter Altmaier said in a press release: We want to become number 1 in the world in hydrogen technologies." Meanwhile, Germany's federal transport minister, Andreas Scheuer says: We are making Germany a hydrogen country. In doing so, we are rethinking mobility - from the energy system and drive technologies to the fueling infrastructure." Minister Scheuer continued: "At present, traffic is still more than 95 percent dependent on the use of fossil fuels. We therefore urgently need mobility that relies on renewable energies. Green hydrogen and fuel cells are - across all modes of transport - a great addition to pure battery vehicles. The fact is: we must and WANT to urgently promote the switch to climate-friendly mobility. In order to cover all areas of mobility with zero-emission solutions, we need technology openness. That is why we also support fuel cell technology as well as vehicle and component manufacturers, so as not to miss the boat internationally. Today we are taking a giant step towards climate-friendly mobility." In France, the Eiffel Tower was covered with the words Le Paris de lhydrogne with the French finance minister Bruno Le Maire tweeting: "For the first time in history, the Eiffel Tower was lit with hydrogen! We have expressed some skepticism about hydrogen on Treehugger, and are not alone. Energy expert Michael Liebreich, the founder of energy research group Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told Yahoo News: "They took electricity and generated hydrogen, with a 50 percent [energy] loss, then used the hydrogen to generate electricity with another 25 percent loss, and then lit up the Eiffel Tower they literally took electricity to make the hydrogen to make electricity with a 75 percent loss just to be able to say that theyve lit up the Eiffel Tower with hydrogen!" Adrian Hiel/ Michael Liebreich Liebreich expands on the energy ladder created by Adrian Hiel of Energy Cities (seen on Treehugger here), showing that hydrogen makes sense for a lot of things, including making ammonia for fertilizers and replacing coke in steel production. Powering cars and vans are right down there at the bottom of the list, along with domestic heating. (Treehugger's car guy Jim Motavilli has a different opinion.) As Hiel told Treehugger last year: "Technically hydrogen can do just about anything but realistically there are very few things it can do better than direct electrification. Anyone expecting hydrogen to become a ubiquitous and cheap commodity is going to be disappointed." At the time of writing, the words "hydrogen" and "hype" are showing up everywhere. Michael Barnard, chief strategist at TFIE Strategy Inc., recently wrote that hype and hydrogen starting with the same letters isnt a coincidence. He notesas Hiel and Liebreich havethat hydrogen has its uses, but that the use of hydrogen for grid energy storage or home heating makes no sense. And, notwithstanding what the German ministers say: "Hydrogen for ground transportation has already lost...Hydrogen cars are dead on arrival, having been vastly outcompeted by electric cars. Hydrogen buses failed, and battery electric buses are dominant." Hydrogen Is Not "Sunshine In a Bottle" That's how Janice Lin, founder of the Green Hydrogen Coalition, described hydrogen at a Shell-sponsored conference. She explained: "You would always use renewable electricity if you could use it in that moment because it is instantaneous, but by converting that renewable electricity through electrolysis into a storable fuel, you are bottling this sunshine and now you can dispatch it whenever you need it so it enables us to take really low-cost abundant renewable electricity and extract value out of it." But as Barnard notes, "compressing flammable physical substances and putting them on ships has a limited runway." It is difficult and inefficient as a storage medium: "Hydrogen is incredibly lossy as a store of electricity, and theres no way to square that circle." He has advice for the media which includes: Never reference the "hydrogen economy" without quote marks indicating its intentional use in the 2020s as a PR item. Never reference "blue hydrogen" without quote marks and a phrase indicating that its a greenwashing term used by the fossil fuel industry. See our guide to the colors of hydrogen here. I would add that if you ever hear the phrase "sunshine in a bottle" you should run from the room. Corporate Europe Observatory A recent report produced by the Corporate Europe Observatory and other nonprofits explains the forces pushing for hydrogen, including "blue" hydrogen that's made from natural gas. They found that "the hydrogen lobby, whose main players are fossil gas companies, declared a combined annual expenditure of 58.6 million trying to influence Brussels policy-making, although this is suspected to be a gross underestimate." "The EUs oversized fossil gas network has been rebranded by industry as Europes future Hydrogen Backbone, blending small amounts of hydrogen into existing gas pipelines in the short-term, and repurposing them for hydrogen in the longer-term. The European Commission appears to support industry plans, which would give a green light to companies building and operating fossil gas infrastructure to carry on as before." It's likely all a buildup to the German announcement, which is a very big deal. As economist Maurits Kuypers notes in Innovation Origins, "It is a form of industrial politics." We've seen the same kind of industrial politics in Canada recently, with the government's hydrogen plan, which we called "a political strategy, not an energy strategy." Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Energy The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Department of Energy's Sankey diagrams we recently showed on Treehugger show petroleum and natural gas supplied 68.8% of the energy consumed in the U.S. There is a lot of money behind that. The industry wants to keep people buying energy that comes in pipes rather than using free stuff like sunshine and wind. As we noted before, the only people who benefit from the hydrogen economy are the oil and petrochemical companies that make the stuff. Shell, Exxon, and Chevron all took a beating recently in climate battles. Hydrogen is their get-out-of-jail card. We may just be at the beginning of a much larger hydrogen hype cycle, with Nespresso leading the way.
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https://www.treehugger.com/why-hydrogen-is-getting-hype-5187014
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Is the Winter Solstice Really the Shortest Day of the Year?
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We are officially in winter, folks and that means its time to prepare for the annual winter solstice. The solstice is one of those events that comes around every year, but maybe youre not fully aware of what it actually means. Lets break it down. The solstices and equinoxes are used to signal the change in seasons and are all based on the tilt of the Earth as it travels around the sun. Basically, when the Earth rotates around the sun it does so while its slightly off-centre. Thats why we get different seasons. Heres how Encyclopaedia Britannica explains it: The seasons on Earth change because the planet is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the Sun. This means different points on Earth receive more or less sunlight at different times of year. If Earth were not tilted, the Sun would always appear to be directly above the Equator, the amount of light a given location receives would be fixed, and there would be no seasons. So when it comes to the solstices and equinoxes, these mark the occasions the Earth is at its maximum tilt either towards or away from the sun. The summer and winter solstices also occur at opposite times depending on which hemisphere youre in. So while we experience the winter solstice this month, those in the northern hemisphere will enjoy the summer solstice. The winter solstice does technically mark the shortest day of the year, but this doesnt mean there are fewer hours or minutes that make up the day. It also doesnt mean this is the day when the sun rises at its latest or sets at its earliest. As Geoscience Australia explains: Because the path of the Earth around the Sun is an ellipse, not a circle, and because the Earth is off-centre on its axis, these combined phenomena can create up to several minutes difference between solar and mean time. Around the date of summer solstice, these effects make the Sun appear to move slightly slower than expected when measured by a watch or clock. As a result, the earliest sunrise occurs before the date of the summer solstice, and the latest sunset happens after the summer solstice. For the same reasons, around the winter solstice, the time of sunrise continues to get later in the days after the solstice. When we refer to the shortest day of the year were actually talking about the number of daylight hours. The winter solstice is the day where well see the least amount of daylight in 24 hours, due to the tilt of the Earth. The winter solstice will take place on Monday, June 21, 2021. As its the shortest day of the year well experience roughly 9 hours and 53 minutes of daylight in Sydney, although this varies depending on how far north or south you are. You can check out your citys daylight hours over at Time and Date. This is roughly 4 hours and 30 minutes less than the longest day of the year which occurs on the summer solstice in December. Theres not really much to do on the winter solstice except pack some extra layers. Theres also a neat solstice festival happening in Sydney this year if you want to check that out.
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https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2021/06/winter-solstice-australia/
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What Are Insulated Pallet Covers and How to Use Them?
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Temperature-sensitive products are the hardest to transport or store because of the risk of spoilage. Whether its road, sea, or air transport, products like pharmaceuticals and food must be stored in a way that prolongs their lifespan. Insulated pallet blankets are the saving grace for businesses or organizations that transport their products amidst unregulated temperatures. An insulated pallet cover helps maintain the quality and freshness of perishable products in transit. These covers can also regulate the temperature of the products while in storage. Suppliers in charge of large shipments of chemicals, food, and pharmaceuticals rely heavily on pallet blankets to avoid losses caused by spoilage. Other names associated with insulated pallet covers are: Thermal Blankets Thermal Pallet Covers Pallet Blankets Air cargo cover How it works Thermal blankets protect putrefiable goods from extreme weather conditions during shipping. In the cold seasons like Winter, the pallet blankets stabilize the temperature by trapping warmth to keep products above the freezing point for as long as possible. A thermal blanket for food transportation also works during summer when the temperatures are too high. Some of the products that would be ideal for insulated pallet boxes are industrial chemicals, dairy products, electrical products, pharmaceuticals, and frozen foods. Once the supplier packs the products inside the pallets, the insulated pallet cover fits into the pallet like a jacket. The layers in the blanket create a barrier that prevents heat or cold from reaching the products. A foil layer on the thermal blanket minimizes variations by reflecting the sunlight during hot days. Most thermal blanket brands use durable and quality materials to make them functional for an extended period. The industries that benefit from thermal pallet covers are healthcare, food and beverage markets, and chemicals. There are numerous reasons why each of these industries needs thermal blankets. Here is a list of the benefits: Easy to use Environmental-friendly Are reusable Come in standard shapes Are cost-effective Protects goods from extreme weather conditions When buying a thermal pallet cover, some of the things to consider are durability, insulation capacity, and ease of use. Most shipping companies will have other temperature regulation methods like freezers. Even so, always cover your products with pallet covers to be on the safe side. You do not have to use other methods while using thermal blankets because they are effective. However, there is no harm in reinforcement. In containers with insulation liners, the pallets can also be covered with the pallet blanket. Summary Insulated pallet bags protect sensitive products from harsh weather conditions during shipping. Products like food, vaccines, and chemicals could spoil, become unstable, or even unsafe when exposed to anything outside the acceptable temperatures. Pallet blankets are a cost-effective way to help suppliers deliver products to intended destinations in perfect shape. These blankets are reusable, easy to use, and can work on different pallet sizes. A pallet blanket fits on the outside of a pallet and has various layers lined with protective materials like foil, low synthetic fibres, and polyethylene to regulate temperature. About the Author Emily Lamp is a professional writer, working closely with many aspiring thinkers and entrepreneurs from various companies. She is also interested in lifestyle travel, business growth and self-improvement.
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https://neconnected.co.uk/what-are-insulated-pallet-covers-and-how-to-use-them/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-are-insulated-pallet-covers-and-how-to-use-them
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Who Is Wheel Of Fortunes Pat Sajaks Wife?
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Pat Sajak is a household name. His game show, Wheel of Fortune has been a television staple since it debuted in 1975. While we see the TV personality on our TVs all the time, he keeps his personal life out of the spotlight. His wife, Lesly Brown, and their kids also tend to keep a low profile. Heres what we know about the family! Sajaks Career Pat Sajak has been working in television since the 70s. Before hitting the silver screen, Sajak was a radio DJ turned tv news weatherman! Now, he is best known for Wheel of Fortune with co-host Vanna White. The Emmy Award-Winning game show host has had several successful television runs, hosting his own late-night talk show at one point and even having a recurring in a soap opera! The Wheel of Fortune success has been enough to keep him working in Hollywood for several decades. His Wife and Family Before making the move to Los Angeles and marrying Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, Lesly Brown attended the University of Maryland where she studied television production. She graduated with her Bachelors Degree in 1986. She had a successful modeling career working for Playboy and was even crowned Miss Georgetown at one point. She works now as a professional photographer and can occasionally be seen on her husbands show! Pat Sajak married Lesly Brown Sajak in 1989. The pair were introduced by a mutual friend in California and hit it off. It was love at first sight and the pair married when Brown was in her 20s and Sajak was in her 40s! Before meeting Lesly, Pat was married briefly to his first wife, Sherrill Sajak, who he divorced in 1986. Now, Lesly and Pat are happily married and the parents of two children, Maggie Marie Sajak, and Patrick Michael James Sajak. Maggie is a country singer and works on her dads show, while Patrick stays out of the spotlight. Wheel of Fortune Now Wheel of Fortune is still on the air and going strong. However, there have been a few controversies lately. Sajak was accused of mocking a contestant recently, leading to rumors that he may be leaving the show soon. It seems that Sajak is open to possibly leaving the show. I guess we will have to wait and see where the future of the show goes!
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https://rare.us/people/pat-sajak-wife/
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What has happened with the approval of the Cannabis Bill in Costa Rica?
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We have reported a lot on the subject of Cannabis and therefore, Hemp, in Costa Rica, but not the current expectation that the citizens of the Central American country and other nations have. From The Costa Rica News (TCRN), we want to highlight that nations such as: Germany, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Australia, United States, Holland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Mexico , South Africa, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Uruguay and Puerto Rico, have undertaken some type of cannabis regulation. In Latin America at least seven countries have approved marijuana for medicinal purposes, and only one, Uruguay, legalized its use for recreational purposes, becoming the first country in the world to do so. At the end of the year 2020, Argentina approved a new regulation on medicinal cannabis, among which self-cultivation was approved for patients who need the use of the plant. In countries such as Bolivia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Venezuela, marijuana use is illegal in any case. President Carlos Alvarado turns his back on the proposal of the Citizen Action Party A few weeks ago, it became known that the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, keeps turning his back on the proposal of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), to legalize recreational use of marijuana. This project as such is not on the executives priority agenda, added the president. Carolina Hidalgo, a PAC candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, would be willing to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. In this regard, she also considers that the door should be opened to the industrial and medicinal use of the plant, with the aim of generating wealth and new jobs. Deputy Zoila Volio insists on her bill No. 21,388 The independent deputy, Zoila Volio, stressed that she remains concerned about the deterioration in the countrys economy, in the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic, an important effort was made to rule on file 21,388 on Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis. Therefore, she thanked the Agricultural Commission which has seen in this project the opportunity to generate employment and introduce Costa Rica to a new market that is growing exponentially; despite the promise of the President a year ago to support this project, it has not been summoned by the executive, but I will continue to fight hard on this issue, she concluded.
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https://thecostaricanews.com/what-has-happened-with-the-approval-of-the-cannabis-bill-in-costa-rica/
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Where to invest at stock market peak?
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The stock market is hovering around its all time high when the country is dealing with the pandemic in its second, more severe phase. What should be the investment strategy for new and existing investors. Kalpen Parekh, President, DSP Mutual Fund, an AMC which manages assets worth Rs 1 lakh crore provides insights. He says, "Diversified mutual funds are a better vehicle for investors. The lens of investing should not be market cap based investing. In fact, the lens of investing should be around good companies or good prices or a combination of the two. And good companies can be found across market cap." Parekh believes markets have their own mind and investors just need to be disciplined.
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https://www.businesstoday.in/videos/money-today/tips-and-tricks/where-to-invest-at-stock-market-peak/440564.html
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Are Celebrities Accused of #Metoo Making a Slow and Subtle Comeback?
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When the #Metoo movement spread and garnered worldwide exposure in 2017, it brought forward many names from the film fraternity accused of sexual misconduct. It started as a social media movement when Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused by several women and the movement gained momentum when more women started sharing their experiences with the tag Me Too. The moment saw divided opinions from people as some sided with the victims, while others vouched never to work with them again. Crucial productions saw the firing of high profile actors, however, a couple of years down the line, those names are back in the business despite the outrage. It was not long back when actor Aziz Ansari was accused of misconduct by a woman using the pseudonym Grace, who had gone out on a date with him. These allegations came when he was at the peak of his career and his show Master of None was the talk of the town. Needless to say, the allegations put him under the scanner and people were not sure about the future of the series. However, it came back with its third season this year, and Ansari is back with it. Interestingly, Ansari is not the focus of the season, appearing only in two episodes. He, however, directed all of them and co-wrote five of the episodes, making his involvement subtle enough to not start another outrage but important enough to still keep him in the business. Following the same formula, Kevin Spacey is also reportedly making his return to showbiz after the allegations had first surfaced. The actor will not be playing the lead but is said to make a cameo in Franco Neros upcoming Italian movie called Luomo Che Disegn Dio. Back in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp revealed he made sexual advances towards him when the latter was 14, Spacey was fired by Netflix from House Of Cards and Sony had re-cast his role in All The Money in the World. However, when Nero was asked about these allegations on his actor, he said he believed it was false. Story continues The list of influential celebrities trying to whitewash their image after Metoo allegations is a long and tiring one. Surprising enough, it doesnt matter that some of them confirmed the stories surrounding them. In 2017, comedian Louis CK was accused by five women of sexual misconduct, charges that he said were true and promised to step back and take a long time to listen. The comedian might have misunderstood the concept of time as he continues to perform. To further understand how these celebrities are making a comeback, one doesnt need to look far away at Hollywood, as even our homegrown industry is not free of such personalities. Bollywoods poster boy of culture and tradition, actor Alok Nath was accused of rape by TV producer Vinta Nanda. At the time of the accusations, the sanskari babuji of television had already finished shooting a major portion of Ajay Devgns film De De Pyar De. Despite issuing a strong statement that neither Ajay nor his team wants to be associated with anyone accused of sexual misconduct, the film went ahead with Alok Nath. When the movement started, a high profile filmmaker like Sajid Khan, too, had to step down from his film, Housefull 4. After a gap of some time, producer Firoz Nadiadwala turned into a saviour for him as he decided to collaborate with Sajid. The reason being, I cant abandon him just because it is fashionable to do. Firoz also made headlines for teaming up with Nana Patekar, the first actor in Bollywood to be accused of Metoo. There are a lot of unanswered questions but it is clear that no number of women coming out with their stories can hamper their image and they continue to live their life as if they were on a short vacation and now, they are back. Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
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https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/celebrities-accused-metoo-making-slow-032543955.html?src=rss
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Is our own an unknown government?
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Perceptibly, some spokespersons, aides and government appointees are seemingly the ones calling the shots in the apex office in Nigeria. The manner in which they stand in for the President is more than ever what is obtainable in contemporary governance. Undeniably, delegated responsibility takes place in most organisations so that the bulky task of running an organisation does not fall on one individual; but there is a limit to which responsibilities should be delegated. In fact, the task of addressing the nation and taking stands on critical national issues should be the sole prerogative of the President, quod erat demonstrandum. With the benefit of hindsight, I shouldnt have pointed out this issue when someone who should know better, a leading journalist and spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, had already declared that Nigerians have no right to demand a presidential address from their President about a year ago during a call-in session on a live programme aired by a national radio station. In saner climes, elected leaders are most often than not charismatic people with immense appeal to the public. The auras they parade tend to showcase the state of their nations dignity. When you hear them speak on television, they do it with such kind of charisma that makes ones eyes glued to the telly and mouth ajar in awe at the manner of captivation they evoke. Oftentimes, they are seen addressing key national and international issues, dousing tension in issues that have overheated their polities, de-escalating national crises and building up the morale of their citizens thereby reverberating their nationalistic spirit. Succinctly, they are very active in the public domain. Some keen observers get mesmerised by such kind of leaders and often wish to be ruled by them. In contrast, the same cannot be said of our nation where the leaders seem to be totally disconnected from the people they are meant to lead. Ascertaining the veracity of the preceding claim is a no-brainer: Just simply figure out how many times your elected representatives- federal and state lawmakers- and public office holders have statutorily engaged their constituency members to know their needs and problems. Hardly ever, I guess. Rather, you only see them approach their constituency, with all humility, during electioneering to solicit votes. There is no gainsaying that when merit, experience, competence, and strength of character are entrenched in the leadership culture of any nation, the best brains are normally found in the positions of leadership. Perhaps, there is no other shortcut to building a great nation other than this simple fact. On the flip side, where mediocrity, nepotism, cronyism, sectionalism thrive, charlatans, clowns and sycophants hold sway in positions of leaderships of such places. The latter case typifies the state in Nigeria. Perhaps, the recent divisive and inciting statement credited to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, where he alluded to the ban of spare parts trading in the North by the Northern governors as being the same to an earlier resolution of the Southern governors to ban open grazing of cattle in the South speaks volumes about the inherent form of morals and value judgment found in some of the leaders we have in place. Whereas the spare parts dealers are legal and legitimate business owners whose activities do not in any way constitute any public disturbance, but rather add value to the economy of their respective states by way of the taxes and returns they remit to their host states, the herdsmen obviously disrupt public peace as they have been alleged to maim and kill their unsuspecting victims as well as destroy the farmlands of their host communities. I watched with utter dismay on Channels Television Sunday Politics of May 30, 2021, where Garba Shehu, the media and publicity aide to President Buhari, claimed that his principal had performed better than all his predecessors since 1999. Alas, on that same day prior to making this claim a chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Ahmed Gulak, and the chief provost of Nigerian Immigration Service in Imo state, OkiemuteMrere, were both reportedly assassinated in Owerri, the Imo State capital; a member of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Ismai Danbaba, was kidnapped while travelling to Jos; gunmen attacked and burned the police state Criminal Investigation Department in Umuahia, Abia State; bandits abducted some schoolchildren from an Islamic school in Rafi LGA, Niger state; a former judge of Enugu state high court, Stanley Nnaji, was murdered in Enugu; a businessman, Linus Owuamanam, was assassinated in Ibadan, Oyo State; nine people were reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Isi-uzo LGA, Enugu State; gunmen abducted a lecturer from the staff quarters of the Taraba State University in Jalingo; suspected Fulani herdsmen killed a pregnant woman identified as Theresa Tartsegha in Keana LGA of Nasarawa State. Most of the countrys economic indicators show a deplorable outlook when compared to their previous status in 2015 when Buhari assumed office. This compendium of tragic events leaves one with the shuddering impression that the government of the day and its handlers seem not to be sensitive to the horrible plight of Nigerians. Whats more, one may assume that there is no government in the land. Of course, leadership positions in government are too sacrosanct and should not be left in the hands of mere political errand boys, political jobbers, and surrogates whose sole intent is to always be in the good books of their master. Chigozie is a researcher and financial analyst based in Owerri, Imo State. [email protected] Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: [email protected]
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https://punchng.com/is-our-own-an-unknown-government/
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Can Thai skincare brands ever compete with K-beauty or J-beauty?
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If you have ever travelled to Thailand, you know how pervasive the beauty industry is in the country. Billboard ads for whitening creams, sunscreen lotions and snail masks are everywhere in cities like Bangkok, where department stores and pharmacies sell a wide variety of products catering to the locals obsession with skincare. According to market researcher Euromonitor, the retail value of the skincare category in Thailand, Southeast Asias second largest economy, was US$2.65 billion (S$3.5 billion) in 2020. That number does not include make-up and personal care products. If you look into the data, however, youll see that in spite of a thriving home-grown wellness sector spas and massage parlours are a big part of Thailands culture and a major draw for international tourists the countrys skincare market is dominated by global corporations such as LOreal, Beiersdorf, Este Lauder, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Shiseido . While other Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan have become key global players in the field think of the worldwide success of K-beauty and J-beauty Thailand has only made small progress in exporting its home-grown brands. Virithipa Pakdeeprasong, a Thai actress better known by her nickname Woonsen, is aiming to redefine Thai beauty and plans to bring it to the rest of the world with her skincare brand, Sewa. Like Western celebrities such as Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Alba, the 40-year-old, who started out as a veejay on pan-Asian music channel Channel V 20 years ago and has more than 8 million followers on Instagram, leveraged her success in the entertainment industry to found her brand, which she did in 2017. Ive always been interested in beauty and I have been a judge of beauty products for Marie Claire magazine, says Woonsen on a video call. They would send, like, 1,000 products and I would test them for three months. I got to try a lot and I learned what works and what doesnt, and what Thai women want. While Sewa is ostensibly a Thai brand, theres a catch. The company makes its products in South Korea, where Woonsen is able to source the best ginseng a core ingredient in her product lines, which have since expanded to include other formulations. My initial concept was to use ginseng because its one of the best ingredients, not just to ingest but also for your skin. When you take ginseng you feel strong, says Woonsen. Thai people associate beauty with K-beauty and products that are made in the West, like Switzerland or France or Korea if its Asia so it helps with credibility and standards to produce in South Korea. Defining what makes Sewa stand out from the countless other skincare labels that are available in Thailand, however, is no easy task especially in a crowded sector like beauty. We aspire to be like LOreal one day, says Woonsen, who emphasises the affordability of her products when compared to those from brands like South Koreas Sulwhasoo. For me, its very important to keep it accessible because the brand is young. The only way for us to compete with LOreal and Sulwhasoo is quality and price. Thailand has so many brands but often the marketing doesnt reflect the quality. For me, quality and marketing go together, and thats why I use myself to promote it. Woonsen self-funded Sewa with a business partner and believes that, as a prominent celebrity in her home country, she has a lot at stake. I use myself and my reputation of 20 years to talk about the brand, so I have to make a quality brand as opposed to other brands that just hire an ambassador who doesnt even use the products, she says. I actually send it to people and my ambassadors, and ask them to use it. My credibility is at stake and its the same with my fans. Its really a direct-to-consumer approach. Sewa is available in chemists such as Boots and Watsons in Thailand, but mainly relies on its online channels, including live-streaming, for most of its sales, which were affected by the coronavirus pandemic but have since recovered, says Woonsen, thanks to loyal customers who have kept coming back for repeat purchases. While Sewa caters to a range of needs, Woonsen explains that her products mainly target four issues: ageing, moisturising, reducing freckles and minimising pores, which she says are what Thai women want from their skincare. Woonsen recognises that whitening is an important part of the Thai ideal of beauty but believes that things have changed in recent years, thanks to the explosion of social media and the rise of Western celebrities like Kim Kardashian . In the past, people associated Thai beauty with whitening and white skin, she says. We were influenced by the media if youre fairer, youre prettier but now its more about the quality of your skin, the idea of whitening as in brightening. Every woman wants to have bright and flawless skin. Thailand is also one of the top markets for plastic surgery, which Woonsen says has boomed in the last two decades. Back in the day, it was almost taboo, you did it but didnt talk about it. Now people start doing it younger and younger, like when theyre 17, which I think is quite fast, she says. Kids do it, and some transgender [people] start their transition when theyre teenagers. You also have social media, K-beauty and K-dramas, and young people want to attain that look through plastic surgery. Woonsen has grand ambitions for Sewa, which is still in its early stages of growth and dwarfed in size by the superbrands dominating the Thai market. Her focus on combining South Korean ingredients such as red ginseng with Thai beauty principles makes for a unique formula that could easily resonate in countries such as China, where she is planning to expand next. But as her experience as a founder shows, building a brand that resonates globally is no easy feat, even coming from a beauty-obsessed culture such as Thailand. This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
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https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/can-thai-skincare-brands-ever-compete-k-beauty-or-j-beauty
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Why Are We Motivated By Incentives?
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Starting Tuesday, Minnesotans can earn a reward for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Its part of a new state program aimed at getting more shots in arms. Good Question. Jeff Wagner learned the answer starts very early in life but changes as we get older. When asking people near the Stone Arch Bridge about vaccine incentives, their first thoughts went straight to states not named Minnesota. I think a popular one is Ohio. Everybody knows the lottery and the amount of money that you could have won, said Christina Weber. A million dollars was the lottery prize in Ohio. A 14-year-old boy and 22-year-old woman earned the money for rolling up their sleeves. Minnesota went the Minnesota route, meaning you could get a free fishing license, State Fair admission, or state park pass among other choices. Its a really good example of positive reinforcement, operant conditioning, said Fiyyaz Karim, a University of Minnesota Professor who specializes in behavioral health and addiction counseling. Looking at those external rewards as a motivation to change certain desired behavior. Its actually a little bit of both because I think we are born innately with certain temperaments and personality styles, Karim said. Incentives can be taught in parenting techniques as well, like telling a child they only get dessert if they finish their vegetables. Those different rewards help to establish healthy routines and behaviors, Karim said. As we grow up, Karim says motivation often comes from within, known as intrinsic motivation. That could mean getting vaccinated because you feel its the right thing to do. Its about having personal satisfaction versus receiving a reward. I think for us being involved with health care, I think its easier for us to think more so for herd immunity, said Caen Grooters. For me its like, how can we do the most for the people around us? added Maggie Schriener. Your job could be considered incentive motivated. If you work, you get paid. Hopefully, theres internal motivation as well. As an educator, as a teacher, I have a passion for teaching and I enjoy having that positive change on others, said Karim. Thousands of Minnesotans missed the boat on getting a vaccine incentive, but there is one external reward everyone gets to enjoy. I thought the more people that get vaccinated, the faster we can get back to normal, the faster were gonna be able to do things and get back together with people and life will kind of resume, said Weber. Those activities and the meaning that we have with those relationships, those activities I think is a very big external force, Karim added. Minnesotas incentive program is paid for through federal COVID-19 funding, similar to the lottery system in other states. If youre planning to get vaccinated and want to register to get for an incentive, click here.
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https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/06/01/why-are-we-motivated-by-incentives/
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Which States Have Banned Vaccine Passports?
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As inoculations against COVID-19 continue across the country, more governors and state legislatures are taking action to prevent vaccination from As inoculations against COVID-19 continue across the country, more governors and state legislatures are taking action to prevent vaccination from being a requirement to access certain goods and services. The concept, broadly referred to as vaccine passports, provides proof of vaccination for activities such as traveling or attending concerts. Americans level of support for the idea varies by activity, according to a May 7 Gallup survey. A majority of respondents favor mandated vaccination certification for airplane travel (57%) and attendance at crowded events, such as concerts or sports (55%). But a majority of those surveyed also oppose proving inoculation status to go to ones workplace, stay at a hotel or dine indoors at a restaurant. [SEE: Find Out What Your State Is Doing About Coronavirus] Officials in the Joe Biden administration have repeatedly insisted that there arent plans for a federal vaccine passport system. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a May 21 press briefing that requiring proof of vaccination is not in the administrations intended plan. Despite that, some governors mostly Republican are taking action on vaccine passports. Heres where states stand on COVID-19 vaccine passports: Vaccine Passports in Alabama Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on May 24 signed a bill that bans businesses and government entities across the state from requiring coronavirus vaccine passports. Among several provisions, the bill states that an entity or individual doing business in this state may not refuse to provide any goods or services, or refuse to allow admission, to a customer based on the customers immunization status or lack of documentation that the customer has received an immunization. The law limits the requirements to vaccines approved as of Jan. 1, 2021. Vaccine Passports in Alaska Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy on April 26 issued an administrative order clarifying for the public that the states Executive Branch does not, and will not, require any person to produce their personal vaccine history, also referred to as a vaccine Passport, in order to travel to, or around, Alaska. The order also, however, notes that it will not infringe on the rights of private businesses and that the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system is still allowed to inform passengers on long haul trips of the voluntary choice the passenger can make to provide proof of vaccination and avoid the need for a negative test before boarding. Vaccine Passports in Arizona Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, on April 19 issued an executive order prohibiting state and local government agencies from requiring residents to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status to receive service or enter an area, according to a news release. There are some exceptions, including health care institutions. Ducey added in a statement, While we strongly recommend all Arizonans get the COVID-19 vaccine, its not mandated in our state and it never will be. Vaccination is up to each individual, not the government. Vaccine Passports in Arkansas Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, on April 28 signed into law various measures that prevent state and local governments from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of employment or to access goods and services, according to The Associated Press. The ban on requirements related to employment has some exceptions, including state-owned medical facilities. The measure related to goods and services access is tied to the concept of vaccine passports. [SEE: The Latest Coronavirus News] Vaccine Passports in California Vaccine passports are not required in this state. California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said on May 21 that while the state will not require an official vaccine passport for residents when it lifts restrictions on June 15, it will mandate that indoor events with at least 5,000 people verify inoculation or a negative COVID-19 test, according to The Mercury News. Vaccine Passports in Colorado Vaccine passports are not required in this state. While there is currently no vaccine passport program in the state, Colorado health department officials said in early April that they were at least exploring the possibility of it, according to The Associated Press. But Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said that such a program would be unlikely, CPR News reported. There is no comprehensive way to have a state vaccination passport, he said, according to the outlet. It violates peoples privacy. Theres no practical way to implement it. Legislation was introduced in the state, however, that would have banned discrimination against clients, patrons or customers based on their COVID-19 vaccination status, according to an April 27 memo from the National Conference of State Legislatures. The bill failed to pass. Vaccine Passports in Connecticut Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has said that he doesnt see the demand in the state for a vaccine passport system but that programs could be introduced through the private sector, according to The Connecticut Post. If I had businesses and others saying, Boy itd really be handy if the state came in and helped made sure some digital platform is in place, wed take a look at it, the governor said in May, according to the outlet. I havent gotten that request though. I think most businesses are able to do it themselves. Vaccine Passports in Delaware Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Democratic Gov. John Carney said during a May 18 coronavirus briefing that, Were not going to be in the business of asking people for a so-called vaccine passport, according to WHYY. The governor also acknowledged that enforcing updated mask-related rules on those who havent been vaccinated will be nearly impossible, the outlet reported. Vaccine Passports in Florida Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was one of the first governors to issue an executive order related to vaccine passports. His action, issued on April 2, ordered that no state government entity be permitted to issue vaccine passports, vaccine passes or other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying an individuals COVID-19 vaccination status to a third party. The order also prohibits businesses from requiring similar documentation to enter or get services from a business. DeSantis also signed into law a similar bill as described by the National Conference of State Legislatures from the state Legislature in early May. Vaccine Passports in Georgia Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on May 25 issued an executive order prohibiting state-operated vaccine passport programs. The order states that no state agency, provider of state services or state property shall implement a vaccine passport program or otherwise require an individual to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition to enter the premises of or conduct business with a state agency. Kemp said in a statement on Twitter that vaccination is a personal decision between each citizen and a medical professional not state government. Vaccine Passports in Hawaii Vaccine passports have been implemented in this state. Starting May 11, fully vaccinated individuals in Hawaii who uploaded their proof of vaccination to the states Safe Travels system were allowed to travel inter-county without pre-travel testing and quarantine restrictions. Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, said in late May that he is targeting July 4 for allowing vaccinated out-of-state travelers to come to Hawaii and bypass restrictions through a similar system, according to Forbes. Vaccine Passports in Idaho Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Brad Little on April 7 issued an executive order prohibiting government agencies from producing COVID-19 vaccine passports or requiring such proof as a condition of accessing state services. Within the order, Little said that the state mandating the vaccine or issuing vaccine passports is contrary to his core values as an Idahoan and conservative. Vaccine Passports in Illinois Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said April 30 that the state will not create a way for residents to show they have been vaccinated. Pritzker, a Democrat, did note that for those who want a way to show their vaccination status, the state may look for some way to have an electronic measure available, according to NBC Chicago. Vaccine Passports in Indiana Vaccine passports are banned in this state. House Bill 1405, signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 29, prohibits the state or a local unit from issuing or requiring a COVID-19 immunization passport. ' There has since been some confusion over how it applies to state universities, according to FOX-59. Vaccine Passports in Iowa Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, on May 20 approved a bill that prohibits businesses and government entities from requiring people to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to enter their premises, and notes that state grants and contracts shall not be awarded to or renewed with entities that violate this provision. The law also prohibits government agencies from issuing identification cards that include COVID-19 vaccination status. Reynolds signed the legislation about six weeks after publicly saying she intended to take a stand against the use of the so-called vaccine passports, according to the Des Moines Register. [READ: These Are the States With Mask Mandates During the Coronavirus Pandemic] Vaccine Passports in Kansas Vaccine passports are not required in this state. The Kansas Legislature in May passed a budget that includes language banning vaccine passports from being a requirement for entering a state government building or receiving related services, according to KAKE. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said previously that she has no interest in the state issuing vaccine passports, according to the AP. Vaccine Passports in Kentucky Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Louisiana Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Louisiana lawmakers have been advancing a bill that takes aim at vaccine passports, even though state officials have not indicated plans for any vaccine requirement, according to the AP. The bill is pending and would prohibit requirements such as having proof of vaccination on drivers licenses. Vaccine Passports in Maine Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Maryland Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Massachusetts Vaccine passports are not required in this state. While no bans have been passed in Massachusetts, Republican Gov. Charlie Bakers response to an April question about whether state officials were planning to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine passport was simple, according to The Boston Globe: No, no, no. Vaccine Passports in Michigan Vaccine passports are not required in this state. The Michigan Legislature is advancing a bill that would ban the state governments use of a vaccine passport system, Michigan Radio reported in May. The bill is pending. Vaccine Passports in Minnesota Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said in April that he has no intention of doing vaccine passports, according to KSTP. The state Legislature put forth a bill that would prohibit government entities or businesses from requiring proof of vaccination in order to enter a building open to the general public, according to the NCSL, but it is pending. Vaccine Passports in Mississippi Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said during an April appearance on CNN that he doesnt think vaccine passports are necessary or a good thing to do in America, according to the Clarion Ledger. A failed bill in the Mississippi Legislature would have prohibited public and private employers from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the NCSL. Vaccine Passports in Missouri Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Two separate bills that would have prohibited COVID-19 vaccination requirements have not passed in the Missouri Legislature, according to the NCSL. Vaccine Passports in Montana Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on April 13 issued an executive order banning the development or use of vaccine passports, according to the AP. The governor said in a statement that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is entirely voluntary and will not be mandated by the state of Montana, nor compelled through vaccine passports, vaccine passes, or other compulsory means. Vaccine Passports in Nebraska Vaccine passports are not required in this state. While no ban has been passed in Nebraska, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a statement on March 31 clarifying that the state will not participate in any vaccine passport program, while adding that such a system violates freedom of movement and healthcare privacy. Vaccine Passports in Nevada Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in New Hampshire Vaccine passports are not required in this state. The New Hampshire state Legislature has put forth a bill that would prohibit the state government from requiring people to get vaccinated or possess a vaccine passport, according to CBS Boston. The legislation Senate Bill 155, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader is still pending. Vaccine Passports in New Jersey Vaccine passports are not required in this state. New Jersey Republican State Sen. Michael Testa proposed a bill in late April that would prohibit the state from requiring businesses to make customers prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to WHYY. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said during a news conference that while he has been open-minded to the concept of vaccine passports, he also worries about the inequities that [vaccine passports] brings, frankly, the outlet also reported. Vaccine Passports in New Mexico Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in New York Vaccine passports have been implemented in this state. New York has introduced a government-sponsored digital vaccine passport program called the Excelsior Pass, according to the AP. The smartphone app shows whether someone has been vaccinated or recently tested negative for COVID-19. New York is the first state to implement such a system, according to The New York Times. At least some sports and performance venues, such as Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium, have used Excelsior Pass to prove vaccination Vaccine Passports in North Carolina Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Concerned that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper might require a vaccine passport in North Carolina, a group of Republican lawmakers sent a letter to him in April saying such a requirement would be a violation of residents constitutional rights, according to WFAE. Vaccine Passports in North Dakota Vaccine passports are banned in this state. North Dakota enacted a law that puts a limited ban on vaccine passports in the state after other failed attempts by its Legislature, according to The Bismarck Times. The law bans state and local governments from requiring inoculation proof documents and prohibits businesses with some exceptions from requiring vaccination documents of customers and patrons for access, entry or services, the outlet reported. The Legislature also passed a resolution urging Congress to refrain from issuing a vaccine passport. Vaccine Passports in Ohio Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Ohio Health Director Stephanie McCloud said on May 17 that the state is not considering a digital vaccine verification system, according to Spectrum News. Vaccine Passports in Oklahoma Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Oregon Vaccine passports are not required in this state. The Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services said in a May 19 statement, in response to the state Health Authoritys new guidelines for fully vaccinated people, that if an employer chooses to allow either employees or visitors to the workplace to make use of the vaccine exemption, the employer does not need to enforce the physical distancing and facial covering requirements in relation to those individuals provided that the employer verifies the vaccination status of such individuals. [READ: What to Know About Coronavirus Vaccine Passports and Travel] The statement also notes that if an individual who claims to be vaccinated but refuses to provide verification of vaccination status, the employer need take no further action but must enforce the physical distancing and facial covering requirements without regard to the exemption. A conservative group called the Freedom Foundation said in a May 26 news release that it is prepared to fight (Democratic Gov. Kate Brown) in court over this ludicrous vaccine passport system. Vaccine Passports in Pennsylvania Vaccine passports are not required in this state. State Senate Republicans in Pennsylvania in late May were advancing a bill that would ban governments and school districts but not private businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for access to services or to enter buildings, according to the AP. Vaccine Passports in Rhode Island Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Led by Rhode Island state Rep. David Place, a Republican, lawmakers introduced legislation that would prohibit any proof of vaccine requirement to enter a public building, private business college or university, according to WJAR. The bill was held for further study in early April. Vaccine Passports in South Carolina Vaccine passports are banned in this state. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, on May 11 issued an executive order banning vaccine passports in the state. Vaccine Passports in South Dakota Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on April 21 issued an executive order banning the development or use of COVID-19 vaccine passports in South Dakota, according to the AP. Noem said in a statement, We are not going to restrict South Dakotans exercise of their freedoms with un-American policies like vaccine passports. Vaccine Passports in Tennessee Vaccine passports are not required in this state. The Tennessee Senate passed a bill in April that would ban government-issued vaccine passports, according to WZTV. Before that, Republican Gov. Bill Lee said on April 6 that he thinks vaccine passports are a bad idea, according to the AP. Vaccine Passports in Texas Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on April 6 issued an executive order banning state agencies or political subdivisions in the state from creating a vaccine passport requirement. The order also prohibits organizations receiving public funds from requiring consumers to provide documentation of vaccine status in order to receive any service or enter any place. Vaccine Passports in Utah Vaccine passports are partially banned in this state. A bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox prohibits the Utah state government from requiring people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but private companies are not forbidden from doing so, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Vaccine Passports in Vermont Vaccine passports are not required in this state. While a bill was introduced in the Vermont General Assembly that would have prohibited the use of COVID-19 vaccine passports in the state, the legislation did not advance. Vaccine Passports in Virginia Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Washington Vaccine passports are not required in this state. While such passports are not required in Washington, new workplace guidelines released by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries on May 21 note that fully vaccinated employees do not have to wear a mask or socially distance as long as they either sign a document attesting to their status or provide proof of vaccination. Vaccine Passports in West Virginia Vaccine passports are not required in this state. Vaccine Passports in Wisconsin Vaccine passports are not required in this state. A Wisconsin Legislature bill would have prohibited employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or show proof of having received such a vaccine, according to the NCSL, but it has not advanced. Vaccine Passports in Wyoming Vaccine passports are banned in this state. Republican Gov. originally appeared on usnews.com
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https://wtop.com/news/2021/05/which-states-have-banned-vaccine-passports/
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Who are the leading diabetes monitoring device developers?
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Roots Analysis has announced the addition of Diabetes Monitoring Devices Market, 2020-2030 report to its list of offerings. Over time, a number of companies have developed advanced variants of the conventional blood glucose monitoring devices, which are portable, and minimally / non-invasive. Many such next generation solutions have connectivity features that enable patients health data to be captured and shared with medical professionals, upon request. In addition, there are a number of innovative continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, which are designed to provide real-time insights on blood glucose levels. Newer variants of these products have intuitive software that enables patients to quickly make important treatment-related decisions. Key Market Insights More than 240 diabetes monitoring devices are presently available / under development Over 80% of the devices are currently marketed, while the rest are in under preclinical / clinical evaluation. It is worth highlighting that majority of the devices mentioned in the report are self-blood glucose monitors (80%), which are followed by continuous blood glucose monitoring devices (20%). Over 80 companies, across the globe, presently claim to develop diabetes monitoring devices Most (46%) of the device developers are located in North America, primarily in the US; whereas, in Europe, companies involved in the development of disease monitoring solutions for diabetics are mostly based in Germany, Switzerland, the UK and France. It is worth highlighting that around 50% of the industry stakeholders are small companies Multiple big pharma players also have significant stake in this field Top three big pharmaceutical companies are engaged in developing diabetes monitoring device, either in-house or in partnership with other stakeholders Partnership activity within this domain has grown at a CAGR of 11%, between 2015 and 2019 The maximum number of partnerships related to diabetes monitoring devices, were inked in 2019. Majority of the agreements were related to the integration of the products / technologies of the partnering companies, in order to develop an advanced, technically superior offering; these constituted over 50% of the total number of instances captured in the report. North America and Europe are anticipated to capture over 50% market share, by 2030 In addition, the market in Asia Pacific is projected to capture over 25% market share, by 2030. Further, the current market is driven by revenues generated from the sales of self-monitoring blood glucose devices (over 79%), which is followed contributions from continuous glucose monitoring device sales (21%). Considering that type 1 diabetics have a greater need of such disease monitoring solutions (owing to the fact that they are on an insulin dependent treatment regimen), their contributions, in terms of revenues from product sales, are likely to continue to represent the higher market share (94%) in 2030. The USD 34 billion (by 2030) financial opportunity within the diabetes monitoring devices market has been analyzed across the following segments: Type of Device Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Devices Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Diabetes Type Diabetes Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Devices Lancing Devices Blood Glucose Meters Testing Strips Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Sensors Transmitters Receivers Key Geographies North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East and North Africa Rest of the World The research includes detailed profiles of key players (listed below) in this field, featuring an overview of the company, its technology portfolio, product portfolio, financial information (if available), recent developments and an informed future outlook. APExBIO Ascensia Diabetes Care i-SENS Oak Tree Health SD Biosensor TaiDoc Technology VivaChek Laboratories Request for Customization: https://www.rootsanalysis.com/reports/diabetes-monitoring-devices-market/request-sample.html
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https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/141331/who-are-the-leading-diabetes-monitoring-device-developers
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Should Mare of Easttown have a season 2?
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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Mare of Easttown Season 1, Episode 7, Sacrament.] All good things come to an end, even gripping HBO dramas Easttown mare. Most limited series will only last one season, but there have been a few exceptions in the past, especially when it comes to other HBO dramas. Big little lies, who after the success of his first seasons, was renewed for a second round, adding an additional A-lister to the mix with Meryl Streep. One thing is certain after the final episode and that is the fact that the Erin McMenamins (Cailee Spaeny) case has been resolved. Each loose end was strapped in tightly and comfortably, providing a satisfying package for viewers in the shows final moments. When TV Insider met the creator and the writer Brad Ingelsby earlier this season, he had promised closure by the final episode. Once you get to the end, all those threads are resolved, Ingelsby had said, foreshadowing that they would conclude satisfactorily and surprisingly. Surprising is a way of describing the shows finale which revealed that it wasnt many of the prime suspects who killed Erin, but rather her young cousin Ryan Ross (Cameron Mann) who accidentally shot her after trying to scare him with the gun. While this case may be over, there is certainly room to offer Mare new opportunities and new business. Still, the semblance of peace Easttown finds at the end of the show could be better left untouched. It would be a tall order to complete. Tell us what you think Easttown mare and whether or not it should have a second season in the comments and poll section, below. Easttown mare, Streaming Now, HBO Max 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/entertainment/958593/
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Which GTA San Andreas villain deserved the worst fate in the story?
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Some despicable villains deserve a worse fate than others within GTA San Andreas. For the sake of clarity, a GTA villain will be assumed to just be an antagonist toward the GTA protagonist. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of Grand Theft Auto characters cannot be considered good, so this distinction is made clear so that readers won't clump several questionable characters under the "villain" title. There are many types of antagonists to consider for an article like this. Minor ones often get what's coming to them, so a character like Kane doesn't deserve the worst fate in the story. That said, there are more notable characters who deserved the fate they got and so much more. Beta artwork of Officer Tenpenny (Image via Rockstar Games) As previously mentioned, most GTA San Andreas villains got what was coming to them. There aren't many Karma Houdinis to discuss, as the vast majority of villains in the game get killed in one way or another. The main villains, Officer Tenpenny and Big Smoke, die at the end of the game. However, there are different ways to interpret who deserved the worse fate amongst the two. Then there are also the lesser villains, like Officer Pulaski, to consider. Like with the two major villains listed above, these lesser antagonists also get their just desserts throughout the events of GTA San Andreas. The minor villains of GTA San Andreas OG Loc has a better fate than most in GTA San Andreas (Image via Ezekial (DeviantArt)) Out of the minor villains in GTA San Andreas, only OG Loc gets away virtually scot-free. He still has a successful career (in the HD canon, at least), so he unquestionably has the best ending out of all of the villains in GTA San Andreas. Although one could argue that he deserved worse, he didn't really do much of a crime other than plagiarising some verses. That's bad, but ultimately, petty compared to what other GTA antagonists have done. Some minor villains, like Salvatore Leone and Catalina, get a brutal ending, but that doesn't take place in GTA San Andreas. For what Salvatore does, his end makes sense in GTA San Andreas. As for Catalina, fans could argue that she deserved much worse for what she did in GTA San Andreas, but it wouldn't be possible given the context of what happens in GTA 3. The secondary villains of GTA San Andreas Jizzy B and T-Bone Mendez got what was coming to them (Image via GTA Wiki) Practically all of these secondary villains get killed, so the only fate fans could argue for would be one worse than death. Somebody like Officer Pulaski could be argued in that he deserved worse than just a stomp. Others like Jizzy B and T-Bone Mendez have ruined many lives through their drug trade, but the true extent of such damage isn't documented that well in GTA San Andreas. Hence, it would be difficult to argue for characters like them deserving a worse fate than what they got. (Image via Devil_Slayer Productions) Out of the two primary villains, Officer Tenpenny is arguably the worst of the two personality-wise. However, Big Smoke's actions are arguably worse in that his massive drug trade is ruining the streets of Los Santos. That's not to mention how he betrayed his friends for the sake of power. Either way, it's easy to argue that both villains deserved worse than what they got. Death is a brutal end, all things considered, but some people could see it as not comparable to the amount of damage they caused. However, at that point, it becomes a matter of philosophy regarding if there is a fate worse than death and what it would be. The GTA series is quite simple in its story, so it's never been that deep, which in turn would just leave this topic's question to become "Which villain deserved their fated end the most in GTA San Andreas?" The three likely candidates The three most likely candidates for that kind of question would be Big Smoke, Officer Tenpenny, and Officer Pulaski. However, the latter is essentially a lighter version of Tenpenny in terms of notoriety and crimes. He outranks Pulaski, so most of the crimes in GTA San Andreas are happening on Tenpenny's watch, not so much Pulaski's. That would leave it to just be Officer Tenpenny or Big Smoke. The latter is the more likable of the two for most fans, so they would be more inclined to say that Officer Tenpenny deserves the worse fate. That said, Tenpenny is the one who corrupts Big Smoke, so he is to be blamed for the atrocities Big Smoke is involved in. In a way, Officer Tenpenny is the one who causes most of the wrongdoings in GTA San Andreas. He influences Big Smoke, who affects several other characters in the Los Santos and San Fierro storyline, which in turn causes many of the problems CJ bumps into.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/gta/which-gta-san-andreas-villain-deserved-worst-fate-story
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Is local news really infrastructure?
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This week in Washington IP news, both houses of Congress remain quiet as the Senate and the House of Representatives enter scheduled work periods. Among policy institutes, however, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation explores the impacts of deepfakes and disinformation on democratic processes, and hosts its seventh Dynamic Antitrust event, which looks at how antitrust regulators can better incorporate the realities of innovation into enforcement activities. The Brookings Institution will look at the positive and negative aspects of President Bidens recent $100 billion proposal to build out broadband infrastructure across the U.S. Finally, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will host its first public roundtable on the agencys plans to implement the Trademark Modernization Act, and agency historian Adam Bisno will host a webinar looking at licensing activities surrounding the first issued U.S. patent.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2263932446162/is-local-news-really-infrastructure
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Where Are We in the Hydrogen Hype Cycle?
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The excitement around green hydrogen has grown dramatically in recent years. This week, we turn to technologist, author and investor Ramez Naam. Ramez and Shayle examine the drivers behind cost improvement -- namely the costs of electricity and different electrolyzer technologies -- and why they are likely still a long way off the deep declines hydrogen needs to scale. They also cover the hurdles hydrogen may face along the way to scale, including fierce competition from grey hydrogen, fossil fuels, and electrification. The answer: Probably not where you need it, which is a problem given the cost and difficulty of transporting hydrogen. Ramez breaks down the policy strategies in Europe, North American, Japan and Australia. They also assess Michael Liebreichs grades for hydrogen end uses (Ramez gives ground transport an F). They find clues in the early days of the solar market. The Interchange is brought to you by Enel X, a leader in energy storage, DER management software, and smart electric vehicle charging stations to increase project value. Learn what Enel X can do for your business. The Interchange is brought to you by Smarter Grid Solutions, a leading enterprise energy management software company. Find out how Smarter Grid Solutions software can give you real control over your clean energy assets.
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https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/where-are-we-in-the-hydrogen-hype-cycle?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreentechMedia+%28Greentech+Media%29
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Whats the BEST candy in West Virginia?
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HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) Its June and that means its also the sweetest month of the year. As if you needed another excuse to give in to your sweet tooth, its officially National Candy Month. And in a world of so many options from sour and gummy to hard and sweet it seems everyone has their own personal favorite. My favorite candys probably laffy taffy. I dont get it that often, but if I have a go to thats usually what I pick, says one resident, Rileigh Snavely. Another Huntington resident, Will Meadows, says he ultimately favors all pink starburst. The manager at Candy Craze in Barboursville, Brittnee Ellison, says in her store people tend to gravitate more toward the chocolate double dip peanuts. She says they have a hard time keeping them in stock and explains, everyone wants them all the time. After speaking with more resident downtown, it was clear they had different opinions on what they thought might be the most popular candy in West Virginia. Probably recess cups. I see everybody buying them, a lot, says Callie Custer. Still, another resident, June Bong, seemed to look a little closer to home with her answer. She told us she believed butter fingers are the choice of the Mountain State, because that was always her grandfathers favorite. However, according to CandyStore.com, across the West Virginia, the most popular candies, based on sales, are actually Blow Pops and Mini Hershey Bars. The study also gave an honorable mention to Milky Ways which fell in third place. Still, you cant go wrong with your own preference. So, whether youre looking for something to get you out of a sour patch, something sweet and salty, or you just want to reminisce with some of the classics you may have forgotten about, feel free to use this month as justification to fulfill any sweet cravings.
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https://www.wowktv.com/top-stories/whats-the-best-candy-in-west-virginia/
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What Does It Mean To Travel Sustainably In 2021?
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We started out with a warm spell in April and early May that caused the grapevine buds to break (open up) the first week of May. This is more typical or normal than what we saw in 2018-2020. In those three years, we were anywhere from one to two weeks late in bud break. Then Mother Nature played a little trick on us and got unseasonably cold, which sort of put the brakes on shoot growth. Todays weather report looks great for the next week, with temperatures in the low to mid 70s, which should get us back on track. The vines look good, with a little green growth and not much in the way of winter damage, as it was a fairly mild winter, with only one day of below-zero temperatures. Weve seen a bit of rain lately, April was close to normal rainfall, and as of mid-May weve received almost 2 inches of rain in the Fosterville vineyard. This welcome rain is making up for the near-drought conditions of the 2020 growing season.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2264114984535/what-does-it-mean-to-travel-sustainably-in-2021
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Did Donald Trump finally kill his blog?
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He said that the idea that he was involved in the 2020 election, "rumors and gossip." He only went after the Biden family to expose corruption. He dodged any questions about the U.S. about being a Russian operative, saying instead he wanted to talk about Biden. "In the fall of 2019, he gained access to Trump's inner circle through Rudy Giuliani, the President's personal lawyer," the report explained. "He then provided Giuliani with documents purporting to show that Joe Biden and his family were involved in corruption. After their first meeting, Derkach even posted a photo of himself with Giuliani on Facebook, mugging for the camera as they exchanged a stack of documents. In the months before Election Day, he released a series of secret recordings of Biden pressuring top Ukrainian officials to fight corruption. The source of those tapes remains a mystery to this day." The story cited both the FBI and CIA who warned Trump's team that Derkach was pushing a Russian disinformation effort, but his allies didn't care and continued promoting the conspiracy all over social media. A month before Election Day and the first debate, QAnon cult members, and Q himself, began promoting Derkach too. "The plot served multiple interests," the report continued. "Derkach could not have gotten through to American voters without help from Trump and Giuliani, while the Trump campaign's attacks against the Biden family relied in large part on the ammunition Derkach provided. Whatever the truth of the U.S. allegations against Derkach, Russia benefited from his efforts." "Giuliani is a very capable lawyer. I appreciated his meticulousness," Derkach said. "When we spoke, it was very useful for me. He records everything. He writes everything down in his notebook. He never relaxes." Trump had pressed Ukraine's president to investigate the Bidens based on the documents given by the Russians. That ended up in the first Trump impeachment. So, Giuliani embarked on his own rogue investigation. Among those who helped him was former diplomat Andriy Telizhenko, a big Trump Fan who loved cigars and whisky as much as the former mayor did, the report said. "His function, Telizhenko told me, was 'just to help Mr. Giuliani connect to the right people in Kyiv, filter the evidence, what is true, what is not true.' The information came from every corner of Ukraine's political swamp: local tycoons, political operatives, corrupt cops and prosecutors. 'We were getting stuff from everywhere,' Telizhenko says. 'Documents, tapes, you name it.'" Telizhenko would tell Giuliani who was reliable or not, then they would pass the findings onto Trump's allies in Washington, including Republican lawmakers and Attorney General Bill Barr. According to the TIME report, Barr created something he called an "intake process" to evaluate the credibility of the evidence. Without so much as a google search, Giuliani begged to meet with Derkach while they were both in Ukraine. "Two Republican Senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, used some of Giuliani's material in their own investigation of the Biden family," said the report. It's unclear if Giuliani gave Johnson the documents or Derkach handed them over directly. A Congressional watchdog group demanded to know the details of meetings that Johnson had with the Russian agent. Johnson is on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Foreign Relations Committee despite his contact with someone deemed to be a sanctioned Russian spy by the U.S. Government. Telizhenko tried to warn Giuliani about the reliability of Derkach and his ties to Russia but Giuliani continued anyway. Nothing that Guiliani ever collected was deemed credible enough for Barr to act on it. At the same time, not even Fox News would run Giuliani's mini-documentary on what he "found" in Ukraine. Ultimately, Trump's own administration officials debunked the conspiracy theories that Giuliani was pushing. Still, he maintained, "I can prove it!" Telling ABC News in late Sept. 2019 that members of the Clinton campaign "were colluding with the Ukrainians, conspiring with the Ukrainians!" The rest of his conspiracies continue to this day as the Justice Department is investigating his work as an unregestered foreign agent. Read the rest of the story at TIME Magazine.
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https://www.rawstory.com/desk-of-donald-trump-disappears/
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How can trucking companies get more drivers on the road?
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The pandemic has affected industries across the board, with rapidly changing consumer habits, supply-chain issues and labor shortages and the trucking industry is no exception. With many older drivers retiring over the past year, the industry is scrambling to attract new drivers, partly to meet surging demand for transport of goods purchased via e-commerce. Postings for truck transportation jobs are up 59% compared to January and February 2020, according to a report from logistics company Coyote and analytics firm Emsi. Companies hiring long-haul truckers are especially seeing low success rates when they post jobs. COVID has shown Americans really the importance of the trucking profession, said Darrel Harris, president of Yellow Corp., a trucking company based in Overland Park, Kansas. Our drivers and dockworkers worked around the clock through the pandemic to get essential goods to homes and businesses across the country. Harris spoke to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about the trucker shortage. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. Darrel Harris: Our biggest issue right now is we have a driver shortage. And according to the American Trucking Associations, our industry right now needs an additional 60,000 truck drivers ASAP, and its a deficit thats expected to grow by more than 160,000 by 2028. Yes, lots of stuff moves on trucks. And yes, theres pent-up demand. Weve been talking about that for months now. Harris: Well, what a lot of people may not realize is that 70% of the nations freight is carried by commercial trucks, and theyre carrying everything from dishwashers to construction supplies, and of course, all that stuff we like to buy on Amazon. And COVID has shown Americans really the importance of the trucking profession. You know, our drivers and dockworkers worked around the clock through the pandemic to get essential goods to homes and businesses across the country during COVID. And we continue that pace today. Ryssdal: I read somewhere that, that turnover among truck drivers in this economy is like 90%. Harris: Well, the thing you have to realize in trucking is, you know, all drivers are not created equal, so to speak. You know, we are actually in the less-than-truckload side of the trucking business. And what that means is, our drivers range from city drivers to medium-range drivers. And then of course, we do have what they call long-haul, but it really comes down to the lifestyle that comes along with this space. And in our space, we dont experience that type of turnover. Ryssdal: Right. So less-than, less-than-truckload drivers can get home at night. If youre long-hauling it, though, youre not going to be able to do that, which certainly makes sense. But if I wanted to get into trucking today, lets say Im an ambitious, you know, 25-year-old, I want to be out on the road. Harris: Industry average right now is about $55,000 a year. But honestly, we have about 500 folks that made over $100,000 last year. Ryssdal: Which seems nifty. Harris: Its absolutely nifty. And were doing everything we can to really educate folks on, you know, the opportunities that exist within trucking. Because, as you said, theres huge demand, weve got some turnover in the long-haul space and, and while making $100,000 is nice, it comes with a price being away from home. Harris: Ill be honest. You know, drivers in the industry are aging, many of them with our company for 20, 30, even 40 years, Kai. So, you know, some retirement-age drivers retired during COVID, which is also affecting the shortage. And were determining options to keep them on the job at least part time, if theyre interested. Darrel Harris (Courtesy Heather Nauert) Ryssdal: So what happens if, and you know, there are something like 3 million truck drivers in this economy, I imagine both less-than-truckload and long-haul, so industrywide, about 3 million. Harris: Well, were not gonna let that happen. But you know, in the end of the day, were doing everything we can to keep drivers in trucks and to start bringing new people into the business. Ryssdal: I appreciate that you say youre not gonna let that happen. But there are some things that are out of your control, even though you are the president of this company. And, I do want to know what happens to consumers if somehow we dont have enough truckers out there. Harris: Right. Well, I think what youre going to see is increases in the cost of goods, if that were to occur, and so this is a serious issue. Its serious for our country, certainly serious for our industry, and its one that were focused on now more than ever.
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https://www.marketplace.org/2021/06/01/how-can-trucking-companies-get-more-drivers-on-the-road/
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Could FG Be Whitewashing EFCC Through Bawa?
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Abdulrasheed Bawa By Segun Ige PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari could actually be whitewashing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission through the approval of Abdulrasheed Bawa. The EFCC is crucially a formative organ in the Nigerian justice system. Buhari could, ideologically speaking, be making the gesture that this born-again EFCC would demonstrate unflinching conversion and redemption of lost years. It would be a sheer ignominy and impunity to overlook how, even at 60, we still cant manage small matters. Im extremely appalled by the fact that the Ibrahim Magu case had to be presided over by the U.K. Business and Property Courts of England and Wales. To be sure, certain constitutional scholars and legal practitioners were glad that Magu eventually won the case but have indeed forgotten that unless the commercial court intervened, we could still be perennially grappling with one Magu case, or worse still, just wrap it away in a nolle prosequi or dead-end sine die. Perhaps Bawa is a Chair of circumstances. not necessarily of necessity. The circumstances where the circulatory leaders do not know which is which. The circumstances where even the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, is not qualified to hold corruption-allegation debates on public officials. Bawas approval as EFCC chair on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 by Senate President Ahmed Lawan is historic in one way or another. For one, his appointment is a beacon of hope to youth whove largely been denied access in a public political participation. [ALSO READ] Monguno is damned in translation From time immemorial, of course, Nigeria has been bedeviled with the same set of leaders harum-scarum exchanging pedigrees and portfolios and positions. The same set of minds and mindsets roundly removing, replacing, and recruiting people in their legion, religion, circle and caucus has for long become our political processes. Its been the same polity awash with recurrent and recursive manifold manifestation of moral decadence, abnormal decency, inordinate affection, and insensitive depiction and demonstration of despicable deploration of power on people. This is how slippery slope the system has been for a very, very long time. For another, and more importantly, Bawa would be the blueprint for building inclusive politics. At 40, Bawa would be the first youngest chair of the EFCC. The fact that hes from the North shouldnt presume, disinterestedly, that hes one of them. The counter-intuition of god-fatherism notwithstanding, I think we should give him a benefit of doubt by watching him discharge his course of duty; that shouldnt be the reason for allegations of money-laundering, or sound-bite sumpsimus, of some begrudging apparatchiks, who rarely do not see the need for fresh blood to mingle and dine in the paradise and paradigm of political deliberation; and that shouldnt be why the juveniles raison dtre would be so thwarted and truncated amid old-rugged crews. The lesson to be learnt behoves youth whore aspiring to be politically recognised public figures without some form of preparation or perspiration. Its a good thing wanting to hold some political office. But then, the question comes whether one is competent or fit to hold such position. Leadership is not about who you know, by the way. Youve got to show the infallible proof and evidence that, indeed, youve got what it takes, youve mastered the ins and outs, and youve demonstrated an irreproachable expertise and experience in the position youre coming to hold. Thats what Bawa has indisputably and indispensably portrayed during the plenary question-and-answer session. Surely, the youth could take a cue from this. What is even more considerable, our leaders need to effect certain changes in the architecture of the leadership system, such that the youth are fully integrated into democratic processes of decision-making and leadership building. Its a shame that the testimony we hear is how the youth fundamentally become electioneering machinery in securing and procuring votes and supports for power moguls and mongrels; its how they risk their lives becoming miscreants and mayhem perpetrators for political ends to meet; and its how theyve sadly given up on their dreams and brain-building power because of a group of megalomaniacs whove suddenly made the world theirs, their children and childrens children. Some of them have, in short, regretted ever being a citizen of the country. Thats such a repeatedly bitter narratology we grapple with in Nigeria, which is not supposed to be at all. In an increasingly technological modern way of doing things, I think the youth would be in a better position to build the foundation of our leadership structures. Thats a way we could move forward, namely by encouraging and supporting youth participation in every sphere of governance and leadership. After all, we say, they are the leaders of tomorrow but, I say, they are the leaders of today! To that end, we should not be prejudiced or preconditioned by youths whore not willing to pay the price, work out their ass, and be committed to consistent practice and continuous learning. That would have been a perverse way of generalising the creative prowess and potential of well-meaning youths. Aside paper presentation, we need to start valuing the importance of productivity and creativity. [ALSO READ] CBN to sell N570bn Treasury Bills by Q221 What we can genuinely produce is what could add to the progress, profit and gross domestic product of our country, instead of depending and absolutely relying on import substitution and subscription. Really, some youths are just wonderful wunderkinds born with certain gifts meant to be discovered, developed and distributed. And, again, we do need to give them the space and chances to showcase their skills, competence and ingenuity. We really have crucial roles to play in the discovery, developing and distributing processes. Speculation of course but thats whats trending globally, and Bawa has made us realise that, to an extent. It should not be so surprising that at early ages champions are usually celebrated and produced from the other parts of the world. This is so because the adult barely recognises age-limit as barrier to inclusive politics. Politics doesnt expel and expunge youths whore born to be change-makers. This reminds me of what Barack Obama beams as bending history in his book A Promised Land. Thats extremely true. It could be dire if history should be a documentary dictator of the decision and destiny of our country; and, by the same token, it could be detrimental if history is relegated to the background. It then means our action and reaction ought to be informed by a balanced perspective, which is one of the qualities of values-based leadership, according to Harry Kraemer. And without bending the American history of institutional racism and systemic discrimination, Obama obviously wouldnt have been the first U.S. African- American president. So, to progress and advance, history has to be bent in such a way that it would accommodate and assimilate the white, the black, and indeed the black-white that is, those from either mixed backgrounds, origins, or upbringings. Its in our power to bend history so that it would suit our purpose and demands of present existence. And Bawas breakthrough is just the dawn of a new beginning as hes iceberged the official landmark for Bawa wannabes. Vanguard News Nigeria
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https://thestreetjournal.org/2021/06/could-fg-be-whitewashing-efcc-through-bawa/
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Can we sign our family home over to our 14-year-old grandson now?
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Question 1: My husband and I have a family home. We are rearing our grandson, who has lived with us for 10 years. He is 14. We want to transfer this house over to him now, as it is his home where he is being brought up. We dont want him to have to move out of it when we die due to tax implications since it is his home. Suzanne ONeill writes: Dwelling house relief can provide an exemption from inheritance tax for the grandchild where all four of the conditions for the relief are met. The conditions are as follows: 1. The house was the only or main home of the person who died. 2. The person inheriting lived in the house as their only or main home for the three years immediately before the date of the inheritance 3. The person inheriting the house does not own or have an interest in another house (or inherit another house from the same person, for example under their will). 4. The house continues to be the persons only or main home for six years after the date of the inheritance. However, the person is allowed to sell the house and purchase another main residence. In addition, the grandchild could meet the conditions of an informally fostered child and qualify for the parent/child gift/inheritance tax threshold of 335,000. The conditions where the relief can apply require the foster child while under the age of 18 must have lived with the foster parent for periods of not less than five years and have been maintained and cared for by the foster parent at the foster parents expense. Claims for the relief by a foster child must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses. This would be advantageous if the grandparents have any other asset which they would like to leave to the grandchild. Question 2. Suzanne ONeill writes: NPPR (non-principal private residency charge) was a tax on second homes and existed up to 2013. However, if a house is being sold today and NPPR tax is unpaid, it must be paid along with any penalties that have accrued. The proximity to a persons own home does not give rise to an exemption. The NPPR was effectively replaced by the Local Property Tax (LPT) which now applies to a persons own house and to other houses which they own. Suzanne ONeill is a tax partner at RSM Ireland, rsmireland.ie
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https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/can-we-sign-our-family-home-over-to-our-14-year-old-grandson-now-1.4577791?localLinksEnabled=false
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Can David Nucifora get the Irish rugby juggernaut back on track for 2023?
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Since becoming the IRFUs high performance director in April 2014, David Nucifora has afforded the media end-of-year and end-of-season state of the union addresses, but never before has it been in such trying times, as will be the case on Wednesday. For much of the first five years of his tenure Irish rugby with Joe Schmidts Team Ireland atop the pyramid enjoyed unprecedented success. The Six Nations title, won in 2014, was retained in 2015 and, although the Irish team exited the 2015 World Cup at the quarter-final stages against Argentina when heavily depleted, there followed the two historic wins over the All Blacks in Chicago and Dublin along with the Grand Slam of 2018 as well as other landmark wins over South Africa and Australia. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit Irish rugby as hard as anyone, with the IRFU posting a 35.7 million loss in its 2019/20 accounts Leinster also won the Heineken Champions Cup in 2018 while dominating the Guinness Pro14, in which Connacht also enjoyed their breakthrough success in 2016. However, following on from Nucifora personally upping the ante by setting a first semi-final as a minimum requirement for the 2019 World Cup in Japan, Ireland fell short when beaten heavily in the quarter-final by the All Blacks. Since the title of 2018, Ireland have finished third in the Six Nations for three successive seasons, as they did in the one-off Autumn Nations Cup, and while Leinster have extended their hold over the Pro14 for four successive seasons, they again fell short in Europe this season, as did Munster, Ulster and Connacht. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Irish rugby as hard as anyone, with the IRFU posting a 35.7 million loss in its 2019/20 accounts, and as a result there have been voluntary redundancies and pruning across the organisation. Contract negotiations Despite spending much of 2020 in his native Australia, Nucifora is able to point to the largely successful round of contract negotiations with players whose deals would have expired as of Tuesday. The vast bulk of provincially contracted players re-signed and, of the seven tied to central contracts, Nucifora negotiated new deals with Keith Earls, Jonathan Sexton, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong and Peter OMahony, the only exception being the retiring CJ Stander, and, despite some speculation to the contrary, that was not a financially driven outcome in any way. That said, Furlong only signed a one-year deal, akin to Sexton, Healy and Earls as well as many under provincial contracts who will be hopeful of better offers before the end of next season. But no matter how he dresses it up it would have been incumbent upon Nucifora and the IRFU to tie down such a valuable asset as Furlong until at least the 2023 World Cup. All in all, akin to the likes of Man City, Chelsea and PSG in football, the French clubs especially, as well as their English counterparts, look comparatively ring-fenced financially from the full effects of the pandemic, not only due to the presence of private benefactors but also in light of the Top 14s new 454.4 million, four-year deal with Canal+. With Garry Ringrose among the next batch of frontline international players who will also be out of contract before the next World Cup, it will be interesting to hear how Nucifora hopes he can entice them to stay. Grinding halt Perhaps most damagingly of all, the last 15 months have effectively brought both the Irish schools and club game to a grinding halt. At last Decembers media briefing, this reporter asked Nucifora what was being done to keep the club and schools games afloat and he said: Ive had my hands full with the professional game and I havent really been across where thats at with the club and school games. This went down like a lead balloon with the clubs, and compounded the rift between Nucifora and them when they failed to agree to his proposed revamping of the Energia All-Ireland League (AIL). Nucifora in turn signed off on the one-off Cara Cup involving provincial A sides playing in the USA at the end of the 2018-19 season, undermining the finale to the AIL season in what was widely interpreted as a vindictive two fingers to the clubs. The effective closure of the schools and the clubs games, and Irish rugbys overt dependence on the former, has in turn been compounded by the lost year of under-age international games. So, while extolling the virtues of the sevens programme and citing the examples of Hugo Keenan and Will Connors, it would be interesting to hear how Nucifora envisages making up for lost ground in this development pathway.
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https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/can-david-nucifora-get-the-irish-rugby-juggernaut-back-on-track-for-2023-1.4581502?localLinksEnabled=false
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Can The Federal Government Stop States' Restrictive Voting Laws?
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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: The fight over voting in Texas is far from over, even though Democrats in that state stopped a restrictive voting law from passing on Sunday. The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, is threatening to withhold lawmakers' pay in retaliation. He's also promising to call a special session to try and pass the bill. Now, this fight is happening on the state level, but Texas isn't the only one trying to put limits on the access to the ballot. Several Republican-led states have passed or are trying to pass more restrictive voting laws, Georgia and Florida to name a couple. To talk about what role the federal government has in this process, we've called on Rick Hasen. He's professor of the University of California, Irvine (ph) and author of the book "Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust And The Threat To American Democracy." Welcome back to the program. RICK HASEN: It's great to be with you. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Now, just to give people a sense of the kinds of laws we're talking about, some of them restrict the early voting laws. Some of them impose new or updated voter identification requirements. Some of them are about purging voters from registration lists. - when it comes to maybe some ballot announcements. So all of this is state. HASEN: Well, first of all, the federal government, especially Congress, has the ability to pass laws regulating congressional elections that override state laws. It's right there in the Constitution in Article I, Section 4. So legislation would be the best way to deal with it. I mean, languishing in the Senate is this For the People Act. A lot of people are looking at Senator Manchin in West Virginia because he is not inclined to vote for the bill as it is presented by Democrats right now. So let's say you have to table Congress for a minute. HASEN: Well, one important thing is that the Department of Justice can help enforce voting rights laws, part of the Voting Rights Act, which is up right now before the Supreme Court in a case called Brnovich. We're going to learn by the end of this month, likely, whether that's going to remain an important tool for policing laws that make it harder for minority voters to be able to register and to vote. And so a pretty aggressive Department of Justice, as it did when it went after Texas's voter UD law some years ago successfully in bringing a challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act - that's probably the most important tool that the executive branch has to deal with these kinds of laws. CORNISH: The president has also signed an executive order in this area. HASEN: Well, executive orders can just tell the federal government to be enforcing voting laws. You know, we care about things like cybersecurity, so it can be directing the parts of the government that deal with security to do that, direct the Department of Justice. And it turns out the president directly has very little power over how elections are run. They're run by states and localities subject to the rules imposed by Congress. So this - really, the most important thing that Joe Biden can do, is get Joe Manchin in a room, figure out what he wants to get a voting bill through and then push that through Congress. CORNISH: In a way, we know what he wants. The senator has promoted this idea of basically restoring the part of the Voting Rights Act known as preclearance that was struck down by the Supreme Court that said, look. All of these states that used to have kind of Jim Crow-era voting barriers - you now have to go to the federal government to get permission when you want to change your laws. And he wants to expand that to the rest of the country. HASEN: Well, I think there's two problems. One is, you know, a political problem. Because you need 60 votes ordinarily to get something through the Senate. So there's two hurdles there. But there's also a legal hurdle. It's not clear that the Supreme Court, which struck down the earlier preclearance provision in 2013 in the Shelby County vs. Holder case, would uphold nationwide preclearance. They might see it as tilting the scale too much in favor of federal control. So I'm hoping that there are other things besides preclearance, although I think that is necessary - other things besides preclearance that Manchin can get behind, like requiring paper ballots in every state so that if there is a dispute over who won an election, there's a tangible record that could be counted by a neutral court or a neutral body. HASEN: Yeah, I think you have to realize that there are two different issues going on at once. One is voter suppression, making it harder for people to register and vote. But perhaps an even bigger danger is the danger of election subversion, the idea that we might make it easier for partisans to mess with how votes are counted and how election winners are declared. That's really the No. 1 thing on the agenda for 2022 and 2024. CORNISH: That's Rick Hasen, law professor of the University of California, Irvine. Thank you for your time. HASEN: Thank you. Copyright 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record.
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https://www.npr.org/2021/06/01/1002219075/can-the-federal-government-stop-states-restrictive-voting-laws?ft=nprml&f=
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Why is the Wuhan lab-leak theory of COVID-19 gaining so much traction?
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The so called Wuhan lab theory about the origin of COVID-19 has gained enormous and mainstream traction in the past month, not least thanks to US president Joe Biden calling for a full investigation into it. Were still incredibly early on our path to understanding how the coronavirus which has ground the world to a near halt came to be. Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire is joined by science reporter Liam Mannix, who says he is concerned the noise around the lab theory might be over-inflating the likelihood its the right explanation. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage.
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https://www.theage.com.au/please-explain/why-is-the-wuhan-lab-leak-theory-of-covid-19-gaining-so-much-traction-20210602-p57xdf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national
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What if the speed of Earths rotation suddenly got faster?
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This post has been updated. It was originally published on May 17, 2017. There are enough things in this life to worry about. Like nuclear war, climate change, and whether or not youre brushing your teeth correctly. The Earth spinning too fast should not be high up on your list, simply because its not very likely to happen anytime soonand if it does, youll probably be too dead to worry about it. Nevertheless, we talked to some experts to see how it would all go down. First, lets talk about how fast the Earth is moving now. That actually depends on where you are, because the planet spins fastest around its waistline. As Earth twirls around its axis, its circumference is widest at the equator. So a spot on the equator has to travel a lot farther in 24 hours to loop around to its starting position than, say, Chicago, which sits on a narrower cross-section of Earth. To make up for the extra distance, the equator spins at 1,037 mph, whereas Chicago takes a more leisurely (approximately 750 mph) pace. If we could speed up Earths rotation by one mile per hour, the sea level around the equator would rise by a few inches as water migrates there from the poles. It might take a few years to notice it, says Witold Fraczek, an analyst at ESRI, a company that makes geographic information system (GIS) software. What might be much more noticeable is that some of our satellites would be off-track. Satellites set to geosynchronous orbit fly around our planet at a speed that matches the Earths rotation, so that they can stay positioned over the same spot all the time. If the planet speeds up by 1 mph, then the satellites will no longer in their proper positions, meaning satellite communications, television broadcasting, and military and intelligence operations could be interrupted, at least temporarily. Some satellites carry fuel and may be able to adjust their positions and speeds accordingly, but others might have to be replaced, and thats expensive. [Related: SpaceXs cheap internet could cost us the night sky] These could disturb the life and comfort of some people, says Fraczek, but should not be catastrophic to anybody. Things would get more catastrophic the faster we spin. Losing gravity and weight Centrifugal force from the Earths spin is constantly trying to fling you off the planet, sort of like a kid on the edge of a fast merry-go-round. For now, gravity is stronger and it keeps you grounded. But if Earth were to spin faster, the centrifugal force would get a boost, says NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald. Currently, if you weigh about 150 pounds in the Arctic Circle, you might weigh 149 pounds at the equator. Thats because of the extra centrifugal force thats generated as the equator spins faster combats gravity. Press fast-forward on that, and your weight would drop even further. Odenwald calculates that eventually, if the equator revved up to 17,641 mph, the centrifugal force would be great enough that you would be essentially weightless. (That is, if youre still alive. More on that later.) Constant jet lag The faster the Earth spins, the shorter our days would become. With a 1 mph speed increase, the day would only get about a minute and a half shorter and our internal body clocks, which stick to a pretty strict 24-hour schedule, probably wouldnt notice. But if we were rotating 100 mph faster than usual, a day would be about 22 hours long. For our bodies, that would be like daylight savings time on boosters. Instead of setting the clocks back by an hour, youd be setting them back by two hours every single day, without a chance for your body to adjust. And the changing day length would probably mess up plants and animals too. [Related: What happens when the sun dies?] But all this is only if Earth speeds up all of a sudden. If it gradually speeds up over millions of years, we would adapt to deal with that, says Odenwald. Stronger hurricanes If Earths rotation picked up slowly, it would carry the atmosphere with itand we wouldnt necessarily notice a big difference in the day-to-day winds and weather patterns. Temperature difference is still going to be the main driver of winds, says Odenwald. However, extreme weather could become more destructive. Hurricanes will spin faster, he says, and there will be more energy in them. The reason why goes back to that weird phenomenon we mentioned earlier: the Earth spins faster around the equator. If the Earth wasnt spinning at all, winds from the north pole would blow in a straight line to the equator, and vice versa. But because we are spinning, the pathway of the winds gets deflected eastward. This curvature of the winds is called the Coriolis effect, and its what gives a hurricane its spin. And if the Earth spun faster, the winds would be deflected further eastward. That effectively makes the rotation more severe, says Odenwald. Water world Extra speed at the equator means the water in the oceans would start to amass there. At 1 mph faster, the water around the equator would get a few inches deeper within just a few days. At 100 mph faster, the equator would start to drown. I think the Amazon Basin, Northern Australia, and not to mention the islands in the equatorial region, they would all go under water, says Fraczek. How deep underwater, Im not sure, but Id estimate about 30 to 65 feet. If we double the speed at the equator, so that Earth spins 1,000 miles faster, it would clearly be a disaster, says Fraczek. The centrifugal force would pull hundreds of feet of water toward the Earths waistline. Except for the highest mountains, such as Kilimanjaro or the highest summits of the Andes, I think everything in the equatorial region would be covered with water. That extra water would be pulled out of the polar regions, where centrifugal force is lower, so the Arctic Ocean would be a lot shallower. At 100 mph faster, the equator would start to drown. Meanwhile, the added centrifugal force from spinning 1,000 mph faster means water at the equator would have an easier time combating gravity. The air would be heavy with moisture in these regions, Fraczek predicts. Shrouded in a dense fog and heavy clouds, these regions might experience constant rainas if theyd need any more water. Finally, at about 17,000 miles per hour, the centrifugal force at the equator would match the force of gravity. After that, we might experience reverse rain, Fraczek speculates. Droplets of water could start moving up in the atmosphere. At that point, the Earth would be spinning more than 17 times faster that it is now, and there probably wouldnt be many humans left in the equatorial region to marvel at the phenomenon. If those few miserable humans would still be alive after most of Earths water had been transferred to the atmosphere and beyond, they would clearly want to run out of the equator area as soon as possible, says Fraczek, meaning that they should already be at the Polar regions, or at least middle latitudes. Earthquakes At very fast speedslike, about 24,000 mphand over thousands of years, eventually the Earths crust would shift too, flattening out at the poles and bulging around the equator. We would have enormous earthquakes, says Fraczek. The tectonic plates would move quickly and that would be disastrous to life on the globe. Slow your roll Believe it or not, Earths speed is constantly fluctuating, says Odenwald. Earthquakes, tsunamis, large air masses, and melting ice sheets can all change the spin rate at the millisecond level. If an earthquake swallows a bit of the ground, reducing the planets circumference ever so slightly, it effectively speeds up how quickly Earth completes its rotation. A large air mass can have the opposite effect, slowing our spins a smidgen like an ice skater who leaves her arms out instead of drawing them in. The Earths rotation speed changes over time, too. About 4.4 billion years ago, the moon formed after something huge crashed into Earth. At that time, Odenwald calculates our planet was probably shaped like a flattened football and spinning so rapidly that each day might have been only about four hours long. This event dramatically distorted Earths shape and almost fragmented Earth completely, says Odenwald. We had better hope not! Since the formation of the moon, Earths spin has been slowing down by about 3.8 mph every 10 million years, mostly due to the moons gravitational pull on our planet. So its a lot more likely that Earths spin will continue to slow down in the future, not speed up. Theres no conceivable way that the Earth could spin up so dramatically, says Odenwald. To spin faster it would have to be hit just right by the right object, and that would liquify the crust so wed be dead anyway.
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https://www.popsci.com/earth-spin-faster/
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What Do Mortgage Lenders Need from Retirees?
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You've found it that perfect retirement home on Lake Tahoe. The best oceanfront property in South Carolina. The cutest little cottage in the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. You may have other reasons for needing to move besides the "perfect home." You may need to downsize, encounter physical challenges (particularly with homes with lots of stairs!) or have to manage a fixed income. You may also need to move to a new area due to better weather, favorable taxes, and being closer to family. When you want to get a home loan as a retiree, you might wonder how a mortgage lender evaluates your income. Let's find out. Yes. Lenders cannot discriminate against borrowers based on age, according to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Ultimately, it boils down to this: Retirees must show they can repay the mortgage, have good credit and not too much debt. You can even take out a 30-year mortgage, even if you're in your 70s. Lenders cannot take your age into consideration to make a final decision. Let's discuss the types of income that mortgage lenders may consider, including fixed income and assets. Fixed Income Evaluation Lenders will look at your last two years worth of tax returns to see how much income you've actually brought in over the last two years. Retirement account income can make a huge impact on your income on a month-by-month basis. A 401(k) plan or individual retirement account can play a major role in this process. You can access the money in your IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) at age 59. Asset Evaluation Your lender will also want to consider more than just your income. Lenders will want to see your bank statement to check your liquid assets. They will also want to see checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs and investments such as stock, bonds and mutual funds. They will also want to see the other types of property you own. Debt-to-Income Ratio Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares how much you owe each month to how much you earn. In other words, the DTI involves a calculation of the percentage of your gross monthly income before taxes that you use to pay for rent, mortgage, credit cards, car loans, boat loans, student loans you get the picture. We're talking about all types of debt. Add up your monthly bills. This includes money you owe on a recurring basis, such as your monthly rent, alimony or child support. This does not include amounts that change on a weekly basis, such as your grocery bill. Divide the total by your gross monthly income, or your monthly income before taxes. You should get the result as a percentage, or your DTI. You want to have as low of a DTI as possible. In general, lenders want to see you at a 36% or lower DTI ratio. Credit Most mortgage lenders look at scores from all three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to determine whether they will offer you a loan. Your credit score also determines the interest rate on your loan. You should check your credit report and correct the errors you see before you apply for a loan, because many errors could show up on your credit report. Common errors include loans in the wrong name, loans listed as open when you've actually paid them off and more. Property Type The type of property you're after may affect your interest rates and whether you qualify. Let's say you plan to get a four-bedroom home on Lake Tahoe. The interest rate and costs may look significantly different compared to a small condo in Cincinnati, Ohio. Believe it or not, underwriters have found that different types of properties have different levels of risk associated with them. For example, detached single family homes have the best rates. Multi-family homes usually carry higher rates because of their higher likelihood of default based on past homebuyer behavior. The higher your down payment, the lower your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and the less risk you present to the lender. Shoot for putting down at least 20% or more to avoid having to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI is a type of insurance that pays your lender if you default on your payments. Co-signers If you think you'll have a tricky time getting a loan due to the fact that you don't have regular income coming in, you may want to consider adding a co-signer. Your kids! (Remind them of the time you co-signed their student loans.) The lender will consider both your income and your child's income when they take a look at your loan application. Fund Your Dream Retirement Home By all means, try to qualify for your dream retirement home. Just note that since you no longer earn a full income, your lender may consider you as a bit more of a risk compared to those currently knee-deep in their careers. However, if you check all the right boxes on your credit report, credit history, debt amount, savings amount, total assets and income, you can still qualify for a mortgage. Don't forget to compare multiple lenders so you can find the optimal interest rate for your needs. Even what looks like a slightly different interest rate just 0.25% can cost you a considerable amount of money over the life of your mortgage. However, thats the case with the semiconductor industry. Chip manufacturers are facing supply chain disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Semiconductors are in high demand for the big tech companies who need the chips to power the servers for their data centers. But they are also needed for much of the technology we take for granted including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, gaming consoles, and automobiles a sector that seems to be at the root of the current crisis.Any weekend mechanic knows that even traditional internal combustion cars are heavily reliant on electronics. In fact, electronic parts and components account for 40% of a new, internal combustion vehicle. Thats more than doubled since 2000.However as it turns out, some manufacturers may have overestimated how soon consumers would be ready for an all-electric future. And that meant that they didnt forecast how much demand there would be for the kind of chips needed to do the mundane, but vital tasks of steering, braking, and even powering windows up and down.Part of the problem is that U.S. businesses are heavily reliant on countries like China and Taiwan for their semiconductors. In fact, only about 12.5% of semiconductor manufacturing is done in the United States.Of course, this creates a tremendous opportunity for the companies that manufacture these chips. And it comes at a good time. The semiconductor sector is notoriously cyclical and was coming down from the elevated demand for the 5G buildout.In this special presentation, well give you a list of seven semiconductor companies that you can invest in to take advantage of this opportunity.
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https://www.marketbeat.com/originals/what-mortgage-lenders-need-from-retirees/
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Will trucking face fuel shortages this summer?
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Coming this summer: Gas stations running out of gas. So read the ominous headline on CNN.com April 27. But while the article wasnt foreshadowing the Colonial Pipeline shutdown that made the headline startlingly prescient, it spoke to other risks, including the struggle fuel haulers may have in finding the labor needed to transport fuel to stations as Covid-related travel restrictions are lifted and demand ramps back up. A criminal organization that donates part of its proceeds to charity, targets only large, profitable companies, and who will for a fee provide advanced warning of its future targets so investors can short their stock. That in a nutshell is, or was, DarkSide, the ransomware-as-a-service (RAAS) provider who took down the Colonial Pipeline which transports 45% of fuel consumed along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard in early May. Canadian cybersecurity firm eSentires Threat Response Unit (TRU) first began tracking DarkSide last December. The criminal enterprise first emerged in November 2020 and claims to have attacked 59 organizations in total, including 37 this year. It shut down as police pressure intensified in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline attack, but will certainly re-emerge under a new name, according to Rob McLeod, senior director of eSentires TRU. Their shutdown, said McLeod, is basically a ruse, where they effectively shut down, retool, pivot and come back operating under a different name. In some ways, RAAS entities like DarkSide operate like a legitimate business. It had a website on the dark web where it posted press releases about charitable donations, a code of conduct (it vowed not to attack hospitals or funeral homes, for instance), and a media section through which press could request interviews and receive scoops on upcoming attacks. It even offered a registration page for ransomware recovery firms, where they could sign up for a discount on the ransom being demanded from the victim organization, according to a Ransomware Report, produced by eSentire. Despite the attention the Colonial Pipeline attack brought to the organization, it victimized at least two more companies in the days following the pipeline shutdown before announcing its own shutdown. Quoted in the article was National Tank Truck Carriers executive vice-president Ryan Streblow, who claimed 20-25% of tank trucks were currently parked due to a lack of qualified drivers, more than double the units parked a year earlier. The driver shortage is an industry-wide challenge that isnt new to trucking. However, it could take on a new urgency for fuel haulers this summer even in Canada if consumption skyrockets. Tank fleets like Trimac should be able to meet contracted fuel delivery demand this summer pending a gradual easing of restrictions, and consumer behavior following that trend, Besnik Gasi, Trimac area manager in Edmonton told Todays Trucking. We have robust technology that allows for accurate forecasting, and serving diverse product lines allows us to draw talent from other commodities hauled. The key is to keep in close communication with all stakeholders, including shippers, consignees, drivers, and all other parties involved in the supply chain for fuel deliveries. If rail, other carriers that focus strictly on fuel deliveries, or any other supply chain disruptions occur, then all transport companies will be challenged to meet fuel delivery demand. Gasi notes the pandemic resulted in an almost dead stop in demand for airport fuel deliveries, and stay-at-home orders negatively affected fuel haulers as a result of decreased consumption. In some cases, layoffs ensued, and the industry could be challenged to bring back those drivers. Meanwhile, new entrants are nearly non-existent because training schools, licensing agencies, and FAST enrolment centers were all shut down. Attracting drivers from other segments is an option, but considerable product handling training is required before they can be productive. If provinces fully open, this could cause an immediate surge in fuel consumption, straining the supply chain, Gasi said. Companies that are solely focused on hauling petroleum products may struggle to bring back qualified drivers and equipment in short timeframes. They will need to hire new drivers, and go through extensive training and product handling to safely deliver product. This delay in training could cause inventories at fuel stations to be lower or in some cases out of fuel until delivery can be made. The unanswered question remains: Will consumers return to traveling immediately when restrictions ease, or will it be in phases? Gasi pointed out. The brief history tells us it will be in phases which should allow companies to scale up as volume increases. (Photo: Trimac) When the diesel went down in Georgia A lack of fuel hauling capacity isnt the only threat to the countrys fuel supply this summer. On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline, which transports 45% of the fuel consumed on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard was victim of a cyberattack. Several truck stops along the pipelines routes were temporarily out of diesel, but the gasoline shortage was more widespread due to consumer hoarding. While short-lived, the fuel shortages served as a reminder of how vulnerable our fuel transportation infrastructure can be. Worryingly, the Colonial Pipeline operators confirmed to media they paid about US$5 million in ransom in order to restore service, which could incentivize future pipeline attacks. The payment of ransoms in such cyber-attacks is not all that uncommon. Canadian cybersecurity firm eSentire cites a survey by Veritas Technologies that found 66% of ransomware victims admitted to paying all or part of the demanded ransom. Sometimes its the lesser of two evils, reasoned Mark Sangster, cybersecurity expert with Waterloo, Ont.-based eSentire. On the macro side, its the economic engine and the more you pay ransoms the more that encourages criminals. Paying a ransom, like Colonial Pipeline did, isnt illegal. However, the U.S. Treasury has recently put out two advisories, one of which prohibits the payment of ransom to known terrorist organizations. France has outlawed ransom payments altogether. People will pay ransoms for two reasons, added Rob McLeod, head of eSentires Threat Response Unit (TRU), to restore services and to protect against data disclosure. But he adds paying the ransom doesnt assure the data will be decrypted and service restored. After all, he reasons, youre negotiating with criminals when responding to a ransomware attack. Asked if the Colonial Pipeline attack should raise concern about the fuel supply infrastructures susceptibility to further attacks, McLeod noted attacks against critical infrastructure were already on the rise. Most of those types of companies, because of the critical nature of their business, means they make very lucrative targets, added Sangster. Ironically, in 2012 former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman warned that Privately owned and operated cyber infrastructure can well be, and probably some day will be, the target of an enemy attack, according to Bloomberg News. Lawmakers pushed to force energy companies to strengthen their computer security, but the movement died when the industry lobbied against the requirements. The third threat And then theres the question of the future status of Enbridges Line 5 pipeline, which transports crude to refineries in Ontario and Quebec. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made shutting down the pipeline, which travels under the Straight of Mackinaw, a priority. The potential closure of Line 5 has not only woken up the politicians but also the media who seem fixated on the threat to gasoline supply and the associated probable price spikes, said Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst with En-Pro. But it isnt gasoline that drives the economy, its diesel that brings food to the table along with all other forms of commodities the consumer relies on and takes for granted. For the diesel-powered transportation sector there should be concerns if Line 5 is closed. Diesel prices are already rising. An Enbridge Line 5 closure could add 12-16 cents per liter, according to petroleum analyst Roger McKnight. (Source: NRCan) He noted not a single drop of oil has leaked from the pipeline into the Straight of Mackinaw, but questions the political willpower to defend Line 5s continued use. McKnight explained wholesale diesel prices in Canada follow reference point rack prices in the U.S. If they increase or decrease from day to day in the U.S., then so do the racks in Canada. If the refinery hub in Sarnia and Suncors in Montreal are suddenly starved for crude feedstock then there will be no option but to import diesel and gasoline from the U.S. by rail or truck from Alberta, McKnight said. It costs about four times as much to move crude by truck and two to three times more by rail, compared to pipeline. The immediate effect of a Line 5 closure would be an increase in the prices of diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline in the range of 12 to 16 cents per liter, McKnight said.
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https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/will-trucking-face-fuel-shortages-this-summer/1003151426/
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Why Does Jeanette Need Snowglobe On Cruel Summer Ep 8?
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While Jeanette is wandering the halls, however, she leaves Mallory in the AV room where Martin finds her and the so-called prank tape featuring clips of teachers filmed without their knowledge. And when Martin walks in he sees footage of him leaving his house the morning after Kate went missing. After losing it on Mallory, he takes the tape which he's obviously worried might incriminate him. And at the end of the episode we learn why. On the video that Mallory said was playing instead of school announcements we can see a scene of Martin in front of his house and while you may need to pause to see the image clearly, in the background Kate can be seen looking out of the window. That tells us two things: she wasn't his "prisoner" on the first night she visited and she wasn't in the basement the next morning. But Martin's response smashing the tape to smithereens, along with the fact he lied to her mother about Kate's whereabouts proves he was always planning to abduct the young girl.
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https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/06/10500905/cruel-summer-episode-8-snowglobe-martin-tape-voice-message?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss
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Is Unemployment Bonus Keeping Workers on Sideline?
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Despite a stubbornly high unemployment rate of 6.1% in April representing 9.8 million people who say they are actively looking for work many employers are reporting that they cant find people to hire. Republicans say the $300 a week supplement to unemployment insurance, which for many Americans amounts to a pay raise, is so generous that it is acting as a disincentive for people to return to work. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, dismisses that suggestion, saying on May 10, we dont see much evidence of that. Americans want to work, Biden said. I think the people who claim Americans wont work even if they find a good and fair opportunity underestimate the American people. After the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a disappointing gain of 266,000 jobs in April, a reporter asked Biden if the enhanced unemployment benefits were diminishing a return to work in some categories. No, nothing measurable, Biden said on May 7. Biden and others in his administration argue there are other bigger drivers of labor shortages such as access to child care (made worse by remote schooling) and the fact that most people still were not vaccinated against COVID-19 when the April jobs surveys were performed. Republicans say Biden is ignoring the obvious. At a recent county tour stop in Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst said she heard from a number of small business owners that were very concerned about getting people back to work. They cannot find the help that they need. So the president continues to say, Its not the enhanced unemployment benefits keeping people home, well, yes, folks, it is, Ernst said on May 25. And so, it is time to end the $300 extra each week that those unemployment recipients are receiving. If we can end that we can get people back to work. To date, at least 23 mostly Republican-led states have decided to prematurely cut off the extra UI payments this summer, most in June, three months before they are set to expire. Economists disagree on the answer. Economists Divided The CARES Act passed early in the pandemic in March 2020 provided a $600 per week federal unemployment insurance supplement, in addition to normal state unemployment benefits. That expired in late July. In December, Congress passed another relief bill that included a $300 unemployment insurance benefit until mid-March. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan championed by Biden extended the $300 supplement from mid-March through Labor Day. (An alternative Republican plan would have extended those extra UI payments only through the end of June.) At the beginning of May, there were about 16 million Americans collecting unemployment insurance payments. There have been many anecdotal stories in the media about employers saying theyre having a hard time filling job vacancies, particularly in the restaurant industry, because of the enhanced unemployment benefit. But economists are divided on the issue. In a recent survey conducted by the University of Chicagos Initiative on Global Markets, 40 prominent economists were asked whether they agree with this statement: The $300 supplement to weekly unemployment benefits available from now through September 6 constitutes a major disincentive to work for lower-wage workers. Nearly half (49%) said it was uncertain, while 28% said they agree or strongly agree, and 16% said they disagree. Here is a sampling of the responses: $300 of extra money per week is quite meaningful to a low wage worker. Certainly enough to affect decisions. Aaron Edlin, co-director of the Law and Economics Program at Berkeley Law. Major is probably too strong, but with COVID improving and labor demand rebounding, UI benefit levels matter more now than before. Joseph Altonji, economics professor at Yale. I go for minor disincentive. More important are childcare responsibilities, fear of COVID in jobs with close personal contact. Barry Eichengreen, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. I dont think we know enough about it. Fears of getting Covid may be a more important factor. Oliver Hart, an economics professor at Harvard. There will be some adverse effect on employment, just not clear how much. Pete Klenow, an economics professor at Stanford. Anecdotal cases of benefit recipients declining work will abound, but the evidence is that the effect is not major. Larry Samuelson, an economics professor at Yale. Compared with the effect of schools being closed? Richard Schmalensee, an emeritus professor of economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Major is probably too strong, but it does permit some workers to search more/longer for better jobs. Christopher Udry, an economics professor at Northwestern. Earlier this month, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said there had been report after report indicating it was not accurate that the benefits discouraged work, according to Politico. Wyden instead blamed factors such as a lack of child care and reduced public transit services for the labor supply shortage. When we inquired about Wydens statement, his press office pointed, in part, to a July 14, 2020, Yale study of the initial $600 benefit (back when the unemployment rate was in double digits) that found no evidence that more generous benefits disincentivized work either at the onset of the expansion or as firms looked to return to business over time. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco about the initial $600 bonus similarly concluded, Evidence from recent labor market outcomes confirms that the supplemental payments had little or no adverse effect on job search. A study led by Ioana Marinescu, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, found that the increase in benefits from April to June 2020 did not reduce employment, even though it did reduce the number of job applications a bit. At the time, jobs were unusually scarce. Scarcity of Research on $300 Bonus But things are different now. Now, there is an increase in the number of job postings, so it is possible that the reduction in applications caused by unemployment insurance contributes to reducing job finding, Marinescu told us via email. Because of higher unemployment benefits, employers may be getting fewer applications for each job than before the pandemic. However, no one has quantified this (for the current round of benefits), and we cannot tell how big the influence of unemployment insurance is on job finding relative to other factors such as concerns about health or lack of childcare. In this sense, Biden is correct to say nothing measurable. ' Indeed, according to Opportunity Insights TrackTheRecovery.org, job postings in the U.S. have increased 5.5% compared with January 2020, before the pandemic. Despite an unemployment rate that remains stubbornly high, the 8.1 million job openings at the end of March outpaced hires by 2.1 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That gap between job openings and hires is the largest since the data became available in 2000. Pre-pandemic, in January 2020, job openings outpaced hires by nearly 1.2 million, so there was a gap then too, but not as large. Calling for an end to the enhanced unemployment benefit, Republican Sen. Rob Portman said that with vaccines widely available and a record number of job openings, there is no reason the federal government should be paying people not to work. University of Chicago economist Peter Ganong told the Wall Street Journal that the $300 UI supplement means that 42% of workers are making more than their pre-unemployment wage. Still, Ganong told PolitiFact.com, Theres just not enough evidence to understand whats going on right now. While there is a good theoretical reason to think the UI enhancement might create a disincentive it increases the value of being on UI a bit the question is how big a factor this really is given all the other factors facing families, Aaron Sojourner, an expert in labor economics at the University of Minnesota, told us. We have good evidence that the UI supplement had little effect on job search in the heart of the pandemic and before vaccinations were available. It likely has more effect now but we just dont have much evidence about the benefits in terms of encouraging work. Although there has been little research so far on the effect of the recent $300 bonus, economist Arindrajit Dube at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst extended a previous study of the UI supplements into March. He concluded, preliminarily, that the bonus wasnt having much of an effect on labor shortages. Maybe an unemployed person spends several additional days unemployed because of the $300, Dube told the New York Times. But if its a problem, it takes care of itself. Its nothing compared to the broader trajectory of the reopening, which swamps anything on the unemployment insurance front. Demand and supply for labor are both rising quickly, Sojourner told us. There are more employers hiring, the virus is more contained, and excellent vaccines are becoming available, but only about 2 in 5 working-age Americans are now at least 2 weeks past their final vaccine dose. Its just not clear how many unemployed folks are close enough to working that $300 will be a decisive factor. But as we said earlier, not all economists agree. University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan estimates that the $300 UI bonus is reducing employment by a couple million jobs. On top of the bonus is free health insurance that Biden has also awarded the unemployed, Mulligan told us via email. Other Factors Influencing Labor Shortages The White House, meanwhile, argues too much is being made of the idea that workers are choosing to stay home primarily because the UI bonus is too generous. There are many factors that go into whether a person is taking a job. Right? Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said at a press briefing on May 14. If they if somebody is not fully vaccinated, if theres still a lot of COVID in their area, if they have still child care constraints, there are many factors that this pandemic has caused that are going to play into peoples decision ability to go back to work. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, who was appointed to the Fed board in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, also cited lingering school closures and fear of exposure to the coronavirus as major hurdles to many people returning to work. While deaths are down dramatically as more Americans get vaccinated, COVID-19 was still causing nearly 2,000 deaths per week in early May. People do actually want to go back to work; they are willing to do that, Brainard said on May 11. Nonetheless, while Biden said he did not think the UI bonus was a major factor in people not returning to work, he emphasized: Were going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits. Biden and other White House officials say the UI supplement has not only helped struggling families, but has aided the economy as well. UI has served a very important role through this pandemic, Rouse said. It has allowed people to pay the rent, which we know is very important for the landlord; its allowed people to put food on the table, which is important for them and their families. And so, we stand behind that those are very important supports. Theyre supports to help us bridge to the end of this pandemic. Sojourner, of the University of Minnesota, echoed those sentiments, saying the harms of cutting the supplement are clear. In the latest data, from March, there were about 8 million job openings, likely more now, Sojourner told us. But there are now about 16 million Americans and their families using UI right now after losing their jobs through no fault of their own. That $300 has important benefits to many families and individuals every week, in terms of their ability to secure housing, food, and health. Eliminating it and putting people on regular UI means theyre going to have incomes about half of their pre-layoff earnings. Millions of people will still not find a job and now theyre risking eviction, loss of a vehicle, and lack of nutrition. Marinescu, of the University of Pennsylvania, said its important to note that unemployment benefits also stimulate consumption, which creates jobs, and this effect can counteract the effect on job applications. By stimulating consumption, unemployment benefits contribute to increasing job creation and ultimately employment. This consumption effect is likely to be stronger now than last year because the economy is reopening and people have more opportunities to consume and lower concerns about infection, Marinescu told us. In that sense, employers should remember that while higher benefits may make workers less enthusiastic about taking their jobs, higher benefits also give them more customers. Therefore, my educated guess is that higher unemployment benefits are still on net a positive contribution to the economy, especially when considering their insurance effect, i.e. the fact that they help out people whose income would otherwise be much lower. Other economists say the effect of the unemployment boost likely varies by state, as states pay varying amounts in basic unemployment insurance and, of course, the cost of living differs dramatically state to state. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told Reuters that such differences likely mean the UI bonus may act as a stronger disincentive in some states. The same $300 incentivizes people very differently, Bullard said, adding that the $300 UI supplement is a factor, but not the only factor keeping people from returning to the workforce. The talking points from both Democrats and Republicans are simple and clear: One side argues the UI bonus isnt the main reason for a labor supply shortage, while the other argues it is. But the issue is more complicated than either side suggests, and economists disagree on the impact. Editors note: FactCheck.org does not accept advertising. We rely on grants and individual donations from people like you. Please consider a donation. Credit card donations may be made through our Donate page. If you prefer to give by check, send to: FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.
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https://www.factcheck.org/2021/06/is-unemployment-bonus-keeping-workers-on-sideline/
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Why are new mission hymns so few?
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Quick, name a recent song celebrating missions. I was posed with the question a few months ago, Why are there no new hymns on missions? This is an interesting question, and the answer can truly only be speculative. However, to assert opinion, it behooves us to gather as much empirical data as possible. First, there has been a substantial drop in missions hymns in our denominational hymnal. The 1940 Broadman Hymnal had 23 hymns listed as Missionary Hymns. The 1974 Baptist Hymnal grew the number to 26 listed as Mission Hymns. This amount exploded for 1991s The Baptist Hymmal reporting 39 Missions Hymns. However, in the 2008 Baptist Hymnal, the number plummeted to 14, even though this particular hymnal contains more hymns than its predecessors. Second, in looking at the CCLI Top 100 songs, only one or two could be seen as remotely having a missions emphasis. Again, being speculative, my guess is it has little to do with our love for missions. I believe that we Missouri Baptists, and Southern Baptists, are a mission-loving people. It has more to do with forgetting two key passages in Scripture that are nearly identical: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, where it tells us: Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Most songs in modern worship are very vertical, which is highly appropriate, but there is a need in our congregations to also be horizontal in our worship: to speak to one another. It really is like the greatest and second greatest commandments: Love God, love others. We could say: Worship God, and sing to others. Our worship is not only a sweet offering to the Lord, but it should also be formational and discipling. When we sing to one another with songs about missions, giving, discipleship we encourage missions, giving, discipleship. Scottish patriot Andrew Fletcher once famously said, Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws. Music, in its sublimity, allows not only praise to come from our lips, but saturates our mind with the truth of the lyric (provided it is truthful). Let us use songs and write songs that not only exalt the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also disciple others and drive them to passion for Kingdom work. Lets sing about missions! (Songwriters: Accept the challenge!)
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https://mbcpathway.com/2021/06/01/why-are-new-mission-hymns-so-few/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-are-new-mission-hymns-so-few
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How can I extend an olive branch?
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Palestine. The Holy Land. An ancient motherland, where every nook and cranny possesses a piece of sacred history. Home of the olive tree: a renowned symbol of peace and tranquility yet trampled in the face of oppression. A centuries-old fruit bearer, ripped from its roots, as though it holds no weight, no meaning. Ive been lucky enough to be allowed entry into my beautiful homeland four times before. I was very young the first time and didnt know much, but I could see the guns and tanks everywhere we went and hear the innocent children as they screamed at soldiers to put them down. After crossing the Allenby bridge at the Jordanian border and waiting for over a day at military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank with nausea sweeping over me through the countless bumpy bus rides, we had finally arrived at my grandparents house in the small village of Kifl Haris. They immediately greeted me: my sitti with her warm embrace, and my sido lifting me up into the air while screams of joy escaped me, my fatigue superseded by the excitement of seeing my estranged family. When he finally put me down, the sound of a small kitten drew me near the back of the house. In an attempt to follow the soft purrs, I stumbled upon their colorful garden, pervaded by plants I did not know the names of. Treading through the greens with careful steps, the leaves of the fruits and flowers brushed over the back of my hand, tickling me as though they longed for the presence of a child among them. Using one of the purple plastic chairs lying on the back deck, I stood to reach grape vines hanging above me and climbed trees to pluck sweet figs and bitter pomegranates. My arms overflowing with fruit and with a kitten in tow, I emerged 15 minutes later with the biggest smile plastered onto my face. Seeing how much I adored their garden, my grandparents were excited to introduce me to their eminent glory: their olive tree groves. After freshening up, we all piled into my grandpas 10-year-old Volkswagen that rattled at every turn. As we drove the short distance together, I was awestruck by the majestic mountains that crowned the landscape and the palm trees that lined the streets. Children played soccer with a makeshift ball while soldiers strapped with AK-47s loomed in the background. As we approached our destination, I nearly jumped out of the moving car as I got a glimpse of what awaited me. The beautiful earthy green field was filled with olive trees standing tall, laden with olives and stretching beyond the corners of my eyes. Waving at me in the breeze, they begged me to climb up their strong limbs and pluck their olives gently. For the second time that day, I was completely blown away by the scene that surrounded me. As I ran towards the first tree I laid eyes on, standing on my tiptoes to reach the tall branches, my sido hauled me up on his shoulders. While I struggled to grab as many as I could, my sido grabbed my wrist and set me back down. He explained why we dont pick olives one by one there are simply too many of them on each tree. Instead, with his instruction, we spread out a few white cloth sheets underneath the tree. As my sido beat the olive tree with his wooden cane, the sheet-covered ground beneath us quickly filled with black and green olives. While I sorted through the ripe black olives and put away the firm green ones that still had to be cured, the olives gleamed under the scorching sun. I suddenly wondered if my ancestors also experienced this feeling of inner peace at this very spot while they sorted through olives like me. While we worked, my sido told me stories about the history of the land: ancient prophets who roamed the lush fields centuries ago, the religious significance of the monotheistic faiths associated with the region and the Crusades that were fought not far from where we were standing. His face was overtaken with a childlike marvel when describing the spiritual aura surrounding the Al-Aqsa mosque and golden Dome of Rock, but the light in his eyes dimmed when he mentioned the Gaza Strip, which was still under complete siege. This meant that little kids like me had restricted access to clean water to wash their favorite shirts or take baths with their toys. They were forbidden from getting too close to the beach, even on a bright summer day. They were denied usage of electricity to watch TV as their family shared breakfast or stay up late to play computer games. They were barred from traveling for vacations or leaving Gaza to visit family. They were stripped of the opportunity to grow up and attend college or carry dreams for their future. As I listened to my sido in silence, blood rushed to my head and tears welled up in my eyes. I gripped each olive harder, afraid that they would fall out of my trembling hands and smash on the ground. The answer: settler-colonialism in all its glory. Settler colonialism is a distinct form of colonialism that seeks to uproot and dispossess the indigenous population of a desired land, replacing them with a new group of colonizing settlers, while ruling over the remaining indigenous peoples through an imperialist authoritative structure. The state of Israel is, in fact, a settler colony, and its Zionist ideology is rooted in the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Israels propaganda machine, however, supervises and censors raw footage, presenting the world with a one-sided narrative while giving no room for Palestinian voices to be heard. It has painted a picture in which colonized Palestinians are the sole aggressors, leaving the poor colonizer Israel, the principal nuclear power in the Middle East, with no choice but to defend itself. Part of Israels dangerous rhetoric to depict itself as the victim is through an intentional conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. This draws sympathy and unwavering support for Israel from the Western world, rendering it nearly impossible to criticize Israel and its use of brute force against Palestinians without being labeled an antisemite. MiC Columnist Mariam Odeh can be contacted at [email protected]
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https://www.michigandaily.com/michigan-in-color/olive-branch-free-palestine/
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Will Boston Celtics Ever Get over Kyrie Irving Curse?
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Adam Hunger/Associated Press As the final seconds ticked away and the Boston Celtics' tumultuous season officially ended, they walked off the court at Barclays Center knowing a familiar face was at the heart of their postseason coming to an end. Kyrie Irving was key to Brooklyn's 123-109 series-clinching Game 5 win on Tuesday. Just a couple of years ago when he played for the Celtics, Irving played an integral part in the C's demise that season, too. When Irving decided to sign with Brooklyn, to the dismay of Celtics fans who remember his previous verbal commitment to re-sign with Boston, nobody could have predicted how Irving's decision would ultimately create a cataclysmic wave of decisions that ultimately put the Celtics where they are now: a franchise with no clear idea of where they're headed. Former Celtics Al Horford and Gordon Hayward opted out of their contracts in Boston to sign longer-term deals with other teams, each with his own set of reasons. While there's no way to put their decisions 100 percent on Irving's move to Brooklyn, league executives believe Irving opting to leave Boston certainly played a factor in the departure of the franchise's two biggest free-agent signings, Horford and Hayward. And while Boston's efforts were certainly hampered by being short-handed without Kemba Walker (left knee) and Robert Williams III (ankle) along with Jaylen Brown who underwent season-ending wrist surgery on May 12, there is an undeniable feeling among league executives that the Celtics are at a crossroads this offseason. It was only a few years ago when the Celtics had the building blocks to be a perennial contender in the East, only to now enter what will surely be an offseason of uncertainty. Several factors have contributed to the Celtics' struggles this season and overall inability to take that last, all-important step in their growth. But when you examine why there are far more questions than answers about this franchise, two words provide a simple summary: Kyrie Irving. When Danny Ainge traded for him in 2017, he was eager to get back in the title-chasing business after breaking up the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allena trio which led the franchise to an NBA title in 2008. In adding Irving, Boston seemingly found the missing piecea bona fide star who could take them to another level. Along with being an All-Star regular, Irving had also won an NBA title with Cleveland. And while LeBron James certainly deserves a tremendous amount of credit for leading the Cavs, Irving's overall play and clutch shot-making were vital to Cleveland's title run. Adding a player with that pedigree gave Celtics fans every reason to feel giddy about their chances of bringing home Banner No. 18 to Boston. But that early optimism soon faded. In its place came uncertainty about whether Irving was built to lead a young, talented team like the Celtics. And soon, the question wasn't so much about whether he could. At no time was Irving's commitment to the Celtics brought into question more than Boston's second-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019. After sweeping Indiana in its first-round matchup, Boston continued its strong play by beating the Bucks by 22 points in Game 1. In that game, Irving had 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting. From that point on, though, Irving and the Celtics were never the same. Boston would lose each of the next four games, a series marred by Irving's ineffectiveness in the most fundamental aspects of his game, such as breaking down defenders and finishing at the rim. He shot 35.6 percent from the field and averaged 20.4 points per game for the series. That shooting percentage was his worst in a playoff series in which he played at least five games, and his scoring average was his second-lowest in such a series. Irving's decision to leave created some uncertainty in Horford's thinking as to whether the title-contending Celtics team he signed up to play for would remain among the league's elite. And when it became clear the Celtics were not willing to re-sign him to a multi-year, nine-figure contract, Horford opted out of the final year of his deal to ink a four-year, $109 million deal with the 76ers. This past offseason, the Celtics suffered yet another blow when Gordon Hayward opted out of the final year of his deal in part to have a more prominent role in Charlotte. But, like Horford, league executives believe he, too, wasn't sold on the Celtics remaining among the game's top-tier clubs. So as the Celtics enter one of the most uncertain periods since head coach Brad Stevens came aboard in 2013, the fact that this season ended at the hands of Irving's new team seems like adding insult to injury. Brooklyn is the overwhelming favorite to come out of the East this year, with Irving playing a prominent role in its ascension. Meanwhile, the Celtics no longer look as though they are an NBA power on the rise, even with a pair of All-Stars (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) who are both 24 years old or younger. Instead, Boston resembles a middle-of-the-pack team whose prospects for improvement are bleak. Boston enters the offseason with a roster that offers very little flexibility for radical change. After barely avoiding the luxury-tax threshold this year, the Celtics head into the offseason with a number of TPEs (Traded Player Exception)the largest is the $11.05 million that remains from the Hayward TPEalong with mid-level and bi-annual exceptions. While those are all good assets when the goal is to supplement an established core, Boston still has to get a feel for what that core will look like going forward. Tatum and Brown are as close to being untradeable as you will find, according to multiple league executives. But beyond those two, the Celtics are expected to listen as well as propose trades involving the rest of the players who will be under contract next season. While it's too soon to know exactly what the Celtics will do, Ainge has already made it clear that there will be changes during the offseason. I don't know yet, Ainge said. We'll see.
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https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2944060-will-boston-celtics-ever-get-over-kyrie-irving-curse
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Is Jeopardy Guest Host Mayim Bialik Already A Contender For Permanent Host Job After 1 Episode?
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Mayim Bialik has just started her two-week stint as the latest guest host for "Jeopardy!" Popularly known as Amy Farrah Fowler in the hit CBS show "The Big Bang Theory," the actress has already been getting many praises for her latest role after one episode aired. One Twitter user wrote, "Excellent job, Mayim! Professional, well-spoken, intelligent, sense of humor. Alex would be proud!" Another person raved, "She's killing it!!! I'm enjoying her so much!" But with only one episode so far, people on Twitter are already calling for her to be permanent. A fan said of the actress, "She's going to be one of the ones to beat, that's for sure! She's going to be tough to outshine." Another wished, "Looking forward to the next two weeks. Hope you are in the running for the new permanent host!" One Twitter user even explained why Mayim Bialik should be the next permanent host of "Jeopardy!" "She should be the next full-time host! She has all the attributes- smart, funny and great personality." While another Twitter user pleaded, "PLEASE make her the next full-time host!" READ ALSO: Ellie Kemper Trends on Twitter For The Wrong Reasons: What to Know About Queen of 1999 Veiled Prophet Ball Mayim Balik on 'Jeopardy!' On Monday, Mayim Bialik made her "Jeopardy!" debut after many celebrities honoured Alex Trebek's legacy on the beloved game show. In the next two weeks, she will be standing at the podium and will enthusiastically test contestants' knowledge, something she also reportedly appreciates because of her neuroscientist self. In an interview for the show, Mayim confessed she couldn't imagine not wanting to be part of "Jeopardy!" as it is an "iconic and unbelievable piece of collective culture." She expressed her gratitude, saying, "To be considered to be a part of it, really in any way, is an immense honor, especially for someone who's dedicated so much of my life to academia, to knowing things and to being able to communicate things." Who Will Become The Next 'Jeopardy!' Executive producer Mike Richards said previously that the next permanent host of "Jeopardy!" will be named in July or August. And as he and the rest of the bosses of the hit game show are seeking out who the permanent host will be, they are also scrutinizing the show's viewership numbers and paying very close attention to social media. Currently, Ken Jennings, who is also the most successful contestant of the show's history, has also proven that he's a guest host champion. According to The Wrap, the top five with the highest ratings are #5 Bill Whitaker, #4 Katie Couric, #3 Aaron Rodgers, #2 Mike Richards, #1 Ken Jennings. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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https://www.enstarz.com/articles/219499/20210601/jeopardy-guest-host-mayim-bialik-already-contender-permanent-job-1.htm
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What are the best movies to watch on Disney Plus?
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Walt Disney Pictures Disney Plus, a service packed with great Disney, is supported by heaps of Star Wars and Marvel shows and movies. And that's a good thing, but it's far from the only stuff you can find on the rapidly growing streaming service. Because Disney Plus is stacked with movies, particularly if you have access to Star. Unfortunately subscribers within the US can't access the phenomenal Star back catalogue, but those outside the US do have access. Folks, it's a goldmine. Below are some of our favourite movies currently available to watch on Disney Plus. We've divided it conveniently into categories. We'll start, of course, with Disney! Disney It's only right to start with the best Disney movies on Disney Plus! Warning, we didn't add any of the live-action remakes because they are almost all terrible. Please don't get upset. Aladdin Disney You can agree or you can disagree, but I believe that Aladdin has the best song lineup of any animated movie Disney has ever produced. A Whole New World, Prince Ali, Friend Like Me, Arabian Nights -- just banger after banger. Combine this with a pitch-perfect, utterly golden performance from Robin Williams and you have -- for me -- possibly the best Disney animated movie ever. But, problematic issues aside, Beauty and the Beast is a true work of art. The opening number, Belle, remains one of the best opening numbers ever written. Frozen Disney There's been a slight backlash against Frozen in recent years -- mainly, I suspect, from parents forced to watch on repeat by demanding little Elsas -- but the cultural impact of this movie and its songs is undeniable. Much like Aladdin, it's a setlist of bangers tied together with a nicely drawn story about the power of sisterly love. Majestic. In Meg, Hercules has one of Disney's best drawn female characters. It also features the Fates and Go The Distance, an absolutely all-time Disney song. Hercules rules, accept this. The Lion King Disney The Lion King, although slightly overrated, was probably the cultural high point of Disney's influence in the 1990s. It still resonates today. Unlike some Disney movies, it's a movie that feels truly epic in scale. Treat yourself to a rewatch. Moana Disney You could make an argument that Moana is the best animated Disney movie ever and I'd be inclined to hear that argument. Certainly it's my favourite of Disney's CGI movies and certainly its best since The Lion King. Brilliant songs, a perfect character arc for its titular heroine. Everything about Moana hits perfectly. If, for some reason, you skipped Moana, it's now time to rectify that mistake. Mulan Disney Forget the hollow, brain-dead, god-awful live-action remake. The original Mulan is the best, by miles and miles. Raya and the Last Dragon Walt Disney Pictures There's a bit of recency bias here, but Raya and the Last Dragon will be available (outside of the paywall) for the first time in June 2021, and it's a real feast for the eyes (and the imagination). Raya and the Last Dragon feels very... familiar. It wears its influences on its sleeves, borrowing liberally from Studio Ghibli, Avatar, even Breath of the Wild. But it creates a living, breathing universe that's joyful to exist in. Definitely give it a go. Pixar It feels like the lines between Pixar and Disney movies are getting blurrier by the day. Either way, here are our favorite Pixar movies on Disney Plus. No. It hasn't. Inside Out Pixar Just when you thought Pixar was on the decline, it releases Inside Out, arguably its most thoughtful, powerful movie. I don't think I've ever watched a movie that dealt with the issue of mental health in children quite so delicately. If you have children, and even if you don't, you need to watch this movie. Onward Disney/Pixar Onward is Frozen for brothers. You can't change my mind. Sadly overlooked, Onward is low-key one of Pixar's best. Heartwarming, smart... weird. You need to watch this one. Toy Story 2 Pixar Animation Studios Look, we can't put all the Toy Story movies in this list, but we can't not put Toy Story 2 in. Arguably it's the best one. For me, it's between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3... which is next on this list! This isn't just a movie about saying goodbye to your toys, it's a movie about saying goodbye period. In that regard it's as good as any movie Pixar has ever produced. Just a perfect ending. No, we will not be talking about Toy Story 4. Up Pixar It's not perfect, and its final act stutters, but Up is one of the most interesting and ambitious animated movies ever made. Watch it for that montage alone. Marvel There are a lot of Marvel movies on Disney Plus. These are the ones we like the best... Avengers: Endgame Marvel Studios Considering the narrative weight it had to bear, and the knots it had to untie, Avengers: Endgame is something of a minor miracle. I doubt we'll see something of this scale tied up so neatly ever again. Not only that, Endgame is a fun movie in its own right. An incredible achievement all considered. It's up there. But beyond its quality, Black Panther felt important. It remains a cultural touchstone and its impact still resonates. Killmonger is also one of the all-time best villains. The Guardians of the Galaxy Disney Plus It's weird, it's funny and it pushes the MCU in directions you don't expect -- but Guardians of the Galaxy is just a well made, smart throwback of sorts. It's got big Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone vibes and you have to respect that. Iron Man Marvel Studios Without Iron Man, there is no Marvel Cinematic Universe, so show some goddamn respect! But Iron Man is more than a proof of concept, it's just a fantastic, ground-breaking superhero movie. It's loose, interesting and literally vibrates with energy. It's aged fantastically well. Thor: Ragnarok Marvel Let's be honest, it's the best one. Thor: Ragnarok came in and completely rewrote the book on how to make a superhero movie. More like this please. Also more Korg. Just a cameo or something, we're thirsty over here. X2 Marvel I absolutely felt like this list needed an X-Men movie and it was between this and Days of Future Past. I chose this because, at the time, X2 was absolutely the gold standard for superhero movies. It's time for a rewatch I think. Star Wars Arguably you could put every Star Wars movie on this list. I've settled on picking the best from each trilogy and a few others. Rogue One Rogue One is a well produced case study in plugging the gaps. Set between Episode 3 and the very first Star Wars movie A New Hope, Rogue One is a very different kind of Star Wars movie. It's mostly absent of Jedis and space magic, focusing on very human characters doing very human things. It drags, and could certainly be about 20 minutes shorter, but it's a great example of what Star Wars movies outside of the trilogy format could have become. The Empire Strikes Back Sunset Boulevard The Empire Strikes Back is widely considered the best Star Wars movie for a reason. It features Yoda, the Darth Vader reveal and practically invented the idea of the "gritty" sequel. Above and beyond that, The Empire Strikes Back features real drama, punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in Star Wars history. The Last Jedi Lucasfilm Ltd. Yes! It's the best Star Wars movie The Last Jedi! This one is controversial but, for me, this is as good as Star Wars has ever been. The final act of this movie is very special. There's just a lot going on here: Luke Skywalker's anti-hero swerve, the meta-commentary on Star Wars as a franchise. Just a brave, interesting movie from start to finish. Revenge of the Sith Lucasfilm If you're gonna watch one movie from this trilogy, might as well be Revenge of the Sith. Loaded with fan service, and more than a few magical moments, Revenge of the Sith might surprise you with how not bad it is. Star No, this is not a typo. I don't mean Star Wars, I mean Star. Star is a back catalogue of more mature movies and shows on Disney Plus and it's absolutely loaded with incredible movies. It's hard to know where to even begin. I'll just pick a few of my personal favourites, but it's absolutely worth diving in and seeing what classics you feel like rewatching. Again, as mentioned above -- the Star back catalogue is unfortunately unavailable in the US. We'll update if anything changes, because you poor folks are missing out. Alien Disney Plus Why not start with what is probably the best sci-fi horror movie ever made. When I rewatch Alien (which I do regularly) I'm in awe of its opening act. How patient it is, how committed it is to its own world building, the offhand dialogue, the performances. A perfect, ageless movie. Note: Aliens is also on Disney Plus. I prefer the original, but Aliens is also phenomenal and you should watch it. Big Trouble in Little China Disney Plus It's not the best John Carpenter movie -- that's The Thing -- but Big Trouble in Little China is definitely up there, and it's probably the most fun. It's also interesting as a parody of the white, male action hero. Main character Jack Burton doesn't really do anything. He doesn't drive the plot and he barely rescues anyone. Clever stuff and way ahead of its time. Conan the Barbarian Disney Plus A bizarre, dated but somehow insanely compelling movie that's unlike anything committed to screen before or since. Conan the Barbarian takes itself seriously and is almost good enough to get away with it. It's also blessed with a Basil Poledouris score that's as good as any soundtrack you could name. Contemplate this on the tree of woe... Die Hard Video screenshot by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET Die Hard has gone to that weird Galaxy Brain place where it's almost cool to not like it anymore on account of the endlessly boring "is Die Hard a Christmas movie" debate. Die Hard may or may not be a Christmas movie, but it is a truly awesome movie. That's hard to deny. A movie so powerful that it literally became its own genre. (Speed = Die Hard on a bus, Airforce One = Die Hard on a plane, etc.) Die Hard is without doubt one of the greatest action movies committed to film. Predator Disney Plus It's hard to believe, but John McTiernan directed Predator and Die Hard back-to-back. In my eyes the #1 and #2 best action movies ever made... back-to-back. Absolutely incredible. For me, Predator is the better of the two. It's incredibly lean, has an incredible high concept and executes perfectly. Every scene drives the action, every character is memorable. It also features some low-key subtle performances. And the greatest handshake cinema has ever seen. The Thin Red Line Disney Plus Imagine hitting theatres the same year as Saving Private Ryan but still being the best war movie released in that year. That's how good The Thin Red Line is. The Rock Disney Plus The only 100%, start-to-finish, perfect movie Michael Bay ever made. Nineties action movies just never got better than this. Sean Connery is perfect, Nicholas Cage is weird. It has a world-class villain in Ed Harris. Only Hans Gruber is more memorable. Absolute barn-burner. This is the movie that took acclaimed actor Liam Neeson and turned him into an unlikely action hero. It also wrote the blueprint for what action movies have looked like for the last decade. There is no John Wick without Taken. Willow Disney Plus Code red: Willow is on Disney Plus. I REPEAT. Willow is on Disney Plus. Any human adult who grew up during the '80s most likely loves Willow. It's hardly a classic, but come on! It's Willow! Note: Disney apparently has a Disney Plus Willow show in production. Ooft. Documentaries This section exists to direct your attention to the fact Free Solo is available to watch on Disney Plus. Free Solo Disney Plus Free Solo is one of the best documentaries ever made. Telling the story of Alex Honnold, the first man to "free solo" El Capitan, it's a delicate character study of a man who makes the impossible look almost banal; an Oscar-winning story that culminates -- quite literally -- in a close-up view of one of humanity's wildest human achievements.
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https://www.cnet.com/news/what-are-the-best-movies-to-watch-on-disney-plus/
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Are sustainability-linked bonds groundbreaking or greenwashing?
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Sales of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) have already topped $25 billion this year as borrowers in Asia have followed the lead of pioneers in Europe and Latin America. Growth from here on in is expected to be exponential. JPMorgan says total issuance for 2021 could hit $150 billion. It is easy to see why the format is proving so popular. Unlike traditional green, social and sustainable bonds, which require borrowers to use the proceeds of the deal for specific projects, the new format merely commits them to meeting one or more sustainability goals over a set timeframe. This means that, for the first time, companies that would struggle to find sufficient sustainable projects to achieve the deal size required by big asset managers usually $500 million have a chance to tap into surging demand for bonds with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) component. Yet as the market gains momentum, one leading investor has sounded the alarm over SLBs. In a recent blog post, Stephen Liberatore of US asset manager Nuveen said the structure was lacking from the perspective of an impact investor. Stephen Liberatore, Nuveen Stephen Liberatore, Nuveen We feel compelled to alert investors that the credibility and robustness of these deals remain highly variable, said Liberatore, head of Nuveens impact/ESG fixed income strategy team. Much
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https://www.euromoney.com/article/28lt4ydzyuqkqla65fn5s/opinion/are-sustainability-linked-bonds-groundbreaking-or-greenwashing
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What can players do with feathers in Minecraft?
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Feathers in Minecraft are obtained by chickens when they are killed. While they may just seem like lightweight items with little to no use, there are plenty of ways to use feathers. Chickens that are killed usually drop 1-2 feathers. They are a small, white item that has many uses in crafting other things along with helping players with a rare protection. Feathers can also be dropped by parrots, which are found in jungle biomes. And tamed cats will bring their owners morning gifts, of which feathers are capable of being one of the many available. Chickens are found in any of the biomes, much like other animals, and are easy to kill, even without weapons. Here's how players can make use of feathers in the game. The uses of feathers in Minecraft 1) Crafting arrows Arrows are a common weapon in Minecraft. They are mainly used by skeleton mobs to attack players, but players can make their own bows and arrows to do some damage as well. It takes one flint, one stick, and one feather to make an arrow. Arrows can also have enchantments put onto them to make them more powerful. We've heard some rumours that the Bronzed Chicken with its fancy feathers might be hatching soon in a tappable near you!#Minecraft pic.twitter.com/e11a9ZcDzl Crafters Guide to Minecraft Earth (@crafters_guide) July 26, 2020 2) Combined with other items to make Book and Quill The Book and Quill is a Minecraft inventory item that can be written in like a daily journal. Players can keep track of their days for other players to find or make notes of things they would like to remember, like hiding places for valuable items. To craft a Book and Quill, players will need a book (made with paper and leather), an ink sac (obtained from an octopus), and feathers. 3) Used to make a Firework Star Firework Stars are rare items, typically assumed to be weapons, in Minecraft. Their crafting method involves feathers, gunpowder, and any dye. They determine the color, effect, and shape of a firework rocket, which is used to create a decorative explosion that can still cause damage to mobs and players. This pack replaces paintings with recipe posters to save you time! @ThomasToSpace Available in Bedrock & Java! Posters: https://t.co/BlsglHfUKm pic.twitter.com/icefarKG90 PlanetMinecraft (@PlanetMinecraft) August 5, 2020 4) Trading As any Minecraft player who has come in contact with villagers knows, they enjoy trading items for more valuable ones. Fletcher villagers will be willing to trade feathers and emeralds and will buy feathers in exchange for the green emeralds that are rare. Image via Minecraft Feathers in Minecraft may seem like they do not have many valuable uses, but the truth is they have many uses that can advance players throughout the game and their journey. Kindly help Sportskeeda's Minecraft section improve. Take a 30sec survey now!
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/minecraft/what-can-players-feathers-minecraft
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Is Amazon Sidewalk Going To Share Wi-Fi with Neighbors Without Permission?
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Amazon Sidewalk will not share Wi-Fi with neighbors who don't own eligible Sidewalk Bridge devices. Although customers will be automatically opted in initially, they can opt out any time. When Amazon Sidewalk launches in June 2021, it will automatically opt in customers who use eligible Sidewalk Bridge devices. These devices share a portion of customers' Wi-Fi with other Sidewalk Bridge device owners, which will enable those devices to operate on the edge of home Wi-Fi range or out of range completely. However... In late May 2021, Snopes readers emailed with questions about news reports that Amazon Sidewalk, a Wi-Fi-operated device network-sharing system being launched by online shopping mammoth Amazon, would automatically share Wi-Fi with neighbors without customers permission. Trying to confirm validity of Amazon Sidewalk which could share some internet bandwidth with neighbors without permission, one reader wrote, for example. Is Amazon Sidewalk going to automatically share bandwidth with neighboring devices without permission? a second reader wrote. The truth is a bit nuanced. Yes, Amazon did opt in devices that are eligible for Amazon Sidewalk, but customers can likewise choose to opt out. And if you are on Amazon Sidewalk, that doesnt mean your Wi-Fi is shared with all of your neighbors. A small portion of Wi-Fi bandwidth will be shared only with other Amazon Sidewalk customers. We will explain more in detail below. Technology site CNET described Amazon Sidewalk as a long-range wireless network capable of keeping things connected even when theyre outside the typical range of home Wi-Fi. According to Amazon: Amazon Sidewalk creates a low-bandwidth network with the help of Sidewalk Bridge devices including select Echo and Ring devices. These Bridge devices share a small portion of your internet bandwidth which is pooled together to provide these services to you and your neighbors. And when more neighbors participate, the network becomes even stronger. Sidewalk is intended to beef up Amazons network of Wi-Fi-operated devices so that they will work even outside the range of the device owners home Wi-Fi. Per CNET: On the Echo front, Amazon plans to leverage Sidewalks low-energy Bluetooth connections as something of a backup network for your home Wi-Fi. Per Amazon, that means better stability during device setup and faster reconnections to your router when you update your network name or password. Ultimately, those Sidewalk connections will also help keep things like smart yard lights, mailbox sensors and connected garage door openers online, even if they sit on the fringes of your homes Wi-Fi network. At launch, your options for longer-range connections like those will include Rings line of outdoor lights and cameras, the Level smart lock and Tiles Bluetooth tracker tags. Its true that when Amazon Sidewalk goes live on June 8, 2021, customers that own eligible Sidewalk Bridge devices will be automatically opted in, initially. But they also have the option of opting out at any time. Fortunately, turning Sidewalk off is relatively painless. It involves: 1Opening the Alexa app 2Opening More & selecting Settings 3Selecting Account Settings 4Selecting Amazon Sidewalk 5Turning Amazon Sidewalk Off Privacy laws should require opt-in, not allow opt-out. https://t.co/OvNzAaQM63 Katie Moussouris (she/her) is fully vaccinated (@k8em0) May 30, 2021 According to Amazon, Sidewalk Bridge devices provide connections to Amazon Sidewalk network, and these devices are: Ring Floodlight Cam (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Mount (2019), Echo (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot for Kids (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot with Clock (3rd gen and newer), Echo Plus (all generations), Echo Show (all models and generations), Echo Spot, Echo Studio, Echo Input, Echo Flex. Amazon spokesman Jeremy Bartram told Snopes in an email that the company began notifying Amazon customers with eligible devices, so they could evaluate whether they wanted to change their preferences before Amazon Sidewalk goes online. Yes, but not all neighbors and only a small portion of your Wi-Fi bandwidth. According to Amazon, Sidewalk will enable Wi-Fi sharing only between customers who own Sidewalk-connected Amazon devices. It will also share a fraction of a customers Wi-Fi. Bartram told us that, when you share your Bridges connection with Sidewalk, total monthly data used by Sidewalk, per account, is capped at 500MB, which is equivalent to streaming about 10 minutes of high definition video. Bartram said Amazon took multiple security measures including three layers of encryption on data and measures to prevent customers from viewing other customers data. More details on security measures can be viewed here.
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/amazon-sidewalk-share-wifi/
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Did Kamala Harris Tweet Enjoy the Long Weekend Before Memorial Day?
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On Memorial Day itself, Harris also tweeted: "We honor those members of our military who sacrificed their lives in order to defend our freedoms. We owe these heroes and their loved ones everything. Not just on Memorial Day. Every day." In May and June 2021, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris received criticism, primarily from right-leaning opponents, for a tweet she purportedly posted on May 29, 2021, the Saturday before that years Memorial Day on Monday, May 31. The New York Post, for example, reported that: Vice President Kamala Harris drew heat online Saturday for telling Americans to enjoy the long weekend which ends with a national day of mourning. Harris tweeted the celebratory words Saturday afternoon, alongside a picture of herself smiling. She did not mention Memorial Day, the upcoming federal holiday reserved for honoring military members who have died protecting the US. For its part, Fox News reported that: Vice President Kamala Harris came under fire Saturday for tweeting about Memorial Day, but without mentioning the significance of the weekend. Enjoy the long weekend, Harris wrote, above a candid photo of herself smiling. Social media users condemned Harris lack of tact reminding the vice president of the sacrifices the long weekend is meant to honor. On Facebook, right-wing commentators responded with outrage. Benny Johnson posted a video in which he said Harris was, in her tweet, spitting on the graves of our fallen, while Mark Kaye said: The idea or the notion that she wanted to put forward this Memorial Day weekend was Enjoy the long weekend. No mention of the USA, no mention of Memorial Day, no mention of soldiers fighting currently or soldiers fighting in the past, who have already fallen. No mention of any freedom or liberty or anything like that. Just Enjoy the long weekend Facebook users, primarily critical of Harris tweet, enthusiastically shared screenshots of it over the course of the weekend, as shown below: Those criticisms referred to an authentic tweet. On May 29, Harris did indeed tweet Enjoy the long weekend from the @VP account, along with a photograph of herself smiling. As such, we are issuing a rating of Correct Attribution. However, this was far from the extent of her pronouncements on Memorial Day weekend in 2021. At 7 a.m. EST on May 30, Harris wrote on Twitter: Throughout our history our service men and women have risked everything to defend our freedoms and our country. As we prepare to honor them on Memorial Day, we remember their service and their sacrifice. And on Memorial Day itself at 5:18 p.m. EST, Harris posted what appeared to be a photograph of Arlington National Cemetery, along with the following message: We honor those members of our military who sacrificed their lives in order to defend our freedoms. We owe these heroesand their loved oneseverything. Not just on Memorial Day. Every day. Between Harriss May 30 tweet about the service and sacrifice of members of the U.S. armed forces and June 1, Johnson published no fewer than eight Facebook posts and videos castigating her Enjoy the long weekend tweet. None of them mentioned, even in passing, that the vice president had since said much more about Memorial Day. Similarly, Kayes video, in which he criticized Harris for failing to mention Memorial Day, fallen service members, freedom, and so on, was posted on June 1 after Harris had mentioned all those things in two subsequent tweets. As of June 1, neither the New York Post nor Fox News had updated their articles to include the fact that Harris posted in detail about the sacrifices of U.S. service members, and the ethos of Memorial Day, on May 30 and 31.
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https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kamala-harris-long-weekend/
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Where is President Trump?
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We hope that the Trumps are fine and in their New Jersey home as reported by the news (probably a fake story to cover-up why the Trumps havent been seen at Mar-a-Lago), but we are seeing too many inconsistencies in their lack of PUBLIC PHYSICAL APPEARANCES that have us concerned. Inquiring minds want to know where President and Mrs. Trump are. We dont want to see some CGI, fake audio, or photoshop from propaganda media. We need authentic, undeniable PROOF OF LIFE.NOW. The CIA, a front for the British-American Pilgrims, has assassinated one of our beloved Presidents for knowing and doing a lot less than our beloved President Trump. Its not like we dont know that the CIA assassinates world leaders all the time when they step out of line from the approved Pilgrims New World Order agenda. Start stirring things up in your downline until we see both of them in front of friendly cell phone cameras and know that they are alive. . . . .
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https://aim4truth.org/2021/06/01/where-is-president-trump/
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Whats new in Recoil 0.3?
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Software Developer, with an affinity and curiosity for everything else. Its been a while since Facebook introduced Recoil to the world as its new standard management library for React apps. Although the library is still under the experimental flag for open-source projects, Recoils promising features have proven its worth release after release. Recently, Facebook released two new versions, Recoil 0.2 and Recoil 0.3, in quick succession. The most recent updates introduced a bunch of bug fixes and improvements to the overall development experience. In this guide, well highlight some of the most important new features. For a refresher on how Recoil works, check out our intro to Recoil and our guide to creating a CRUD app. Recoils Snapshot If youve used Recoil before, youre familiar with the concept of atoms. An atom is basically a piece of state in Recoil. Its represented by an atom() function that returns a RecoilState object to which you can write data. Because were primarily using React Hooks for everything, Recoil enables you to work with atoms via a couple of Hooks, including useRecoilState() . A Snapshot object, as its name suggests, is an immutable snapshot of the state within these atoms. You arent likely to use a snapshot in your daily life as a programmer because the state is constantly changing. However, its very useful for things like state synchronization, dev tools features, etc. There are basically three main ways to get snapshots for a given state in Recoil: Via the useRecoilCallback Hook, which allows for async access to a Snapshot Hook, which allows for async access to a Via the useRecoilSnapshot Hook, which allows for synchronous access to a Snapshot Hook, which allows for synchronous access to a Via the useRecoilTransactionObserver_UNSTABLE Hook, which allows for subscribing to Snapshot s for any state change that happens to the atom Recoil 0.3 introduces a slight breaking change for snapshots. Now, a Snapshot object may only live until the callback or the rendering process finishes. If your current code uses snapshots for longer than that, youll see some warning messages appear to your console while in developer mode. However, the team is working on a new API called retain() to enable its usage for longer periods. Watch out for this feature in upcoming releases. RecoilRoot s override RecoilRoot must always be the ancestor for any component that uses Recoil Hooks. Its usually added to the root component of a React app. However, thats up to you because your application can also share multiple RecoilRoot s representing independent stores for atom state. Because of that peculiarity, Recoil guarantees that each atom will always have its own values for each root it belongs to. For example: const container = renderElements( <RecoilRoot> <ReadsAtom atom={myAtom} /> <RecoilRoot> <ReadsAtom atom={myAtom} /> </RecoilRoot> </RecoilRoot> ); In this scenario, the behavior remains the same for nested roots in a way that the inner root masks the outer ones. To prevent this, Recoil 0.3 introduced a new property for RecoilRoot called override . If an inner RecoilRoot is specified with the override property (default true ) set to false , no function is performed for its ancestor: const container = renderElements( <RecoilRoot> <ReadsAtom atom={myAtom} /> <RecoilRoot override={false}> <ReadsAtom atom={myAtom} /> </RecoilRoot> </RecoilRoot> ); The same behavior is expected now when you, for example, unmount a nested root set with override to false. That action wont clean up the ancestor root atoms. New selectors getCallback() function A Recoil selector is a side effect-free pure function that returns the same value for a set of dependency values. Recoil uses them to determine when state changes happen and to notify the component that subscribed to that specific selector so it can rerender properly. Selectors can be read-only or writable depending on the functions provided. If you only provide a get , the selector returns a RecoilValueReadOnly object. If theres a set , it returns a RecoilState object. Heres a simple example of how to use selectors with Recoil: const doubleSelector = selector({ key: 'DoubleSelector', get: ({get}) => get(myAtom) * 2, }); The logic works like this: if any of the selector dependencies get updated, the selector re-evaluates its get method. In our example, if myAtom state updates, the get method updates as well because we now have a new value for the double equation. Sometimes, however, you may want to use the same selectors to return objects with callbacks within them. Lets say you have a selector that returns a component every time the ID of an item within a list updates. The selector detects the change and triggers the get method to recalculate the modal that shows item-related information. You can easily achieve this with the new getCallback() function included in Recoil 0.3: const heySelector = selector({ key: 'HeySelector', get: itemID => ({get, getCallback}) => { const onClick = getCallback(({snapshot}) => async () => { const item = await snapshot.getPromise(queryForSomethingById(itemID)); showModal(item); }); return { title: `Hey, I'm a component!`, onClick, }; }, }); Its very similar to what we have with useRecoilCallback() . However, the getCallback() function is more suitable for use cases in which you need to access the state later, such as when some logic outside the context of the current component needs that object to perform a given operation. Improved performance using HAMT Recoil 0.2 introduced an enhancement that significantly improves the speed at which atom values are cloned. Today, recoil uses built-in map data structures to copy and set maps of atom values when a write happens. The change introduces the use of the hash array mapped trie (HAMT) implementation, which deals with associative arrays to combine the capabilities of hash tables and array mapped trie (search trees). The change increased the speed for such writing operations by 325 times for executions up to a thousand entries. Executions with 10,000 entries are an incredible 3,000 times faster. You can take a look at the new implementation on GitHub. Conclusion Recoil versions 0.2 and 0.3 introduced mostly basic and nonbreaking changes. Among them are improvements in scalability for time and memory consumption of atom families, more friendly error throws on various use cases, better support for Safari, and more. You can probably expect a larger list of substantial changes when the next major release comes out and the Recoil project migrates from experimental to an official state. Full visibility into production React apps Debugging React applications can be difficult, especially when users experience issues that are difficult to reproduce. If youre interested in monitoring and tracking Redux state, automatically surfacing JavaScript errors, and tracking slow network requests and component load time, Debugging React applications can be difficult, especially when users experience issues that are difficult to reproduce. If youre interested in monitoring and tracking Redux state, automatically surfacing JavaScript errors, and tracking slow network requests and component load time, try LogRocket LogRocket is like a DVR for web apps, recording literally everything that happens on your React app. Instead of guessing why problems happen, you can aggregate and report on what state your application was in when an issue occurred. LogRocket also monitors your app's performance, reporting with metrics like client CPU load, client memory usage, and more. The LogRocket Redux middleware package adds an extra layer of visibility into your user sessions. LogRocket logs all actions and state from your Redux stores. Modernize how you debug your React apps start monitoring for free.
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https://blog.logrocket.com/whats-new-in-recoil-0-3/
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Who should the USMNT start vs. Honduras?
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The U.S. Mens National Teams first official competitive match since November of 2019 will also be the first chance to see the teams Golden Generation play in matches that matter, and make no mistake, Thursdays Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Honduras matters. It matters because there is no escaping the disaster it would be for this talent-laden USMNT squad to stumble against a Honduras side with a fraction of the star power. That reality alone is why we should expect a full-strength American squad on Thursday. It would be one with Tyler Adams in the heart of the midfield, though as of Tuesday we still dont have a clear answer on whether he will be take part in this weeks matches. We should have a clue on Wednesday, when teams are obligated to make any injury changes they need to make to their rosters. Adams availability, and who his replacement will be if he cant play, is the most pressing question surrounding the USMNT starting lineup, but it isnt the only one. The attacking midfield spot next to Weston McKennie appears to be in the hands of the red-hot Sebastian Lletget, who has been a goal-scoring machine in recent matches. With those decisions in mind, here is the starting lineup we could see the USMNT deploying against Honduras: GOALKEEPER Zack Steffen DEFENDERS Reggie Cannon, John Brooks, Mark McKenzie, Sergio Dest The back four should resemble the group that started the Swizerland friendly, with the big question being whether McKenzie has moved ahead of Matt Miazga in the pecking order, or if Sunday was more an audition for the young Genk defender. McKenzie looks to be ready to get the nod, and it could come down to him being a quicker defender, which is something the back four needs in the absence of injured starter Aaron Long, especially when the Americans are likely to play against quick strikers in the Nations League. At fullback, it is pretty settled that Reggie Cannon will start at right back while Sergi Dest starts at left back. Dest had a poor game against Switzerland, but to use that game alone to try and discredit him as a good option on the left ignores his past performances in the role. MIDFIELDERS Weston McKennie, Sebastian Lletget, Kellyn Acosta If Tyler Adams is healthy and available he starts at defensive midfielder. There is no disputing that. As things stand, we still dont know if hes going to be able to play. Given his lack of playing time in the past month, it feels a bit ambitious to expect him to recover from his recent back injury and battle the altitude without being match fit. Which brings us to Kellyn Acosta. Or might Berhalter give each a starter enough to spread the workload in a position that will sure require some serious running, especially when you consider how much covering for Sergio Dests forward excursions will be required. We give the nod to Acosta for Thursdays match, but it is a razor-thin competition. As for attacking midfield roles, Weston McKennies name is obviously written in pen, but will Berhalter right the hot hand and stick with Lletget, or will he give go with Musahs ability to maintain possession, which would also give the 18-year-old some more national team experience. The biggest thing working against Musah, at least for this weeks Nations League matches, is his relatively light workload over the past month at Valencia. FORWARDS Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent, Gio Reyna Gregg Berhalter made it clear on Sunday that he expects Christian Pulisic to want to be in the lineup on Thursday, and theres really no reason not to have him start and lead the attack. He and Gio Reyna will be a handful for Honduras to deal with on the wings, which should help open things up for the attack. Which brings us to striker, where Josh Sargent remains Berhalters preferred option. His lack of goal productivity for the USMNT could open the door for Jordan Siebatcheu, but Sargent still does well enough with his movement, hold-up play and pressing to stay in the starting role for now. Siebatcheu isnt getting nearly the attention he should be getting from USMNT fans, who were quick to fall for Daryl Dike and his pile of English League championship goals, while relatively ignoring Siebatcheu winning a Swiss League title while scoring 15 goals in all competitions. Siebatcheus passing ability and intelligent runs could help him thrive in the USMNT system, and he just might take over the starting striker role of Sargent doesnt start producing. Share your thoughts below.
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https://sbisoccer.com/2021/06/who-should-the-usmnt-start-vs-honduras-7
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Are people acting out more as America returns to normal?
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https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2021/06/01/are-people-acting-out-more-as-america-returns-to-normal-n393799 I have no deep thoughts about this, only the observation that it feels like there are more cases lately than in the Before Times of people in public places behaving badly in noteworthy ways. And by badly, I mean everything from boorish heckling to assault to mass murder. The most prominent example is fans getting kicked out of NBA arenas during the playoffs for interfering with the players or the game. The latest instance: Man tackled after running onto court in 76ers-Wizards game https://t.co/E88r9dNz6A pic.twitter.com/mWOC1qFAnc New York Post (@nypost) June 1, 2021 One fan spit on Trae Young of the Hawks. Another poured popcorn on Russell Westbrook. A fan in Boston chucked a water bottle at Kyrie Irving. In Utah, three fans were booted for taunting the family of the Grizzlies Ja Morant. There are always fans who misbehave, but typically not so badly and so often that were hearing about a new case once every 48 hours or so. I think. Another phenomenon is airline passengers behaving badly. Really badly in at least one case: Video obtained by CBS News shows the moment a Southwest Airlines flight attendant was punched by a passenger after asking her to keep her seat belt fastened during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday. https://t.co/gQusevodYC pic.twitter.com/oOYvPdwCFj CBS News (@CBSNews) May 27, 2021 The flight attendant had two of her teeth knocked out. Not exactly: In a letter to Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly, the president of Transport Workers Union Local 556, the union for Southwest flight attendants, wrote that the Sunday incident was not isolated. There were 477 cases of passenger misconduct on the airline between April 8 and May 15. This unprecedented number of incidents has reached an intolerable level, with passenger noncompliance events also becoming more aggressive in nature, Lyn Montgomery wrote. Southwest is not the only airline with an increase in such incidents. Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency was reviewing 1,300 reports of unruly behavior since February. (In the whole previous decade, the agency has initiated just 1,300 similar cases.) Of the 2,500 or so reports of unruly behavior received by the FAA since January, 1,900 have to do with passengers not wanting to wear masks. Even so, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants told aviation officials recently, We have just never seen anything like this. Weve never seen it so bad. Two airlines, American and Southwest, have gone as far as to stop serving alcohol on flights to try to limit the boorishness. There have been a few of those lately too: Workplace mass shootings are rare, but the killing of nine people by a fellow employee at a Northern California rail yard on Wednesday marks the third such rampage in under two months A database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University found that between 2006 and February 2020, there had been 13 mass workplace shootings carried out by a current or former employee roughly one a year on average. The reason they seem more frequent right now is because we havent had them really for the last year because of COVID, Schildkraut says. Such restrictions have also served to limit opportunities for potential shooters because it reduces the available targets for a person, she says. Officials in cities across the country, following the news about mass murders and the rise of violent crime this past year, have already begun preparing their police departments for more violence this summer, when tempers are prone to flare. I have two half-assed theories. One: Nothings going on. Well, somethings going on with airline passengers, but thats relatively easily explained. Theyre chafing at mask rules after 15 months of being bossed around, with the risk from COVID falling every day. But maybe everything else NBA fans being dicks, mass shootings, airline incidents unrelated to masks is happening at roughly the same rate as it always has and were simply paying more attention at the moment because there have been so few shootings/fans at games/crowded flights over the past year. Were also closely watching Americans reemerge, so every misstep is a headline. Two: People are decompressing from the pandemic as they socialize again and some of them just dont have the psychological structural integrity right now to decompress rapidly without failing. Americans have forgotten how to socialize; some of us, when placed in a high-stress social situation, might not be able to handle it at the moment with the same equanimity that we had before 15 months of COVID isolation. People who had a bit of a temper in 2019 may have a hair-trigger temper now, hopefully temporarily but possibly indefinitely. This may also explain why were seeing fans acting out at NBA games but not at MLB games. Its playoff season in the NBA whereas MLB just finished the slow first third of its regular season. Walk into a baseball stadium right now and it might be half full. Walk into an NBA arena and its electric, packed to capacity. Some fans might not be able to handle all the stimulation yet. Same goes for airline passengers who are traveling for the first time in months. The same, maybe, goes for shooters, who suddenly dont have the pandemic competing as much with their grievances for mental space. Could be a long hot summer for America. Safer from COVID for sure, but maybe less safe in other ways. Share this: Twitter Facebook
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https://clarion.causeaction.com/2021/06/01/are-people-acting-out-more-as-america-returns-to-normal/
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What's the Best Way to Get Client Buy-In for SEO?
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Todays Ask an SEO question comes from Muhammad in Karachi. What is important to you is not necessarily important to other people. This is true in both life and the world of search engine optimization. Over the years, Ive had countless conversations with SEO professionals in which weve recounted nightmare scenarios where in-house personnel and clients alike seem hell-bent on sabotaging all SEO efforts. In some cases, it can seem that SEO pros who were hired for their expertise have their advice repeatedly ignored. Advertisement Continue Reading Below Dealing with internal roadblocks is one of the most underrated skills in search engine optimization. Even if you have the best strategy and tactics, you wont know SEO success unless your strategy is implemented. Understand the Why Its actually pretty rare to find someone who doesnt want to do their job well. As an SEO expert, I want to assume that those Im working with want to do the right thing. When that doesnt happen, there is usually something other than malice or laziness at work. Understanding why your items arent being implemented properly is the main job of an SEO that is having trouble getting things done. Advertisement Continue Reading Below For example, if you are dealing with an IT department, there may be some fear that your changes are going to cause unforeseen issues that will cause the already overworked department to have even more work. Sometimes clients read bad advice. After all, in the world of SEO, it can be hard to discern between the good advice versus the bad, even for the most experienced professional. Its up to the SEO pro to establish authority with their clients. SEO pros must work to engender trust or they will never be successful. Never Stop Educating Its easy to forget that not everyone lives, eats, and breathes SEO. This is especially true when dealing with the folks that repeatedly throw roadblocks to SEO progress. Many times, fear and lack of understanding are the reason that SEO recommendations never see the light of day. Its important to continually educate decision-makers on why SEO recommendations are important. But its also important to de-mystify the process. If you present SEO as a magic box, youre going to get pushback down the road. In my opinion, there are no proprietary SEO techniques. And if you are worried that your client is going to just go and do the work themselves without you, you have bigger problems than not getting your SEO recommendations implemented. Advertisement Continue Reading Below Internal Champions One of the most effective ways to get things done is to find an internal champion. This should be someone with a bit of clout in the organization. They should be able to help the SEO pro navigate internal politics, which can frequently be a roadblock to getting things done. Data and Making Things Easier At the end of the day, showing how SEO can affect the bottom line can be imperative in getting things done. SEO professionals need to celebrate and brag about their wins. Ive found that no one else is going to celebrate your wins for you. Advertisement Continue Reading Below Tell your clients and decision-makers about the wins early and often. Its also important to work to make your decision-makers life easier. If all you ever do as an SEO pro is request changes to the site without helping to take something off of someones plate, you quickly become someone whose calls should be avoided. Anything you can do to make things easier for your clients should be done. And when you cant make things easier donuts and snacks are usually appreciated. Never be above bribing someone with sugar. More Resources: Advertisement Continue Reading Below Editors note: Ask an SEO is a weekly SEO advice column written by some of the industrys top SEO experts, who have been hand-picked by Search Engine Journal. Fill out our form. You might see your answer in the next #AskanSEO post!
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https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-get-client-buy-in/408519/?utm_source=sej-feed
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Is Muturi eying the presidency in 2022?
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0 SHARES Share Tweet NAIROBI, Kenya June 2 Justin Muturi, the disputable Spokesman of Mt Kenya region has left tongues wagging following his controversial coronation last week. The crowning of the National Assembly Speaker has particularly left many guessing on his motivation or next move, coming just a year to the 2022 General Election when President Uhuru Kenyattas second and final term will end. Even as some question whether Muturi had the blessings of the elders who matter when he underwent the traditional ritual at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine in Muranga, there are those keen on the bigger picture. Just what is he up to, they ask. And the fact that he has gone on an overdrive, holding community events in the region, has left many guessing, with speculations that he is out to create and widen his influence by taking advantage of the existing inheritance vacuum when the son of Jomo [Kenyatta] leaves office. We cannot afford to be divided. I know you know there is something happening when elders from across the region meet at the shrine, he said on Saturday during the Ameru Professionals Association meeting which was held at the Tharaka Nithi University College. Muturis entry in the 2022 political equation is likely to change the political arithmetics in a region divided on paying loyalty to President Kenyatta or his Deputy President William Ruto who has a handful of MPs singing his tune in the mountain. While Muturi enjoys the support of Governors Kiraitu Murungi (Meru), Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi) and Martin Wambora (Embu) others have dismissed his venture as hot air. Muranga Governor Mwangi Wa Iria is among influential Mt Kenya leaders uncomfortable with Muturis coronation and had even tried to stop it. Others like Governors Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), and Mutahi Kahiga of Nyeri have called for a meeting, in two weeks, to discuss the future of the region, politically. In two weeks time we will be having the meeting in Nyeri and it will bring together elected leaders, former leaders, religious leaders and other leaders who are important in opinion-shaping within the region, Kinyanjui told a news conference days after Muturis controversial coronation. Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading. Soon we will have a common ground we want to ensure that we have unity because our numbers matter, said Waiguru, This is a very important period in our country and as a people we have to focus and speak in one voice.
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https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2021/06/is-muturi-eying-the-presidency-in-2022/
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Which rookie could be surprise gem for Chargers in 2021?
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While expectations are set high for the Chargers early-round picks, there could be someone from the mid-to-late rounds that ends up surprising in their rookie season. Based on talent, upside, the right fit and a legitimate opportunity, Bleacher Reports Kristopher Knox listed a first-year player who could end up being a surprise gem for each team in the league. For Los Angeles, Knox listed tight end Tre McKitty, a third-round pick, as the teams rookie who could surpass expectations. The selection of McKitty was largely a traits-based pick, as he only had six receptions for 108 yards in 2020. However, McKitty is a 64, 246-pound pass-catcher with 4.71 speed. Raw and unpolished as a route-runner, McKitty will be a rotational player early in his career. However, he can be a physical mismatch with big-play potential. Expect McKitty to come on slowly as a rookie but develop into the type of vertical-threat tight end whom Los Angeles lost in Henry. McKitty was drafted for his blocking skills, where he will have a role as an in-line blocker right off the bat. However, he has more potential to make an impact through the air than most realize. He has the athleticism, ability to separate at the top of routes, a frame and great hands to reel in everything thrown his way, along with impressive power and contact balance to gain yards after the catch. For Georgia in 2020, McKitty only posted six receptions in four games, which marked a career-low. Before transferring, McKitty had 50 catches in three seasons at Florida State. It might not be from the get-go that he gets pass-catching snaps since Jared Cook and Donald Parham are ahead of him on the depth chart, but dont be surprised if McKitty carves up a role sooner than later.
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https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2021/06/01/2021-nfl-draft-chargers-surprise-gem-rookie/
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Can altcoins withstand the fall of Bitcoin (BTC)?
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June has begun with the slight growth of the cryptocurrency market as all of the top 10 coins are in the green zone. Top coins by CoinMarketCap BTC/USD Yesterday morning, despite rather modest buying volumes, the BTC/USD pair was able to recover to the area of average prices. In the afternoon, the Bitcoin (BTC) price moved into a narrow consolidation, right at the EMA55 line and, at night, bulls tried to form an impulse to break through the resistance of the $37,150 level. BTC/USD chart by TradingView One failed to significantly increase the volume and, this morning, the prince returned to the moving average EMA 55. If during the day buyers cannot find support in the area of average prices, the forecast for a pullback to the psychological level of $30,000 remains relevant. Bitcoin is trading at $36,298 at press time. ETH/USD Sales volumes decreased yesterday morning, and the Ethereum (ETH) price was able to gain a foothold above the POC line ($2,330). In the afternoon, the pair broke through the moving average EMA55, but small buying volumes did not allow the Ether price to test the resistance of $2,800. ETH/USD chart by TradingView The pair's recovery has slowed down this morning, and the price may return to the three-hour EMA55. If the level of average prices does not stop the bears, the pair may roll back to the psychological level of $2,000. Ethereum is trading at $2,565 at press time. XRP/USD Yesterday in the morning, buyers managed to form a strong enough bullish momentum to break through the resistance of the EMA55 moving average and test the psychological level of $1.00. In the afternoon, buying volumes declined and the XRP price stuck in the sideways right at the $1 mark. XRP/USD chart by TradingView At night, buyers tried to continue the recovery and tested the level of $1.10. However, the growth was not supported by large volumes and, most likely today, the pair will roll back to the area of average prices. If the three-hour EMA55 stops the decline, then the recovery may continue to the level of $1.20. XRP is trading at $1.01 at press time. ADA/USD The rate of Cardano (ADA) has risen by 2% over the last day. ADA/USD chart by TradingView Cardano (ADA) keeps trading sideways as neither bulls nor bears have seized the initiative. However, on the daily chart, the selling trading volume is going down, which means that bears are losing their power. In this case, one can expect a retest of the resistance at $1.87 soon. ADA is trading at $1.695 at press time.
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https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/can-altcoins-withstand-the-fall-of-bitcoin-btc-202106020550
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Why Has Tesla Activated the In-car Camera of its Electric Vehicles?
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Tesla decided to activate the in-car camera installed in some of its models to ensure, in the event of a serious accident, that the driver was properly seated and paying attention, even in Autopilot mode. In its latest software update, Tesla is enabling activation of the camera placed in the interior of some of its cars, in order to detect the presence of the driver at the wheel when the vehicle is in Autopilot mode. This camera is placed above the interior rearview mirror and is therefore intended to capture any moments of inattention from the driver. It complements the various sensors already installed, particularly on the steering wheel, but which are much less reliable. All of them are intended to ensure the presence and attentiveness of the driver, even when they are not exercising direct control over the automatic steering of their car. They must be capable of reacting and taking action at any time, in case of danger. For the moment, this concerns Model 3 and Model Y owners. Tesla has also ensured the confidentiality of data. According to this new update, Camera data does not leave the car itself, which means the system cannot save or transmit information unless data sharing is enabled." This decision to activate the interior camera comes in the aftermath of numerous accidents that involved a Tesla with Autopilot mode activated and drivers who were not sufficiently vigilant. Teslas Autopilot is a driving mode that allows the vehicle to maintain a trajectory, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, without the intervention of the driver. However, the driver has to keep an eye on whats going on so that they can take control at any time if something goes wrong. Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
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https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/why-has-tesla-activated-the-in-car-camera-of-its-electric-vehicles-3801089.html
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Did The Largest Galaxy Survey Ever Just Challenge Cosmology As We Know It?
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The Dark Energy Survey's CCD plane (L) and field-of-view (R). With six years of data under its belt ... [+] and the year three data release and analysis just having been completed, it's a fascinating chance to compare these new observations with our best cosmic theories and the data from other sources. CTIO/Fermilab/DES Collaboration For as long as humans have been studying the Universe, weve yearned to know the answers to the biggest questions of all. Starting in the 1920s, we began to accumulate enough evidence to start drawing robust conclusions about the Universes nature and behavior, identifying galaxies beyond our own Milky Way, measuring their distances and redshifts, and determining that the Universe was expanding. Its been nearly a full century since then, and the level of precision to which we measure the Universe has increased dramatically. In 2018, for example, the Planck collaboration released their final results from most exquisite all-sky measurements of the temperature fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background: the leftover glow from the Big Bang. Its results told us what the Universe was made of, what its expansion history was, and what its ultimate fate was likely to be. But signals that tell us the Universes composition and expansion history should also be imprinted in galaxies throughout the Universe, and the largest such survey ever conducted is the Dark Energy Survey, which just released their latest results. Lets dive in and find out. Galaxies identified in the eXtreme Deep Field image can be broken up into nearby, distant, and ... [+] ultra-distant components, with Hubble only revealing the galaxies it's capable of seeing in its wavelength ranges and at its optical limits. The dropoff in the number of galaxies seen at very great distances may indicate the limitations of our observatories, rather than the non-existence of faint, small, low-brightness galaxies at great distances. NASA, ESA, AND Z. LEVAY, F. SUMMERS (STSCI) When we look out at the Universe, to greater and greater distances, were actually looking farther back in time as well. The farther away an object is, the longer it takes the light it emits to travel to our eyes. As the Universe expands, the distances between objects increases, and the light itself gets stretched: shifted to longer and longer wavelengths. All together, as the Universe expands, a number of things happen: the energy density dilutes, as radiation and matter (both normal and dark) become less dense as the volume increases, the expansion rate, determined by the total energy density, also changes (by decreasing) with time, massive clumps of matter grow via gravitational attraction, changing the way that space in that vicinity bends the background light, and whenever we observe a photon that was emitted a long distance away, the light we wind up measuring has imprinted on it the cumulative gravitational effects at play, including the expansion of the Universe, gravitational lensing, and the changes in gravitational potential from the objects it encountered along its journey to us. In other words, the light we observe tells the story of whats happened in the Universe ever since that light was emitted. The same field of space imaged deeply in three different wavelengths. From left to right, r-band ... [+] (red color), i-band (very near infrared), and z-band (longer-wavelength near infrared) images are shown down to ~25th magnitude from the Dark Energy Survey. This kind of deep survey is necessary to reveal faint, distant galaxies. W.G. Hartley et al. (2021) for the Dark Energy Survey collaboration This is the big idea behind using galaxy surveys to help infer whats out there in the Universe. Instead of using a signal from one snapshot in the Universes past which is what the Cosmic Microwave Background gives us, for instance we can look back to a wide variety of snapshots in time by looking at the behavior and properties of galaxies at different distances from us. The key is to understand that, on the largest scales, the physics governing the Universe actually becomes relatively simple compared to what we glean by looking at small-scale, individual structures. On the scale of a single galaxy, for example, there are enormous complexities to consider. Gas and dust interact with starlight; ultraviolet radiation can ionize matter in the interstellar medium; gas clouds collapse, triggering new star formation; as matter gets heated up, it affects the dark matter in the galactic core; if star formation becomes too intense, the normal matter inside can get ejected. And yet, despite all of that messiness, and the complex interplay of dark matter with the physics of normal matter, individual galaxies can still tell you nothing about dark energy. When you look at how galaxies cluster together on large cosmic scales, however, there are actually far fewer poorly understood complexities to get in the way. The evolution of large-scale structure in the Universe, from an early, uniform state to the ... [+] clustered Universe we know today. (The expansion that we know is scaled out.) As we move from early times (left) to late times (right), you can see how gravitational collapse shapes the Universe. Angulo et al. (2008); Durham University On the largest scales say, scales of a few tens of millions of light-years or more you can model the Universe fairly simplistically and still get some very powerful predictions for your troubles. You can treat dark matter as a collisionless fluid, gravitating but not responding to any other forces. You can model normal matter as massive but with self-interactions and with couplings to photons. You can treat photons as a bath of radiation that exerts pressure and scatters off of normal matter, but not dark matter. And you can fold in dark energy as well, and then run your simulations from early times up through and including the present day. The idea is that by making a large set of mock catalogues of galaxies based on slight differences in cosmological parameters. You can then evaluate them based on whichever observable criteria you choose. The answers are highly sensitive to the composition of the Universe we choose to consider. Any configuration of background points of light -- stars, galaxies or clusters -- will be distorted ... [+] due to the effects of foreground mass via weak gravitational lensing. Even with random shape noise, the signature is unmistakeable. The quantification of both the clustering amplitude and the lensing amplitude are important for cosmology. Wikimedia Commons user TallJimbo Thats all on the theory side. You run simulations, you evaluate them, and you extract what sets of observables correspond to being consistent or inconsistent with each one. But astrophysics is a little bit different than physics. Whereas physics is an experimental science, astrophysics is an observational one. You can only put the Universe to the test insofar as you can observe it. Unless your observations are comprehensive and flawless meaning you can see everything exactly as it is you have a large number of effects you need to account for. For example, your observations: are limited by resolution, as objects too close together will appear as a single source, are limited by brightness, as objects that are too faint wont appear, are limited by redshift, as an object thats too severely redshifted will no longer fall within your telescopes sensitivity range, have confounding factors at play, such as not being able to distinguish, for individual objects, how much of the redshift is due to a galaxys motion versus how much is due to the expansion of the Universe, and a number of other factors. Still, the key to connecting theory and observation is to account for all of these issues to the best of your ability, and then compare your observed-and-analyzed data set with your theoretically generated/simulated ones, and see what you can learn about the Universe. The real year-3 data from the Dark Energy Survey (L) versus a simulation (R). By examining the joint ... [+] distributions of how galaxies are shaped, how much light comes from them, and what the colors of these galaxies are allows scientists to detail the impact of blending on the calibration of shear (shape distortion) and the observed/effective redshift distribution of galaxies. N. MacCrann et al. (2021) for the Dark Energy Survey collaboration On May 27, 2021, the Dark Energy Survey collaboration released a series of papers 26 in total (of a planned 30, so 4 more are still to come) detailing the results from the largest galaxy survey of all-time. In total, they surveyed 5,000 square degrees of area, or the equivalent of about of the entire sky. They obtained data on some ~226 million galaxies, including ~100 million of which were useful for understanding cosmic shear (the shape distortion of galaxies). Perhaps most importantly, they were able to place constraints, based on this data, on a number of important cosmological parameters. After all, if we want to make the claim that we understand what the Universe is made of and what its fate must be, the different lines of evidence that we collect should all point to the same overall, self-consistent picture. Three different types of measurements, distant stars and galaxies, the large scale structure of the ... [+] Universe, and the fluctuations in the CMB, enable us to reconstruct the expansion history of our Universe. All three types of measurements point to a consistent cosmic picture, full of dark energy and dark matter, but not every aspect of every method is in agreement with one another. ESA/Hubble and NASA, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, ESA and the Planck Collaboration To be clear, the Dark Energy Survey team really did their homework. There are papers specifically on a variety of important aspects to address, including blinding procedures when multiple cosmic probes are used, internal consistency tests with posterior predictive distributions, and how to quantify tensions between Dark Energy Survey (galaxy survey) and Planck (CMB) data. There are also papers on how to address systematics, on how to properly calibrate their data for each of the three indicators theyre using, and how to account for various forms of bias. When all is said and done, this team of hundreds of scientists synthesized together the largest galactic data set ever for these cosmological purposes, and obtained some spectacular results. In particular, some highlights are: the total matter density is between 31% and 37% of critical density, whereas Planck gave ~32%, the dark energy equation of state is -0.98 (with uncertainties of around 20%), whereas Planck gave -1.03 and a cosmological constant is -1.00, exactly, the favored value for the expansion rate, whereas Planck alone gave 67.4 km/s/Mpc, now rises to 68.1 km/s/Mpc when the Dark Energy Survey data is folded in, and the greatest tension with Planck arises in the value of what cosmologists call S 8 , which you can think of as how strongly the Universe clusters together, as the Dark Energy Survey data favors a value of 0.776, while Planck previously had favored a value of 0.832. (Combined, the results yield a value of 0.815, squarely between the two.) The Dark Energy Survey data (grey) lines up with results from all other sources. When you look at ... [+] various parameters, including the matter density (x-axis), the clustering amplitude (S_8), the dark energy equation of state (w), and other cosmological parameters, everything is consistent at a very reasonable significance between the various data sets. Dark Energy Survey Collaboration et al. (2021) If you were to ask me a theoretical cosmologist who isnt part of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration what this all means, I would likely sum up the results in three points. The Dark Energy Survey data, the largest galaxy survey ever conducted so far, has, through three independent methods, confirmed and refined the standard cosmological model. When Planck and Dark Energy Survey are taken together, we get a picture thats essentially unchanged from the Planck data alone: similar matter density, similar support for dark energy being a cosmological constant, similar expansion rate, and a very, very slight shift to what we call the clustering amplitude. And the developments that have been made on how to handle such an enormous amount of data of this type will be useful as we look to the future of large galaxy surveys, including ESAs Euclid, NSFs Vera Rubin Observatory, and NASAs Nancy Roman Telescope. In fact, the biggest surprise they encountered was that the clustering amplitude and the lensing amplitudes, which should match, appeared to disagree. Although this was discussed at length in Section V of the main results paper, further investigation into what could be causing or explaining this issue is needed. The large 'discrepancy' between the majority of the data and the one unexplained result. If it ... [+] weren't for the orange contour plot, a clear outlier, the only significant tension between the Dark Energy Survey team's results and the standard cosmological model would disappear. It is, perhaps, not compelling enough to claim 'Einstein was wrong' based on this alone. Dark Energy Survey Collaboration et al. (2021) But this is no justification for the absurd headlines that have ensued, with many touting a cosmic mystery that, as Dr. Niall Jeffrey from the Dark Energy Survey team put it, if this disparity is true then maybe Einstein was wrong. Carlos Frenk, a cosmologist not associated with the Dark Energy Survey, has also been quoted, stating, I spent my life working on this theory and my heart tells me I don't want to see it collapse. But my brain tells me that the measurements were correct, and we have to look at the possibility of new physics. These assertions, based on experience, are unlikely to pan out for a variety of reasons. First off, this is the first time weve ever compiled or extracted data from a catalogue this large, and a large number of new methods and techniques are being trialed for the first time. The Dark Energy Survey has found ~226 million galaxies over ~5000 square degrees. This is the ... [+] largest galaxy survey in history, and it has given us unprecedented information about the cosmos. Overwhelmingly, it agrees with and refines the current consensus cosmological picture. It also allowed us to infer the most accurate dark matter map in history. N. Jeffrey; Dark Energy Survey Collaboration If you want to get headlines, eyeballs, and attention, just say those three magic words, Einstein was wrong. You wont be right, of course; no one has been thus far. Relativity, both the special and general forms, have passed every test weve thrown at them for more than a century, and scientists have arguably tried harder to prove Einstein wrong than any other scientist in history. The truth is we have an enormous new set of valuable data, and we can extract a fantastic amount of information about the Universe from it. The nature and amount of dark matter and dark energy have been confirmed; the Universes expansion rate lines up with precisely what previous studies have said; and the clustering amplitude is slightly smaller than we expected it would be. Its doubtful, however, that this is a sign of new physics; if anything, its an issue to investigate further and cross-check with other galaxy surveys. If it turns out to be something thats actually worth a second look, more and better data will show us the way.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2021/06/02/did-the-largest-galaxy-survey-ever-just-challenge-cosmology-as-we-know-it/
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Can David Nucifora get the Irish rugby juggernaut back on track?
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Since becoming the IRFUs high performance director in April 2014, David Nucifora has afforded the media end-of-year and end-of-season state of the union addresses, but never before has it been in such trying times, as will be the case on Wednesday. For much of the first five years of his tenure Irish rugby with Joe Schmidts Team Ireland atop the pyramid enjoyed unprecedented success. The Six Nations title, won in 2014, was retained in 2015 and, although the Irish team exited the 2015 World Cup at the quarter-final stages against Argentina when heavily depleted, there followed the two historic wins over the All Blacks in Chicago and Dublin along with the Grand Slam of 2018 as well as other landmark wins over South Africa and Australia. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit Irish rugby as hard as anyone, with the IRFU posting a 35.7 million loss in its 2019/20 accounts Leinster also won the Heineken Champions Cup in 2018 while dominating the Guinness Pro14, in which Connacht also enjoyed their breakthrough success in 2016. However, following on from Nucifora personally upping the ante by setting a first semi-final as a minimum requirement for the 2019 World Cup in Japan, Ireland fell short when beaten heavily in the quarter-final by the All Blacks. Since the title of 2018, Ireland have finished third in the Six Nations for three successive seasons, as they did in the one-off Autumn Nations Cup, and while Leinster have extended their hold over the Pro14 for four successive seasons, they again fell short in Europe this season, as did Munster, Ulster and Connacht. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Irish rugby as hard as anyone, with the IRFU posting a 35.7 million loss in its 2019/20 accounts, and as a result there have been voluntary redundancies and pruning across the organisation. Contract negotiations Despite spending much of 2020 in his native Australia, Nucifora is able to point to the largely successful round of contract negotiations with players whose deals would have expired as of Tuesday. The vast bulk of provincially contracted players re-signed and, of the seven tied to central contracts, Nucifora negotiated new deals with Keith Earls, Jonathan Sexton, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong and Peter OMahony, the only exception being the retiring CJ Stander, and, despite some speculation to the contrary, that was not a financially driven outcome in any way. That said, Furlong only signed a one-year deal, akin to Sexton, Healy and Earls as well as many under provincial contracts who will be hopeful of better offers before the end of next season. But no matter how he dresses it up it would have been incumbent upon Nucifora and the IRFU to tie down such a valuable asset as Furlong until at least the 2023 World Cup. All in all, akin to the likes of Man City, Chelsea and PSG in football, the French clubs especially, as well as their English counterparts, look comparatively ring-fenced financially from the full effects of the pandemic, not only due to the presence of private benefactors but also in light of the Top 14s new 454.4 million, four-year deal with Canal+. With Garry Ringrose among the next batch of frontline international players who will also be out of contract before the next World Cup, it will be interesting to hear how Nucifora hopes he can entice them to stay. Grinding halt Perhaps most damagingly of all, the last 15 months have effectively brought both the Irish schools and club game to a grinding halt. At last Decembers media briefing, this reporter asked Nucifora what was being done to keep the club and schools games afloat and he said: Ive had my hands full with the professional game and I havent really been across where thats at with the club and school games. This went down like a lead balloon with the clubs, and compounded the rift between Nucifora and them when they failed to agree to his proposed revamping of the Energia All-Ireland League (AIL). Nucifora in turn signed off on the one-off Cara Cup involving provincial A sides playing in the USA at the end of the 2018-19 season, undermining the finale to the AIL season in what was widely interpreted as a vindictive two fingers to the clubs. The effective closure of the schools and the clubs games, and Irish rugbys overt dependence on the former, has in turn been compounded by the lost year of under-age international games. So, while extolling the virtues of the sevens programme and citing the examples of Hugo Keenan and Will Connors, it would be interesting to hear how Nucifora envisages making up for lost ground in this development pathway.
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https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/can-david-nucifora-get-the-irish-rugby-juggernaut-back-on-track-1.4581502?localLinksEnabled=false
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What does Aba Mosi Dada mean in Genshin Impact?
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It is Day 7 of the Mimi Tomo event in Genshin Impact, which means we have one last chance to find the Unusual Hilichurl. After finding the second Hilichurl, he will use the phrase Aba Mosi Dada, giving you the time that the Unsuaul Hilichurl will appear. As always, players are not expected to magically know what this means, and have access to a Handy Handbook of Hilichurlian that was given to them at the start of the even by Ella Musk. They can use this to work out the meaning. Aba Mosi Dada means between dawn and noon, so heading to the correct place at that time means you will find the Unsuaul Hilichurl. You can find the Unusual Hilichurl at Cuijue Slope, right on the J on the map. Beating up him and his friends will allow you to claim your reward from the events tab. Players can open the Handy Handbook of Hilichurlian at any time by going to the Mimi Tomo section in the events menu and hitting the prompted button for the Handbook near the bottom of the event description. There are quite a few Hilichurlian phrases in there, but its still pretty easy to figure out what these little guys are talking about, thankfully.
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https://www.gamepur.com/guides/what-does-aba-mosi-dada-mean-in-genshin-impact
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Are Attic Fans Necessary or Even a Good Idea?
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If you've ever climbed the stairs to your attic in the middle of summer, you know the feeling you have as you step into the attic from your air-conditioned home below. The temperature differential between your cool living spaces and your hot attic space above is significant, with attic temperatures potentially exceeding 150 degrees Fahrenheit in this unconditioned space. Often touted as the remedy to keep your attic cooler, attic fans (not whole-house fans) can actually accomplish this goal but at an overall detrimental consequence. Advertisement Not to be confused with whole-house fans, which are ceiling-mounted fans that pull air in through open windows and push it into the attic to cool a home, attic exhaust fans are designed to cool the attic instead of the living space below. Although the precisely correct term is "power attic ventilator" (PAV), "attic fan" is the common name that's recognized by homeowners as well as the HVAC industry to distinguish this device from a whole-house fan. Terminology aside, when you get to the science behind what makes an attic fan work, you may be surprised to find that installing an attic fan may not be a good idea for your home. Tip The value of an attic fan is marginal at best and even potentially dangerous. Heat Buildup in Attics The inordinate amount of heat in attic spaces (compared to conditioned air in living spaces) starts with the sun, of course, but your home's roof plays a role in intensifying this heat. Roofing materials, particularly dark-colored asphalt shingles, absorb heat and conduct it downward to the roof deck. Then, it's the roof deck that radiates this heat into your attic, where the objects and structures inside absorb the heat. If your roof is tilted directly toward the sun, it captures and conducts even more heat. Everything inside your attic is fair game for heating up, including the rafters, insulation, ductwork and stored items. When your stored items include things like your family's heirloom holiday decorations, you may be compelled to install an attic fan to mitigate the damage they may sustain from intense attic heat. Even if you don't store many items in your attic, you may want to install an attic fan to save money on your cooling bills. However, when you compare the perceived benefit of an attic fan to its downsides, you may choose another option for keeping your attic cooler. How Attic Fans Work Attic fans pull in cooler air from outside your home's building envelope its external structure and insulation layer, including the walls and roof while pushing the hot air inside the attic to the outside. Your home's soffit vents, gable vents and ridge vents are key players in attic-fan functionality because these roof vents enable the air transfer. Depending on the size of a house, homeowners may have only one attic fan or multiple fans. Advertisement Attic fans should facilitate 10 air changes each hour. By multiplying an attic's total square footage by a factor of 0.7, you can calculate the necessary cubic feet per minute (CFM) rate required for an attic fan. For example, if your attic is 1,000 square feet, you'll need an attic fan that's rated 700 CFM (1,000 square feet multiplied by 0.7). If your roof is dark or steep, you should add 15 percent to that figure, resulting in 805 CFM. The Science Behind Attic Fans In theory, attic fans seem to be the perfect solution for lowering the oppressive heat buildup in attics, but the science behind this theory proves otherwise. When an attic fan pushes air out of an attic, it doesn't just move air from the attic; it can also suck air from conditioned living spaces and expel it from your home. This means some of your cooled indoor air gets pulled into the attic, where the attic fan pushes it out, forcing your air conditioner to work harder, which increases your utility bill. You'll not only be paying for the attic fan and the power to run it but you'll also pay more on your utility bills for the additional energy required to overwork your AC. An exception to this loss of conditioned air from your living space into the attic applies only to homes with ceilings that are completely sealed from the attic. However, even with a sealed ceiling, your money may be better spent on improving insulation levels and natural attic ventilation rather than paying for the energy to run an attic fan. Other Downsides of Attic Fans In addition to the inefficient use of energy required to operate an attic fan plus its installation costs, there are other downsides. Even if you have a sealed ceiling, cool air can still escape from your living areas through the attic door. If your roof venting system is inadequate or if one or more vents is even partially blocked, the attic fan must work harder. Advertisement Other than pulling conditioned air from your living spaces, attic fans can also reach beyond these areas and pull air from your basement or crawl space. The moist conditions that exist in many basements and crawl spaces can be a breeding ground for mold. If your attic fan is pulling this moldy air from your basement or crawl space through your home before it reaches your attic and eventually exits your home, then you and your family will be breathing in mold spores. Safety Issues With Attic Fans Inhaling mold spores that your attic fan may pull from the damp recesses of your basement or crawl space is only one potential health and safety hazard associated with these fans. If your furnace is installed in your attic, an attic fan may blow out the pilot light because of the draft it produces (if you have an old furnace with a standing pilot light). When the pilot light is extinguished, the furnace may expel gas into the attic. Although the attic fan will expel much of this gas with the hot air it pushes out, the fan does not run continuously. When the fan is not running, gas can collect in the attic and potentially infiltrate your home through cracks in the ceiling and around the attic door. If you have a chimney with a damaged flue, an attic fan can pull carbon monoxide from the flue into the attic and then into your living spaces below. Another carbon monoxide danger is called "backdraft," which can also occur in a home with an attic fan. Essentially, this happens when an attic fan pushes carbon monoxide from gas appliances, such as water heaters, into your home. It's a good idea to install a carbon monoxide alarm in your home if you have a chimney or gas appliances as well as an attic fan to keep on top of this potential health hazard. Image Credit: photovs/iStock/GettyImages Alternatives to Attic Fans Utilize natural ventilation instead of employing attic fans by installing soffit vents and insulation baffles (to ensure the airflow is not blocked by insulation near the house walls). Even in the winter, when it may seem to be counterintuitive to allow cool air into your attic, this strategy actually helps prevent a common problem in cold climates. If your attic stays too warm, snow melts from the roof and collects in gutters, where it re-freezes and causes ice dams, which can damage your roof and lead to water leaks inside the attic. Advertisement Insulate your attic. Attics that have adequate natural ventilation and sufficient insulation R-value don't need attic fans. The insulation will help slow the heat transfer from your hot attic to your living space below, so installing an attic fan won't significantly reduce your cooling load if you have sufficient insulation. If your attic already has some insulation, you can simply add another layer in a perpendicular direction on top of the old layer (or add more loose-fill insulation if that's what your attic has) but be sure not to install insulation on top of soffit vents or light fixtures. Seal any cracks and other air gaps in your ceiling with silicone caulk or an expanding foam. Look for dark areas in your insulation, which are telltale signs that dusty air is leaking from your living spaces into the attic. Wear gloves and be careful not to get the expanding foam onto your clothes because it's hard to remove after it dries without damaging your clothing. Use self-stick weatherstripping to seal the cracks around your attic door or access panel. Choosing an Attic Fan If you do purchase an attic fan, avoid choosing one that has plastic parts. Subjected to the extremely hot temperatures in an attic, plastic parts may not be long-lasting. On the flip side, in extremely cold winter temperatures, plastic can become brittle and snap. Look for an attic fan that has solid metal construction, optimally sheet metal and steel. Another plus is metal that's galvanized or painted. If you don't want the hassle of having to turn a fan on or off manually, you can find a model that has a remote control for on/off capability and customized setting features, including an automatic and adjustable thermostat. Bigger is not always better. An attic fan that's more powerful than what your home needs isn't better than one that's perfectly paired to your home's size. Conversely, an attic fan that's less powerful than what you need won't accomplish much. Be sure to choose the proper CFM based on the attic's square footage. Advertisement Solar-powered attic fans have built-in solar panels that power their operation. Although this will save money by being off-grid, you're still paying for the actual fan itself, which most homeowners don't even need. Depending on weather conditions, the solar storage capability of a solar fan's battery and the size of the house, the solar option may not work for every home. Hardwired attic fans are just that wired into your home's electrical system. Regardless of whether you're considering the purchase of a hardwired or solar-powered model, the science and research behind attic fans simply do not support their effectiveness or justify their cost. Look instead to natural venting options, insulating your attic and sealing cracks and gaps to make your home as energy efficient as possible.
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https://www.hunker.com/13764652/are-attic-fans-necessary-or-even-a-good-idea
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How can gambling taxation help during COVID in India?
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Indias vast betting market remains unregulated and largely untaxed. The Union budget is struggling to cope with the effects of the global pandemic and runs on large deficits. Taxing online casinos and gambling seems an obvious solution. Whole Sectors of the Economy Stay Out of Taxation Reach A recently published Sevenjackpots taxation research article raises the question of the numerous offshore casinos operating on the Indian market that do not deduct taxes from players online winnings. Even more concerning are the results of a social media survey, citing 71 per cent of respondents as not having paid any taxes during 2020. ENV Medias research paper on Indian income tax reminds that all earnings from any form of online or offline betting or gambling above 10,000 are levied with a flat tax of 30 per cent. Adding on top the Health and Education Cess (4 per cent), the effective taxation rate on all winnings above the non-taxable limit is 31.2 per cent. According to the same study, reputable online casino operators such as PureWin.com strive for legality and make all necessary efforts to respect Bharat income tax legislation. This includes taxing gaming payouts at the source. Still, there are platforms that advertise full amount withdrawals of winnings, placing the responsibility of declaring earnings in the hands of desi gamers. Legislation concerning the indirect Goods and Services Tax (GST) expressly sets a separate category of casinos, racecourses and other gambling channels, requiring them to charge a rate of 28 per cent on all their entry fees, products and services. Moreover, GST is charged and paid by registered merchants and this makes it difficult to enforce it on offshore casino operators. Running a Country through a Pandemic is Expensive Covid-19 is taking its toll on human life and health. Besides the medical aspect, however, the pandemic has a huge impact on the economy. This puts a strain on the nations budget on many different levels. Healthcare spending more than doubles for the financial year 2021-2022, rising by 137 per cent to over $ 30 billion. The sector needs to catch up in terms of health infrastructure, after being underfunded for years. And then there is the vaccination program for 1.3 billion people that has to be paid for. In an attempt to incite economic growth, Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman's budget is focusing on large-scale infrastructural projects. These include national highways and transport corridors, as well as textile parks, among others. A Development Finance Institution (DFI) is also planned for with initial capital of $ 2.7 billion. An asset reconstruction and management company is also to be set up to acquire bad debt from banks, freeing up their lending capacity. The measures are expected to stimulate spending and bring relief to the overburdened banking system. Taxing Gambling Will Help Fight the Budget Deficit The Centres budget is planning a $ 23 billion disinvestment reform. Two public banks, an insurer and the national carrier Air India are among the companies set to be privatized. Despite the ambitious disinvestment strategy, the annual deficit is projected at a staggering 6.8 per cent. In light of this, new sources of taxation revenue can make a big difference. A 2019 KPMG report found that the betting market in India had been growing at a rate of over 7 per cent between 2012 and 2018 (from $ 88 billion to $ 130 billion). Regulating such a vast market will bring a lot of revenue to the Central and State governments. Besides an improved collection of Income tax and GST, proper regulation will force offshore casino operators and illegal bookies to get licensed. License fees can also provide their contribution to the public budget, while operators will have to start paying Corporate Income Tax (CIT) in India. Special gambling taxes can also be a source of a much needed levy income. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within the content are solely the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy or position of Hindustan Times.
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/brand-post/how-can-gambling-taxation-help-during-covid-in-india-101622550613209-amp.html
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Did Robin Givens Get a Settlement From Her Divorce With Mike Tyson?
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Robin Givens began her acting career in the cult classic The Wiz while also finishing up studies at Sarah Lawrence. She was set to go to graduate school, but Bill Cosby mentored her into pursuing acting full-time, which luckily worked out for her. She starred in ABCs Head of Class in the late 1980s and is still acting today. However, her career was marred by her marriage to Mike Tyson, in which she famously criticized his volatile temper, said she was scared of him, and called their marriage torture and pure hell while he was sitting next to her during a Barbara Walters interview. The infamous interview was covered in part during Mike Tyson: The Knockout, and many lauded it as the beginning of a targeted smear campaign.
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https://www.distractify.com/p/how-much-did-robin-givens-get-from-mike-tyson
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Are Malaysian celebrities and public figures playing by a different set of Covid-19 rules?
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Last week, Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was summoned by Malaysian police over a tweet in which he questioned why an official was wearing a face shield without a face mask. Syed Saddiq, 28, had pointed out that doing so was a violation of Covid-19 protocols under last weeks movement control order. Malaysian politician Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. PHOTO: Reuters The official in question was Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who was appearing as the chairman of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, the state-owned rail operator, at a press conference on May 25 to discuss a rail accident that injured 200 people. Tajuddin was dismissed the day after the press conference. The day after Tajuddins dismissal, the police summoned Syed Saddiq. The police officers were kind and accommodating during the session. However, it still makes me wonder what was my role actually in helping the investigation as it is clear as the sun that Tajuddin Rahman was not in compliance with the Covid-19 SOP [standard operating procedure], Syed Saddiq told This Week In Asia . Syed Saddiq, the former Youth and Sports Minister, is among many Malaysians questioning whether double standards are being used in the enforcement of Covid-19 regulations. Malaysia has seen a surge of Covid-19 cases in recent months and entered a full lockdown on Tuesday for all social and economic sectors from June 1 to June 14 in an effort to flatten the curve. The country reported 7,105 new cases on Tuesday. Politicians and celebrities keep on openly breaking the SOP and yet no action is taken or it takes a long time before the summons is issued, said Syed Saddiq. In the eyes of the public, they see this as an act of delayed justice where the public gets summoned [by police] on the spot while for the politicians and celebrities, [there is] a rigorous process of investigation before [a police summons is approved by] the Attorney Generals Office, said Syed Saddiq. Celebrity entrepreneur and television host Neelofa was criticised for flouting Covid-19 protocols when she held a large reception for her wedding on March 27. Pictures that surfaced on social media showed her wedding guests without masks and ignoring social distancing rules, sparking a backlash against the celebrity. She and her family were fined a total of 60,000 ringgit (US$14,600). Shocked by images frm #Neelofa's wedding. Blatant disregard for #COVID19 SOPs. Tht circular arrangement was the worst. People behave as if a virus gives a damn tht u are family members or privileged, will not infect, & stays away. I'm sorry, expect a cluster frm this wedding. pic.twitter.com/UyPFmSbFoR Azrul Mohd Khalib (@azrulmohdkhalib) March 27, 2021 Neelofa and her husband Muhammad Haris Mohd Ismail, also known as PU Riz, a celebrity preacher, were further criticised when they were photographed enjoying a cable car ride and jet-skiing after their wedding, during what they described as a work trip but some speculated was their honeymoon, The Star reported. PHOTO: Screengrab/Instagram/neelofa Meanwhile singer Siti Nurhaliza and her husband Khalid Mohamad Jiwa were fined 10,000 ringgit (S$320.24) each for violating Covid-19 regulations during an Islamic ceremony for their second child, while celebrities Norman Hakim and his wife Memey Suhaiza, along with 1990s singer Abby Abadi and her husband Muhammad Faizal Zakari, were fined 2,000 ringgit each for Covid-19 breaches during the recent Eid celebrations. PHOTO: Screengrab/Instagram/normanhakim_786 Lawyer and environmentalist Jehan Bakar felt angry and frustrated seeing celebrities flouting the rules, saying their actions were like slapping the faces of frontliners who were risking their lives and working around the clock to deal with the pandemic. Being people with huge followings and of certain social stature, they should be the ones sending out the right message of mask up, stay at home, avoid crowds and do not travel interstate, said Jehan. What is more appalling is that their flouting of Covid SOPs is usually uploaded and shared on their social media platforms, as if they are proud of being able to do what the rest of the rakyat [people] cannot, said Jehan, adding it was deeply disturbing that celebrities were setting such a bad example to the rest of society. Faizal Hamssin, a mining industry professional working in Kuala Lumpur, felt similarly. I feel upset, and frankly quite annoyed when reading about these celebrities flouting the SOPs. The reality is, some people in the country feel they are indispensable and above the law, said Faizal, adding that some celebrities had probably got away with many things over the years so felt this time would be no different. For those with money, the fine imposed for breaking the SOPs might be a small sum, so why bother? said Faizal. However, he said that while many celebrities seemed indifferent to the plight of ordinary Malaysians, some had used their influence for good by organising fundraising activities. Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding Neelofa and her husband did not end with their wedding. On May 2, the couple again allegedly violated Covid-19 regulations when they went carpet shopping. Both allegedly failed to use the contact tracing app, MySejatera, while visiting a shop, while Muhammad Haris, 26, also allegedly failed to wear a face mask. Both pleaded not guilty when they were charged in court on May 20 for violating Covid-19 protocols, reported Malaysian official news agency Bernama. Mohamed Faizal, a visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said celebrities and officials breaking the law was nothing new, but thanks to social media it was more likely to come to the publics attention. Those who violated the SOP did it multiple times and managed to get away with it, or with very minimal [consequences]. This was the norm before Covid-19 and it is a habit for them, said Mohamed Faizal. It means the rule of law is very weak and corruption is systemic. Professor Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, of Universiti Utara Malaysia, said people wanted elites and celebrities to be treated in the same way as ordinary people. As long as the government shows their fairness, it should be okay. This is a hard time for people and they want the government to treat them well, said Azizuddin. Syed Saddiq urged public figures to lead by example: If our top leaders regularly flout the laws and SOPs, why would the rakyat obey? This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
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https://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/are-malaysian-celebrities-and-public-figures-playing-different-set-covid-19-rules
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Who is SarahJoe93? Did Mia Khalifa Tweet About Killing Jewish Children Using Alt Account?
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A day after pornstar Mia Khalifa posed with a Nazi-era champagne and bashed "apartheid" Israel on Twitter she has been surrounded by controversy after old tweets posted by the Twitter handle @SarahJoe93 went viral on the micro-blogging platform. British journalist Raheem Kassam took to Twitter on Tuesday to share screenshots of the tweets, in which the unidentified user calls for genocide of Israelis, including children. 'I Hope Hamas Targets Schools and Kills Some of Their Children' "Israeli propaganda is disgusting. I hope Hamas targets schools and kills some of their children, Save the world from future Zionist scum," the tweet read. The post was from Aug. 3, 2014. In another tweet, posted in July 2014, the user claimed she was "disgusted" by the Jewish race and called them "the scum of the earth." Khalifa's Birth Name is Sarah Joe Chamoun Kassam also shared a tweet in which the @SarahJoe93 Twitter account, which has now been made private, posted a photo of Khalifa with a man in July 2014. The photo was accompanied with a screenshot from a previously reported International Business Times article that states that Khalifa's birth name is actually Sarah Joe Chamoun and she was born in February 1993. Khalifa, who is from Beirut, Lebanon, moved to the United States and joined the adult film industry in October 2014. It seems like the Twitter account @sarahjoe93 belonged to her before she shot to fame as an adult entertainer. Jack Posobiec of Human Events also pointed out that there is another account named @sarahjoe93 on the image-sharing website theCHIVE but all the posts are images of Khalifa. Khalifa's Recent Comments on Israel The pornstar, who has been vocal about her support for Palestinians, took aim at Israel in a series of tweets on Sunday, branding it an "apartheid state" amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. She shared an image of herself as she posed with two bottles of Champagne, one dated 1943 and the other dated 1945. "My wine is older than your apartheid 'state,'" she captioned the post. The post drew criticism online with some calling her out for mocking the state's young history, and her historical inaccuracy while others accused her of posing with champagne produced in Nazi-occupied France.
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https://www.ibtimes.sg/who-sarahjoe93-did-mia-khalifa-tweet-about-killing-jewish-children-using-alt-account-57891
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Will Lukashenka's 'Outrageous' Conduct Hit Wealth Of Serbian Brothers Once Close To Milosevic?
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A $3.5 billion residential and commercial real-estate project being developed on the site of a former aerodrome in Minsk is expected to change the face of the Belarusian capital. Minsk World, as the project is known, is to feature a modern financial center with glass-facade skyscrapers surrounded by dozens of high-rise apartment buildings and villas containing 30,000 residential units. Dana Holdings, which has been developing the site, bills it as a "city-within-a-city" and one of the largest real-estate projects in Europe. Minsk World is just one of several Belarusian projects awarded to Dana Holdings, a Cyprus-based firm founded by the Karics -- a family that was one of the wealthiest and most influential in Serbia in the 1990s, under Slobodan Milosevic, but has since seen its star in Belgrade wane. The Karics have catapulted to the top of the Belarusian property industry over the past decade, raking in huge profits in the process, according to company filings. Critics charge that it is in large part thanks to their close ties to strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for 27 years and has cracked down hard on protests over an August 2020 presidential election opponents say he stole. The family denies this. Lilia Lukashenka, the wife of the Belarusian ruler's eldest son, Viktar, was listed in 2017 as one of 13 deputy directors of Dana Astra, the holding's main subsidiary in Belarus, though she no longer works there. She currently runs an art gallery in a mall owned by Dana Holdings. Meanwhile, Lukashenka picked Dragomir Karic, one of the family patriarchs, to be honorary consul of Belarus in Belgrade. These ties now threaten to cripple the Karic real-estate empire, which at the start of 2020 had more than 7 million square meters of projects in development in Belarus and Kazakhstan, including Minsk World. The market value of those projects upon completion has been estimated at $13 billion, according to Dana Holdings' website. Amid Lukashenka's relentless clampdown against peaceful demonstrators protesting the election, in which he claimed a landslide victory and a sixth term in a vote that opponents and Western governments said was blatantly rigged, the family's fortunes are under threat. The European Union imposed sanctions on Dana Holdings and one of its Belarusian subsidiaries in December 2020, accusing it of "benefiting from and/or supporting the regime" of Lukashenka. Feel 'The Hurt' The United States could follow suit and slap sanctions on family members, making it tougher for them to get around the penalties by shutting one company and registering another. At a hearing on March 24, U.S. Representative Chris Smith (Republican-New Jersey) called on the Treasury and State departments to consider imposing sanctions on several tycoons under the Global Magnitsky Act for supporting Lukashenka, including Dragomir Karic, 71, and his younger brother, Bogoljub Karic, 67. The Global Magnitsky Act targets people accused of gross corruption and human rights abuses. Smith doubled down on his calls for U.S. sanctions against those close to Lukashenka after the Belarusian authorities diverted a passenger jet on an Athens-Vilnius flight to the Minsk airport on May 23 and arrested an opposition journalist and his girlfriend after it landed. "After this very brazen incident...we have to just manifestly increase the number of people on that list," he told RFE/RL in an interview later that day, referring to those hit with sanctions for backing Lukashenka. "Many people have to feel the economic hurt." On May 24, U.S. President Joe Biden said he asked his administration to "develop appropriate options to hold accountable those responsible" for the "outrageous" plane incident in close coordination with the European Union, other allies and partners, and international organizations. Prior to the plane diversion, the United States had been rolling out punishments against Lukashenka and his backers over the political crackdown, which has resulted in 30,000 arrests, including the incarceration of more than 400 people considered political prisoners, widespread allegations of torture and abuse, and several deaths. The United States announced two rounds of sanctions in late 2020 against nearly 50 officials and a few government entities. And in April, the Treasury Department reimposed sanctions on nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises that it said "finance and support" Lukashenka's government. In a statement to RFE/RL on May 7, Dragomir Karic denied that the family business received any special treatment in Belarus. He asserted that the country is a market economy with a competitive construction industry, despite a widely held view that it retains elements of a Soviet-style command economy. He also suggested that industry competitors might be pushing allegations of ties to Lukashenka to hurt his business, and claimed to have not won any more Belarusian contracts despite the family's decades-long industry experience. Dragomir and Bogoljub Karic have met with Lukashenka, who has called their projects "works of wonder" despite some public criticism that they build bland, high-rise ghettos. The imposition of U.S. sanctions against the Karics might give them a bitter sense of deja vu. Sanctions The Karics were hit with sanctions in the 1990s and early 2000s by the United States and the European Union for their perceived ties to Serbian leader Milosevic, who was tried on war crimes charges in The Hague but died in his cell in 2006. The Karics emerged as one of the wealthiest families in Serbia following the collapse of communism. They owned assets in various industries including banking, insurance, manufacturing, telecommunications, media, and real estate. Media reports at the time put the value of their assets in the billions of dollars. However, the combination of Western sanctions and Milosevic's eventual overthrow in 2000 squeezed the family's fortunes. Bogoljub Karic eventually fled to Russia in 2006 to avoid corruption charges he called politically motivated. The brothers have sought for years to clear their names in the West and receive visas or passports, hiring lawyers and lobbyists for hundreds of thousands of dollars to press their cases in Washington and Ottawa, the Canadian capital. In 2009-10, in one of the family's last known public attempts to restore their reputation in the United States, Bogoljub and Dragomir Karic -- through Washington lobbyists -- presented themselves to U.S. policymakers as "pro-Western" figures who "embrace Western democracy, capitalism, and economic development" for Serbia and were outraged by what they called Belgrade's "anti-democratic abuses." As their lobbyists were making that pitch on Capitol Hill, the brothers were embracing Lukashenka, the authoritarian leader some Western officials had deemed "Europe's last dictator." Belarusian Fortunes With their Serbian businesses under pressure in the 2000s, the brothers looked to expand in the former Soviet Union, where they had been active since the 1980s. Dragomir Karic, who ran the family's operations in Russia, reportedly invited Lukashenka to attend a Serbian economic forum in March 2009 and spent two evenings in the Belarusian leader's company. Since then, the Karics' real-estate business in Belarus has skyrocketed, becoming the new center of their business empire. Lukashenka -- who supported Milosevic with arms sales despite a UN embargo and was the only foreign leader to visit the besieged Yugoslav leader during the 78-day NATO bombing campaign in 1999 -- has awarded the rights to major real-estate projects to the Karics by presidential decree. Valer Tsapkala, a Belarusian businessman and opposition politician now in exile who previously served as ambassador to the United States, contends that this amounts to preferential treatment for the Karics and believes that they have earned a windfall as a result. Two subsidiaries of Dana Holdings -- Dana Astra and Emirates Blue Sky -- earned at least $175 million over a four-year period from 2017 and 2020, according to their Belarusian financial statements. Vibor Mulic, the president of Dana Holdings, told RFE/RL in a statement that the company was fighting back against the sanctions and had launched an appeal with the European Council of Justice. "In the history of sanctions, it has never happened that a company was included in the sanctions list only on the basis of several articles by certain irrelevant opposition media," he said, referring to previous reports in Belarusian and Western media alleging ties between the company and Lukashenka. Mulic said that Dana Holdings would continue its work on Minsk World and expected to complete it by 2024, but that it had put projects in which it has recently invested in the EU on hold until the company's appeal is heard. In the meantime, the Karics have exited Belarus -- at least on paper. In early December, shortly before the European sanctions were announced, ownership of Dana Holdings was transferred from the Karic family to Cyprus resident Marinos Stylianides, according to the Sarajevo-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Belsat, a Poland-based media outlet focusing on Belarus. Dana Holdings' subsidiaries in Belarus have also changed ownership, OCCRP and Belsat reported. Tsapkala doesn't think that the Karics are going to stop operating in Belarus due to the European sanctions. "It is pretty easy to leave Dana Holdings and start a new company, especially if Lukashenka knows who is behind it," the opposition leader said, adding it was critical to place sanctions on the family itself. The Karics give a fairy-tale description of their improbable rise to massive wealth in the late 20th century. Bogoljub and Dragomir Karic, along with brothers Zoran and Sretan and sister Olivera, grew up in Kosovo, one of the poorest regions in communist Yugoslavia. The five were a folk-music ensemble that performed at weddings and other events before launching a private enterprise in the late 1970s making tools and farm equipment. Yugoslav dictator Josef Broz Tito politically intervened to help them with their initiative, Bogoljub Karic told The New York Times in 1988, and a decade later they were racking up as much as $20 million in annual revenue, a phenomenal amount for a private company in Eastern Europe at the time. The development of political ties would go hand-in-hand with their business rise over the next four decades. "There is no question that [the] Karics' resourcefulness is one of the key elements behind the family's business success," Biljana Jovic, a Washington-based Balkan analyst, told RFE/RL in an e-mail. "However, from the very beginning, the principal foundation of this success has been currying favors with politicians, from the local administrators and apparatchiks in Kosovo, where their business was launched, through Slobodan Milosevic and, more importantly, his wife, to [President Aleksandar Vucic's] Serbian Progressive Party and political leaders of the countries of the former Soviet Union, where they expanded their business operations. "This behavioral pattern has generously yielded fruit for four decades and it is unlikely that there is any intention to abandon it," Jovic said. Bogoljub Karic, the youngest of the four brothers, ran the business -- known as Brothers Karic -- which soon expanded into the Soviet Union after developing contacts with government officials during the perestroika era, in the years before the Soviet collapse of 1991. The rise to power of Milosevic in Yugoslavia in the late 1980s and the coming collapse of communism opened the door to enormous wealth for the family. According to a 2001 biography on the couple by Slavoljub Djukic, Bogoljub Karic early on won the trust of Milosevic's influential wife, Mira Markovic, in part through their shared respect for Tito. The Karics were among the first to receive a license to open a private bank in Yugoslavia and in 1994 won a controlling stake in the monopoly provider of mobile service in the country. Djukic wrote that the Karics had no trouble securing minor business contracts in Serbia on their own, but major contracts were obtained at the time "through government intervention" and Milosevic was the gatekeeper. Home Near Capitol Hill The Karics used their fortune to set up the Karic Foundation, with an annual awards ceremony and a private university in Belgrade. Critics say they have since used the charity to flatter domestic and foreign officials and distribute favors. "There is absolutely no doubt that it is a part of [the] Karics' broader business agenda," Jovic said of their philanthropic prizes. Like many other East European families that amassed a fortune after the fall of communism, they swiftly sought residency and legitimacy in the West, scooping up expensive homes in the United Kingdom and Canada, applying for citizenship, mingling with high society, and registering companies, including one in Florida. The Karics were first hit with sanctions in the early 1990s for their ties to Milosevic, and their assets in the West were frozen as the United States sought to pressure his government to end the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In response, they hired Washington lobbyists in 1995 and 1996 to organize meetings with officials from the Clinton administration and Congress to discuss peace, the lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of their funds, and democracy promotion. Bogoljub Karic even floated the idea of coming to the United States with Markovic. Though the sanctions were lifted after the Bosnian War ended in 1995, Bogoljub Karic was later hit with entry bans and economic sanctions by the EU and the United States for his ties to Milosevic during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo War. Karic served as a minister without portfolio in Milosevic's government in 1998-99 but claims he resigned after Milosevic failed to move ahead with promised reforms. Djukic said Bogoljub Karic's relationship with Milosevic was "complicated," and that the businessman financed other parties as an insurance policy should the leader lose power. Some in the West allege he actively helped Milosevic circumvent sanctions and sought to launder money through Cyprus, which he has denied. While Washington removed economic sanctions against the Karics around 2003, it has refused to issue the brothers visas to enter the United States. Canada rejected their request for citizenship. Therefore, the Karics again hired Washington lobbying firms in the 2000s -- each tied to relatives of U.S. lawmakers they previously met -- and their foundation bought a home in 2003 for $885,000 2 kilometers from Capitol Hill, which they called Serbia House. Putin Peace Award Meanwhile, the Karics were facing consequences at home for their ties to Milosevic once he was pushed out in 2000. The family was forced to pay an "excess profit" tax of about $30 million for the alleged benefits they received from Milosevic. In what some considered a move to protect his family's assets, Bogoljub Karic created a party called Strength of Serbia and ran for president in 2004, coming in third with 18 percent of the vote. He threw his weight behind Boris Tadic from the Democratic Party, who won the second round. However, that did not stop the new Serbian government from launching investigations into fraud by the Karics. Bogoljub lost his TV station and sold the stake in his mobile business -- possibly worth hundreds of millions of dollars -- before fleeing to Russia in 2006. In his final public lobbying attempt in 2009-10 to get the United States to lift its entry ban, he asked Washington to pressure the Western-leaning Serbian government to drop the fraud charges against him, claiming innocence and bemoaning the "current political and human rights situation" in the country. When that failed, he appeared to strengthen ties with authoritarian leaders in the former Soviet Union. His Karic Foundation recognized Russian President Vladimir Putin for a peace award in 2014, when the Kremlin seized Crimea and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, triggering a war that has killed more than 13,000 people. A year later, the foundation recognized Nursultan Nazarbaev, the authoritarian leader who ruled Kazakhstan for more than a quarter-century and still wields power despite stepping down in 2019. The Karic Foundation has recently published flattering books on Putin, Nazarbaev, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Karics have had major development projects in Russia and currently have one in Kazakhstan. Bogoljub Karic, who returned to Belgrade in 2016 when all the fraud cases against him were dropped, has praised Serbia's current president. "Serbia has its own Putin, and it is Aleksandar Vucic," he told a crowd during Vucic's successful campaign in 2017. Vucic has been accused by critics of rolling back democracy, including clamping down on media. Karic's Strength of Serbia party, which currently has four seats in parliament, including one held by Dragomir Karic, is in a coalition with Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Bogoljub Karic and Vucic served at the same time in the Milosevic government and have met a few times in recent years, most notably at ground-breaking ceremonies for Karic real-estate projects in Serbia and Kazakhstan. However, there is no sign the family's business in Serbia is growing under Vucic.
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https://www.rferl.org/a/karic-brothers-milosevic-lukashenka-minsk-world/31284730.html
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Who is Andre Petroski and which team is he competing for in the latest edition of UFC's The Ultimate Fighter?
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Andre Petroski is a middleweight MMA fighter who fought in the LFA (Legacy Fighting Championship) before his recent debut on The Ultimate Fighter Season 29. Bearing a 5-1-0 pro-MMA record on his resume, Petroski will be seen fighting for Team Ortega in the ongoing season of TUF. The first episode of the recently filmed TUF 29 premiered on June 1 on ESPN+. Andre Petroski fought Alaska native Aaron Phillips in the first bout of the season. The middleweight clash ended in round one when Petroski submitted Phillips with a guillotine choke. Head Coach Brian Ortega couldn't contain his excitement in the post-fight interview following Andre Petroski's win. "He learned that choke yesterday! "@BrianTcity talks about middleweight Andre Petroski's victory on the first episode of #ReturnOfTUF Recap the entire episode : UFC News (@UFCNews) June 2, 2021 Petroski's collegiate wrestling acumen was on full display from the get-go. The 29-year-old took Aaron Phillips down with two minutes remaining in the first round. Petroski mounted Phillips and secured a guillotine choke to end the bout. Andre Petroski's victory via submission shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that the New Jersey native is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu disciple. During the TUF press conference, Petroski appeared confident about his grappling skills: "I wrestled all through high school and in college. When college was over, I knew...I wanted to fight. So that's basically how it started. My family steered me away [from fighting]. But we were always fans. I was always watching and my dad was competing. My parents knew this was going to be my passion. I was born to do this," said Andre Petroski. Andre Petroski is a long-time fan of The Ultimate fighter Making weight for bouts frequently isn't new for Andre Petroski. Having been a former collegiate wrestler, Petroski finds "The Ultimate Fighter's" format custom-made for him. Furthermore, Petroski has long been a fan of the franchise. The 'Renzo Gracie Philly' team member believes the invitation to partake in the 29th season came at the right time in his fighting career. "Specifically with the Ultimate Fighter, I always watched it and [thought] that format and that scenario would be perfect for me. I come from a wrestling background and we're used to making weight. Regularly competing often. The format is where I excel. When I'm active, that's when I compete the best. They hadn't done a show since 2018. When i saw they were coming back...at my weight class, everything came together at the perfect time," added Andre Petroski. Please take 30 seconds to answer this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your MMA needs.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-who-andre-petroski-team-competing-latest-edition-ufc-s-the-ultimate-fighter
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How can I tell my partner how I feel about her history of sex work without her feeling judged?
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I fell in love with a wonderful woman who used to do pornography and other sex work. I think of myself as progressive and I dont want to pass judgment on anyone for their past. I think women who do sex work deserve respect. But I was raised in a very conservative Christian household, so my views on sexuality were rooted in modesty and shame. I love our sex life and she is my best friend. But I find myself feeling jealous or insecure about her past and I worry that I will let these feelings ruin an amazing relationship. I know my feelings are wrong, but I dont know how to overcome them and love her the way she truly deserves to be loved. Feelings are never right or wrong. They just exist. Accept them as valid and ask her to do so as well. It is natural to have some jealousy or insecurity about a partners past, no matter what that might have been. I imagine she expects that you may harbour some of the feelings you describe, so if you think it will help to share them with her then perhaps you should. Ideally, start by reaffirming your positive feelings for her, then tell her your issues. Identify what help she could give and then ask specifically for it. It is always best to follow what could be taken as a criticism or complaint with a request that if granted could rectify the situation. Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to [email protected] (please dont send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions: see gu.com/letters-terms.
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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/02/how-can-i-tell-my-partner-how-i-feel-about-her-history-of-sex-work-without-her-feeling-judged
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Is Bitcoin an Alternative to Low-Return Stocks?
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Investors hunt for yield may soon intensify as inflation-adjusted earnings from the S&P 500, Wall Streets benchmark index, fall into negative territory. However, that may not bode well for bitcoin in the short term. The indexs real earnings yield inflation-adjusted return for every dollar invested was minus-0.81% last week, according to Barrons, having turned negative in early May. The hunt for alternatives could escalate in the wake of negative real returns in the stock market, Charlie Morris, chief investment officer at ByteTree Asset Management, told CoinDesk. However, bitcoin is not exactly in the sweet spot right now. Subscribe to , By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy Bitcoin has been pitched as an inflation hedge by some cryptocurrency analysts, since the pace of its supply expansion is reduced by 50% every four years via a process known as a mining reward halving. The cryptocurrency charted a near sixfold rally from October 2020 through March 2021, outperforming traditional assets by a wide margin, as the rising stockpile of negative-yielding global bonds drove investors further out on the risk spectrum. With the S&P 500 Index of large U.S. stocks offering a negative earnings yield on an inflation-adjusted basis, one theoretically might expect more money to flow into crypto markets and propel bitcoin to fresh record highs. S&P 500 vs real earnings yield Source: Lohman Econometrics, Bloomberg, Jeroen Blokland However, big gains may remain elusive for some time because the bitcoin market sentiment has weakened in recent weeks due to an increased focus on the potential environmental damage from cryptocurrency mining, and the greater regulatory scrutiny of the industry in China. Bitcoin is being weighed down by regulatory fears, Morris said, adding that the dour mood is reflected in on-chain activity. Fears the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon scale back liquidity-boosting stimulus to contain inflation may keep investors from pouring money into bitcoin. Minutes of the April Fed meeting released last month showed policymakers were beginning to consider thinking about tapering and reduce the U.S. central banks $120 billion-a-month of bond purchases, a way of injecting extra liquidity into financial markets. A number of participants suggested that if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the committees goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases, according to the minutes. Tapering is a risk for bitcoin, according to Messari research analyst Mira Christanto. Bitcoin is considered by fiat-based institutional investors at the extreme end of the risk spectrum, Christanto said in a recently published note. It thrives in quantitative easing (QE), irresponsible fiscal and monetary policy, and doesnt quite like quantitative tightening (QT). While Christanto doesnt foresee the Fed pulling the plug anytime soon, she expects taper fears to persist for some time. Crypto investors still need to pay special attention to upcoming data prints, as capital to this new asset class is still mercenary and tends to overreact on the bull and bear side, Christanto noted. Stock markets might look overdue for a pullback, with the negative earnings yield signaling overstretched valuations. With bitcoin sometimes trading in line with stocks, that might create downside risk. Bitcoin versus the S&P 500. Source: TradingView Historically, negative real earnings yields have paved the way for stock market corrections, based on data shared by Jeroen Blokland, portfolio manager for the Robeco Multi-Asset funds, on LinkedIn. So a potential risk-off mood in stock markets could have an immediate bearish impact on the cryptocurrency. That goes against the popular narrative of bitcoin being a safe haven like gold an asset preferred during times of stress. While bitcoin is sometimes referred to as digital gold, gold is seen as a safe-haven, sleepy asset, while bitcoin is viewed as a risk-on, growth asset, Messaris Mira Christanto said. Jeff Currie, head of commodities at Goldman Sachs, voiced a similar opinion during a CNBC interview on Tuesday. Digital currencies are not substitutes for gold, Currie said. If anything, they would be a substitute for copper; they are pro-risk, risk-on assets. They are a substitute for risk-on inflation hedges, not risk-off inflation hedges, Currie added. Bitcoin fell sharply during the March 2020 crash and pretty much moved in tandem with the S&P 500 until the end of April 2021. The cryptocurrency fell last month on environmental concerns, decoupling from the rising stock market.
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https://www.coindesk.com/analysts-alternatives-stocks-bitcoin
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When will the Pentagons UFO report be released and what could it include?
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The highly anticipated UFO report which was compiled using decades of military intelligence is expected to reveal everything the US Government knows about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Back in December legislation passed by Congress, required the Department of Defense and the National Intelligence Director to produce a report about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena within six months. The unclassified report is expected to be released in June, 2021. The request came after revelations in 2017 that the Pentagon was researching a series of unexplained intrusions into military airspace, including mysterious objects captured on video stalking US Navy ships. Steve Bassett, has tirelessly worked to end the 74-year embargo of classified information on UFOs. The executive director of Paradigm Research Group and a lobbyist said the release of information about extra-terrestrial encounters may be the "most profound" moment in the history of mankind. 3 The report is expected to reveal everything the Government knows about UAPs Credit: EPA He told The Sun Online: "What is going down right now is extraordinary. This is really a big deal. We may be in the last days of the truth embargo. "We might be finally about to get the confirmation of the ET presence we have been waiting [almost] 75 years for. "This would be the most profound event in human history." The unclassified report is expected to contain everything the Government knows about "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." It will examine if UAPs constitute a threat to US airspace, according to Deadline. It's expected that recommendations for further UFO research and funding will be included within the dossier. 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. Commander Dave Fravor and Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich were training with a strike group approximately 100 miles southwest of San Diego. They were each flying F/A-18F fighter aircraft when they said they saw an anomalous object flying in their vicinity. 3 The report is also expected to include recommendations for further research Credit: Alamy Most read in News 'RECOVERY MISSION' Christian diet guru, husband & 6 others presumed dead after plane crash 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 'THEY DON'T CARE' BLM leader says he quit group over 'ugly truth' about group's priorities MEAT'S OFF World's biggest meat supplier 'shuts ALL US beef plants' after 'Russian' hack WET & WILD Partiers in bikinis brawl at pool bash & woman slips off roof while tossing cash "It was unidentified, and that's why it was so unsettling to us because we weren't expecting it. We couldn't classify it," said Dietrich. And, numerous San Diego-based US warships were reportedly visited by strange vessels from above. The USS Kidd, a Navy destroyer, was using night vision cameras and spotted several mysterious flashing objects in the skies, according to footage the Pentagon revealed to The Sun.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/2999446/when-pentagons-ufo-report-released-what-could-include/
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Could HBO's 'Mare of Easttown' Get a Second Season?
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The final episode of HBO's latest prestige murder mystery Mare of Easttown wraps up pretty beautifully. The case of who murdered Erin McMenamin is solved, and Kate Winslet's Mare Sheehan takes a necessary step toward her own healing. Even though some questions never got answered, there is no ambiguous ending leaving audiences to guess what happens next. Not necessarily. Mare of Easttown was conceived as a limited series, but it's absolutely not unheard of for shows that were initially intended as one-offs to get a second wind if they are popular enough. And Mare seems far better equipped to expand than some of its prestige predecessors. (Cough, cough: Big Little Lies.) The protagonist is a detective, after all, and future seasons could very well fall into a procedural-type rhythm. Creator Brad Ingelsby is not ruling out a continued exploration of Mare and her Delco world. "I love writing Mare," said Ingelsby ahead of the series premiere. "If people like the show, I could definitely see myself writing these characters again. I really enjoy spending time with them." At least numbers-wise, Mare certainly has earned its Season 2 speculation. According to HBO, between its premiere in April and its penultimate episode, viewership for the series tripled. It eventually became the number one series on HBO Max. In an age when the streaming and broadcast landscape is diffuse and it's harder than ever to get fans to settle in and all watch an hour of content at the same time, Mare became the rare modern day equivalent of must-see TV. WarnerMedia's streaming service even broke just as the finale was premiering. Of course, Mare hasn't been renewed for a Season 2 yet, and to make another one would require Winslet to clear her schedule to head back to the land of Wawa and hoagies. (She would be up for it: Winslet told TVLine that she would "absolutely love to play Mare again.") Not to mention, there's always a chance that a second season could offer diminishing returns, as is the case for so many series that have gone past a logical stopping point. Even an analogue to Mare like the British program Broadchurch never hit the highs of its first installment. Ingelsby admitted that, at least before the show started airing, he didn't have a long-term storyline in mind, just that he would engage in conversations about what's to come should the network be interested. What Mare does have going for it is Ingelsby's unbridled affection for his creation. "It's rare that you really get to love a character as much as I love Mare," he said. "So I would certainly be open to the idea."
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https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/mare-of-easttown-season-2-release-date-news
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What is CBSE's Objective Criteria for Class 12 evaluation?
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The Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE, has cancelled the class 12th board exams. The decision was taken by PM Narendra Modi yesterday, noting that it was not fair to put the stress of exams on students in the current situation. This was a big relief to many students, but some confusion is still there. Students are now confused about how they will get evaluated. In the meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi, he directed CBSE to ensure that the results criteria are objective and announced in a time-bound manner. CBSE's Objective Criteria: Suggestion for Class 12 evaluation As per the sources and many reports coming from the government, there are various options to decide the evaluation criteria for the Class 12th board exam result. There are reports that students may be given marks on the basis of their scores in previous years. This may also include marks and performance of the student in classes 9 to 11. Some reports suggest that CBSE should include class 10th board results and internal assessment marks of Class 11 and 12 to make class 12th evaluation easier. Another way for evaluation of CBSE class 12 result could be based on internal examinations conducted by schools in Class 12, pre-boards as well as the board practical exams. The above-mentioned only suggestions on how the class 12 board exam result should be evaluated. However, a clear decision is still pending. All the students are advised to keep track of the official website of CBSE for further notice. Read: CBSE Class 12 Board exams: Safety and career of students are utmost important, says Ramesh Pokhriyal Read: After 3 months of anxiety, CBSE Class 12 Board exams cancelled
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https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/what-is-cbse-s-objective-criteria-for-class-12-evaluation-1809878-2021-06-02
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Is Joe Douglas Playing Waiting Game Once Again?
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We always talk about the Jets and their endless quest to find the new Namath, who won the Jets their only Super Bowl over a half-century ago. But what they are really looking for is the new Eli. That is what both they and the Giants aspire to right now, trying to find the guy who can do for them what Eli did for his Giants. In the time of Brady, Eli won twice. His brother Peyton did that, too, but he needed two teams, and was little more than a sideman with the Broncos by the time he won his second one.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2264097617689/is-joe-douglas-playing-waiting-game-once-again
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What are the signs and symptoms of a stroke?
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PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) -May is stroke awareness month. On this weeks Medical Monday, Megan Cole has more on the symptoms and cause of a stroke. It could be a stroke. Youre looking for face do you have drooping in your face. Youre thinking A which is arms you know are you weak in the arms can you lift your arms like you typically can or do. Youre thinking speech are you able to make sentences are you slurred. Ideally youd get to the hospital within three hours even up to four and a half hours but in certain scenarios say you went to bed fine and woke up and all of a sudden couldnt move and you still have some hope of recovery even at 24 hours if you get to the hospital fast enough there are other things that we can do. The doctors say there are there are different types of strokes. There are two kinds of strokes. Blood clots being the most common the other types of stroke is bleeding into the brain. Obliviously the treatment for either of those is completely different so its important to get to the hospital as soon as possible so we can figure out which one it is. An extra type of stroke that a lot of people dont talk about or that people need to is the TIA. So we talk about ischemic strokes and we talk about hemorrhagic strokes but then a lot of people have some symptoms and then they resolve within 24 hours and they go oh Im fine but a lot of times that literally tells you that you could actually have potentially have another stroke. Dr. White says that while the face, arms, speech are common signs of a stroke, there can be other symptoms as well. Anything can be a stroke. Just remember the FAST mnemonic the face, the arms, the speech but there are other things too issues with balance dizziness, headaches, vision changes, all of those things could potentially be strokes. If you suspect that you or someone you know is having a stroke, call 911. Copyright 2021 WAGM. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wagmtv.com/2021/06/01/what-are-the-signs-and-symptoms-of-a-stroke/
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