question
stringlengths 9
197
| article
stringlengths 174
99.3k
| url
stringlengths 23
392
|
|---|---|---|
Why arent tablets our daily work machines? | Boris is the wise ol CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can also get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter! Ive mentioned it before, but Ive been using an iPad Pro as my daily work machine since November. I also own a MacBook Pro, but I keep it at home and only use it once a week or so when Im really stuck. I feel like Im out here living in the future, alone. I think tablets definitely have a place as peoples daily workhorses, but if thats going to become a reality, workflows need to change. If more text data is turned into objects, we can make the tablet life a reality. Let me explain Like any business, we at TNW have a bunch of weekly meetings, and years ago, the notes for them were kept in locally stored documents. When we moved to those newfangled shared file servers, things got a bit better. Then we moved those notes to a shared Google Doc. We could all access these documents everywhere, at anytime, and we all loved it. But we were still just interacting with text. We wrote our to do tasks as lines of text behind a bullet point, which we then moved around by copy pasting. The status of that to do task was changed by adding words to the end of the line and changing the bullet point. Then I moved to a tablet, all of a sudden our way of working didnt feel so efficient anymore. Enter Trello. Trello is a service that turns data into objects. Those objects can change status and be moved far easier with a finger than with a keyboard. Check it out if you havent. We now keep all our meeting notes in Trello. Changing a to do status, or adding data to it, is as simple as dragging and dropping objects on a screen. Adding text is now just a small part of the interaction. With data arranged as objects instead of text, a tablet becomes a better way to interact with our workflow. Because computers with keyboards were optimized for handling text, most of us focused on turning every task into something that would work like text in a document. It reminds me of the old saying when you have a new hammer, everything looks like a nail. Another great example of objects and textual data working together for the better, is how Mail and Calendar work together. On iOS and MacOS (and I assume it will work just as great on Windows and Android) you can drag an email to your calendar, and it will create a new calendar entry with a link back to the email. Instead of copy-pasting data from one app to another, I simply drag an item and the OS handles the rest. Tablets still need more optimization if theyre going to help us realize this future. Sure, well keep writing as Im doing now, but data will need to be turned into moveable and reactive objects that are finger-friendly more often. We have to reorient our vision to think about data as objects, instead of mainly text. Shift our focus from handling numbers to controlling dashboards. Dates will become timelines, and values will become charts. Then we can all go live in the future. Check out his older stories here, or sign up for TNWs newsletters below: | https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2019/01/23/why-arent-tablets-our-daily-work-machines/ |
Why is Chinese media blurring these actors' ears? | Image copyright iQiyi Image caption Actor Wang Linkai's ears are blurred in an episode of the TV show Sister's Flower Shop The decision by a popular Chinese video streaming platform to censor the ears of actors wearing earrings has sparked a heated debate online. Images taken from programmes produced by the Netflix-like streaming service iQiyi, show actors with large blobs covering their earlobes and have been widely shared online. The hashtag #MaleTVStarsCantWearEarrings has been used more than 88,000 times on Weibo where many users are expressing their outrage at the censorship. The controversy is the latest example of the heavy-handed blurring of TV programmes in China. Hip-hop culture, tattoos and LGBT symbols have all been censored. Image copyright iQiyi Image caption Some on Weibo pointed out the difference between actor Jing Boran's ears in episode one (L) and episode three (R) of the TV show 'I Actor' Many took to social media to argue that the censorship was driven by a desire to protect "traditional" gender roles. The effect of male celebrities displaying more "effeminate" characteristics has become a controversial issue in China in recent years. One Weibo user jokingly wrote: "Men who wear earrings are sissies, Genghis Khan's a sissy, we should block him, and kick him out of our history books." Others were quick to suggest a double standard, given that actresses did not have their earrings hidden. We've simply gone back 100 years," one user wrote. While another called the move "unspoken sexual discrimination". Image copyright iQiyi Image caption Weibo users commented on the difference between Lin Yanjun's ears and those of his female co-star Dee Hsu While the majority of comments were critical of the blurring, some wrote that they agreed with the decision. "I support the government moving to rule on this," one user wrote, "men should look like men." Some others commented to say they thought men wearing earrings was "strange" and "effeminate". Analysis: Kerry Allen, BBC Monitoring All TV broadcasters in China are state-owned, heavily regulated and subject to censorship. Domestic programmes must often submit papers to their local Communist party bureau at least two months in advance for official approval. For foreign TV broadcasts, this process can take even longer. Regulation has also extended beyond television to digital platforms, owing to people increasingly watching TV over the internet, and even broadcasting their own content. The popularity of live streaming apps unsettles the Chinese government, who want absolute control over anything that is broadcast. However, social media users have noted their dissatisfaction over a growing list of what they can and cannot watch. One Weibo user commented to question why actors wearing earrings was such a big issue. "Some people actually say this would negatively influence children. If wearing a stud is to blame for negatively influencing a child, how vulnerable is the country's education system?" Image copyright Weibo Various Chinese news publications report that the country's top media regulator has not issued a statement on the issue, despite repeated attempts to contact them. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-46902973 |
Are Robots The Answer To Japan's Growing Labour Shortage? | Jan 23, 2019 06:21 PM IST India India Share Dancing, flying, swimming, playing - the latest robotic innovations were on display in Tokyo. Last year's Robodex event gathered over 17,000 visitors and more than 200 exhibitors. One new robot being introduced at this year's expo was Cocona, a human-sized robot who likes to dance. Speecy, the Japanese company that developed the robot, has plans to deploy Cocona in themes parks and stores, as an interactive mannequin. Users can easily change Cocona's face and clothes, meaning she can be customised for whatever job she's tasked with. According to Cocona's founder and CEO, Tomoaki Kasuga, the company is currently working with an AI firm to make the robot more interactive. At Robodex, Japan-based Nitto showcased a device aimed at making those tasks a little easier. This so-called wearable chair can be strapped to the wearer's legs. At the event, one exhibitor chose a unique way to showcase its robotics technology. Yushin had their dexterous robot play with a traditional Japanese toy, known as a Kendama. The robot's main purpose is to collect small plastic parts for applications like recycling. Another exhibitor, named Altech, is showcasing an autonomous vehicle that's able to move around heavy objects in a factory setting. | https://www.news18.com/news/ivideos/are-robots-the-answer-to-japans-growing-labour-shortage-2011679.html |
Will helping fix the teachers strike help LA Mayor Eric Garcetti become president? | In some potentially important ways, Eric Garcettis presidential hopes got a lift Tuesday morning when the Los Angeles mayor helped end the teachers strike in the nations second-largest school district. But Garcettis role in the settlement between officials of Los Angeles Unified and the teachers union is hardly a springboard to the White House and it might even have a downside, political observers said in interviews. The pluses are clear for Garcetti, who is thought to be preparing to launch what would be a long-shot campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination. First, it lends credence to the claim that a big-city mayor would make a good president because he or she has dealt with tangible problems. Thats a theme that might resonate well with voters frustrated by ideological battles and partisan standoffs in Washington, D.C., including the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government. Also, to the extent that United Teachers Los Angeles is happy with the settlement, Garcettis involvement in the agreement might appeal to Democratic activists who generally support unions and teachers. At the very least, the teachers likely return to work Wednesday after a nine-day strike clears the way for Garcetti to embark on a national campaign without being accused of ignoring a crisis at home. It plays into a message that the mayor is someone who brings people together and gets the job done, said Jeffrey Hernandez, a political science professor at East L.A. College. The only negative is if people felt it (the strike) went on too long. I dont see that happening. It wasnt really his ballgame (when the strike started). Voters sometimes look for a contrast with the current incumbent, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor for Sabatos Crystal Ball, the election forecasting site run by University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. An accomplished manager (of a major city) would present a nice contrast with the current president (Donald Trump). But analysts saw reasons that Garcettis star turn Tuesday morning standing at a City Hall lectern and announcing the strike settlement following all-night talks wont instantly turn his image from mayoral to presidential: The more that Garcetti supporters portray the settlement as a major problem solved by the 47-year-old second-term mayor, the more opponents will point to other problems that remain unsolved, most notably the L.A. homelessness crisis. Garcetti was instrumental in passing city and county ballot measures to fund anti-homelessness projects, but the effects are years away. (The same goes for Garcettis successes in passing mass-transit ballot measures and bringing the 2028 Summer Olympics to L.A.) It was a big coup for him to get that stage, said California Republican Party treasurer and former Downey mayor Mario Guerra, referring to the strike-ending announcement. But there are a lot of things that need fixing here in Los Angeles. Everybodys always looking for the next ladder up (to higher office). I think he should keep his campaign promises and fix the city first. The apparent triumph for Garcetti, who publicly became involved in the negotiations shortly after the strike began Jan. 14, could blow up in his face if he overplays his hand by trying to overstate his role or the significance of the achievement. Even if he plays the deal-maker card right, Garcettis presidential bid wont get a boost unless the rest of America notices. As of Tuesday afternoon the end of the L.A. teachers strike wasnt a prominent headline on the Associated Press, New York Times or Washington Post websites. In any case, Garcettis successful intervention in the standoff over teachers pay, class sizes and charter schools doesnt remove other obstacles to a successful campaign for the Democratic nomination. Nobody has ever vaulted directly from mayor to president. (At least three other mayors have entered or are considering the 2020 race: Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.) And Garcetti would start the campaign less well-known than the acknowledged leading contenders, who come mostly from the ranks of U.S. Senate and state governors. Ultimately, hes someone whos going to have to establish himself on the national stage, said Kondik, the elections analyst from Virginia. Garcetti wouldnt even begin as the best-known Californian. U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris announced her candidacy Monday. But Hernandez, the East L.A. College political scientist, didnt think Harris prominence changes the calculus for Garcetti. I dont think he has to worry about another Californian in the field, Hernandez said. He has to worry about whether his personality will excite voters. Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb responded to a reporters question about a potential Garcetti announcement with an email Tuesday saying: Well update you when theres an update! Hernandez called the teachers-strike settlement a net plus for Garcettis presidential hopes. It makes him look a little more productive than would otherwise be the case. | https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/23/for-eric-garcettis-presidential-hopes-end-of-teachers-strike-removes-only-one-obstacle/ |
Is MercadoLibre a Buy? | South America-based MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) might be best thought of as an integrated ecosystem of e-commerce services operating within many Latin American markets. This ecosystem includes a marketplace platform where third-party sellers can list products for sale, a digital payments platform, virtual classifieds, a marketing and advertising platform, and a logistics and delivery system. In Argentina, MercadoLibre has even launched an asset management platform. The company is obviously seeing a good deal of success, and based on web traffic, it is the e-commerce leader in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. More than most domestic companies, MercadoLibre is besieged by competitive and geopolitical risks unique to the regions in which it operates, while simultaneously presented with enormous opportunities due to those same regions' underdeveloped markets. As these competing thoughts take turns capturing investors' imaginations, Mercado's stock price has been known to fluctuate wildly. From last March to Christmas Eve, the stock price plunged 38%, only to climb 34% from its holiday lows to the present day. With the stock still down about 15% from its all-time highs, let's take a closer look to determine if this Latin American e-commerce company might be a good fit for your portfolio. Merchant in restaurant hands back credit card to customer. More MercadoLibre's mobile point-of-sale solutions division is quickly becoming one of MercadoPago's fastest-growing segments, growing 636% year over year, and representing almost half of MercadoPago's off-platform payment volume. Image source: Getty Images. Crunching the numbers In the company's 2018 third quarter, revenue rose to $355.3 million, an incredible 58.3% increase year over year. This top-line growth was spurred by growth in its online marketplace, which facilitated the sale of 83.5 million products, a 12.5% increase over 2017's third quarter. Meanwhile, gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew to nearly $3 billion, a 27.9% increase (both growth rates adjusted to make foreign exchange neutral). Investors found little cause for concern in Mercado's growth or revenue but, rather, in its increasing costs and disappearing earnings. Total operating expenses increased almost 22% to $180.7 million, while earnings per share (EPS) came in at a loss -- yes, a loss -- of -$0.23. That's down from a positive EPS of $0.63 in 2017's third quarter. Causes for concern MercadoLibre investors certainly endured a turbulent year in 2018, with a number of events taking their collective pound of flesh from its profitability. In December 2017, MercadoLibre decided to deconsolidate its operations in Venezuela. In the company's 2017 fourth-quarter conference call, CFO Pedro Arnt explained this decision, stating, "We have determined that we no longer have full accounting control of our subsidiaries in that country as a result of Venezuela's recent selective default determination, of increasingly restrictive exchange controls, sanctions on government officials, and other operating restrictions that have hindered materially our ability to make key financial decisions for that market." | https://news.yahoo.com/mercadolibre-buy-131600507.html |
Did Disha Patani Forget That She's Not Supposed to Copy Paste Caption for Instagram Posts? | disha patani is an advertising agency nightmare pic.twitter.com/mlu6gkhure n (@themdavesaves) January 22, 2019 A dream client for any marketing agency #DishaPatanipic.twitter.com/p1y8aG8Iqr Tamil Deadpool (@tamildeadpool) January 22, 2019 . @DishPatani would soon be looking for a new social media agency. Interested applicants please prepare your resume. PS: @SamsungMobileIN is going through a rough patch. Quit social for sometime, maybe. #SamsungMobile #DishaPatani pic.twitter.com/sawaYlVH0e Yathartha Sharma (@shree_maan) January 22, 2019 Ctrl C+ Ctrl V isn't enough to copy. It requires brain too Vishesh Arora (@vishesharora19) January 22, 2019 Copy Paste kaise karte hai yeh Disha ko Patani LowCash Rahul (@NayaGamer) January 22, 2019 Lol ! She is directionless ( Disha pata-nahi )! sidharth (@sidharthcr) January 22, 2019 Her name says it all... Disha Pata ni VishaLL Kalwani (@IamVishaLL) January 22, 2019 Copy Paste karne ki sahi Disha Patani Vishvesh Mishra (@VishveshMishra) January 23, 2019 Her Social media team* Krutika (@Kkrutikat) January 23, 2019 Ok I dont even want to know how this keeps happening but its hilarious pic.twitter.com/sUuHVh4exw Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) September 4, 2018 "Disha Patani is an advertising agency nightmare," quipped a Twitter user while describing the actor's apparent goof-up while posting a promotional video for a brand on Instagram.In today's day and age, brands are leaving no stones unturned by roping in social media stars and offering them big bucks to have their products reach millions of users across the globe. Remember how Kylie Jenner makes a whopping million dollar for every sponsored post on Instagram?Closer home, Bollywood actress Disha Patani was apparently chosen by Samsung to push their upcoming series from her Instagram account. Patani obliged and shared a sponsored video with her 17 million followers.But there's a minor hiccup.In what seems like a glaring gaffe, Patani 'copy-pasted' the instructions given by the agency while captioning the video which was followed by her praising the smartphone for its 'ultra wide' camera.Here's how the caption read:"Hey - final video is here. Will mail you the high res video in something so please use that as the final video to be uploaded. Caption below"And then, sure as day, was pasted the the actual caption forwarded by the company in which Disha is raving about the Samsung Galaxy M Series.The faux pas by Patani was first noticed by a Twitter handle @themdavesaves.Twitterati collectively facepalmed with the exact same joke.Others went easy on her and blamed the actress' social media team.Unfortunately, she isn't alone. Another actress who didn't read-the-brief-before-sharing a sponsored post is Anushka Sharma. Last year, Sharma posted a couple of pictures through her official Twitter handle highlighting the prowess of the camera present on the Google Pixel by using an iPhone device. *Rental / capacity fee of Rs.130/- as charged by cable / DTH operator may apply. **GST extra. | https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/disha-patani-isntagram-copy-paste-caption-samsung-2011345.html |
When is Pancake Day 2019 in the UK and why do we celebrate it? | The video will start in 8 Cancel Get What's On updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email It's one of the most delicious days of the year and in 2019 Shrove Tuesday falls in March. Because of Easter being a movable date, this year's Pancake Day is on March 5. Also Wednesday, March 6, is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent and beginning of the 40 day countdown to Easter. Easter can fall anywhere in a 35-day span based off this (March 22 - April 25), because the earliest date it can fall is when there's a notional full moon, March 21. Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a feasting day as it is the day before Lent but eating pancakes on this day also comes from a tradition of using up any rich foods like eggs before Lent and fasting begins. The ingredients for pancakes are said to symbolise four points of significance at Easter and Springtime of the year. Eggs signify creation, flour is said to be the staff of life, salt is for wholesomeness and milk symbolises purity. The day gets its name from the ritual of shriving which means an act of confessing sins and getting absolution. A bell would be rung to call people to confession and this came to be known as the Pancake Bell. | https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/when-pancake-day-shrove-tuesday-15720296 |
Can the timing of a newborns first bath help breastfeeding process? | Delaying a newborns first bath for at least 12 hours after birth could help increase breastfeeding rates according to new research. AFP pic NEW YORK, Jan 23 New US research has found that despite the standard practice of bathing newborns straight after birth, waiting for at least 12 hours before the first bath could increase the rate of breastfeeding during the hospital stay. Led by Heather DiCioccio, a nursing professional development specialist for the Mother/Baby Unit at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital, a study set out to investigate the benefits of holding off on a newborns first bath after more mothers started to request the delay. They were reading on mum blogs that it was better to wait to bathe their baby the first time, since amniotic fluid has a similar smell to the breast which may make it easier for the baby to latch, explains DiCioccio. The standard practice in DiCioccios clinic was to give a newborns first bath within 2 hours of birth. She also notes that the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the clinic was also low. For the study DiCioccio recruited 996 healthy mother-newborn pairs including 448 babies bathed shortly after birth and 548 mothers who delayed the bath for at least 12 hours. The findings, published in the Journal for Obstetrics, Gynaecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, showed that exclusive breastfeeding rates increased from 59.8 per cent before the bathing change to 68.2 per cent after the change, with mothers 8 per cent more likely to exclusively breastfeed in the hospital when the bath was delayed. The effect was also stronger in mothers who delivered their baby vaginally compared to those who delivered by C-section. The researchers note that positive effect may be due to the fact that delaying a bath encourages more skin-to-skin time between mother and baby. It also helps to stabilise a newborns temperature. They werent as cold as the babies who were bathed sooner after birth, so they may not have been as tired trying to nurse, DiCioccio said. Mothers who delayed the bath were also more likely to include human milk in their discharge feeding plan after leaving the hospital. The Cleveland Clinic is now working to put in place the delayed bath practice at all of its hospitals, with DiCioccio adding, It is now our policy to delay the bath at least 12 hours, unless the mum refuses to wait. In that case, we ask for two hours, she said. The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, and then continuing breastfeeding while introducing foods until infants are 12 months old. AFP-Relaxnews | https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2019/01/23/can-the-timing-of-a-newborns-first-bath-help-breastfeeding-process/1715484 |
Has Trump tired of being bashed on the shutdown? | Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), assemble outside the Capitol holding photographs of their constituents affected by the impasse between Congress and the White House, on Jan. 16. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Opinion writer President Trump continues to take a beating in the shutdown polls. Most recently, In the latest The Hill-HarrisX survey, 46 percent of registered voters who identify as political independents said that Trump and the congressional GOP are primarily responsible for the government closure, a 7-point jump from a Dec. 30-31 survey. Only 17 percent of independents blame Democrats primarily. Even Republicans dont seem thrilled with the shutdown. (Even as GOP voters' willingness to blame Democrats has increased, only 56 percent of Republican voters say that congressional Democrats are responsible. By comparison, 81 percent of Democratic voters say that Trump or the congressional GOP are at fault.) When Trump cannot snow even the entire Fox News-saturated GOP base, maybe it is time to rethink what hes doing. The domestic politics plus international fear that Trumps shutdown could be pushing us closer to a recession may have prompted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to blink or to blink on behalf of a bleary-eyed White House. McConnell will take a vote on Trumps disingenuous proposal for $5.7 billion for the wall in exchange for temporary relief for dreamers. For the first time, however, hell also allow a vote to reopen the government at least through Feb. 8. Maybe the Supreme Courts decision not to disturb lower-court rulings keeping Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in place for the foreseeable future made clear even to the most obtuse Republican senators that Trump is offering nothing. It didnt help that Trump (or President Stephen Miller) slipped in harsh measures to cut off many asylum claims. The latter got Democrats plenty mad and sent Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to the floor to denounce the empty offer. The president single-handedly canceled DACA and TPS protections. He did it himself, on his own, a while back, he said. Now, offering some temporary protections back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise; its more hostage taking. When the president says Ill give you DACA and TPS partially, even though he created the problem on his own in exchange for the wall, its like bargaining for stolen goods. Schumer also accused the White House of a bait-and-switch routine. The presidents team sold the DACA protections as the Bridge Act, a temporary fix originally proposed by Senators [Richard J.] Durbin and [Lindsey O.] Graham. Turns out the actual legislation is even more limited than the Bridge Act and would barely restore the protections that President Trump himself took away, Schumer declared. Moreover, he deplored the incredibly partisan changes to our asylum system that make it nearly impossible for migrants to claim asylum at our border. Schumer applauded the decision to ditch McConnells excuse not to bring the House bill to the floor (i.e., Trump wont sign it). The good news is, after that vote, we have a second amendment that could break us out of the morass we are in," crowed Schumer. "The Senate will proceed to an amendment to the House bill that is identical to the underlying legislation. In other words, for the first time, we will get a vote on whether to open up the government without any decision one way or the other on border security. At least the argument that the Senate cannot vote on anything Trump wont sign has been dropped. Now perhaps the Senate can come up with its own bill without a permission slip from Trump. As ridiculous and cruel as Trumps immigration proposal may be, Democrats must keep their eye on the 800,000 workers not getting paid and their families. That fundamental unfairness and Trumps utter lack of concern for the harm he has inflicted should keep Republicans, especially those on the ballot in 2020, up late. Maybe it will prompt them finally to end Trumps shutdown, pay workers what they are owed and begin to vote on immigration proposals (e.g., security measures without a wall) most Americans support. Read more: Marc A. Thiessen: Trump is being the adult in the room on the shutdown Greg Sargent: Trumps phony compromise has now been unmasked as a total sham The Posts View: Make a deal. Save the dreamers. Jennifer Rubin: The Supreme Court reveals Trumps disingenuousness on DACA Paul Waldman: An end to the shutdown depends entirely on Trumps hurt feelings | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/23/has-trump-tired-being-bashed-shutdown/ |
Did FEMA shortchange Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria? | Share this Article Facebook Twitter Email You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. University University of Michigan The federal response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma was faster and more generous than the help sent to Puerto Rico in preparation for and in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a new study shows. For example, within nine days of the landfall of both Harvey and Irma, survivors had received nearly $100 million in FEMA dollars, while Mara survivors had received just slightly over $6 million. What we found is that there was a very significant difference in not only the timing of the responses but also in the volume of resources distributed in terms of money and staffing, says lead author Charley Willison, a doctoral candidate in the University of Michigans School of Public Health. Overall, Hurricane Maria had a delayed and lower response across those measures compared to hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It raises concern for growth in health disparities as well as potential increases in adverse health outcomes. Staffing efforts also fell short, the report notes. At its peak, federal personnel on-site for Hurricane Harvey in Texas reached 31,000 people and 40,000 responded to Irma in Florida during the first 180 days post-hurricane. By comparison, at its peak during the same period, there were 19,000 federal personnel on-site helping with Hurricane Maria recovery. Further, it took four months for disaster appropriation funding to Puerto Rico to reach the same levels that Texas and Florida received in two months. The analysis shows that the disaster response to the three hurricanes did not align with storm severity and may affect deaths and recovery rates, Willison says. The findings are important because not only was the lack of emergency response a likely contributor to thousands of avoidable deaths, it was also a reminder of the penalties of not being fully represented in federal politics, says Scott Greer, professor of health management and policy and of global public health. Democracy is a public health policy. For the study, which appears in BMJ Global Health, researchers used publicly available data from the Federal Emergency Management Authority, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Puerto Rican government, and George Washington University. Additional authors are from the University of Michigan and the University of Utah. Source: University of Michigan | https://www.futurity.org/puerto-rico-fema-hurricane-maria-1963062/ |
Is Half-Life 2 the future for indie movie makers? | Escape from City 17 has already become an enormous hit - not bad for a mashup of live action and footage from Half-Life 2 , filmed on a budget of $500. We've seen machinima such as Red Vs Blue and we've seen live-action footage inspired by games such as Halo , but the combination of the two is enormously exciting. The potential is mind-boggling, but let's be honest: we're not quite there yet. The constant fast-cutting in Escape from City 17 can't disguise the fact that some of the in-game footage doesn't quite gel with the real footage, the Combine Citadel looks like it's been glued into the background with Pritt Stick and we're pretty sure that none of the $500 budget was spent on the script. Overall, though, it works - and to our eyes it's no worse than the CGI in the most recent Hulk movie, which cost $150 million to make and still looked like it had been thrown together on a ZX Spectrum by an angry toddler. When you consider what current engines such as CryTek's CryEngine 2 or the PS3 can do, it's clear that things are just going to get better. It looks like indie cinema is approaching a tipping point. HD camcorders have gone from rich people's playthings to affordable objects, HD video editing software comes free with new computers, the latest game engines are good enough for decent CGI and believable backdrops and the relentless march of technology means we're getting ever closer to photo-realistic video on home computers. You wouldn't try to make The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on a Mac or attempt to take on Pixar with a single PC, but as Escape from City 17 shows, DIY movie-making needn't be restricted to shots of people sitting around talking, either. Forget about film school. Get yourself some games and get creating. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/gaming/is-half-life-2-the-future-for-indie-movie-makers-532288 |
Will anything stick to Bukele? | It has been an unusual few weeks heading towards the presidential election campaign in El Salvador.As mentioned previously , leader in the polls Nayib Bukele boycotted a debate sponsored by the University of El Salvador saying that he was going to have a major presentation on Facebook Live instead, emphasis on "live." But we now know that the presentation was not live . Instead, Bukele had rented an auditorium and recorded his presentation the day before. Moreover, the owner of the auditorium claimed it had been rented by Bukele's campaign under false pretenses, because the owner had been told that the auditorium was being used for a private training event, not a major political spectacle.In his "live" presentation, Bukele presented his plan of government, now available at PlanCuscatlan.com. But when people studied the more than 1000 pages in the plan, they found sections which had been plagiarized from other sources , including from the FMLN government of Sanchez Ceren. In addition, there was a claim that the plan contained two confidential maps, depicting gang territory in the country, which had been illegally leaked from police files.Bukele, who has not been giving interviews, has ignored the issue.Bukele got into a Twitter feud with the ARENA vice presidential candidate, Carmen Aida Lazo, as Bukele tweeted copies of checks which she had received as a technical consultant during the ARENA administration of now-disgraced Tony Saca. Lazo asserted that the checks had been part of a perfectly legal contract under which she had performed specific consulting services in her area of expertise for the Ministry of the Economy. Bukele pointed to the fact that the checks indicated that they were written on an account of the presidency of El Salvador, and so asserted she must be tied to the corrupt former president. For her part, Lazo challenged Bukele to a debate , noting his absence from the previous two, and said she was out in the country with the people which was more important than sitting around tweeting all day.Tuesday this week things got even stranger. Bukele faced a court hearing in a defamation lawsuit brought against Bukele by Eugenio Chicas, the spokesman for president Salvador Sanchez Ceren and a top FMLN figure. Chicas is suing Bukele for Bukele publicly claiming that Chicas had sex with an underage girl and then married her to cover it up. No doubt the FMLN believed that having a hearing where Bukele was being called a liar, less than two weeks before the election, would redound to the benefit of the left wing party.But it didn't work out that way. Instead, Bukele dropped a bombshell affidavit from Chicas' ex-wife in which she swears to the truth of the allegations about Chicas and the underage girl in his home. By the end of the day, Chicas had resigned from his positions with the FMLN, citing an unwillingness to create a distraction for the party. Meanwhile Bukele was able to claim hypocrisy on the part of the FMLN which had made defense of women's rights a key campaign point.And on top of all this, Bukele and his wife went on Twitter this week to announce that they were having their first baby and showing the world an ultrasound image of the coming addition to their family.Eleven days and counting down to the election. | http://www.elsalvadorperspectives.com/2019/01/will-anything-stick-to-bukele.html |
How would Madden call the penalty in the Rams/Saints game? | FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2015, file photo, former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden speaks about former quarterback Ken Stabler, pictured at rear, at a ceremony honoring Stabler during halftime of an NFL football game between the Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals in Oakland, Calif. Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches John Madden and Marv Levy are among the presenters chosen to welcome the eight-person Class of 2016 at the induction ceremonies on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio. Madden will speak on behalf of the late quarterback Ken Stabler, who played for Madden with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s. The quarterback died in 2015 at the age of 69. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) As UNJUST as the ending of the NFC Championship game was, I think we all know theres not going to be a do-over. The L.A. Rams are going to the Super Bowl, and the kids in Third World countries are already proudly wearing their New Orleans Saints NFC Champions baseball caps. But the people of New Orleans arent giving up without a fight. Someone started a petition on Change.org to make the Saints and the Rams replay the game this Sunday. They have a goal of a million signatures, and as of last night, they had more than 680,000. Meanwhile, a Louisiana lawyer who calls himself The Strong Arm of the Law has filed a civil lawsuit against the NFL. And a businessman from the state put up billboards saying, Saints Got Robbed and NFL Bleaux It in Atlanta, where the Super Bowl is taking place. And on creative soul recreated the play on Maddeneven Madden knows: CLICK HERE TO WATCH: Madden Knows! | https://www.whbc.com/how-would-madden-call-the-penalty-in-the-rams-saints-game/ |
What is multicloud? | Cloud computing has become an important tool for business, enabling redundant data processes, and computing resources that can scale to meet the challenge of an uptick in demand, all in an instant. It has enabled offerings as diverse as Software as a Service , and the increasingly popular container technology . With many of todays businesses reliant on the cloud , some now have more than a single cloud provider, known as multicloud. As many businesses have more than one vendor for many pieces of technology, from servers to smartphones, they similarly may not stick to a single cloud provider, and use the best from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, the Google Cloud Platform, and other cloud providers. There are several reasons why an enterprise would choose to take this multicloud approach, and have more than a solitary cloud vendor. These include: Redundancy - By having more than one cloud provider, it follows the principle of If you have two you have one, and if you have one you have none, as it should be assumed that any cloud provider will have downtime issues, and this is insurance against these inevitable outages. - By having more than one cloud provider, it follows the principle of If you have two you have one, and if you have one you have none, as it should be assumed that any cloud provider will have downtime issues, and this is insurance against these inevitable outages. Scalability - Cloud computing often gets combined with container technology via Kubernetes software, and having access to multiple clouds allows for even more rapid resources on demand, and additional scaling capability as needed for peak demand. - Cloud computing often gets combined with container technology via Kubernetes software, and having access to multiple clouds allows for even more rapid resources on demand, and additional scaling capability as needed for peak demand. Location - Having regional cloud providers will position them closer to where the users are, to improve performance, and reduce latency issues that develop when the cloud server is on the other side of the planet. An additional benefit is that having the cloud server in the same country as the users makes it easier to comply with the local laws and regulations. - Having regional cloud providers will position them closer to where the users are, to improve performance, and reduce latency issues that develop when the cloud server is on the other side of the planet. An additional benefit is that having the cloud server in the same country as the users makes it easier to comply with the local laws and regulations. Customer lock-in - This is an economics term that comes from when a company becomes entrenched in a particular provider for a service. Companies wish to avoid this, as otherwise the cost to switch can be prohibitive, and the vendor can essentially have a total monopoly over them. - This is an economics term that comes from when a company becomes entrenched in a particular provider for a service. Companies wish to avoid this, as otherwise the cost to switch can be prohibitive, and the vendor can essentially have a total monopoly over them. Competition - This is the opposite situation, and with access to multiple cloud providers, the company has leverage to negotiate a more competitive deal from each. - This is the opposite situation, and with access to multiple cloud providers, the company has leverage to negotiate a more competitive deal from each. Features - While cloud providers offer similar feature sets, they are not identical. There are times when multiple cloud providers are used to optimize their feature sets for the apps that they are running, such as choosing a more secure cloud vendor for more sensitive data, and a more economical one for an app with less of a security requirement. Similarly, speed, capacity and cost can all figure into the choice of the cloud vendor for each application. Given the many advantages enumerated above, it comes as no surprise that many organizations have adopted a multicloud approach. When studied in 2017 by Microsoft and 451 Research , it was found that nearly a third of organizations work with four or more cloud service providers, showing a significant trend towards multicloud. In some cases, this happens to an enterprise, department by department, as each incorporates a cloud provider to serve the needs of their workers in that section. However, as this evolves it is preferable to architect a more comprehensive multicloud solution that can be applied organization wide, rather than piecemeal. Disadvantages of multicloud There are also downsides to a multicloud approach. Essentially, they relate to complexity, and to a higher cost. The higher complexity of multiple cloud providers makes it more difficult to manage, from both a task perspective, and also from a security standpoint. The higher cost comes from having additional contracts with additional providers. Realize that while there are certainly merits to a multicloud approach, once implemented, adding additional providers is not always the best answer as things get more and more complicated, and sometimes two well-chosen public cloud providers may be an ideal solution at times. Another approach is hybrid cloud , which can both compete, and complement the multicloud approach. In a multicloud setup, it is technically having a multiple of the same cloud type, which more commonly is of the public cloud variety, although it could also be of the private type, as in an enterprise that has several of their own data centers. This is different from the hybrid cloud approach, which consists of both a public cloud, and a private cloud, with the infrastructure to have them work together. While multicloud, and hybrid cloud are two different models, it should also be realized that they are not exclusive of each other, and more robust setups may use a combination of the two environments, drawing upon the advantages of each. Contributing to the popularity of the cloud environment is the use of container technology, and combined with microservices that break applications down to component pieces, which run particularly well in the cloud. Cost benefits of a multicloud approach Also, keep in mind that it can be more cost-efficient to have a multicloud approach, as it forces the vendors to compete for the business, and the workloads can be placed on the lowest cost cloud. However, this can quickly become a case of 'cheap can be very expensive' as the lower cost cloud service may have a higher latency, thereby reducing the efficiency of the work done. Additionally, be sure to account for the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), not just the less expensive upfront price, designed to gain your business. Such hidden fees, such as integration of the app, licensing and others can take away the economic advantage of the new public cloud provider, compared to an existing solution. Lets look at an example of an enterprise that transitioned to a multicloud approach. Internet video provider Netflix has much of its business based on delivering video via the cloud. And for years, as Netflix is quite transparent about their architecture, their public cloud provider has been Amazon Web Services (AWS). It made headlines when Netflix decided to go to a multicloud approach, and added a second cloud provider, Google Cloud. | https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-multicloud |
When is Liverpool's huge new Lush store going to open? | Get Great Deals updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Months of speculation were brought to an end last summer when beauty giant Lush finally confirmed what had long been suspected - it was moving into the building which previously homed Dorothy Perkins and Burton. When the announcement was made back in August 2018, it was believed the store would be opening early this year, however from the outside there looks to be no major change since hoardings first went up. It has been confirmed to the ECHO it will become the largest Lush store in the world when the doors of the three-floor store open. We approached Lush for clarification on this and for an update on its building work, and as we expected the remained very tight-lipped. A spokesperson for Lush said: "We don't commit to dates on projects of this size but we know the final reveal will make it worth the wait for our customers." However, its staff have been less secretive and have hinted at when shoppers can expect to see the store, which will also house its spa across one of its floors. On Twitter, staff who will be working at the new Lush store, said it's set to open in March. Before the new store opens, Lush's current store on Whitechapel will close, to make way for the new site and to move staff over. Sign up to the What's On newsletter - packed with brilliant things to see and do in Liverpool and beyond. | https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/liverpools-huge-new-lush-store-15719530 |
Who will be the UKs entry at Eurovision 2019? | Eurovision 2019 is only a few months away, and its officially time to pick an entry for the UK. Advertisement This year, however, there has been a major shake-up in how the UKs Eurovision Song Contest act will be chosen. Once again, the BBC will host the selection show Eurovision: You Decide. However, the contestants vying to be picked will have a very different challenge on their hands. The show will now feature just three songs, sung by six different acts. This means that each song will be performed twice, in musically different ways, by two different artists. The best of these as decided by public vote will go on to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Eurovision: You Decide will be broadcast live on the BBC from its new home of Dock10, MediaCity UK in Salford, with presenters Mel Giedroyc and Mns Zelmerlw. An X Factor 2017 quarter-finalist from Barnsley. She was eliminated in week 4 of the live shows after performing Ariana Grandes Love Me Harder. She has kept a relatively low profile since leaving the show but made her theatrical debut as Dorothy in the Blackpool Winter Garden production of Wizard of Oz last year. A former busker from Hartlepool, who won last years BBC talent show All Together Now with a rendition of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah. Check out his final performance on the show below. A 24-year-old, Essex-born singer/songwriter, best known for an appearance on Britains Got Talent in 2013 as a member of The Luminites. Their audition video was viewed 13 million times on YouTube, and they went on to reach the final. He says: To represent my country at Eurovision would mean so much. Its like representing England at the World Cup if youre a footballer. A pop group made up of classically-trained musicians Miracle (24), Blythe (26) and Kat (27), from Edinburgh, Devon and Bristol respectively. They describe their musical style as in the vein of Billie Eilish (a 17-year-old popstar), and they are currently at work on their first EP. They say: Freaks is about celebrating everyones individual personality, about the people who maybe dont fit in and its about bringing everyone together Kerrie-Anne Sweet Lies Song written by Maria Broberg, Lise Cabble and Esben Svane Time to up the BPM. Our third song 'Sweet Lies' is a bop from @OfficialKerrieA! A 32-year-old former teacher, who started to hone her singing skills while working in Dubai. She cites ABBA as her favourite Eurovision act ever. She says: The style of my song is up-tempo but at the same time the lyrics are quite poignant its all about blissful ignorance. You know something is drastically wrong with your relationship but you choose to ignore those signs because you love that person Anisa Sweet Lies Song written by Maria Broberg, Lise Cabble and Esben Svane Our final track of #Eurovision You Decide 2019 @OFFICIALANISA turns 'Sweet Lies' into a ballad with big vocal range. A Manchester-born songwriter who has co-written songs for Ariana Grande and Eurovision alumni and Swedens platinum selling artist Fran. She was also named as one of the BBC Asian Networks Future Sounds in 2016. Eurovision: You Decide will mark the first time she has performed a song that she did not write herself. UK viewers will be able to vote during the Eurovision: You Decide live show on Friday 8th February. Yes, the BBC is opening a free ballot on tickets for the event. Successful applicants will be notified by Thursday 24th January click here to find out more. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-23/eurovision-2019-uk-entry-contestant/ |
Is The Sopranos on Netflix? | The Sopranos is widely been thought of as one of the greatest television series of all time. Advertisement The American crime drama revolves around Tony Soprano and his life from balancing commitments to his wife Carmela with his role as the mobster boss of a huge criminal organisation to his therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The drama, written by David Chase, stars James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco. It has been massively successful, with 21 Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes to its name. The series was originally broadcast on premium cable channel HBO in America and it is still available to steam on their website, though unfortunately only in certain regions and not the UK. However, those with Amazon Prime accounts in the UK can watch the whole series. It is also available on Sky Box Sets and through Now TV. Advertisement It is not currently available to stream on Netflix so avid fans will have to make do with the soundtrack, huge amount of merchandise or the spin off video game, The Sopranos: Road to Respect, to quench their thirst for action. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-23/is-the-sopranos-on-netflix/ |
When is The Umbrella Academy released on Netflix? Who is in the cast? Whats it about? | Ellen Page is set to return to TV in her first starring role in 15 years for Netflixs new fantasy series The Umbrella Academy. Advertisement The show is set in an alternate reality where JFK was never assassinated, and centres around 7 orphans (43 who were mysteriously born on the same day to mothers who had shown no signs of pregnancy in the days prior) with different superpowers who reunite after years apart to solve the mystery of their foster fathers death. It is based on a series of comics written for Dark Horse by My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way. Find out everything you need to know about The Umbrella Academy below. The supernatural drama will be released on Netflix on Friday 15th February. Sort of. Netflix released a short teaser in December 2018. Check it out below. Ellen Page stars as Vanya Hargreeves AKA The White Violin, one of seven children adopted by billionaire industrialist Sir Reginald Hargreeves. Unlike her siblings all of whom were born on the same day in 1989 to unsuspecting parents she does not have any superpowers, which makes her surplus to requirements at The Umbrella Academy, the familial institution created by Reginald in order to save the world. When the series kicks off, the siblings have been estranged for some time, only to be brought back together upon hearing of their fathers death. Vanyas siblings (only six are still alive) will be played by Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones), David Castaeda (Sicario 2), Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan (Mortal Engines, Misfits) and Aidan Gallagher. Plus, Mary J Blige, Mindhunters Cameron Britton and Kate Walsh will also feature. Advertisement The Umbrella Academy launches on Netflix on Friday 15th February | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-01-23/the-umbrella-academy/ |
Can Ignas Brazdeikis help fuel Michigan's defensive revolution? | Thirty-point games and championship banners hang from the backs of Ignas Brazdeikis' eyelids. He sees outrageous success in high definition each time he closes them to meditate inside a chilly Michigan dorm room. Brazdeikis learned to meditate from his father, Sigis, the Lithuanian fighter who moved his family across the Atlantic shortly after Ignas was born. When young Iggy was moving 1,000 mph in a world that couldn't keep up, he saw no value in slowing down to visualize the future. ("It was just, you know, sitting there," he says.) Now that the roles are reversed and the Michigan Wolverines freshman is hustling to keep up with his new world, there is almost nothing at which Brazdeikis won't try to get better. "I just see everything I could imagine, and I see it going well," Brazdeikis says about the regular meditation sessions he adopted this year. "Literally everything." The real world has not been much different so far for the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Lithuanian-Canadian newcomer, who seemed to emerge this autumn as a fully formed starter and offensive game-changer for the fifth-ranked Wolverines. Prior to Michigan's defeat at Wisconsin this past weekend, the Wolverines had not lost and Brazdeikis, the team's leading scorer, had been held below double digits only twice. Brazdeikis bounced back Tuesday night in a 59-57 win over Minnesota, posting a double-double with an aggressive, productive second half. After being held scoreless against the Badgers and missing his first seven shots of the game Tuesday, head coach John Beilein still put the ball in the hands of his only freshman starter with 30 seconds left in a tie game. Brazdeikis missed a lay-up before tipping the rebound to senior Charles Matthews for a buzzer-beating jumper. The miss did not shake his confidence nor the trust his team puts in him. "That means a lot to me," Brazdeikis said. "They trust in me. I trust in myself. Having that trust gives me the ability to make plays." Brazdeikis sees himself -- whether his eyes are open or closed -- as the best player on whatever court his shoes touch, and he is not shy about sharing those feelings with anyone who asks. That unabashed confidence does not, however, diminish the budding star's insatiable thirst to improve. "There has always been an understanding with Iggy that he's not where he wants to be," assistant coach Luke Yaklich says. "There is a desire to learn and to grow." It says as much about the recent evolution of Michigan's basketball program as it does about Brazdeikis that his top priority since landing in Ann Arbor this summer has been playing better defense. Brazdeikis is aware that his defense was viewed as a liability, and has worked hard in that area. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Yaklich arrived at the Crisler Center this summer to find Brazdeikis and his fellow freshmen milling around the lobby, waiting for Michigan's first official practice of the year. They were joining a group that months earlier came up one win short of a national championship and solidified a new identity thanks in no small part to Yaklich's relentless pursuit of a relentless defense. In his first year at Michigan, Yaklich helped a program built with John Beilein's innovative offense redefine itself with the third-ranked adjusted defense in the nation, per KenPom. "Are you guys ready to get on the floor any play some defense this year?" Yaklich asked the freshmen amid some friendly welcomes and small talk. He wasn't necessarily expecting an earnest answer. "I want to be an elite two-way player, Coach," Brazdeikis said. "You can hold me accountable to that." "OK, Iggy," Yaklich said. "That's all I need to hear." Brazdeikis by then had learned good defense would be non-negotiable if he wanted to step into a significant role for the Wolverines this season. There isn't a coach in the country who doesn't at least pay lip service to the idea that a player will ride the bench if he can't play good defense, but it was his teammates in summer pick-up games who made it clear to Brazdeikis that those aren't empty words in Ann Arbor. "For us, it's kind of a like a disease that spreads when guys play defense," says sophomore guard Zavier Simpson, who is as responsible for starting that epidemic as anyone in the Michigan locker room. "There has always been an understanding with Iggy that he's not where he wants to be. There is a desire to learn and to grow." Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich Simpson is usually the first to hold his teammates accountable if they sidestep a charge or jog to close out on a shooter. A host of returning starters from last year's Final Four team are quick to join him. For Brazdeikis, it helped that he had peeked at the scouting reports and recruiting sites that pinpointed defense as one of his most glaring weaknesses. He felt he had something to prove. The first step was physical. Michigan charts the strength of all its players during their time on campus. Brazdeikis walked in the door this past summer with one of the 10 best vertical leaps and bench press scores of anyone strength coach Jon Sanderson has tested in his decade with the team -- the product of an Eastern European work ethic Brazdeikis inherited from his parents and the mixed martial arts workouts he learned from his father. Sanderson also tests the range of motion for each of his athletes and shows the results on a printout he calls a mobility map that looks a bit like thermal imaging. The map shows a silhouette of a body. The areas and joints where an athlete has good or great mobility remain black like the background. Areas where they are stiff are shown in a proportionally bright shade of red. "He's lit up like a Christmas tree," Sanderson says as he looks through the initial tests Brazdeikis did this summer. "This was a huge weak link for Iggy." The lack of mobility meant Brazdeikis couldn't slide fast enough to stay in front of an opponent. His hips and ankles were too tight for him to sit comfortably in a defensive stance. Sanderson told the freshman he didn't need to worry about getting any stronger, so he wouldn't be doing any bench press work during his first summer on campus. Then he watched Brazdeikis' face melt from incredulous to devastated to acceptance in the matter of a few seconds. John Beilein's trust in Brazdeikis on both ends of the floor has helped the freshman earn major minutes. Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images "He wasn't a fan," Sanderson says. "I remember the facial expressions. If you had a police sketch artist, I could paint it for you. He was just disappointed like, 'Ah, I really want to do this, but I get it. I get it.' Everything we ask him to do, he does it." Sanderson prescribed a stretching routine Brazdeikis could work on with the team or on his own each day. The freshman embraced yoga and started working some of the poses into his meditation sessions. Slowly, he started to feel looser and lighter. Meanwhile, Yaklich kept his promise to hold Brazdeikis accountable. He still sends a daily text message to make sure defense is never far from the scorer's mind. Sometimes it's an article about an NBA defender or some illuminating stats or just a suggestion about footwork that Yaklich picked up while watching practice film. Yaklich's coaching style is no different than what he expects from his players. He doesn't give you a break. "He's on you," Brazdeikis says with a big smile. "There are times when it's like 'Uggghhh, just let it go, Coach.'" In those times, Yaklich likes to remind Brazdeikis of their summertime discussion. "This is what you wanted, Iggy," he tells him. Brazdeikis nods along. This is what he wants. On a cold shooting night against Minnesota, while Michigan's offense appeared to be stuck in the mud for a second straight game, Brazdeikis added 11 rebounds, a block and a steal to help his team scratch out a win. Beilein said earlier this month that Brazdeikis is an "exponentially" better player on defense, which is a big reason why he's sustained the 29-plus minutes of playing time he gets each game and maintains the trust of his teammates. "I'm not going to lose confidence in myself," he says. "That's definitely not something that's going to happen with me." The line between confidence and arrogance can be a tricky one to walk for a young star. Brazdeikis manages to do so without breaking stride because of his constant belief in needing to get better. He sees himself doing big things, and when that's not working he'll set about speaking his success into existence. The rest of college basketball is starting to listen. He's already opened their eyes. | http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25818940/can-ignas-brazdeikis-help-fuel-michigan-defensive-revolution |
Can Brexit rip Labour and the Tories apart for good? | When a significant minority of backbenchers is at odds with the party leadership over such an important issue one would be forgiven for wondering why they don't think more about breaking off and forming their own party. Unfortunately not. The British political system is built to favour two big parties at the expense of others, says Perspecs. Different political factions have banded together to ensure they are part of an entity that is likely to win. Party leaders are stuck between taking a decisive direction and appeasing certain elements in their party. Politicians considering splitting off have to abandon the benefits of being part of a well known party. They are throwing away immediate recognition and tribal voting. Certain voters will vote for a party because they always have, or because their parents did, it becomes part of their identity. Convincing them to back a new party is an uphill battle. The Tories have been warned that the party risks splitting if it pursues a Soft Brexit policy, with the hardliners growing increasingly unhappy at prime minister Theresa May's approach to leaving the EU. Chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond suggested such a thing would "flush out the extremists" but they would take a chunk of MPs and voters with them that would risk putting the party out of government. The Financial Times reports that an attempt to add a customs union to the Brexit deal in an attempt to secure cross party support will be unacceptable to the most Eurosceptic MPs in the party. Many of May's own MPs voted against her deal in the House of Commons and she needs the support of other political parties to have any chance of gaining parliamentary approval for her deal. Doing so could ensure the UK has a Brexit deal but split the Tories in the process. (Image: Liverpool Echo) Labour also have their share of issues. With Jeremy Corbyn as party leader the socialist wing of Labour is in charge, whereas most of their MPs fall elsewhere on the political spectrum and don't always agree with the leadership on certain matters. This is reflected in their voting base, which has a wide variety of opinions on Brexit. Corbyn was put into power by the membership but they are overwhelmingly pro Remain while he wants to push on with Brexit if he can. The Times reports the party has lost 150,000 members in recent months as party policy, which was once upheld as something that would reflect the will of the membership, runs contrary to their will. On the other hand, Labour are afraid of backing a second referendum and losing Leave voters after a leaked poll suggested the public at large are more in step with Corbyn's view than the Labour membership. Back Brexit and lose some of your most loyal supporters or try to stop it and risk losing enough of the electorate to destroy any chance of winning a general election. The Daily Mirror reports that Labour MP David Lammy warned some of his colleagues could abandon the party and emulate the SDP, arguing that the split in Labour back then kept them out of power for a generation. Politicians and voters should not be blamed for deciding to break away if they believe the party they represent is no longer reflecting their views, though they should be aware that doing so could doom them to political irrelevance and ensure their former party misses out at the next election. In a political system designed to put one party in power nobody wants to be the person that splits the vote of one of the big two. Democracy is supposed to give the views of the public proper representation, don't be surprised if that doesn't fit neatly into a "50 per cent plus one" system. Compromise is a practical necessity, whether that be in countries where coalitions are common or in the UK where the main parties are already essentially coalitions. They have to compromise to stick together, now they have reached an issue where divisions are too deep to compromise and keep everyone happy. Labour would lose voters with 'stop Brexit' policy, poll suggests A leaked poll commissioned by the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign suggests that voters would be less likely to back Labour if the party was committed to stopping Brexit. According to the poll, passed to the Guardian, almost a third of respondents said they would be less likely to vote Labour, a similar number to those who said it would not make a difference. Twenty-five per cent said it would make them more likely to back Labour, with the rest saying they did not know. The campaign group, which is pushing for a second EU referendum, commissioned the as yet unreleased snap poll shortly before MPs voted down Theresa Mays Brexit deal. The Populus poll asked 2,000 people whether they would be more or less likely to vote Labour if they commit to stop Brexit. Read the full Guardian story here. Theresa May's only route through Parliament will split the Tories - so a general election is becoming more likely Of all the various types of politicians that make up today's Conservative party, Theresa May falls into the category of the dutiful. Unlike her predecessor David Cameron , the Prime Minister didn't rise to the top as a special advisor who was then fast tracked by the party leader. Read the full iNews article here. | https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/can-brexit-rip-labour-tories-2460486 |
Can the Toronto Maple Leafs New '3M Line' Carry Them? | < Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock has made changes. He has created a new line combination of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Patrick Marleau. Obviously, I have (as I am certain many others have as well) named it the 3M Line. On the face of it, the new line combination is a no-brainer. My initial response, when I look at Mike Babcocks new 3M Line, is that I like the name. My second response is to wonder why this new combination wasnt made earlier. I suppose the answer is simple: it wasnt necessary. Auston Matthews Early Season Explosion Matthews was on such an early-season tear that he carried most of the Maple Leafs offense himself, leaving Tavares to inhabit the background pumping in a goal now and then to add to the teams scoring prowess. It worked like a charm, as long as Matthews kept scoring. For a while, Matthews did score. As the year started, he absolutely roared out of the gate and carried the team with him. His 15 goals in 14 games was a torrid pace. The Nov. 19 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets put the teams record at 15-6-0. Thats a really strong start, and Maple Leaf fans were totally buying in. I know I was. But, seasons are long and this strong start didnt last. Still, who would have thought that, given such a rousing start to the season, things would deteriorate to the point where Babcock sees the need to juggle lines in a desperate attempt to help his young star Matthews get going. And, do know that the main reason for this new line change is just that to re-ignite Matthews. Matthews play has stagnated, and the team needs something to un-glue him from his funk. As good as John Tavares is and has been playing, he cannot carry the team alone. So, after only scoring a single goal in his last 13 games, Babcock has switched Matthews around hoping to wake up the slumbering giant. Matthews game has gone so far south that not only has he not scored, but hes almost but not quite pulled a William Nylander. Matthews has just three assists and is minus-11 in his last seven games. I, for one, would have never thought he would struggle like this. Dont Forget Patrick Marleau By building this particular 3M line combination, Babcock must be thinking that, if he puts Marner (his best assist producer) with Matthews (potentially his best goal scorer), the result will generate more offense. I dont disagree. However, what might be lost by concentrating on Marner and Matthews as the top two in this trio is the presence of Marleau and his 546 career goals. What this new line combination also does is to stand a good chance of pumping up Marleau as well. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer has proven over a long career that he can score goals. As well, the new line combination is a subtle leadership change. The success of this 3M Line hinges on the skill and leadership of Mitch Marner. And, heres saying hes good enough to pull it off. Certainly, from a simply hockey point of view, the new line offers Marner another viable goal-scoring option, a second partner who can redirect one of his seeing-eye passes past the opponents goalie. I also wouldnt be too quick to conclude that Marleaus lack of production this year (he now has only 11 goals, 11 assists, and 22 points in 46 games this season) means hes over the hill. Hes crafty enough and still a good enough skater to play off the action that a Matthews Marner buzz can create, see a spot, and regularly sneak in for a goal. Theres a good chance he will be left alone more as opposing defenses work to clog up the youngsters chemistry. With these two goal producers as targets, Marner now has multiple partners who can put the goal into the net. I like the change and the possibilities it portends. The line change also suggests that Babcock is willing to listen to what his young stars want. As Sportsnets Luke Fox noted yesterday, Marner and Matthews have hoped to play together more. You can read that into their comments. Marner noted, Were roommates on the road, so we hang out quite a bit. Weve played together before; weve had chemistry out there. He added, I also think Im there for support, make sure I talk to him while Im on the ice. You can read into this last comment the implicit fact that Marner sees himself as the lines leader, directing Matthews play on the ice. Matthews believes the off-ice chemistry of the three will translate into on-ice results. He said, We spend a lot of time with Patty on the road, so hopefully the three of us can complement each other well, get some stuff rolling, Matthews said. In fact, Fox noted that Marleau was their on-the-road Dad. Theres Not Long to Wait The Maple Leafs play the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in Toronto. Fans wont have to wait long to see how the new 3M line will do, and how the totality of the line changes will impact the teams general play. The Maple Leafs have an advantage because the Capitals are coming off a tough 7-6 overtime loss at home Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. The Capitals, too, are in a skid, losing six straight games. They are road weary. Not only will their game against the Maple Leafs be their second game of a back-to-back, but the game before was energy-draining; it ended late; theres travel, and little rest before immediately playing once again. If the Maple Leafs tank another one when it sets up so nicely for them, well learn more about the team than we had before. And, what we learn wont be good. | https://thehockeywriters.com/toronto-maple-leafs-matthews-marner-marleau/ |
Why are professional and ethical standards so important for universities? | One of the remarkable aspects of recent history has been the growth of participation in education around the world, including participation in higher education. For many years higher education has been seen as an elite activity, although it seems difficult to defend that position now. The growth in higher education participation has tended, however, to obscure fundamental questions about the purpose of higher education, and related questions about the importance of professional and ethical standards for institutions of higher education. Usually institutions of higher education (Universities) have a nominal commitment to professional and ethical standards through Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics. However whether those in leadership positions within Universities, or indeed within public institutions generally, adhere to such Codes is another question. It seems appropriate that we should ask why adherence to professional and ethical standards is so important for Universities, and here I want to suggest some basic reasons why such adherence is important. Firstly, an important function for Universities is the training of future professionals, and an important part of this function is training in professional and ethical conduct. This has both practical and ethical dimensions, in that breaching such standards will often have consequences, but, beyond this, it is important in itself for individuals to comply with accepted standards. It would seem obvious that there is little point talking to students about appropriate professional and ethical standards without an appropriate practical commitment on the part of those teaching adherence to the professional and ethical standards. Put simply, we learn from example. Advertisement Secondly, an equally important function for Universities is the search for truth, what we might otherwise call research. Both in the research function and in the teaching function, Universities may well be described as truth institutions. Here too it is difficult not to overstate the importance of adherence to professional and ethical standards. If those in leadership positions, or even those not in leadership positions, are not adhering to professional and ethical standards, then the credibility of the University in its search for and promotion of truth will inevitably be undermined. Thirdly, there is a very practical reason why Universities ought to comply with professional and ethical standards, in Universities operate in a competitive market where image is crucial. Thus, if Universities are seen not to be adhering to relevant professional and ethical standards, this can only be to the detriment of the University. This importance of image, of course, has only increased with the radical transparency which is part of the internet phenomenon. Pragmatist ethicists are fond of pointing out that doing good can result in good results, and having Universities adhere to professional standards seems to be an obvious example of this. Fourthly, in addition to the above ethical and practical considerations, there is the established legal obligation for educational institutions to exercise a duty of care. Universities, like other educational institutions, have an obligation to avoid causing or allowing foreseeable harm to persons, and this is fulfilled by exercising reasonable care. There is a strong argument that exercising reasonable care encompasses complying with recognized professional and ethical obligations. Fifthly, Universities operate as communities. As such, any failure of commitment to professional and ethical standards on the part of leaders of the University can only detract from the overall morale of the institution. Put simply, if those in leading positions are not acting in a diligent, professional [10/11] and ethical manner, then there is often little encouragement for others within a University community to remain committed to such standards. Indeed, if leaders of a University community are not actively adhering to professional and ethical standards, this can only induce a large degree of cynicism within the institution. Finally, Universities operate as agents of change, in that Universities anticipate and encourage a commitment to the making of a better world for the future. For instance, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, at Article 13, stipulates that education, which includes higher education, should strengthen respect for human rights, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship, and further the maintenance of peace. Similarly, the Declaration and Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace, at Article 4, stipulates that education at all levels is one of the principal means of establishing a culture of peace. If a University is not adhering to standards of professional and ethical conduct, this can only serve to undermine the role of the University in encouraging an ethical vision for the future. The changing role of higher education, and of the University, poses some special challenges. Yet perhaps the most important challenge is to retain, or in some cases reclaim, the importance of professional and ethical conduct within the University. | http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20125 |
Can anyone 'own' the Moon? | Image copyright NASA Image caption Buzz Aldrin was taken by the Moon's emptiness Companies are looking at mining the surface of the Moon for precious materials. It's almost 50 years since Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. "That's one small step for man," the US astronaut famously said, "one giant leap for mankind." Shortly afterwards, his colleague Buzz Aldrin joined him in bounding across the Sea of Tranquility. After descending from the steps of the Eagle lunar module, he gazed at the empty landscape and said: "Magnificent desolation." Since the Apollo 11 mission of July 1969, the Moon has remained largely untouched - no human has been there since 1972. But this could change soon, with several companies expressing an interest in exploring and, possibly, mining its surface for resources including gold, platinum and the rare earth minerals widely used in electronics. Earlier this month, China landed a probe, the Chang'e-4, on the far side of the Moon, and it managed to germinate a cotton seed in a biosphere on its surface. It's looking at setting up a research base. The Japanese firm iSpace is planning to build an "Earth-Moon transportation platform" and carry out "polar water exploration" on the Moon. Potential ownership of celestial bodies has been an issue since space exploration began during the Cold War. While Nasa was planning its first manned lunar missions, the UN put together an Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967 by countries including the US, the Soviet Union and the UK. It stated: "Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." Joanne Wheeler, director of space specialist company Alden Advisers, describes the treaty as "the Magna Carta of space". It makes planting a flag on the Moon - as Armstrong and his successors did - "meaningless", as it doesn't confer any "binding rights" to individuals, companies or countries, she adds. In practical terms, land ownership and mining rights for the Moon didn't matter too much in 1969. But as technology has developed, exploiting its resources for profit has become a more likely - if still rather distant - prospect. In 1979 the UN produced an Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, better known as the Moon Agreement. This stipulated that they must be used for peaceful purposes, and that the UN must itself be told where and why anyone planned to build a station. The agreement also said that "the Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind" and that an international regime should be set up "to govern the exploitation of such resources when such exploitation is about to become feasible". The problem with the Moon Agreement, though, is that only 11 countries have ratified it. France is one, and India is another. The biggest players in space - including China, the US and Russia - have not. Nor has the UK. Anyway, Ms Wheeler says, it's "not so easy" to enforce the rules outlined in treaties. Different countries incorporate the documents they sign into law and have the job of ensuring companies and individuals abide by them. Image copyright Getty Images Prof Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Space Law, agrees that international agreements offer "no guarantees". Enforcement "is a complex mixture of politics, economics and public opinion", she adds. And the existing treaties, denying national ownership of celestial bodies, have faced an extra challenge in recent years. In 2015, the US passed the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, recognising the right of it citizens to own any resources they manage to mine from asteroids. It doesn't apply to the Moon, but the principle might feasibly be extended. Eric Anderson, co-founder of the exploration company Planetary Resources, described the legislation as the "single greatest recognition of property rights in history". In 2017, Luxembourg passed its own act, providing the same right of ownership to resources found in space. Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider said this would make his country "a European pioneer and leader in this sector". The will to explore and make money is there, with countries seemingly becoming more eager to help companies. "Clearly mining, whether with the intention of returning the materials to Earth or to store or manufacture with them on the Moon, is the very opposite of not doing any harm," says Helen Ntabeni, a lawyer at Naledi Space Law and Policy. She adds that it could be argued the US and Luxembourg have "bullied" their way out of the Outer Space Treaty's stipulations. "I'm quite sceptical that the high moral notions of the world exploring space together as equal nations will be preserved," she says. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46877417 |
Can we help people in California displaced by wildfires? | I listened to NPR News at 9 this morning and heard about people in California still living in cars after the Camp Fire burned down most of the town of Paradise. This is a problem that concerns me as a senior citizen living in subsidized housing in Connecticut. I am willing to start a fund for these people with $10 to help find housing. We are the United States of America and we should be able to help each other find a roof over our heads. Our President has shut down our government making it difficult to get funds for these people. Please send journalists to California to report on the plight of Americans finding themselves homeless after a fire. Inge Ecker Verheggen Norwalk | https://www.thehour.com/opinion/article/Can-we-help-people-in-California-displaced-by-13553166.php |
Is Cotsworld Outdoor the next high street shop to go? | Cotswold Outdoor in Norwich. Picture: Newman Associates Supplied It has been revealed that a significant number of Cotswold Outdoor sites could be in the firing line for a round of store closures. Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. That could include a store in Norwichs city centre on Theatre Street, and in Ipswichs Tavern Street. There is also a store in Bury St Edmunds. AS Adventure, the holding company for the Cotswold Company as well as Snow + Rock, is reportedly close to appointing advisers to work on a shop closure programme. Details of the plans are at an early stage, and no concrete decisions have yet been made about UK closures. The Cotswold Outdoor company are in competition with Mountain Warehouse, which this week reported blockbuster festive sales. The company said that cooler weather had boosted sales though whether this had the same impact for Cotsworld Outdoor sales has not been reported. Cotsworld Outdoor would be one in a string of high street closures, a reflection of the gloomy retail aspect Britains businesses are currently facing. MORE: A million sock sales puts Mountain Warehouse on the path to success | https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/cotswold-outdoor-next-high-street-store-looking-closures-1-5863152 |
How quickly does North Yorkshire County Council fill in dangerous potholes? | North Yorkshire County Council aims to repair dangerous potholes within two hours of being alerted, data obtained by the RAC Foundation shows. Thats the most common response time, with the slowest councils in the UK taking up to five days. Hitting a pothole, or even swerving to avoid one, can ruin a cars suspension, steering or tyres, according to the AA. In extreme cases they can cause serious accidents. In 2018, the AA estimated potholes cost drivers and insurance companies an eye-watering 12m. It said: The pothole epidemic has become nothing short of a national disgrace. A Freedom of Information request by the RAC found that North Yorkshire County Council uses a risk-based approach to fixing potholes. Not only will a potholes size be considered, but also the potential impact on road users and volume of traffic. That means deeper potholes on quiet lanes will be less of a priority than minor defects on a major route. On rarely-used roads, North Yorkshire County Council will only intervene when potholes are at least 20cm deep and 15cm wide. On busy major routes, potholes at least 4cm deep and 15cm wide will be investigated. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: The total number of potholes being filled in might still be limited by a shortage of funding, but this approach at least means those that are most dangerous are fixed first. Those particularly vulnerable to potholes cyclists and motorcyclists might ask whether the speed of pothole investigation should be based solely on the risk to users. Repairs for the least troublesome potholes in North Yorkshire could take up to three months. The Local Government Association called for more funding for council-controlled local roads. Transport spokesman Councillor Martin Tett said: Keeping roads safe for all users is one of the most important jobs councils do. Thats reflected in the fact that local authorities are fixing a pothole every 21 seconds. He added that councils need consistent and fairer government investment in local road maintenance. | https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/how-quickly-does-north-yorkshire-county-council-fill-in-dangerous-potholes-1-9553100 |
Does the Gillette ad mark a turning point in marketing masculinity? | We are in the midst of nothing less than a complete reconstruction of gender ideals. That man you may have seen in many an ad who does not know his way around a kitchen or how to perform basic parental tasks will increasingly become a relic of the past. The past decades have seen the evolution of the advertising man from the rugged detachment of the Marlboro Man to the Monocle-toting metrosexual. Now, Gillette has served up "#MeToo man" and Piers Morgan and Twittersphere are unsurprisingly apoplectic, reflecting the polarisation that characterises the platform. Writing in the Daily Mail, Morgan explained: "Im so sick of this war on masculinity and Im not alone with their pathetic, man-hating ad Gillette have just cut their own throat." On the flip side, Arianna Huffington, chief executive of Thrive Global, took to Twitter to praise the campaign for "thoughtfully and critically examining what The best a man can get', the brands iconic tagline, means today". Yet, while marketing commentators have been typically absolute about whether the campaign will drive or diminish sales among men (and the often-overlooked high percentage of women who also buy razors), the truth is that Gillette is breaking new ground, with the Advertising Standards Authority guidelines of gender stereotyping underlining a new playing field for depictions of gender in advertising. While feminism has long been a key marketing tool for Gillettes parent company, Procter & Gamble, whose 2014 Super Bowl ad "#LikeAGirl" for Always defined the genre, when it comes to "empowering" men many brands simply don't know where to start. Few have followed in the footsteps of Unilever-owned Lynx , which has successfully embraced individualism when it comes to connecting with men. Instead many brands still rely on outdated masculine tropes. But in the hangover period since the toppling of Harvey Weinstein, brands are waking up to a new reality. As Fernando Desouches, managing director at New Macho and former global brand director at Lynx, wrote in Campaign: "Gillette seems to have understood that the concept of masculinity is in crisis." Yet this shift is not without challenges. Gary Barker, president and chief executive of gender justice organisation Promundo recently told trend consultancy Stylus that while there is "support for more equitable ideas about manhood" among urban young men, "in other parts of the world and sometimes in the same parts we see a lot of confused young and adult men pushing back to an older, tough-guy, always-in-charge, even misogynist view of manhood". We asked a selection of industry experts to share their views. Roisin Donnelly Non-executive director for brands including Coca-Cola, Holland & Barrett and Just East; former brand director, northern Europe, Procter & Gamble Gillette is one of the biggest male brands in the world, with significant reach and a big marketing voice. This campaign is a brave turning point to use Gillette's brand voice to engage men and women in an important conversation. It is a powerful campaign with purpose at its heart. The purpose is to help build an equal and inclusive society. This conversation is polarising and clearly making some people uncomfortable, but it has started a conversation. P&G challenged gender stereotyping, with the powerful Always '#LikeAGirl' campaign making a huge positive impact on women and men across the globe. Today, men are expected to conform to gender stereotypes. There are old stereotypes of tough masculinity or newer stereotypes of "doing it all" being the perfect boss, husband, father and friend. The Gillette campaign is putting the spotlight on this. If the next generation is to live in a better world where there is true equality of opportunity, we need change so men and women can all be the best they can be. Mark Roalfe Chairman, VMLY&R First, I am surprised its taken so long for a mens brand to jump on this. So this is a start! Unfortunately, a little heavy-handed in places. The purpose of advertising is often to successfully communicate very complex propositions as simply as possible. In this case, I think they've gotten lost in the many faces of the issue and have lost focus on the big picture the underlining thought. But, in the end, I suppose good on Gillette. Theyre not shying away from a tricky subject and theyre continuing to give "The best a man can get" new meaning and purpose. Dr Karen da Silva Senior social scientist, Canvas8 It represents a new way of bringing men into the conversation about gender norms, masculinity and #MeToo. It offers a view of male self-determination that respects the calls for justice and inclusion coming from women around the world and recognises that gender norms exist in tandem. By turning the focus inward on how men can think of themselves and influence their peer group, it breaks the code of male silence by dramatising how men can personally contribute to the process of undoing harmful gender norms and behaviours. Of course, this sense of progress also depends on how Gillette demonstrates its commitment to this positioning in its CSR and internal organisational behaviour. Nevertheless, as a first step, it definitely signals a turning point in marketing to men and a turning point in how brands take risks in order to influence culture for the better. Amy Kean Head of strategic innovation, Starcom Yes. I hope it represents a turning point for marketing in general, encouraging people to bin unhelpful, hackneyed audience stereotypes. You know, those manly men driving cars, busy mums running around a kitchen, responsibility-resistant millennials that "crave experiences" (yawn), batty old women giving their husbands a hard time, the hopeless dad Its funny that, even with all this data flying around, the industry is still so out of touch. Whatever your opinion (and it seems we all have one), at least Gillette was brave enough to say something new and theyve raised the bar. Im looking forward to less clichs in 2019 and more accurate portrayals of modern society. Billy Faithfull Chief creative officer, Engine Gillette wasnt the turning point, #MeToo was. Which is a not-that-clever way to say: "Meh, kinda." Marketing reflects culture, albeit it cleaned up in post and "fixed in the grade". Theres no going back. But not from an ad; from the shittiness of shits like Harvey and the countless other shits that followed. My peeps tend not to present toxically masculine work, but I cant think of a creative review when I havent viewed the work through that lens. No bad thing, but Ill need more than 100 words to debate whether Gillettes move is a wholly good or bad one. Shirin Majid Executive creative director, Cake Change has been happening, but all too slowly. Weve seen brands more subtly challenge male stereotypes, such as featuring stay-at-home dads, and the slow disappearance of brands championing outright misogyny. Gillette kick-started a turning point by taking a strong position and calling out toxic masculinity outright. It takes a brave, forward-thinking brand (and agency) to be the first and the backlash was inevitable. Just as Dove paved the way for a thousand body-positive campaigns, Gillette will start a trend for challenging male stereotypes. At minimum, Im hoping it will wake brand and creative teams alike up to their unconscious biases. This is how marketing can make a positive impact in culture. | https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/does-gillette-ad-mark-turning-point-marketing-masculinity/1523505 |
Why Do I Bruise So Easily? | LEA PATERSON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images Experts say there a few common reasons why you might bruise more easily than others. If you fall off your bike or bump your leg on your nightstand, you can typically expect a purple bruise to appear. Easy bruising is a common complaint many health care professionals hear. A bruise is typically nothing to be concerned about if its related to an injury or some sort of minor trauma. However, there are a few times when noticing more bruises than normal may be a cause for concern. Here are a few potential explanations for why youre bruising easily, plus expert-backed tips on what to do about them: 1. It could be your medication. Abdal Rhisang Alfarid / EyeEm via Getty Images Some prescription medications or over-the-counter drugs may be responsible for your bruising woes. One would expect to bruise easily when taking an anti-coagulant, such as warfarin, or when taking aspirin, as these medications serve to make the blood thinner, said Cynthia C. Obiozor, an internist, hematologist and oncologist in Berkeley, California. She said fish oil, vitamin E and chronic steroids can also thin your blood and therefore make you more prone to bruising. Knowing what medication you are on sometimes aspirin is found in headache concoctions, for example and avoiding trauma when you take blood thinners can help, but unfortunately this is a common side effect, said Roman Bronfenbrener, a clinical associate at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Dermatology and a dermatologist in practice at Yardley Dermatology Associates in Yardley, Pennsylvania. 2. Your diet may be a catalyst. Excessive bruising may be your bodys way of telling you that you need a more nutrient-rich diet, said Rachel Fine, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of a To The Pointe Nutrition, a nutrition-counseling firm in New York. Fine said a lack of vitamin C, which helps with tissue repair, could be a contributing factor. So could not getting enough vitamin K, which plays a role in blood clotting, said Ysabel Montemayor, lead dietitian for meal delivery service Fresh n Lean. Fiona B. Lewis, a registered dietitian and nutritionist and founder of LLBJ Culinary and Wellness Enterprises in Jackson, Missouri, suggested keeping a food diary to help keep track of which vitamins and minerals youre eating. She suggested eating red bell peppers, citrus fruits, berries and tomatoes if youre looking to add more vitamin C to your diet, and to make sure youre getting plenty of leafy greens, kale, turnip greens, spinach or broccoli to help with your vitamin K intake. 3. Youve spent too much time in the sun. Caiaimage/Gina Cholick via Getty Images Excessive sun exposure could also be to blame for your bruises, said Tsippora Shainhouse, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles. UV rays destroy collagen and cause dermal atrophy [skin thinning], leaving vessels susceptible to outside trauma, Shainhouse said. These painless bruises are called solar purpura. Saunas or hot yoga sessions can also play a factor. Heat will vasodilate superficial vessels in the skin the reason you look red afterwards or even during, Shainhouse said. Immediately afterward, you can be more susceptible to vessel trauma and breakage. Bronfenbrener suggested wearing sunscreen to protect yourself from UV rays. 4. Youre hitting the gym too hard. Pushing it at the gym or engaging in a high-impact sport can lead to bumps, as well as torn muscle and connective tissue fibers, which can cause bruises to appear. The more physically active you are, the more likely you are to bruise or bleed, said Tania Elliott, an associate attending at NYU Langone Health in New York City and a national spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 5. Blame it on your genes. Believe it or not, bruising easily could be passed down from your ancestors. Genetics play a huge role, said Chelsea Hollander, an internist at CareMount Medical in Cortlandt Manor, New York. Khalid Saeed, a physician at Tampa Bay Concierge Doctor, a primary care practice in Tampa, Florida, said its more common for bruising easily to run in the women in a family. If you dont have any other symptoms, it is usually nothing to worry about, he said. 6. It can happen with age. Caiaimage/Tom Merton via Getty Images Older people tend to bruise more easily, which Saeed said is likely related to our skin thinning and our levels of collagen and elastin going down as we age. To help protect yourself, Montemayor suggested eating a balanced diet and staying hydrated. Some vitamins and minerals that are associated with strengthening the skin include vitamin C, zinc and copper because they play roles in collagen formation, she said. 7. You are pseudo bruising. People with paler complexions may notice more bruises than the average person and therefore may think they have a tendency to bruise more easily, according to Obiozor. Sun damage can also lead to hyperpigmentation, which may also be mistaken for bruising. Certain health conditions could also make it seem like your skin is bruised. [People] who have diabetes may notice skin discoloration that is mistaken as bruising but it is in essence chronic skin changes related to poor blood circulation, she said. 8. You may be experiencing liver problems. The liver is responsible regulating blood clotting, so a damaged liver could lead to bleeding and bruising. Chronic alcohol use can damage your liver and also directly affect your blood cells, which would make you more likely to bruise easily, Elliott said. So be wary if you drink a lot and do it often. If you are bruising more than usual and youre a heavy drinker, it could be a sign you have cirrhosis, Saeed said. It may be life-threatening, so please see your doctor. 9. You could have an underlying condition. Maskot via Getty Images If youve ruled out everything above, you may want to have your doctor check to see if you have an underlying medical condition, such as hemophilia. Platelets, a type of blood cell, are important because they help prevent easy bruising, Elliott said. When your platelet counts drop below a certain threshold, your blood cannot properly clot. Low platelets can be caused by blood disorders. However, medications, particularly antibiotics, as well as serious infections, can lead to low platelet counts, Elliott added. Conditions such as hemophilia tend to come with symptoms aside from just bruising. Keep an eye out for unexplained nosebleeds, prolonged bleeding from cuts or medical procedures and unexplained skin marks. Iron deficiency anemia can also lead to bruising. And in rare cases, certain cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma type cancers can cause easy bruising from platelet dysfunction. When To Be Concerned About Bruising Easily The general rule of thumb is to pay attention to what is normal for you. If you have never bruised easily, and now suddenly you are, its time to see your doctor who can do a thorough history, review any medicines or supplements you are taking, and, if needed, order some blood tests, Elliott said. Hollander added that location of a bruise can also be a factor in determining how serious your situation may be. Any bruising on the trunk or abdomen should be evaluated by a medical professional, as it may be a sign of a deeper or more internal bleed, she said. But smaller bruises on the extremities that are likely due to minor trauma with activity are typically nothing to worry about. For example, bumping into things is likely normal, even if you dont necessarily recall an injury, she said. | https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-do-i-bruise-so-easily_n_5c4728d0e4b0bfa693c74978 |
Is a Christian doctor different? | Ive worked in the medical community for 15 years. My colleagues are good doctors, by and large. Medicine has a lot of standard procedureshow you treat blood pressure, diabetes or chronic illnessesand, for the most part, you will likely get technically similar care no matter where you go. But theres a developing culture within medicine that should concern usone that lacks a Christian worldview on end-of-life issues, prenatal care and sexual identity. Its coming to the point that Christians must walk wisely in deciding whom they trust with their care. When looking at the history of Christian health care, the best place to start is Christ, the Great Physician. Christs ministry was saturated with miracles and healing the sick and downcast. When Christ healed, he healed holistically, treating both symptoms and souls. Throughout his ministry, Christ placed an emphasis on the poor, orphans, widows and social outcasts. Its important to notice that, when Jesus healed, the healing was accompanied by repentance and obedience. Many times, He required that his patient get up and walk and leave their sins behind. In caring for the least of these (Matthew 25:40), Christians over the last two millennia developed hospitals, which originally were monasteries seeking to take care of the sick and dying on the streets. Look around and you will see hospital names that still point to this Christian beginning, whether Providence Hospital or St. Francis (places of excellence where I was fortunate to train) or the many St. Lukes and Good Samaritans. Our modern understanding of science grew out of the Reformation and Renaissance, when faithful men studied a well-designed world as an act of worship to the Creator. Put all of this together and you find a compassionate heart for the world, to bring the very best care to the bodies and souls of the lost, broken, sick and ill. But somehow, as weve followed the current of culture and science, weve lost that Christian foundation. By attempting to give medical care without a Christian basis, our doctors have begun to hurt instead of heal. Medicines traditionally used for pain relief are being used in overdoses for physician-assisted suicide. Instead of healing, death is offered to the elderly and broken. Ultrasounds are also being used to identify twins or a babys gender and then to urge parents to abort. Our deep understanding of human physical development is now being turned on its head and used to block puberty with powerful hormones in children who are suffering from sexual identity issues. The same surgical skills used to treat women who have had breast cancer or people disfigured by traumatic accidents are being used to remove functioning sex organs and to disfigure healthy men and women. Some of those counseling younger patients with serious illnesses are encouraging them in some cases to give up life-sustaining treatment. Adolescents are regularly separated from their parents with the express purpose of providing sex education behind closed doors. Can I trust them? Clearly, we need reformation in medicine. But it must begin with faithful Christians speaking truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). As Christian doctors, were accountable to God for our every word and deed. This accountability should grow humility in us and cause us to seek God in His glory. Fundamentally, we believe that life is a gift rather than a curse, a presupposition that leads us to approach medicine completely differently. We know that our value as humans comes from being unique creations, made in the Image of God. This drives us to protect the vulnerable, to work to preserve and extend life and to overflow with gratitude. When Christian doctors recognize that they are accountable to God, caring for patients made after Gods image, and are seeking wisdom in Gods Word on how to walk, they cannot help but have a different worldview, one which causes them to practice medicine in a very distinct way. A Biblical worldview gives a doctor a correct understanding of illness and death. Gods Word tells us that illness comes from living in a world broken by sin. God, in his Grace, allows us to understand the body and reduce suffering here and now. And yet we also know that this is not our final home, which gives us a truly hopeful perspective on end-of-life issues. Christian doctors should be very different when it comes to children. The Bible is clear that children are a gift from God. They are a heritage from the Lord, a reward. But we live in a world that believes children are a curse and a burden. In our office, we greet families with joy when they announce they are going to have a new child no matter the circumstance. We treat children as a blessing and encourage parents to see it that way, too. Furthermore, physicians who are believers also recognize that a large portion of mental illness comes from the consequences of unresolved sin and broken relationships. For a doctor to address symptoms without also addressing a heart issue is like putting Band-Aids on a festering wound. For instance, we should treat depression with a whole-person approach, recognizing that depression is sometimes the result of a broken relationship with God. To have a perfect understanding of how sin can be rottenness to the bones and how only God can bring hope and healing in that circumstance is a remarkable joy to share. A Christian approach to health care is one that values life, respects the way God created people, and seeks to heal people the way they hurt, both body and soul. We can flood medical schools with Christian students. We can start our own practices. We can seek to heal like Christ. A friend of mine comes to you for help with depression. My 12-year-old child is struggling with gender confusion. | https://www.christianpost.com/voice/is-a-christian-doctor-different.html |
Where is Peter Kay? Why did the Car Share star not attended the NTAs? | Answers revealed Peter Kay cancelled his tour in 2017. Peter Kays Car Share won big at the 2019 National Television Awards, scooping the gong for Best Comedy. After cancelling his tour in 2017, Peter Kay was not in attendance at the NTAs, which meant his co-star Sian Gibson accepted the award. Heres everything you need to know: READ MORE: Peter Kay's Car Share finale branded 'perfect' Peter Kay's Car Share won Best Comedy at the National Television Awards . While it was rumoured Peter would attend the award show, it was later confirmed by the awards organisers he would not be attending. However, Sian said the comedian was at home watching the show. During her acceptance speech, she said: He'll be watching at home with a cup of tea - we are taking the award round to him tomorrow." Sian Gibson accepted the award, telling the crowd Peter Kay was watching with a cup of tea . On December 13, 2017, Peter Kay announced all the dates of his upcoming tour had been cancelled. In a statement, he said: "Due to unforeseen family circumstances, I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects. "This unfortunately includes my upcoming stand-up tour, Dance for Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments. He continued: Ive always endeavoured to protect my familys privacy from the media. I hope that the media and public will continue to respect our privacy at this time. Once again, Im very sorry." Following the announcement of his cancelled tour, Peter took time away from the spotlight. However, the actor was recently pictured wondering around his hometown of Bolton. | https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/celebrities/where-is-peter-kay-ntas-car-share-tour-cancel/ |
Will Colombia's renewable energy auction set a new bar for the market? | Colombia is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. According to data from the Colombia's National Mining and Energy Planning Unit, UPME and the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), hydro potential is estimated at 56 GW countrywide, while solar is close to 42 GW and wind 15 GW in the Guajira region alone. Today, hydroelectric sources make up 65% of the energy mix, while wind and solar account for just 0.11% and 0.06%, respectively. As these numbers underscore, Colombia has barely scratched the surface of its renewable potential.To that end, Colombia passed ... Den vollstndigen Artikel lesen ... | https://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2019-01/45783441-will-colombia-s-renewable-energy-auction-set-a-new-bar-for-the-market-451.htm |
What Did Apollo Know That the Short-Sellers Didnt? | Apollo Global Management has picked up an asset that no one else wants. Thats what happens when you avoid auctions. The U.S. private equity firm has agreed to pay 3.3 billion pounds ($4.3 billion) for U.K. plastic packaging firm RPC Group Plc. For the deal to make sense, the buyer has to know something that the many investors who were shorting the stock, and other potential acquirers, do not. Until a few years ago, the market cheered RPC as it bought one company after another. Then in early 2017, sentiment turned. The roll-up strategy added complexity. Bearish analysts at Northern Trust Securities LLP questioned the groups ability to generate cash. In July, with the shares trading at 775 pence, RPCs chairman put the company up for sale with some unsubtle comments at the annual shareholder meeting. Apollos deal looks cheap on standard metrics. The 790 pence-a-share offer, including the forthcoming dividend, is just 8 percent above RPCs average share price in the three months before the firms interest emerged in September. The market may have fallen since then, but however you cut it, its still a measly premium. Include assumed debt and the acquisition values the company at 4.4 billion pounds, just seven times expected Ebitda. Thats a 26 discount to peers, JP Morgan analysts reckon. The terms reflect RPCs weak negotiating position. The company had no standalone defense given the markets loss of confidence. The tangled history of acquisitions meant lengthy and costly due diligence was required. That would have restricted the pool of suitors to those with industry knowledge. Having previously owned RPCs rival Berry Global Group Inc., Apollo had a natural advantage. The private equity firms probing must have given it comfort that RPC has the capacity to generate more cash than has appeared to be the case. Perhaps things will improve as acquisitions start generating synergies, instead of one-time integration costs. But it still has to make a return. A 30 percent equity check for the all-in cost would be far from racy for Apollo. The bill would come to 1.4 billion pounds, implying the need to borrow the other 3 billion pounds by lifting RPCs net borrowings to around five times expected Ebitda. The public markets would balk at such leverage. To make a minimum 20 percent internal rate of return over five years would require exiting with about 4 billion pounds of equity. One scenario would be for Apollo to sell the business for 6 billion pounds, having reduced debt to around 2 billion pounds. To hit that target would require increasing Ebitda by around 750 million pounds, or 4 percent a year a challenge given how increasingly environmentally conscious consumers are turning against plastic packaging. The eventual sale would also have to value RPC at about eight times Ebitda, a notch higher than at the acquisition, something that would only possible if Apollo is able to present a cleaner, simpler business to the world. The big unknown here is whether this RPC really is capable of sustaining such leverage and generating the cash to pay down its debt under its new owner. But if anyone should know, Apollo should. To contact the author of this story: Chris Hughes at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at [email protected] This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. He previously worked for Reuters Breakingviews, as well as the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/what-did-apollo-know-that-the-short-sellers-didnt/2019/01/23/a80970c0-1f1d-11e9-a759-2b8541bbbe20_story.html |
Is Motorola prepping the Razr 3? | Motorola might be placing hopes on its new superphone, the Alexander/ZN12, but that hasn't stopped it looking back at past successes and thinking 'the world needs another Razr'. We would hope that the first phone, which was a beautiful handset but rubbish on the specs, would be kept as a decent memory, currently unsullied by the Razr2, which nobody seems to have noticed. Read more: Moto Z3 Play review But no, Moto wants more, and the Razr3 is apparently on its way in Q1 next year, under the codename of 'Ruby' according to the internet rumour mill. Same again Expect something along the lines of touchscreen tech inside and out, 3.2MP+ camera, HSDPA and a new metallic chassis. According to Unwired View, the chat is that the new phone will use the Symbian UIQ3.3 platform, after which Moto will re-touch it to fit in with the rest of its range. Moto seems to have forgotten what the public want in a phone after the success of the Razr, and we at TechRadar hope it goes back to its innovative roots (StarTAC, anyone?) and brings us some new designs to drool over. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/mobile-phones/phone-and-communications/is-motorola-prepping-the-razr-3-464682 |
How Much Does Hollywood's Diversity Debate Resonate With Americans? | A new Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult poll finds that people of color care more about inclusion issues than their white counterparts. One of the highlights of the Jan. 6 Golden Globe Awards was Regina King's acceptance speech for best supporting actress, wherein she pledged her commitment to gender parity. "In the next two years, everything I produce is going to be 50 percent women," she said onstage. "I challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry, to stand with us in solidarity and do the same." The declaration earned an ovation in the Beverly Hilton, but outside of the entertainment industry, a new Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult poll finds that more than 70 percent of Americans had nearly no awareness of King's pledge. Even more survey respondents were unaware of (or had forgotten) Frances McDormand's Oscars 2018 acceptance speech, which doubled as a rallying call for the industry to adopt inclusion riders. (The poll was conducted from Jan. 10 to 13 from a national sample of 2,201 adults with a margin of error of 2 percent.) When it came to opinions about the inclusion rider, women tended to be slightly more supportive of the concept than men (the 2,201-person sampling was 53 percent female). Among respondents, 44 percent supported the idea of an inclusion rider while 18 percent opposed it and 38 percent offered no opinion. And in terms of racial inclusion in film, television and award shows, people of color tended to be far more concerned about the subject than their white counterparts. Some 27 percent of white respondents considered racial diversity "very" or "somewhat" important in choosing a movie, compared with 38 percent of Hispanic Americans, 63 percent of African Americans and 36 percent of other non-white respondents. However, it's worth noting that the poll's sample size for people of color was smaller than that of its white sample 81 percent of the total number surveyed were white. In general, the adults surveyed were fairly indifferent about diversity in Hollywood, with about a quarter of the respondents consistently expressing no opinion or no concern about the issue. About a third to a half felt that there was a sufficient number of acting, directing or producing jobs for women, people of color or members of the LGBT community, although women and people of color tended to take a less sanguine view. (There was no data available on the sexual orientation of the respondents.) There were slightly more Americans who felt that celebrities talking about diversity issues helped rather than hurt the industry, but nearly all agreed that Hollywood isn't regressing in terms of diversity. Some 36 percent of respondents said that Hollywood has grown more diverse since last year, while 4 percent believed it had grown less diverse and 25 percent agreed with the idea that "diversity in Hollywood has not changed." | https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-does-hollywoods-diversity-debate-resonate-americans-1177827 |
Will Google's $57M Fine Finally Push the US Toward Comprehensive Privacy Regulations? | PHOTO: Pawe Czerwiski Earlier this week, the CNIL Frances data protection authority (DPA), which is responsible for monitoring and enforcing privacy rights in the country fined Google $57 million, citing a lack of transparency and valid consent regarding the personalizing of its ads, as well as providing inadequate information. In part, the fines were doled out because the CNIL determined that Google did not collect sufficient and unambiguous consent from consumers for its data collection activities, particularly as they pertain to Googles personalization for its advertisements. A variety of services, websites and applications are involved and intertwined in these data collection processes and the information about how the data is collected is spread across several documents. Because of this, its almost impossible under the current model for an end user to truly be aware of how their data is being used to make an informed choice consenting to the collection of their data. How Googles Fine Will Impact the Rest of Europe Organizations around the world are holding their breath waiting for Googles inevitable appeal and the outcome of said appeal as the decision has the potential to alter the way companies conduct their free, web-based platforms moving forward. It also has the potential to significantly impact the very nature of the relationships between these companies, their advertisers and consumers. But perhaps of even greater significance is the fact that this decision was handed down by the CNIL Frances DPA and not Irelands DPA, which is Googles lead data protection authority. This is key for two reasons: Oftentimes, organizations like Google go to great lengths to select a DPA that will be most favorable to their business models as their lead DPAs. This decision would set the precedent that the DPAs of other countries can also hand down hefty fines not just those that are the lead DPAs. Organizations that may have been complacent in their focus on and compliance with GDPR thus far because they thought they would only be subject to their own countrys specific DPA may now be jeopardy of being hit with fines for failure to comply accordingly. For instance, many French organizations have only focused on complying with the CNILs guidelines, while several German companies have focused only on the historical actions brought by German DPAs. Googles $57 million fine this week illustrates that GDPR truly stretches across all of Europe. Furthermore, it also highlights the fact that every organization that provides goods and services or does significant monitoring of European citizens must be aware that they may be regulated by any DPA within the European Union. Because of this, forum shopping or selecting the DPA that would be the most favorable to your business may not be the best strategy to employ moving forward. Related Article: GDPR Is Here. How Googles Fine Will Influence US Privacy Regulations Of course, this Google decision handed down by the CNIL also has the potential to fundamentally change the world of online advertising as we know it today, due to the new regulations it could put in place regarding the collection of user data to personalize online ads. But beyond that, it may have widespread effects on a federal privacy regulation in the US, which many believe is inevitable in the near future. As Congress considers how it will regulate companies and bring enforcement actions against overt misuses of personal information, consumers may also need to influence companies in their technology purchase decisions. The existing privacy framework in the US and around the world which is primarily based on notice, consent and choice will need to be reexamined and reworked as new uses of data, AI and machine-to-machine communication becomes the norm. The personal data and information that consumers disclose online will follow them around forever. They will be used by companies and people we know and consent to using our data, but also by strangers. As of now, we can self-regulate ourselves by choosing not to use a companys technology if we feel or know that the organization wont protect our personal information. But if companies continue to circumvent their stated privacy policies, or those of other regulators, Congress will need to act to develop legislation to further protect consumers and create real consequences if organizations fail to comply. | https://www.cmswire.com/information-management/will-googles-57m-fine-finally-push-the-us-toward-comprehensive-privacy-regulations/?utm_source=cmswire.com&utm_medium=web-rss&utm_campaign=cm&utm_content=all-articles-rss |
Does a 2019 rebound make the easyJet share price a buy today? | Now, thats the nature of the airline business. And the trick is deciding whether Earnings, and the resulting dividends, have been a bit erratic, and were looking at forecast EPS even as far as September 2020 thats lower than the firm managed in 2015. First-quarter figures released Tuesday reinforced my colleague Paul Summers opinion that easyJet shares are still good value. And looking at the fundamentals, I find it hard to disagree on those grounds alone. The easyJet (LSE: EZJ) share price has been doing pretty well so far in 2019, starting to reverse its long slump of 2018. I would like to receive emails from you about product information and offers from The Fool and its business partners. Each of these emails will provide a link to unsubscribe from future emails. More information about how The Fool collects, stores, and handles personal data is available in its Privacy Statement. Register by giving us your email below to continue reading all of the content on the site. Soon you will also begin to receive our FREE email newsletter, The Motley Fool Collective. It features straightforward advice on whats really happening with the stock market, direct to your inbox. Its designed to help you protect and grow your portfolio. (You may unsubscribe any time.) The easyJet (LSE: EZJ) share price has been doing pretty well so far in 2019, starting to reverse its long slump of 2018. First-quarter figures released Tuesday reinforced my colleague Paul Summers opinion that easyJet shares are still good value. And looking at the fundamentals, I find it hard to disagree on those grounds alone. Earnings, and the resulting dividends, have been a bit erratic, and were looking at forecast EPS even as far as September 2020 thats lower than the firm managed in 2015. Risky business Now, thats the nature of the airline business. And the trick is deciding whether the share price valuation allows for whatever dips might be around the corner, and whether theres a sufficient margin for safety. Looking at easyJet shares on a forward P/E rating of 10, dropping to nine on 2020 forecasts, I think theres a strong argument that there is. Dividends help too, with forecast yields currently at more than 5%. But the one thing that would stop me buying the shares is that its an airline, as airlines have almost no control of costs, service differentiation, or a host of other things that can go wrong. Drones That was brought home by the news that the drone chaos at Gatwick before Christmas cost easyJet 15m in passenger compensation and flight cancellations. That single event is not itself too damaging, but something more serious could hammer a company and cause a real share price slump. There are other big costs that are totally outside an airlines control too, with the main one being fuel. When I consider all the possible risks, Im still staying away. Getting passengers and their bags safely and comfortably to their destinations on time is just about all I want from an airline. And its such an expensive business, I want it at the best possible price. survey of airline passengers. Oh, hang on, there were only 19 and Ryanair has managed to come last for the sixth year in a row. Last weeks profit warning showed another example of uncontrollable external factors, as the company lowered its full-year profit guidance from the 1.1bn-1.2bn range, down to 1.0bn-1.1bn. Excess capacity Thats not a huge amount, but its been put down to lower winter fares resulting from excess capacity. Chief executive Michael OLeary, citing Ryanairs low-cost resilience, said the firm expects that this lower fare environment will continue to shake out more loss-making competitors, with WOW, Flybe, and reportedly Germania for example, all currently for sale. That, for me, highlights the cut-throat nature of the low-cost airline business, and the lack of any real differentiation other than price. Ryanair shares are valued on a forward P/E of 15, with only around 1% in dividends. I see no margin for safety there. | https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2019/01/23/does-a-2019-rebound-make-the-easyjet-share-price-a-buy-today/ |
What is President Weah's Liberia scorecard one year on? | As George Weah, at one time named the world's best footballer, marks a year in power in Liberia the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh assesses his scorecard. There is no doubt that at 52, George Weah can still work a crowd. On New Year's Eve he invited his cabinet and supporters to the dedication of a private family church that he has had built. During the late-night service, the president turned preacher, sermonising for several hours. Dressed in white robes, he told the congregation at Forky Jlaleh Family Fellowship Church: "God has given each and every person talent that they can use for their own benefit." And he likened the opportunity to serve in his government to being on a football team. "When you are on the pitch playing you should know there are others on the substitutes' bench ready to replace you at any time," he said. This elicited cheers from the church-goers, but acknowledges the pressure the government is under. Arsene Wenger honoured In its end-of-year message, the Liberia Council of Churches summed up the inevitable frustration felt after the euphoria of Mr Weah landslide victory. "About a year ago, we elected a government with the hope that economically, our lives would be transformed," Kortu Brown, president of the umbrella Christian group, said on local radio station Prime FM. "But most often what we hear is the negative side of the governance process, the economic challenges by way of corruption, abuse, frauds, wastes." The opposition People Unification Party had more of a stark warning for a country still scarred by years of civil war: "At the end of your first year, our people, your people are hungry; the bread and butter issue keeps getting worse "[A] poorly performed economy is not a good sign for peace and security; when people are hungry they are most definitely angry; Liberia is angry because its people are hungry." Image copyright EPA Image caption Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was given a hero's welcome when he visited Liberia His critics point to one of his first priorities - the retirement of his number 14 shirt, worn during his playing peak - to illustrate what they feel is his lack of vision. Week-long ceremonies were organised in the capital, Monrovia, with Arsene Wenger, the football coach who had signed him up for Monaco in 1998, being flown over in September and given Liberia's highest honour. The president, who retired from football in 2003 to go into politics, played an international friendly as part of the events so the crowds could see him finally hang up the jersey he wore for the national side. It is easy to see that President Weah is a role model for many young Liberians - growing up in a slum in the capital, Monrovia, becoming one of the world's most famous footballs stars and then going back to school and university afterwards to finish his education before winning the presidency. Seven things about George Weah: Image copyright AFP Born 1 October, 1966, grew up in a slum in Liberia's capital Signed by Arsene Wenger to Monaco from Cameroonian club Tonnerre Yaound Made Monaco debut in 1987, went on to play for AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea Only African to win Fifa World Player of the Year First ran for president in 2005, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Graduated with a business degree from a US university after being accused of lacking education Inaugurated as president in January 2018 But he faced some immediate criticism for not leading by example in declaring his assets to the anti-corruption commission - something all government officials must do before taking office, according to Liberia's National Code of Conduct. After enormous public pressure, he eventually filed a declaration in July. The whole saga left questions about his government's commitment to fighting corruption. He has also faced accusations about putting his personal business interests first, including pushing ahead with two big real estate projects. But the chairman of the ruling Congress for Democratic Change party said this proved Liberia was now a good place for good for all investors, and was a good thing for the floundering economy. "For you to make a determination to invest in a country, you must be guaranteed a security," Mulbah Morlue was quoted in Liberia's FrontPage newspaper this month. "Now, that the man is our president and has created security for all, the guarantee for one to begin to invest in our country is there." Image copyright AFP Image caption The president is fond of referring to his football career when trying to motivate people And the president has been attacked for the personal nature of other public infrastructure projects, from road improvement in his home areas to slum improvements where he grew up. When he ordered the re-roofing of more than 200 houses in Monrovia's Gibraltar slum, where he was born and raised, the initial official explanation was that the president was undertaking the project privately and paying for it himself. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption George Weah: The football legend who became president But months after the work had been done, a memo to the finance ministry ordering the transfer of nearly $1m (775,000) in official funds to cover the costs was leaked to the media. The ministry of finance has so far remained silent since the publication of the memo. Free tuition for university students Such stories undermine confidence in his authority and make his leadership a constant debate on lively phone-in radio shows. But he was wildly cheered in October when he announced that tuition fees at state universities and colleges were being scrapped. However, there are some who fear the decision was not properly considered. Before the announcement, the University of Liberia was struggling to make ends meet and it currently operates at half of what it needs to function. Some, including university student leader Martin Kollie, saw it a tactic to distract from the scandal surrounding the allegation that $100m-worth of Liberian currency has gone missing. In March, stories emerged that the newly printed bank notes intended for the central bank did not reach their destination. The notes, ordered in November 2017 before Mr Weah took office, allegedly vanished from containers in Monrovia's port and airport in March, two months after Mr Weah became president. There have been regular protests outside the US embassy under the slogan "Bring Back Our Money", though central bank governor Nathaniel Patray has denied the money is missing. The government ordered an investigation in September, and Mr Weah also asked the US for help with the inquiry. Meanwhile, the journalist who first broke the story has faced death threats. On a personal level, there is no denying that Liberians are having to cope with a severe cash shortage, and people have to queue for hours and sometimes days to withdraw money from banks. Someone wanting to withdraw, for example, 25,000 Liberian dollars ($160) is given just 5,000 Liberian dollars ($36). 'I was a performer' As he inaugurated a community road just before Christmas, Mr Weah roundly rejected those trying to put him down - and said he was used to such pressure. "Remember I was a performer, I played in front [of] 100,000 people, 200,000 people; if I played bad, they laughed at me; they booed me; but with all the boo and what have you, I still became [the winner of] the Ballon d'Or," he said in December. "So anything you say, anything you do to tarnish my reputation - even though I am doing well, you are wasting your time." And after nearly a year in power, the president told his congregation as the New Year struck, that it was not a time for despondency: "Let's forget about all the setbacks in 2018 and focus on the prosperous New Year, what God gave you is enough." | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46947032 |
Is the American and Israeli strategy on Iran succeeding? | Israel appears to be on the same page with the Trump administration regarding Iran, with the United States focusing on reimposed economic sanctions and overt diplomatic stances while Israel handles covert and military components. Airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces on Iranian targets and proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, in neighboring Syria and elsewhere in the region are meant to keep Tehrans forces in check. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran that it will face consequences for attacks, both verbal and physical, beginning with Israeli airstrikes on Syria. We are operating both against Iran and against the Syrian forces that are abetting the Iranian aggression, said Netanyahu, according to Reuters. However, Russia warned Israel not to carry out additional arbitrary air strikes in Syria on Iranian targets. It remains unclear how far Russia is willing to go to confront Israel over its actions in Syria. Nevertheless, Emily Landau, director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Program at Tel Aviv Universitys Institute for National Security Studies, told JNS that the U.S. pressure campaign is the correct approach. Empirically, pressure is the only strategy that has given the powers facing Iran any leverage and has thus had an impact on Iranian decision-making in the nuclear realm. She said the poor result of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] negotiation was not due to lack of leverage [thanks to the biting sanctions of 2012], but rather to very poor negotiating by the P5+1 and their inability to use the leverage to get a much better result. While success of the U.S. strategy at this late stage is far from guaranteed, especially due to the unfortunate opposition of European nations and their determination to set up a sanction-evading system, this is the only strategy that has a chance, she added. Along these lines, the summit scheduled for mid-February to discuss Irans destabilizing activities is both a good idea and a welcome initiative to get the message across to Iran that its nuclear, missile, regional and terror-supporting activities are unacceptable, continued the Israeli expert. The United States is planning to host an upcoming international summit in Poland to focus on Irans regional influence. Asked about reports of some European responses about their reluctance to participate in what critics are calling an anti-Iran event, Landau responded that they are disappointing, especially from France, whose president [Emmanuel Macron] went the furthest last year in recognizing some of the dangerous flaws in the JCPOA and the need to pursue new strategies, regardless of whether Trump leaves the nuclear deal. The refusal of European Union foreign-policy head Federica Mogherini to take part is no surprise, said Landau, going on to point out that the United States is creating a framework for necessary discussion, while some Europeans countries have chosen to reject the opportunity. One of the most pressing issues right now on the Iran nuclear front is to pressure the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to conduct immediate inspections at Iranian facilities that appear in the Iran nuclear archives, said Landau, referring to the intelligence presented by Netanyahu last April on Irans past and possibly future efforts to build a nuclear weapon. It has been almost nine months since the archives were first revealed by Netanyahu, and as of yet no inspections have taken place, although the material was turned over to the IAEA. This is unacceptable. Andrea Stricker, a senior policy analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security, told JNS that the summit is a good opportunity for the United States to gain agreement from its allies that the IAEA should act on the information in the Iranian nuclear archives. The IAEA should conduct inspections to verify that Irans military nuclear activities have ended, she said. Our analyses of the archive information show that Iran was trying to hide some of these activities in 2003. What their status is today is a particularly urgent question since the JCPOA limits will start to end in five more years. A push in Poland for nations to be on the same side Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said that the Trump administrations maximum pressure strategy on Iran will soon face an important diplomatic test. Next month in Warsaw, the United States will gather members of the international community to ask them to join in a campaign to change Iranian behavior. The challenge, of course, will be to make sure such a conference does not replicate the failings of the U.N., where all talk and no action dominates, said Taleblu. While the E.U. just recently listed two Iranians and one section of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence on its terror list, it sadly took two assassinationsone in 2015 and one in 2017and two thwarted terror attacks in 2018 on the European continent to respond, he continued. And while many European governments have condemned Irans increasing frequency of ballistic-missile flight tests and transfers, the last major E.U. batch of nuclear and missile sanctions came more than half a decade ago. But there are signs that some Europeans are getting fed up with Iran. In a meeting in Tehran earlier this month with French, British, German, Danish, Dutch and Belgian diplomats, Iranian officials walked out on them. Theres a feeling of frustration among Britain, France and Germany, and others after the first phase of diplomacy with Iran, a senior E.U. diplomat told Reuters. On the regional file, continued Taleblu, the Trump administration has spent considerable political capital reconceptualizing the Iran threat as more than just nuclear-only. However, the decision to pull the plug on the U.S. force presence in Syria at a time when America needs to send the strongest signal of resolve against Iran undercuts its own framing of the Iran threat, as well as its larger Iran policy. In the nearly eight months since the United States left the JCPOA nuclear deal, the power of American unilateral sanctions has become perfectly clear. | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/fl-jj-american-israeli-strategy-iran-succeeding-20190130-story.html |
What was that small green bird visiting the hummingbird feeder? | DEAR JOAN: We have two hummingbird feeders an old one and a newer one. The hummers seem to prefer the older one but the nectar disappears from both. A few days ago, my husband said that there was a green bird at the old hummer feeder. I went to look and there was a small (canary size, about 4 inches) greenish bird. The color was kind of like pea soup and the wings were slightly darker than the body. Its beak was similar to a sparrows. It was standing on the feeder and pecked at the plastic and glass parts of the feeder then hopped onto the pyracantha. A moment later, it jumped back onto the feeder and pecked at the window a couple of times. I have a Petersons bird identification app in my phone and went through the pictures but found nothing quite like this little green bird that would be in this location. It looked very similar to a canary except for the pea-soup color. The wild Atlantic canary looks similar to the bird in question except for the color, plus I live in San Leandro, a location that the wild Atlantic canary doesnt frequent. Joli Forth, San Leandro DEAR JOLI: Based on your description and the birds behavior, I think your visitor was a warbler. Im leaning toward an orange-crowned warbler. The orange-crowned warbler, which spends its winters along the coast and can be found throughout the Bay Area, is technically classified as yellow in color, but also is described as being olive green. To me, it appears to have a tint that could definitely appear as pea soupy. The warblers main diet is insects, but they also will sip nectar from flowers and hummingbird feeders. DEAR JOAN: My heart goes out to the family with the aggressive dog. What a tough situation. I know lab and pit bulls are high energy dogs. I wonder, along with the training and behavior work, if the dog had some good, long and perhaps hard exercise every single day, he would be calmer even without medication. If either the daughter or her husband jogs or bicycles, that could provide good exercise and not take up a lot of time. There are jogging and bike strollers for the baby. Also, I have heard many dogs do quite well working an agility course, which could be set up in the side or backyard. Hope they can find a solution to this dilemma. Yvonne Vergez, Bay Area DEAR YVONNE: Those are all good suggestions. Ive often heard that a tired dog is a good dog. Lots of exercise could calm him, which would make it easier to work on the aggression and guarding behavior. Give a buck The Solano County Friends of Animals is conducting its annual give a buck campaign to raise money for its spay and neuter program. This is a small non-profit organization doing gargantuan work. Couple doesnt know what to do with aggressive dog How to convince your dog to go out in the rain Bay Area readers help with land purchase, advice on cats, dogs and birds The group has no paid staff, office or shelter. Its all run by volunteers who foster the animals and find them homes. If you can send a dollar or more if you can afford it to the organization, Id appreciate it and so will they. You can make donations at www.scfoarescue.org, or mail contributions to Solano County Friends of Animals, P.O. Box 235, Benicia, 94510. For more pets and animals coverage follow us on Flipboard. | https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/23/what-was-that-small-green-bird-visiting-the-hummingbird-feeder/ |
Is Emiliano Sala married? Who is Victoria's Secret model Berenice Schkair? | Victorias Secret star Berenice Schkair, 28, hit out on social media also saying her heart is broken after the missing Cardiff City player's plane went missing. Rescuers in two planes are searching a targeted area around Alderney in the Channel Islands to try to find the doomed flight. The privately-owned Piper Malibu aircraft disappeared from radar after leaving Nantes for Cardiff at 7.15pm on Monday. Guernsey Police have said the Argentinian footballers chances of survival are slim. On Twitter last night, Berenice tweeted: Investigate the football mafia because I don't believe this was an accident before deleting it. Pouring out her heart on Instagram, Berenice wrote: Emi, my heart is broken. I still cannot understand it. Im destroyed, I feel pain, fear and anger for not being able to do anything. I know you're strong. We are waiting for you. I want to wake up and all of this to be a lie. Please investigate because I cannot believe this accident. Berenice Schkair and Sala Don't suspend the search for bad weather when you only just found objects floating. The thing I regret most is not having told you that you made me feel like I haven't felt in a while and I love you. Ms Schkair, 27, is an underwear model from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Emiliano Sala signs for Cardiff City | https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1076702/emiliano-sala-married-girlfriend-victorias-secret-model-ex-Berenice-Schkair |
How Has The Jaguar I-Pace Changed The Mindset Within JLR? | 1 H BY STEVEN LOVEDAY The Jaguar I-Pace has not only wooed the press, but also the companys employees as a whole. Autocar recently sat down with Jaguar chief product engineer Dave Shaw. Then publication wanted to learn how JLR plans to follow up its award-winning, standout EV: the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace. While Shaw never full answers that question, he provides some valuable insight into the I-Pace and the potential electric future of JLR. Shaw explains that the I-Pace concept started about three years ago, and initially, it was only a project. He shares: We started three years ago. The project was X590 the brief from Dr Ziebart was to make the best Jaguar electric car. Then it changed to making the best EV in the world. The project then changed it started out as only a research project, but then we started to solve all the problems and it became real. Hes honest to admit that hes a true pertrolhead and didnt want to move forward with an all-electric model. Since then, Shaw has taken ownership of his own I-Pace and racked up 20,000 miles. Hes so impressed, he says hell never go back. According to Shaw, Jaguar will forever adapt the I-Pace via continuous and constant product updates, as well as over-the-air updates. This will assure that the battery-electric crossover remains future-proof. In addition, the I-Pace is an inspiration for the automaker in terms of its interior and technology features. Going forward, lessons learned from developing and producing the I-Pace will trickle into JLRs future product line. Shaw explains: Both in the mindset and in other EVs. It will inspire our interiors to move forward we acknowledge what we need to do to Jaguar interiors and the I-Pace will inform our thinking. We now have all the lessons of building an electric car and that stands us in good stead. The mindset shift puts us in great shape for the future. Theres a buzz on EVs, and all engineers here are revved up for the possibilities. The interviewer asked Shaw a few times if Jaguar will produce other variants of the I-Pace, if it will spawn other models, and how the automaker plans to follow up the electric Jag. While Shaw says the company plans to use the tech as a springboard to develop and build on, he never really answers any questions related to future models. To read the entire interview, follow the source link below. Source: Autocar | https://insideevs.com/jaguar-i-pace-changed-jlr-mindset/ |
What does Saffron Waldens #10YearChallenge look like? | Where Subway now stands on Gold Street used to be a Blockbuster. Picture: GOOGLE Archant As part of the viral 10 year challenge, we decided to give Saffron Walden the now-and-then treatment to find out what the town looked like 10 years ago. Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. The earliest Google Maps street view photos in Saffron Walden date back to 2008 and 2009, but the latest were taken in 2017, meaning the streets and frontages might have changed again in the last two years. Some of the forgotten gems in the town centre at the time include Blockbusters in Gold Street and the Market Square doesnt look too different to how it was in 2009, apart from a change in shop frontages. But the new houses in Ashdon Road reveal a transformation and the ongoing development at Ridgeons shows some interesting differences. Finally, the image of the former police station in East Street in 2009 shows the building in operation and marked police vehicles parked outside - the building is now the progress of being converted into flats, as shown in the image from 2017. | https://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/news/what-does-saffron-walden-s-10yearchallenge-look-like-1-5863009 |
How does /tmp directory get emptied automatically over time ? | Introduction In order to maintain overall operating system stability it is important to check that directories/file systems being used as temporary storage space by applications should get full. This is because a temporary file system out of space could cause a server to go into hung state and under extreme circumstances even a kernel panic might occur. If you have then this article is for you. In this article we will explain how and why the /tmp directory gets emptied over a period of time on Linux systems. We will explaining the concept on Centos 6/RHEL 6 systems. The mechanism is different in case of Centos 7/RHEL 7 systems. A program named tmpwatch is responsible for periodically cleaning up the /tmp and /var/tmp directories on Centos 6/RHEL 6 systems. tmpwatch recursively removes files which havent been accessed for a given time. Normally, its used to clean up directories which are used for temporary holding space such as /tmp. It does not follow symbolic links in the directories when its cleaning up the directory, will not switch file systems, skips lost+found and directories owned by the root user. The tmpwatch program should be installed on the system by default and you confirm the same by performing a query on it using the rpm command as shown below: [sahil@linuxnix:~] $ rpm -qa | grep -i tmpwatch tmpwatch-2.9.16-6.el6.x86_64 This utility provides a couple of files which includes the tmpwatch binary itself along with other files the most important one being /etc/cron.daily/tmpwatch. [sahil@linuxnix:~] $ rpm -ql tmpwatch /etc/cron.daily/tmpwatch /usr/bin/tmpwatch /usr/sbin/tmpwatch /usr/share/doc/tmpwatch-2.9.16 /usr/share/doc/tmpwatch-2.9.16/COPYING /usr/share/doc/tmpwatch-2.9.16/ChangeLog /usr/share/doc/tmpwatch-2.9.16/NEWS /usr/share/doc/tmpwatch-2.9.16/README /usr/share/man/man8/tmpwatch.8.gz The cronjob or script defined in /etc/cron.daily/tmpwatch executes once every day at 3:05 a.m. The time of execution of the script is defined by the values mentioned in the /etc/anacrontab file. Given below is the content of the file on a Centos 6 system: [root@linuxnix ~]# cat /etc/anacrontab # /etc/anacrontab: configuration file for anacron # See anacron(8) and anacrontab(5) for details. SHELL=/bin/sh PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin MAILTO=root # the maximal random delay added to the base delay of the jobs RANDOM_DELAY=45 # the jobs will be started during the following hours only START_HOURS_RANGE=3-22 #period in days delay in minutes job-identifier command 1 5 cron.daily nice run-parts /etc/cron.daily 7 25 cron.weekly nice run-parts /etc/cron.weekly @monthly 45 cron.monthly nice run-parts /etc/cron.monthly This states that every script contained in the /etc/cron.daily directory will be executed once every day at 3:05 a.m. Given below is the /etc/cron.daily/tmpwatch script: [root@linuxnix ~]# cat /etc/cron.daily/tmpwatch #! }; do if [ -d "$d" ]; then /usr/sbin/tmpwatch "$flags" -f 30d "$d" fi done Given below is a description of the options used in the above script -u, atime Make the decision about deleting a file based on the files atime (access time). This is the default. Note that the periodic updatedb file system scans keep the atime of directories recent. -m, mtime Make the decision about deleting a file based on the files mtime (modification time) instead of the atime. -c, ctime Make the decision about deleting a file based on the files ctime (inode change time) instead of the atime; for directories, make the decision based on the mtime. -x, exclude=path Skip path; if path is a directory, all files contained in it are skipped too. If path does not exist, it must be an absolute path that contains no symbolic links. -X, exclude-pattern=pattern Skip paths matching pattern; if a directory matches pattern, all files contained in it are skipped too. pattern must match an absolute path that contains no symbolic links. The time argument is a number with an optional single-character suffix specifying the units: m for minutes, h for hours, d for days. If no suffix is specified, time is in hours. 30d and 10d refer to the time interval after which tmpwatch will perform a clean up of the target directory. Demonstration: We do not need to rely on the defaults that have been provided with the cron.daily script for tmpwatch. In case we require a different setup as compared to the default then we could implement our requirement with ease. Just to demonstrate how we could use this, Ive created a couple of files in the /tmp file system [root@linuxnix tmp]# ls -l total 12 -rw-r--r--. 1 sahil sahil 4 Feb 20 16:02 file1 -rw-r--r--. 1 sahil sahil 4 Feb 20 16:02 file2 -rw-r--r--. 1 sahil sahil 0 Feb 20 16:02 file3 -rw-r--r--. 1 sahil sahil 0 Feb 20 16:02 file4 -rw-r--r--. 1 sahil sahil 0 Feb 20 16:02 file5 drwx------. 2 root root 4096 Feb 20 15:47 ssh-NjfmTj3097 After a couple of minutes I executed the following command: [root@linuxnix tmp]# /usr/sbin/tmpwatch 2m /tmp This resulted in the removal of files and directories in the /tmp file systems that had not been accessed in the last 2 minutes. The invocation of this command resulted in the removal of the five recently created files. [root@linuxnix tmp]# ls -l total 4 drwx------. 2 root root 4096 Feb 20 15:47 ssh-NjfmTj3097 [root@linuxnix tmp]# Conclusion In this article, we explained how the contents of the /tmp file system get removed over time and we also showed you a quick demonstration of using the tmpwatch command. We hope that youve found this article to be useful and we look forward towards your suggestions and feedback. | https://www.linuxnix.com/how-does-tmp-directory-get-emptied-automatically-over-time/ |
Is Privacy a Right? | That question was raised through a tweet by Raouf Eldeeb (@raouf777) in response to a post of mine titled Privacy is Personal. Specifically: It is also a fundamental right, not a privilege to be bestowed on anyone. The individual should have the right to determine the extent of his privacy. I agree with both of Raouf's points, which almost go without saying. Because, well, of course privacy is a right. Well, noor not exactly. And not right away, or maybe even yet. Let's start with what Yuval Noah Harari says about rights in his book SapiensA Brief History of Humankind (Harper, 2011, 2104): Sapiens rule the world, because we are the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers.We cooperate effectively with strangers because we believe in things like gods, nations, money and human rights. Yet none of these things exists outside the stories that people invent and tell one another. There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money and no human rightsexcept in the common imagination of human beings. That's in Chapter 2. Equally, there is no such thing as rights in biology. There are only organs, abilities and characteristics. Birds fly not because they have a right to fly, but because they have wings. While Harari says rights are a collection of stories we tell ourselves, he also acknowledges their role in holding civilization together and in advancing it. He points out, for example, that the story of rights America's founders told in the Declaration of Independence was a helluva lot more civilized than the Code of Hammurabi, which applied the death penalty to a huge roster of crimes (including lying), and codified women and slaves as forms of property. Harari also adds that the United States "would not have lasted 250 years if the majority of presidents and congressmen failed to believe in human rights". Belief is the thing. And belief, like our species, evolves. One example is how US has evolved away from its prejudice against Native Americans, which the Declaration of Independence calls the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions. It should also help to recall that slavery and absent suffrage for women were both lawful to the US Constitution when it was ratified in 1789. Slavery ended with the 13th Amendment in 1865, but only after the country suffered through the Civil War. Equal protection for women arrived three years later with the 14th Amendment. Women's suffrage didn't arrive until 1919, with the 19th Amendment. (To put that in a personal perspective, my own grandmother couldn't vote until she was 37 years old, and she made sure her grandkids knew it.) Neither the Declaration of Independence nor the US Constitution mention privacy at all, much less as a right. Louis Brandeis and Samuel D. Warren began to correct that absence through a landmark paper titled "The Right to Privacy" (Harvard Law Review Volume 4 #5, December 1890). What they say in that paper about privacy invasions by photographers and newspapers foreshadows concerns about the same by mobile phone cameras and social media todayand to business models that are just as oblivious to privacy: Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step which must be taken for the protection of the person, and for securing to the individual what Judge Cooley calls the right to be let alone.10 Instantaneous photographs and newspaper enterprise have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life; and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the house-tops. For years there has been a feeling that the law must afford some remedy for the unauthorized circulation of portraits of private persons; 11 and the evil of the invasion of privacy by the newspapers, long keenly felt, has been but recently discussed by an able writer.12 The alleged facts of a somewhat notorious case brought before an inferior tribunal in New York a few months ago,13 directly involved the consideration of the right of circulating portraits; and the question whether our law will recognize and protect the right to privacy in this and in other respects must soon come before our courts for consideration. Of the desirabilityindeed of the necessityof some such protection, there can, it is believed, be no doubt. Toward that protection, they conclude that privacy is personal: Still, the protection of society must come mainly through a recognition of the rights of the individual. Each man is responsible for his own acts and omissions only. If he condones what he reprobates, with a weapon at hand equal to his defense, he is responsible for the results. If he resists, public opinion will rally to his support. It is believed that the common law provides him with one, forged in the slow fire of the centuries, and today fitly tempered to his hand. The common law has always recognized a man's house as his castle, impregnable, often even to its own officers engaged in the execution of its commands. We can trace that common law to Cicero (10643 BCE), who wrote, What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home? The castle metaphor we owe to William Blackstone (17231780 CE), in Book 4, Chapter 16 of his Commentaries on the Laws of England, where he writes, And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with impunity: agreeing herein with the sentiments of ancient Rome Today we call this The Castle Doctrine. You'll find that doctrine present in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted in 1948. The Right to Privacy is #12 (of 30) on the UN's official list, and reads: Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us or our family without a good reason. With that in mind, let's go back to Brandeis and Warrens' paper. When you read this next passage, think about how it applies to the online world today: Gossip is no longer the resource of the idle and of the vicious, but has become a trade, which is pursued with industry as well as effrontery. To satisfy a prurient taste the details of sexual relations are spread.To occupy the indolent, column upon column is filled with idle gossipsolitude and privacy have become more essential to the individual; but modern enterprise and invention have, through invasions upon his privacy, subjected him to mental pain and distress, far greater than could be inflicted by mere bodily injury. Nor is the harm wrought by such invasions confined to the suffering of those who may be made the subjects of journalistic or other enterprise. In this, as in other branches of commerce, the supply creates the demand. Each crop of unseemly gossip, thus harvested, becomes the seed of more, and, in direct proportion to its circulation, results in a lowering of social standards and of morality. Even gossip apparently harmless, when widely and persistently circulated, is potent for evil. It both belittles and perverts. It belittles by inverting the relative importance of things, thus dwarfing the thoughts and aspirations of a people. When personal gossip attains the dignity of print, and crowds the space available for matters of real interest to the community, what wonder that the ignorant and thoughtless mistake its relative importance.Triviality destroys at once robustness of thought and delicacy of feeling. No enthusiasm can flourish, no generous impulse can survive under its blighting influence. Thus, we should not be surprised to find Louie and Sam's definition of privacythe right to be let alonecoded into the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was written in 2016, became enforceable in 2018, and is aimed straight at the tracking-based advertising business that pays for much (probably most) of the blighting influence we suffer on the web todayand on our phone apps as well. Today, the story we're telling about our right to privacy is mostly about privacy laws (such as the GDPR and California's AB 375) and their effectsespecially on companies that need to comply. It's an interesting story, but one that distracts us away from work that needs to be done. So, frankly, does wondering if privacy is a right. What matters is that the right thing to do is work is on tech that gives each of us ways to guard our private spaces and signal to others what's okay and what's not okay. Everything else is secondary. | https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/privacy-right |
Who are the Black Hebrew Israelites who sparked the Lincoln Memorial standoff? | When a viral video showed a white teenaged boy from a Catholic private school standing and smiling at a Native American elder beating a ceremonial drum, the internet immediately assumed the worst. Nick Sandmann, a 15-year-old from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, was wearing a Make America Great Again hat and his rowdy peers were shouting. Media coverage asserted this was another outbreak of white supremacy and privilege in America with only President Donald Trump to blame. But that wasnt the whole story. Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019 In an interview with the Washington Post, Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips corroborated a public statement released by Sandmann that a third group was to blame for the escalation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Then, a 90-minute YouTube video emerged showing the third group that Sandmann accused of offending him, his classmates and the Native American protestors: the Black Hebrew Israelites. They called the Native Americans literal descendants of the Israelite Tribe of Gad, the white students cursed Edomites and preached that a nuclear apocalypse was around the corner. They seen what theyve done. Theyve been told. I believe they are from Kentucky. Theyve never been spoken like that to by a black or Hispanic guy in their lives. The words of God, a black man who identified himself as Chief Ephraim Israel told the New York Post. It was piercing. Their souls was getting ripped. The group of six African American men with thick beards and long robes are members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that white supremacists in the United States call their black counterparts. The Southern Poverty Law Centre says the black supremacist wing of the group is guilty of racism towards white people, anti-Semitism and homophobia. They are known for aggressive street preaching. There are a many different denominations of Black Hebrew Israelites. All of them have their own defining characteristics, charismatic leaders, traditions and beliefs. This makes categorizing them and keeping track of them difficult. The Black Hebrew Israelites trace their roots to 19th century America. Their founding belief is that African Americans are the direct descendants of the Israelites of the Old Testament and Gods chosen people. They claim the transatlantic slave trade was prophesied in the Book of Deuteronomy. For them, its proof of their ancestry. This is the one belief that unites all denominations. There is no one founder, but early organized denominations combined Jewish and Christian traditions such as eating kosher, gospel singing, reading the New Testament and wearing skull caps in prayer. The name Black Hebrew Israelites was coined in the 1960s; before that, members were called Black Jews. A related belief holds that white people are Edomites, the genealogical descendants of Esau the twin of Jacob. The Black Hebrew Israelites have churches across the United States including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and Virginia and a presence in Toronto. The church in Toronto is called Israel The Church of Jesus. The website lists a combination of Jewish and Christian holy days for members to observe and its YouTube page provides 168 sermons explaining what their church believes. BHI is also in Winnipeg. In 2015, CBC reported on an emergence of BHI street preachers there. According to CBC, the preachers used defaced posters of a white Jesus during their outdoor sermons. One BHI denomination emigrated from the United States to Israel. The entire community live in the town of Dimona and practise veganism. Evolution of beliefs. In the 1970s and 80s, one BHI denomination from Harlem known as One West began the tradition of wearing long robes and aggressive street preaching like the six men in the Lincoln Memorial video. They invented their own version of the Hebrew language and began including other marginalized groups of colour in their beliefs. One West leaders began teaching that Puerto Ricans and Native Americans were also the direct descendants of the original Israelites. In a one-hour video from the Lincoln Memorial, BHI preachers tell Native American protestors that they are also Israelites. The beliefs that draw criticism come from a 1990s BHI movement called House of Israel. This denomination is as social media savvy as it is loud. The men at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18 are members of the House of Israel. Theyre active across platforms and their hundreds of YouTube videos have thousands of views. In an interview with CBC, BHI expert John Jackson from the University of Pennsylvania explained some radical BHI beliefs. Their ultimate goal is to bring about sort of a race war that will cleanse the planet and bring Jesus back. (They say) Were doing all this stuff. Were being as provocative as we are on the street corner because were really trying to foment the kind of ultimate clash between good and evil between Gods chosen people and the damned and the imposters so that we can bring about the second coming and a new world, Jackson said. Jackson also said many BHI believe European Jews are imposters. No denominations of Black Hebrew Israelites promote or support violence. Celebrity membership Rapper Kendrick Lamar referenced the BHI in his music by featuring his cousin Carl Duckworth, a member of a BHI denomination on the song Fear. At one point in the song, Lamar raps: Im an Israelite, dont call me black no more. Former first lady Michelle Obamas cousin Rabbi Capers Funnye is a prominent rabbi in Chicago. Funnye serves as an intermediary between mainstream African-American Jews and their BHL neighbours in Chicago. It depends. Some Black Hebrew Israelites have formally converted to Judaism and participate in Jewish communities, but most operate independently as the more radical denominations of the group are anti-Semitic. | https://nationalpost.com/news/world/who-are-the-black-hebrew-israelites-who-sparked-the-lincoln-memorial-standoff |
What was that small flash of light during the super blood wolf moon? | The super blood wolf moon eclipse is seen Jan. 20 in Burbank, California. (Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images) As if a super blood wolf moon wasn't enough, some observers noticed another spectacular sighting in Sunday night's sky: A small flash of light. During the lunar eclipse, a meteorite actually struck the moon. Researcher Jose Maria Madiedo shared a video of the crash he captured through Spain's Moons Impacts Detection and Analysis System. "A rock hits the moon," he tweeted on Tuesday. He wasn't the only one who noticed the object. Some users on Reddit also started a discussion about the "bright flash." The crash was easy to miss. Even with advanced equipment, the meteorite appeared as a quick, speck of light near the top of the moon, as seen in a video. It occurred at 11:41 p.m. Eastern, according to Madiedo's sighting. This could be the first time a meteorite hitting the moon was ever recorded during a lunar eclipse, Gizmodo reports. More: Remarkable photos of the super blood wolf moon eclipse from around the world Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/23/flash-during-super-blood-wolf-moon-meteorite-crash/2655585002/ | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/23/flash-during-super-blood-wolf-moon-meteorite-crash/2655585002/ |
How safe is the Ketogenic Diet? | Thats the question WebMD recently posed to its readers. The simplistic answer, according to the website, is people use a ketogenic diet most often to lose weight, but it can help manage certain medical conditions, like epilepsy, too. It also may help people with heart disease, certain brain diseases and even acne, but there needs to be more research in those areas. Lets add to the list certain forms of cancer and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Type 1 diabetics need, in my opinion, to be under medical supervision, if they elect to try the KD due to the potential for excessive build up ketones and the associated lower pH (acidity). According to Mignonne Mary, an internal medicine physician and medical director of the Remedy Room in New Orleans, a ketogenic diet is not advised for children, who are still growing or for people, who are significantly below normal body weight or who are nutritionally compromised. Korean researchers writing in the December 2018 online journal Nutrients Two-Week Exclusive Supplementation of Modified Ketogenic Nutrition Drink Reserves Lean Body Mass and Improves Blood Lipid Profiles in Obese Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial commented that although there is no standardized ketogenic diet therapy, it can be classified as a diet with a carbohydrate intake of less than 10 percent or a total daily carbohydrate intake of less than 30 grams. When a person goes on the KD, glycogen (sugar) stored in the liver is depleted, resulting in losses of water and body fat. One gram of body fat has an associated 1.12 grams of bound water, with protein and carbohydrate both at the 4-gram level. As the liver and muscle glycogen is depleted due to a restricted carbohydrate intake, the body turns to lipolysis (breakdown of fat), which in turn generates ketone bodies for energy, replacing glycogen, as an energy source while causing a diuretic effect of sodium and water. A possible downside of the KD has been the potential for protein (muscle) loss, by the process of gluconeogenesis how the body makes glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. However, newer research tends to disprove this potential loss of metabolically active muscle tissue for energy. It appears low-carbohydrate diet therapy has been reported to reduce body fat and maintain fat-free mass, which is partially a response to the decrease in plasma insulin, according to 2012 research Therapeutic Potential of Ketogenic Diets. As to potential side effects of the KD, Mary commented that as people adapt to burning fat for fuel rather than burning sugar, they might feel a series of symptoms known as the keto flu. This includes fatigue, headaches, irritability or even flu like symptoms but most people feel better after two or three days. In addition, the kidneys become more efficient at releasing excess fluid, leading to dehydration, so its important to stay well hydrated. One side benefit of the KD is hunger control by reducing the appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin. Ketogenic food choices include meat, fatty fish, eggs, butter and cream, cheese, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, avocados, low carbohydrate veggies, herbs and spices. Foods to avoid include sugar, grains/starches, fruit (expect small portions of berries), beans/legumes, root veggies, low fat diet foods and sugar-free foods. While the ketogenic diet is an excellent tool to reduce inflammation, lose weight, increase energy and stimulate cellular healing, the key to long lasting success is diet variation, Mary said. This is when we vary our diet in order to take advantage of the bodys innate ability to adapt. A ketogenic diet for prolonged periods of time without any variation can lead to increased production of sugars from the liver, which will lead to poor results. Its best to check with your physician first. Mackie Shilstone, a regular contributor to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, has been involved in the wellness sports performance industry for 40 years. He is currently a fitness consultant to Serena Williams and has trained numerous other professional athletes and consulted a litany of professional sports franchises. Contact him at mackieshilstone.com. | https://www.nola.com/health/2019/01/how-safe-is-the-ketogenic-diet.html |
Will a New Play Restart a Fire? | NEW HAVEN Frank Ricci, a veteran firefighter, was apprehensive when he heard that Yale Repertory Theater was planning a play based on the lawsuit that bore his name a legal case bitterly fought all the way to the Supreme Court. But I figured it would be in my best interest to participate, he said recently, so at least part of our story could be told. He was referring to conversations that form the basis of Good Faith: Four Chats About Race and the New Haven Fire Department, which begins performances Feb. 1 at the theater and may well rekindle debates that divided this city. Mr. Ricci, a battalion chief and union leader who has been on the New Haven force for 21 years, suspected the play would have a liberal slant, but was untroubled. In the end, he said, we still won the case. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-to-4 decision, that the city violated the civil rights of a group of largely white firefighters, including Mr. Ricci, when it set aside the results of a 2003 exam for promotion in which they had scored highest. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/theater/good-faith-new-haven-fire-department.html |
When Will The Members Of The Constitutional Review Commission Be Appointed And When Will They Start Work? | 17 SHARES Share Tweet QUESTION OF THE DAY The Constitutional Review Commission Act was assented to by the President on 11 January 2018 and published in the Gazette on 24 January 2018. It is now law. It is anticipated that the Act which was first introduced as a Bill in the National Assembly on 11 December 2017 and is now law will be followed by the establishment of an eleven-member commission comprising the Chief Justice or a Judge assigned by him, a Vice Chair who must be a legal practitioner of not less than 10 years practice nominated by the minister, and nine other members. Foroyaa will investigate what efforts are in place to appoint the members of the commission and ensure the commencement of its operation. | https://foroyaa.gm/when-will-the-members-of-the-constitutional-review-commission-be-appointed-and-when-will-they-start-work/ |
Is Zimbabwes President Showing His True Colors After Violent Protests? | HARARE, Zimbabwe Maybe the scarf was just a scarf after all. Soon after ousting Robert Mugabe from power, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwes president, started wearing a colorful scarf wherever he went, on cold and hot days alike, as part of a broader makeover. Sure, Mr. Mnangagwa had long served as Mr. Mugabes hatchet man and was known by the fearsome nickname the Crocodile. But the scarf, with the warm and fuzzy colors of the nations flag, appeared to signal a gentler leader and government. It became part of the political discourse and a trending topic on social media. A little more than a year after Mr. Mugabes downfall, Mr. Mnangagwa is now showing his true colors, many Zimbabweans are saying. As demonstrators filled the streets of Harare, the capital, to protest the deteriorating economy, Mr. Mnangagwa reacted in the past week with the same authoritarian reflexes as his predecessor: deploying soldiers and the police to crack down on demonstrators resulting in the deaths of as many as a dozen individuals and shutting down the internet. On Monday night, Mr. Mnangagwa, who had been on an official trip to Russia during the crackdown on protesters, returned to Zimbabwe after aborting a trip to Davos, Switzerland, where he had planned to promote the new Zimbabwe as being open for business. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/world/africa/zimbabwe-protests-emmerson-mnangagwa.html |
When is Russian Doll released on Netflix? Whats it about? Whos in the cast? | Orange is the New Blacks Natasha Lyonne is taking on her first starring role, in Russian Doll, a new Netflix series she has co-created with Parks and Recreations Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland (Heathers). Advertisement The comedy-drama casts Lyonne as Nadia, a 30-something New Yorker who dies at her own birthday party And then wakes up in the bathroom of her friends flat, forced to relive the party over and over again and dying in increasingly absurd ways after each reset. Find out everything you need to know about the new show below. The entire eight-part series will be available on Netflix from Friday 1st February 2019. Yes! Though it at times feels like a one woman show, there is a strong cast of supporting players, including indie film star Chloe Sevigny (who plays Nadias mother in a series of flashbacks) and Lyonnes Orange Is the New Black co-star Dascha Polanco. Theyre joined by Greta Lee (KTown), Yul Vazquez (Captain Phillips), Elizabeth Ashley (Oceans 8), Charlie Barnett (Chicago Fire), Brendan Sexton III (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Rebecca Henderson (who also popped up in an episode of OITNB). Russian Doll is about game developer Nadia who keeps dying and re-living her birthday party over and over again Any more details would probably be considered a spoiler. As the title would suggest, its a multi-layered story, which gets more and more intriguing as the episodes roll on. Advertisement Russian Doll is released on Netflix on Friday 1st February | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-01-23/russian-doll-netflix-release-date-cast-plot-trailer/ |
What is Q fever and can it be treated? | Caption: Coxiella burnetii, the bacteria that causes Q fever. (Picture: Media for Medical/UIG via Getty Images) Wayne Bass, a private with 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, said his life has been ruined after catching Q Fever, a disease which at least 90 military personnel have been diagnosed with after serving in Helmand, Afghanistan. Prisoner, 23, arrested after fellow inmate stabbed to death in jail A five-day trial is currently underway that seeks to examine the extent of any duty owed by the Army to Mr Bass in relation to the Q fever he contracted, and whether that duty was breached. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Bailey, a national expert in Q fever, gave evidence during the trial, saying that he has 90 military and 10 civilian cases in his care after they were referred to him. Q fever is a disease which many of us in this part of the world have little knowledge of, but in the wake of this emerging knowledge, now is the perfect time to learn a little bit more about what Q fever is, how it can be treated, and whether or not we should be worried about it in the UK. Former soldier Wayne Bass, at the High Court. Advertisement Advertisement The NHS defines Q fever as a bacterial infection which you can catch from infected farm animals such as sheep, cattle and goats. It is often caught by humans when they breathe in dust from faeces that is contaminated by animals that are infected with the bacteria. The infection is usually harmless, but for some people it can lead to serious problems. People infected with Q fever dont always display symptoms. Some people feel as if they have the flu within two or three weeks of being infected. These symptoms can include: a fever, aching muscles, tiredness, nausea, sore throat and swollen glands. These usually last for no longer than two weeks, however some people who become infected get what is known as chronic Q fever, which means their symptoms last for months instead of weeks. This can also result in more serious problems, like endocarditis, an infection in the lining of the heart. Wayne Bass has started legal action against the MOD, saying he was not given antibiotics which could have protected him against Q fever. During his tour, Mr Bass lawyers said that he was in contact with goats and sheep and was often required to take cover and jump through ditches and crawl along the ground coming into contact with animal products and excrement. Mr Bass, 34, was medically discharged from the Army in 2014 because his Q fever led to symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, which is known to happen on occasion, and which Bass said has ruined his life. Your GP can arrange a blood rest to determine if youve been infected with Q fever. If youre pregnant and test positive, youll have to go through more tests to see if youre baby is infected too, but this rarely happens. If your symptoms persist or show no signs of improving, your GP might give you a course of antibiotics. In court, Bass is arguing that Doxycycline, an antibiotic used to treat Q fever, should have been used as an anti-malarial drug. But Group Captain Andrew Green, director of infection prevention and control at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, has said that US personnel who were taking Doxycycline were showing that the drug was failing to prevent malaria. The NHS recommends the following to prevent Q fever: Do: wash your hands regularly clean cuts or grazes immediately and cover them with a plaster or dressing wear protective clothing, such as waterproof gloves and goggles ensure all animal afterbirth (placenta) is cleaned up safely Dont: help animals give birth if you are pregnant touch anything that might have been in contact with animal blood, poo, pee or afterbirth, including clothes, boots or gloves drink unpasteurised milk, meaning milk that hasnt been heated to kill bacteria eat in areas where animals are kept MORE: YouTube must not become another space where black women are left on the sidelines MORE: We cant blame young men for carrying knives, not enough is being done to protect them | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/what-is-q-fever-and-can-it-be-treated-8380166/ |
What time is kick off for Leinster v Scarlets and what TV channel is it on? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Leinster will be without their Ireland contingent this Friday as they welcome Scarlets to the RDS Arena in a repeat of the 2018 PRO14 final. Leo Cullen's men secured a home quarter-final in the Champions Cup with impressive victories over Toulouse and Wasps in the last two weeks but now return to PRO14 action. And they'll be down to their barebones as the majority of their first team called up to Joe Schmidt's Ireland squad - who this week are in Portugal preparing for their Six Nations defence. The game takes place at the RDS Arena on Friday 25 January. (Image: INPHO/Tommy Dickson) The match will get underway at 7:35 PM. Eir Sport 1 will be showing the game live, with their coverage getting underway at 7 PM. You can also follow the match here with Dublin Live's live blog. Betting odds (Image: INPHO/Tommy Dickson) Leinster win: 1/18 Scarlets win: 8/1 Draw: 35/1 | https://www.dublinlive.ie/sport/what-time-kick-leinster-v-15721517 |
Is There Any Update On The Mamat Cham And Halifa Sallah Saga? | 2 SHARES Share Tweet QUESTION OF THE DAY Asked this question Halifa Sallah indicated that confrontation may sound like conflict if interpreted in literal terms. According to him, this is done in a legal sense when two witnesses give divergent views on the same matter. Ex-Captain Cham has indicated that I told him that I will give a thought to his offer of ministerial post overnight. I said that all I told him was that I will give a reply because I was already decided in making my rejection in writing in an open letter that will stand the test of time. History has now proven that I was wise to do what I did, otherwise it would have been his word against mine. I would like to tender this letter to the Commission to prove that he fabricated evidence. Secondly, he claimed that he gave me a deadline to express my decision of ministerial post. Anybody who knows Halifa Sallah would know that since Mamat Cham was an agent of Jammeh I would have nothing to communicate with him but would rather communicate with his superiors. He would not have had the daring mind to establish conditionalities when talking to me. This was also a fabrication. He also indicated that I went to the State House but missed the appointed time to give my reply and told us that we were late. This is a fabrication of monumental proportion. The first and last time I saw and spoke to Mamat Cham was when he came and claimed that he was sent by the council to offer me a ministerial post. In the same vein, Sam Sarr, went to the State House to deliver my letter rejecting the ministerial post and stating five principles, among which is non participation in a government that is incapable of eradicating poverty and tyranny and one that is not derived from the consent of the people. He did not even pass the gate not to talk about talking to Mamat Cham. Once he insisted to deliver the letter hand to hand to the leader of the council those at the gate refused and insisted that the most they could do is to receive the letter and forward it as he wished. He sought for Captain Kantehs number and called him to inform him about the letter. Hence the lead counsels final leading question that after the PDOIS failed to come at the appointed time what happened next, shows the danger of relying on fabricated evidence to pursue the truth. This is why it is necessary for the two of us to appear before the Commission for confrontation in legal terms to get to the truth, Sallah pointed out. According to Sallah, he has still not received any reply from the Commission and may have to start a column detailing what Foroyaa wrote from Day 1 of the coup up to the time when the council conceded to establish the National Consultative Committee to draft a transitional programme and question whether the Commission is really interested in the truth. | https://foroyaa.gm/is-there-any-update-on-the-mamat-cham-and-halifa-sallah-saga/ |
Has Poundland gone too far with 'rude' Valentine's Day range? | Get Great Deals updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Valentine's Day is fast approaching and many retailers are starting to push out their Valentine's Day ranges. But one store could be about to raise a few eyebrows. Poundland is known for its risky products and adverts (we all remember teabag-gate, right?) and this year is no different, with its range including plenty of less traditional gift ideas. It follows the release of the budget retailer's engagement rings, for those looking to pop the question this Valentine's Day. It's fair to say there is a rather rude theme running throughout the range with product slogan's filled with inunendoes. To give you an idea of what we're talking about there is a mug featuring an image of two egg cups with the quote "I want to dunk my solider in you". And a pair of mugs with the slogans "you were supposed to" ... "be a one night stand" There is even a weight lift for your loved one's 'manhood'. This wouldn't be the first time Poundland has caused shockwaves. It was recently slammed for its 'gift of nothing' product - a clear, plastic heart, filled with nothing. The item is on sale for 1 and the packaging features the phrases "exactly what you asked for" and "less is more". In a time when many people are trying to reduce waste and plastic in particular, many on Twitter were outraged by the product, with one user saying: "This is utterly disgusting." And a few weeks ago they were criticised for selling 'sexist' boob and bum shaped marshmallows. The store then hit back with a brutal response, telling customers who were offended to simply "look the other way". | https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/poundland-taken-far-valentines-day-15721215 |
Are speed cameras coming to Cincinnati? | Buy Photo City of Cincinnati police car (Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour) It might work something like this: Youre driving down the street, going a little faster than the limit. You do not get stopped by a police officer. But, a few days later, a speeding ticket shows up in the mail. Cincinnati police and city hall officials are looking into whether the city could give police officers handheld traffic cameras that would let them issue tickets without ever getting out of their cars. These are not like the red-light cameras that have caused so much controversy in the past. Police officers would likely still hold these cameras, but instead of pulling over drivers on the spot which itself can cause congestion and safety concerns speeding tickets would get sent through the mail. Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman has been pushing the idea, saying it would make everyone safer. And City Manager Patrick Duhaney broached the topic on Tuesday in a memo to city council and the mayor. Cincinnati has put $500,000 a year toward a pedestrian safety program, Duhaney wrote, but more needs to be done. it is very difficult to allocate all the resources needed to address this issue in totality given the operating and capital budget constraints faced by the city, Duhaney wrote. Cars keep hitting people: And it's only getting worse. Neil Kelly: This man would like you to stop hitting him with cars. There were 428 pedestrian crashes in Cincinnati in 2018, according to an Enquirer analysis, a 46 percent increase compared to 2013. Thirteen Cincinnati Public Schools students were hit by cars in 2018. One, a 15-year-old named Gabby Rodriguez, died. It wouldn't be as easy as just buying some cameras and mailing tickets, though. Such speed cameras are against the city charter, which puts strict limits on photo-monitoring devices used to detect traffic violations. The charter would have to be changed in order for the cameras to be legal. Specifically, in order for a ticket to be issued in Cincinnati right now, a law enforcement officer has to be present and personally issue the ticket at the time and location of the incident. CLOSE 13 Cincinnati Public Schools students were hit by vehicles in 2018. Michael Nyerges, Cincinnati Enquirer Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/01/23/speeding-cameras-cincinnati-officials-looking-into-idea/2656118002/ | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/01/23/speeding-cameras-cincinnati-officials-looking-into-idea/2656118002/ |
Who are the most and least popular Premier League managers according to Twitter? | The managers of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Southampton and Wolves are the most popular in the Premier League according to a new study. The study analysed football fan messages on Twitter to determine which managers are the most and least popular with their supporters. Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently the most popular manager in the Premier League, with 90 per cent of all tweets categorised as positive sentiment. The Norwegian has won all seven of his games as Red Devils manager so far, after a 2-1 victory over Brighton on Saturday. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand the sentiment and emotion behind football fan tweets, BetVictor produced The Most Talked About Managers study to analyse the 2018/19 season so far. Solskjaer was closely followed by Pep Guardiola, with 83 per cent positive sentiment, followed by Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhttl (79 per cent), Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo (77 per cent) and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (72 per cent). Brighton boss Chris Hughton has 60 per cent positive sentiment according to the study. Former Southampton manager Mark Hughes is still the most negatively mentioned boss, as 63 per cent of all tweets were categorised as negative sentiment. Burnley boss Sean Dyche came joint second with Everton manager Marco Silva, with 57 per cent negative sentiment. Fourth and fifth place were occupied by Newcastle manager Rafael Bentez (56 per cent) and Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri (52 per cent). Former United manager Jose Mourinho had the most anger directed in his direction, with 27 per cent of all tweets categorised under the anger emotion. Mourinho has provoked the most discussion on Twitter, with 2,393,217 posts. Klopp is a long way behind in second place, with 776,068 posts. Ranieri is bottom of the pile with 5,345 posts, behind Hughton on 13,605 posts. Carl Hallam, Head of Brand at BetVictor said: Halfway through the season, we wanted to explore which Premier League managers are impressing their clubs fans and which are falling short. "Its testament to the job that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done at Man United to have fans tweeting so positively about him. As a result, were now offering specials on the former player to take over the job full time at the end of season." Brighton stun Manchester United to progress in FA Youth Cup Lewis Dunk: We're coming on as a squad and learning all the time against the top sides Pascal Gross: Small margins were the difference against Manchester United and Liverpool Manchester United v Brighton player ratings Manchester United v Brighton picture gallery Six things we learned from Manchester United v Brighton | https://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/sport/football/who-are-the-most-and-least-popular-premier-league-managers-according-to-twitter-1-8781468 |
Who Benefits From Democratic Control? | In 1976, Gerald Ford won 15 percent of the black vote. Thats the most of any recent Republican presidential candidate. In most elections, blacks give Democrats over 90 percent of their votes. Its not unreasonable to ask what have blacks gained from such unquestioning loyalty to the Democratic Party. After all, the absolute worst public safety conditions and other urban amenities for blacks are in cities that have been controlled by Democrats for decades. Lets look at it. The Trace, an independent nonprofit news organization, answers that question. Using 2017 data from the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting program, The Trace (http://tinyurl.com/y9bvwlh2) listed the 20 major U.S. cities with the highest homicide rates factoring in both the number of people murdered in cities and their populations. Chicago, with 589 murders in 2018 one murder every 15 hours is often called the nation's murder capital. But thats dead wrong. In 2017, St. Louis had the nations highest murder rate, at 66.1 homicides per 100,000 residents. Baltimore came in second, with 55.8 murders per 100,000 people. Detroit was third, with 39.8 murders per 100,000 people. Other cities with high murder rates included New Orleans; Kansas City, Missouri; Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jersey. With 24.1 murders per 100,000 residents, Chicago ranked ninth in the nation. It was followed by Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., was 17th. Now heres the kicker. Of the 20 most dangerous major cities, all but one had a Democratic mayor. In many of these cities, the Democratic Party has ruled for a half-century or more. Only Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 17.3 murders per 100,000 residents, had a Republican mayor. I am not suggesting that Democratic control causes murder and mayhem. What I am saying is that murder, mayhem and other violent crime are not reduced by the election of black or white Democrats to run our cities. That means one cannot dismiss out of hand a question then-candidate Donald Trump asked black Americans in a 2016 campaign speech in Michigan: What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump?... What the hell do you have to lose? Violent crime is not the only problem for blacks in our major cities. Because of high crime, poor schools and a less pleasant environment, cities are losing their economic base and their most productive people in droves. When World War II ended, Washington, D.C.'s population was about 900,000; today its about 694,000. In 1950, Baltimores population was almost 950,000; today its around 612,000. Detroits 1950 population was close to 1.85 million; today its down to 673,000. Camden, New Jerseys 1950 population was nearly 125,000; today it has fallen to 75,000. St. Louis 1950 population was more than 856,000; today its less than 309,000. A similar story of population decline can be found in most of our formerly large and prosperous cities. In some cities, the population decline since 1950 is well over 50 percent. In addition to Detroit and St. Louis, those would include Cleveland and Pittsburgh. During the 1960s and 70s, academic liberals, civil rights advocates and others blamed the exodus on racism white flight to the suburbs to avoid blacks. However, since the 70s, blacks have been fleeing some cities at higher rates than whites. The five cities whose suburbs have the fastest-growing black populations are Miami, Dallas, Washington, Houston and Atlanta (http://tinyurl.com/y8avphy5). It turns out and reasonably so that blacks, like whites, want better and safer schools for their kids and dont like to be mugged or have their property vandalized. And just like the case with white people, if they have the means, black people cant wait to leave troubled cities. Bobby Hesley a Catholic speaker, writer and conservative political commentator writes, Black people are finally starting to wake up and unplug themselves from the Liberal Matrix that has ruled their reality for over a half a century. I say good! Its unwise to be a one-party people in a two-party system. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM | https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/31274-who-benefits-from-democratic-control |
Is Imran Khan Partly Responsible For a Thaw in The GCCs Qatar Row? | Yesterday, Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan completed a two day visit to Qatar where he received assurances from Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Diwan-e-Amir, the Qatari Emir, that Doha will continue to assist Pakistans economic transformation across a verity of long term sustainable sectors. In the evening, Imran Khan addressed thousands of overseas Pakistanis at a packed Al Wakra stadium in Doha, thus affirming the PTI led governments commitment not only to strengthening bilateral ties with Pakistans partners but with fostering a deeper sense of belonging among patriotic overseas Pakistanis. But whilst Imrans successful visit to Qatar was taking place, a story broke from the nearby UAE which stated that officials in Abu Dhabi would be open to co-hosting the 2022 football World Cup so long as the current row with Qatar is resolved sometime prior to the tournament. Even prior to the diplomatic crisis which emerged in 2017 and led to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and others to sever relations with Doha, Qatars hosting of the 2022 World Cup has been plagued logistical issues. Whilst Qatar is a wealthy state, it has never before hosted such a large international sporting tournament and as such has had some difficulty in getting things off the ground in the run-up to 2022. Qatars World Cup growing pains appear to have presented the UAE with an opportunity to test the waters in respect of a wider GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) reconciliation with Qatar, something that the wider international community would welcome. And yet while it remains to be seen whether the UAEs statement regarding the World Cup could lead to some sort of reconciliation with Qatar, it also helps to realise that as the UAEs closest ally Saudi Arabia is becoming involved in CPEC by financing the building of a new oil refinery in Gwadar and whilst Doha has also expressed interest in projects stemming from CPEC, it could well be that either overtly or tacitly, Imran Khans visit to Qatar has helped to push the GCC in the direction of extending a proverbial olive branch to Doha. Things start becoming clearer when one realises that both Qatar and Qatars regional rivals share keen interests in long term sustainable investment in Pakistan. As such, it would make more sense for internal win-win GCC cooperation to dovetail into win-win GCC-Pakistan partnerships than for once friendly Arab nations to compete over projects in Pakistan that would benefit from coordination and multilateral cooperation. It also helps to remember that while Saudi Arabia is considered the de-facto leader of the GCC, when it comes to testing the diplomatic waters, Riyadh has become increasingly reliant on its UAE partner. Such was the case in respect of Syria when the UAE became the first GCC nation to re-open its embassy in Syria after shuttering it at the start of the ongoing conflict in Syria. It could be that in respect of Qatar, the UAE is testing the waters first due to similar overriding factors. As Pakistan under the political leadership of Iman Khan had already been suggested as a possible mediator in the ongoing Yemen conflict, it is all the more conceivable that due to Pakistans good relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, Pakistan could help to mediate in the ongoing feud in the Persian Gulf, a feud which is ostensibly far easier to resolve than the blood-soaked crisis in Yemen. A possible result of such a mediation could be even more pan-GCC investment in Gwadar and other parts of Pakistan that are vital to the countrys long term economic development. The fact that the UAE decided to reach out to Qatar in what amounts to a friendly gesture at a time when Imran Khan was in Doha indicates at minimum, a general feeling among the Arab states of the region that the diplomatic strength of Naya Pakistan has the ability to bring feuding countries together in a spirit that forsakes competition and instead embraces the win-win mentality. | https://eurasiafuture.com/2019/01/23/is-imran-khan-partly-responsible-for-a-thaw-in-the-gccs-qatar-row/ |
Is it okay to pray for football and rock stars? | There was probably more praying going on in downtown Atlanta the first weekend in December than when Sherman showed up with a pocketful of matches. The University of Georgia and The University of Alabama were playing in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC championship and fans were silently and even openly begging God for a victory. Just a few blocks away in the State Farm Arena, 20,000 middle aged fans traveled to see the Farewell tour of Elton John. The pop legend had cancelled two previous shows the week before due to an ear infection and fans prayed for him to be able to go on with the show. My husband and I were able to find last minute tickets to Elton John's show, thanks to a friend's knee replacement surgery (I mentioned the middle-aged thing, right?) I thought about praying for Elton to feel better, but then felt a twinge of guilt. There were still people homeless in our country from hurricanes and fires. Children were being crippled by an unknown disease and others were hungry. The football stadium erupted when Alabama squeaked out a victory, then Elton John took to the stage and played the piano like a possessed musical genius while occasionally pinching his nose to relieve pressure in his swollen ears. Looking around the arena, I realized praying for a football team or rock star really meant much more than just a small request for fun. Parking attendants, security personnel and hourly-paid food service employees may have needed that night of work to help pay bills. The vendors at the football game may have had one of their most lucrative days ever and the extra cash would help purchase Christmas gifts for their children. It may be a silly game or frivolous concert on the surface, but to others, it could have unknowingly been the last fun evening they spent with their family. Maybe - just maybe, there were couples who fell in love when he held her hand during "Your Song." A trivial plea for the show to go on could ultimately spiral into a cure for HIV through the Elton John AIDS Foundation which has already contributed millions of dollars to relieve suffering around the world. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is the way we were raised down here. God rejoices when we care for one another. So perhaps, Southerners who have grown up going to Vacation Bible School and hearing stories from dedicated Sunday School teachers shouldn't feel bad when they pray for seemingly small things, because God has his eye on the tiny sparrow, majorettes, coaches, bass guitarists, sound technicians and hotdog vendors. He sees the big picture. He can handle it all, and our small prayer could be of great importance to someone else. We're connected and have the honor of supporting each other through the power of prayer. And then came the words that in the heart of a believer could be turned into a rock/doxology of praise . . . "How wonderful life is while you're in the world." Leslie Anne is the author of "The Majorettes are Back in Town and Other Things to Love about the South". You can read more and contact her at: http://leslieannetarabella.com | https://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2019/01/is_it_okay_to_pray_for_footbal.html |
Can I really ditch my PC for a Samsung Note 9 smartphone? | Smartphones are getting more powerful every year, and increasing numbers of people are now using them for many of the tasks we used to rely on our PCs for. Browsing the internet, checking emails and messaging friends and family around the world can now be done from those useful little rectangles we carry around in our pockets. Smartphone manufacturers have been claiming that their devices can replace laptops and PCs for a long time, but we're now at the stage where it finally seems like the hardware has caught up with those promises. As TechRadars computing editor, Ive been sceptical about those claims, but with the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which comes with some undeniably impressive specifications, and DeX functionality that allows the phone to be hooked up to a monitor (and mouse and keyboard) so that it can be used like a traditional desktop PC, I was intrigued. I decided to find out by going a whole week using just the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 as my main computer. Read on to find out... The specifications In my line of work Im lucky enough to get to use powerful PCs and laptops, and I have little patience for slow devices that take an age to boot up and load programs. With a desktop PC that boasts a 16-core processor, 32GB RAM and a plethora of NVMe SSDs (not to mention two Titan XP graphics cards), as well as a recent Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Pro as laptops, it would take a very powerful smartphone to get me to even consider moving over. This is where the Galaxy Note 9 comes in. With an octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, its a handset that rivals many budget and mid-range laptops in terms of specs, and theres also a version with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space for even more power. What also attracted me to the phone was the large 6.4-inch screen, which makes web browsing, and composing emails, much easier. I hope not), after using the Nexus 6 a few years ago I just cant go back to a smaller handset, especially for productivity. The large size also allows for a 4,000mAh battery, enabling the Note 9 to go through a whole work day (and more) without needing a charge. The included S Pen stylus also intrigued me, as it meant I could take notes by hand and save them digitally. However, the Note 9 does come with a huge $1,000 (899/AU$1,499) price tag for the 6GB model. Thats a heck of a lot of money for a phone, and you can get some very good laptops for that kind of money. However and before I talk myself out of the idea if you consider the Note 9 as a phone and a laptop replacement, that cost isnt quite so daunting, as it means youre buying one device, not two. And because it's a phone you have the option of getting the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on a contract, which means you dont have to part with quite so much money upfront make sure you check out our Samsung Galaxy Note 9 deals below for the best prices. Using the Note 9 in DeX mode gives you a Windows-like desktop The software What really made me take the Note 9 seriously as a laptop replacement is Samsung's DeX feature. This allows you to connect your Note 9 to a monitor and use a Windows-like desktop to work on apps. While Samsung has been toying around with DeX for a while, previous smartphones needed to use the DeX Station hub, which was an additional expense. While the Note 9 can use the DeX Station, you can now also use the DeX interface by using a USB-C to HDMI cable. With a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse you can then use the Note 9 for a PC-like experience. Its a much more affordable way to access the DeX functionality, which is just as well if youve spent all your cash on the Note 9. However, before I tried that method I decided to try plugging the Note 9 into a USB-C Dell hub that I use at work for my MacBook Pro. To my delight, it worked, with the Note 9s screen appearing on my monitor, and my wired mouse and keyboard, which are connected to the hub via USB, being recognized by the phone. One final note about the software. The Samsung Note 9 runs Android, and these days pretty much all applications I run on Windows have an Android app version, and if not, there will be an alternative. These might not be as fully-featured as their Windows versions, but for the tasks Ill be using them for mainly word processing, spreadsheets, instant messaging, emails and photo editing they should be fine. Also, while pretty much every Android app should work in DeX mode, there are a number of apps that are DeX optimized, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop Express, Gmail and Chrome. Software-wise, then, Im pretty sure I could rely on the Note 9 for productivity. You can browse files on the phone much like you would on a PC The DeX experience With the Samsung Note 9 connected to the USB-C hub, the DeX desktop appeared on my monitor. For anyone whos used a modern desktop operating system, such as Windows 10, the look of the DeX desktop will be familiar. A bright, attractive, desktop wallpaper is used as the background, and there are shortcut icons to My Files, Gallery and Settings. Clicking on My Files opens up a window similar to Windows Explorer, and from there I could see the files and documents saved on the Note 9; for people used to working on a Windows or Mac laptop, this is a nice way of locating your documents. You cant drag and drop files from one folder to another you need to right-click the file and select Move. Its a bit of a niggle that highlights the limited nature of the DeX experience compared to a full operating system such as Windows 10, but for the most part I was very impressed with how DeX looked, and how smoothly it ran. In the bottom-left corner of the desktop is a button that opens up your installed apps think of it like Windows 10s Start menu. Double-clicking an app opens it, with the app appearing in a window that can be resized and moved on the DeX desktop. Again, for Windows 10 users, this will feel very familiar. Using apps on the Samsung Note 9 in DeX mode The icons of open apps also appear along the bottom of the screen, enabling you to quickly switch between them. I should probably also mention here that my mouse and keyboard worked perfectly, with no hint of lag as I typed quickly or moved my cursor around the screen. Using the Dell hub seemed perfectly fine, although a pop-up on the Note 9 itself suggested using an official Samsung product. I can understand Samsungs reasoning (got to sell more stuff, after all), but in my time using the Note 9 I didnt see a need to purchase any additional kit, although occasionally the pop-up recommending Samsung kit would reappear on the phone. Working on the phone For my first day of work using solely the Samsung Note 9 I began writing this article. So, after loading up the Gmail app to check my emails, and the Slack app to keep in contact with my team, I opened the Word app to begin writing. Both Gmail and Slack worked well with DeX, and because they were already installed on my phone it meant I didnt have to install them or sign in. Despite Slack not being a DeX-optimized app it did the job well, letting me chat to colleagues much as the Windows 10 app does. Being able to have my mail and Slack open in the background while I work is vitally important so far so good. I wrote this article on the Note 9 Opening the Word app was when I became seriously impressed, however, as it looked and behaved almost exactly like the desktop Windows program. Over the years, Microsoft Offices Ribbon user interface has grown on me, so its presence is strangely comforting and reassuring. It meant I felt right at home, and could begin typing away happily, with shortcuts and tools all where they should be. Another nice feature is that as its essentially the Word Android app (but with DeX support), the file is synched to OneDrive, so I can carry on editing on another device if needed. Handy, but I honestly didnt feel the need to switch. Of course, as the Note 9 is an Android device Google Docs also works very well in DeX mode. So, as a desktop replacement, I was very impressed indeed. The overall DeX interface does a good job of mimicking a desktop operating system, and while it doesnt feel quite as smooth as Windows 10, for the most part it performed very well. There were a few funny turns, with the Slack app crashing once, but anyone whos ever used a PC will have experienced an unresponsive app or two. The Note 9 also threw a bit of a tantrum when someone phoned me while in DeX mode, and I removed the phone from the USB-C hub. Im guessing its a slightly more polished experience when using an official Samsung DeX hub, but generally I was very impressed with the performance, and I found it easy to use the Samsung Note 9 as a replacement for a desktop PC for the entire week. What struck me about using the Samsung Note 9 as a replacement for my PC was how well it emulated a desktop PC. By plugging it into a hub and monitor, I was able to use a mouse and keyboard on a big screen at my desk. The issue here is that when using the Note 9 when traveling Im not going to able to use a larger screen, or a mouse or keyboard, as I do at my desk. Here, the pressure is on the Note 9s hardware itself. As I mentioned earlier, the large screen of the Note 9 helps when it comes to browsing websites, tapping out emails and watching media, and for many people our smartphones have already replaced laptops for many of those tasks. The on-screen keyboard is large enough to type short articles and emails on easily enough, but it can't compete with a laptop keyboard for longer pieces. One option is to use a Bluetooth keyboard, which is something I may consider in the future. Its another thing to carry around (and keep charged) though, so I'm more interesting in how the included S Pen stylus performs. That fact that it's stored in the body of the phone (and can be ejected with a push), is a really nice feature, especially as I dont want to have to carry around more easily-lost items than I need to. With the pen ejected, a menu appears enabling me to scribble quick notes and save them to the device in my awful handwriting. Its handy, and it means I don't need to carry a notepad around with me, but its not quite what Im after I want something that can turn my scribbled notes into editable text that I can open in a word processor. Thankfully, with a bit of digging around and experimenting, I found that the Note 9 can do that as well. Opening up the Word app and making sure the Samsung Keyboard was selected (I cheekily made Googles Gboard keyboard the default initially, having come from a Pixel XL), I was able to write words with the stylus, and the Note 9 did a very good job of converting what I'd written into editable text and inserting it into the Word doc. Considering how awful my handwriting is, I was again impressed. Its not quite as quick as typing on a full-size keyboard, but it is faster than using the on-screen keyboard. Theres not a massive amount of space in which to write on the screen, but the Note 9 converts the text quickly, and gives you more room to write as you go. You may need to slow your pace of writing down a bit, but it worked fast and most importantly it was pretty accurate. I found that not writing joined-up helped, and that the app would occasionally mistake a full stop for a comma, but it proved to be a fast and effective way to take notes, which I could then edit when I returned to my desk. Unlike using the Note 9 as a desktop replacement, which emulated the experience of working on a desktop PC so well that I didn't have to change the way I worked, it takes more time to adjust to using the Note 9 as a laptop replacement. Crucially, though, with the included S Pen stylus and accurate handwriting recognition, I didnt mind adapting the way I worked. Not quite, especially when it comes to my desktop PC. Thats mainly because Im always going to want to have a PC to play games on and Im not talking about mobile games, although I am currently addicted to the Lemmings reboot. But for the day-to-day tasks of writing, editing and emailing, I could genuinely see myself happily using the Note 9 in DeX mode. I was seriously impressed. Im also going to try sticking with the Note 9 for writing notes when I go to meetings and events. Itll take a little while to adjust without my laptop and I certainly wont be getting rid of that trusty old workhorse just yet but the benefits of not having to lug around a laptop are very tempting. So far Im really impressed with my time using the Note 9 as a PC replacement. I didnt think that I would be seriously considering using the smartphone as my main work computer when I started this experiment but I am. | https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/can-i-really-ditch-my-pc-for-a-samsung-note-9-smartphone |
What will evening drive from work look like weatherwise? Wet or Icy? | The messy weather-maker will still influence our weather across all of Michigan this afternoon and evening. Heres a quick look at the expected weather through this evening. The main thing to know is the freezing line will stretch across Lower Michigan from around Big Rapids, north of Grand Rapids, to around Mount Pleasant to Tawas City. North of that freezing line, snow will continue to fall this afternoon and end this evening. South of the freezing line, temperatures will be warm enough to make main roads turn wet as snow and freezing rain melts. Heres a look at the temperatures at noon today. Temperatures are expected to be well above freezing for the southeast third of Lower Michigan at noon today. weathermodel Draw a line from Grand Rapids to Saginaw. From that line and southward, temperatures should be at least several degrees above freezing. Temperatures around 40 degrees in the Detroit area will mean no icy roads in southeast Lower. Northern Lower and the U.P. will stay far enough below freezing that snow will accumulate on roads. Temperatures will still be above freezing over southeast Lower at 5 p.m. while colder air will start to move into western Lower Michigan. weathermod Most of the major cities of southern Lower will still have temperatures above freezing during your drive home from work. Grand Rapids could be at freezing, but it will probably take temperatures getting down to 31 or 30 degrees before roads refreeze. Northern Lower will continue below freezing with icy and snow covered roads. Heres the radar forecast at noon today. Radar forecast at noon today shows rainfall becoming scattered in southern Lower while steady snow continues in northern Lower. weathermodels.com Precipitation in the southern half of Lower Michigan will be rain, not freezing rain and becoming more sporadic. Steady snow will continue in the northern half of Lower Michigan. At 5 p.m. today, the radar forecast shows precipitation ending in southern Lower and snow continuing in northern Lower. weathermodels.com The precipitation will be over for southern Lower by your drive home from work. I wouldnt worry about any major travel issues on treated roadways. Northern Lower will stay cold with snow falling. It will still be treacherous across northern Lower and the eastern U.P. Total additional snowfall from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 2 a.m. Thursday. weathermodels. The last graphic above is the total additional snow expected to fall this afternoon. Id call it two to four inches of additional snow in northern Michigan. Less than one inch more snow could fall at Bay City, Midland, Saginaw and Grand Rapids. No additional snow is expected for the rest of southern Lower. The evening drive should be much better than this mornings drive. Temperatures above freezing across southern Lower will really help improve road conditions. Watch for temperatures dropping below freezing late this evening across the southern half of Lower Michigan. | https://www.mlive.com/weather/2019/01/what-will-evening-drive-from-work-look-like-weatherwise-wet-or-icy.html |
How Much Can The Indians Cut From Their Payroll And Still Win Their Division? | The popular perception among many Cleveland Indians fans is When are they going to do something? In reality, the Indians have done a lot. More than you might realize, but less than is advisable. For a team that supposedly hasnt done much, the Indians sure have been busy. For example, the following players, each of whom spent all or part of the 2018 season on the Indians major league roster, are no longer members of the organization: Cody Allen, Michael Brantley, Melky Cabrera, Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, Josh Donaldson, Andrew Miller, Oliver Perez, Adam Rosales, Josh Tomlin, Brandon Guyer, Erik Gonzalez, Yan Gomes, Yandy Diaz, Yonder Alonso and Edwin Encarnacion. Here is a list of players acquired by the Indians during the offseason: Carlos Santana, Jake Bauers, Kevin Plawecki, A.J. Cole, Jordan Luplow, Daniel Johnson, Jefry Rodriguez, Chih-Wei Hu, and Max Moroff. Six of the nine hitters in the Indians starting lineup for their last postseason game last year against Houston in the Division Series are no longer with the organization: Brantley, Encarnacion, Donaldson, Diaz, Guyer, and Gomes. Of the nine newcomers listed above, only one, barring injury, is guaranteed to be in the Indians opening day lineup this year: Santana, and the Indians arent even sure where that will be. You dont have to be Branch Rickey to realize the Indians list of players gone and players acquired is wildly lopsided towards the players gone side of the ledger. That doesnt mean the Indians cant win their fourth consecutive AL Central title. But it does at least raise the question of whether they may be underestimating the competition in their division. It is, to be sure, a daring strategic cliff dive: a defending division champion lopping off six everyday players in its pursuit of a more manageable payroll. That seems like a fine line to walk, but the Indians, with less than a month to go before the start of spring training, are straddling that precarious ravine. The operative number is $136 million, which was Clevelands opening day payroll last year, the largest in franchise history. As a result of their radical roster reduction, they have rid themselves of Encarnacions $20 million 2019 salary, plus those of Alonso ($8 million), and Gomes ($7 million). With their four of their free agents signing with other teams the Indians are additionally out from under some hefty financial obligations reflected by the 2019 base salaries in the contracts Donaldson ($23 million), Brantley ($15 million), Miller ($11 million) and Allen ($8.5 million) received from the various teams with which they signed as free agents. Thats a lot of money, but also a lot of talent, out the door. The only expensive addition is Santana, who is owed $17 million this year and $17.5 million next year. Cleveland wants to shave some commas and decimal points from its payroll in 2019, and club officials are confident they can do so while still remaining the biggest dog on the AL Central porch. Clevelands $136 opening day payroll last year was $50 million more than the Chicago White Sox $86 million. Payrolls for the other three division teams were Minnesota $129 million, Kansas City $115 million, and Detroit $111 million. In this offseason, the rest of the division has been more aggressive in adding talent and money to their payrolls, but they also have a lot of ground to make up. Cleveland won the division by 13 games last year, by 17 games in 2017, and by eight games in 2016. The Twins have added slugger Nelson Cruz and will pay him $14 million this year. Kansas City added Billy Hamilton ($4.2 million). Detroit signed free agents Tyson Ross ($5.7 million) and Jordy Mercer ($5.2 million). Chicago has been the most aggressive of the AL Central teams. In addition to Alonso ($8 million), the White Sox added Ivan Nova ($8.5 million), Kelvin Herrera ($8.5 million), Alex Colome ($7.3 million), and Jon Jay ($4 million). Chicago is also reportedly trying to bag the biggest free agent catch of the season, Bryce Harper. The challenge facing the Indians in 2019 is whether they can spend less and win more, or at least as much as they did last year _ or, at the absolute very least, however much it takes to insure a fourth straight trip to the postseason. Failure to do so will call into serious question the ownership-mandated payroll and talent downsizing that prevented the Indians from _ never mind adding a key piece here or there _ simply maintaining the elite team the organization had built. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimingraham/2019/01/23/how-much-can-the-indians-cut-from-their-payroll-and-still-win-their-division/ |
Is VR (Virtual Reality) The New Kid on The Blockchain? | Back in 2010 when then-18-year-old Palmer Luckey created the first prototype of the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset, his creation seemed poised to usher in a new era of virtual worlds. It raised $2.4 million on Kickstarter and the Oculus company sold to Facebook for a cool $3 billion in 2014. However, so far VR has struggled to gain the wide-scale adoption that seemed inevitable when the Oculus Rift first appeared. In fact in 2018, Statista reports only 171 million active VR users compared with 2.3 billion active gamers (if we were to assume the only use case for VR is gaming, which its not). Among the reasons for the lack of adoption of VR headsets, sources point to their high cost as well as to the lack of VR content which limits the scope of investment. A survey of 4,000 individuals at the 2018 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco showed that 29% of people believed that developing gaming content for VR isnt a long-term, sustainable business model at this moment in time and 31% of respondents believed that VR headsets blocked further content development. They gaged it would take another 3-4 years before VR headsets become commonplace. So, if VR adoption appears to be stuck in a vicious cycle as there is lack of content development, nobody will buy the headsets. Among the several features of blockchain that lend themselves well to VR, the following are worth looking into: Secure Ownership of Assets Blockchain offers the secure and immutable ownership of digital assets. In the world of gaming, this is significantly advantageous as gamers can accrue huge stores of in-game assets and rewards, often through paid participation, yet their account is vulnerable to external attacks. Players of Fortnite, the popular video game, have been subject to hacks and attacks to rack up spending on their accounts. Non-Fungible Assets Ethereums ERC-721 token standard provides developers with the feature of issuing non-fungible assets. This means that VR developers could use blockchain to create one-of-a-kind digital assets that can be traded in a virtual universe. It may be a weapon or armour in a game; wearables for an avatar; or even a digital music token signed by an artist in the same way as a vinyl record. Token Economy By making a digital token the currency of a virtual universe, the universe can govern the economics of that token in the same way as any other currency in real life. In this alternate economy, users can spend their currency on goods or services, which in turn determine its value. Current Developments Presently, there are various projects seeking to create virtual worlds, merging blockchain and VR in a way that could see VR finally gain the adoption it has so far failed to achieve. Decentraland Decentraland is developed on the Ethereum blockchain as a kind-of Second Life-style decentralized virtual world. Using the native MANA ERC-20 tokens, users can purchase non-fungible LAND tokens, which represent a 10m x 10m area in the Decentraland universe. On their newly-acquired land, users can build a business where they can trade their goods or services with others. The project is also releasing an SDK (Software Development Kit) so that developers can create new functionality within the Decentraland universe. For example, imagine building your own casino on your virtual strip of land. You could lease some gambling game functionality from a developer, say a roulette wheel and a blackjack table. As users come in and stake their tokens to play your games, you take any of the house winnings, paying a commission to your game developer for their efforts. The same concept could be applied to shops, pubs, sports stadiums or concert halls. BeachHead BeachHead develops the Decentraland concept even further, by introducing objectives for users to make the BeachHead city into a true VR, blockchain-based game. Here, users enjoy all the same entertainment and trading functionality as in Decentraland. However, in the BeachHead universe, the city is under invasion from attacking forces. Users can earn tokens by helping to defend the city against the marauders, using anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry to keep BeachHead safe from harm. These tokens can be spent on entertainment and e-commerce activities elsewhere in the universe. This project is the brainchild of Pepe Moreno, who launched a first-person shooter game called BeachHead 2000 back in 1999. The game went on to become a cult hit, selling more than a million copies worldwide. Moreno is now anticipating that the launch of BeachHeads new virtual world will help to launch VR into the mainstream. Conclusion: Of the other projects in the blockchain/VR area worth watching, Mark.Space is one. This platform is more focused around the e-commerce and corporate branding opportunities within VR. For example, a brand could set up their own chain of virtual stores showcasing merchandise available in real life. While it may be less popular with the gaming crowd, Mark.Space potentially opens up VR to new audiences in fashion and retail. Meantime, VR investors and fans alike continue to wait patiently for the tipping point of widespread adoption. Visionary projects like the ones listed above are now coming to the forefront of virtual reality innovation. Therefore, perhaps, the tipping point could arrive sooner rather than later! | https://www.forbes.com/sites/geraldfenech/2019/01/23/is-vr-virtual-reality-the-new-kid-on-the-blockchain/ |
How the Cut-Off Marks for JEE Main are Calculated? | By Online MI JEE Main Cut-Off is the crucial element in deciding the fate of the engineering aspirant who wants to attain the seat in top-notch engineering colleges of India. Essentially, the JEE Main cut-off is the minimum marks required by the candidate to appear for the JEE Advanced or to grab the seat in the best engineering colleges of India. As a JEE Main candidate, you must be aware that admissions in the participating Institutes are done on the basis of All India Rank secured by the candidate in the JEE Main examination. To qualify for the admission in top engineering colleges of India, you need to score minimum 75% marks in 12th boards or you should be in the top 20 percentile. Here you can check the steps to calculate the cut-off for JEE Main. The cut-off marks for JEE Main 2019 The JEE Main rank is prepared with the composite score of JEE Main and the marks obtained in class 12th in the ratio of 60:40. The composite scores are then placed in the merit list and on the basis of which JEE Main rank is allotted. Lets look at the process of calculating the cut-off for JEE Main 2019. 1. The composite score of JEE Main is the total score you get in the JEE Main exam. The normalized score of class 12th is the score which can be calculated by using the formula: Number of candidates in the board with aggregate marks is divided by the total number of candidates in the group and then multiplied by 100. 2. Then arrange all the scores of JEE Main applicants in the Merit list and take out their percentile. 3. Now, we will arrange the scores of all the eligible candidates for JEE Main in the merit list and the percentile is derived from that. 4. Take out the average score from step 2 and step 3 in order to get the cut-off for JEE Main. Subjects which are considered for calculating the Percentile score The subjects which we have taken into consideration for calculating the percentile score of JEE Main candidates are: Physics Mathematics Language Any one (Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Technical Vocational Subject) Any other subject Important Factors Affecting the JEE Main Cut Off JEE Main cut off/rank are calculated after considering various factors. These factors are: The number of applications received every year by the exam conducting authority. The cut-off trends of the previous years in JEE Main exams. The number of questions asked and the difficulty level of the questions in the JEE Main examination. The overall performance of the candidates in the JEE Main exam. We have mentioned below the previous year cutoff for JEE Main. Candidates are suggested to check the cut-ff of the previous year carefully in order to get the rough idea about the JEE Main cut-off 2018. We have mentioned below the previous year cut-off for JEE Main. Candidates are suggested to check the cut-off of the previous year carefully in order to get the rough idea about the JEE Main cut-off 2018. After the declaration of the result for JEE Main, the exam conducting authority will release All India Rank (AIR) and category rank on the same date through the official website of JEE Main. The All India Rank is prepared by the respective counselling authorities for admissions in the top engineering colleges such as NITs, IIITs and other government and private institutions. On the basis of marks scored in the JEE Main exam, a merit list will then be prepared for admission in engineering & architecture courses. For each category, the merit list will be drawn separately. About JEE Main Exam NTA (National Testing Agency) is the new exam conducting body and will be going to conduct JEE Main Exam twice in a year. The JEE Main exam will be online based and will include multiple type objective questions. The January Session JEE Main is scheduled from 6th-20th January 2019 and for April Session, from 6th- 20th April 2019. Moreover, you can download your JEE Main Admit Card for January session from 17th December 2018. And check the results for JEE Main on 31st January 2019 and 30th April 2019 respectively. We hope this JEE Main cut-off information will help you in targeting your goal for the JEE Main 2019. We wish you the very best for your JEE Main 2019 exam. For more information or any kind of query, you can write your comment in the comment section below. | http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2019/jan/23/how-the-cut-off-marks-for-jee-main-are-calculated-1929052.html |
Why cant the U.S. Census ask a very simple question? | Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided that it should, and his decision triggered an explosion of legal challenges. Last week, a federal judge in New York ruled that the question may not be asked. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman wrote, Secretary Rosss decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 censuseven if it did not violate the Constitution itselfwas unlawful for a multitude of independent reasons and must be set aside. Furman said Ross ignored the Census Bureaus research showing that asking about citizenship would likely result in an undercount. The U.S. Constitution requires the government to conduct a census every 10 years to count the population and apportion seats in Congress accordingly. The information gathered by the nationwide headcount is also used to allocate federal funds for programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Section 8 housing vouchers. And the population numbers are used to draw election districts. Furman said asking the citizenship question would result in a significant reduction in response rates from noncitizen and Hispanic households. That undercount will, in turn, result in a loss of political power and funds, among other harms, for various plaintiffs, he wrote. Furmans decision is likely to be appealed, but in the meantime, another lawsuit over the citizenship question went to trial in a federal court in Maryland this week. MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has joined with a group called Asian Americans Advancing Justice along with a long list of other plaintiffs to challenge the citizenship inquiry. MALDEF says its lawsuit is the first and only to include a claim that officials of the Trump administration conspired with others to deprive immigrants of color of their constitutional rights to equal representation and to fair allocation of federal funds. The lawsuit names Trump and Ross as co-conspirators along with former White House advisor Steve Bannon and Kris Kobach, then the Kansas secretary of state. The plaintiffs said in a press release that they will present evidence that the citizenship question is the product of a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of communities of color. There are about half a dozen lawsuits challenging the citizenship question, and now Congress is getting involved, too. The House Oversight Committee has called on the commerce secretary to answer questions about his efforts to have the census ask about citizenship. This week, the committee released a statement saying Ross will testify at a hearing on March 14, and the committee expects full compliance with all of our outstanding document requests prior to the hearing. It seems certain that all the legal wrangling will succeed in delaying a decision beyond the deadline for the 2020 Census to be finalized, even if the U.S. Supreme Court eventually rules in favor of the administration. The next census is in 2030, when a different president will be in the Oval Office. The Trump administration has said it needs the citizenship question on the Census in order to fulfill its obligations to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a federal law intended to protect minorities from discrimination. Voting might be at the heart of the issue. In terms of representation and federal programs, the only difference between a citizen and a permanent legal resident is the right to vote. A citizen has it. A permanent legal resident does not. Related Articles Southern California dodged the Amazon Iceberg The rush to judgment: Political Cartoons Democrats start to throw their hats, not their ideas, into the ring Chief Justice John Roberts right to push back against Trump, defend judiciary LAUSDs teacher strike should draw needed attention to pension costs If the Census collects hard data on how many citizens of voting age reside in any given district, city, county or state, it would enable a comparison between census data and voter rolls, possibly turning up evidence that non-citizens are voting. For instance, if the Census Bureau says there are 25,000 citizens of voting age in a jurisdiction, it would be news if 30,000 ballots were cast in an election there. And then theres the elephant in the room. No one really knows how many undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, but the alarm voiced by the plaintiffs in the lawsuits challenging the citizenship question suggests that the number is far higher than the 11 million figure commonly cited. The future of immigration policy could be dramatically affected by hard data showing the number of households that refuse to respond to a Census that asks about citizenship. It can be risky to ask a question if you dont already know the answer, even more so if you do. Susan Shelley is an editorial writer and columnist for the Southern California News Group. [email protected]. Twitter: @Susan_Shelley. | https://www.dailybreeze.com/2019/01/23/why-cant-the-u-s-census-ask-a-very-simple-question/ |
Which branches of Patisserie Valerie stores have closed? | List of closed Patisserie Valerie outlets: Debenhams concessions: Basildon Debenhams The Eastgate Centre Beverley Debenhams Unit 4 Flemingate Centre, Flemingate Chelmsford Debenhams 27 High St Edinburgh Debenhams 109 Princes Street Glasgow Debenhams 97 Argyle Street Hereford Debenhams Auctioneers Walk, The Old Market Liverpool Debenhams 42 Lord Street London Debenhams 10 Garratt Lane, Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth London Debenhams Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel Way London Debenhams 334-348 Oxford Street Middlesbrough Debenhams The Corner, 1 Newport Rd, Newport Debenhams 1-7 Friars Walk Shopping Centre, John Frost Square Oxford Debenhams 1-12 Magdalen Street Redditch Debenhams Kingfisher Shopping Centre, 19 Watford Walk Stevenage Debenhams Roaring Meg Retail Park Telford Debenhams Telford Shopping Centre Wigan Debenhams Unit 39 Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, Compton Street Druckers outlets Banbury Druckers Unit 28, Castle Quay Shopping Centre Castle Street Birmingham Druckers Cafe 1, Upper Mall West Birmingham Druckers 100 Great Western Arcade Burton Druckers Centre Mall Cafe, Cooper Square Shopping Centre Cheltenham Druckers Unit 28 Regent Arcade Coventry Druckers 66 Hertford Street Dudley Druckers Unit L78C Finance Mall Merry Hill Centre Hanley Druckers Unit 230, The Mall Caf The Potteries Shopping Centre Leamington Spa Druckers Unit 35 Royal Priors Leeds White Rose Druckers White Rose Shopping Centre South Mall Leicester Druckers Fosse Park Food Court Manchester Druckers 169 The Arndale Centre Nottingham Druckers 218 Victoria Centre Poole Druckers The Mall Cafe Dolphin Center Redditch Druckers 25E Kingfisher Walk Solihul Druckers 26 Jubilee Walk Stratford Upon Avon Druckers 43 Henley Street Tamworth Druckers 51 Ankerside Centre George Street Wolverhampton Druckers 61 Dudley Street Motorway concessions Patisserie Valerie cakes on display (Nick Ansell/PA) Baldock Unit 3 Extra MSA Baldock, A1(M) Junction 10 Beaconsfield Unit 2, M40 Junction 2 Cambridge A14 (M11) Cambridge, Boxworth Peterborough Great North Road, Haddon Next concessions Cheltenham Next 1A-1B, Gallagher Retail Park, Tewkesbury Road Hounslow Next Unit 1 Treaty Centre, 263-265 High Street Manchester Next Unit 1C, Barton Square, Barton Dock Road Manchester Next Unit 22 Manchester Fort Shopping Centre, Cheetham Hill Rd Standalone Patisserie Valerie stores Bradford The Broadway Brighton 36 East Street Bristol 57 Queens Road Bury 26-28 The Haymarket Chester 31 Bridge Street Chippenham Unit 1b Borough Parade Cwmbran 8 The Mall Derby 2 Crown Walk Doncaster Unit 100, 20 St Sepulchre Gate, Frenchgate Shopping Centre Glasgow B12 Glasgow Fort Glasgow 18-20 Royal Exchange Square Gloucester 4 Southgate Street Leeds Unit 2 Ground Floor, 8 St Pauls Street Liverpool Unit 1, 35 Whitechapel London 37 Brushfield Steet London 94 Holland Park Avenue London 44 Old Compton Street London 24-26 Turnham Green Terrace London 27 Kensington Church Street London 15 Bedford Street London 80 Long Acre London 215 Brompton Road Manchester 2-4 St Ann Street Newcastle 141 Grainger Street Peterborough 2 Cathedral Square Salisbury 24 Butchers Row Southport 365 Lord Street | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-6624091/Which-branches-Patisserie-Valerie-stores-closed.html |
Can Big Data Save Old Warplanes? | It's been a tough year or so for Air Force maintainers. High-profile aircraft failures plagued the service recently, including emergency landings of C-5 cargo aircraft, the grounding of the B-1 bomber fleet, and the loss of a C-130 propeller in mid-flight. The immediate causes of these accidents vary, the but root cause is the same: age. The average age of an Air Force aircraft is 28 years, and many planes are significantly older. Crews fly still fly the B-52 bomber, after all, with its average age of 56. AI is already telling us things that we need to look at before they become critical. Will Roper, the USAFs assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, oversees $40 billion in programs. But even though 70 percent of the money USAF spends on acquisition goes to "sustainment," he says, few people talk about the issue. There are rarely hearings on aircraft sustainment, but it's the reason we're able to go fight and win a war. There are amazing men and women that keep airplanes able to fly, but here's the sad thing: They're using technology that is decades old. Ropers job is to bring new tools to the Air Force, and in this age that means data mining. We've brought in a lot of artificial intelligence experts to advise us on how to use AI to predict when planes are going to fail, and I believe we're the first service to have AI operational on its flying fleet, he says. Late in 2018, the Air Force (with help from Delta) retrofitted its aging C5 and B-1 fleets to perform predictive maintenance. It's already doing amazing work, telling us things that we need to look at before they become critical, Roper says. The data is there but it's not in a discoverable format that you can layer in machine learning on top of it. A lot of what we had to do was reverse engineering, so that that data can be exposed in an algorithm friendly way. While performing a training mission, an U.S. C-130 "Hercules" cargo plane from Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed about 11:30 a.m. today near the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport with 5 people on board. All are deceased. pic.twitter.com/ilx1f9saDr David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 2, 2018 He says there are more than 100 algorithms running on the C-5 systems, and more than 40 examining the B-1. Each algorithm parses the information generated by specific systems, like the landing gear, wheels, temperature sensors, and anything that is deemed mission-critical. "Here's the sad thing: They're using technology that is decades old. So far, the AI found three maintenance actions on the C-5 that we wouldn't have found through traditional processes, that affect 36 different aircraft, Roper says. Maintainers also removed 17 parts that were showing subtle signs of wear well before those parts had issues. The larger the fleet, the larger the time and money savings. This years test focused on large aircraft with small fleets, which are easier to handle. But the brass ring would be to bring AI scrutiny to fighters, both old and new. We're working very hard to make sure that our newest fighter is going to be able to do the same kind of smart maintenance approach, Roper says. The more that we can see into the future the better. The adoption of predictive maintenance is one modern tool of many that Roper hopes to bring to the Air Force. He holds an abiding hope for 3D-printed parts, which he sees returning some balance to defense procurement. Historically, militaries often made their own stuff. He's his own manufacturer, Roper says. The last 20 years military hasn't made much of anything. We've had to rely completely on industry. But additive manufacturing machines put us back in the seat of being able to make our own parts, and we are. We're making hundreds of parts today. There is a subtle morale issue at work as well. Many of the airplane groundings and emergency landings of 2018 were traced back to mistakes made by maintenance personnel. It can be hard to summon up much enthusiasm for a job focusing on dead technology. Using new tech tools to keep its fleet flying would send an opposite signal to civilian and uniformed maintainers who are working on vintage aircraft. For all the AI algorithms and 3D printed parts, theres always a human being working on the airplane who stands as its keeper. I want people to think if you're a maintenance officer in the Air Force, you're exposed to some of the greatest technology that exists in the world, Roper says. | https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25995189/big-data-saves-warplanes/ |
Does America Still Need the Nuclear Triad? | Ever since the 1950, the U.S. military has maintained the policy of "assured destruction:" keeping an arsenal that could launch a counterstrike so devastating it would annihilate any aggressor. The strategy makes everyone involvedespecially Americas enemiessquarely confront the unthinkable, making a nuclear war too terrible to contemplate, let alone start. The Combat Operations Center at NORAD, 1961. Getty Images Bettmann For the strategy to work, America must be able to back it up. For decades, the technological backbone of "assured destruction" has been the so-called nuclear triad. Because the U.S. can launch nukes from the air, the land, or the sea, it would be practically impossible for another country to knock out America's offensive capabilities and prevent the counter-strike. The U.S. is currently working on replacing all three legs of the triad: bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched missiles. It's an overhaul that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and no doubt overshoot the Pentagon's price estimates when all is said and done. Three Is the Magic Number B-52H Stratofortress bombers. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jarad A. Denton America dropped its very first nuclear weapons by air. Lumbering B-29 bombers carried the heavy, ungainly bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and bombers remained the primary delivery system into the 1950s. Soon thereafter, the development of long range missiles, along with the miniaturization of nuclear warheads, made the first intercontinental ballistic missiles possible. In the early 1960s, the adaptation of nuclear reactors resulted in submarines armed with nuclear missiles. And thus a trio of nuclear options came together. During the Cold War, each arm of the triad justified its existence by doing something better than the other two. Strategic heavy bombers such as todays B-2 Spirit and the longstanding B-52H Stratofortress could carry many nuclear bombs and strike multiple, geographically distinct targets. Bombers are accurate, with air crews often visually confirming their targets. Bombers could be repurposed to strike emerging targets, such as a missile being readied for launch that an American satellite suddenly revealed. And a plane can be recalled back to the U.S. in the event of a false alarm or cease-firesomething you can't say about a missile. Bombers did have drawbacks. Aircraft spend most of their time on the ground, scrambled in large numbers only in the event of war. This makes them vulnerable to surprise attack. Bombers also need to physically enter enemy territory, where they could be shot down by fighters and surface-to-air missiles. A Minuteman III ICBM launches from Vandenburg Air Force Base, California, 2016. Senior Airman Kyla Gifford, U.S. Air Force. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) loft nuclear warheads into space on ballistic trajectories. They are buried by the hundreds in underground concrete silos scattered across America, ICBMs were accurate, quick to launch, and could hit targets across the planet in a matter of minutes. More than other delivery option, ICBMs could destroy enemy nuclear weapons before the other side could launch or deploy its own nukes. The third arm of the triad was nuclear powered submarines carrying their own nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. Nicknamed boomers, these boats could slip out of port and vanish for months at a time. The use of nuclear power means a submarine can stay submerged for its entire cruise, making these vessels extremely difficult to detect and destroy. U.S. nuclear submarines are an invulnerable reserve of nuclear weapons that can devastate an enemys home country even if an enemy attack somehow disable all of America's bombers and ICBMs. Nuclear missile submarines had their share of drawbacks. The first submarine-launched ballistic missiles had relatively short ranges, requiring them to sit off an enemys coastline to strike. Unlike land-based missiles, which are stationary and have precise ballistic trajectories for targets worked out ahead of time, submarines roam the worlds oceans and, at least before GPS, were less accurate as a result. And because subs must stay submerged and hidden, secure continuous communication with Washington is not possible. The Bill in the Billions The pros and cons of each leg of the triangle played off each other during the Cold War. But as the decades rolled on, those capabilities evolved. Bombers, for example, can now use cruise missiles to attack targets at long ranges, eliminating the need for dangerous, white-knuckle penetrations of air defense networks. Thanks to advances in tracking and targeting tech, submarine-launched missiles are now nearly as accurate as ICBMs. But as the second decade of the 21st century draws to a close, the nuclear triad is showing its age. The B-2 Spirit bomber was introduced in the 1990s, while the B-52H has been flying since the early 1960s and may keep working for decades to come. The Minuteman III ICBM was first deployed in the early 1970s. The U.S. Navys Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines date to the 1980s and 1990s. After decades of pushing back plans to replace all three arms, the U.S. is now faced with a situation where it needs to replace all three at once. The new B-21 Raider bomber, which will replace the B-2 bomber, will cost an estimated $97 billion dollars . The new ICBM, Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), will cost around $100 billion . Finally, new ballistic missile submarines will cost $128 billion . That adds up to a serious bill. The cost is about the equivalent of running the entire U.S. Armed Forces for five months. And the price tag could rise substantially if any of the programs run into expensive technical problems. If history is any guide, then at least one of them will. The China Example: It (Only) Takes Two Chinese Type 094 ballistic missile submarine. To see a possible way forward, just look at the emerging colossus of China. The world's most populous nation is building more aircraft carriers , more amphibious ships, and more modern combat aircraft than ever before. What China is not doing is significantly expanding its nuclear arsenal. China has approximately 280 nuclear weapons , a number we can deduce from the amount of fissile material it has produced. That total represents about one-sixth the number of deployed U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons. Chinas nukes are spread between land-based ballistic missiles and submarine-launched missiles. It has no air-delivered nuclear weapons for its modest bomber force. In other words, China has a diad. China is a no first use country, meaning it has vowed to never use nuclear weapons first. It also bother with advanced nuclear technologies such as anti-ballistic missile systems or placing multiple warheads on a single missile. Chinas entire nuclear philosophy boils down to this: The country may very well be destroyed by a surprise nuclear attack, but enough Chinese nuclear weapons will survive to make the attack simply not worth it. Essentially, Chinas nuclear doctrine is assured destruction, but stripped of unnecessary complexities. China doesnt lose any sleep over Russia or America's overwhelming advantage in nuclear arms. As long as China can hit back and nuke at least a handful of American (or Russian) cities, the balance of terror remains. Even a strike against tiny North Korea runs the risk of a nuclear counterstrike by China, and the loss of just one American city would be a catastrophe. Getting Lean B-2 Spirit bomber. Getty Images Al Seib Many nuclear strategists maintain that the United States needs a robust and varied nuclear arsenal built the triad to maintain the credibility of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. But it's hard to ignore the stripped-down logic of the Chinese model, which says the only credibility necessary is the ability to strike back after an attackthe rest is just overthinking the issue. For the sake of argument, let's say the United States dropped one leg of the triad. Most nuclear experts would that the Americas ICBM force is the arm we could most easily do without. The argument for ICBMs used to be that they had the longest range and were the most accurate, but submarine launched missiles have caught up. Today there are few if any tasks a land-based missile can do that a submarine-based missile cannot. Land-based missiles, sitting in fixed positions in the Earth and vulnerable to attack, also invite a use it or lose it mentalitythat is, U.S. leaders would be incentivized to launch ICBMs as soon as an enemy attack is detected, just in case the enemy uses its nukes to knock out America's ICBMs. This decision must be made in a matter of minutes and could be based on faulty information, such as a computer glitch indicating enemy missile launches . Today, ICBMs look less relevant than ever. If the country wanted to go a step further, bombers could also go on the chopping block. Bombers are slow, taking hours to reach their targets, and can be shot down. Still, these planes remain flexible in ways the other nuclear options are not. Bombers can be used in a full range of scenarios, from all-out nuclear war to decimating an enemy tank column with a low-yield nuclear device. Bombers can also be used in a conventional role, carrying more ordnance farther and deeper into enemy territory than other tactical aircraft. One could cut bombers from Americas nuclear arsenal, but removing bombers entirely also takes away a conventional war capability that's not easily made up. The most survivable arm of the triad is the submarine-launched missile. Paired with a long range missile, missile submarines are largely invulnerable from attack. Submarines are so secure that the United Kingdoms entire nuclear arsenal has shifted to nuclear submarines, and France is heavily dependent on her Triomphant-class nuclear submarines to provide the countrys nuclear deterrent. U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication 2nd Class Bryan Tomforde The 21st Century Monad Suppose the U.S. follows the British example, shifting to an entirely submarine-based nuclear force. For starters, the Pentagon now has approximately $197 billion it can shift to other programs. Reinvesting that into Americas conventional forces, the Navy could afford its goal of a 355-ship fleet , while the Air Force could pursue a long-range conventional strike plane as a replacement for the lost capabilities of the B-21 bomber. In terms of nuclear strategy, its hard to argue a submarine-only force makes us less secure. Adversaries are still deterred from surprise nuclear attacks. Assured destruction holds. The U.S. could field the same number of warheads it does today by adding a few more vessels to the nuclear submarine force and fitting their missiles with multiple warheads, while a buildup of conventional forcesmade possible by canceling the new bomber and ICBMdissuades potential foes from a conventional war that could spiral into a nuclear one. Artists depiction of the next generation Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. These are important questions the American people need to ask before spending $300 billion replicating the weapons of the Cold War. Perhaps the U.S. should stick with the nuclear triadbut at the very least, America needs a national conversation about what nuclear security means and how to achieve it. | https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a25983826/us-nuclear-triad/ |
What Does My Dog Think Im Doing When Im Watching TV? | Anonymous woman and dog. Photo: Luka/Getty Images/Cultura RF There are many different kinds of love, and our language is woefully inadequate when it comes to describing them all. For instance, I love my dog. I also love watching TV. Before bed every night, I enjoy a soothing ritual in which I placidly empty my brain of the days happenings and fill it to the brim with the absurd plot of a questionable European crime drama or an episode of The Sopranos that I have seen four times. I have an extensive list of questions about my dog a handsome nine-year-old lab mix named Fritz because I am thinking about him constantly. But this one haunts me in particular. (Am I judging myself?) Hes at home all day while Im at work, and then I return and after we greet each other excitedly, and I dispense an adequate amount of belly rubs, of course choose to lay slumped on the couch with my mouth hanging open, staring at a large glowing rectangle. The authors dog, Fritz. Photo: Gabriella Paiella Before I consulted the experts on the matter, I consulted my colleagues. Kelly Conaboy, human to Peter, said, My guess would be that its similar to whatever a dog thinks when he or she looks out of a window, which is: something is happening in there. Madeleine Aggeler told me that her dog, Cleo, is pretty indifferent to television. Shes not a very active dog her favorite activities are napping and laying so I think she appreciates that its a time when we both hold completely still, she explained. Armed with that insight, and convinced that nobody else is worrying about this as much as I am, I reached out to Cesar Millan, the dog behaviorist best known as the Dog Whisperer from the hit reality show Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan. He told me that the best way for us to understand what our dogs are thinking about our behavior when we watch TV is to close our eyes. If you close your eyes, youre going to be able to see your emotions, Millan said. Thats what the dog is experiencing about your activity. A dog can tell if youre scared while watching a horror movie or anxious while watching a sports game, and that will determine his interpretation of your energy and vibe at that moment. (Case in point: Fritz will go sit in the bathtub when my fianc is watching a particularly close, stressful college football game; I will just leave the house.) I also asked Millan if theres a maximum amount of time we should be spending watching TV with our dogs on a daily basis. I do like an hour a day, Millan responded. I cant put more in my head because I have a ranch. So my Netflix is the trees, the land. Alexandra Horowitz, a scientist who specializes in dog cognition and wrote Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, told me that while dogs can indeed see whats happening on TV screens, its not engaging for them because its not a multisensory experience theres nothing to smell or touch. When it comes to what they think of us watching it, Horowitz said, its just one of the myriad ways in which humans are terrifically boring. Dogs, she added, are essentially identifying the percentage of life where theres possible interactions with them and then the percentage where theres not and this is part of the very large percentage of our life where theres very little interaction with them. But they do look at us when were watching television and interpret that dynamic differently than when were, say, interacting with other humans. Horowitz pointed to a study in which scientists tested how long a dog will wait to eat a forbidden treat. Dogs will steal it faster if youre so distracted that youre talking to another person, but not as fast if theyre reading a book or watching television your attention can be drawn away, she explained. Trainer Victoria Stillwell, host of the reality show Its Me or the Dog and a consultant for DogTV, confirmed that dogs dont care much about whats happening onscreen. Some may pause and try to chase a ball or a small furry animal thats bounding across the TV, but they rarely are engaged for long amounts of time. My takeaway here is that, not only is my dog completely disinterested in the trials and tribulations of a New Jersey crime family which, though disappointing, was expected he also finds me immensely boring. When asking my original question, I hadnt expected to dislike the answer so much. Thankfully, Stillwell also had something important and positive to note. I dont think dogs understand the concept of television, of course not, she told me. I dont think its a thing that really bothers their world, I think theyre more happy with the fact that theyre home and that they can just feel safe and hang out with you. Even if Im preoccupied by whether our Scandinavian detectives will solve the murder or fall in love first. | https://www.thecut.com/2019/01/what-does-my-dog-think-tv.html?utm_source=nym&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-part |
Are smaller planes less safe? | Since the start of the year, just over three weeks ago, there has been one commercial plane crash, that of an ageing Boeing 707 cargo aircraft in Iran that claimed the lives of 15 people. In that same period, four other accidents killed six people in the world of general aviation, the catch-all term for unscheduled charter flights, including private jets, sightseeing trips and amateur flying. One of those four was Monday nights loss of a Piper Malibu light aircraft carrying Cardiff Citys new striker, Emiliano Sala, off the coast of Guernsey. This trajectory of the number of plane crashes will continue throughout the year, commercial aviation - that is, international airlines - will keep its accident numbers to single figures as global safety improves exponentially, while small aircraft will continue to drop out of the sky. | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/are-smaller-planes-less-safe-than-larger/ |
Does Bill 66 cut red tape or put environment at risk? | While council members argued the resolution would be a formal reiteration of its current planning practices, it stopped short of pledging to not use Bill 66, if approved. Despite the watered-down version of the resolution, deputy mayor James Leduc, argued against it. Its something we just dont need to do here," he said, referring to the fact BWG doesn't need the make use of the 'open for business' bylaw since it already has the Hwy. 400 employment lands. The resolution would also be akin to "pretty well shutting the door on the provincial government", he added. Susan Lloyd Swail, senior manager, livable communities of Environmental Defence Canada, said there's plenty of land already available for development without touching the Greenbelt. Using protected green space is an inefficient use of land, she said, especially when about 84 per cent of designated employment lands are within five kilometres of a 400-series highway. After several attempts to interview someone from the Building Industry and Land Development Association, Simcoe.com was provided an emailed comment from president Dave Wilkes. The government and the minister have been clear that this is not about opening up the Greenbelt, it said. Bill 66 is a tool that provides municipalities with increased flexibility when it pertains to employment lands." That flexibility concerns Brenda Hogg, a former regional councillor in Richmond Hill and one of the key initiators of Greenbelt protection laws. The trouble is, if they fight to open up the protective provincial legislation ... then all other municipalities across southern Ontario will have the same opportunities. If the protection is lost, its lost forever. Faced with a really brutal timeline imposed by the Ontario government, more than 20 organizations quickly banded together with a new website, StopBill66.ca, said Tim Gray, Environmental Defence executive director. with files from Kim Zarzour | https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/9138616-does-bill-66-cut-red-tape-or-put-environment-at-risk-/ |
Is there any future for WiMAX? | WiMAX was supposed to change the way we work, supplanting short-range Wi-Fi and giving us fast, access-it-anywhere wireless broadband. However, research earlier this year revealed that the wide-area wireless tech will remain a niche product. Arthur D. Little, claimed that WiMAX is, at most, likely to account for a round 10 per cent of mobile wireless subscribers at the end of a five-year timeframe. He pinpointed broadband over 3G networks as being the likely method most mobile PC users will use to connect to the net. Even in five years' time. The trump card for WiMAX is its ability to function as a 'last mile' technology, providing a flood of Wi-Fi access where it's not currently available. Trouble is, nobody has quite decided what to use it for - especially in developed countries where communication networks such as 3G are already established. In the UK, WiMAX hasn't yet materialised in any significant way, though some select patches such as Milton Keynes, do boast the technology. Things aren't much rosier in the US. Two of the largest advocates, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, have decided to shelved their partnership to collaborate on a WiMAX network with a potential reach of 100 million people. The deal was only inked in July. The two companies said they "could not resolve complexities associated with the letter of intent and failed to reach final agreement on the terms of the transaction". Basically, they fell out. Both companies have also stated that they will be looking to build separate networks, but it's difficult to see how WiMAX will be able to ride the storm. Each network created means that WiMAX becomes even more of a hotch-potch technology. "Nobody's really backing away from the notion that they're going to deploy WiMAX," Mike Jude, a senior analyst at Nemertes Research told PC World. "I still think WiMAX is going to be out there, but this...indicates it might not be as extensive as we thought it would be in 2008." The split is sure to have raised eyebrows at Intel, who have invested over $600 million (300 million) in Clearwire - twice the investment of Motorola, another WiMAX advocate. Intel has previously stated - not least on various roadmaps - that WiMAX will be on board the next iteration of its Centrino chipset, due in early 2008. Intel has abandoned plans to integrate 3G. The next Intel platform is codenamed Montevina and it will use one of the new Intel 'Penryn' Core 2 chips. The chip giant will hope that mass adoption of the technology will boost WiMAX awareness and adoption. Just as adding 802.11bg chips to the first Centrino laptops helped establish Wi-Fi. Samsung and Nokia are among other companies which will be keeping an eye on Clearwire's developments. The only recent boost for WiMAX was from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) last month. The UN-backed organisation agreed that WiMAX should be regarded in the same way as 3G and as such should have consistent worldwide spectrum access for WiMAX devices. The UK and beyond The ITU development is a major victory for WiMAX advocates, who have spent the past few years fighting to get access to spectrum, most notably the 2.5-2.69GHz band in Europe. "This decision is highly significant because there is no better way to secure global spectrum access for a technology than to have it recognised by these ITU conferences, which happen only every four years," said Martin Sims, managing editor of PolicyTracker. "It puts Wimax on a firm footing to challenge [fixed broadband] and 3G for mobile broadband services." WiMAX could find its niche in territories where fixed line broadband is impractical. For example, Intel's chairman Craig Barrett recently visited Africa to see how WiMAX could be used to bring broadband to remote parts of the continent. Barrett talked specifically about Nigeria, where there is no copper cabling. "There is only one way to connect to the net and that is using wireless technologies," he said. Perhaps this is the near-future for WiMAX technology. | https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/wi-fi/networking/lan/mobile-computing/laptops/broadband/internet/web/is-there-any-future-for-wimax-137322 |
Are these the world's craziest and scariest bridges? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email WE ALL know that wild weather can make crossing some of Scotlands famous road bridges scary at times. But the likes of the Erskine, Skye and Kessock bridges on wet and windy days pale into insignificance when it comes to some of the other more testing bridges to be found around the globe. And online car repair company ClickMechanic have had some fun researching the worlds craziest and most dangerous bridges. Perhaps one of the craziest (and most unsafe) bridges you are ever likely to see, the Eshima Ohashi Bridge in Japan is not for the faint-hearted. Connecting the cities of Matsue and Sakaiminato, this bridge almost serves as a ramp ending up so high and steep that ships can pass underneath it. If you have a fear of heights, this one probably wouldnt be for you. Possibly the most picturesque bridge in the world, the Storseisundet Bridge in Norway is a sight to behold, curving over the Norwegian sea. As well as its incredible aesthetics, the bridge has a tendency to be battered by high winds and waves from the sea, making it a real challenge for drivers so Scots should feel very much at home on it. The tallest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct in southern France is so high that it will leave your head in the clouds sometimes literally, such is its height, which reaches 1125ft. It won the 2006 Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering highlighting how this bridge stands apart from the rest. The longest sea bridge in the world, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is supported by more than 5000 pillars and stretches for 26 miles. Linking the Chinese cities Huangdao and Qingdao, this bridge took four years to build and proves that, in China, there really is no bridge too far. The crazy Nanpu Bridge in Shanghai shows off Chinas architecture again. Built with the idea of saving land in mind, part of the bridge has a circular design that adds to its appeal. Drivers might get dizzy on this one, but its worth a try. ClickMechanic boss Andrew Jervis said: These five bridges stand out as some of the craziest and most challenging in the world. Drivers worldwide should take the utmost care when driving on these, but also not forget to take in the scenery! | https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/worlds-craziest-scariest-bridges-13897526 |
Can Barbie doll left at murdered child's grave close cold case? | A Barbie doll left at the grave of a child raped and murdered 23 years ago is giving her family hope the toy points to her killer. Rosie Tapia was just six when she was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in August 1995. Her tiny body was discovered several hours after she vanished in a canal near her home. She had been raped. For years it was kept quiet that items had been left at Rosies grave. Among the items were a Barbie doll, her mother Lewine Tapia has revealed. So I just gathered them up and took them home, Tapia told FOX13. Ive had granddaughters growing up and they wanted to play with the doll and I told them no, that was Rosies doll and that stays in the case. So they couldnt touch it. Now, detectives believe the Barbie might finally lead them to Rosies killer. The Utah Cold Case Coalition held a press conference to announce that the gravesite Barbie may be a valuable clue. According to cops, two potential persons of interest have been identified. Both reportedly have a fixation with Barbies. Its a Sweetheart Barbie that was manufactured in 1994, private investigator Jason Jensen told reporters. The announcement came on a week when Rosie would have turned 30 years old. Forensic investigators said a cutting-edge DNA extraction method will be used on the Barbie to try to identify where it came from. If somebody will come forward and say, I know who left that there, or I left that there, then we may be able to confirm that; that might save those resources, Karra Porter, co-founder of Utah Cold Case Coalition, told reporters. Lewine Tapia said shes not getting her hopes up after decades of disappointment but she is praying for divine intervention. Im hoping the Lord will let me live until we find the person who took my daughter, she said. | https://torontosun.com/news/world/can-barbie-doll-left-at-murdered-childs-grave-close-cold-case |
Where does Andrei Kanchelskis rank in Everton FC's all time best Premier League players? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Former Everton winger Andrei Kanchelskis celebrates his 50th birthday today - and the social media post published by the club to celebrate his special day shows how highly thought of the rapid forward was. He only spent 18-months on Merseyside but he definitely made a big impact. He scored 22 goals in 60 appearances, including 16 league goals in his one full season at Goodison Park. And many supporters fans still think he's the best player to turn out for Everton in the Premier League era. The Liverpool Echo writers have given their verdict on the only man in history to have scored in Merseyside, Manchester and Glasgow derby matches. Their results are intriguing! David Prentice 1. Romelu Lukaku In a Premier League popularity poll the Belgian would probably come near the bottom. But in terms of impact he has to be number one. Hes Evertons leading Premier League marksman with 68 goals - amongst an overall haul of 87 goals in 166 appearances. Thats serious marksmanship. Absence may not have made Evertonian hearts grow fonder, but it has certainly underlined the difference he made to the team. 2. Leighton Baines Most great players are judged on the number of great matches they produce. In Baines case you can count the number of great seasons he has produced. He even managed the impressive feat of playing every minute of every Premier League match in a season - twice. Then theres the free-kicks, the partnership with Pienaar, his spot-kick prowess, his ability to raid damagingly down the left .... he has played 409 matches and is still going strong. 3. Dave Watson Maybe not the first name to come to mind in the Premier League era, but despite his best years coming in the pre-PL era, Evertons inspirational colossus played on until 1999! Kevin Ratcliffe once described him as the best centre-half Ive ever played with. Enough said. 4. Andrei Kanchelskis The excitement amongst fans - and players - when Everton signed the Manchester United marksman was palpable. And for one season at least Kanchelskis lived up to the hype. Remember that Blade Runner quote: The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly. Andrei burned briefly but brightly, but it warmed Evertonian hearts. 5. Its a tough, tough call. But in any other poll in any other era Big Nev is possibly second only to Dixie. But by 1992, when modern football began, his athleticism and spring was starting to diminish. But he still exuded authority and presence - witness his 1995 FA Cup final performance and he cant possibly be ignored. Chris Beesley (Image: Howard Walker) 1. Andrei Kanchelskis For me, over two decades on from his time with the club, Kanchelskis remains Evertons best player of the Premier League era - he certainly had the most explosive single season from a Blues player over this period. Ultimately his time at the club was fleeting, but Kanchelskis devastating form in the 1995-96 season inspired Evertons only top-half finish of the Premier Leagues first decade. Highlights included a brace in a 2-1 derby win over Liverpool at Anfield, a winner at Arsenal and a hat-trick at Sheffield Wednesday. Those former two feats still have not been matched by any Everton player. If only hed sustained the kind of displays over a prolonged period then debates like this would surely be redundant, but tantalisingly he was gone all too soon. Ancient wisdom decrees that the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long and that was the case with Kanchelskis Everton career. 2. Romelu Lukaku In terms of impact while at the club, Lukaku is the only serious candidate to come close to Kanchelskis. Wayne Rooneys time with his boyhood club book-ended his Premier League career either side of spending his peak years at Manchester United; Neville Southall was the worlds best goalkeeper but was arguably past his best by the time of the Premier League (although he rose to the occasion in the 1995 FA Cup final) and global greats such as Paul Gascoigne and Samuel Etoo were obviously past their best. Lukaku was Evertons most prolific and consistent striker for a generation, and only now after he has gone are some fans realising just how spoilt they were by having him in their team. Of course his recurring habit for talking about his future was both annoying and disrespectful, and many fans were reluctant to take him to their hearts because of a feeling that Everton was always just a stepping stone, but on-the-field his numbers over a four-year stay were emphatic. 3. Mikel Arteta In terms of providing sheer class in midfield, the best little Spaniard Evertonians knew was peerless and something of a throwback to the fabled days of The Holy Trinity of Howard Kendall, Colin Harvey and Alan Ball in the Blues engine room. His great pal Tim Cahill was a modern-day Goodison icon who epitomised the fighting spirit of David Moyes best sides, but the Basque schemer was a far more gifted footballer in the classic School of Science mould. Cahill wasnt an outstanding passer, tackler or runner, but handily had an amazing knack for popping up and scoring goals. Arteta though oozed quality with his passing range and vision. 4. Leighton Baines The best Everton left-back of modern times. His long and distinguished career as a Goodison Park regular has finally been finished by Lucas Digne this season but before then he was peerless for over a decade. Baines is perhaps second only to England World Cup winner Ray Wilson among all Blues players in his position and certainly offered much more going forward in an era in which the role of a full-back became more expansive. In many ways he helped revolutionise the position at Everton along with his team-mate on the opposite flank Seamus Coleman, who is unfortunate not to make the cut here. Baines ability from dead-ball situations helps to get him the nod though. 5. Joleon Lescott A hugely-controversial choice perhaps but while the Brummie centre-back seems unlikely to win any Evertonian popularity contests given the nature of his controversial departure to Manchester City - now almost a decade ago - I will always maintain that the Blues got the best three years of Lescotts career out of him. Dave Watson was a bona fide Everton legend who of course lifted the FA Cup as captain in 1995, and you could probably count the number of mistakes he made for the Blues in the Premier League on the fingers of one hand, but Lescotts elevation between 2006-09 was remarkable. Concerns over past injuries almost scuppered the deal for a defender who came to the club with no previous Premier League experience, but he quickly established himself as a defensive colossus with a Derek Mountfield-esque knack for scoring too. No wonder he became an England international while at Goodison Park and commanded a 22m fee by the time he left, a price which you could probably treble in todays transfer market. Paul Wheelock 1. Tim Cahill A lot of history has been rewritten about David Moyes time as Everton manager but what cannot be disputed are the wonders he worked in the transfer market. Personally, it has to be the 1.5m Moyes paid Millwall for Cahill in the summer of 2004. With Wayne Rooney soon to depart, Evertonians were in dire need for a hero, and the Aussie would prove to be exactly that over from the next eight years, from the goals against Liverpool and Manchester City to his total commitment to the cause. Few players have got Everton since and it was telling that on the day that Moyes signed off at Goodison, before joining Rooney at United, that the reception Cahill received on the pitch against West Ham was even more rapturous. 2. It speaks volumes that its taken a player of the calibre of Lucas Digne to finally dislodge Baines from the left-back spot. But if and when he eventually leaves Goodison - and his enduring talent means he should be playing regularly - he will go down as Evertons best Premier League defender, for my money, and the clubs second best ever left-back behind Ray Wilson. Those two, unerring free kicks at West Ham not long after he had reacted to Manchester United failed bid for his services with the absolute professionalism that weve come to expect. 3. 2m back in the summer of 2005, after he played a major part in the club qualifying for the Champions League, was scandalously good business. With a technical ability that meant the best little Spaniard we know would not have looked out of place in the Blues finest midfields, it was just a crying shame that he was not part of an Everton team that won silverware. 4. Romelu Lukaku I remember watching Rom in his final season in a blue shirt, and in particular the day he almost single-handedly destroyed Bournemouth at Goodison, and thinking it was just worth cherishing for him as long as possible. Not for his at times surly attitude, nor his seemingly lack of affection for the club, but for his dead-eyed nature in front of goal that made him, in my opinion, the best Everton striker of the Premier League era by some distance. Yes, it now looks like the Blues have got a good deal for the Belgian, particularly in light of his struggles at Old Trafford this season, but had Farhad Moshiri managed to tie Lukaku down to a new contract, then there is every chance that Ronald Koeman would still be in charge now. His departure has left a huge void that Koeman and his successors have been unable to fill. 5. Wayne Rooney Evertonians heard his arrival coming, but few could have expected to see a player so fully formed as the 16-year-old Rooney. There was THAT goal against Arsenal, THAT goal at Leeds, and performances so electrifying that left this writer wondering if hes ever seen a teenager as good live - other than the original, Brazilian, Ronaldo. Then came the pride at seeing one of Merseysides own become one of the most talked about players in the world with his dizzying displays at Euro 2004. It all went sour after that, and some of his behaviour in the red of Manchester United certainly left a bad taste in the mouth, and while his return last season didnt end in the way he had hoped, there was still the goal on the opening day against Stoke and the hat-trick against West Ham. And, at the end of the day, he will go down as one of the greatest English players - and it all started at Goodison. Paddy Shennan (Image: Getty Images Europe) 1. Leighton Baines A brilliant professional, brilliant left back, brilliant left winger, brilliant free kick and penalty taker, scorer of some brilliant goals - and, by all accounts, a brilliant bloke. 2. Andrei Kanchelskis He had a touch of magic about him - especially in his first season, when he scored 16 goals (imagine one of our wide players doing that today), including that beyond-delightful double against Liverpool in the Anfield derby. I know, I know... if only he had been with us longer. If only... - a term tailor-made to be used by Evertonians again and again and again. 3. Mikel Arteta Simply a class act. Arteta, like all classy midfielders, always seemed to be composed and have more time on the ball than others. Coming across that large group of Evertonians singing the Theres nobody better than Mikel Arteta... song outside the team hotel in Nuremberg (as the team were trying to get an afternoon kip!) will live long in the memory - as will Artetas passing ability, eye for goal and all round skills. 4. Tim Cahill To be honest, I didnt always enjoy watching Cahill play - I always feared he might get booked for a rash challenge in the first 10 minutes, meaning Id be even more on edge for the rest of the game. But todays team is screaming out for someone like Cahill - a midfielder with an eye for goal (not least in big games) and someone who had an absolute will to win. Well, he is an Aussie. When I think of true characters - true driving forces - in the Everton first team today, I think of Seamus Coleman and, er..... 5. Duncan Ferguson I know, I know - he just didnt play enough games. But when he did, you knew he was there - and, more importantly, opposing defences knew he was there. He put the fear of God into defenders. Like Cahill (and despite not being an Aussie) he had an edge and was desperate to win - especially in derbies, in which he, too, often scored. I know, I know - if only he could have played more. | https://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/andrei-kanchelskis-rank-everton-fcs-15722237 |
Why has Liverpool FC's Mohamed Salah deleted all his social media accounts? | The video will start in 8 Cancel Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has deleted all of his social media profiles. Originally the Egyptian international's Twitter account had disappeared from the social media site but he has now removed his Facebook and Instagram profiles as well. The Liverpool attackers actions come on the back of a cryptic tweet he posted yesterday which came across as a New Years resolution reading: 2019 Resolution: Time to get in touch, for real. Because Salahs Twitter page where the tweet existed has no been deleted, there is no way of viewing it and the handle which was once @MoSalah simply comes up with a Sorry, that page doesnt exist!. On Instagram a page says No Posts Yet and User not found while on Facebook, there are no search results for the African Player of the Year report the Liverpool Echo. The frontman has made a stellar start to 2019 - scoring three goals in his last two games. He also achieved his 50th Premier League goal on Saturday, as Liverpool were victorious in a 4-3 win over Crystal Palace. But his tweet yesterday left many fans baffled as to the true message behind the post. Breaking his social media silence after nearly two weeks, Salah wrote: 2019 Resolution: Time to get in touch, for real. Neither the meaning nor the target of the tweet were immediately obvious. One fan said: Hmmm...wheres this going? Another said: Get in touch with who Mo? However, some fans speculated that Salah may have dropped a cryptic hint that he wants to resolve his dispute with the Egyptian FA. The row first started last year after a photo featured on the outside of the national teams official plane, provided by official sponsor WE - despite his own individual sponsorship deal with rival telecommunications firm Vodafone. Supporters are suggesting that the Liverpool forward is now ready to speak to the association and put the matter behind him. But this is not the first time Salah has posted a mysterious message on social media. Last November, Salah posted a black-and-white picture on his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages of him in his Egypt kit with his head bowed down. Fans speculated on each platform the meaning behind the image and whether it meant he was unhappy to be reporting for international duty. | https://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fcs-mohamed-salah-deleted-15721892 |
What official weight do tweets have? | 1 SHARES Share Tweet SEN. Aquilino Pimentel III asked government officials last Saturday to avoid posting comments on social media on official matters involving their positions in government, in the wake of the imbroglio over the issuance of passports by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Twitter posts by Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. figured prominently in the passport dispute. We are rebuilding files from scratch because previous outsourced passport maker took all the data contract terminated, the secretary said in his personal Twitter account. In another post, he vowed: I will autopsy the yellows who did the passports deal alive. This is called evisceration. Last Tuesday, the secretary tweeted a clarification: Data is not runawayable. But made inaccessible. The DFA thus withdrew its previous call on those renewing their passports to present official birth certificates. Senator Pimentel welcomed the clarification but said the Senate will continue its inquiry as there is another government agency whose service provider also has custody of data. It was at this point that he appealed to government officials not to turn to social media on issues concerning the government as it is hard to retract statements made on Twitter. This is probably the first time there has been some reaction to the practice of tweeting by a Philippine government official. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has been at it for years, commenting on every issue involving his presidency. On his demand for funds to build a wall across the US-Mexico border, Trump tweeted his position repeatedly. In one of his tweets, he said: Were going to have safety. We need safety for our country, even from this standpoint. We have terrorists coming through the southern border. At another time: This isnt about the Wall. Everybody knows that Wall will work perfectly. This is only about the Dems not letting Donald Trump & the Republicans have a win. Among his latest tweets early this month, he said he won perhaps the greatest election of all time and that he has done nothing wrong (no collusion with Russia. It was the Dems that colluded). In still another tweet, he said he had the most successful first two years of any president and that he was the most popular Republican in party history 93%. Most Americans have probably learned to ignore these tweets but they raise question of what official importance should be given them. Normally, presidential statements are taken as official government policy. But there is doubt if these daily tweets on a variety of subjects have any official standing. Senator Pimentel may have had a similar doubt in his mind when he asked Philippine government officials to avoid issuing statements on Twitter and other social media. At the very least, his suggestion merits some study. Related comments | http://tempo.com.ph/2019/01/24/what-official-weight-do-tweets-have/ |
What does '12 years to save the planet' really mean? | It's a number that's been thrown around a lot recently. There's a danger it will be misunderstood. When I wrote about a report suggesting the pace of decarbonization needs to treble, I also mentioned the recent IPCC report which has garnered various versions of the following headline: "We have 12 years to save the planet." This phrase, or something like it, has been bandied about by politicians, journalists and activists alike. In many ways it's a useful framing that drives home the urgency of the situation we face. There is also, however, a strong danger (nay, certainty) that it will be misunderstood and/or misrepresented. So let's first cover what it doesn't mean: 1) It does not mean that we have 12 years before we have to act.2) It does not mean that we have 12 years to completely decarbonize.3) And it does not mean that the fight is over if we fail to reach our target in 12 years. It was misreadings like this that lead to some fun fireworks on Twitter last night, in which famed climate scientist Michael E. Mann dived in to the fray to defend Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from accusations of alarmism: Agreed--that's the right framing, and the @AOC statement is defensible in that context. Some seem anxious to throw her under the bus... https://t.co/hKKVjAtIdc Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) January 22, 2019 What the 12 year figure in the IPCC report does refer to is that, if we are going to have a reasonable chance of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees, we have just over a decade to cut global emissions some 45% based on 2010 levels. We then have another two decades (until 2050) to reach zero net emissions. It's still an astoundingly daunting task. But many argue that the challenges that lie in the way of achieving it are largely political, not scientific. Among all the depressing headlines and scientific reports (of which there are many), there are plenty of bright spots to suggest we could make significant progress if our leaders would put our minds to it. The UK has already brought power-sector emissions to Victorian-era levels. Shenzhen, Chinaa city of 11.9 million peoplehas already transitioned its entire bus fleet to electric vehicles. Norwegian oil demand may be peaking due to electric cars. Both utilities and cities are setting near net zero emissions targets within the timeframe we are talking about. Of course, none of this is anywhere near enough. In fact, Lloyd covered at least one idea of what meeting this target would look like when the IPCC report first came out. But there is more than one way to skin a plant-based cat substitute. What we know is this: A climate movement is stirring and we now need very bold commitments and near-term efforts to move us toward them fast. The "12 year" figure is useful in focusing the mind and spurring us to actionnot least to dispel the myth that we can sit on our hands and engineer ourselves out of the crisisbut it should be understood in context: It simply means we need to move as fast as possible to the most ambitious goal we can muster. Right! | https://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/what-does-12-years-save-planet-really-mean.html |
Is DREAMGIRLS Heading to Broadway in 2019? | An Equity Principal Audition for the production will be held next week at Pearl Studios. An audition listing notes the production will be directed by Casey Nicholaw, produced by Sonia Friedman Production and land on Broadway in 2019/20. Previous casting calls have also noted the production would land on Broadway sometime in 2018. BroadwayWorld previously reported it was rumored that this revival's original West End star, Amber Riley (Glee) was in talks to open the production on Broadway. Dreamgirls, which opened in December 2016 at the Savoy Theatre to widespread critical acclaim, gave its final performance on Saturday, January 12, 2019, completing a run of more than two years. This new production of Dreamgirls was directed and choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Disney's Aladdin and Something Rotten! ), with Set Design by Tim Hatley, Costume Design by Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Sound Design by Richard Brooker and Hair Design by Josh Marquette. The Musical Supervisor is Nick Finlow, the Orchestrator is Harold Wheeler, with Additional Material by Willie Reale. With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards. The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday's 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyonc Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. Related Articles More Hot Stories For You | https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Is-DREAMGIRLS-Heading-to-Broadway-in-2019-20190123 |
Did Bexhill MP mock fellow Tory MPs wig? | A video appearing to show Bexhill and Battle MP Huw Merriman mocking a fellow Tory MP for wearing a wig has gone viral on social media. In the clip, Mr Merriman can be seen behind Michael Fabricant, appearing to gesticulate that the MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire is wearing a wig. He is then seen talking to one of his colleagues before pointing at Mr Fabricant and nodding. He then looks across the chamber and appears to say, Its a wig, oh yeah while continuing to nod. It does not appear as though Mr Fabricant was aware of the exchange taking place behind him. The video has been viewed 22,000 times in an hour. Following the incident, Mr Fabricant said: Its Huw Merriman MP. I realise no-one knows him. A newish member, a little short sighted, and who doesnt yet realise that PMQs are televised, bless. I know people are annoyed about his antics, they have been calling my office, but hell eventually learn how to behave. Sweet. Mr Merriman has been approached for comment. See more: Radio 1 listener claims Battle of Hastings never happened Hollywood stars in Sussex filming for new series of The Crown | https://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/politics/did-bexhill-mp-mock-fellow-tory-mp-s-wig-1-8781673 |
Can Democratic presidential nominees outrun their baggage? | As the Democratic field for president becomes more crowded every day, every life decision and each vote is coming under intense scrutiny. Most candidates have a long history in government and public service, which can sometimes be fraught with missteps and misjudgments. From Joe Biden's treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings to Kirsten Gillibrand's about-face on gun control, many worry the candidates will be tripped up by past actions. PERSPECTIVES Joe Biden was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee during Clarence Thomas' infamous Supreme Court confirmation hearings and refused to allow for a delay in his confirmation vote. He failed to protect Anita Hill from vitriolic questioning and refused to give credence to FBI investigations into Thomas' behavior. Patti Solis Doyle, Biden's campaign chief of staff in 2008, told Politico in September 2018 that while she considers him one of the strongest contenders in the field, his conduct during the Anita Hill hearings could damage his chances. "If Anita Hill believes she's owed an apology, then she's owed an apology, without question. And he should give one," Solis Doyle said. "Certainly, Joe Biden did not do the harassing. Joe Biden ended up voting against Clarence Thomas. But what was done to Anita Hill in those hearings ... it was unseemly. And as chair of the Judiciary back then, he probably should have taken a bigger role in making Anita Hill feel safe and comfortable, and clearly, she did not feel that way." Biden confronts the ghost of Anita Hill Biden has said he stands by the way he conducted the hearings, claiming there was no way he could have prevented members of the committee from asking inappropriate questions. However, he has expressed regret for the way Hill was treated. Per Vox: "Anita Hill was vilified when she came forward by a lot of my colleagues, character assassination. I wish I could've done more to prevent those questions, the way they asked them," he told NBC. "It takes enormous courage for a woman to come forward." He still tops many lists for the most promising presidential candidate. Joe Biden apologizes again about Anita Hill during the Kavanaugh firestorm New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced her intention to run for president on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Gillibrand has branded herself a liberal crusader during her time in the Senate, taking on issues like sexual assault in the military and on college campuses. However, some have expressed concerns about Gillibrand's rapidly changing political views. Before inheriting Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Gillibrand represented a rural district in upstate New York. While in this position, she was much more politically moderate, particularly on gun control. Per the Washington Post: Gillibrand overhauled her political identity during this period, abandoning the conservative positions that made her popular upstate and embracing or even moving further left than the liberal consensus on guns, immigration, Wall Street and same-sex marriage. As the Democratic Party itself moved left, she staked out positions popular with the party's swelling base of liberals, a posture most evident when she called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She has voted against President Trump's agenda more than any other senator. 'I will stand up for what I believe in' Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says -- but what she believes quickly changed as she moved from House to Senate Gillibrand has said her changing opinions were based not on political calculation but on exposure to new people and issues. Per Newsday: "I recognized that my focus on the concerns of my upstate district were not enough, I needed to focus on the concerns of the whole state," she said on CBS. "I met with families who were being torn apart because of policies that I did not have enough compassion and empathy for. So I recognized I was wrong." Gillibrand: Regrets past views but ready for Trump California Sen. Kamala Harris has also thrown her hat into the presidential ring, running as a progressive liberal candidate. But many are worried she is much more conservative than she has been portrayed. Before serving in the Senate, Harris was the attorney general for California, where she had a reputation for running a somewhat hardline law-and-order office. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Lara Bazelon, the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles, noted Harris had frequently fought to maintain conservative criminal justice policies and uphold potentially wrongful convictions. Consider her record as San Francisco's district attorney from 2004 to 2011. Ms. Harris was criticized in 2010 for withholding information about a police laboratory technician who had been accused of "intentionally sabotaging" her work and stealing drugs from the lab. After a memo surfaced showing that Ms. Harris's deputies knew about the technician's wrongdoing and recent conviction, but failed to alert defense lawyers, a judge condemned Ms. Harris's indifference to the systemic violation of the defendants' constitutional rights. Kamala Harris was not a 'progressive prosecutor' Harris' campaign disputes these claims, saying they are taken out of context and imply that Harris had control over the actions of every single prosecutor in the state's office. Lily Adams, Harris' spokesperson, told CNN: "In 2004, when most prosecutors were using a tough on crime approach, Senator Harris was starting Back on Track in 2004 which diverted young people charged with first time drug offenses into apprenticeship and training programs instead of decades long prison sentences. When she was Attorney General, she brought accountability to the system with the first statewide training on implicit bias and procedural justice in the country, body cameras to the agents at DOJ, launched multiple pattern and practice investigations and demanded data on in-custody deaths and police shooting be made available to the public." Kamala Harris takes hits on her criminal justice record The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | https://www.nola.com/interact/2019/01/can_democratic_presidential_no.html |
Was wird aus dem Diakonie-Gelnde in Wildeshausen? | Wildeshausen. Mehrere Huser der Diakonie Himmelsthr in Wildeshausen sollen abgerissen werden. Es gibt verschiedene Ideen, was mit dem attraktiven Gelnde geschehen knnte. "Nicht mehr zukunftsfhig" sind laut dem Regionalgeschftsfhrer der Diakonie Himmelsthr, Jrg Arendt-Uhde, die meisten Gebude der Einrichtung an der Dr.-Klingenberg-Strae in Wildeshausen. Dort leben Menschen in verschiedenen Arten von Betreuung, in Hochzeiten bis zu 411 Personen. Arendt-Uhde erklrt: "Solange es keine Nachnutzung gibt, werden die alten Huser leergewohnt und abgerissen." Jrg Arendt-Uhde, Regionalgeschftsfhrer der Diakonie Himmelsthr Die Diakonie habe jedenfalls kein Interesse, sagt der Regionalgeschftsfhrer. Bereits im kommenden Jahr soll das Haus Cloppenburg dem Erdboden gleichgemacht werden. Das Haus Emsland und das Haus Dmmer knnten folgen. Ausnahmen sind laut dem Regionalgeschftsfhrer zum einen das Haus Herzogin Elisabeth, weil es bereits grundsaniert sei. Das Haus Waldfrieden soll zwar nicht mehr von betreuten Menschen bewohnt werden, knnte stattdessen aber Freiwilligendienstleistenden als Unterkunft dienen. Die Diakonie Himmelsthr verabschiedet sich also nicht gnzlich von der Dr.-Klingenberg-Strae. Was mit den Flchen geschehen soll Durch die Abrisse entstehen freie Flchen auf dem attraktiven Gebiet, das nordwestlich der Kernstadt liegt und von Wald umgeben ist. Ideen, was damit geschehen knnte, liefert das stdtebauliche Entwicklungskonzept "Wildeshausen 2030". Dieses wurde laut Hans Ufferfilge, Pressesprecher der Stadt Wildeshausen, von Politik, Verwaltung und Bevlkerung gemeinsam entwickelt. Ideen fr das Diakonie-Gebiet Das Entwicklungskonzept "Wildeshausen 2030", verffentlicht auf der Website der Stadt , macht folgende Vorschlge fr die freiwerdende Flche an der Dr.-Klingenberg-Strae: ein "Tagungshotel im gehobenen Bereich", eventuell mit angelagertem "Wellness-Hotel mit zahlreichen Naherholungsmglichkeiten" eine "Gruppenunterkunft fr Schulklassen, Betriebs- und Vereinsausflgler", kombinierbar mit Wohnmobilstellpltzen und Camping-Angeboten eine Hochschulen-Auenstelle eine Therapieeinrichtung ein Wohngebiet Dass also Privatleute dort bauen knnten, ist laut Ufferfilge nicht ausgeschlossen. "Die berlegungen mssen aber noch ausgelotet werden", sagt der Pressesprecher. Ein Arbeitskreis, wiederum aus Politik, Verwaltung und Bevlkerung, beschftige sich mit den Vorschlgen. "Es ist noch ein ganz offener Prozess", betont Ufferfilge. Das sind die Plne der Diakonie Himmelsthr Auch die Diakonie nutzt den Umstand, dass die Huser abgerissen werden sollen, um gleichzeitig die Konversion voranzutreiben: Ein Vertrag mit der Aktion Mensch sieht vor, dass sich die Groeinrichtung an der Dr.-Klingenberg-Strae in mehrere, kleinere Wohnangebote umwandelt. Das soll einen Beitrag zur Inklusion leisten. Insgesamt plant die Diakonie Himmelsthr momentan, 240 weitere Pltze umzuwandeln. Dafr sucht sie immer noch Grundstcke und stellt Frderantrge. Den Groteil der Kosten muss das Unternehmen nach eigenen Angaben jedoch selbst aufbringen. Die Aktion Mensch hat laut Arendt-Uhde mittlerweile ebenfalls erkannt, dass die Konversion im lndlichen Raum schwieriger umzusetzen sei. Deswegen wurde der Vertrag zwischen ihr und der Diakonie Himmelsthr bis 2023 verlngert. Anzeige Anzeige Fest steht bereits, dass hinter dem Haus Elisabeth drei neue, barrierefreie Wohngebude entstehen sollen: Jeweils 12 Personen knnen laut Arendt-Uhde dort wohnen. Pro Platz knne man 100.000 Euro veranschlagen, erklrt der Regionalgeschftsfhrer. Das seien bei 36 Wohnangeboten 3,6 Millionen Euro. Zwar werde das Bauen immer teurer, doch: "Wir wollen die Qualitt des Wohnens hochhalten", so Arendt-Uhde. Genutzt werden sollen die Huser von sogenannten stresssensiblen Menschen, also zum Beispiel Autisten. Strae wird geffnet Die Neubauten sollen ber die Dr.-Klingenberg-Strae und den Zuschlagsweg erreichbar sein, weshalb eine neue Zufahrt fr Autos geschaffen wird. Arendt-Uhde will die Anwohner beruhigen: Weil insgesamt weniger Menschen dort leben werden, nehme auch der Verkehr ab. "Wir wollen nicht den Eindruck erwecken, dass wir hier eine neue Anstalt schaffen." Stattdessen sollen die Gebude so aussehen: Weitere Standorte sind etwa Harpstedt, wo im Mrz ein Neubau mit 24 Pltzen eingeweiht werden soll, sowie Hude. Dort ist geplant, die ehemalige Jugendherberge bis Mitte nchsten Jahres umzubauen fr 30 Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung oder Suchterkrankung. | https://www.noz.de/lokales-dk/ganderkesee/artikel/1628113/was-wird-aus-dem-diakonie-gelaende-in-wildeshausen |
Why are we still obsessed with The Wombats Lets Dance To Joy Division? | Think about it. The year is 2007 and youre rocking out with your chums to Lets Dance To Joy Division. Dont pretend you werent. If you were one of those cool kids that got all moody in your angst-ridden years, you probably listened to JDs Love Will Tear Us Apart, so you really felt like you knew what The Wombats were talking about when they sang about dancing to the group. You couldnt name any other song Joy Division released, but it didnt matter you were one of them. Advertisement Advertisement We have no idea so we asked lead singer of the band Matthew Murphy that very question. But he was rubbish help. I have no idea. I guess its just one of those quirky subject matter, he told us, down the phone from LA. I have no idea but Im glad thats still doing the rounds. Back in the day (okay it was 10 years ago, no need to get dramatic, you say) youd easily see a sea of teenagers and punters in their young 20s gazing up at the stage at a Wombats show. Singing back every line through their thick, probably very hairsprayed and backcombed fringes. Not really, its still kind of teenage kids, Murph says as we hear the faint sound of a record scratching in the distance. Then it does get a bit older and into their 40s and stuff. It seems every album [released] weve been having this wave of kids come and see our shows, passed down by their older friends or family or siblings. Its weird, and I put it down to, I think Im like a 34-year-old man with the soul of a 14-year-old girl. Im going to try use that to my advantage. Advertisement Advertisement Speaking of the kids, many an artist shakes their fist at the advent of streaming. Which we can totally blame on the kids. It ruined the era of the CD, they say. It made a recording artists life oh so hard, they squark. Etcetera, etcetera. But for The Wombats, streaming couldnt have been more of a godsend. For the touring band it meant a whole new era of kids were listening to their songs and screaming them at gigs, and as Murph said: Its completely rejuvenated us, I think. Our third album did really well, but when we released it it sounded like a really funky time, no one was buying albums anymore and streaming hadnt really kicked in, he said. After that everything felt great again. Its weird. Almost like it solidified us in a way, kind of psychologically. Its hard to explain, but it was like, oh shit were quite a big band, okay, lets go! The trio is scattered around the globe with Murph living with his wife in Los Angeles, working on some solo tunes, bassist Tord verland Knudsen in Oslo with his young family, and drummer Dan Haggis settled in the UK. But theyre coming back together to take on the mighty Wembley next week and couldnt be more excited. Sorry we mean nervous. Definitely nervous. Were sure theyre excited too. But mostly bricking it. I think Wembleywell probably be shitting it a bit, just because its a momentous venue for any band in their career, Murph laughed. But were very lucky to have the fans we have in the UK. It doesnt matter whether were playing to 200 people or twenty thousand, fans in the UK are insane so we feed off their energy a lot. Advertisement Touted as one of the hardest working bands of the past decade, the number of shows theyve played is countless. Not for lack of trying, however. We want to [count], its a lot of work. Its hard to figure out what constitutes a show, he continued. This last year we did over 200 ticketed shows and I think on album two [The Modern Glitch] we did 250 and came second only to Hozier. Its well into four figures, it would be quite alarming to see. Well take us to church! Theyve outlived the grand indie era of themed-noughties that saw every other band clang about a stage with guitars and a sassy attitude. From The Shins to The Editors and basically every other group with The at the beginning of their name (we jest, hey Vampire Weekend) The Wombats were known not just as cute cuddly marsupials from Australia with square poo they were another band in the mix of so many others competing for our ears. 12 years after the release of their debut album, A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation, theyve still got both eardrums in the palm of their hands with fourth offering Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. And, evidently, have not lost the knack of an expertly-written album name. Advertisement When looking to the future, Murph is keen to emulate the likes of touring mates like Foo Fighters, Weezer et al and figure out how to solve the imminent tension living in the pockets of your mates for 20 years might bring. Im weirdly excited about the struggle and internal bullshit thats going to be going on, he laughed of the groups future. Im interested in that stuff and how it works and how we keep it together. The Wombats biggest UK headline tour to date starts in Glasgow on 24 January, finishing at Londons Wembley Arena on 1 February. Tickets are available here. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Ones To Watch 2019: Sam Fender, Ella Mai and Slowthai lead eclectic mix of artists into the new year MORE: Perfume to bring J-pop to Coachella as BLACKPINK and Hyukoh make history | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/still-obsessed-wombats-lets-dance-joy-division-8381883/ |
When is Pancake Day 2019? | Although weve established that Blue Monday is simply a marketing ploy to sell us things, theres no denying that January can be bleak. Thats why its great that February with Valentines Day and Pancake Day is finally on the horizon. Pancake day isnt on a fixed date and changes each year (although its always on a Tuesday). So, if you want to get your supplies in and start planning your toppings early, heres everything you need to know about when it falls this time around. Shrove Tuesday falls on the seventh week before Easter, and the day before Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent. In 2019, Shrove Tuesday will be on Tuesday 5th February. Shrove is the past tense of the word shrive, which means to present oneself to a priest for confession, penance, and absolution. Shrove Tuesday is the day before people fast for Lent to gain penance from God, hence the name Shrove. It is most commonly observed by Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics. Because theyll be fasting after this, Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday sees people enjoying fatty and rich foods as a last celebration before the 40 days of Lent. Pancakes were historically eaten because they were a way to make use of the rich foods people had before they went bad during the long fast. According to religious texts, the ingredients are also said to represent the four pillars of the Christian faith: Eggs for creation for creation Flour as the mainstay of the human diet as the mainstay of the human diet Salt for wholesomeness for wholesomeness Milk for purity In other countries, they enjoy Mardi Gras instead, which also involves eating plenty of delicious food, but includes more partying and revelry. MORE: Fish and chip shop creates fish and chips so spicy you have to sign a waiver to try it | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/pancake-day-2019-8381989/ |
Which Patisserie Valerie stores are closing? | After ongoing talks have failed, its been confirmed that Patisserie Valerie has gone into administration. The company were in discussions with HSBC and Barclays to extend a standstill agreement on its debts, but these have come to nothing, leaving it with no option but to appoint KPMG as administrator. This comes after their parent company Patisserie Valerie Holdings were rocked by fraud allegations when irregularities were disovered in their books last October. From there, a rescue plan was made to release 15 million in shares, but this has not been successful. The BBC reported that 900 of the 3,000 staff employed by Patisserie Valerie were likely to be lost, with 71 outlets closing immediately, and 122 more staying open for the time being. Will your local store be closing. Find out all the planned closures here. (Picture: Nick Ansell/PA Wire) Cafes to close Bradford The Broadway Brighton 36 East Street Bristol 57 Queens Road Bury 26-28 The Haymarket Chester 31 Bridge Street Chippenham Unit 1b Borough Parade Cwmbran 8 The Mall Derby 2 Crown Walk Doncaster Unit 100, 20 St Sepulchre Gate, Frenchgate Shopping Centre Glasgow B12 Glasgow Fort Glasgow- 18-20 Royal Exchange Square Gloucester 4 Southgate Street Leeds Unit 2 Ground Floor, 8 St Pauls Street Liverpool Unit 1, 35 Whitechapel London 37 Brushfield Steet London 94 Holland Park Avenue London- 44 Old Compton Street, Soho London 24-26 Turnham Green Terrace London 27 Kensington Church Street London 15 Bedford Street London 80 Long Acre, Covent Garden London 215 Brompton Road Manchester 2-4 St Ann Street Newcastle 141 Grainger Street Peterborough 2 Cathedral Square Salisbury 24 Butchers Row Southport 365 Lord Street Advertisement Advertisement Concessions to close Basildon Debenhams Beverley Debenhams Chelmsford Debenhams Edinburgh Debenhams GlasgowDebenhams Hereford Debenhams Liverpool Debenhams London Debenhams, Wandsworth London Debenhams, Westfield London Debenhams, Oxford Street Middlesbrough Debenhams Newport Debenhams Oxford Debenhams Redditch Debenhams Stevenage Debenhams Telford Debenhams Wigan Debenhams Cheltenham Next Hounslow Next Manchester Next Manchester Next Motorway outlets to close BaldockMotorway, Unit 3 Extra MSA Baldock, A1(M) Junction 10 Beaconsfield Motorway, Unit 2, M40 Junction 2 Cambridge Motorway, A14 (M11) Cambridge, Boxworth Peterborough Motorway, Great North Road, Haddon There will also be a number of Druckers store closures, as they are operated by Patisserie Valerie Holdings. These are as follows: Banbury Druckers Birmingham Druckers, Upper Mall West Birmingham Druckers, 100 Great Western Arcade Burton Druckers Cheltenham Druckers Coventry Druckers Dudley Druckers Hanley Druckers Leamington Spa Druckers Leeds White RoseDruckers LeicesterDruckers Manchester Druckers Nottingham Druckers Poole Druckers Redditch Druckers Solihull Druckers Stratford Upon Avon Druckers Tamworth Druckers Wolverhampton Druckers MORE: Woman hit by police car was refugee who was living at nearby YMCA MORE: Santander to close 140 branches putting 1,270 jobs at risk | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/patisserie-valerie-stores-closing-8381626/ |
When did Paul Potts win Britains Got Talent and what is his net worth? | Paul Potts is in with a chance of taking the Americas Got Talent: The Champions crown (Picture: NBC) Americas Got Talent: The Champions faces an epic singing battle in its final after Paul Potts became the latest Britains Got Talent star to make it through. The Welsh opera star will join Susan Boyle in the final on February 18 as they compete for the chance to become the ultimate Got Talent champion. Potts was of course one of the first major stars launched by the long-running series going from being a phone salesman to selling millions of records worldwide. Well, its been a while since Potts first took to a Got Talent stage as he won the very first series of the show, all the way back in 2007. His first audition took the judges by surprise, with Simon Cowell saying: So you work at Carphone Warehouse, and you did that! I wasnt expecting that. Advertisement Advertisement This was a complete breath of fresh air, he added. I thought you were absolutely fantastic. Piers Morgan then tipped him as one of the favourites to win and he was on the money after Potts went on to beat six-year-old singer Connie Talbot in the final. Hes now worth an estimated $10m (7.6m), thanks to such albums as One Chance which topped the charts in nine countries. This time around Potts made it through to the final with a rendition of Italian song Caruso, which earned him a standing ovation and high praise from judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. As well as Boyle, he also joins Angelica Hale, Preacher Lawson, Deadly Games and Cristina Ramos in the AGT: The Champions final. If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/paul-potts-win-britains-got-talent-net-worth-8381455/ |
How many Oscar nominations does A Star is Born have? | Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper have racked up a fair few Oscar nominations. (Picture: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) Taking into consideration the fact that Hollywood has literally heard this story four times already, Bradley Coopers A Star Is Born has done pretty well for itself. Lady Gaga forget to set an alarm to wake up and watch the Oscars nominations With Golden Globe, SAG, Bafta, Critics Choice, and now Oscar nominations to its name, calling this remake of a remake of a remake anything other than a hit is now factually incorrect. Gaga is up for Best Actress for her portrayal of Ally in A Star Is Born. (Picture: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (9919124g) A Star Is Born has been nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards. Advertisement Advertisement These include: Best Picture Lead Actor for Bradley Cooper Lead Actress for Lady Gaga Best Supporting Actor for Sam Elliot Best Adapted Screenplay Best Sound Mixing Best Cinematography and Best Original Song for Shallow There are some who think that Bradley Cooper has been snubbed owing to the fact that he hasnt been nominated for Best Director. Instead, hes up against Christian Bale (Vice), Willem Defoe (At Eternitys Gate), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) for Best Lead Actor. Spike Lee's reaction to BlacKkKlansman's six Oscar nominations is priceless Meanwhile Lady Gaga is facing off against Glenn Close (the wife), Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) for the Best Lead Actress award. Gaga is also the first person ever to be nominated for Best Lead Actress and Best Original Song in the same year with her performance of Shallow, which represents a key turning point in the plot of the film, and features prominently in the trailer. Lady Gaga co-wrote Shallow with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt. She also co-produced it with Benjamin Rice, and co-performed it with Bradley Cooper. If youre keen to watch the move, you can get A Star Is Born on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Monday 11 February 2019. Youll also be able to watch the Oscars live on the dedicated Sky Cinema Oscars channel. And you dont have to have a Sky subscription to watch all you need is a Sky Cinema Pass on NOW TV, which you can get for free if youre a new customer, or for 9.99 a month if youre not. Advertisement Advertisement The 2019 Oscars will begin at 1am (UK time) on Monday 25 February. MORE: Oscars open to Kevin Hart hosting 2019 ceremony after Ellen DeGeneres interview MORE: Killing Eve release date, plot and cast as Sandra Oh hosts Golden Globes | https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/23/how-many-oscar-nominations-does-a-star-is-born-have-8380744/ |
Is Tijuana prepared for the next caravan? | With a new caravan on the way, Tijuana government officials have not given much thought to avoiding the chaos that arrived in November with 6,000 Central American migrants. Well, lets hope they dont come here, said Leonardo Neri, a federal volunteer and the coordinator for a temporary migrant shelter on the eastern outskirts of Tijuana. Neri said operations at El Barretal are winding down as most of the remaining migrants have found work and alternate living arrangements in Tijuana. He said no plans have been made about whether it will be reopened or used as a shelter when or if the next caravan arrives. At other shelters across Tijuana, resources remain strained, volunteers are weary and conditions are crowded. Beleaguered aid workers are barely able to look up from one dire situation to the next. Meanwhile, remnants of a current caravan from Honduras crossed into Chiapas as recently as Saturday. Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastlum issued a statement this week refusing to apologize for the initial shelter conditions when migrants arrived in November, saying his primary obligation is to the residents and City of Tijuana. Tijuana city officials insist the caravan was a federal responsibility from the start. The previous caravan arrived in the city at a unique time when we were in a period of transition in our federal government. That will not be the case with this next caravan, said Cesar Palencia, the citys Director of Migrant Assistance. It took the last caravan three weeks to get to Mexico City, but from there they began arriving in Tijuana seemingly overnight by bus. Tijuana city officials scrambled to set up an emergency shelter in an open-air sports arena that quickly became overcrowded and then flooded. We warned from the beginning that we did not have the resources to deal with this amount of people, said Palencia. But, still we gave them shelter and food and provided medicine from the very beginning of their arrival in Tijuana. When Mexicos new president Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador was sworn into office, the federal government took over operations, and conditions and resources improved at a new, bigger shelter across town. Palencia said if the federal government is not able to keep the caravan in Chiapas with work, as promised, it will be their responsibility to once again make decisions about how to coordinate resources and safeguard the migrants. I believe the position of the government of Tijuana is that the obligation for the large caravan has to be with the federal government because we do not have the resources and we do not have the personnel to adequately provide for everyone, said Palencia. Food nearly ran out during a two-day stretch near the end of November and some children reported not getting to eat for days. Nonprofit leaders credit Tijuana city officials with communicating how dire the situation was at Benito Jurez, the first city-run shelter. At least, we did not see them sugar-coating the conditions on the news, said Leti Guzman, who was among a coalition of non-profit volunteers and the Comisin Estatal de Derechos Humanos who publicly asked the mayor to apologize. No, Im not going to apologize, Gastlum responded, according to El Sol de Tijuana. Better, Id say that the federal government, the Latin American governments and all those people who are against the people of Tijuana, apologize to us. Guzman said the response was expected. She said she did not anticipate operations will run more smoothly with the next caravan and was bracing for the possibility they may be worse with resources already strained and volunteers weary. Tijuana is doing bad itself with the cartels and the politics of Tijuana and we see a lot of opposition from the residents. Its really hard in this scenario. I think its hard to address this in a way that satisfies all sides, she said. Migrants faced violence with Tijuana residents first throwing rocks at them while they slept in the downtown city shelter and then canisters of tear gas when they later moved to the federally run shelter outside of town. Two young Honduran teenagers were brutally killed. To their credit, leaders said Mexicos National Employment Service did well matching local companies in Tijuana with Central American migrants looking for work. They helped 2,900 migrants process their applications for humanitarian visas and operated a six-day a week federal job fair to help many find employment in Tijuana. | https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/migrant-caravan/sd-me-caravan-lessons-20190122-story.html |
Could Adirondack Whiskey Help Cure A Cold? | There really no real cures for common colds. However, you will benefit a lot from a bit of whiskey. Healthy Food House reports that you can relieve the inevitable winter cold with the help of a combination of lemon juice, honey, and whiskey. Using this combination with Adirondack 601 , and a few other ingredients, you can make a "Hot Toddy" drink. The alcohol dilates blood vessels a little bit, and that makes it easier for your mucus membranes to deal with the infection." Note that excessive alcohol intake will not make you feel better, it will leave the body dehydrated. Here is how to prepare this Hot Toddy: | http://wour.com/adirondack-whiskey-cold/ |
Is Tesla Special? | An interview with Sandy Munro and a look at Bolt cooling and electrical systems illustrate some of what makes Tesla both different and special. Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) $52 billion market cap is way too high for a small volume carmaker that has only recently started to make money and faces huge financial challenges and an army of short sellers in the marketplace. If Tesla were any other company, it would have a tenth the market cap, if it were not already in bankruptcy court - at least according to some. Investors long or short Tesla shares, as well as those considering a position, need to understand what makes Tesla special in order to measure the risk and value the opportunity of a Tesla investment. Tesla makes outstanding electric cars. The acceleration and range of Tesla's Model S, X and 3 are legendary, and while one can (and many do) nitpick at things like door gaps and sparse interiors, there is no denying that Tesla cars sell. When Model 3 was announced, the better part of half a million people put down reservations for it, a remarkable achievement for any new car model. Perhaps the more remarkable thing about Tesla cars is that, in the six years since Model S was delivered, there has yet to emerge a single serious Tesla competitor. This isn't for lack of trying on the part of legacy ICE carmakers. Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) has been improving its LEAF. General Motors (GM) introduced the Bolt. Jaguar now offers the I-PACE electric CUV. And, there are still more electric cars already in the market or on the way. But still no 'Tesla Killer' from the legacy ICE carmakers. Legacy carmakers have money, factories, experience making cars beyond anything available to Tesla. Legacy carmakers can buy batteries, motors, electronics, and they do for the electric cars they make today. Tesla's battery partner Panasonic sells batteries, so if Tesla's batteries are better, presumably competitors could buy some. Tesla has opened up their patents for use by any company who wants to copy what Tesla does. On the surface, it would seem that most any legacy carmaker can deliver a Tesla competitive electric car anytime they feel like it. And, seeing those hundreds of thousands of reservations for Model 3, it is hard to imagine companies like BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY), Daimler (OTCPK:DDAIF) and VW (OTCPK:VWAGY) not wanting to at least show up to play as Tesla attacks their key market segments. But still no Tesla killers out there... One is left asking why Tesla competition have been no-shows in the market. Tesla longs attribute this to Elon Musk's magical abilities, combined with legacy carmakers amoral proclivity for pillaging the planet. Tesla shorts argue regulation, bad economics and that in spite of having far greater skill, experience and resources legacy carmakers just can't make work what Tesla does every day. Neither of these arguments is especially compelling. To get a handle on Tesla's prospects for future, investors need to know if Tesla has something legacy carmakers lack that could make a difference for the company, the cars, and the shareholders. I believe I have stumbled on Tesla's secret sauce. Autoline Daily published an extended interview with Sandy Munro whose engineering firm performed a detailed teardown and analysis of Tesla's Model 3 electric car. The panel interviewing Mr. Munro includes auto industry experts John McElroy and Gary Vasilash and Bloomberg analyst and sometime Tesla critic, David Welch. For current and potential investors, this interview is worth watching even though it is nearly two hours long. The interview details both good and bad aspects of the Model 3 design. It is informative for investors because the discussion takes place very much in the mindset of traditional auto industry experts. Here is some of what was said about Tesla's Model 3. BIW - Sandy Munro is adamant. Tesla did a horrible, bordering on incompetent job designing Model 3's Body In White - the basic structure of the car. It's grossly over-designed, heavy, excessively complex, and unnecessarily hard to build. The poor design of the BIW is what is holding back Model 3 production and resulting in fit problems (non-uniform panel gaps) on Model 3. Other electric cars on the market coming from legacy carmakers have much better, smarter, lighter, easier to build structural designs than Model 3. Model 3 may have great crashworthiness. So does a Sherman tank. - Sandy Munro is adamant. Tesla did a horrible, bordering on incompetent job designing Model 3's Body In White - the basic structure of the car. It's grossly over-designed, heavy, excessively complex, and unnecessarily hard to build. The poor design of the BIW is what is holding back Model 3 production and resulting in fit problems (non-uniform panel gaps) on Model 3. Other electric cars on the market coming from legacy carmakers have much better, smarter, lighter, easier to build structural designs than Model 3. Model 3 may have great crashworthiness. So does a Sherman tank. Suspension - Elegant design delivers great handling. Model 3 handling outclasses LEAF, Bolt, i3 and others. - Elegant design delivers great handling. Model 3 handling outclasses LEAF, Bolt, i3 and others. Electronics - Best ever seen. Tesla's Model 3 electronics are better and more sophisticated than competitors. - Best ever seen. Tesla's Model 3 electronics are better and more sophisticated than competitors. Cooling - Simpler, more integrated. Model 3 cooling system has far fewer hoses than competitors. - Simpler, more integrated. Model 3 cooling system has far fewer hoses than competitors. Wiring - Best. Model 3 has fully 40% fewer harnesses than competitors owing to smart architecture and thoughtful placement of systems and equipment. - Best. Model 3 has fully 40% fewer harnesses than competitors owing to smart architecture and thoughtful placement of systems and equipment. Battery - Model 3's battery has the best design/lowest manufacturing cost of any electric car battery yet seen. - Model 3's battery has the best design/lowest manufacturing cost of any electric car battery yet seen. Motor - Model 3 uses an IPMSR motor with innovative Halbach Array magnets. This sophisticated motor is lighter and less costly than motors in the LEAF, i3 and Bolt while providing Model 3 much greater power. In short, Tesla screwed up the BIW and soundly beat the competition on everything else. Sandy Munro spoke with several people at Tesla, including Elon Musk, and he offered that Tesla isn't going to make this mistake again. Munro expects to see Model 3's BIW cleaned up when it goes into production in China and Model Y to have a clean, weight-efficient, highly manufacturable body when it enters production. The things that Tesla does better than its electric car competitors - suspension, electronics, cooling, wiring, battery and motor - are the keys to making low cost, high performance electric cars. And Tesla has others beat in all these key areas with Model 3. Sandy Munro offered a hardware example that helps answer both of these questions. The Model 3 coolant reservoir (aka Superbottle) seems like a pedestrian part, but it embodies both why and how Tesla is beating competitors. David Tracy of Jalopnik has written an article that delves into the details of Model 3's Superbottle. The Superbottle incorporates a couple of circulation pumps, a control valve and a heat exchanger for chilling the coolant via the air conditioning. It basically rolls all the Model 3 cooling systems into one. Well, no they don't. At established legacy car companies, each thing to be cooled has a fiefdom. The Chevy Bolt, believe it or not, has three cooling systems, each with its own reservoir, circulation pump, etc. This video explains the three cooling systems used in the Bolt and shows off the many connecting hoses, components, mounting brackets and how they are installed. This engineer finds it painful to watch the kludge unfold... The significance of the simplified Model 3 cooling system lies only in part with the cost savings and ease of assembly the Tesla design achieves. What is at least as important from the perspective of shareholders is Tesla's ability to implement an integrated design that spans what would be traditional automotive manufacturer fiefdoms. And, this isn't something limited to the Model 3 cooling system. This video shows the high voltage electrical system for the Bolt to be the obvious product of fiefdoms with module after module after module interconnected with orange cable after orange cable after orange cable. No wonder the Bolt lacks a "frunk". What Tesla has that enabled the simplified "Superbottle" cooling system, and fewer cable harnesses, and an advanced Halbach magnet motor, and a superior battery, and wide-ranging over the air updates is a combination of talent and culture. Sandy Munro points out that while legacy carmakers have armies of engineers, Tesla attracts the "Navy Seals" of engineers. The smartest, most driven, most eager engineers are attracted to the challenges and opportunities that surround Tesla and Elon Musk. But talent by itself is not enough. Tesla has a culture that cuts across disciplines in engineering Tesla cars. By considering the whole of the car rather than fiefdom isolated components Tesla achieves simplicity and elegance that translate into more performance, better range and lower costs. An example of Tesla's whole car engineering strategy is using the drive motor and inverter to provide heat when needed to warm the battery. Software in the drive inverter allows the drive motor to be stalled or operated inefficiently to deliberately generate excess heat. This excess heat generated in the drive unit is then conveyed to the battery through the integrated "Superbottle" cooling system. While this approach uses a great deal of hardware 'just to heat the battery', it is all hardware that was needed anyway, and in the end, Tesla eliminates a separate electric heater for the addition of some software that weighs and costs nothing. The hard part is that the inverter engineers, the motor and drive unit engineers, the cooling system engineers and the battery engineers all get involved with the 'solution'. In a company with operating fiefdoms, this would be very, very hard if not impossible to do. Contrast the Tesla solution to that found in the Bolt. The Bolt doesn't have an electric coolant heater. The Bolt has two electric coolant heaters! This isn't just two heating elements that Tesla doesn't have. It is two additional mounting brackets with the attendant additional fasteners, additional coolant hoses to pipe coolant through the two additional coolant heaters with the attendant additional hose clamps; two additional power cables to power the two additional coolant heaters with the associated additional electrical connectors; two additional power switches to control the two additional coolant heaters. And so on. GM has been less than clever with the Bolt cooling and electrical systems and understanding why can tell us a lot about what differentiates legacy carmakers like GM from Tesla. It isn't abject stupidity that drives GM to inelegant solutions for the Bolt cooling and electrical systems. GM employs lots of smart engineers, but those engineers operate under constraints. These constraints which are present at all legacy carmakers derive from the kinds of cars these companies build, how they build them, and how they sell them. These constraints manifest in a culture of fiefdoms that isolate individual car components and systems and the engineers and managers responsible for them. GM has several brands - Cadillac, GMC, Chevy, Buick - and sells through dealerships that handle one or more of these brands. Dealerships are by nature geographically localized and to maximize sales need to address as much 'breadth' of their local market as possible. Cadillac, GMC and Chevy dealers all need a mix of SUVs in small, medium and large size. Cadillac, Chevy and Buick dealers need a variety of sedans. GMC and Chevy dealers need a several sizes of pickup trucks. As a result of needing to support geographically localized dealers, GM must make a wide variety of different vehicles. Making a large variety of cars, trucks and SUVs efficiently dictates use of common components where possible to increase volumes and lower cost of these components. Engines, windshield wiper motors, brake boosters, power steering, water pumps, transmissions, gas caps and many other components are frequently shared across vehicles because doing so reduces cost. Big car companies with the problem of building lots of "different" vehicles naturally evolve organizations with the mission of optimizing cost for each system or component through increasing commonality of use across the company's products. These are the fiefdoms, and their mission is to fight any change, variation or alteration of design that might reduce component commonality and hence the volume manufacturing (or purchasing) efficiencies that it is their duty to defend. This built-in cultural imperative to suppress design variation works diametrically against any effort to implement design optimization of the vehicle as a whole. How cars, SUVs and trucks are assembled at legacy carmakers is also an impediment to whole vehicle optimization of electric cars. In many cases, legacy carmakers are or plan to make their electric vehicles alongside similar ICE product, sharing assembly lines. For a legacy carmaker that needs to make both electric and ICE cars for the foreseeable future, common production lines with the flexibility to shift between electric and ICE product is attractive. But using common assembly lines imposes constraints on electric car design. The Bolt is built at GM's Orion assembly plant in Michigan where it shares the line with the Sonic ICE car. The Sonic has a front engine compartment into which the engine, cooling system, and many engine-related components are installed and connected together with a variety of hoses and electric cables. The Orion assembly line naturally has stations where various things are bolted to the Sonic engine compartment and hoses and cables are installed. Designing the Bolt to have a bunch of modules that get bolted into the "engine compartment" at the front of the car, then connected with hoses and electric cables fits well with the design of the Orion production line. The same workers, working at the same assembly stations where Sonic engine compartment components are assembled, can install the Bolt's several electronics modules and associated cables and hoses. If the Bolt uses a simplified electrical system design with fewer modules, cables and cooling hoses, that would leave assembly workers at the "engine compartment" assembly stations with little to do every time a Bolt came down the assembly line. Of course, that would be no fun at all... Conclusions An industry expert has torn down Tesla's Model 3 electric car and performed a detailed cost analysis of the car and every component. Sandy Munro concludes that while Tesla has a clumsy, heavy, expensive BIW, other elements of the design - motors, cooling, electronics, suspension wiring and battery - outclass competitors. He also concludes Model 3 is profitable to manufacture in its current form and will make Tesla substantially more when the company starts producing it in China. A reason given for Tesla's design success with the Model 3 cooling system is the company's ability to engineer the entire car as a whole, unencumbered by internal engineering fiefdoms found within legacy carmakers. Similar integrated engineering is seen in other aspects of the Model 3 design that enhance performance and range while reducing Tesla's costs. The challenge and excitement of working in Tesla's wide-ranging engineering environment has attracted top engineering talent to Tesla, and the culture at Tesla has allowed the engineering team to deliver exceptional performance and lower costs on Model 3 systems (except the BIW). The component and system fiefdoms at legacy carmakers constrain or prevent whole vehicle design optimizations. These fiefdoms are inherent to legacy carmakers and result from the dealer business model and associated need to standardize components across a wide variety of vehicles. Absent dramatic changes to legacy carmaker business models, the imperative to standardize components and resulting internal engineering fiefdoms will limit the ability of these companies to match Tesla designs. Tesla is able to focus engineering effort across the entire vehicle, unencumbered by internal fiefdoms. This situation is the result of the company's focus on electric vehicles, and it makes Tesla both different from competing legacy companies and very special. Tesla enjoys a significant competitive advantage in the ability to optimize their car designs absent the impediments posed by internal engineering fiefdoms. This advantage both results in better car designs and creates an engineering environment that attracts top engineering talent. Because legacy competitors have internal engineering fiefdoms that result naturally from their business models Tesla's advantage is likely to be durable for the foreseeable future. And this makes Tesla special and provides a strong moat against competition. Disclaimer These writings about the technical aspects of Tesla, electric cars, components, supply chain and the like are intended to stimulate awareness and discussion of these issues. Investors should view my work in this light and seek other competent technical advice on the subject issues before making investment decisions. Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. | https://seekingalpha.com/article/4234960-tesla-special |
What is the EU Settlement Scheme? | Getty Images A scheme to process the applications of European Union (EU) citizens currently living in the UK to allow them to remain in the UK after Brexit is going live. From 21 January 2019, people will be able to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. Anyone currently living in the UK who is an EU citizen will have to apply to it by 30 June 2021 in order to be allowed to stay in the country. Successful applicants will be given either settled or pre-settled status. Anyone who doesn't apply by this deadline when they should have will no longer be living in the country legally. The government says this is a "voluntary test phase" and the scheme will become fully open to applicants on 30 March 2019. The EU Settlement Scheme has proved to be controversial as lots of people say that it won't work in the way that the government say it will. They also feel lots of people may lose their legal status to live here when they don't deserve to. The government says it is a good way to organise people living here legally, while also allowing the UK to control its immigration more. Find out more about the scheme below. The scheme is being introduced because from 11pm on 29 March 2019, the UK will no longer be an EU country. This means that people from other EU countries living and working in the UK will not legally be allowed to stay here after this date without applying successfully through the scheme. One of the key parts of being a member of the EU is that EU citizens can easily move to live and work in other EU countries. This is called freedom of movement and, as part of its plans for Brexit, the British government wants to leave this policy. Getty Images Citizens of EU countries are free to go to live, work and study in other EU countries Some critics of the scheme and supporters of the freedom of movement believe the positive language being used to describe the Settlement Scheme doesn't reflect potential problems with it, both in terms of its fairness and whether it will work properly. But the government says that having more control over who can come to live and work here is an important part of why people voted for Brexit. After the UK has left the EU, people from EU countries will no longer will able to freely live and work here in the way they could beforehand. It is thought that there are about three million EU citizens living in the UK who will need to apply for the scheme, which the government says will cost about 170 million. Originally EU Nationals who wanted to stay in the country would need to pay a 65 fee, but that has been scrapped and the application is now free. By 30 June 2021, all of these people will need to go through the process if they want to remain in the UK. Anyone who is a citizen of an EU country currently living in the UK and who wants to carry on living in the UK, will need to apply to the scheme - even if they are married to someone British. Adults will need to apply on behalf of children, as children need to go through the process too. Getty Images EU citizens currently living in the UK who would like to carry on living in the UK will need to apply to the Settlement Scheme The scheme also includes citizens of Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, even though these are not EU member states. Successful applicants will be granted either settled or pre-settled status. Ministers have said that EU nationals who have lived in the UK for five years by the end of 2020 will be granted settled status, unless they have serious criminal convictions or there is a security reason why they can't stay. During those five years, they need to have spent at least six months of each year in the UK. People who are granted settled status will only need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme once. Settled status will grant a person the same rights to healthcare, education, benefits and pensions as a British citizen. If somebody from an EU country lives in the UK, but has not been here for the five years that the scheme requires, they can be given something called pre-settled status. This will allow them to stay in the UK until they hit the five-year mark. Then, they will need to claim settled status. Critics of the scheme have said that it will be difficult to verify information like how much of one year a person has spent in a country or how long a person has lived somewhere, so some do not think the plan to decide people's statuses will work properly. How to apply for settled status To apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, people need to fill in a form online, via post or by using a smartphone app. However, people who use Apple phones won't be able to use the app as it only works on Android phones. Getty Images People who use iPhones will not be able to apply using the app as it only works on Android phones Ministers have said it should only take a few minutes to complete. They say this avoids the need for people to complete lots of paperwork. Applicants will need proof of three things: ID (e.g. a valid passport or national identity card) Residence in the UK (unless they have a valid permanent residence document or something called indefinite leave to remain or enter the UK) Relationship to a family member from the EU living in the UK, if they want to come to the UK from outside the EU They will also need to provide information about any criminal convictions, as well as a recent digital picture of themselves. In June 2018, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that it should take no longer than two weeks for people to get a decision, but many critics do not think this is realistic. Last year, Mr Javid said there would have to be "a very good reason" for an application to be refused and that the idea was, generally, to grant settled status wherever possible. Those who do not support the process do not think that it will be as simple as this, though. Getty Images Last year, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said there would have to be "a very good reason" for an application to be refused If an application is rejected, the government has said an applicant would have 28 days from the date of their decision to apply for an administrative review, if they're eligible for one, but not everybody will be. They also might have to pay to appeal the decision, although the money could be given back to them if - for example - their appeal is successful. There are a lot of question marks about how exactly this scheme will work given that Parliament has not been able to agree on a course of action for Brexit yet. Theresa May is still trying to convince MPs to approve her Brexit deal. Back in August 2018, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was asked whether the UK could promise a future for EU workers in the UK if there was no deal. He replied that in the "unlikely eventuality" that the UK faced a no deal Brexit, the UK would "move swiftly to secure their position". "There's no question that we're going to see EU citizens turfed out. We've made that clear in the past. I've made that clear in the past, I'm happy to give that reassurance today." Getty Images When asked about EU citizens in the UK when he was Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab said: "There's no question that we're going to see EU citizens turfed out" The government has repeatedly said it will guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently living in the UK. But many groups representing EU citizens say the way the government has talked about them and confusion over the plans is causing many people to fear and mistrust the government's plans. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, then the arrangements for British citizens living in EU countries have not been fully worked out. Governments in EU countries have said that UK citizens living there would be treated in a similar way to how the UK government treats EU citizens living in the UK. Supporters of the scheme believe it is the best way to ensure that EU citizens are able to stay in the UK legally, even once the UK is no longer a member of the EU. But many people have been critical of the scheme as they say that it needs to be improved to avoid thousands of people in the UK ending up without legal status. They say that the Windrush scandal shows the dangers if the scheme goes wrong. They say that, if - by mistake - an adult doesn't register a child, then that child could lose his or her legal rights through no fault of their own. Some say that it will be very difficult to verify information that people provide. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46937812 |
Who is Stefanos Tsitsipas? | Getty Images Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open tennis tournament. He beat Roberto Bautista Agut to continue his brilliant run, which included a victory over six-time champion Roger Federer in the previous round. At 20 years and 168 days, Tsitsipas is the youngest man to reach the last four of a Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic in 2007. He will face Spain's Rafael Nadal or American Frances Tiafoe next. Grand Slams are the most important competitions in tennis. There are four Grand Slam tournaments - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. No Greek man had ever reached the world's top 100 until the then teenager cracked it in October 2017, never mind anywhere near his current ranking of 15. Here is Newsround's quick guide to Stefanos Tsitsipas - tennis's rising superstar! Sporting family Instagram / @stefanostsitsipas98 Stefanos with his father Apostolos (left) and his mother Julia (right) after winning his first ATP title at the Stockholm Open in 2018 Born in Athens, Greece, Stefanos comes from a family that loves tennis. His mum Julia, who's Russian, was a professional player and former world junior number one. While his Greek dad, Apostolos, was trained as a tennis coach. "My first memory is to be three and to hit balls with my father in the gap between lessons. I remember watching games on TV, as a baby, I can not tell you who was playing, but I remember watching," he said in an interview with Greek publication, Sport24. Getty Images Stefanos's grandad played football for the then Soviet Union - a collection of Eastern European countries run by Russia Stefanos is the eldest of four children. His three younger siblings Petros, Pavlos and Elizavet are also talented tennis players. His grandad Sergei Salnikov was a successful sportsman too. He won an Olympic gold medal with the Soviet Union football team at the 1956 Olympics. 'Zero fear' Getty Images Stefanos playing as a junior at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2013 The young tennis star nearly drowned while swimming at a tournament in Crete. His father helped to save his life after the water carried him away from the shore. He said that the incident is the reason he has "zero fear" now on court. Social media fan Twitter / @StefTsitsipas Taking a quick selfie in the sea He has his own YouTube channel with 28,000 subscribers, and nearly 400,000 combined followers on Instagram and Twitter. As someone who travels the world playing sport, Stefanos posts a lot about the cool things he gets to do abroad. He's recently visited the zoo in Australia, jetskiied in Cyprus, and got lost in China. Twitter / @StefTsitsipas He posted this photo during a visit to an Australian zoo: "One of the few animals that can smile to you." Greek journalist Vicky Georgatou, who first met Stefanos as a teenager, told the BBC: "He's not like the other guys on their phones, playing games." "He likes to take pictures, he likes to read, he's very different." Shy guy EPA After his third-round win at the Australia Open in 2019, Tsitsipas admitted he did not have many friends in the locker room. "I think I'm comfortable meeting new people and having a discussion with someone," he said when asked about his perceived shyness. "Not many of the players want to be friends on the tour. That's a problem. "But I would love to have more friends on tour." Souvlaki star Getty Images A skewer of grilled souvlaki Stefanos's incredible run at this year's Australian Open in Melbourne has been supported by lots of Greek-Australians fans living in the city. A Greek restaurant there has even promised to honour him with a special dish if he makes the final. Stalactites wants to name a Souvlaki after him - a popular Greek dish made of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. "We'd love for him to choose what he'd like in his souvlaki and even if he wants to come and roll the first one, we'd love that too and we'd definitely put it on the menu for him," managing director Nicole Papasavas told Omnisport. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46949995 |
Did Bella Hadid Have Plastic Surgery? | Bella Hadid's mom Yolanda Hadid just hit up Instagram to post a stunning photo of herself free from allas she puts it"breast implants, fillers, botox, exstensions [sic] and all the bullshit I thought I needed in order to keep up with what society conditioned me to believe what a sexy woman should look like." And she looks amazing! Obviously, the internet would ideally be a no-judgement zone where people can do what they want without being shamed. But sadly that's not exactly how it works. Fans were quick to hop into Yolanda's comments to ask about rumors circulating in some very unkind corners of Twitter/Instagram that Bella Hadid's had a bunch of work done. (Which, if she had, would be no one's business!) But according to Yolanda this simply isn't the case, and she shut sh*t down pretty quickly, writing "none of my children have never done fillers or Botox or put anything foreign in their bodies, they know better after seeing what I went through." Instagram Bella herself has commented on these rumors before, telling InStyle back in May, "People think I got all this surgery or did this or that. We can do a scan of my face, darling." There ya have it. | https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a26004806/yolanda-hadid-bella-hadid-plastic-surgery-rumors/ |
What is vitiligo and why are we talking about it? | To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. Meet Kaiden - the model making a difference For 13-year-old Kaiden, dreams really do come true. The rising star is the face of a new campaign for high street store, Primark. But it hasn't been an easy journey for him to get here. Kaiden has a skin condition called vitiligo - it can be seen as pale patches on the skin. For a long time Kaiden tried to cover up his skin, but now he shows it with pride. Getty Images In recent years, there has been more representation of people with vitiligo in the media and in the fashion industry, but charity Changing Faces feels there is more that could be done. Vitiligo is a skin condition that is often shown through paler patches on the skin. These patches have very little melanin in them. Melanin is what gives our skin, hair and eyes colour. When you have less melanin in your skin it makes you more sensitive to sunburn, so people with vitiligo must be careful to protect themselves when they're out in the sunshine. Vitiligo is a condition that affects 1% of people in the world. But it is very rare that we see people with vitiligo in the media. People like Kaiden and international model Winnie Harlow have found confidence in themselves and the way they look. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. WATCH: Nikki Lilly on how to not let being different bother you Young people often tell us that they never see themselves represented in the media, or in mainstream culture and how this can have a huge impact on their self-esteem. Ensuring that people with visible differences are seen and heard across the fashion industry, in the media and in public life is so important. Statement from charity, Changing Faces But some people are ashamed that they have vitiligo and use clothes and makeup to hide their skin. Changing Faces - a charity that supports people with visible differences on their face or bodies - believe there should be more discussion about conditions like vitiligo. They believe there should be more acceptance and inclusion of people with visible differences in the media. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46963683 |
What was Kindertransport? | Getty Images Thousands of children were transported to safety on the Kindertransport, ahead of World War Two Kindertransport was the name given to the mission which took thousands of children to safety ahead of World War Two (1939-1945). It helped 10,000 children to escape from Adolf Hitler's reign of terror in parts of Europe controlled by the Nazis. It is called this as kinder means 'children' in German. It was an extremely difficult experience for these children as they were told that they would need to leave their family and friends behind - and there was a chance they might never see them again. Their parents were not allowed to go with them. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. Feo's story: 'My mother was supposed to follow me to England - but she never made it' Many had to learn a new language, as they didn't speak English, and lots of Jewish children were sent to live in non-Jewish households. The Kindertransport mission unfolded between November 1938 and September 1939, when World War Two broke out. Getty Images At the time, the Nazi party - led by Adolf Hitler (seen in this picture) - were in power in Germany At the time, the Nazis were in power in Germany - and they were making life unbearable for Jewish people. Laws had been made which discriminated against them and many people were being murdered. On 9 November 1938, there was a night of particularly terrible violence against Jewish people. Ninety-one people murdered, 30,000 were arrested and sent to concentration camps, and 267 synagogues were destroyed. It became known as Kristallnacht - the 'night of broken glass' - because there was lots of smashed glass all over the streets from shops that were raided. Despite the Nazis' brutal regime, many countries had not wanted to take in such a great number of Jewish refugees to save them from what they were going through. But after Kristallnacht, the British government agreed that some Jewish children under the age of 17 could temporarily come to Britain to safety. Over the coming nine months, thousands were rescued. The first Kindertransport from Berlin in Germany departed for the UK on 1 December 1938. Getty Images Thousands of children had to leave their parents behind and many of them would never see them again The first train from Vienna left on 10 December in the same year. When the German army entered Czechoslovakia in March 1939, trains were quickly arranged from here too, and transport also took children to safety from Poland in March and August 1939. The last Kindertransport train to leave Germany departed from Berlin on 1 September 1939 - the very same day that Germany invaded Poland. Britain declared war on Germany two days later. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. Kindertransport: One survivor talks about how Kindertransport saved him Up to 10,000 youngsters from Germany, Austria Poland and Czechoslovakia arrived in the UK. Children as young as five years old and up to the age of 17 were taken to safety. Some of the older children who had been rescued went to live in hostels. Meanwhile, younger children were sent to live with foster families. The government did not pay for the children to be looked after, though. Each child had to have a sponsor to do this. Many parents of children who had been rescued on Kindertransport were killed in the war. So lots of children chose to stay in the UK and build new lives for themselves, as they had no family to go home to. Others returned to their original home, while some rejoined their families who had resettled elsewhere, like in the US. While the number of children rescued might not seem very high when you think that millions of Jewish people - including children - were killed by the Nazis, the story is a very important part of World War Two as it was a matter of life or death for the thousands who were rescued. The children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who were rescued wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the mission which took these thousands of children to safety. There is a statue at Liverpool Street Station in London, where the young refugees arrived 80 years ago. Many survivors have talked about their experiences in order to help people to understand what it was like. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46877532 |
Has Usain Bolt retired from football? | Getty Images World-record breaking sprinter, Usain Bolt, has hinted that a football career might not be his thing after all. The runner trialled with a number of football clubs in 2018 following his retirement from sprint athletics. When asked about how his dreams of entering the football world were going, he said "It was fun while it lasted." Bolt was offered a two-year contract with Maltese club Valletta, but turned the offer down in October. He's suggested he is now going to focus more on his businesses. Getty Images Usain Bolt has won many Olympic records and holds the world record for the fastest 100m sprint in 9.58 seconds! I'm just doing many different things ... the sports life is over, so I'm now moving into different businesses, I have a lot of things in the pipeline, so as I say, I'm just dabbling in everything and trying to be a business man now. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46964441 |
How many Gloucestershire companies made the top 100 for best employers for LGBT people? | Get Daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, Stonewall, has released its 15th annual Workplace Equality Index, listing their top 100 employers in the country for LGBT employees. Stonewall revealed 445 organisations took part in the Index for 2019, their largest to date, and 'span diverse sectors from banking to healthcare, education to law and retail to government.' Collectively, the businesses employ 3.71 million people. The Index reveals that 80 per cent of entrants had an LGBT employee network group, and enabled non-LGBT 'allies' to signal their commitment to equality. However, the survey also revealed that only 14 per cent said there were visible LGBT role models at the board level. The report highlights that positive steps employers are making to prevent workplace discrimination for LGBT people and promote equality; yet it also enforces that there is still much to be done for workplace equality. Stonewall said: "This year, many of our Top 100 Employers have not just led the way within their own organisation, they have also been strong voices campaigning for reform of the Gender Recognition Act, for marriage equality in Northern Ireland, for greater inclusivity in sport and more." Topping the list was international law firm Pinsent Masons, who secured second in the list in 2017 and 2018. Rounding off the top three were law firm Bryan Cave Lieghton Paisner and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service. The full top 100 can be read below. (Image: PUBLICITY PIC) 'One in five target of comments at work' The Index revealed that 41 per cent of LGBT employees had experienced negative comments or conduct from colleagues at work, on at least one occasion, because of their sexual orientation. But it also revealed that 84 per cent of LGBT employees said that if they were a victim of homophobic or biphobic bullying and harassment in the workplace they would feel confident reporting it to their employer. The statistics reveal there is a barrier for LGBT employees, with 11 per cent of LGB and 16 percent of trans employees reported experiencing barriers to career progression. In a positive step, 90 per cent of heterosexual employees said they felt confident challenging inappropriate behaviour and discrimination towards LGBT people in the workplace. (Image: Handout) What Stonewall have said Stonewall Chief Executive, Ruth Hunt, said: "Despite many employers making progress on workplace inclusion, much remains to be done. "Our 2018 'LGBT in Britain - Work' report found alsmot one in five LGBT staff had been the target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues over the last year because they are LGBT. "Employees who are LGBT and black, Asian or minority ethnic, LGBT and disabled, or trans, are likely to face even greater workplace harassment or discrimination. "Six times as many trans people report being physically attacked at work than LGB people who aren't trans. 19 per cent of black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT staff and 16 per cent of LGBT disabled staff report being denied jobs or promotions because of their identity, compared to 10 per cent for LGBT staff in general. The top 100 A number of companies with branches and offices in Gloucestershire have made the top 100, including GSK and banks such as Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and retail stores like Vodafone. The full list is below: Rank Organisation 1 Pinsent Masons 2 Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner 3 Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service 4 MI5 =5 National Assembly for Wales =5 Newcastle City Council 7 Lloyds Banking Group 8 Welsh Government 9 Citi 10 Baker McKenzie 11 Cardiff University 12 Ministry of Justice =13 Environment Agency =13 Intellectual Property Office =15 Dentons UKMEA LLP =15 Royal Navy and Royal Marines 17 Home Group =18 Cheshire Constabulary =18 Skills Development Scotland =20 The University of Manchester =20 Touchstone 22 Manchester Metropolitan University 23 The University of Sheffield 24 GSK 25 Travers Smith 26 Riverside 27 Victim Support =28 Barclays PLC =28 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 30 Nottinghamshire County Council 31 De Montfort University =32 Norton Rose Fulbright LLP =32 Vodafone =34 Fujitsu =34 Hogan Lovells International LLP 36 Lancashire Constabulary =37 Allen & Overy =37 Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board =37 Clifford Chance =37 Golden Jubilee Foundation =37 Taylor Wessing 42 St Mungo's 43 University of South Wales =44 Moody's =44 Nottingham City Homes 46 Bury Council =47 Swansea University =47 Teesside University =47 Virgin Money 50 Bank of America Merrill Lynch =51 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service =51 KPMG UK =51 Linklaters LLP =51 The British Army 55 Tate =56 Department for Education =56 Newham College London 58 North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust 59 DWF 60 Capgemini UK 61 Sheffield City Council 62 Leicestershire County Council 63 Sky UK =64 Credit Suisse =64 JLL 66 Eversheds Sutherland LLP 67 Joseph Rowntree Foundation/Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust 68 Royal Air Force 69 Financial Conduct Authority 70 Slaughter and May 71 Oliver Wyman =72 Leeds City Council =72 Scottish Government =72 University of Brighton =72 University of Leicester 76 Sunderland City Council =77 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust =77 Your Homes Newcastle 79 Aberystwyth University 80 University of Reading =81 City of Glasgow College =81 Sussex Police 83 Trowers & Hamlins LLP =84 Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service =84 University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust =86 MI6 =86 Northumberland County Council =88 Change Grow Live =88 NHS Business Services Authority =88 Northumbria Police 91 ThoughtWorks 92 London School of Economics and Political Science =93 University of Essex =93 University of Oxford =95 Cardiff Metropolitan University =95 Lloyd's =95 Nottingham City Council 98 Gowling WLG UK LLP 99 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service 100 National Crime Agency Their full Stonewall 2019 Index report can be read here. | https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/stonewall-lgbt-wei-2019-employer-2451921 |
Has Sony perfected smartphone face unlock? | As good as fingerprint scanners are, they may not be the slickest way of securing your phone in future. Already companies are exploring alternatives, such as iris scanning with the Samsung Galaxy S8, but the method that might really catch on is 3D facial recognition, and its set to be shown off at the MWC Shanghai tradeshow next week. Its going to be demonstrated on a Sony Xperia smartphone and should prove a lot more secure than the face unlock some Android phones have supported for years, as while that just recognizes a 2D image of your face (and can therefore be fooled by a photo), 3D facial recognition maps your entire head. As well as being more secure, it should also work from more angles, recognizing your face and unlocking your phone even when youre not fully facing the camera. That should also mean users will get fewer fails when trying to unlock their device, and could similarly make it faster and easier to use than an iris scanner, as that again requires you to face the camera at quite a precise angle. Because you dont need to touch your phone to use it, 3D facial recognition could be preferable to a fingerprint scanner at times such as when your fingers are wet or dirty, or you simply dont have a free hand. Whether 3D facial recognition will also be more secure than an iris scanner or fingerprint scanner remains to be seen, but it sounds promising. Coming soon, probably And while theres just going to be a demonstration for now, we might start seeing the tech in phones soon, as the company showing it off is SoftKinect a wholly owned Sony subsidiary. Given that Sony is a major smartphone camera supplier, theres every chance that it will start selling cameras capable of this soon. In fact, its already been rumored that the iPhone 8 will have just such a feature. And packing a 3D depth sensor into a phone opens up other possibilities beyond security, such as mapping indoor spaces and improving augmented reality which is another thing Apples exploring. So this could be the next must-have smartphone feature. Check out the most secure smartphone in the world. Via TechCrunch | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/has-sony-perfected-smartphone-face-unlock |
What could trigger a recession? | If theres another recession, a Florida housing bubble wont be at fault, experts agreed at a Wednesday event on the economy and real estate. It would more likely be a confluence of factors that would slow the economy, experts said. Florida is in a better position than it was at the start of the last recession in 2007. For as strong as this recovery has been in Florida, our growth has not been built around any particular industry, said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo, at a meeting of commercial real estate group NAIOP South Florida, in Fort Lauderdale. The two economists and a real estate expert speaking at the event said they dont yet see any current triggers to a recession, although some economists have forecast one for 2020. Recessions are caused by the build up of imbalances in the economy, and then something happens where people head for the exits. We dont seem to have those imbalances in the economy, said Mark Vitner, Wells Fargo senior economist. If there is a recession, it would likely a "mild or normal" recession that would last about nine months, Vitner said. That could be counter-acted by a slow reduction in federal rates, he said. Mark Troen, senior vice president for Brookwood Group, a real estate advisory firm with Florida operations, said its not one trigger that puts the country into recession. It isnt trade, the government shutdown it will be something else. He pointed to news this week that U.S. home sales plunged 6.4 percent in December, the lowest pace in nearly three years. The biggest problem with all these numbers is theyre out of context. The bigger trigger that puts us into recession we dont know yet, Troen said. Vitner said hell be mostly watching the supply management manufacturing index, which fell to 54.1 in December, its lowest level since November 2016. The index is a measure of activity in the manufacturing sector, which represents the bulk of GDP growth, Vitner said. If it falls below 50, then next Fed move will be to cut interest rates. More than the employment number, thats the most important number. Scott Brown, chief economist for Raymond James Financial in St. Petersburg, said hes concerned about more tariffs on goods from China. The trade policy has been completely misguided, he said. Tariffs are just a bad idea. He said the next round of tariff increases are scheduled to begin in March, and President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on all imported automobiles, which would be very disruptive. You push China and theyre going to push back, Brown said. Vitner said while Trump is playing a dicey game with tariffs, everybody is rooting for Trump in this negotiation with China. Hes fairly close to getting good results, he said. Stocks would rally on that. If its something more meaningful, we would get a bigger rally. And there would be less talk of recession, Vitner said. [email protected] or 561-243-6650, twitter: @marciabiz | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-real-estate-economy-20190123-story.html |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.