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2018: Metro steps in to resolve Basalt Creek dispute
Joint planning of the area between Tualatin and Wilsonville had broken down over several dozen acres of land.
Editor's note: This story is part of the The Times' special series, "Decade in Review." This series features three stories that helped to define each year of the 2010s. These can retell single stories that captivated readers of the time, a saga that played out across many articles, and even stories that were crowded to the margins by other news at the time but have made a lasting impact on our region.
In many ways, Tualatin and Wilsonville are mirror images.
Tualatin is mostly located in Washington County, with part of it jutting into Clackamas County. Wilsonville is mostly located in Clackamas County, but it extends north into Washington County as well.
The cities are of similar population, with Wilsonville a shade under 25,000 and Tualatin closer to 27,000. Their economies share similarities, too: Both cities are located along Interstate 5 and have atypically large industrial and retail zones, making them attractive for manufacturing and high-tech businesses, as well as being regional shopping destinations.
A quiet rivalry between Tualatin and Wilsonville has existed for years. And although the cities appeared to put their differences aside to jointly plan the future of the so-called Basalt Creek planning area, a swath of rugged, unincorporated land in Washington County that lies immediately to Tualatin's south and Wilsonville's north, it was a combination of economic interests and political issues that ultimately kept them from coming to an agreement on their own.
It almost worked out according to plan.
The Tualatin and Wilsonville city councils held an amicable joint meeting in December 2015 on Basalt Creek. They agreed on a resolution for what had been the biggest obstacle in their planning effort to that point: which parts of Basalt Creek each city will be allowed to annex. Southwest Basalt Creek Parkway was designated as the future jurisdictional boundary.
Good — one big issue, resolved through compromise.
A year later, everything seemed to be on track for a joint plan to be approved early in 2017. Tualatin councilors said they would designate much of Tualatin's side of Basalt Creek for residential use, but they would also provide a buffer for their partner city's plan to have industrial development on the Wilsonville side of Basalt Creek.
However, two key things happened after the 2016 election: Paul Morrison, a resident of the Victoria Gardens neighborhood just north of Basalt Creek, was elected to the Tualatin City Council, and Mayor Lou Ogden, until then a reliable advocate for Tualatin's proposed mix of housing and industrial development in Basalt Creek, was persuaded to support Victoria Gardens residents and Basalt Creek property-owners' calls for Tualatin to instead designate a key "subarea" of Basalt Creek for more housing. The Tualatin City Council opted to change its version of the plan.
Wilsonville's leaders protested, as did the Washington County Board of Commissioners. Tualatin was going back on its commitments, they said. Wilsonville officials worried that more housing on the Tualatin side would discourage industrial businesses from building on the Wilsonville side. Tualatin officials and property-owners argued that Wilsonville's concerns shouldn't dictate Tualatin's own plans.
2018 was when the dispute finally came to a head. With a deadlock between Tualatin and Wilsonville over how the so-called central subarea should be zoned, the regional government Metro agreed to step in as an arbitrator.
In May 2018, the Metro Council formally sided with Wilsonville, requiring Tualatin to designate the central subarea — with 42 buildable acres in all — for industrial use.
"The area is close to Interstate 5, has good existing and planned transportation infrastructure, including the Basalt Creek Parkway, consists of relatively large parcels, and is in close proximity to other areas planned and developed for employment uses," wrote Martha Bennett, then Metro's chief operating officer, in her recommendation.
Tualatin officials weren't happy, but they had no choice but to comply. The city shelved its objections and agreed to follow Metro's mandate.
Virtually all of the other issues between Tualatin and Wilsonville had been resolved — many of them for years already by the time Metro completed its arbitration. Although it had been delayed for more than a year by the dispute, the Basalt Creek concept plan was finally adopted by both the Tualatin and Wilsonville city councils in August 2018.
The 847-acre planning area isn't expected to be developed right away. Under an agreement between the cities, Washington County and Metro, Tualatin and Wilsonville will gradually annex pieces of Basalt Creek up to Basalt Creek Parkway, the dividing line that was determined back in 2015. Property-owners won't be forced to sell their land or redevelop it if they don't want to, but as Basalt Creek slowly urbanizes, it will do so along the lines set out in the concept plan.
The first phase of Basalt Creek Parkway itself opened in 2017. The road is set to be extended as far east as Southwest Boones Ferry Road sometime in the early 2020s. | Health insurance renewal time is upon us, and whether you’re researching more cost-effective health plans or researching small business health benefits for the first time, a common question is, “How much does it cost to provide health insurance to employees?”
The cost of providing health insurance to employees depends on a few factors:
The insurance carrier
The type of plan you choose (ex: PPO, HMO, etc.)
The network of providers
Your location
Your contribution strategy
The demographics of your employees (your "employee census”)
If you’re still in research mode and not quite ready to get detailed quotes from a health insurance adviser or health benefits company, you can learn a lot about the cost of employee health insurance by understanding national averages and basic coverage concepts.
Here is a concise breakdown of the cost of providing health insurance to employees.
How Much Does Small Business Health Insurance Cost?
When an employer provides health insurance coverage to employees, the business purchases a plan (or plans) to cover all eligible employees and dependents. This type of coverage is commonly called a “group health insurance plan” or “employer-sponsored health insurance.”
In 2017, the average cost of insurance per employee for family coverage was $18,764 with workers on average paying $5,714 towards the cost of their coverage. In 2018 that number rose to $19,616, a 5% increase. In 2018, workers paid 18% of the cost for single employee and 29% for family coverage (source). Although numbers vary by company and provider, the average costs continue to rise.
How Much Does Insurance Cost for Employers?
$13,927 annually (71 percent of the premium) to cover a family
How Much Does Insurance Cost for Employees?
$ 5,689 annually (29% of the premium) to cover a family
Employee costs are typically taken through a payroll deduction.
Related: How Much Does Group Health Insurance Cost?
Additionally, premium costs with a group health insurance plan may change annually. In fact over 90 percent of employers are seeing rate increases at renewal time, with about a quarter seeing double-digit premium increases.
To minimize or reduce fluctuation in premium amounts, and to control the cost of benefits from year to year, one option is to change contribution strategies.
Controlling Costs with a Reimbursement Strategy
Instead of purchasing a group health insurance policy and paying premiums set by the insurance company, an alternative strategy is to define a contribution amount toward employees’ health insurance. With this type of reimbursement plan, the business:
Sets any contribution amount to employees’ health insurance costs
Allows employees to purchase a health insurance plan (either through a private exchange or the health insurance Marketplaces)
Reimburses employees for their premiums, up to their available balance amount
The cost of health benefits with a reimbursement strategy? Any amount the business can afford.
That being said, many businesses look at the cost of the individual health insurance policies the employees will be purchasing to help set the contribution amounts. In 2016, the cost of individual health insurance for a 40 year old on a Silver plan averaged $351.02 per month or $4,212.24 a year.
Conclusion
On average, the combined cost of providing group health insurance is $6,251 per year for single coverage (2015) or $17,545 per year for family coverage.
To offer more affordable health benefits, one solution is to adopt a defined contribution strategy where employees purchase individual health insurance and are reimbursed by their defined contribution allowance.
In a time of steep annual rate increases for group health insurance, a defined contribution model offers cost predictability and access to quality health insurance coverage.
Do you have questions about how much it costs to provide health insurance to your small business employees? We’d be happy to answer. Leave a comment below. | 1 |
MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 21: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Philippe Coutinho of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and VfL Wolfsburg at Allianz Arena on December 21, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
Philippe Coutinho would be an ideal replacement for Christian Eriksen at Tottenham, but there’s no way Spurs will pay Barcelona’s asking price.
In a perfect world, Tottenham would be able to replace Christian Eriksen with an established star this January. Philippe Coutinho absolutely would fit the bill. Unfortunately for Spurs, Spanish reports linking the Brazilian live wire with a sensational move to North London are purely a ploy by Barcelona officials to drive his transfer value through the roof.
Eldesmarque regards Barcelona selling Coutinho for a small fortune as the key to the La Liga giants’ hopes of bringing Neymar back to Spain. To that end, Barcelona are asking a number of Premier League clubs to pay upwards of £100 million to secure his services next summer.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham are the three English clubs mentioned by name in the Spanish publication. To put it bluntly, one of these clubs is not like the other when it comes to transfer dealings. Spurs have never spent anything close to £100 million on a single player. The chances of them doing so while paying for a state-of-the-art new stadium are almost non-existent.
It’s obvious that Barcelona officials are desperate to keep Coutinho’s transfer stock at its zenith. It’s hard to call his time in Spain anything other than a flop. He failed to show the sparkling attacking characteristics that made him a star at Liverpool during his brief time on the pitch with Lionel Messi and his star-studded team.
Fortunately for Barcelona, his time at Bayern Munich does seem to be going better than his cameos in Spain. He hasn’t fully regained the stardom he enjoyed at Anfield, but he’s been an important cog for the German giants. They might like to retain him for tactical reasons, but it’s highly unlikely Bayern will stump the fee required to acquire him on a permanent basis.
As such, it’s imperative for Barcelona officials to keep big Premier League clubs interested in Coutinho’s services. Tottenham are never going to win the race for the talented No. 10, but their “inclusion” in the bidding will help push clubs like Chelsea or Manchester United to bid against themselves. That’s the game Barcelona are playing here. Spurs will not be a real factor for Coutinho this summer. | Manchester: Pep Guardiola has insisted Manchester City are English football's team of the decade, despite his side heading into 2020 some 14 points behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Statistics appear to prove him right given City have won 13 domestic trophies since 2010, with only Chelsea (nine) within touching distance of that mark.
City have clearly benefitted from the financial clout they have enjoyed since being taken over by Abu Dhabi ownership in August 2008.
City manager Guardiola reached the peak of his powers when he oversaw an unprecedented treble in the 2018/19 season that saw the club win all three major English trophies -- Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup -- in the one campaign as well as the Community Shield.
Even though their league form has been a disappointment in the first half of the current season, Guardiola is in no doubt City are "the" team of the decade in England.
"I think this in the last decade was the best team in terms of points, in terms of goals, in terms of everything, titles even. So congratulate Manchester City for that," he said.
"When we analyse every single day here, what happened day-by-day gives us perspective in what happened in the last 10 seasons, especially when people from Abu Dhabi took over the club and bought good players, interesting managers."
'HUGE ELEPHANTS'
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who joined City in 2016, added: "I think we did it incredibly well.
"People say 'how was 2019?' Now people are saying it is a disaster. We won four titles in 2019, so it was an incredible year for us, we enjoyed it a lot.
"In some games in this last part of the year we have struggled a bit but it was an incredible year for us. Congratulations for all the people working here.
"They were fighting with huge elephants here in England, big, big clubs with the biggest history. For the past decade we were part of them. That is amazing."
Despite their current 'troubles', City could still win any, or all, of the three cup competitions in which they are involved and Guardiola expects the club to remain a major player in the English game in the decade ahead.
"The big clubs here in England are always looking forward, we are going to try and analyse not just in terms of the squad but as a club how we can do better," he added.
"Hopefully in the next decade this club can be here for more time."
In the short term, Guardiola has long since conceded the race for this season's Premier League title to Liverpool and admitted they had to "pray" if they were to win a third successive domestic championship.
But the Catalan manager, who again ruled out being active in the January transfer window, believes his current squad could still have competed for the title had injuries and, he hinted, VAR not sidelined their bid.
"Work harder, play better, and pray," said Guardiola when asked how City can close the gap to Liverpool.
"Liverpool have been incredible, European champions and they have dropped just two points (so far this season), we have to congratulate them.
"But there are things we cannot control, we cannot control what a fantastic team like Liverpool have done so far and there are other issues you cannot control. When everyone is fit we can do it.
"You (the media) know what they are. You know that."
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Press release:
A temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued by Federal Court Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo on December 31 in U.S. District Court in Western New York. The TRO prohibits New York State from enforcing certain actions and imposing penalties upon farmers stemming from a new law scheduled to go into effect today.
It is important to note, the TRO does not impact the law or impact the wages of the vast majority of hourly employees working on New York farms and the payment of overtime, nor was it intended to.
The court action followed a lawsuit filed on Monday, December 30 that would temporarily halt the implementation of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act on January 1, 2020. The suit was filed by the Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA) and the New York State Vegetable Growers Association (NYSVGA) on behalf of the organizations' member farmers across the state, seeking clarity and to ensure they are in compliance with the law’s requirements.
The TRO specifically restrains the state government from enforcing the Act where such actions would impact the status, compensation, and hours of supervisors, family members, shareholders, and administrative and professional employees. The TRO will be in effect for several weeks. If a mutually agreeable settlement is not reached, a preliminary injunction hearing will be held on January 24.
Brian Reeves, President of the New York State Vegetable Growers Association, and owner of Reeves Farms in Baldwinsville (Onondaga County), said, “The ruling in favor of the TRO is an important first step for ensuring the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practice Act is implemented fairly for all who work on farms in New York. We want to protect the rights of all who work on our farms and are so important to our success. We look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to correct the statute to better address the rights of all who work on our farms.”
Jon Greenwood, Chair of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, and co-owner of Greenwood Dairy Farm in Canton (St. Lawrence County), said, “The narrow scope of the TRO ruling will allow us to continue to work with the state to improve language and definitions in the Act. Providing clarity to New York’s farms will help us protect our management teams while assuring family members and others employed on our farms are treated fairly. We look forward to working with the state and court to ensure that the interests of farmers, their families, and employees are represented in the new state law.” | US troops fire tear gas at pro-Iran protesters outside US embassy in Baghdad https://t.co/hZ3KwELvk2 — 4029news (@4029news) January 1, 2020
Protests are continuing today at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Demonstrators are throwing rocks and setting fires.
The Trump administration is boiling this issue down to the U.S. versus Iran. That conflict is at play, no doubt. But you might find this New York Times explanation of the many cross-currents of unhappiness and division there useful. Nothing is simple in Iraq, where U.S. troops have now been deployed for 28 years.
Also: A contingent of Marines has arrived to shore up embassy security.
Advertisement | 1 |
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana mom and son who were devoted fans of Louisiana State University and were on their way to see the school’s football team in the Peach Bowl when they died in a plane crash, will be laid to rest Thursday.
Gretchen D. Vincent, 51; her son Michael Walker Vincent, 15; were on a plane that crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday, killing five of the six people on board.
Most of the five people on the plane who died had connections to a Lafayette-based technology firm, Global Data Systems. Gretchen D. Vincent’s husband, Chris Vincent, is the president of Global Data Systems. Ian E. Biggs, 51, was a pilot and aircraft manager for GDS. Robert Vaughn Crisp II, 59 was vice president of business development and field services for the firm. The sole surviving passenger, Stephen Wade Berzas, 37, also worked for the company as its vice president of sales and marketing. Carley McCord, 30, was also a passenger on the plane and died in the crash. She was a well-known sports reporter and the daughter-in-law of the LSU offensive coordinator, Steve Ensminger.
The Vincents will be remembered at a visitation and funeral service at Our Savior’s Church in Lafayette, Louisiana. In a nod to the duo’s love of the LSU Tigers, guests are being asked to dress in the school’s purple and gold colors.
Gretchen was described in an obituary as a woman with a “magnetic personality, a contagious laugh, and a radiant smile.” She was active in various community activities such as the Junior League of Lafayette and the Ascension Episcopal Church where her son was a student. She hosted weekly Bible studies at her house. The Louisiana native had a special place in her heart for her alma mater of LSU and especially its sports teams. She was a season ticket holder for LSU football for most of her life, the obituary said. And she often traveled to LSU sporting events.
Her son Michael Walker Vincent shared her love of all things purple and gold, according to his obituary. The teenager was an excellent student and planned to major in pre-dentistry at LSU as part of his plans to become an orthodontist. He had also dreamed of becoming a pilot and enjoyed going hunting and fishing in Louisiana, the obituary said. He died one day before his 16th birthday.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Carly McCord’s grieving husband says his “world fell apart” when he received the devastating news of the sports reporter’s death in a plane crash.
Steven Ensminger Jr. said his aunt delivered him the news that his 30-year-old wife died en route to the Peach Bowl in Georgia, where his father was coaching the Louisiana State University Tigers, ABC News reported.
“My aunt Betty called and she told me I need to sit down right now and listen carefully,” Ensminger said. “And that’s when my world fell apart.”
McCord was one of five passengers killed aboard a small aircraft Saturday morning that went down in a parking lot in Lafayette, Louisiana, and erupted in flames, officials said.
Ensminger — who was working while his wife was on the doomed flight — said he has been struggling with accepting that he didn’t respond to McCord’s final text message to tell him that she loved him.
“It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I finally fall asleep,” he told ABC News.
“Every once in a while throughout the day, I find myself grabbing my phone and sending a text to her phone replying, ‘I love you too.’ Now I don’t know if that’s crazy of me or not, but I’m praying she gets my message. And I wish there was a way she could let me know she has,” he said.
McCord’s funeral has been planned for Saturday at St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church in her hometown of Baton Rouge, the Advocate reported.
Her family has asked that mourners donate to a memorial scholarship fund in McCord’s name in lieu of flowers.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. | 3 |
Render the strategic outlook for 2020 into a core conundrum: How goes the new era of great-power competition? Is it to be security confrontation and economic decoupling?
The crystal ball is clouded by rivalry. China and the US are simultaneously close and apart, enmeshed and divided, locked together in contest while musing about trade and technology cleavage.
The region—using either the Indo-Pacific or Asia–Pacific label—slides towards what Peter Jennings calls ‘a riskier, more dangerous reality’. Australia has ruefully accepted that managing great-power competition is now its ‘first priority’.
Tackling the conundrum is the purpose of the annual survey from the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). With 20 country committees, plus the EU and Pacific Islands Forum, CSCAP ruminates from many angles in its 2020 regional security outlook.
The outlook’s editor, Ron Huisken, writes that rivalry between the two mega-states is deepening international division and antagonism:
The present clash between the US and China is arrestingly sharp and deep not only because the stakes are so high and the parties so profoundly different—most critically, perhaps, in terms of philosophies on governance—but also because it has been brewing over several decades of increasingly intimate and complex interaction.
A fundamental question, Huisken writes, is the tools and mindsets states can legitimately bring to the competition. The answer will determine if interdependence can be maintained or if there will be a significant degree of disengagement.
So, contest for sure, cleavage perhaps.
Reporting from the US, Siddharth Mohandas writes that the Trump administration has ‘fundamentally shifted the US–China relationship in a more competitive and even confrontational direction’. The US policy focus on China extends far beyond trade to encompass economic, security, technology and ideological issues that ‘are now increasingly at the centre of American foreign policy’.
In Canberra, Australia’s top diplomat foresees an era of enduring differences with China, calling it the ‘new normal’. The same phrase is used by Mohandas in his final sentence: ‘The evidence of the past year is that instability is not a passing phenomenon but the new normal against which all regional capitals must plan.’
From China, Wu Xinbo writes that Beijing senses Washington’s determination to reorient its ‘policy towards a more competitive and confrontational stance’, pushing China’s ‘trust towards the US to a historical low’. Wu judges that the relationship has gone from cool to freezing:
The Asia–Pacific has entered a period of profound changes set off by shifts in the power balance as well by adjustments of strategy and policy settings by regional players. Managing major power competition and dealing with hot spot issues top the regional security agenda, while Sino-US interactions hold the key.
Wu says Beijing and Washington must delineate the boundary of their intensifying competition:
Robust economic ties benefiting both countries should ‘not be decoupled or seriously downgraded’. Economic interdependence doesn’t prevent contention (‘actually close economic ties tend to be a major source of frictions’) but can be a buffer by raising the cost of conflict.
Both parties need to exercise strategic self-restraint. They should ‘avoid drawing lines and encouraging members of the region to split into rival camps, otherwise the economically most dynamic region will gradually lose its momentum for growth and integration’.
The most urgent issue for China–US security relations is crisis avoidance and management. For that, ‘good communication at the strategic level and effective management at the tactical level are indispensable’.
From Japan, Yoshihide Soeya writes that one benefit of the Trump presidency has been to allow Japan and China to sweep ‘contentious and awkward’ issues under the carpet:
This is because they have bigger tensions and issues with the United States, mostly related to economic and trade negotiations. Since these frictions are not likely to be eased anytime soon, the momentum of improvement in relations between Japan and China is also likely to be sustained for some time to come.
Southeast Asia offers variations on the familiar themes of ASEAN centrality and not having to choose sides in the battle of the giants.
Singapore’s William Choong gives a nuanced account of ‘the blessedness of (not) making a choice’. ASEAN members, he writes, want to be equidistant between China and the US, to ‘avoid stark choices’ in the geopolitical joust. Pressure builds, however, as that equidistant space shrinks. Singapore finds itself walking a ‘narrowing plank’ or ‘narrowing tightrope’.
The readout from Laos, from Sulathin Thiladej, is that the decline of the US and the rise of China are eroding or undermining ASEAN’s centrality and coherence:
ASEAN, as a driver for cooperation in the Asia Pacific, is losing momentum as the region’s centre of gravity shifts from Southeast Asia to China. China’s rise has unsettling consequences for ASEAN centrality, creating new tensions and uncertainties that threaten to break ASEAN’s solidarity and coherence.
Vietnam’s Le Dinh Tinh says the US–China relationship has five levels, running from cooperation to adversary. The expanding competition between the world’s two greatest economies has reached level-four intensity (rivalry):
The notion that these great powers are on a collision course has been circulated in the policy communities of both countries. Rather than greater caution, however, we have seen the two sides toughen their positions and resort to measures hitherto unthinkable.
The view from Australia, from the Australian National University’s Brendan Taylor, says Canberra’s recent bout of ‘strategic anxiety’ awakens old arguments about whether Australia can find its security with Asia rather than from Asia. His chapter begins with the title of a book written 40 years ago by the Oz diplomat, Alan Renouf, The frightened country, describing an anxious nation that saw more dangers than opportunities in Asia.
Donald Trump’s alliance antipathy ‘feeds a deep Australian fear of abandonment’, Taylor writes, and Australia’s security outlook is becoming ‘much darker and apprehensive’.
The sense of apprehension is one outlook shared by the whole region. Great-power contest is here, hauling into view the scenario of economic and technological decoupling.
This article was published by The Strategist. | This year marks one of the most important years for ASEAN’s geopolitical landscape. During the plenary session of the 34th ASEAN Summit in June, all member states agreed to adopt the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The brief five-page document emphasised the ASEAN led mechanism in dealing with strategic issues in the Indo-Pacific region. It could not be denied that one of the most important ongoing issues in the region is still the South China Sea dispute, so will the Outlook help to solve the ongoing dispute?
Initially, the Outlook aims to rebalance the outgrowing interest between major powers in the region. As one of the most dynamic regions in the world, ASEAN has often been a battleground of competing ideas between major powers. The United States (US) Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy is faced-off with the Chinese Belt and Road initiative. Then, there are also other proposals from India, Japan and Australia.
There are at least two reasons this article argues that the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific might help the region in navigating and maintaining the peaceful South China Sea. First, the document may strengthen the ties between Southeast Asian countries. Instead of picking a side in the growing influence in the dispute the document may unify the common perspective of all Southeast Asian countries regarding the rivalry of power.
The current practice shows that the Southeast Asian countries don’t have the same political views on whether to be more US or China driven, the political considerations are more fluid and led by each national interest. Some are more Washington-oriented and others more Beijing. Although the US is not a claimant in the dispute, their strong interest in navigation will lead their presence in the region.
Currently there are two main conflicting interests between the US and China in the South China Sea. China - as the major claimant of the whole South China Sea - is claiming all the islands and maritime features including the so-called “Nine-dash line.” Therefore, China seeks to protect their claimed islands. This includes putting a maritime militia and constructing some of the artificial islands.
On the other hand, the US, as a non-claimant and a non-party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are interested in assuring the freedom of navigation in the region, especially the South China Sea. Through their Freedom of Navigation Program, the US are often sending their warships as assertions of the program.
Source: Various
Therefore, instead of picking a side between two major powers, the Outlook might strengthen the region with their own version on how Southeast Asia should engage with the Indo-Pacific region.
Secondly, the Outlook can set the rules of the game. Although the Outlook is not meant to create new institutions or mechanisms other than the existing ASEAN norms and principles, the document is significant due to the fact that they reiterate the regional commitment in respecting the rule of international law in the region, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Indeed, for the last several decades, since the South China Sea dispute arose, many countries see the dispute as the major threat for the region. The conflict might lead to any unpredictable direction. Therefore, the need for respecting rules of international law is becoming more and more important.
Indeed, if we take a closer look at the document, we surely can see how the Outlook is very much driven by ocean geopolitical affairs. It can be seen by the first area of cooperation, which is the maritime cooperation. The document recognises that the maritime issues such as unresolved maritime disputes have the potential for open conflict. Therefore, cooperation for a peaceful settlement of disputes is very crucial.
Moreover, the document also emphasises promoting maritime safety and security, and freedom of navigation and over flight; addressing transnational crimes, including trafficking in persons or of illicit drugs, sea piracy, robbery and armed robbery against ships at sea.
With this Outlook, all the ASEAN states have agreed to have at least common views on maintaining the peace and security in the region. In general, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific aims to bring the successful ASEAN story in maintain the peaceful in the Asia Pacific region but broader to the Indian Ocean. With all the “ASEAN way” principles, many consider ASEAN as one of the most successful regional blocs in maintaining peace and avoiding conflicts in the region.
Therefore, the Outlook seems to want to bring the successful ASEAN story to the maritime domain, including the ongoing South China Sea dispute.
Aristyo Rizka Darmawan is a Researcher at the Center for Sustainable Ocean Policy at Universitas Indonesia and Fellow at Center for Politics and Transnationalism at Policylab. He obtained his LL.M in International Law from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Related articles:
Policing the South China Sea
Being pro-active in the South China Sea | 3 |
State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus insisted Wednesday that the Trump administration's policy toward Iran is working, following the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iran militia members.
Ortagus said those who attacked the embassy were "terrorists that are organized, trained and equipped by the Iranian regime," not legitimate protesters.
Dozens of pro-Iran militiamen and protesters remain camped outside the compound on Wednesday, one day after militiamen stormed into the compound and smashed windows before pulling back. It was one of the worst attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in years.
NY TIMES TWEET ON 'IRAQI MOURNERS' STORMING BAGHDAD EMBASSY PROMPTS BACKLASH ONLINE
The demonstrators said to be protesting U.S. airstrikes over the weekend that killed 25 fighters. Those strikes were in response to a rocket attack on an Iraqi Army base that killed a U.S. contractor and injured several American troops.
"We have told the Iranian regime countless times, do not confuse President Trump's strategic patience with weakness," said Ortagus, prompting "America's Newsroom" anchor Leland Vittert to ask when Iran's provocations in the region will be met with a stronger response from the United States, such as targeted airstrikes.
"We think our policy is working stronger than ever. The Iranian economy is out of money," said Ortagus, formerly a Fox News contributor.
TRUMP VOWS IRAQ 'WILL NOT BE A BENGHAZI' AFTER IRAN-BACKED EMBASSY RAID
"We're not seeking another war in the Middle East. That's not what we're doing here. But we are holding the Iranian regime accountable and we are protecting and defending ourselves," she added, saying the administration is "completely confident" that the embassy is secure.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, just hours after dozens of Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the embassy attack in Baghdad, President Trump vowed that the situation "will not be a Benghazi" — a pointed reference to the deadly 2012 embassy attack in Libya on the Obama administration's watch, after officials at the embassy had requested enhanced security for weeks.
"It's been handled very well," Trump said as he walked into New Year's Eve celebrations at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "The Marines came in. We had some great warriors come in; they did a fantastic job. They were there instantaneously, as soon as we heard. They came immediately. It's in great shape. This will not be a Benghazi. Benghazi never should have happened. This will never, ever be a Benghazi. ... As soon as we saw there was a potential for a problem, they got in."
Trump added: "Things are in great shape. ... I want to thank the Iraqi government. They really stepped up."'
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Ortagus maintained that the president's strategy with Iran has been effective.
"We can pursue peaceful diplomacy with the Iranian regime while also continuing our maximum economic pressure campaign, while also defending ourselves. ... To say that it's a war with Iran or nothing is just a fundamental misunderstanding of how foreign policy actually works," she said.
Fox News' Lucia I. Suarez Sang contributed to this report. | Iraqi militiamen were back at it again today outside the US Embassy in Iraq, but this time they were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from a new contingent of 100 US soldiers who were deployed to protect the embassy after yesterday’s violent protests:
FOX NEWS – The dozens of pro-Iran militiamen and protesters camped outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were met Wednesday with tear gas thrown by U.S. Marines guarding the compound.
Smoke rose from the building after protesters lit a fire on the roof of the enclosure’s reception area, one day after militiamen stormed into the compound and smashed windows before pulling back.
It was one of the worst attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in years.
The demonstrators were protesting the deadly U.S. airstrikes that targeted an Iran-backed militia over the weekend that killed 25 fighters. Those strikes were in response to a rocket attack on an Iraqi Army base that killed a U.S. contractor and injured several American troops.
By Wednesday morning, the protesters had set up around 50 tents, along with a makeshift clinic. Cooks with aprons were serving meals out of giant pots.
Outside one of the gates, a Shiite cleric recited verses from the Muslim holy book, the Koran, through a loudspeaker.
Elsewhere, demonstrators could be seen hurling rocks over the walls of the embassy compound before U.S. troops responded by firing tear gas from the roofs of the buildings.
Some 100 U.S. Marines arrived at the embassy late Tuesday to bolster security as President Trump has denounced the actions by protesters, vowing the situation in Baghdad “will not be a Benghazi.” | 2.666667 |
New Arsenal, same old Arsenal. There were 87 minutes on the Emirates Stadium clock last Sunday, the score was 1-1 against Chelsea and Arsenal had five men inside the opposing penalty area as they pushed for the winner. The move broke down, Chelsea countered at pace, Tammy Abraham scored what would be the decisive goal and, for the umpteenth time, everybody questioned whether Arsenal had any defensive instinct.
Manchester United are the visitors to the Emirates on New Year’s Day and it will be the showpiece fixture at 8pm, even if the Premier League table shows it is a meeting between 12th and fifth. Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team have kept their season alive by rinsing attack-minded opposition on the break and the United manager would have licked his lips as he pored over the Abraham goal. Do Arsenal have to be wary of United’s rapier-like threat. “Very,” replied Mikel Arteta, the club’s new manager.
Mikel Arteta says he wants ‘committed’ Granit Xhaka to stay at Arsenal Read more
What Arteta wanted to make clear was that Abraham’s stunning late counter was not the result of a structural breakdown in the team he is trying to reboot. When Abraham received the ball out of defence from Willian 10 yards inside his own half, he had two Arsenal players in front of him – David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi – and three in pursuit – Bukayo Saka, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira. Abraham could see Willian flicking on the after-burners to get forward on his right and Mason Mount doing the same on the left.
At that point Arsenal had the situation under control. They had five; Chelsea had three. It was not a case of them overstretching in search of the winner, of a peculiar naivety.
That said, what happened next within a reasonably solid framework was concerning. David Luiz and Mustafi chose not to engage Abraham high up the pitch, rather to retreat and retreat, all the way into their own box. After Abraham popped the ball wide to Willian, David Luiz could not prevent the low cross and Mustafi was then slow to react in the middle. Abraham outmanoeuvred him before shooting low past Bernd Leno. It was also notable that Saka seemed to be cramping up. Unable to move freely, he could not stay with Willian while Guendouzi did not get back at all.
So, even as Arteta tried to take the positives in terms of how his players had “moved the structure” from attack to defence, he could see glaring deficiencies in the one-on-one work and fitness levels.
“It wasn’t a transition where we had a bad structure or a bad organisation, when we are defending big spaces on equal numbers or are outnumbered – it wasn’t the case at all,” Arteta said. “We made one half-bad decision [to back off] and these teams, when in space, they punish you, for sure. But the other option is to defend all the time and be there [in defensive areas] and we don’t want that.”
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Arteta delivered the last line with a smile. Arsenal are a front-foot team, their mindset is to attack and they will remain that way under Arteta’s charge. What he wants is to put a structure in place which will provide numbers on offensive and defensive transitions, allow for options on the ball and spaces between the lines. The early signs in this regard have been encouraging. What he needs to learn is the capacity of the players to operate at his tempo, to make the right decisions and execute them.
The balance of the midfield will be key and, more precisely, how to find a role for Mesut Özil. Arteta’s predecessor, Unai Emery, tried everything with Özil but there was always the feeling that the off-the-cuff playmaker was not a natural fit for his style.
Arteta has given Özil the central attacking midfield platform that he craves in each of his games so far – the draw at Bournemouth and then Chelsea – and there have been positive signs. Özil has created chances, although his ability to do that has never been in doubt. With Özil, it is all about creating an environment; to have him switched on rather than drifting; to find a consistency that has often proved elusive.
Arsenal’s innate fatalism means Chelsea loss may not surprise Arteta | Jonathan Liew Read more
“Mesut is putting in everything he has and his numbers, physically, have improved so much,” Arteta said. “On his own he can’t do it. He needs the collective structure, organisation and his teammates. He needs the team to play in a certain way to facilitate his strengths more and more in the game. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“I put him in the team if I see every day that his attitude, desire and understanding of what we’re trying to do is there. The moment that this changes, then he won’t play.”
Arteta felt a connection between his players and the Emirates crowd during the Chelsea game that “probably for a long time hasn’t been seen”. But will the bitter late twist have an impact on their confidence?
“That’s my worry now,” Arteta said. “I hope the result doesn’t affect them too much. They were all physically blown and disappointed in how the game ended because they didn’t feel they deserved that but we have to move on. They have to respond. This is the challenge.” | Mikel Arteta is searching for his first win as Arsenal manager (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal host Manchester United on New Year’s Day with Mikel Arteta still looking for his first win in charge of the Gunners and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aiming to keep up a run in form that has seen the Red Devils lose just one in their last nine Premier League outings.
Arteta has seen his side draw with Bournemouth and lose at home to Chelsea in his two games at the helm so far, and Arsenal have dropped to 12th in the division as a result.
Manchester United are seven points and seven places better off than the Gunners, and have genuine Champions League ambitions again as they currently sit fifth just four points behind the top four.
The victory at Burnley on Saturday made it back-to-back wins for Solskjaer’s side and also saw them record their first clean sheet since September in the league.
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United have won on two of their last four trips to the Emirates and go into this one as favourites with the bookmakers to pick up three points again.
When is Arsenal vs Manchester United?
The match is on Wednesday 1 January with kick-off at 8pm at the Emirates.
What TV channel is Arsenal vs Manchester United on and is there a live stream?
BT Sport 1 will be showing the game live, with coverage following the Man City vs Everton game.
Subcsribers can stream the action on BT Sport Player or on the BT Sport app.
Arsenal vs Manchester United odds
9/5 Arsenal
13/5 Draw
6/4 Man Utd
Odds courtesy of Betfair
Arsenal vs Manchester United team news
Arsenal are still without Kieran Tierney, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasniac and Calum Chambers through injury, but Arteta is hoping to call upon Hector Bellerin, Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka and Rob Holding, all of whom are facing late fitness tests.
Paul Pogba is still struggling for fitness but could feature for Manchester United, while Scott McTominay, Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly all remain sidelined as well.
Head-to-head in last five meetings 30 Sep 2019 – Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal – Premier League
10 Mar 2019 – Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd – Premier League
25 Jan 2019 – Arsenal 1-3 Man Utd – FA Cup
05 Dec 2018 – Man Utd 2-2 Arsenal – Premier League
29 Apr 2018 – Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal – Premier League
MORE: Michael Owen’s Premier League predictions: Arsenal v Man Utd, Chelsea & Liverpool
MORE: Charlie Nicholas makes Arsenal v Man Utd prediction and backs Nicolas Pepe to shine for Mikel Arteta | 3 |
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter . It’s Monday, Dec. 30. Julia Wick is taking a New Year’s break, so today’s edition is brought to you by L.A. Times Deputy Managing Editor Shelby Grad.
It was the worst maritime disaster in modern California history: On Labor Day, 24 people died in a fire on board the Conception during a weekend diving trip around the Channel Islands. Since then, two questions have been asked over and over: How could this have happened? And how can this be prevented in the future?
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Times reporters Mark Puente, Richard Winton and Leila Miller have spent months trying to answer these questions in a series of investigative stories.
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Among their findings:
— U.S. Coast Guard records over 20 years show the agency repeatedly rejected some recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board for tougher rules, describing the proposals as “unnecessarily burdensome and a duplication of existing requirements.”
— The Conception was one of about 325 small passenger vessels built before 1996 and given special exemptions from safety standards that the Coast Guard imposed on new vessels, some of which required larger escape hatches and illuminated exit signs.
— More than 100 boats in California were grandfathered with weaker safety rules, according to a searchable Times database.
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The reporters’ latest story asks whether the federal rules in place worked. Coast Guard safety rules require at least one crew member roving the vessel whenever passengers are in the bunk area. But even before the Labor Day fire that killed 34 people aboard the Conception, some former captains said this critical rule designed to protect passengers was not followed. “It’s a regulation, but it wasn’t really followed,” one said.
[Read the story: “Before Conception boat fire, some captains say Coast Guard safety rule was ignored” in the Los Angeles Times]
Where is this all going?
In the aftermath of The Times’ reporting, there has been a push to tighten safety regulations. The Coast Guard also said it is now reviewing whether some of the NTSB’s earlier recommendations should be reconsidered. Expect action in Congress in 2020.
And finally, here are biographies of the victims. They were united in tragedy by a love for the sea.
And now, here’s what else is happening around California:
TOP STORIES
The plight of two friends back on the streets shows the challenges L.A. faces not just in getting people into housing, but also in keeping them there. This is the final installment of The Times’ “Street Within” series on homelessness. Los Angeles Times
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Plus:
One rapper’s rise from the streets of Koreatown. L.A. Taco
This is one way L.A. can be more humane. Los Angeles Times
2019 was the year homelessness became a true crisis in L.A. Los Angeles Times
Malibu is trying to ban pesticides. But the coastal city is expecting a big fight, and there are some unexpected foes. Los Angeles Times
How new labor laws in California will change the way many people work. Los Angeles Times
L.A. STORIES
Los Angeles police have stepped up patrols in and around Jewish communities and synagogues after a man stabbed and wounded five people gathered for a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in New York. Los Angeles Times
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L.A. says it is ready to deal with complaints over Hollywood Hills tour vans. But we’ve heard it before. Los Angeles Times
The Grapevine is at the heart of the California freeway system. As the last week has shown, it also remains vulnerable. Los Angeles Times
A snowstorm halted hundreds of vehicles on Dec. 16, 1940, near Gorman on the Ridge Route, a highway between Los Angeles and Kern counties. (Los Angeles Times)
A Christmas tree sparked a fire that killed three people in Hemet. Los Angeles Times
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
The story of PG&E: An investigation examines how weak regulators, poor management, misguided strategies and many errors caused so much destruction. Wall Street Journal
Is prison realignment money being misspent in California? Sacramento Bee
Southern California keeps turning bluer. A look at why. Orange County Register
San Jose’s once-struggling airport is taking off. That could mean an expansion for the Silicon Valley hub. Mercury News
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Another historic newspaper in California is closing. This one has a connection to Mark Twain. Los Angeles Times
California is booming. But Californians are cranky at the end of 2019. New York Times
The Netflix series “You” moved from New York to L.A. and picked up a lot of stereotypes along the way. The creators explain why. Los Angeles Times
Playa del Rey is having a moment. And some say it’s affordable ... if you are moving from Bel-Air. New York Times
San Francisco’s “Beach Blanket Babylon” is coming to an end and might be perfect for this moment in history. San Francisco Chronicle
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: partly cloudy, 66. San Diego: cloudy, 64. San Francisco: sunny, 57. San Jose: sunny, 58. Sacramento: sunny, 60. More weather is here.
AND FINALLY
This week’s birthdays for those who made a mark in California:
Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax (Dec. 30, 1935), Nobel laureate and UC Berkeley cell biology professor Randy Schekman (Dec. 30, 1948), golf pro Tiger Woods (Dec. 30, 1975) Lakers star LeBron James (Dec. 30, 1984) and Snap Chairman Michael Lynton (Jan. 1, 1960).
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us . (Please keep your story to 100 words.) | Here we go again, starting off on a new year and a new decade. The year is 2020, and my vision is too, so here’s what I see coming:
The sea will rise, the ground will shake, the fires will rage, the state will sue the Trump administration every Tuesday and sometimes on Thursday, some people will flee, others will arrive, the cost of housing will rise, the number of homeless people will grow, and the bullet train will not leave the station.
Wait a minute, that was last year’s prediction.
Actually, call me naive, but I’m going to go out on a limb this year and predict a bit of movement in 2020 on new strategies to address homelessness.
Do not misread that. I said “a bit of.” Homelessness is here to stay in California, where wealth drives up prices, we don’t build enough new housing, and far too many people earn wages that don’t cover the rent.
But the public demand for solutions has heated up, and the state is exploring ways to put more roofs over more heads.
And if all goes as planned, a Hollywood pilot program based on an Italian model will begin an ambitious effort to shred bureaucracy and other impediments to housing and serving the area’s most severely mentally disabled residents.
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The project is fraught with challenges, but this early in the year, I’m pretending to be an optimist.
Except when it comes to the Dodgers.
Stop wondering when they’re finally going to win another World Series. I can tell you right now the next victory parade will be in 2038, when Clayton Kershaw’s son is in the starting rotation. The Dodgers signed an $8-billion-plus broadcast deal with the devil in 2013, leaving thousands of loyal fans without TV coverage, and I hereby predict the blackout curse will not end for another 18 years.
The Clippers, however, will win the NBA championship. No, not the Lakers, who don’t work as hard as the Clippers. Write it down and take me to lunch when it happens.
Speaking of lunch, I predict this will be the year the Los Angeles Times corrects a grave oversight and adds Los Tacos, on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, to its list of best restaurants.
This is not food you should eat. It’s food you deserve to eat, especially if you just lost your job, someone left you, or Donald Trump gets reelected.
Go with the #3 combination, and thank the heavens you live in a corner of the world where you can get cheese enchiladas at 3 a.m., should the need arise (open 24 hours, and I once had lunch there with billionaire Eli Broad, I kid you not).
While I’m on the subject of restaurants, I’m reminded of my pet peeve of 2019.
You walk into a restaurant, they ask if you have a reservation, you say yes, and they say “perfect.”
They ask if you’d like tap water or bottled water, you say tap, and they say “perfect.”
They ask if you’d like anything else, you say no just the bill, and they say “perfect.”
My question:
Why?
This is all the more reason to eat at Los Tacos. Nobody says “perfect,” and they might not even talk to you, which is OK.
Another pet peeve of 2019: the New York Times telling Californians how we’re doing or how we’re feeling.
“It’s the End of California As We Know It,” we were informed in October. The NYT explained to us rubes that “at the heart of our state’s rot” is “a failure to live sustainably.”
We are not without sin, but as I pass another electric car, look beyond a cluster of windmills and into the glare of solar farm reflections, huh?
Then, this week, the NYT began its latest doomsday story with a flimsy anecdote about someone who had lived in the Bay Area since 2004, ran for office in San Francisco, lost, and moved to Denver with her family because of California’s many problems.
Good riddance, say I.
“California is at a crossroads,” said the NYT.
Guess what? Everybody is; every city, every state is at a crossroads.
The country is at a crossroads.
We’ve got a president who said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York and get away with it, and it turns out he wasn’t kidding.
A president, I might add, who is actively and aggressively trying to pollute our air and water, who believes scientists are crackpots, who is an inspiration to white supremacists, who has whiffed on all his major campaign promises (a list topped by cheaper, better healthcare for all), but for all that, could still get reelected.
That, my friends, is a nation at a crossroads.
California, to be clear, does indeed have major social and economic problems, which we don’t need help identifying, thank you very much, New York Times. And it also has major assets.
Kind of like New York.
Except that New York doesn’t have our beaches, and in the year 2020, in the noble cause of beach access for all, Gov. Gavin Newsom and I will kayak together from Gaviota State Park to Hollister Ranch.
A few months ago I got a call from Newsom’s office asking if I could meet him in Gaviota, so we could paddle north. I had written about the Hollister residents’ long fight to keep us locked out, and their argument that if the great unwashed want to visit, they can test the often treacherous waters and attempt to visit by sea.
Jerry Brown never asked me to go kayaking. Ronald Reagan didn’t call and say, hey, let’s go for a horseback ride, amigo. Arnold Schwarzenegger never invited me to go hiking (though he once called and asked me to meet him in Long Beach for a cigar, and I happily obliged).
But this year, if Hollister residents continue to flout the public’s constitutional right to access all the state’s beaches, they will have to answer to me and the governor and a motley flotilla of scurvy sea dogs. We will arrive by sea, plant a flag and fight to the death. You read it here first.
Bear with me now, because if you’re stealing a break from the Rose Parade, or a ballgame, or you’re having trouble lifting your head off a pillow, I have just one last observation to share before you embrace the new year.
It’s sad to note that two more newspapers in California have ended their run, as reported by my colleague Brittny Mejia. Sierra County’s Mountain Messenger, once published by Mark Twain, and the Martinez News-Gazette, which I used to read daily, are going out of business.
Those losses — the silencing of voices — are blows to the community and to the mission of keeping the bastards honest.
No newspaper operates without blind spots and deficiencies, but there is no bigger news operation west of the Hudson than the Los Angeles Times, and no greater source of accountability journalism in California.
In this, my 45th year as a journalist, my colleagues in sports, in entertainment, in foreign, national, state and local news, are a daily inspiration, and I’m proud to be their colleague. I’m still a reader first and learn multitudes each day by going online or by turning pages.
Thanks to subscribers for your continued support (and shame on those who read without subscribing). In these tumultuous political times, I’m reminded of the Thomas Jefferson quote on the old Times parking lot in downtown Los Angeles:
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
Happy new year.
steve.lopez@latimes.com | 1 |
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Some prominent youth groups from the Niger Delta were in Kano for a 2-day consultative meeting with their northern counterparts to discuss possible alignments ahead of 2023 election.
The South-south groups were led by the Niger Delta Congress, headed by Comrade Davies Opiri McLean, while the northern groups were led by Northern Emancipation Network, headed by Malam Abdul-Azeez Suleiman.
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In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, it was indicated that issues of national interest were discussed and some positions were jointly adopted.
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“On 2023 elections, though still far away from today, it is not too early to sternly challenge the electoral process, and see the possibility of pulling regional and generational forces to push agenda for a regional or generational shift of power or both.
“The meeting also resolved to mobilize all politicians to develop the highest level of tolerance and a commitment to respect the will of the Nigerian People,” the communique read in part.
Other positions adopted at the meeting included the resolve to work together to explore possibilities of reviving the traditional political partnership between the two regions that thrived during the previous republics.
The meeting also observed the need for national dialogue to “holistically and sincerely” discuss Nigeria before the 2023 elections in view of the widespread criticism against the existing federal arrangement.
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Download Daily Trust News App | The Northern Emancipation Network and the Niger Delta Congress has resolved to work together to explore possibilities of reviving the traditional political partnership between the two regions ahead of the 2023 general election.
In a communique jointly presented to the press and signed by the coordinator Northern Emancipation Network, Abdul – Azeez Suleiman, and a leader of the Niger Delta Congress, Comrade Davies Opiri McLean at the end of its two days consultation meeting, Wednesday, at the famous Munbaiya House, Kano revealed that the groups discussed matters of mutual interest, the economy, growing communal distrust, current security situation, environmental issues, possible alignments in build-up to, and conduct of the 2023 elections and other matters related to the position of the two regions.
The communiqué reads in parts: “In the light of the building apprehension with regards to the elections, the meeting ‘resolved to mobilize all politicians to develop the highest levels of tolerance and a recommitment to respect the will of the Nigerian people.
“The meeting resolved to work together to explore possibilities of reviving the traditional political partnership between the two regions that thrived during previous republics, and to marshall support for a generational shift of power.
“The meeting recalled the understanding between the Northern Peoples Congress and the Niger Delta Congress which was one of the political parties in Nigeria’s First Republic that generated tremendous support from most communities in the Eastern Region.
“This meeting, therefore, resolved to consult further on the possibility of reviving this alliance that thrived throughout the first, second and third republics, and extended well into the current republic.
“The meeting also agreed to device ways of taking comfortable advantage of the window provided by the “Not too Young to Run” act in order to achieve a smooth intergenerational transfer of power.
“The meeting observed that in view of widespread criticism against the existing federal arrangement, the need may arise for a national dialogue to holistically and sincerely discuss Nigeria before the 2023 elections.
“The meeting agreed to work together to ensure that the composition of the delegation to any futuré conference should genuinely represent a serious commitment to holistically addressing the complex problems of the nation, without violating any of the principles of justice, fairness, inclusiveness and equity.
“It noted that any discussion for the future of Nigeria must demand that the obvious imbalance in representation between geo-political zones, age and gender interests be redressed to ensure that issues which may further threaten our peace, security, harmonious co-existence, or which may offend the provisions of the Constitution are avoided.
“The meeting decried the failure by concerned bodies to implement past reports and recommendations on environmental rehabilitation and noted that the current levels of anger and hopelessness among the victim populations are alienating entire communities from government.
“The meeting expressed sympathy with communities affected by environmental degradation and in particular, called on community leaders in the Niger Delta to work hard to expose those forces behind alleged connivance -to deprive the region.
“The meeting expressed major concerns over the seeming reluctance of authorities to commit more to the protection of the lives and properties of citizens.
“While noting that a certain degree of success with the Boko Haram fight is noticeable with the coming of this administration, the meeting however lamented that the shocking level of audacity with which insurgents, bandits, robbers and kidnappers still attack and kill on highways, destroy towns and villages and commit unspeakable atrocities, calls to question the sustainability of the successes. ‘
“The meeting resolved to demand that government improves its willingness to protect citizens all over the country especially in the North East and many other parts of the North”. | 4 |
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.3 per cent to 7,563.62 points, compared with the close on Monday.
[LONDON] European stock markets dropped at the open on Tuesday, the final trading session of a year that has seen large gains for indices.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.3 per cent to 7,563.62 points, compared with the close on Monday.
In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index lost 0.2 per cent to 5,970.37 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 ended its year on Monday, reporting an annual gain of 25.5 per cent following a plunge of 18 per cent in 2018.
Global stock markets have been boosted this year from record highs on Wall Street helped by receding risks of recession and easing China-US trade tensions.
AFP | Global stocks have surged in their best year for a decade after being given new life by interest rate cuts and signs that turmoil over Brexit is coming to an end.
More than $10 trillion (£7.6 trillion) was added to the value of shares around the world as central banks slashed rates and restarted money-printing schemes to battle an economic slowdown.
The MSCI World Index of global stocks has gained 25pc this year, bouncing back from its worst performance in a decade in 2018. This year was the best annual performance for stocks since 2009 and one of the strongest in decades.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 is up nearly 14pc and the mid-cap FTSE 250 has risen 26pc into new record territory, boosted by... | 3 |
A 37-year-old Gustine man was arrested Tuesday after police said he groped a teenage family member in her bed.
The 17-year-old victim told police that Ruben Lucio Flores Jr. climbed into her bed, grabbed her body while he was aroused, the Gustine Police Department said in a statement posted online.
The alleged victim reported the incident at 6:36 a.m. Tuesday. Lucio Flores was arrested within the hour, police said.
He was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of sexual battery, a felony. He was not listed as an inmate Wednesday morning. | Luke McCrone took this video of his brother and father-in-law fighting a fire at a home on Terra Nova Drive in Mallacoota
A convoy of cars and buses will this afternoon be led out of isolated Cann River, which remains without power, ahead of dangerous fire conditions over the next few days.
An alert sent to people in the area, and read to the Herald Sun, said residents could relocate to Orbost - about 70km west along the Princes Highway.
“If you would like to relocate from Cann River to Orbost due to fire danger you can do so today by bus or convoy in your vehicle,” the alert read.
Warren Fenner, from W&J Fenner Logging, has been working alongside Department of Land, Water and Planning staff and timber industry contractors to clear roads around Cann River and Club Terrance that were blocked by fallen trees.
More than a dozen people were stuck in Club Terrace, where homes were destroyed, before the road was cleared yesterday.
“Now we’ve gained access through there, there were fuel and supplies taken in and some people came out,” Mr Fenner said.
“Once we cleared our way in, we had to clear our way back out because of the falling trees.
“We know most residents (in Club Terrace) so they were very happy to see us and be able to get out.”
Mr Fenner told the Herald Sun that work was underway to widen and reinforce containment lines around Cann River ahead of worsening weather conditions this weekend.
“The fire is very fragmented around Cann River so we are trying to put in containment lines,” he said.
“The restoration work has (moved) aside to the preparation work for the weekend.”
“Meet at Cann River School at 3pm.”
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The Fenner family was split on Monday as a string of fires ripped through East Gippsland.
Mr Fenner had been holidaying in Mallacoota with his wife Julieann and two of his three teenage sons but headed to Granite Mountain to move vital equipment to Cann River.
Ms Fenner and the couple’s youngest son, Brayden, 13, returned to Orbost while 17-year-old Lachlan stayed in Mallacoota, where he is now trapped with his girlfriend.
“It was a little bit stressful,” Mr Fenner said.
“My services were better with the equipment. I put faith in other people to look after my family.”
He added: “I was with my yellow family and what you need when there’s a fire is the Caterpillar (equipment) family.” | 1 |
02 January 2020, 07:51
Two forced migrants from Abkhazia, who demand to provide them with housing, stay for the second day in the locked building of the Ministry for Refugees, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. The protesters said they had no money to celebrate the New Year.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since September 2019, internally displaced persons (IDPs, or forced migrants) have been holding their protest actions in the lobby of the above ministry, where they had equipped a "sleeping corner" for themselves. They claim that the money allocated by the state for renting housing is not enough, and demand to provide them with permanent housing.
In the morning on December 31, 2019, Fridron Djodjua, a forced migrant, and Inga Rusiya, another protester, entered the ministry building, while the staff was still at work there. "On December 31, they locked the doors, and we stayed inside. We'll only leave on January 3, when the ministry resumes work," Mr Djodjua told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to his story, on January 3, he and Inga Rusiya will be replaced by other forced migrants, who seek solution of their housing problems.
Protesters have stated that on the 108th day of their protest action, the minister had never found time to meet the settlers.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 1, 2020 at 08:18 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here. | 01 January 2020, 16:21
The interest of the antiterrorist commission of the Elbrus District in the schoolchildren, who refuse to celebrate the New Year because of their religious beliefs is inappropriate in a secular state, lawyers have noted.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the above initiative to collect data about the pupils, who don't celebrate the New Year for religious reasons, caused Facebook users' criticism against officials of the Elbrus District.
Russia is a secular state, and "the principle of secularism does not imply any religion or atheism as a state doctrine," Timofei Shirokov, a lawyer, has commented on the bureaucrats' initiative. "Secularism implies the equality of adherents of various faiths. Also, the freedom of conscience and of religion implies the equality of various believers. This includes, among other things, the right to observe or not observe certain holidays, to participate or not to participate in certain events, based on one's own convictions ... Parents have the right to write complaints about officials' words and actions both to the Ministry of Education and to the Prosecutor's Office demanding to check the legality thereof," the lawyer told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 1, 2020 at 09:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here. | 1 |
In this year’s Cyber Security Predictions, the WatchGuard Threat Lab has imagined the top cyber attacks we’ll see in 2020 and has provided tips for simplifying your approach to stopping them. Even though the threats coming at you won’t be any less intense, complicated, or difficult to manage, 2020 will be the year of simplified security.
1. Ransomware Targets the Cloud
Highlights:
Ransomware is a billion-dollar industry.
Overall volume of ransomware is down, but targeted ransomware against vertical industries is on the rise.
In 2020, targeted ransomware now tries to infect consolidated cloud assets, such as file stores, S3 buckets, and virtual environments.
Ransomware is now a billion-dollar industry for hackers, and over the last decade we’ve seen extremely virulent strains of this malware wreak havoc across every industry. As with any big-money industry, ransomware will continue to evolve in order to maximize profits. In 2020, we believe ransomware will focus on the cloud.
Recently, untargeted “shotgun blast” ransomware has plateaued with attackers showing preference for targeted attacks against industries whose businesses cannot function with any downtime. These include healthcare, state and local governments, and industrial control systems.
Despite its far-reaching damages and soaring revenues, ransomware has largely left the cloud untouched. As businesses of every size move both their servers and data to the cloud, it has become a one-stop shop for all of our most important data. In 2020, we expect to see this safe haven crumble as ransomware begins targeting cloud-based assets including file stores, S3 buckets, and virtual environments.
Security Tips: Do you have cloud security? Virtual or cloud UTM? Asking these questions is where to start. Use advanced malware protection to detect evasive malware. More importantly, consider new security paradigms that allow you to implement security controls, like advanced malware protection, in cloud use cases. Finally, the cloud can be secured, but it requires work. Make sure you’ve hardened your cloud workloads. For instance, investigate resources for properly securing S3 buckets.
2. GDPR Comes to the United States
Highlights:
California has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
A national Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA will not pass in 2020).
In 2020, 10 or more states will pass laws like California’s CCPA.
Two years ago, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, protecting the data and privacy rights of European Union citizens. As of yet, few places outside the EU have similar laws in place, but we expect to see the United States (U.S.) come closer to matching it in 2020.
GDPR boils down to placing restrictions on how organizations can process personal data, and what rights individuals have in limiting who may access that data, and it has already shown teeth. To date, companies have been fined millions of euros for GDPR violations, including massive €50 million and £99 million judgements in 2019 against Google and Marriott respectively. While the burden placed on companies can be intense, the protections provided to individuals are massively popular.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has suffered a social media privacy plague the last few years, with no real GDPR equivalent to protect local consumers. As organizations like Facebook leak more and more of our personal data, which bad actors have used in everything from targeted election manipulation to unethical bounty hunting, U.S. citizens are starting to clamor for privacy protections like those enjoyed by our European brothers and sisters. So far, only one state, California, has responded by passing their California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which goes in effect in early 2020.
Though the same senator who passed CCPA in California has proposed a Federal Consumer Data Privacy Act (CDPA) bill, we don’t think it will gain enough support to pass nationwide in 2020. However, we do expect more and more states to jump onto California’s bandwagon, and pass state-level consumer privacy acts of their own. In 2020, we anticipate that 10 or more states will enact similar laws to California’s CCPA.
Security Tips: There isn’t a specific security tip for this prediction, but you can still take action. Contact your local congressperson to share your opinion on regulations to protect your privacy. Meanwhile, consider the lack of regulation here when sharing your private information online and with social networks.
3. Voter Registration Systems Targeted During the 2020 Elections
Highlights:
Though voting machines are hackable, adversaries won’t spend much time targeting them.
However, external threat actors will go after state and local voter databases with the goal of creating voting havoc and triggering voter-fraud alerts during 2020 elections.
Election hacking has been a hot topic ever since the 2016 U.S. elections. Over the last four years, news cycles have covered everything from misinformation spread across social media to alleged breaches of state voter systems. During the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, we predict that external threat actors will target state and local voter databases with a goal of creating voting havoc and triggering voter fraud-alerts during the 2020 elections.
Security experts have already shown that many of the systems we rely on for voter registration and election day voting suffer from significant digital vulnerabilities. In fact, attackers even probed some of these weaknesses during the 2016 election, stealing voter registration data from various states. While these state-sponsored attackers seemed to draw the line by avoiding altering voting results, we suspect their previous success will embolden them during the 2020 election, and they will target and manipulate our voter registration systems to make it harder for legitimate voters to submit their votes, and to call into question the validity of vote counts.
Security Tips:
While there isn’t a specific cybersecurity tip for this prediction, we do have some voter preparedness tips in the event this prediction comes true. First, double-check the status of your voter registration a few days before the election. Also, monitor the news for any updates about voter registration database hacks, and be sure to contact your local state voter authority if you are concerned. Be sure to print out the result of a successful voter registration, and bring you ID on election day, even if technically unnecessary.
4. During 2020, 25% of All Breaches Will Happen Outside the Perimeter
Highlights:
While working remotely can increase productivity and reduce burnout, it comes with its own set of security risks.
A quarter of all network compromises or data breaches will involve off-network assets.
Mobile device usage and remote employees have been on the rise for several years now. A recent survey by WatchGuard and CITE Research found 90% of mid-market businesses have employees working half their week outside the office. While remote working can increase productivity and reduce burnout, it comes with its own set of security risks. Mobile employees often work without any network perimeter security, missing out on an important part of a layered security defense. Additionally, mobile devices can often mask telltale signs of phishing attacks and other security threats. We predict that in 2020, one quarter of all data breaches will involve telecommuters, mobile devices, and off-premises assets.
Security Tips: Make sure you’re as diligent implementing off-network protection for your employees as you are perimeter protection. Any laptop or device that leaves the office needs a full suite of security services, including a local firewall, advanced malware protection, DNS filtering, disk encryption, and multi-factor authentication, among other protections.
5. The Cybersecurity Skills Gap Widens
Highlights:
Universities and cybersecurity trade organizations are not graduating qualified candidates fast enough to fill the demand for new information security employees.
The cybersecurity skills gap grows by 15%.
Cybersecurity, or the lack of it, has gone mainstream. A day doesn’t seem to go by where the general public doesn’t hear of some new data breach, ransomware attack, company network compromise, or state-sponsored cyber attack. Meanwhile, consumers have also become intimately aware of how their own personal data privacy contributes to their own security (thanks, Facebook). As a result, it’s no surprise that the demand for cybersecurity expertise is at an all-time high.
The problem is, we don’t have the skilled professionals to fill this demand. According to the latest studies, almost three million cybersecurity jobs remained unfilled during 2018. Universities and cybersecurity trade organizations are not graduating qualified candidates fast enough to fill the demand for new information security employees. Three-fourths of companies claim this shortage in cybersecurity skills has affected them and lessened their security.
Unfortunately, we don’t see this cybersecurity skills gap lessening in 2020. Demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals keeps growing, yet we haven’t seen any recruiting and educational changes that will increase the supply. Whether it be from a lack of proper formal education courses on cybersecurity or an aversion to the often-thankless job of working on the front lines, we predict the cybersecurity skills gap to increase an additional 15% next year. Let’s hope this scarcity of expertise doesn’t result in an increase in successful attacks.
Security Tips: While the available cybersecurity workforce won’t appear immediately, you do have options to help create and manage a strong cyber defense. Taking a long-term view, you can work with your local educational institutes to identify future cybersecurity professionals so that you might fill your open roles first. In the short term, focus on solutions that provide layered security in one solution, or work with a managed services provider or managed security services provider to whom you can outsource your security needs.
6. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Becomes Standard for Mid-sized Companies
Highlights:
2020 will bring increased adoption of MFA among mid-sized companies.
We’ll also see wide-spread adoption among all service providers, and even privileged or admin accounts at all businesses.
We predict that multi-factor authentication (MFA) will become a standard security control for mid-market companies in 2020. Whether it’s due to billions of emails and passwords having leaked onto the dark web, or the many database and password compromises online businesses suffer each year, or the fact that users still use silly and insecure passwords, the industry has finally realized that we are terrible at validating online identities.
Previously, MFA solutions were too cumbersome for mid-market organizations, but recently three things have paved the way for pervasive MFA, both SMS one-time password (OTP) and app-based models, among even SMBs. First, MFA solutions have become much simpler with cloud-only options. Second, mobile phones have removed the expensive requirement of hardware tokens, which were cost-prohibitive for mid-market companies. And finally, the deluge of password problems has proven the absolute requirement for a better authentication solution. While SMS OTP is now falling out of favor for legitimate security concerns, app-based MFA is here to stay.
The ease of use both for the end user and the IT administrator managing these MFA tools will finally enable organizations of all sizes to recognize the security benefits of additional authentication factors. That’s why we believe enterprise-wide MFA will become a de-facto standard among all midsized companies next year.
Security Tips: This tip is simple – implement MFA throughout your organization. Everything from logging in to your laptop each day to accessing corporate cloud resources should have some sort of multi-factor authentication tied to it.
7. Attackers Will Find New Vulnerabilities in the 5G/Wi-Fi Handover to Access the Voice and/or Data of 5G Mobile Phones
Highlights:
Wireless carriers that manage 4G and 5G networks often hand off calls and data to Wi-Fi networks to save bandwidth, particularly in high-density areas.
In 2020, flaws in this cellular to Wi-Fi handover process will allow attackers to access the voice and/or data of 5G mobile phones.
The newest cellular standard, 5G, is rolling out across the world and promises big improvements in speed and reliability. Unknown to most people, in large public areas like hotels, shopping centers, and airports, your voice and data information of your cellular-enabled device is communicated to both cell towers and to Wi-Fi access points located throughout these public areas. Large mobile carriers do this to save network bandwidth in high-density areas. Your devices have intelligence built into them to automatically and silently switch between cellular and Wi-Fi. Security researches have exposed some flaws in this cellular-to-Wi-Fi handover process and it’s very likely that we will see a large 5G-to-Wi-Fi security vulnerability be exposed in 2020 that could allow attackers to access the voice and/or data of 5G mobile phones.
Security Tips:
Most mobile devices don’t allow the users to disable cellular to Wi-Fi handover (also known as Hotspot 2.0). Windows 10 currently does, however. If unsure, individuals should utilize a VPN on their cellular devices so that attackers who are eavesdropping on cellular to Wi-Fi connections won’t be able to access your data. For businesses looking to enable Hotspot 2.0, make sure your Wi-Fi access points (APs) have been tested independently to stop the six known Wi-Fi threat categories detailed at http://trustedwirelessenvironment.com. If the APs block these threats, attackers cannot eavesdrop on the cellular to Wi-Fi handoff. | A new year typically brings new legislation, and in the U.S., laws addressing everything from plastic bags to recreational marijuana are now in effect or will go into effect soon. Here are 10 new laws taking effect.
1. Oregon bans single-use plastic bags
Some bans or restrictions on single-use plastic bags have been passed at the local level, others at the state level. One of those states is Oregon: on January 1, retail stores and restaurants will no longer be allowed to provide single-use plastic bags, although they can offer paper bags as an alternative if they charge least least five cents for them.
2. 22 states raise their minimum wages
Although the United States’ federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009, states and cities are free to raise their minimum wages — and in 2020, 22 states now have higher minimum wages, including New Mexico and Washington.
3. At least 8 states have higher fees for electric vehicles
In 2020, at least eight states have either increased their fees for electric vehicles or introduced new fees for them — and they range from $50 in Hawaii to $200 in Alabama and Ohio.
4. California enacts data privacy law
In California, the California Consumer Privacy Act will give consumers more control over how companies share their information with other companies. And the law affects not only California-based companies, but also, any companies doing business in California.
5. Illinois allows recreational marijuana use
Illinois will be the 12th state in the U.S. to allow adults to purchase or smoke marijuana recreationally. And in Hawaii, possession of small amounts of marijuana will be decriminalized in mid-January.
6. New York eliminates cash bail for nonviolent offenses
A new law in New York will eliminate cash bail for defendants charged with minor offenses or non-violent felonies. The goal is to reduce the number of people in pre-trial detention.
7. Victims of sexual abuse will have longer to file civil lawsuits
A new California law expands the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, allowing victims to file civil lawsuits up until the age of 40 or five years from the time the abuse was discovered.
8. Floridians will be fined for texting while driving
Under a new Florida law, those caught texting and driving will be fined $30 for non-moving violations and $60 for moving violations.
9. California forbids discrimination against black hairstyles
Under the Crown Act, California becomes the first state in the U.S. to forbid employers or school officials from discriminating against black hairstyles such as afros and braids.
10. Colorado law increases gun restriction
Under Colorado’s new “red flag” law, family members and law enforcement officials can petition a court to temporarily take a gun away from an individual they believe to be a threat to themselves or others. | 1.333333 |
Don’t make a sound. Image : Paramount Pictures ( YouTube
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It’s not just monsters they have to watch out for anymore. The first trailer has arrived for A Quiet Place Part II, the sequel to John Krasinski’s surprise horror hit, which sees Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) and her family venturing beyond their home and finding that sound-detecting creatures aren’t the only threat.
Directed and co-written by Krasinski—returning to his behind-the-scenes role from the first film—the sequel comes after Ev elyn, her kids, and their new baby managed to survive an encounter with the monsters that hunt by sound... partially thanks to the sacrifice by the Abbott family patriarch, played by Krasinski. At the end of the film, the family discovered that Regan Abbott’s (Millicent Simmonds) hearing aid emitted a frequency that could temporarily paralyze the monsters, giving the family a fighting chance out in the bigger world.
Determined to survive, the silent but deadly family is heading out into the world to find others and hopefully band together. But that might not go as well as they’d like, as some of their fellow survivors—which include Djimon Hounsou and a survivalist played by Cillian Murphy —may present a different threat to the Abbotts. But that’s not all: As we see in the trailer, we’re also flashing back to the terrifying origin of the monsters, which may help shed some light on the overall mystery.
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A Quiet Place Part II arrives in theaters on March 20, 2020.
For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom. | A Quiet Place had a grim, sci-fi ending, and one that didn’t demand a sequel. But John Krasinski’s tightly wound horror movie also over $340 million worldwide, making it instant franchise material.
The first trailer for A Quiet Place Part II brings us back into a very silent world overrun by winged creatures who attack the slightest sound. Previously, a sparse teaser revealed the return of the Abbott family.
The sequel picks up shortly after the original, as the Abbott family rallies after the death of their father (Krasinski) and their discovery that high frequency noises hurt the fearsome creatures. Emily Blunt reprises her role as Evelyn Abbott, with Millicent Simonds as daughter Regan and Noah Jape as son Marcus. Joining the cast are Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy) as other survivors who may or may not be friends.
Though most plot details are being kept hush-hush, the film is said to focus on the Abbott children growing up. Originally set for a May release date, A Quiet Place Part II was bumped up to March 20, 2020.
Check out the poster below: | 4 |
As access to banking services through digital channels continues to grow, so does the need to protect consumers against the prevalence of online banking fraud.
Due to the prevalence of banking scams, we urge consumers to be more vigilant and familiarise themselves with the different types of online banking fraud.
The following are the latest online banking scams consumers should be wary of:
Flight purchase debit scams
You will receive an SMS informing you of a flight purchase debited to your account.
Fraudsters will ask you to select a link in the SMS to revise the transaction.
When you select the link, you will be redirected to a fake bank website.
You are then redirected to an ‘Update and Confirm Details’ screen requesting more information to be verified.
The fraudsters will now be in a position to access your banking profile.
Social media scams
Beware of fraudsters pretending to represent the bank you use on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or any other social media platform.
The bank will never ask for your credit or cheque card, account number, online banking login details or password or One Time Pin (OTP) on social media platforms.
The official accounts also display a blue tick indicating they are verified.
Change of banking details scam
You will receive an email that allegedly comes from one of your suppliers asking you to update your banking details.
Beware of this, even if it is on the supplier’s letterhead.
Contact your supplier on the number you already have for them and not the one on the fraudulent letter.
Speak to someone you know at the supplier to confirm the change in banking details.
Copy of payment notification scam
You will receive an email requesting you to open a copy of your payment notification.
Fraudsters will prompt you to login via the email attachment.
When you open the attachment in the email, you will be redirected to a fake bank website.
In an attempt to steal your banking details you will be requested to login.
As soon as you enter your login details on the screen, you are redirected to a successfully logged out screen.
The fraudsters will now be in a position to access your banking profile.
419 scams
This is communication by email to a recipient making an offer that would result in a large payoff for the recipient.
The details vary and large amounts of money are usually involved.
The victims’ banking details as well as sums of money are said to be required in advance in order to facilitate the payment of the funds.
Essentially, the promised money transfer never happens and the fraudsters may use the victims’ banking details to withdraw money for themselves.
Phishing
Communication seemingly from the bank or other companies that gets you to disclose personal information such as your ID number, address, account number, username, login details, password and PIN.
This information can also be used to gain unauthorised access to your banking account online.
OTP email fraud
Using various methods of phishing, criminals also try to get access to your email accounts, commonly Gmail, Yahoo, etc.
They produce fake login sites that look like Gmail or Yahoo.
Once they have your email username and password, they have access to your emails (statements, personal communications) and this helps a criminal build a social profile of you.
Criminals can also intercept OTPs that are sent to emails once they have access to your email account.
OTP Sim swap fraud
Once criminals are in possession of your username and password, they can easily access your accounts on online banking.
They can also contact your service provider to do a Sim swap, which basically means they hijack your sim and have access to your SMS.
This also gives them access to your OTP.
Remember, the bank will never ask for your username, password or Pin in an email, SMS, social media or phone call.
Never select a link to our website that was sent via email. Always type in the bank’s web address.
READ MORE: Post Office of parcel delivery scam
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114.
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For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram | It is a new year, and with it comes new opportunities.
If you are looking for a new job, consider updating your LinkedIn profile to attract potential employers.
Take a look at the steps below to guide you in the right direction.
1. Include a good profile photograph. Your photo should look professional and be of good quality, and should not include other people. Add a background photo that highlights your personality and your brand.
2. Add the right information. Avoid using nicknames or pet names in your LinkedIn profile. Your headline should be direct and specific. Add a summary that packs a punch, keywords relevant to your field and updated contact information to make it easier for potential employers to find you.
3. Add relevant work experience. Not every job is relevant to potential employers. Try to include work experience that shows your skill in the field you are looking to enter.
4. Show more than tell. Rather than using too many generic terms such as “passionate” and “hard-working” add a few achievements or describe your work to show potential employers what you can do, and set your profile apart from the rest.
5. Stay active. Update your profile often. Keep track of your new projects, stay current and share new content.
6. Do some research. Look through job listings for the type of employment you are looking for and add the listed skills to your profile. These are likely to be the skills that potential employers are looking for in a search.
7. Grow your network. Grow your contacts list and get endorsements from others that will boost your profile.
READ MORE: Social media regulation in South Africa: new and upcoming law you must know about
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For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram | 1 |
Acer for Education renews the Innovative School Program for 2020, to support schools in their path towards digital transformation. The goal of the program is to support schools who commit to using technology to transform teaching and learning.
Technology is an enabler. It allows to break down barriers as it helps teachers to develop new, immersive and inclusive learning experiences. As a result, more and more schools that have integrated technology in their approach to teaching and learning are finding how it helps students to boost their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, learn anytime, anywhere and improve academic results.
Acer for Education Innovative School Program is a tribute to those schools that have embraced technology as a means to give students new personalized and engaging ways to learn the abilities they will need to succeed in school and life. The program is targeted to all EMEA schools that are taking the path of digital transformation. The following schools are a part of the program; Al Sahwa School in Oman, New English School and The English Academy in Kuwait and lastly Abu Dhabi Grammar School, British School in Khubairat in the UAE.
Whether they are just starting or are pioneers, these schools are committed to helping each student to reach their potential and follow their dreams through innovation and technology.
Schools enrolled in Acer Innovative School program can enjoy several benefits:
Teachers from Acer Innovative Schools are invited to attend the EMEA Teachers Advisory Council, where they can meet with peers, listen to education experts and participate in training sessions
Schools can participate in webinars covering a range of topics to keep up-to-date with the latest trends and tools. Topics include mini-training on Windows and Chrome platforms and their apps.
Acer Innovative Schools can share their stories, achievements or experiences on Acer for Education’s blog and become a source of inspiration for other schools. What’s more, schools receive a monthly newsletter where they can find updates on technological contents, alliance partner news, demo program and other initiatives.
Each Acer Innovative Schools receives two demo devices per year, so teachers and students are kept abreast of the latest technological innovations and can find out how they can help them achieve more.
Acer Project Humanity
Acer Innovative Schools are also encouraged to join the Acer Project Humanity, a new global initiative by Acer to bring humanity at the centre of our activities and give back to communities and the environment.
For this reason, early in October Acer for Education launched a contest among Acer Innovative Schools across Europe, Middle East and Africa to encourage students to submit projects evaluated based on number of green actions and originality among other criteria. What’s more, winning schools were able to give a helping hand by supporting the learning path of a Charity Education Organization of their choice, giving them their prize of 10 Acer devices each.
One such school that took this to the next level was the New English School in Kuwait who have a long-standing commitment to raising awareness of environmental concerns. Keeping the grounds litter-free, reducing usage of materials that just end up in a landfill, reusing materials where possible and recycling what can be economically processed are some of the activities students were involved with. The New English School partnered with the charity organization Direct Aid and will donate their prizes to underprivileged students in Africa. | The New Testament Church of God in Old Harbour, St Catherine was packed to capacity Tuesday with worshippers who rang in the new year with the traditional watchnight service.
A major highlight of the night was the baptism of 10 persons - eight females and two males - who responded to a call by Bishop Hugh Dixon to start the new year right by giving their lives to Christ.
Loop News was there to capture that and more. Check out the photo gallery below.
New Year Baptism Old Harbour | 1.666667 |
Political Desk
President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday called on the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and abandon its “plots” against the Islamic Republic.
Speaking at a ceremony in the northwestern province of Ardebil, Rouhani implied that Tehran is ready for talks with the US once Washington begins to fulfill its obligations under the international agreement.
“Whenever they (the Americans) back off from the point they started their plots, we are ready too. They need to return to the commitments they trampled on and admit to their mistakes regarding the Iranian nation,” he said.
Rouhani noted that the US maximum pressure campaign on Iran was aimed at “smashing the grandeur of the nation and forcing the country to surrender”.
“This is impossible. The enemies should repent for their wrong acts,” he stressed.
“You are not a superior nation and government for the nation and the government of Iran. We respect your nation and strongly protest against your government. However, we state that there is a way back.”
Rouhani further pointed out that Iran will continue its forward march despite US sanctions and pressure, thanks to the nation’s “highly vibrant morale”.
Tensions have soared between Tehran and Washington since May last year, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at forcing it to renegotiate a new deal.
Iran has rejected negotiating a new deal with the Trump administration, saying talks were only possible if Washington returned to the nuclear pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and lifted sanctions.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the US, France, Britain, Russia, and China – plus Germany (P5+1) signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.
Since May 2019, Iran has rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA.
Its latest step came in November when engineers began feeding uranium hexafluoride gas into mothballed enrichment centrifuges at the underground Fordo plant south of Tehran. | BEIJING (Agencies): The top diplomats of Iran and China have emphasized the need for the two countries to strengthen their strategic relations and keep up consultations on issues of bilateral and international significance.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that establishing strategic ties shows the two sides’ keenness to reinforce their cooperation.
“We need to keep up regular bilateral consultations on a variety of issues and this trip serves that purpose,” he added.
Zarif further hailed China for supporting Iran’s stance on the international stage.
He also criticized unilateral US sanctions against Iran, calling on the world community to counter unilateralism and back multilateralism.
The Chinese foreign minister, for his part, underscored the necessity of strengthening ties with Iran.
In the current situation, he added, the two countries should exchange views on different issues in addition to maintaining contact.
Zarif arrived in Beijing earlier in the day following a visit to the Russian capital, Moscow.
Prior to Zarif’s arrival, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the Iran nuclear deal would be on the agenda of the talks between Zarif and Wang.
“China would like to work with Iran to ensure the steady development of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, safeguard the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and uphold peace and stability of the [Persian] Gulf Region in the Middle East,” he said, referring to the nuclear accord by its official name.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Geng described China and Russia — two of the signatories to the JCPOA — as “comprehensive strategic partners of coordination,” adding that that they have been “in close communication and coordination on the Iranian nuclear issue and other major international and regional hotspot issues.”
The JCPOA was signed between Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — in 2015. It was also ratified in the form of a UN Security Council resolution.
However, Washington’s unilateral exit in May 2018 and subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the historic agreement in limbo.
In compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic has, since May 2019, gone through four stages in scaling back parts of its commitments in retaliation for the US’s pullout and Europe’s failure to protect Iran against the American sanctions.
Iran, Russia: US exit from JCPOA endangers region, world
At a joint press conference after their meeting in Moscow on Monday, Zarif and Lavrov said the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA constitutes a serious reversal in the consultation process on the Iran nuclear issue and poses a threat to the security of the Persian Gulf region and the entire world | 3 |
Editor:
In response to several letters, Fraser Health has said they are not cancelling the program.
This is true, they wish to continue with phases 2 and 3 (intake program) of the cardiac rehab program, but discontinue Phase 4.
Phases 2 and 3 are held in the Vine Street Centre, phase 4 is presently held in two gyms at the Horst and Emily Werner Centre. Phase 4 is supervised by an exercise specialist (kinesiologist), lasts for 90 minutes and is for cardiac rehabilitation for people who have participated in phases 2 and 3.
Phase 1 is time spent in the hospital for those who have experienced a heart incident (angiogram, bypass, valve replacement, pacemaker, defibrillator).
At present, Fraser Health has cancelled the second gym in the H-E W Centre and rescheduled the 266 cardiac rehab participants.
In order to accommodate the loss of the second gym, these participants were arbitrarily rescheduled, some from morning classes to late afternoon or evening.
This has created considerable angst in all 266 participants.
As a participant involved in the phase 4 program, I urge FH to keep open the second gym in the H-E W Centre, allowing the 266 participants to continue in their 2019 assigned classes.
Sharon Williams, South Surrey | 1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted.
2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks.
3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown".
4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam).
I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published. | 1 |
If you’re like most of us, you overindulged a bit too much in 2019. No, not on calories (well, maybe those too!), but on “noise.” That’s the name for the dizzying onslaught of information from work emails, app notifications, the 24/7 news cycle, social media updates, and other forms of screen time that leaves us unable to focus, listen, or do deep work.
A smidgen of noise now and again is okay. (We all have our guilty pleasures!) But consuming it mindlessly, all day long, is as bad as keeping a bag of chips, a monster-size soda, and a can of frosting at our desk and reaching for them every few minutes.
Too many empty brain calories won’t make you fat but they will make you mentally anemic. Noise keeps you in a constant state of distraction. And like actual junk food, a high-noise digital diet is addictive, yet it never satisfies or nourishes you.
The real problem with giving into noise temptation isn’t what you’re doing; it’s what you’re not doing. You’re tuning out what really matters. You’re skimming the surface. When you’re scrolling Facebook, for instance, you aren’t learning a new language, refining that career-changing presentation, or engaging with your kids in a meaningful way.
The new year is the perfect time to put yourself on a noise diet. To help with your calorie count, let’s take a look at what noise junk food looks like:
The irritating—yet addictive—parade of social media stock characters in your newsfeed. This band of noisemakers assaults your brain with their cries for attention. For instance:
• The humble bragger. Your college rival who subtly slips into her post that she just got another promotion at her swanky company. #blessed #gag
• The cryptic drama-stirrer. That self-righteous friend who calls out people anonymously for perceived slights or makes vague “poor me” pity posts. (Cue the wave of very concerned commenters.)
• The over-sharer. We don’t need a play-by-play of your colonoscopy. Thanks.
• The drop-of-a-hat ranter. Whose day would be complete without a furious recounting of how the barista screwed up your nonfat, dairy-free, double-shot, decaf, extra-hot mochaccino with extra foam? The nerve!
• The overly zealous kid promoter. Yes, yes, we know Junior is the smartest, cutest, cleverest tot around—your other 15 posts this week made that perfectly clear.
• The amateur political pundit. Do not engage...just don’t.
Dumb shows on TV. You don’t need to waste your precious attention span watching Jerry Springer, B-list celebrity lip-synch contests, or those morning talk shows. Substance-free television combined with the lure of a cozy couch can quickly turn into a lost day or evening.
The 24/7 news carousel-of-darkness. Sadly, most news is bad news, and during a controversial election year it can also be fodder for controversy, vitriol, and the loss of civility with friends, family, and neighbors. (Hint: You don’t need to totally disengage, but it’s good to be discerning about what you let in—and about how often you engage in debates with the people in your life.)
Your work email. Your boss just had to email you at 9:30 p.m....again. The moment you jump out of the bath to write back is the moment work email becomes yet another source of noise.
Are you feeling that noise hangover settle in? Don’t worry, you can kick off the new year with a different kind of diet—one that cuts the empty “brain calories” of digital distraction and gives you what you’re really craving: a more intentional life. Join my “Just Say No to Noise” Movement and tip the scales in the other direction. A few suggestions:
Try going a week without social media. (We promise, you’ll survive.) A short detox from social media is a pretty painless way to unplug and reclaim a lot of lost time. When the week is over, you can see if you even want to go back to occasional scrolling.
Reduce temptation by “hiding” distracting devices from yourself. Okay, you probably can’t hide your computer but you can shut the office door. As for cell phones and tablets, treat them like what they are: gateways to digital distraction (and it is a very slippery slope). Find an out-of-the-way place to charge and store your devices so you’re not constantly reaching for them.
Break the idiot-box “background noise” habit. It’s easy to mindlessly turn on the TV when you get home. Problem is, it’s broadcasting nonstop noise into your work-free hours. Instead, plan a time to watch your favorite shows. Daily exposure to the depressing litany of pain and conflict we call “news” isn’t making your life better. Neither is watching the “Fatty McButterpants” episode of King of Queens for the 50th time. (Okay, we admit that one is pretty funny.)
Set some work/life boundaries with the 7-to-7 rule. The company won’t crash if you stop answering emails around the clock. After 70 p.m., put away your devices for the night. Don’t pick them up again until 7 a.m. the next day.
Insist on phone-free family dinners... Yes, the kids might whine at first, but soon enough they’ll get used to conversing with the out-of-touch “Boomers” and “Karens” at the table.
...and screen-free family fun days. For instance, make video games and TV completely off-limits every Wednesday and Friday. Yes, even if the kids swear they have no homework. Instead, do something fun or productive as a family. Play a board game. Go bowling or skating. Cook a great meal together. Volunteer at the local animal shelter. Heck...maybe even read.
Learn to save your “appetite” for the stuff that really matters... Your “appetite” is really your attention span, and it’s your most precious resource. Filling up on headlines, emails, and social media means there’s little left over for doing the deep and meaningful work that helps you reach big goals at work and in your personal life. Before you cozy into an hour of lurking on your ex’s Facebook page, close the laptop and find something productive to do.
...and choose some meaningful goals to pursue. When you are able to sharpen and aim your focus, you can do some pretty impressive stuff. Want to start a website? Get a better job? Learn to code? These “North Star” goals are the best incentive to rethink your relationship with noise and see how your life changes.
We don’t realize that very often our addiction to information is the thing holding us back from getting a huge promotion, becoming valedictorian, or training for a marathon, but that’s exactly what happens as time passes. Once you think of it this way, it’s so much easier to put yourself on a noise diet. Make this the year you take back your time and use it to do something that matters.
Joseph McCormack is the author of NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus. Joe is the founder and managing director of The BRIEF Lab, an organization dedicated to teaching professionals, military leaders, and entrepreneurs how to think and communicate clearly. His clients include Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Mastercard, DuPont, and select military units and government agencies. He publishes a weekly podcast called “Just Saying” that helps people master the elusive skills of focus and brevity.
To learn more, visit www.noisethebook.com. | Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas rang in the new year with some rockin’ tunes, as they performed some of their hits for a crowd in Miami, FL in the first moments of 2020!
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest was really on a roll, and the Jonas Brothers — including members Nick, Joe and Kevin — made it that much better! The trio, who stunned everyone when they returned in 2019 with their single “Sucker” and went on to tour some of their new tunes from their album Happiness Begins, took to the stage in the first hours of 2020 to a rousing audience.
The three siblings were in a great mood as they swayed their hips and interacted with the audience while singing their hit songs “Only Human” and “Sucker”. They looked handsome in sparkly black outfits as they showed off their incredible vocals and guitar skills. At some points, they even asked the excited crowd to sing along with them and you can bet they received an awesome response!
Of course, the brothers were joined by a slew of other incredibly talented performers throughout the night who have been ringing in 2020 in style! Along with the Jo Bros, Post Malone, BTX, Paula Abdul, and Kelsea Ballerini, among many others all made appearances or are due to perform throughout the telecast. For now, however, the spotlight wholly rests on the fun and talent of the Jonas Brothers, who had an incredible 2019 and are poised for a new, exciting chapter in 2020!
Just when it seemed the members of the Jonas Brothers had gone their separate ways, they shocked their fans with the release of their song “Sucker” on March 1, 2019. What’s more, the music video for the track became an internet sensation, as the accompanying visual featured each Jo Bro’s wife — Sophie Turner, Priyanka Chopra and Danielle Jonas.
📹 The Jonas Brothers performing “Only Human” at Atlantis Bahamas in The Bahamas. (via atalantalove) pic.twitter.com/yo2cZSD71l — Jonas Tour Media (@JonasTourMedia) December 31, 2019
Since then, the brothers have been making the most of their time together while still juggling their personal lives. Apart from going out on tour, they have also been featured in a number of performances from the MTV VMAs, The American Music Awards (where the brothers’ performance was brought in live by satellite), and even stopped at Rockefeller center in May as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live! Now that the Jo Bros have rung in the new year, fans cannot wait to see what’s in store for 2020! | 1 |
Evergreen Air is a CIA front company for chemtrail operations within the US, based out of Marana Air Park near Tucson Arizona and McMinville Oregon, near Portland.
A major missing piece of a grand conspiracy has been targeted by a drunk pilot. In a small town 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean in Oregon is the center of a major global operation.
At a bar in McMinnville, Oregon, an inebriated pilot attempted to impress one of the pretty ladies with tales of his secret mission.
The pilot’s pathetic attempt to portray himself as a Sean Connery or Daniel Craig caused him to (ante up) his importance and spill the secrets of the CIA’s asset Evergreen International Aviation.
The slurred revelations confirmed suspicions that Evergreen (International Aviation) is part of the major crap dump on the planet. Chemtrails made up aluminum, barium and other ingredients contribute to respiratory ills and change the acidity of the soil.
Related: U.S. Air Force Pilot Exposes Top Secret Chemtrail Program — It’s Called ‘Operation Indigo Skyfold’
Evergreen works from over a 100 bases and employees 4,500 people. Delford Smith privately owns the company. They admittedly “perform” for the CIA.
Evergreen was given a no contest bid that gave them all the facilities in Marana, Arizona that previously belonged to CIA’s Air America (Pinal Air Park, Arizona).
The security at the Pinal site is said to be as severe as that of Area 51. It is run as a military base where one lost pilot got an armed escort immediately off the operational base. The 10 year pilot said it was nothing like anything he has ever seen.
Evergreen International Aviation brags of their planes that have 7 times the capacity of other fire fighters. One can carry 20,000 gallons.
Firefighting … Right … and next we will be told the chemtrails are to prevent global warming as millions more are advancing to an early death.
Evergreen International Aviation has exemptions from the law that are advertised on their web site. They can fly anywhere and not stay on a designated route.
Italian industrialist Aurelio Peccei, who founded the Club of Rome in 1968:
“In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself.” (Source)
Has CFR members paved the way?
People like Philip Lader and John Wheeler III … they were in a position to do just that.
Evergreen’s public relations (propaganda) spokesman is handled by WPP run by Council on Foreign Relations member Philip Lader. He worked under the present head of the CIA … Leon Panetta as White House deputy of staff under Bill Clinton.
Philip Lader is an “inside” authority on international affairs and business. He is the non-executive Chairman of WPP Group, Senior Adviser to Morgan Stanley International, and a board member for think-tank RAND Corporation.
He is also a trustee of UC Rusal (largest aluminum company in the world) the British Museum and St. Paul’s Cathedral Foundation.
Ambassador Lader has addressed trans-Atlantic audiences from the U.N.’s General Assembly Hall to state chambers of commerce and local world affairs councils, is a member of Rockefeller’s Council on Foreign Relations.
Philip Lader (CFR) is a key player driving toward world government. In addition to running the Public Relations for Evergreen International Aviation … Lader is a director of UC Rusal, the largest Aluminum producer in the world located in Moscow, Sweden, Italy, and Australia. Nathaniel Rothschild is a big investor.
Eugenic operation of Chemtrails has had the assistance of Mitre a non-profit Corporation that manages the Federal Aviation Administration, Homeland Security, and IRS. (1) The IRS is part of the Federal Reserve which is a major transmission belt driving the conspiracy.
Philip Lader’s fellow Council on Foreign Relations member John P Wheeler III was recently dumped into a land fill in Wilmington, Delaware. Wheeler III was a consultant to Mitre the non profit corporation with jurisdictional advice over the Federal Aviation Administration’s flight patterns.
Was John P. Wheeler III to sentimental for the killing underway? And got murdered by the Company?
The CIA is the enforcement arm of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mitre is conveniently located in McLean,Virginia home of the CIA.
Thanks to the drunken pilot and his loose lips … the Free People of the world can focus on the criminals who are poisoning our air and our water.
Source: GeoengineeringWatch.org | Use this list as motivation to think, talk, and act in response to climate change, says an observer.
CANBERRA: There are so many stories flying around about the horrors already being wrought by climate change, you’re probably struggling to keep up.
The warnings have been there for decades but still there are those who deny it. So perhaps it’s timely to look at how climate change is affecting you, by wrecking some of the things you love.
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1. HOLIDAYS
We often choose holiday destinations with weather in mind. Sadly, climate change may see your usual destinations become less inviting, and maybe even disappear entirely.
But there’s more to think about than your favourite beach retreat being drowned, or the Great Barrier Reef decaying before you see it.
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Now we have to worry that “extreme weather events pose significant risks to travellers”. The warnings here range from travel disruption, such as delayed flights due to storms, to severe danger from getting caught in cyclones, floods or snowstorms.
Simply getting where you need to go could become an adventure holiday in itself, but not a fun one.
2. WILDLIFE
There are more and more examples of animals falling victim to extreme weather events induced by climate change, such as the horrific mass “cremations” of koalas in the path of recent Australian bush fires or bats dropping dead during heatwaves.
File photo of an Australian koala. (Photo: AFP/Guillaume Souvant)
On top of that, news of the latest climate-related animal extinctions are becoming as common as reports of politicians doing nothing about it.
3. HISTORY AND HERITAGE
The Italian city of Venice recently experienced its worst flooding since the mid-1960s, and the local mayor clearly connected this with climate change.
Aside from the human calamity unfolding there, we are seeing one of Europe’s most amazing and unique cities and a World Heritage site devastated before our eyes.
Climate change threatens more than 13,000 archaeological sites in North America alone if sea levels rise by 1m. That goes up to more than 30,000 sites if sea levels rise by 5m.
UNESCO is worried that climate change also threatens underwater heritage sites, such as ruins and shipwrecks. For example, rising salinity and warming waters increases ship-worm populations that consume wooden shipwrecks in the Baltic sea.
4. SNOW SPORTS
Warming temperatures have already had negative impacts on the US snow sports industry since at least 2001.
In Australia, ski resorts are expected to see significant drops in snow fall by 2040 and, as temperatures warm, they will be unable to compensate for this by snow-making, because it doesn’t work if ambient temperatures are too high.
(Photo: Unsplash/Lex Valishvili)
Perhaps recent efforts to make artificial snow will give us a few more years on the slopes, but I’m not holding my breath.
5. SPORTS AND EXERCISE
It’s not just snow sports that will be affected. As temperatures warm, simply being outside in some parts of the world will not only be less pleasant, but more harmful, causing greater risk of heat stress doing any sports or exercise.
That also means lower incentives for – and greater difficult in undertaking – incidental exercise, such as walking to the bus stop.
6. COFFEE
As the climate changes, your coffee hits will probably become rarer and more expensive, too.
A report by the Climate Institute in 2016 suggested coffee production could drop by 50 per cent by 2050.
Given how rapidly negative climate predictions have been updated in the three years since, this might now be considered optimistic. Yikes.
7. HEALTH
As the climate changes, the health of your children, your parents and your grandparents will be at greater risk through increases in air pollution, heatwaves and other factors.
FILE PHOTO: A woman uses her phone on an observation deck as the skyline, shrouded by haze, is seen in Singapore September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Feline Lim/File Photo
It can be heartening to see the strong, intelligent and positive action being taken by the world’s youth in response to the lack of climate action by many governments.
But the fact that this is a result of a literal existential crisis becoming a normal part of everyday life for young people is utterly horrifying.
8. HOMES
The recent bush fires in Australia and the United States reveal how dramatic and destructive the effects climate change can be to where you live. Hundreds of houses have already burned down in Australia this fire season.
Fires are getting more frequent and more ferocious. The seasonal windows where we safely used controlled burning to clear bushfire fuel are shrinking. It’s not only harder to fight fires when they happen, it’s becoming harder to prevent them as well.
Fires aren’t the only threat to homes. All around the planet, more and more houses are being destroyed by rising seas and increasingly wild storms, all thanks to climate change.
9.WINE
Still not convinced climate change is wrecking things you love? What if I told you it’s even coming for your wine?
Less water, soil degradation and higher temperatures earlier in the season all lead to dramatic negative effects on grapes and wine-making.
A burnt field is seen at a vineyard in Adelaide Hills, Australia, Dec 24, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Vinteloper)
One small upside is that disruption to traditional wine growing regions is creating opportunities to develop new wine growing areas. But there is no reason to believe these areas will maintain stable grape growing conditions as climate change progresses.
WHAT NOW?
It’s easy to be sad. But to change our trajectory, it’s better to be mad. In the words of that great English singer songwriter John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), “anger is an energy”.
So maybe use this list as motivation to think, talk and act. Use it as fuel to make small, large or a combination of changes.
Share your concerns, share your solutions, and do this relentlessly.
What’s happening right now is huge, overwhelming, and also inevitable without concerted action. There’s no sugar-coating it: climate change is wrecking the things we love. Time to step it up a notch.
Dr Rod Lamberts is Deputy Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University. This article first appeared on The Conversation. | 1 |
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Wednesday said it has recorded a 47 per cent rise in sales during December.
"The company has achieved the highest-ever sales in a month during December 2019. With sales of 1.68 million tonnes in December 2019, the company clocked a growth of 47 per cent over corresponding period last year (CPLY)," SAIL said in a statement.
Incidentally, SAIL posted a jump of 36 per cent y-o-y in sales during November and the company is consistently maintaining the growth momentum in sales, it said.
SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary said that despite the challenging steel market conditions, SAIL has exhibited resilient performance consistently and will continue to do so in future also.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | New year eve liquor sales in Telangana netted an estimated Rs 350 crore for the State Beverages CorporationLimited, which supplies Indian Made Foreign Liquor to retail outlets and bars across the state, official sources said on Wednesday.
This was more or less same as that of the sales turnover registered during the corresponding period last year, they said.
The sales from TelanganaStateBeverages CorporationLimited (TSBCL)to outlets would be around Rs 350 crore on December 30 and 31 together," they said.
Over all the revenue (both Excise and VAT) through alcohol during December would be approximately Rs 2,000 crore, the sources told PTI.
The state government effective December 16 enhanced the liquor prices.
Telangana, which has over 2,200 liquor shops, was expected to garner around Rs 20,000 crore this year through liquor sales including license fee, the sources said.
Meanwhile, police said they booked as many 2,129 drunk and drive cases during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | 2.666667 |
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“Buy when there’s blood in the street” is one of the oldest investing clichés but is one of the toughest things to do. For those investors with the intestinal fortitude, Hong Kong’s stock market beckons.
Months of protests have battered the city and its economy. But against this negative backdrop, the Hang Seng index is breaking out technically on the price charts, Jeff deGraaf, founder of Renaissance Macro Research, observes.
The combination of the weakest purchasing managers’ indexes and rioting in the streets is the perfect formula for the bears, but the price action has been positive, he points out in a client note. In an email while on holiday break, deGraaf adds he tweeted back in October that the Hang Seng then was holding up in the face of the plunge in the PMIs, a positive divergence.
“Recessionary PMI readings and rioting in the streets have had us bullish on Hong Kong over the last few months, but those conditions had not been supported by the price data. That changed this week with Hong Kong trading at a six-month high,” he wrote.
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The relative strength in the stock market also flew in the face of some prominent bears betting on a collapse, not only in equities, but also a break in the Hong Kong dollar’s peg against the U.S. greenback. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has maintained the peg in the face of other periods of distress, however, notably during the 1997-98 Asian crisis.
Hong Kong’s market historically has been prone to sharp swings. “Volatile” was the modifier Peter Du Bois, Barron’s original International Trader columnist, invariably invoked in discussing the Hang Seng.
The most proximate way to play this market would appear to be the iShares MSCI Hong Kong exchange-traded fund (ticker: EWH.) But investors should be aware this ETF isn’t a clone of the Hang Seng.
By far the biggest component stock in the ETF is the AIA Group (HK: 1299), a giant pan-Asian insurance company, which comprises nearly 24% of the fund. CK Hutchinson Holdings (HK: 1), a multinational conglomerate, also has a significant presence at 5%. These stocks’ fortunes have less to do with Hong Kong than the rest of Asia. That said, deGraaf writes in an email he also sees EWH “on the verge of breaking out, not quite there, but very close.”
The Hang Seng also includes stocks of companies whose operations extend far beyond Hong Kong. A prominent example is Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings (HK: 700), which Rich Ross, the technical guru at Evercore ISI, points out accounts for 11% of the Hang Seng. Moreover, Tencent shares are breaking out of a two-year downtrend, he adds in a client note.
With pro-democracy protests continuing and slated to step up over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the pictures and videos are sure to be disquieting, especially for investors contemplating putting money to work in Hong Kong. When things look riskiest is when the biggest gains are made, and which seem easy in retrospect.
“‘Easy money’ is an often-used term in this business, but almost exclusively with hindsight. It’s easy to be dispassionate when viewing the markets in the comfort of history, but ‘easy money’ is almost always the hardest to earn psychologically, and Hong Kong is a great contemporaneous example in our view,” deGraaf wrote. Now that Hang Seng is breaking out, he says there are “no excuses” to ignore it.
The difficult thing is to ignore the reports coming out of Hong Kong. It would be wise to remember the markets make the news, not the other way around, notwithstanding what we in the media might think.
Write to Randall W. Forsyth at randall.forsyth@barrons.com | Image copyright
EPA Image caption
Many thousands of protesters gathered to march on the first day of the year
Hong Kong’s protesters have welcomed a new decade via a New Year’s Day rally, with tens of thousands joining a pro-democracy march.
Though the gathering was largely peaceful, violence broke out in some areas and police fired tear gas.
On New Year’s Eve, demonstrators had formed human chains that stretched for miles down busy shopping streets.
More than six months after the protests began, they gathered for midnight countdowns by Victoria Harbour.
Their chants included, “Ten! Nine! Liberate Hong Kong, revolution now!”
In the lively Mong Kok market district, some set fire to barricades after dark and let off fireworks, disrupting traffic.
Police used water cannon to clear Nathan Road in Mong Kok and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, the South China Morning Post reports.
Some 40 parliamentarians and dignitaries from 18 countries sent an open letter to Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam on New Year’s Eve, urging her to “seek genuine ways forward out of this crisis by addressing the grievances of Hong Kong people”.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The identity crisis behind Hong Kong’s protests
The anti-government protests began in June over plans to allow extradition to mainland China, but have since morphed into a broader movement demanding full democracy.
Some protesters have adopted the motto: “Five demands, not one less!”
Their goals are an amnesty for those arrested, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, universal suffrage, and for the protests not to be characterised as “riots”. The fifth demand – the withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill – has already been met.
Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, but was then returned to Chinese control under the principle of “one country, two systems”. While it is technically part of China, the territory has its own legal system and borders, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech are protected.
Image copyright
Getty Images Image caption
The anti-government rally on 1 January was planned by the Civil Human Rights Front
More than 6,500 people have been arrested as a result of the protests so far.
‘Freedom is not free’
In the afternoon of New Year’s Day, people of all ages gathered to march from the city’s Victoria Park. Some wore masks, defying a ban on face coverings, and carried signs reading, “Freedom is not free”.
“It’s hard to utter ‘Happy New Year’ because Hong Kong people are not happy,” said a man named Tung, according to Reuters news agency. “Unless the five demands are achieved, and police are held accountable for their brutality, then we can’t have a real happy new year.”
The pro-democracy march was organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), which has planned a number of million-strong rallies.
“The government has already started the oppression before the New Year began… whoever is being oppressed, we will stand with them,” said Jimmy Sham, a CHRF leader and long-time political activist.
Mr Sham was hospitalised in October after he was attacked by a group of men wielding hammers.
In a speech on New Year’s Day, China’s President Xi Jinping said Beijing would “resolutely safeguard the prosperity and stability” of Hong Kong. | 2 |
The sixth training ride for the Charity Bike Ride takes off from St Andrews at 9am sharp on Sunday. (File photo)
ONGOING
Caroline Bay Carnival: The 109th annual carnival at Caroline Bay, Timaru. Visit the website www.carolinebay.org.nz/ for a full programme. Runs until January 12, 2020.
A Timaru Landmark: Renewing the Sacred Heart Basilica: Exhibition at the South Canterbury Museum on Perth St, Timaru. A panorama of images showing how much a Timaru Catholic church has changed over the past century.
The Dividing Line: Exhibition at the Aigantighe Art Gallery on Wai-iti Rd, Timaru. Nelson and German-based painter Lisa Chandler explores protest movements through her art. Runs until February 9, 2020.
Undercurrents: Exhibition at the Aigantighe Art Gallery on Wai-iti Rd, Timaru. Artwork by Catherine Day using ridges, grids, and contours to depict moving into a new environment. Runs until February 9, 2020.
Railcar ride and museum tour: 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm each day at the Pleasant Point Railway & Museum. Ride the Ford Model T railcar to the museum for a 45-minute tour. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for children, and $35 for a family. Runs until March 1, 2020.
FRIDAY AND SUNDAY
Steaming days: 10.30am-4pm both days at the Pleasant Point Railway & Museum. Unlimited rides on a Ford Model T railcar. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for children, and $35 for a family.
SATURDAY
LGBT meet-up: 2-5pm in the Royal Arcade, Timaru.
Live music: 8-10pm at Hector Black's on Stafford St, Timaru. Guitarist Paul Ubana Jones will perform original blues and soul songs.
SUNDAY
Central South Island Charity Bike Ride training ride: 9am at St Andrews. Register before 8.45am. Take care as roads are open to all vehicles.
Temuka Courthouse Museum Open Day: 2-4pm at the museum on Domain Ave. View displays detailing Temuka and the districts farming, family, and social history. Runs every Sunday until April 12, 2020.
To list your upcoming South Canterbury event in our Weekend Pass email: editor@timaruherald.co.nz, with What's On in the subject line. | 1 | |
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SINGAPORE: Singapore has benefited enormously from globalisation and it must resist the temptation to be otherwise, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.Lee made the remarks in his New Year Message on Wednesday (Jan 1) to his fellow Singaporeans.He also noted that the state of the world worries Singaporeans as the global slowdown has affected the economy.Many societies are under stress despite economic growth as the fruits of economic growth have not been shared equitably, with income gaps widening, he said.Singapore has to stay open and connected to the world, the prime minister said, adding, "A Singapore turned inwards cannot survive."In November, the Trade and Industry Ministry said the economy is expected to grow only by 0.5 to 1% in 2019.But Lee assured Singaporeans the upcoming Budget on Jan 18 will have measures to help businesses, workers, families as well as the poor, elderly and the vulnerable. And with that, he is confident will have a good and memorable year in 2020.While companies will get help to raise their productivity and build new capabilities, workers, especially mid-career PMETs - professionals, managers, executives and technicians - will be given a hand to retrain, find new jobs and stay employable, he added.The social safety nets that protect the poor, elderly and vulnerable will be improved, and "we will help households with their cost of living", the Prime Minister said in a message recorded at the Bicentennial Experience exhibition in Fort Canning.The showcase of important moments in Singapore's history was a key event to commemorate the country's Bicentennial year, which Lee said provided a vivid reminder of how much the island has changed over the centuries, and how far the Republic has come."Recounting this history has enhanced our collective consciousness of the past, strengthened our sense of togetherness in the present, and boosted our confidence in a shared future," he said."In Singapore, the aim is to build a fair and just society, where growth and prosperity benefits everyone, and the human spirit can flourish." - Asian News Network | GEORGE TOWN: Tales that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had raided his home were just rumours and were not true, says Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang.
Yew said that there was no such case and he denied he was summoned by the graftbuster.
He also said that he only learned that these rumours were going around from officials when he met them on New Year’s Eve yesterday (Dec 31).
Reporters have also been reaching out to various officials for confirmation, he added.
“There is no such investigation by the MACC, ” he said when attending City Walk 2020 at Beach Street on Wednesday (Jan 1).
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who was also present at the event, backed the mayor, saying, “I do not know of any such investigation by the MACC”.
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James Abbott-Thompson appeared in court on New Year's Eve
Diane Abbott's son has appeared in court charged with a string of offences, including nine assaults and one count of racially aggravated criminal damage.
James Abbott-Thompson, 28, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court on New Year's Eve accused of 11 crimes.
The alleged offences took place between July 26 and December 23 last year with the majority occurring on NHS premises in London.
The court was told that most of the incidents relate to a time when Mr Abbott-Thompson was being treated for mental health issues.
The alleged offences include attacks on an emergency services workers, police officers, a nurse and a social therapist.
He is also accused of racially aggravated criminal damage and exposure at the Homerton Hospital in east London.
Mr Abbott-Thompson's lawyer indicated he intends to deny the charges More
Other alleged offences took place at the Royal Free in Hampstead and Mile End Hospital in Tower Hamlets.
Mr Abbott-Thompson attended the brief hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London on Tuesday but his mother was not in court.
George Gross, defending, said Mr Abbott-Thompson intended to enter not guilty pleas to all the charges.
District Judge Jane McIvor granted him bail ahead of a further hearing at Wood Green Crown Court next month.
Mr Abbott-Thompson is the only son of Labour's shadow home secretary, and Ghanaian architect Richard Thompson.
Ms Abbott, the Labour MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington, was widely criticised for her decision to send her son to the fee paying City of London.
Diane Abbott is the Labour MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington More
But she later defended her decision insisting it had been the making of him,and saying: “I was taught that you sacrifice everything for your child.”
Mr Abbott-Thompson achieved 11 A* grades at GCSE and went on to obtain a place at Trinity College, Cambridge University, to study law.
He joined the Foreign Office in 2014 as part of its fast track diplomatic programme, and had been based in Rome, where he was working alongside the British Ambassador advising the British Consul and representatives of the British community in Italy about their rights post Brexit.
But he left his post in the summer and according to an online CV had recently been based in Dublin working as a consultant. | THE SUSPICION with which many Brexiteers have long regarded Brussels has come to be matched by an equal mistrust of Whitehall. After repeated delays to Britain’s exit from the European Union, many Leavers became convinced that bien-pensant officials were out to subvert the will of the people. Yet for Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser and brains behind the Leave campaign, the frustration with the civil service goes back much further. The subtitle of an entry on his personal blog, written in 2014, sums up his outlook: “The failures of Westminster & Whitehall: Wrong people, bad education and training, dysfunctional institutions with no architecture for fixing errors.” Some Eurosceptics want to put a bomb under Whitehall in order to get Brexit done. Mr Cummings wants to get Brexit done so that he can put a bomb under Whitehall.
Following Boris Johnson’s triumph in the December election, the government has an opportunity to reshape the country. Labour is in chaos, the Remainers are defeated and the British system gives huge power to governments with a large parliamentary majority. Mr Cummings’s thinking—set out over hundreds of thousands of words in a blog that ranges from Sun Tzu and Bismarck to education policy and space exploration—helps explain why many in Downing Street think that to get anything done in government they will first have to fix the civil service.
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Mr Cummings has lambasted cabinet government as an outdated, oversized decision-making mechanism. Once Britain has left the EU, the number of departments is reportedly due to be cut, with Business absorbing Trade, the Foreign Office taking International Development, and the Department for Exiting the EU scrapped. A “super-department”, including education, research and innovation, is rumoured, and the Home Office may even be broken up. If Mr Cummings gets his way these changes will be just the start.
Civil service reform is not usually a priority for a new administration. Most turn their attention to it only after finding their initial vim frustrated. At the start of her second term, Margaret Thatcher tried to make officials more accountable and to focus them on outcomes. At the start of his, Tony Blair brought in Michael Barber, who had worked on school reform, to split the government’s aims into measurable targets and pursue them relentlessly. Or, in the words of Mr Cummings, establish “what should be minimal competence for people who do not know how to prioritise and are managerially incompetent”.
In his view, this incompetence reflects a system that incentivises the wrong things. Mr Cummings has called for greater use of redundancy to get rid of people not up to it. He wants training to emphasise quantitative skills and for those who are effective to stay in place for longer (some departments lose more than a fifth of their workers each year, through rotations or exits). Job specifications may also change. According to Mr Cummings, permanent secretaries, who run departments, face an impossible job (as “chief policy adviser, department CEO and a fixer”) and are promoted on their ability to play the game. Almost none of them, and indeed almost no minister or adviser, is “+3 standard deviations…on even one relevant dimension (IQ, willpower/toughness, management ability, metacognition, etc)”. As an ally notes, Mr Cummings “doesn’t care if he hires socialists, he just wants people to be competent.”
Another part of the answer, Mr Cummings believes, lies in hiring brilliant people to work on specific problems outside of bureaucratic constraints. He points to the success of America’s work on intercontinental ballistic missiles and some aspects of the Apollo programme in the 1950s and 1960s, which brought the world’s best scientists and engineers into government projects. More broadly, he argues that such examples illustrate the importance of clearly defined goals, the use of long-term budgets to save money and the need for “an extreme focus on errors”. He has called for “red teams”, as used by the CIA and defence firms, to argue the opposite view in meetings, to counter groupthink.
All of this is likely to involve tackling what Nick Pearce, head of the Downing Street policy unit under Gordon Brown, calls the “key tension” at the heart of Britain’s bureaucracy: that ministers are held responsible for what their department does but do not have much control over it. Britain is unusual in that ministers have little sway over who runs their department and limited ability to make appointments, compared with similar political systems like Australia and Canada. Mr Cummings recounts a litany of errors by officials during his previous stint at the Department for Education: “With all of them, regardless of how incompetently they had been handled—nobody was ever fired.”
He writes that part of the reason he and his then-boss, Michael Gove, “got much more done than ANY insider thought was possible—including [David] Cameron and the Perm Sec—was because we bent or broke the rules.” A devil-may-care approach could spread in a government eager to get things done. Mr Cummings thinks politicians are cowed by government legal advice, often by lawyers citing European directives. A recent report by Policy Exchange, a sympathetic think-tank, suggests making it easier for ministers to take advice from external lawyers.
Rearranging government departments “is a very sizeable task in and of itself,” with a mixed record of success, notes Catherine Haddon of the Institute for Government, a think-tank. Writing about how to transform the state is one thing; doing so is quite another. So old hands suspect gradual evolution is more likely than a big bang. To Mr Cummings, that may sound like the usual complacency: “There is a widespread befuddled defeatism that nothing much in Westminster can really change,” he blogged. Now he has another chance to prove the establishment wrong. | 1.333333 |
Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market 2020 Overview, Cost Structure Analysis, Growth Opportunities and Forecast to 2025
Posted on Jan 2 2020 6:56 AM
"Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market report provides an in-depth analysis of scope of current and future market and overview of Product Specification, technology and forecast details. "
Global ' Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market offers industry speculators, organization administrators, and industry members with in-depth knowledge of most recent industry patterns, improvement viewpoints, advertise picks up, and industry situation amid the conjecture time frame (2020-2025) to empower them to settle on educated key choices identified in the Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market.
Top Key Manufacturers in Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market:
Abbott Laboratories
F. Hoffmann-La Roche
Lifescan
Ascensia Diabetes Care
Dexcom
Medtronic
Ypsomed
B. Braun Melsungen
Nipro
Sanofi
Arkray
Prodigy Diabetes Care
Acon Laboratories
Nova Biomedical
Get a Sample Copy of the Report - http://www.industryresearch.co/enquiry/request-sample/14925204
Know About Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market:
The global Blood Glucose Monitoring System market was valued at million US$ in 2018 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2019-2025.
This report focuses on Blood Glucose Monitoring System volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Blood Glucose Monitoring System market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect.
Regionally, this report categorizes the production, apparent consumption, export and import of Blood Glucose Monitoring System in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.
For each manufacturer covered, this report analyzes their Blood Glucose Monitoring System manufacturing sites, capacity, production, ex-factory price, revenue and market share in global market.
Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Size by Type:
Self-Monitoring
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices
Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market size by Applications:
Household
Hospital
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Regions covered in the Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market report are USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, Southeast Asia, South America, South Africa.
Important Features that are under Offering and Key Highlights of the Reports:
Detailed overview of Market
Changing market dynamics of the industry
In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc.
Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value
Recent industry trends and developments
Competitive landscape of Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market
Strategies of key players and product offerings
Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth
In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Blood Glucose Monitoring System are as follows:
History Year: 2014-2018
Base Year: 2018
Estimated Year: 2019
Forecast Year 2019 to 2025
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Major Points from Table of Contents:
1 Study Coverage
1.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Product
1.2 Market Segments
1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered
1.4 Market by Type
1.4.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Size Growth Rate by Product
1.5 Market by End User
1.5.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Size Growth Rate by End User
1.6 Study Objectives
1.7 Years Considered
2 Executive Summary
2.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Size
2.1.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue 2014-2025
2.1.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales 2014-2025
2.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Growth Rate by Regions
2.2.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Regions
2.2.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Regions
3 Breakdown Data by Manufacturers
3.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Manufacturers
3.1.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Manufacturers
3.1.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales Market Share by Manufacturers
3.1.3 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)
3.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Manufacturers
3.2.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Manufacturers (2014-2018)
3.2.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2014-2018)
3.3 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Price by Manufacturers
3.4 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Manufacturing Base Distribution, Product Types
3.4.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Manufacturers Manufacturing Base Distribution, Headquarters
3.4.2 Manufacturers Blood Glucose Monitoring System Product Type
3.4.3 Date of International Manufacturers Enter into Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market
3.5 Manufacturers Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans
4 Breakdown Data by Product
4.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Product
4.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Product
4.3 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Price by Product
5 Breakdown Data by End User
5.1 Overview
5.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Breakdown Data by End User
6 North America
6.1 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Countries
6.1.1 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Countries
6.1.2 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Countries
6.1.3 United States
6.1.4 Canada
6.1.5 Mexico
6.2 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Product
6.3 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by End User
7 Europe
7.1 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Countries
7.1.1 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Countries
7.1.2 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Countries
7.1.3 Germany
7.1.4 France
7.1.5 UK
7.1.6 Italy
7.1.7 Russia
7.2 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Product
7.3 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System by End User
8 Asia Pacific
8.1 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Countries
8.1.1 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Countries
8.1.2 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Countries
8.1.3 China
8.1.4 Japan
8.1.5 Korea
8.1.6 India
8.1.7 Australia
8.1.8 Indonesia
8.1.9 Malaysia
8.1.10 Philippines
8.1.11 Thailand
8.1.12 Vietnam
8.1.13 Singapore
8.2 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Product
8.3 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System by End User
9 Central & South America
9.1 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Countries
9.1.1 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Countries
9.1.2 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Countries
9.1.3 Brazil
9.2 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Product
9.3 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System by End User
10 Middle East and Africa
10.1 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Countries
10.1.1 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales by Countries
10.1.2 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue by Countries
10.1.3 GCC Countries
10.1.4 Turkey
10.1.5 Egypt
10.1.6 South Africa
10.2 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System by Product
10.3 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System by End User
11 Company Profiles
12 Future Forecast
12.1 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Forecast by Regions
12.1.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales Forecast by Regions 2018-2025
12.1.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue Forecast by Regions 2018-2025
12.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Forecast by Product
12.2.1 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sales Forecast by Product 2018-2025
12.2.2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring System Revenue Forecast by Product 2018-2025
12.3 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Market Forecast by End User
12.4 North America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Forecast
12.5 Europe Blood Glucose Monitoring System Forecast
12.6 Asia Pacific Blood Glucose Monitoring System Forecast
12.7 Central & South America Blood Glucose Monitoring System Forecast
12.8 Middle East and Africa Blood Glucose Monitoring System Forecast
13 Market Opportunities, Challenges, Risks and Influences Factors Analysis
13.1 Market Opportunities and Drivers
13.2 Market Challenges
13.3 Market Risks/Restraints
13.4 Macroscopic Indicators
14 Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis
14.1 Value Chain Analysis
14.2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System Customers
14.3 Sales Channels Analysis
14.3.1 Sales Channels
14.3.2 Distributors
15 Research Findings and Conclusion
16 Appendix
16.1 Research Methodology
16.1.1 Methodology/Research Approach
16.1.2 Data Source
16.2 Author Details
16.3 Disclaimer
Continued…
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Name: Mr. Ajay More
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MENAFN02012020007010266ID1099497086 | Global Terminal Tractor Market 2020 With Top Countries Data : Market Size, Concentration Rate, Production Volume, Price, Gross Margin and Revenue
Posted on Jan 2 2020 7:06 PM
"The Terminal Tractor Market 2020 Report aims to provide all the participants and the vendors will all the details about growth factors, shortcomings, threats, and the profitable opportunities that the market will present in the near future. The report also features the revenue share, industry size, production volume, and consumption in order to gain insights about the politics to contest for gaining control of a large portion of the market share. "
Terminal Tractor Market 2020 Report offers a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Terminal Tractor industry along with competitive landscape, Market share and revenue forecasts 2024. This report is a valuable source of guidance for companies and individuals offering Industry Chain Structure, Business Strategies and Proposals for New Project Investments.
A terminal tractor, known in the United States as a shunt truck, spotter truck, spotting tractor, yard truck, yard dog, yard goat, yard horse, yard jockey or mule, is a semi-tractor intended to move semi trailers within a cargo yard, warehouse facility, or intermodal facility, much like a switcher locomotive is used to position railcars.
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The research covers the current market size of the Terminal Tractor market and its growth rates based on 5-year records with company outline of Key players/manufacturers:
Kalmar
Terberg
Mol CY nv
CAPACITY TRUCKS
AUTOCAR
MAFI
TICO tractors
Faw Jiefang Automotive
Sinotruk
Hualing Xingma Automobile
Dongfeng Trucks
Saic-iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle
C & C Trucks,
Scope Of The Report :
The worldwide market for Terminal Tractor is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly xx% over the next five years, will reach xx million US$ in 2023, from xx million US$ in 2017.This report focuses on the Terminal Tractor in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.S
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Report further studies the Terminal Tractor market development status and future trend across the world. Also, it splits Terminal Tractor market by Type and by Applications to fully and deeply research and reveal market profile and prospects.
Major Classifications are as follows:
Diesel Terminal Tractor
Electric Terminal Tractor
Major Applications are as follows:
Warehouse
Distribution centres
Intermodal
Ports
Rail terminals
Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Terminal Tractor in these regions, from 2014 to 2024, covering
North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)
Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)
South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)
Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)
The Terminal Tractor market report provides answers to the following key questions:
What will be the Terminal Tractor market size and the growth rate in 2024?
What are the main key factors driving the global Terminal Tractor market?
What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the global Terminal Tractor market?
Which Trending factors influencing the market shares of the top regions across the globe?
Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the global Terminal Tractor market?
What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by regions of Terminal Tractor?
What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Terminal Tractor market?
What industrial trends, drivers and challenges are manipulating its growth?
What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global Terminal Tractor market?
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Major Points from Table of Contents:
1 Market Overview
1.1 Terminal Tractor Introduction
1.2 Market Analysis by Type
1.3 Market Analysis by Applications
1.4 Market Dynamics
1.4.1 Market Opportunities
1.4.2 Market Risk
1.4.3 Market Driving Force
2.Manufacturers Profiles
2.4.1 Business Overview
2.4.2 Terminal Tractor Type and Applications
2.4.2.1 Product A
2.4.2.2 Product B
3.Global Terminal Tractor Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Competition by Manufacturer (2019-2020)
3.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2019-2020)
3.2 Global Terminal Tractor Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2019-2020)
3.3 Market Concentration Rate
3.3.1 Top 3 Terminal Tractor Manufacturer Market Share in 2020
3.3.2 Top 6 Terminal Tractor Manufacturer Market Share in 2020
3.4 Market Competition Trend
4 Global Terminal Tractor Market Analysis by Regions
4.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions
4.1.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales and Market Share by Regions (2014-2020)
4.1.2 Global Terminal Tractor Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2014-2020)
4.2 North America Terminal Tractor Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2020)
4.3 Europe Terminal Tractor Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2020)
4.4 Asia-Pacific Terminal Tractor Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2020)
4.6 South America Terminal Tractor Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2020)
4.6 Middle East and Africa Terminal Tractor Sales and Growth Rate (2014-2020)
5 Terminal Tractor Market Forecast (2020-2024)
5.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2020-2024)
5.2 Terminal Tractor Market Forecast by Regions (2020-2024)
5.3 Terminal Tractor Market Forecast by Type (2020-2024)
5.3.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales Forecast by Type (2020-2024)
5.3.2 Global Terminal Tractor Market Share Forecast by Type (2020-2024)
5.4 Terminal Tractor Market Forecast by Application (2020-2024)
5.4.1 Global Terminal Tractor Sales Forecast by Application (2020-2024)
5.4.2 Global Terminal Tractor Market Share Forecast by Application (2020-2024)
6.Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers
6.1 Sales Channel
6.1.1 Direct Marketing
6.1.2 Indirect Marketing
6.1.3 Marketing Channel Future Trend
6.2 Distributors, Traders and Dealers
7.Research Findings and Conclusion
8.Appendix
8.1 Methodology
8.2 Data Source
Continued…..
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MENAFN02012020007010266ID1099500733 | 2 |
Sixteen of the 39 deceased flown to Hanoi, with the rest to be repatriated later, say officials and media
The first 16 bodies of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry in Britain have been repatriated to Vietnam, according to a local official and Vietnamese media.
“Sixteen bodies including five from Nghe An province have arrived in Vietnam,” said a senior official of the province. The bodies arrived at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi early on Wednesday, online newspaper VnExpress reported, and would be taken by ambulances to homes in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces. The remaining bodies would be repatriated later, VnExpress said.
Vietnamese police have said the deceased came from six provinces: Haiphong, Hai Duong, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Hue. Their families were plagued by confusion and anguish over how to get the bodies home.
Man arrested in east London over Essex lorry deaths case Read more
The families would have to pay for the repatriation costing up to £2,208, according to a foreign ministry statement seen by Reuters. The statement, dated 14 November, said the Vietnamese government would advance the payment which families could repay later.
Though relatives were encouraged by authorities to opt for ashes “to ensure speed, low cost and sanitation safety”, many paid more for the bodies to carry out traditional burials. Cremation is rare in the Vietnam countryside, where many of the victims were from.
On Monday the Northern Irish driver of the truck, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration. He also admitted to acquiring cash that came from criminal conduct, but did not plead guilty to 41 other charges. Several other people have been arrested in the UK while Vietnam has held at least 10 people, though none have been formally charged.
With Reuters and AFP | Remains of 23 victims arrive in Hanoi following repatriation of further 16 to their hometowns days earlier
The remains of the last 23 of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a lorry near London in October have been brought to Vietnam.
The remains of the 23 victims arrived at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi early on Saturday, a local government official said. Seven of the bodies were cremated in Britain before being repatriated, said the official Vietnam News Agency.
Lorry driver pleads guilty over role in Essex deaths Read more
The first 16 of the bodies had been repatriated on Wednesday to their home towns in Vietnam where they were received by relatives and friends holding white roses.
The discovery of the bodies in the back of a refrigerated truck after being smuggled into Britain has shone a spotlight on the illicit trade that sends the poor of Asia, Africa and the Middle East on perilous journeys to the west.
Police in Vietnam have arrested 10 people in connection with the deaths. On Monday the British driver of the truck admitted plotting to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property.
Essex lorry deaths: Vietnam ‘strongly condemns’ trafficking Read more
In Vietnam poor job prospects, environmental disasters and the promise of financial rewards are all factors pushing people to leave.
Nguyen Dinh Gia, the father of victim Nguyen Dinh Luong, said his son had left home for Britain in “hopes for a better life”. Gia said after his son’s body was buried on Thursday: “How could I describe how big this loss is for my family … but the return of his body has helped ease the pain.” | 4 |
Allan, a 1.5 metre corn snake, had been driving to Oldham with its owners for Christmas
A 1.5 metre (5ft) snake named Allan had to be rescued from inside a car after escaping while travelling with its owners over Christmas.
The pet corn snake got out of its vivarium as it was travelling with owner Ellie Bond from Nottingham to Oldham to spend the Christmas break with family.
Bond frantically searched the car with her partner, Lewis Newton, but, after finding no sign of Allan, she thought he might have fallen from her car on to the motorway.
The couple began pulling apart the car and removing the seats until Newton pulled away the casing near the gear stick, revealing the reptilian escapee.
Bond, a 25-year-old supply teacher at Oakwood infant school in Derby, said of the snake: “He is 5ft long and quite chunky so he was properly trapped, and I was worried he would hurt himself trying to get free. We tried using butter to help lubricate the area but he still couldn’t move.
“It was also snowing so was very cold for him – which is also very dangerous for a snake – so I was scared he would die if we could not release him quickly as he had been there for a few hours.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A fire crew cutting the snake free after he became trapped in the gearstick casing of his owners’ car. Photograph: RSPCA/PA
The fact Allan had eaten a large meal that day also worked against him, trapping him in the car.
After an RSPCA inspector arrived at the scene, Greater Manchester fire and rescue service had to be called to cut the snake free.
While the inspector, Angela Paxton-Taylor, held Allan with a damp towel to ensure the temperature of the metal around the reptile did not get too hot, the firefighters cut through a small piece of metal which was enough to allow it to be lifted free.
Play Video 0:55 Snakes on the streets of Britain, but why? – video
Paxton-Taylor said: “Along with the fire crews we were able to safely release him and he appeared unharmed – a few scales were missing and he was very cold but we were able to warm him up and he is doing well.
“It was awkward as there was me and five firefighters in a Citroen C1 working hard to free Allan but it worked. The fire service who worked brilliantly as a team and were determined and really considerate for the wellbeing of Alan.”
Bond said Allan has fully recovered from the ordeal and is now “back to his lazy self”. | Tanned and relaxed after a week in Mustique, Boris Johnson returns to the office this week as the most powerful Tory prime minister since Margaret Thatcher.
With Labour’s electoral coalition fractured perhaps beyond repair, Mr Johnson will believe he now has a decade at his disposal to reboot Britain - a job that begins with his renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the European Union.
The outcome of this negotiation, the first phase of which is currently set to be completed by Dec 31 2020, will lay the political and economic foundations for what comes next, and yet it is still remarkably unclear how Mr Johnson intends to handle the process.
If he gets Brexit wrong, it could prove a permanent... | 1 |
(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) 09:45 AM EST - Just Energy Group Inc. : Has sold all of its customer contracts and natural gas in storage in the State of Georgia to Infinite Energy for approximately $3.4 million U.S. (approximately $4.4 million Canadian), subject to customary adjustments. The Georgia market has limited growth possibility and was sub-scale for Just Energy. In addition, the Company has closed the previously announced sale of its Irish operations to Flogas Natural Gas Limited for approximately €700 thousand (approximately $1.0 million Canadian), subject to customary adjustments. Just Energy Group Inc.
shares T.JE are trading down $0.01 at $2.00.
MENAFN0101202002120000ID1099495321 | I've been to 49 of 50 states and about 60 countries and would gladly go back to any of them. Italy is a great place to live. What I'd recommend depends on the interests and personality of the specific person. | 1 |
The Delta smelt, once the most populous species on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, continues its long slide towards extinction. For the second year in a row, the CDFW in its annual fall midwater trawl survey in 2019 found zero Delta smelt during the months of September, October, November and December.
Found only in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, the smelt is an indicator species that shows the health of the ecosystem. Decades of water exports and environmental degradation under the state and federal governments have brought the smelt to the edge of extinction.
In spite of portraying their administrations as “green,” Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom did nothing to reverse the slide towards extinction.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration recently finalized a plan that threatens the Delta smelt, salmon and other fish species even more than they already are by maximizing Delta water exports to corporate agribusiness interests in the San Joaquin Valley.
While the CDFW has not yet issued its annual memo analyzing the fall survey results, James White, CDFW Environmental Scientist, wrote in a memo about the September and October 2019 surveys:
“No Delta Smelt were collected at index stations in September or October. The 2019 September-October index (0) is tied with 2016 and 2018 as the lowest index in FMWT history (Figure 1). No Delta Smelt were collected at non-index stations during September or October,” said White.
A few smelt have turned up in other surveys on the Delta, but they also confirm the fish’s dramatic decline.
“This low index is consistent with sampling by other monitoring surveys in fall of 2019,” wrote White. “Delta Smelt were collected by USFWS Chipps Island Trawl in September (n=2) and not in October (n=0). USFWS Enhanced Delta Smelt Monitoring (EDSM) collected Delta Smelt in September (n=6) and October (n=7), having conducted 1,348 tows with catches in Suisun Bay, lower Sacramento River, and SRDWSC (data available at: USFWS Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program).”
The fall 2019 survey also reported low numbers of Longfin Smelt and Sacramento splittail.
The abundance index for longfin smelt, a cousin of the Delta smelt, was only 44. That is down from an index of 52 in 2018 and 141 in 2017.
However, the indices for longfin smelt were well above the lowest abundance year for the longfin, 2015, when only 4 fish were reported and 2016, when only 7 fish were caught. In contrast, 81737 smelt were found in 1967.
For the second year in a row, the trawl caught zero Sacramento spittail, a native minnow found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta just like the Delta smelt. With the exception of 2011 when 11 split tail were reported, the survey reported 0 to 1 fish each year over the past 13 years.
The index for young of the year striped bass, a popular gamefish introduced from the East Coast 140 years ago, was 250. This is better than last year when the abundance was 42, the lowest on record, but well below the fish’s historical abundance. By comparison, the index was 19,677 in 1967, the year the State Water Project pumps went into action.
The index for American shad was 1955, better than the index of 1064 last year. This contrasts with the record abundance in the 2003 survey, 9360.
Finally, the threadfin shad made a jump from 198 last year to 343 in 2019. However, both of these surveys were just a fraction of the 15267 shad counted in 1997.
The Delta smelt, Longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, striped bass, American shad and thread fin shad are are all victims of the Pelagic Organism Decline, first coined by federal state and scientists to document the steep decline of pelagic (open water) fish and zooplankton in 2005. Scientists have pointed to Delta water export operations, toxics, invasive species and pollution as the key factors in this decline.
“Given the wet year we experienced in 2019, the numbers of Delta smelt, longfin smelt and splittail should have rebounded substantially, but instead it was another disastrous year for all three species,” said Bill Jennings, Executive Director/Chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA). “Also given the wet year, striped bass, American shad and threadfin shad should have rebounded more than they did. Clearly, the state and federal Delta pumping operations are sending Delta fish species to the guillotine.”
In addition to the zero Delta smelt results of the fall 2018 and 2019 fall surveys, spring Delta smelt 20-mm surveys conducted in both 2018 and 2019 revealed a record low number of the smelt collected by Department scientists.
According to independent fisheries biologist Tom Cannon in his California Fisheries Blog on the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) website, the Late April and early May 20-mm Surveys “provide an excellent picture of the status of Delta smelt population in the estuary.”
“Since 2017, some surveys collected no Delta smelt (Figures 1-3) in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary. The 2018 and 2019 survey catches are a new low for Delta smelt, lower even than the 2017 survey catch and the lowest in the 1995-2019 survey period,” said Cannon.
“The outlook for the Delta smelt population remains grim after these lows. Despite good conditions in spring 2018 and 2019, the severely depressed number of adult spawners indicates a continuing weak potential for recovery,” Cannon concluded.
The 8 surveys conducted by the CDFW this spring produced a total of only 13 Delta smelt. Survey #1 yielded 2 smelt, survey #2 produced 1 smelt, survey #3 yielded 0 smelt, survey #4 produced 7 smelt, survey #5 yielded 1 smelt, survey #6 produced 1 smelt, survey #7 yielded 1 smelt, and survey 8 yielded 0 smelt.
While the water contractors blame the Delta smelt for restrictions on Delta pumping for San Joaquin Valley irrigators, findings published in the journal San Francisco Estuary & Watershed Science in March 2019 reveal that water exports from the South Delta were limited by infrastructure and water quality concerns far more often than protections for endangered species.
According to the article, during the 2010-2018 study period, 89% of Central Valley water flowing into San Francisco Bay was the result of salinity control and infrastructure constraints on water exports compared to less than 1.5% caused by endangered species act safeguards specific to protection of Delta smelt from entrainment in the export pumps.
"Safeguards for the San Francisco Bay estuary's six endangered fish species led to relatively small increases in freshwater flow to the Bay," said Greg Reis, staff scientist for The Bay Institute and lead author of the research article. "In two of the nine years, we studied, protections for Delta Smelt did not limit water exports for even a single day -- the effect on water supplies of protecting this unique species, which functions as an indicator of overall ecosystem health, is far less than what's commonly reported."
“Despite water quality regulations that are intended to protect fisheries and wildlife populations in general, and endangered species act protections for the most imperiled fishes, the proportion of Central Valley river flows that make it all the way to San Francisco Bay has been declining for decades," said Dr. Jonathan Rosenfield, Senior Scientist at San Francisco Baykeeper and co-author of this study. "Currently, Californians divert, on average, about 1/2 of the ecologically critical winter-spring runoff that would otherwise flow into San Francisco Bay, and the fish, wildlife, and water quality that rely on this water are suffering as a result."
The prospects for the survival of Delta smelt, imperiled salmon and other fish species are grim unless the state and federal governments allow more quality water to flow into the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem at critical times.
As Jennings said, "We know what fish need. Fish prosper when they have adequate flows and quality water. They suffer when they don’t. The question is how do we get them to survive on less water of poorer quality than they evolved with for thousands of years. The answer appears to be they can’t.”
”Delta Smelt are the thread that ties the Delta together with the river system,” summed up Caleen Sisk, Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “We all should understand how that effects all the water systems in the state. They are the irreplaceable thread that wholes the delta system together with Chinook.” | These are the headlines that dominated the cannabis industry in 2019 -- what can we expect in 2020?
January 1, 2020 6 min read
This story originally appeared on MJBizDaily
The U.S. cannabis industry experienced some momentous moves forward on the legalization front in 2019, but it also faced significant obstacles that reflected how the licensed marijuana sector is continuing to mature and why it cannot always expect boom times and unfettered growth.
The top page views of the year at Marijuana Business Daily show the industry’s interest in both sides of the coin. Among the most viewed stories of the year were those that focused on:
The vaping health scare.
Illinois’ historic move as it became the first state in the country to legalize retail sales through its Legislature and the 11th overall to approve adult use.
A key U.S. House committee’s approval of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.
California marijuana business headwinds such as those surrounding the illicit market and ongoing licensing barriers.
What follows is a rundown of MJBizDaily’s top stories of the year, as determined by the number of page views on the U.S. site.
RELATED: 20 Bold Predictions For The Cannabis Industry In 2020
1. Colorado’s Largest Cannabis Grower Loses Millions Of Dollars In Early Freeze: Supply Disruption Expected
Los Sueños Farms, which is based in Pueblo, Colorado -- and is the largest marijuana cultivator in the state -- revealed in October that it lost millions of dollars because of an early winter storm.
The industry braced for ripples throughout the cannabis supply chain in the state, reducing the amount of marijuana available to retailers and processors -- and meaning higher wholesale cannabis prices.
By December, however, Los Sueños’ owner reported the outdoor harvest was still better than 2018, and the company had ample material for the extraction market. The grower estimated it lost roughly $7 million from the freeze.
2. U.S. House Panel Passes Federal Cannabis Legalization Bill In Historic Vote
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 passed a vote by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in November. If adopted into law, the measure could open up huge business opportunities for legal marijuana nationwide, similar to the federal legalization of hemp.
If the MORE Act does pass the full House in the 2020 election year, it still faces the huge obstacle represented by the Republican-controlled Senate.
3. UPS Sues California Cannabis Delivery Companies For Infringing On Trademark
Underlining why putting a moniker on a cannabis business isn’t as easy as it sounds, Atlanta-based United Parcel Service accused a group of California marijuana businesses -- United Pot Smokers, UPS420 and THCPlant -- of using names and logos that are “confusingly similar” to the package-delivery giant’s name and shield logo.
UPS also said the alleged infringement hurts its reputation through association with a marijuana company and further claimed the defendants have a reputation for offering “sham services” under the UPS mark and shield logo.
RELATED: 3 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Vaping Industry
4. Deaths, Illnesses Related To Vaping Cannabis On The Rise, Health Authorities Say
Concerns over marijuana vaping-related fatalities and illnesses began to dominate headlines in earnest in September as U.S. health officials urged people to stop vaping until it was determined why some consumers were coming down with serious breathing illnesses.
Now at the end of 2019, the worst days of the vaping crisis appear to be behind the legal cannabis industry as evidence mounted that products from the illicit market were mainly to blame.
The cannabis industry went on the offensive this year as marijuana businesses pushed to educate consumers about the importance of buying from the legal market.
5. Cannabis Industry Insiders Brace For Potential Fallout As Health Officials Report New Vaping Deaths
As news of the vape health crisis and related deaths spread, some in the cannabis industry expected at least a temporary drop in sales for products such as disposable vape cartridges, and that did come to pass.
The vape crisis hurt business in all recreational cannabis markets in the United States. And while vape sales moved up toward the end of the year in major markets, most have not yet fully recovered to where they were before.
6. 400-Plus California Marijuana Business Licenses Suspended, Injecting Fresh Uncertainty Into State’s Cannabis Industry
In 2020, the legal marijuana business in California is likely to get worse before it gets better. And that’s after an already challenging 2019.
For example, California suspended more than 400 marijuana business permits in November, which affected roughly 5 percent of the state’s legal cannabis supply chain.
Marijuana businesses from retailers to distributors were affected and had to cease all sales until their licenses were reinstated to “active” status.
Later in the month, however, industry observers said California’s licensed marijuana supply chain likely wouldn’t see huge effects from the permit suspensions, because many of the cannabis companies involved weren’t operational or were canceled business ventures.
RELATED: The 10 Biggest Cannabis Stories Of 2019
7. Legal Cannabis Gifts Lead To New Business Practice In Michigan
In January, a legal loophole in Michigan was pointed out that allowed individuals to give away cannabis free of charge. That led to a new business model by some companies in which they sold products such as non-infused candy or art and added a free bit of marijuana as a “gift.”
Some entrepreneurs might have gotten the idea from Washington DC, where recreational cannabis is legal but sales are still prohibited and where gifting popped up as a way to sidestep the sales ban.
8. California Governor To Send National Guard To Combat Illegal Marijuana Growers
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an order in February that redeployed 360 National Guard troops from the U.S.-Mexico border to three other state-specific assignments.
The move was welcomed by the state’s legal marijuana growers, which have long struggled against a thriving illicit market.
9. In Landmark Move, Illinois Lawmakers Approve Adult-Use Cannabis Program That Could Hit $2 Billion In Sales
Illinois made the historic move in May of becoming the first state to legalize adult-use marijuana cultivation and sales through its Legislature.
The announcement was cheered by the cannabis industry as it potentially created of one of the nation’s largest adult-use marijuana markets offering massive business opportunities.
Marijuana Business Daily estimates the Illinois recreational market could eventually hit $2.5 billion a year in sales.
10. Marijuana Wholesale Prices On The Rise In Mature Recreational Markets
As of August, wholesale cannabis prices looked to be going up in the recreational cannabis markets in Colorado, Oregon and Washington state, according to two reports and insights from growers.
The upward price trend seemed related to stronger demand and weaker supply, growers going out of business and some farmers pivoting to hemp.
To stay up to date on the latest marijuana-related news make sure to like Marijuana Business Daily on Facebook | 1.333333 |
By Donald Gilpin
With overcrowding and increasing enrollments throughout the district, the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) have been looking for room to grow and paying attention to the changing plans of their neighbor just across Walnut Lane, the Westminster Choir College campus of Rider University.
When Rider University recently announced plans to close the Westminster site in Princeton and relocate the school to its Lawrenceville campus, protests ensued, and two pending lawsuit may prevent the University from moving the school.
At last month’s PPS Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Superintendent Steve Cochrane cited growth projections of several hundred students for the district over the next five years and emphasized the challenges of managing and finding space for that growth.
“We need to plan for that growth in ways that consider numerous factors, including facility and play area expansion, land use throughout the community, sustainability, potential redistricting, educational vision, and, of course, affordability
and diversity,” he said.
Speaking specifically about the possible availability of the property currently occupied by Westminster, Cochrane continued, “As stewards for the Princeton Public Schools, we have a responsibility to be prepared for that possibility and for the implications of having potentially 23 acres of land become available immediately next door to our middle school and high school. Consequently, we have been doing our homework.”
Cochrane stated that the PPS and Rider, with their lawyers, have had several “fact-finding” conversations over the past six months “to gain a better sense of the legal issues relating to the property as well as the proposed move of the Choir College to Lawrenceville.”
“The Choir College has been a great neighbor and partner to our schools for decades,” Cochrane continued. “We often share facilities, and for years students from the Choir College taught music at our middle school. If the Choir College were to remain in Princeton, we would be delighted to continue that partnership.”
Cochrane noted that Rider currently intends to keep a portion of the property and
buildings in Princeton for certain activities related to Westminster, including the Westminster Conservatory of Music, which educates more than 2,000 children and adults.
Cochrane went on to explain that PPS will be undergoing an extensive community-wide planning process over the next six months, considering multiple scenarios. “What those scenarios will be, when the Board will decide, and the timeline for implementation of any single scenario is yet to be determined. As we move into community conversations about the future of our schools and of our town, the Westminster property, or some portion of it, will likely be discussed.”
PPS Planning
Emphasizing that the planning process had no preconceived outcomes, would generate multiple possibilities, and would involve the whole community, Cochrane reviewed three stages to take place between now and June 2020 in collaboration with the planning firm Milone & MacBroom (M&M).
In the initial fact-finding stage, through January, M&M is reviewing enrollment projections, housing growth, the status of district facilities, building capacity, and educational programming.
From the end of January through March, M&M will be developing various scenarios in collaboration with the Board, the community, and district professionals “to generate a vision for our schools, to prioritize needs, and to review preliminary alternatives for achieving our goals,” Cochrane said.
From April to early June, the planners will narrow down the scenarios and provide a range of recommendations.
Cochrane pointed out that there are three elements involved in the critical process of ongoing community engagement and input.
A technical advisory committee, a kind of steering committee comprised of district professionals and community experts, will help the consultants navigate the complexities of the planning process. Their first meeting with M&M will be on Friday, January 10.
With a goal of ensuring that all voices are heard — and that people are informed and engaged — a group of community liaisons will also be formed, representing a variety of stakeholders throughout the community.
The third element of community engagement will be a series of interactive workshops, informational meetings, surveys, and focus groups.
The first public forum will be held on Saturday, January 25, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., in the Princeton High School cafeteria. During that workshop, the M&M consultants will present their findings and impressions so far and engage the attendees to work together to establish goals and priorities. | Whenever you get hacked, it's a pretty terrifying experience - as I learnt when someone managed to get into my Deliveroo account to order a bottle of Malibu, a chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle, three bottles of Desperados, Haribo Tangastics, Hellmanns Light Mayonnaise (squeezy), Quorn mince and two pots of Quaker Oat So Simple to an address in Essex.
But at least if someone gets into your bank account or social media platform, there won't be much money to steal, or many followers to embarrass you in front of. Sometimes it pays to be a broke nobody, right?
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Sadly for Mariah Carey, however, she has 21.4 million followers on Twitter, meaning when she got hacked yesterday there was a little more at stake.
The tweets have now been deleted, but because the internet is a savvy place, some clever sod managed to get some screenshots before they disappeared.
Credit: Twitter
One read: "Eminem has a little penis."
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Another said: "Eminem can still hold this p***y."
Credit: Twitter
While a third included the 'N' word, which I won't repeat.
Understandably, Carey (or more likely her 'people') decided to delete the tweets, later joking: "I take a freaking nap and this happens?"
However, she didn't confirm whether or not she does believe Eminem has a little penis.
While the singer's New Year's Eve was fairly dramatic, she's not exactly had a bad end to 2019, having managed to become the first person to score a no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in four different decades.
It probably goes without saying, but that's all thanks to her Christmas banger, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', which gets wheeled out each and every festive season to get played pretty much everywhere, on repeat, for a solid month.
.@MariahCarey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is officially No. 1 on the #Hot100 for a third week.
As this is the first chart of the 2020s, she becomes the first artist in history to rule the chart in four separate decades: 1990s, 2000s, 2010s & 2020s.
- Billboard Charts (@billboardcharts) December 30, 2019
Carey celebrated by sharing the news on Twitter, writing excitedly: "Yaaaaaaaaay!!! WE. DID. IT. But... what's a decade?" | 1 |
— A man was injured during an attempted robbery in the Bronx by a suspect armed with a screwdriver.
40-year-old Israel Gomez re-enacted the moment a robber attacked him inside his home. He says the suspect stabbed him in the chest so many times with a screwdriver, it punctured a hole in his jacket.
It happened around 7:35 p.m. Saturday inside an apartment building near Briggs Avenue and East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor.
“He threw me to the floor under the table. He kept attacking me, trying to find my wallet,” Gomez said.
Gomez says he was unlocking the front door to his apartment on Briggs Avenue Saturday evening when the attacker captured on surveillance video snuck up behind him.
The suspect then allegedly pulled out the screwdriver and told the man to hand over money.
“He told me he was going to kill me, but he never imagined that I was going to fight back. I myself didn’t think I was going to fight back,” Gomez said.
Gomez says he managed to kick and even grabbed a bottle to smash against the suspect’s head. The intruder eventually ran away, dropping the victim’s wallet during his escape.
Police say the victim suffered cuts to his hands and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Gomez’s roommate was also home and heard the minutes-long scuffle, but was too scared to intervene. He told CBS2 he was also the victim of a robbery years ago inside that same apartment.
“I watch the news, they kill for one dollar. It’s terrible,” Leo Barbecho said.
Gomez and his roommate say the experience has taught them to always watch out for who they let into the building.
Anyone who has information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com. | BRONX, New York -- Law enforcement officials say they are investigating New York City's first homicide of the year in the Soundview section of the Bronx.The NYPD received a call on Wednesday that a 29-year-old man was unconscious with a gunshot wound to his neck and head in the Bronx River House on 174th Street, police said.Police say the man was discovered by a woman who is believed to be the man's girlfriend.Authorities say the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the man is unkown at this time.This story is developing and an investigation remains ongoing.Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).---------- | 2.666667 |
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Sign up! | TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Three mountain lions found feeding on human remains near a popular Tucson hiking trail have been killed, Arizona authorities said Wednesday.
They were not suspected of killing the person, but were determined to be a danger to the public because they showed no fear of officers trying to remove the remains, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a statement, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
The area in the Coronado National Forest was closed for a day while officials attempted unsuccessfully to trap the mountain lions.
The medical examiner will work to identify the name and cause of death for the person found Tuesday morning off the Pima Canyon Trail.
The trail at the base of Mount Lemmon was reopened on Wednesday, ahead of a planned Jan. 14 re-opening, after authorities decided there was no danger to the public.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 1.333333 |
For some people, a bar might look like a fun way to spend a Friday night. For others, it could be a painful reminder of the darkest time of their life.
Lee-Anne Richardson has been sober for six years. Since she quit drinking, she's found it difficult to find places to go and things to do that don't involve alcohol.
So she decided to build a new resource — Sober City Halifax — to help other non-drinkers facing similar challenges.
"Basically, it's a place for information on where to go, what to do when you're newly sober in Halifax," she told CBC's Mainstreet.
Richardson, 36, said the site can be used by recovering alcoholics and newly sober people, as well as the "sober-curious" or people who are just taking a temporary break from drinking.
She compiled a database of restaurants, cafés — even bars — that offer decent selections of non-alcoholic drinks and an atmosphere that's friendly for people who aren't drinking.
I see you, newly sober person sitting in your families living room stressing out and wondering if you should just drink to avoid dealing with the bad feelings! You can make it through today and you can make it through tonight. You're stronger than you think. —@SoberCityHFX
Richardson said it can be problematic for a recovering alcoholic to be in a place that reeks of beer or is full of rowdy drunk people — but they might feel like they have to put up with it if they want to keep hanging out with their friends.
She said getting sober in a city like Halifax can be challenging.
"Before I quit ... I said I can't get sober because I live in a port city, there's universities, everyone drinks. It's just part of our culture," she said.
"It's so hard to be sober here. It's getting better, but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done."
'I'm never drinking again'
A few years ago, Richardson said her life was controlled by alcohol.
"I was homeless a couple of times, my self-esteem was non-existent, relationships were falling apart," she said.
She still remembers the day she quit: March 2, 2014. She woke up at 2:30 in the afternoon after a night of drinking, fearful that her addiction might someday end her life.
"There was something in me that felt different, and I knew right then that that's it: I'm never drinking again, and I'm gonna turn my life around," she said.
"And I did."
Since she quit drinking, Richardson said her life has greatly improved. She said even those who only drink socially could benefit from taking a break from booze.
"I mean, you're no longer putting actual poison in your body," she said.
"It's good for mental health as well. I found as soon as I quit — of course, I had counselling as well — but my anxiety disorder basically was drastically reduced, and almost cured within a few months of quitting."
Richardson hopes Sober City Halifax will be a go-to resource for those who struggle to maintain both a sober lifestyle and a social life.
She also wants to open up conversations in the restaurant industry about creating more options for people who don't drink.
"Once they realize that there's quite a lot of sober people out here, and we have money, and we want to go out and have fun, then I can definitely see a lot more things opening up in the city for us," she said.
MORE TOP STORIES | At last, it has started to feel a bit more like winter the past couple of days. We'll continue to see temperatures in the 30's for most of the day today, with highs approaching 40° by this afternoon. However, winds will remain breezy for most of the day, causing it to feel closer to 30°. Skies clear out by this morning, making for mostly sunny skies.
After today, southerly winds kick in, bringing temperatures into the upper 40's. Clouds begin to build back in ahead of our next weather system that arrives Friday.
That weather system brings rain on Friday and snow for Saturday. We're timing it all out on ABC21!
Gabe Prough
ABC21 Meteorologist
Facebook: Gabe Prough Weather
Twitter: @proughwx | 1 |
VANCOUVER -- At the start of 2020, Vancouver will become the first city in the country to ban Styrofoam.
The city says the ban will restrict businesses from serving prepared food and drinks in plastic foam cups and foam take-out containers.
In November, the city launched a toolkit for businesses to help them prepare for a foam-ban bylaw.
Most foam cups and takeout containers end up in the landfill, while remnants are often found in shoreline cleanups and littered throughout green spaces, the city said.
"Styrofoam was developed in the 1940s as a lightweight simple plastic that retained heat and was easy to use and easy to store," said Ian Tostenson, president of the BC Restaurant Association.
He said most restaurants are prepared for the new rules, which take effect Jan. 1.
At the Babylon Café on Denman Street, owner Asalwan Fadhooli said the new packaging will cost him 30 per cent more, but that it's a small price to pay to keep environmentally-conscious customers happy.
"It's not a big deal if I pay an extra 5 cents or 7 cents per box ... No problem," he said. | Share Tweet Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:
Welcome to the first adventure of Soy Boy, probably the last, in which he makes a video condemning the trending hashtag #itsokaytobewhite.
While I don’t think he meant it to be comedic, the video’s wild assumptions may give you a good laugh.
Honestly, it’s like this guy is saying because you like oranges, you must like bananas – because after all, they are both fruit.
Also, throw a pink elephant in the mix somehow too. It adds legitimacy to your argument.
Seriously, check it out.
I’m getting really tired of the self-deprecating white people This absolute soy boy is almost in tears over the #ItsOkayToBeWhite hashtag. pic.twitter.com/2YugLT9XP0 — Ashley StClair 🇺🇸 (@stclairashley) December 31, 2019
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Just remember white people, if you think it is okay to be white, then maybe you like the “power” of being white.
Therefore, you are obviously a “sh*tty person”.
I think my favorite part is the end, where he says “yes, it’s okay to be white.
It’s okay to be anything” but it’s not okay to be part of the problem.
As if the whole video WASN’T just about him ranting that people who think it’s okay to be white are part of the problem.
I wonder if he’s related to this lady? | 1 |
DETROIT – A 29-year-old man was rushed to a hospital after shots were fired into a Detroit home, police said.
The shots were fired just after 6:30 p.m. on South Ethel Street near I-75.
The front of the home was riddled with bullets. Police said nobody is in custody.
Police are still investigating. | New New American Spot Highlands Debuts In Downtown DetroitA new bar and New American spot have opened its doors in the neighborhood. Located at 400 Renaissance Center, Floors 71 and 72, in Downtown, the fresh addition is called Highlands.
Explore 5 Favorite Budget-Friendly Grocery Stores In DetroitLooking to try the best grocery stores in town?
4 Events To Check Out In Detroit This WeekLooking to mix things up this week? From a holiday party to a tech industry training, here's a roundup of options to help you get off the couch and out into the world.
The Top 4 Bars For A Special Occasion In DetroitWondering where to find the best bars near you? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end bars in Detroit.
The 3 Best Dive Bars In DetroitLooking to try the best dive bars in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top dive bars in Detroit.
Here's What To Do In Detroit This WeekFrom webinar to dance part, there's plenty to enjoy in Detroit this week. Read on for a rundown of ideas for how to fill your calendar. | 1.666667 |
KARACHI: A multi-storey residential building in Karachi’s Ranchore Lane area that collapsed suddenly on Monday was reportedly constructed on the foundation laid for only shops, ARY News reported.
Talking to journalists, Salman Soomro, the plot’s owner, said that he had got constructed the shops on the land by a local builder around 15 years ago. Later, another builder had approached him and asked to sell the roof of the shops, he added.
Soomro said that he had sold the roof to the builder, adding that the builder had erected a six-storey building on the roof of the shops. The plot owner maintained that he did not know about the material used in the structure of the building.
Read More: Karachi building collapse: Building erected despite major structural flaws
Earlier on December 23, a six-storey building, which was tilted down earlier in the day, had been raised after getting construction permit of ground plus one floor.
According to the map, obtained by the ARY News, the builder had constructed the high-rise residential building in Ranchore Line by violating the laws of Sindh Building Control Authority.
Sources had said that SBCA’s than assistant and deputy directors had raised questions over the building but the former DG SBCA had allowed the builder to construct the multi-storey building.
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A YOUNG Eyre Peninsula couple celebrated Christmas as millionaires after winning the $1 million division one prize in X Lotto. The couple held the only division one winning entry nationally in the Monday and Wednesday X Lotto draw which was drawn on December 23. An SA Lotteries official called the couple to inform them of their win, the woman answered the phone but interrupted the official to make sure her husband would get to hear the news at the same time. The woman said she only played sporadically and had marked her numbers at random. "They weren't special beforehand, but they definitely are now," she said. When asked how they planned to spend their life-changing windfall, the thrilled couple confessed they were looking forward to house-hunting in the new year. "We'll definitely be buying a house but after that we don't know," she said. "I don't think the news has really sunk in yet," the husband added. The couple who wish to remain anonymous, purchased their six-game marked entry online.
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/32ui8UE6ZJbtvC4phXfSTtM/df83febe-a06b-4d0a-ac25-a864e1751dad.jpg/r0_338_6653_4097_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg | 1 |
(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Evgeni Malkin scored twice and added an assist Monday as the Pittsburgh Penguins won their third straight, 5-2 over the visiting Ottawa Senators.
The win was tempered by an apparent right arm injury to Pittsburgh's leading scorer, Jake Guentzel, who earlier in the day was named to the All-Star Game.
On the same play he scored the Penguins' fifth goal, Guentzel got tangled with Ottawa's Thomas Chabot, crashed into the end boards and left the game. It was his 20th goal this season and his 200th career point. Guentzel had two assists earlier in the game.
Patric Hornqvist had a goal and an assist, Dominik Simon scored, and Bryan Rust added two assists for Pittsburgh, which has won seven of its past eight and picked up its league-leading 16th home win.
Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry made 24 saves to win his sixth straight start.
Nick Paul scored both goals for Ottawa, which saw the end of its five-game point streak (2-0-3).
Marcus Hogberg stopped 28 of 33 Penguins shots.
Malkin opened the scoring 27 seconds into the first period. On a two-on-one, he beat Hogberg glove-side with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Simon doubled the Penguins' lead at 11:44 of the first. Joseph Blandisi won a puck battle with Chabot along the left-wing boards and threw it to the slot. Simon, fending off Paul, scored on a backhander.
At 4:21 of the second, Paul cut the deficit to 2-1. After a flurry of shots, Jarry was pulled to his left, leaving a big opening for Paul.
Malkin struck again at 6:02 of the second, off a back-door play from Rust to restore the two-goal cushion.
The Senators again made it a one-goal game at 15:58 of the second. Paul was near the crease to pounce on the rebound of a shot by Connor Brown.
Pittsburgh answered 53 seconds later. Hornqvist — set up by John Marino after some nifty stickhandling, including a spin move — lifted a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the left circle to make it 4-2.
Malkin, deep in the Senators zone, set up Guentzel with a drop pass to make it 5-2 at 6:55 of the third.
MENAFN3112201900670000ID1099494362 | San Jose Sharks (17-21-3, eighth in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4, third in the Metropolitan Division) Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m.
San Jose Sharks (17-21-3, eighth in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4, third in the Metropolitan Division)
Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh hosts the San Jose Sharks after Evgeni Malkin scored two goals in the Penguins' 5-2 victory against the Senators.
The Penguins have gone 16-4-2 in home games. Pittsburgh has scored 134 goals and ranks seventh in the NHL averaging 3.4 per game. Bryan Rust leads the team with 16.
The Sharks are 6-10-2 in road games. San Jose averages 11.4 penalty minutes per game, the third-most in the league. Evander Kane leads the team serving 83 total minutes.
The teams match up Thursday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Malkin leads the Penguins with 27 assists and has recorded 38 points this season. Rust has totalled seven goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
Kane leads the Sharks with 14 goals and has recorded 28 points. Timo Meier has five goals and one assist over the last 10 games for San Jose.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.4 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.
Penguins: 8-2-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.8 assists, three penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
INJURIES: Penguins: Justin Schultz: out (lower body).
Sharks: Antti Suomela: out (upper body), Melker Karlsson: day to day (undisclosed).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press | 3 |
JUNEAU, Alaska — During her first year as Alaska Senate president, Cathy Giessel won over one-time political adversaries and angered some within her own party for her willingness to buck Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a fellow Republican, on key pieces of his agenda.
Giessel’s ascension to the role just three other women have held coincided with Dunleavy’s 2018 election. She was among those who argued cuts proposed by the governor were too much, too fast, and that the formula he wanted to follow for paying checks to residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, was no longer workable.
Tuckerman Babcock, a former state GOP chair and former Dunleavy chief of staff, said Giessel’s position on the dividend changed.
“That’s one issue, and the other is, to be so publicly, adamantly at odds with the governor is just bizarre,” he said, noting he would not support her again.
Giessel said as Senate leader, she’s an easy target.
Rather than dictating views to her 14-member caucus, which includes a Democrat, Giessel said she gives them room to wrestle with issues to reach agreement, or not. Her caucus was sharply divided on the dividend last year, which she said reflected the electorate and divisions within her party.
Giessel said the dividend has been one of the most divisive statewide issues she’s seen. It’s expected to be a major focus during the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 21.
“But I do believe … we will, after all of this vigorous conversation, come to a good conclusion,” she said.
In 2016, as she faced re-election, Giessel supported then-Sen. Dunleavy’s call to restore the portion of the dividend cut by Gov. Bill Walker as the state struggled with a budget deficit. Giessel recently said she felt the issue should not be decided by one person.
Lawmakers had a chance to override Walker’s actions but didn’t. A legal challenge ultimately was decided in his favour.
In 2018, lawmakers began tapping permanent fund earnings, long used to pay dividends, to help cover government costs. They also passed a law seeking to limit withdrawals from earnings for government and dividends.
Dunleavy has supported using a decades-old dividend formula that many lawmakers see as unsustainable and haven’t followed in recent years. Giessel has called for a formula change.
During her race, “I never said I supported these massive-sized PFDs,” she said, referring to the checks. “I supported a full legislative discussion of the subject and not just keeping the money in the earnings reserve account but actually using it to balance our budgets.”
Lawmakers settled on a 2019 dividend that equaled $1,606. Under the formula, it would have been $2,910, according to the Department of Revenue.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said his relationship with Giessel mainly consisted of passing hellos before she became Senate president but has blossomed into a friendship and trusted working relationship. He said she has come into her own as a leader.
“She sticks to her values, her principles. In the face of flack by some in her own party, and maybe some Alaskans along the way, she didn’t flinch, and I really respected her for that,” said Edgmon, an independent.
Giessel and Edgmon joined in challenging the administration in a dispute over school funding and Dunleavy’s pick of a special session location.
Giessel was born in territorial Alaska, in Fairbanks, where she was raised, the oldest of four children. Her father was a pilot who often took her on trips to rural Alaska. Her mother went to law school after raising the family.
Giessel wanted to study political science in college but said her mother urged her to study something “practical,” like nursing. Her mother also urged her to intern for then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, which she said she did.
Giessel met her husband Richard in Michigan, where she attended college. After nursing school, when he suggested they marry, she told him he’d find her in Alaska, where they eventually settled.
She put her nursing career on hold for 12 years to raise and homeschool their children, and later earned a master’s degree.
Giessel has long been involved in Republican politics and served as a state GOP vice chair.
After working on campaigns and wanting to make a difference with policy, she was elected to the Senate in 2010. For two years, she was part of a conservative, four-member minority.
Oil and gas were hot topics, and she “made up her mind that she was going to know everything that there was to know about it,” said Republican Sen. John Coghill, who was in that caucus and is on the current GOP-led majority’s leadership team.
“Man, oh man. She got hold of something and became a formidable force because of her tenaciousness,” he said.
During her legislative career, Giessel has often attended hearings of committees she doesn’t serve on, taking notes, likening it to soaking up all she can in a classroom.
Giessel became Senate Resources Committee chair in 2013, after Republicans wrested control of the Senate from a bipartisan majority. She said she wanted the job after seeing how North Slope communities she visited as a nurse had benefited from oil development.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Begich said Giessel once was a political adversary but last year said they expressed a desire to work together, in their leadership roles. The Anchorage Democrat said he and Giessel have different ideas but share the goal of a “stable, sustainable Alaska” with opportunities.
“I have no doubt about that, and that makes it easy to work with her,” he said.
Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press | RALEIGH — The federal judge who blocked the newest version of North Carolina’s voter identification law cited the state’s “sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression” as she ordered officials not to enforce the law in 2020.
U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs’ decision was released Tuesday and prevents North Carolina from requiring voters to provide identification starting in 2020. The Republican leaders of the state House and Senate, however, have asked North Carolina’s Department of Justice to appeal.
The federal court advised last week that Biggs would formally block the photo ID requirement until a lawsuit filed by state NAACP and others is resolved. Her decision provided insight into why she blocked the law, which she said was similar to a 2013 law that a federal appeals court struck down in 2016.
That court said the photo ID and other voter restrictions were approved with intentional racial discrimination in mind, and Biggs said the newest version of the law was no different in that respect.
“North Carolina has a sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression stretching back to the time of slavery, through the era of Jim Crow, and, crucially, continuing up to the present day,” Biggs wrote.
Legislators received a breakdown of voter behavior by race before passing the 2016 law and used that data to target African American voters, the court wrote in striking down that law. The defendants said there’s no evidence of similar behavior before the most recent voter ID law.
But the same key lawmakers championed both bills, Biggs wrote. “ … they need not had racial data in hand to still have it in mind,” the ruling says.
The approval of the new version, known as S.B. 824, was “procedurally unobjectional,” Biggs wrote. But its closeness in time to the previous version; the fact that many of the same legislators were involved in both bills; the use of “unconstitutionally gerrymandered maps” and other issues “indicate that something was amiss,” she wrote.
The legislative history of the bill, including statements from its supporters, show that “rather than trying to cleanse the discriminatory taint” imbued in the previous voter ID law, lawmakers tried to circumvent state and federal courts, she wrote.
The photo ID law would have been effective with the March 3 primary. But the requirement would have been put into motion sooner than that with mail-in absentee voters, who also would have had to provide an ID copy.
The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, president of the North Carolina conference of the NAACP, said he was “overjoyed” by Biggs’ decision.
“Quite frankly, tears are coming to my eyes as I read the decision,” he said. Biggs’ “strong language is so appropriate” as the nation approaches the 2020 elections, Spearman said.
“I hope it is something that will encourage people who have not exercised their right to vote to cast their votes,” he said.
After losing one court battle over voter ID, Republicans put a question on the November 2018 ballot enshrining voter ID in the state constitution. The amendment passed with 55% of the vote. The legislature approved a separate law in December 2018 detailing how to implement that amendment. Legal challenges were filed almost immediately.
GOP legislators said they had to enact an ID law because voters had approved one. But Biggs, who was appointed to the bench in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, said the constitutional amendment was a cover for legislators that allowed them to present themselves as “faithful servants whose hands were tied.”
The argument that lawmakers had to pass this particular bill falls short, she wrote. “While the legislature may had to pass some form of photo voter-ID law, it did not have to enact one which suffers from impermissible defects,” she wrote.
The law did allow for more types of IDs to be used and allowed voters to get a free ID card or fill out a form explaining their “reasonable impediment” to obtaining one.
But legislators rejected an amendment allowing the use of public assistance IDs, which Biggs described as “particularly suspect.”
Republican legislators have urged the state DOJ to seek a stay of the temporary injunction, saying Biggs’ ruling was “inappropriate.”
Their attorneys sent a letter Monday saying it’s “imperative that you seek a stay of Judge Biggs’ injunction immediately to avoid irreparable harm to the state.”
A state DOJ spokeswoman didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the lawmakers’ request. | 2 |
A retired Florida lawyer and former judicial candidate has been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court for making disparaging comments on social media about Muslims and the LGBTQ community.
The court, which handles discipline against lawyers and judges, handed Donald McBath a 91-day suspension from practicing law, according to the Florida Bar, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The Bar documented 15 comments that McBath made on Facebook or Twitter, including anti-Muslim remarks (“never trust a Muslim”), homophobic remarks (“Abstain, if you really have that mental illness. It’s not love”), comments against abortion, and comments supportive of President Donald Trump’s travel ban (“They’re leaches on our system.”)
The Bar also noted McBath's Twitter profile stated: “100% Trump supporter #MAGA; #KAG; proud DEPLORABLE; Pro-God; Christian; Pro-Life; Pro-Gun; Anti-Sharia; Constitutional Conservative; Former Major US Army.”
McBath ran for judge last year in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which comprises Pinellas and Pasco counties. He lost in the primary to former prosecutor Doneene Loar.
During his candidacy, McBath told the newspaper the comments were his, but said they wouldn’t prevent him from treating a Muslim or LGBTQ citizen fairly if one appeared before him as a judge. | ORANGE CITY, Fla. — Last year was a record-setting year in Florida for manatee watercraft deaths . According to the Save the Manatee Club, 130 manatees were killed by boats last year.
Here are some do's and don'ts when it comes to boating with manatees:
Hot spots: According to researchers, Lee County had the highest number of manatee deaths in 2019 due to boats, with 25 manatees killed. Brevard County was close behind with 15, followed by Volusia County with 12.
Habitat loss: Researchers think habitat loss and seagrass loss could be partially to blame. “They are migrating into new areas that they might not be as familiar with, and boaters might not be as familiar with seeing manatees in those areas, which can then lead to more collisions between manatees and boaters,” Save the Manatee Club researcher Cora Berchem tells us.
Reasons for boat hits: Berchem thinks more boaters on the water and manatees being taken off the Endangered Species List are factors in the rise of manatee deaths.
Prevention: To prevent the record from being broken again in 2020, Berchem suggests that boaters drive slowly, wear polarized sunglasses, and look for manatee snouts and "footprints." “A 'footprint' is a circular pattern on the top of the water that the manatee will make when it swims, so if you see a 'footprint' or a manatee snout coming up for air, that is a good indication that there are manatees in the area,” Berchem says.
What to do: If you do accidentally strike a manatee while boating, or you see a sick or injured manatee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urges you report it to its 24-hour hotline at 1-888-404-3922. FWC will dispatch someone out to the animal to help. | 1 |
Hayman Island Resort, Funnel Bay and Cruise Whitsunday's Reef Suites were among the 24 developments that drew the most investment. Images: Monique Preston, Supplied.
Hayman Island Resort, Funnel Bay and Cruise Whitsunday's Reef Suites were among the 24 developments that drew the most investment. Images: Monique Preston, Supplied.
THE region has seen plenty of exciting developments with many more promised for new year, and behind big projects is big money.
LAST year saw the much-awaited reopening of Daydream and Hayman islands, the reveal of the refreshed Airlie Beach Foreshore and the upgrade of the Whitsunday Coast Regional Airport.
This year even more developments are set to begin including the Funnel Bay development and the Shute Harbour restoration.
For those interested in the numbers behind these projects, here's a list of the top 24 completed, planned and in progress developments that drew the most investment in the Whitsundays.
Data is accurate as at October 1, 2019.
1. Hamilton Island (over 10 years): $750,000,000 (in progress)
2. Daydream Island Resort: $140,000,000 (completed)
3. Hayman Island Resort: $135,000,000 (completed)
4. Shute Harbour restoration: $50,000,000 (due for completion early 2021)
5. Funnel Bay development: $50,000,000 (due to commence construction)
6. Whitsunday Coast Airport: $40,000,000 (completed)
7. Proserpine Entertainment Centre: $10,700,000 (funding signed off)
8. Cruise Whitsundays Reef Suites: $8,000,000 (completed)
9. Airlie Beach Hotel: $7,000,000 (completed)
10. Airlie Beach Foreshore: $6,300,000 (completed)
11. Beautiful Bowen project: $5,000,000 (stage 1 completed)
12. Pavillion Arcade: $4,300,000 (in progress)
13. Hook Island Eco Retreat: $4,000,000 (in progress)
14. Proserpine main street arcade: $3,600,000 (in progress)
15. Lake Proserpine recreation hub: $3,000,000 (in progress)
16. Hill Inlet upgrade and expansion: $2,000,000 (in progress)
17. Heart Reef Island: $2,000,000 (completed)
18. Proserpine Water Park: $1,700,000 (completed)
19. 74 Taphouse and Eatery and Whitsunday Islands Brewing Company: $1,000,000 (completed)
20. Camp Island: $1,000,000 (completed)
21. Flagstaff Hill Interpretive Centre: $1,000,000 (in progress)
22. Indigenous Bush Tucker Trail and Paddock to Plate venue, Flagstaff Hill: $1,000,000 (in progress)
23. Reef Ecologic underwater sculptures: $971,610 (in progress)
24. Palm Bay refurbishment: $750,000 (completed) | Tagging 2020 as the ‘year of Revival and New Glory, Olukoya urged Nigerians to pray because the year would be messy and confusing.
Read Also: Pastor Tackles MFM’s Olukoya Over Christmas ‘Unbiblical’ Comment
Here are the prophecies below:
”1. 2020 is a year where disobedience to God would yield terrible result that no deliverance can reverse.
2. More than any other year the enemy plans to bring the dog spirit (strange sexual perversions).
3. Year where round the clock prayers are needed against national restlessness.
4. This year impatience would lure many Into strange marriages.
5. A year not only to take back what the enemy has stolen but for you to occupy new territories.
6. Hot prayers are required in 2020.
7. This year would be messy and confusing.
8. Year when some many leaders would be shifted away.
9. A year where all things many have planted and watered in the past years would now begin to produce fruits.
10. Year where many who have endured season of darkness and delay would sing their song and dance their dance.
11. Year of returns of long time prodigals.
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12. Year we must return to our accient landmark ( holiness and righteousness.
13. Year of perfection for vision.
14. Year of positive and negative harvest.
15. Extra ordinary and sacrificial giving would yield powerful result this year.
16. 2020 would be an up and down year.
17. Year that the Lord shall tear in pieces kingdom of those boasting against him.
18. Season where that which that has delayed the blessing of God’s children shall be dashed to pieces.
19. Resurrection power would bring back dry bones.
20. The lord would bring fresh start for a lot of people.
21. The lord would bring fresh start for a lot of people.
22. Year for rewriting negative family history.
23. Year of aggressive prayers against voices from foundation.
24. Year of unbelievable answers to prayers.
25. Year of it can only be God testimonies.
26. Year where many captives would divorce their chains.
27. Year for consistently deploying the blood of Jesus.
28. Year when the Lord shall dash to pieces kingdom of evil rulers.
29. Many families shall climb to a new height of victory.
30. Year when sins must be more sensitive to heaven frequencies.
31. Food supplies from the kingdom of herod shall be cut off.” | 1 |
A couple times a year, some “new report” makes the rounds on social media alerting us all to the fact that—ick, yuck, shudder—something or other has “more germs than a toilet seat.” This is apparently primo would-be-viral content, to judge by how often those headlines come up.
Ew, gross, right? You shudder, cringe, comment about hygiene practices … and then move on because what are you actually going to do about the fact that [the thing you can’t avoid touching] has cooties? Here’s what becomes clear after a few rounds of this: Every damn thing has more germs than a toilet seat—and one surprising reason may be that toilet seats actually aren’t that dirty, perhaps because people think they’re so dirty that they get cleaned a lot.
The dirtier-than-a-toilet-seat list includes cell phones, steering wheels, shopping carts, restaurant menus, and restaurant high chairs. It includes just about everything in the kitchen, starting with your sponges and cleaning cloths and going on to your cutting board and faucet. All of which are positively teeming with germs. Your clean laundry? Maybe not so clean.
In public, add on money, ATMs, elevator buttons, door handles, and … you know what? If a lot of people touch it, it is extremely dirty.
In short, guys, maybe this is not something to get so worked up about. Wash your hands, keep your possessions clean, and don’t click through to find out the shocking truth about TV remotes. | nope. once you establish the habit of not eating crap like ice cream and so on, it's very easy not to eat it.
the major problem a lot of people have is, they have absolutely no control over what habits they pick up. they want one thing, and their a ss wants another, and their a ss wins that fight. basically their brain is being controlled by their a ss. it's very sad. | 1 |
The transfer window is open and Chelsea need to dip into that £150m budget on the evidence of this incoherent performance. Frank Lampard spent the majority of a scrappy contest bemoaning his young team’s lack of conviction in the final third and they ended up learning a harsh lesson, conceding a late equaliser when Alireza Jahanbakhsh came off the bench to rescue a draw for Brighton & Hove Albion with an astonishing bicycle kick.
Chelsea were ragged in the end and Brighton could even have snatched an unlikely win, only for Kepa Arrizabalaga to make a vital save from Neal Maupay’s low drive. Lampard could only watch with a concerned expression on his face as Brighton’s spirited comeback gathered pace. It was poor from Chelsea given their earlier dominance and another bland attacking display will surely convince the Stamford Bridge club to take advantage of their transfer ban being lifted this month.
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It had all looked so promising during the first 20 minutes. Chelsea were back to 4-2-3-1 after ditching their 3-4-3 system 34 minutes into their victory over Arsenal and they took control from the start, bossing possession and threatening down the flanks. It was an attacking line-up from Lampard, with Mason Mount’s movement in the No 10 role causing problems for Brighton, and the inclusion of Reece James at right-back gave Chelsea an extra option in attacking positions. There is an adventurousness to James and the opening goal arrived when the 19-year-old, who had made a surprisingly quick recovery from an ankle injury, charged forward to win a corner.
Willian’s delivery was lifted high to the far post, where Kurt Zouma was able to rise unchallenged and head back into the middle for Tammy Abraham to shoot from close range. Aaron Mooy blocked on the line and the ball broke to César Azpilicueta, onside and free to turn in his third goal of the season.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest César Azpilicueta taps in from close range to give Chelsea an early lead at Brighton. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
At that stage, with Brighton struggling to make their midfield diamond work, Chelsea could hardly have been more comfortable. But perhaps it was too easy. Complacency set in and there were flashes of frustration from Lampard as the dynamic started to shift. He wanted his forwards to show more conviction and he grew irritable on the touchline, turning away in disgust when Tammy Abraham wasted a decent opportunity in the 28th minute.
Abraham shot when he could have released Willian, who was unmarked to his right, and it is precisely that kind of raw decision-making that Lampard will take into consideration when he devises his transfer plans this month.
Too many of Chelsea’s attacks were breaking down in careless fashion and Brighton almost made them pay shortly before half-time, Neal Maupay scurrying down the left and teeing up Leandro Trossard to test Kepa with a curling effort. Kepa saved and Martin Montoya blazed the rebound wide.
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Brighton, who lost Dan Burn when the left-back suffered a shoulder injury during an aerial collision with James, were gaining belief. Graham Potter had tweaked his side’s approach midway through the first half, jettisoning the diamond and matching Chelsea’s system, and he made another alteration during the interval, removing Yves Bissouma and bolstering his attack with the introduction of Aaron Connolly. The change meant Brighton were using a 4-4-2 and the game became frantic.
Potter had thrown caution to the wind, a risky move bearing in mind Chelsea’s speed on the counterattack, but the visitors were unable to capitalise. Christian Pulisic’s incursions from the left ended in disappointment and Lampard opted for a more conservative approach in the closing stages, replacing Mount with Mateo Kovacic.
Brighton were pressing hard, almost equalising when Connolly brought the best out of Kepa, and they finally made the breakthrough when Lewis Dunk’s header looped to Jahanbakhsh. The Iranian winger, surprisingly named on the bench after ending ended his long wait for a goal for the club against Bournemouth last weekend, leapt through the air and sent the ball soaring into the net with an incredible exhibiton of technique and athleticism. | Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored with a spectacular overhead kick to stun Chelsea and earn Brighton an unlikely point at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls were poor for most of the match and looked set for defeat before the Iranian substitute, who scored his first goal for the club on Saturday, brought the home support to their feet in the 84th minute with an early contender for goal of the month, BBC Sport reported.
Cesar Azpilicueta gave Chelsea the lead with his third of the season when he fired in from close range after Tammy Abraham's shot was blocked by Aaron Mooy.
Brighton's attacking threat was largely nullified by Chelsea's defense, although aside from the goals it produced the clearest chances – both thwarted by the brilliance of keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Spaniard produced a one-handed stop to deny Aaron Connolly and then saved Neal Maupay's low drive with his feet.
Jahanbakhsh steals headlines again
Tears of joy to a look of disbelief – what a week it has been for Jahanbakhsh.
A lack of first-team opportunities had frustrated the Iranian since he made a £17-million move from AZ Alkmaar in July 2018, so the outpouring of emotion when he opened his Brighton account against Bournemouth last weekend came as no surprise.
Manager Graham Potter did not reward the 26-year-old winger with another start, but having watched his other attackers fail to make much of a dent in the Chelsea defense he threw on Jahanbakhsh in the 68th minute.
Connolly came close to beating Arrizabalaga with a low drive before Jahanbakhsh tried the more unconventional method and, with his back to goal, he found the Chelsea bottom right with a superb acrobatic effort.
Big blow for Blues
This result is another setback for Frank Lampard and his side, which looked assured of an eighth league win on the road this season.
Prior to Jahanbakhsh's goal his defense had suffocated Brighton's attack.
Having been accused of being sloppy at times this season, Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James and skipper Azpilicueta were at their dogged best – rarely allowing an opposition ball to find its way into the six-yard area.
Youth graduate James shone the brightest, and manager Lampard has a potential diamond. Aside from providing support for his center-backs, the 20-year-old was exceptional as an attacking force down the right.
Brighton's Dan Burn will not want to face him too soon having left the pitch holding his arm in the 22nd minute following a collision with the England under-21 player.
The Blues, however, were as poor as Brighton in attack, and keeper Mat Ryan had less to do than his opposite number. The only time he was called into action in the second half was to make a routine low save from Christian Pulisic. | 3.5 |
It will be a warm to hot day across the country on Thursday, with some cities hitting the 30°C mark, according to the South African Weather Service.
Warnings
Extremely high fire danger conditions expected over the central interior of the Northern Cape.
Special weather advisories
Hot and humid weather will result in extremely uncomfortable conditions over the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Lowveld, the Limpopo Valley and the south-western Bushveld tomorrow.
The weather in your region
It will be fine at first in Gauteng, otherwise partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers are expected. The UVB sunburn index will be moderate.
Mpumalanga will be cloudy at first with morning fog along the escarpment. Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy and warm with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers, except in places in the Lowveld where it will be extremely hot.
It will be cloudy in the morning in Limpopo,with morning fog along the escarpment. Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy and hot but very hot in the Limpopo Valley and the south-western Bushveld. Isolated showers and thundershowers are expected over the southern and central parts.
The North West will be partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated showers and thundershowers.
It will be fine and warm to hot in the Free State, becoming partly cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers, except in the southwest.
The Northern Cape will be foggy at first along the coast. Otherwise, it will be fine and cool but warm to hot over the interior, becoming partly cloudy in the northeast with isolated showers and thundershowers. It will be very hot in some places in the north. The wind along the coast will be strong southerly to southwesterly.
It will be foggy along the coast and adjacent interior in the morning in the Western Cape. Otherwise, it will be fine and warm but partly cloudy and cool along the south coast. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh southerly to southeasterly but easterly along the south coast.
The expected UVB sunburn index will be very high.
The western part of the Eastern Cape will be cloudy, becoming fine and hot but partly cloudy and warm along the coast and adjacent interior. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate northeasterly, becoming moderate to fresh south-easterly from late morning.
The eastern half of the Eastern Cape will be cloudy, becoming partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers but scattered in the northeast. It will remain cloudy with rain along the coast and adjacent interior. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh northeasterly, becoming strong south of East London from late morning.
In KwaZulu-Natal, it will be partly cloudy to cloudy and warm but hot in places in the north with isolated showers and thundershowers. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate south-easterly to easterly becoming north-easterly in the afternoon.
The expected UVB sunburn index will be high.
- Compiled by Adiel Ismail
Click here to see the specific forecast for your city over the next few days | Chennai, Jan 2 (IANS) The process of counting of votes polled in the two-phased rural local bodies held on December 27 and 30 in Tamil Nadu began on Thursday morning.
Tight security has been deployed at the 315 counting centres across the state.
The elections for the rural local bodies were held in two phases in 27 districts, barring the nine newly carved ones in line with the apex court's order.
The ballot papers in four different colours were used in the poll instead of the electronic voting machines (EVM).
Before counting the votes the ballot papers were being segregated based on their colours.
According to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) the first phase saw polling of 76.19 per cent, and the second phase saw 77.73 per cent.
Over 2.31 lakh contested the polls for 91,975 posts. The posts include: Gram Panchayat Ward member, Gram Panchayat President, Panchayat Union ward member and District Panchayat Union Ward member posts.
vj/dpb | 1 |
To catch up on all the MAFS 2020 recaps and gossip, check out The Twins recaps and visit our MAFS hub page. And sign up for our Recaps newsletter to get them straight into your inbox.
Look.
Australian TV is about to hit a new low, as we watch a man named David use his (fake) wife Hayley’s toothbrush to clean up poo in a toilet bowl. Then, despite this act being filmed, and with many producers, ‘experts’ and crew knowing what happened, Hayley then uses said pooey toothbrush for a rumoured five days with absolutely no one stepping in to stop her.
The whole debacle is gross, humiliating and unethical, but this should not come as a surprise. Each year, MAFS gets more hectic. And each year, more and more people apply to be on it.
The MAFS experts have a lot to answer for. Post continues below video.
Video via Mamamia
If you’re keen on joining an experiment that 1. doesn’t work and 2. will not stop you from brushing your teeth with a sh*tty toothbrush, you’re in luck.
Applications for the next season of MAFS are open, stating: “Married At First Sight is searching for men and women of all ages and backgrounds who are genuinely committed to finding love. This groundbreaking social experiment uses science and psychology to help Australian singles meet their perfect partner.”
There are many problems with this, namely that no one on the show is there to find love and the so-called ‘science’ is… flawed.
ANYWAY.
I don’t want to brush my teeth with a pooey toothbrush but… curiosity got the better of me. I also fancy myself throwing a fruit bowl or two.
So look. I applied. Yes, I’m ashamed, embarrassed, scared etc.
If you’re also thinking about it (why?) and wonder what it takes to build a profile that will hopefully lead you to teeth whitening endorsement deals and at least one trip to the Logies red carpet, here’s what to expect from the application process.
To complete the rest of the application, you must agree to sell your soul, both your kidneys and guardianship of your firstborn child by answering a series of invasive questions: | To catch up on all the MAFS 2020 recaps and gossip, check out The Twins recaps and visit our MAFS hub page. And sign up for our Recaps newsletter to get them straight into your inbox.
No.
This experiment has been going for five thousand days now, and Michael has an epiphany to share with all of us.
When Stacey wakes up with perfectly blended eyeshadow but also winged eyeliner and lipstick with some highlighter on the tip of her nose and just generally where the light hits and also a dash of blush that’s not actually how she looks naturally do you understand.
He shakes his head furiously as he comes to terms with all the times Stacey must have gotten out of bed and put makeup on only to get back into bed and SIR THE WOMAN WAS WEARING LIP LINER HOW DID THIS TAKE YOU NEARLY TWO MONTHS.
But Michael is beginning to learn something else, too.
“Have you ever had a job?” he asks Stacey, to which she mumbles something about retail and we would never want to pry but Ma’am… how do you pay for things?
"At least I've been employed before," she says smugly and sweetie you're an adult woman who has two children and a law degree we're so confused.
Michael jokes that they could fit her CV on a post-it note which feels rude but they both have a good laugh so it looks like it's play on.
In Newcastle, Lizzie is taking Seb to visit her family so that they can ask him about his property portfolio/how much money he has exactly/what's his pin number etc.
Seb says he's a construction worker and personal trainer but before he can finish Lizzie's mum interjects "THAT DOESN'T PAY WELL" and with all due respect like how do you even know?? | 1.5 |
Selena Gomez looked edgy & fabulous when she rocked a deep burgundy lip, front bangs & massive hoops while promoting her new album, “RARE,” in NYC on Jan. 14.
Selena Gomez, 27, has been slaying her style lately while promoting her new album, “RARE,” and her latest look may just be one of our favorites. Sels headed to the PUMA flagship store in New York City on January 14 when she looked edgy and sexy with a dramatic face of makeup. Selena threw her brown hair back into a high messy ponytail, done by hairstylist Marissa Marino, showcasing new long and voluminous front bangs that covered her forehead and sides of her face. She topped her look off with a deep burgundy lip and a dark black smokey eye. While we loved her glam, it was her pair of huge white Fenty Noodle Hoop Earrings that stole the show, as they made her makeup pop.
As for her outfit, Sels rocked an oversized gray button-down Toteme Houndstooth Boxy-Fit Shirt with a pair of matching baggy Toteme Houndstooth Straight-Leg Trousers. On top of her matching set, Selena rocked a long white knee-length Everlane Sleeping Bag Puffer Coat, which she chose to keep unzipped. A gold Cartier Santos De Cartier Necklace and a pair of Puma Rs x Sneaker Reinvent shoes completed her edgy, athleisure look.
Lately, Selena has been switching up her entire look. From her glam to her style – Sels has been opting for edgier outfits and more dramatic glam, and it’s seriously working for her. One trend that Selena has been loving lately is a retro, vintage-inspired style and aside from her dark brown ’90s lip at the PUMA party, she just rocked a sexy ’60s style hairstyle.
Sels rocked a half-up hairdo, done by hairstylist, Marissa Marino, when she was the special guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in NYC on Jan. 13. The ends of her hair were flipped up, while her front bangs were swept to the side. A stunning thick black cat eyeliner, done by makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, tied her entire look together. We have been loving all of Selena’s “RARE” press tour looks and you can click through the gallery above to see all of her gorgeous looks. | A certain four letter word slipped out of Selena Gomez’s mouth on ‘The Tonight Show,’ which even caught the singer by surprise! You would swear, too, if you had to play the same terrifying game Selena was forced to.
It’s late night show protocol to not swear on television (or at least, try avoid to), a rule that Selena Gomez just broke! The 27-year-old singer had good reason to, though, on the Jan. 13 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — she was attacked by a stuffed animal. Okay, let’s backup: Selena was competing against host Jimmy Fallon, 45, in a game of Can You Feel It? As the name suggests, Selena and Jimmy were forced to touch not exactly pleasant objects (and organisms) in a glass box and take wild guesses at what they were probing.
It wasn’t the wet shower drain hair or LIVE mealworms that made Selena scream a word that wasn’t PG-friendly. That honor went to a toy bear that suddenly transformed into an evil puppet, which tried to “bite” Selena’s hand! “I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE F–K,” Selena exclaimed, after incorrectly guessing the mystery item was her dog. Immediately realizing what she just said, Selena clutched her mouth, and later couldn’t stop apologizing: “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry!” No need to be sorry, Selena.
After Selena and Jimmy properly sanitized their hands, the discussion moved on to Selena’s new album, Rare, once she sat down for her interview with Jimmy. It turns out that “maybe there’s a few things” that didn’t make the cut for the final track list, including a song called “Boyfriend.” But the song won’t be stuck in Selena’s computer! “I can’t wait for people to hear that one,” Selena gushed, confirming that the song will one day make its public debut, after an unreleased track originally called “I Want a Boyfriend” was teased in Selena’s Jan. 2020 profile for Wall Street Journal.
Even while playing with mealworms, Selena still managed to look absolutely fabulous. She paid tribute to the ’60s with her flippy half-up, half-down hairdo, flirty fringe and cat eye, the same hairstyle the singer wore as she later headed to Nobu in New York City after taping The Tonight Show. However, she moved onto the next decade — the groovy ’70s — by changing out of her pink Miu Miu dress and Prada heels to instead wear flare jeans, a cream sweater and crocodile print booties for her sushi dinner. | 1 |
By Julie Laakko
[email protected]
MASCOUTAH – This is a frightening time. Our daily way of life has been disrupted in more ways than one, and no one seems to know what to expect. In response to the Shelter in Place order, even the churches have closed their doors to protect their congregations. Church leaders in Mascoutah are working hard to provide worship services as best they can.
• First Assembly of God has suspended their services and have been posting online worship services on their YouTube page – First Assembly of God Mascoutah.
• St. John United Church of Christ has suspended all in-person worship services and classes. Sunday and Wednesday Lenten Services are available on their website www.saintjohnucc.org or their Facebook page.
• St. Martin of Tours Lutheran Church has suspended all services until April 1. Their Order of Service and Live Stream can be found on their Facebook page.
• Bethel United Methodist has suspended all on-site activities. There is an online worship streaming on Facebook Live at 10:30 on Sundays.
• Mercy’s Door has suspended their meetings. A 10 AM online worship service is available on Sundays on Facebook and also have a link to a children’s Bible Project video series to discuss with their parents.
• Mascoutah First Baptist Church suspended their services, but are providing an online service on Facebook Live. The service will be held March 22 at 10:45 AM.
• Cross Pointe Christian Church is not gathering at this time. Pastor Charlie McGee’s message is available at www.ourcrosspointe.org. More information can be found on their Facebook page.
• Zion Lutheran Church is providing Sunday and Lenten worship services through online and streaming services, primarily Facebook Live. They are offering a Bible class through the ZOOM app. Anyone interested in the Bible Class should contact Zion Lutheran.
• Holy Childhood has limited their service to two live stream online masses: one at 5 PM on Saturdays and one at 9 AM on Sundays. The Live Stream can be accessed at www.holychildhoodchurch.com by clicking on the link that says Live Stream Mass. There are also other links on their website that can be used. | New minister joins spiritual center
The Rev. Lin Nowicki is the new senior minister at United Life Center for Spiritual Living, 3332 N Meridian.
Nowicki accepted the center's letter of call and began serving in her new post on March 1.
The center, a member of Golden, Colorado-based Centers for Spiritual Living, conducted a yearlong search before Nowicki, of Sante Fe, New Mexico, offered her acceptance of the senior minister's post. The center held a reception after her inaugural address to the community. She was a member of the Santa Fe Center for Spiritual Living, is licensed as a religious science practitioner she has been teaching certificated Science of Mind classes since the mid-1990’s. As her center's delegate to the Santa Fe Interfaith Leadership Alliance, she particularly appreciated participating in their monthly interfaith study group. | 2 |
HAMDEN, Conn. — Police in Connecticut are trying to identify a man they say got a job at a gas station and proceeded to steal $17,000 worth of merchandise and cash on his first, and only, solo overnight shift before disappearing.
The man also stole his employment folder, which contained his personal information, so the store’s owner does not even know the worker’s name, Hamden police said in a statement Tuesday.
Police responded to the Go On Gas store late last month.
The owner told investigators he used an app on his cellphone to view the store security cameras and noticed that the new employee had left.
The owner went to the store and determined that the worker had stolen lottery tickets, 89 boxes of cigarettes and money worth a total of more than $17,000. The employment file was also missing.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect in a surveillance image released by police is asked to contact investigators. | Typically when you start at a new job, you always want to make sure to leave a good impression that very first day. Well, this man left quite an impression, all right. What did he do? He decided to steal on his first day of work, yup, the usual.
According to authorities, the employee made off with more than $17,000 in cigarettes, cash, and lottery tickets while he was working. The incident occurred at the Go On Gas station in Hamden, Connecticut, when management hired a new overnight employee to run the gas station on his own.
A gas station employee in Connecticut is accused of stealing more than $17,000 worth of cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes during his first solo shift on the job, authorities said. https://t.co/GmxIxTbuuk — KTVU (@KTVU) February 6, 2020
Hamden Police Department stated the store owner used an app on his cell phone to see the store camera and check in on how the new employee was doing. He was shocked to see the brand new employee was nowhere to be seen. Through a statement the Hamden Police noted, “[The owner] quickly ascertained that the new employee had left. The store owner immediately responded to the store and ascertained that the new employee had stolen numerous items including lottery tickets, 89 boxes of cigarettes and money.”
The total loss is valued at $17,183.00. Authorities stated the suspect also stole his employment folder with all his personal information, meaning yes, the store owner not only has no way to identify this sly man but doesn’t even know the name of his former employee!
This is so funny! The man stole his employment records so the employer couldn't identify him
New gas station employee allegedly steals $17,000 on very first day of work – ABC News – https://t.co/wIQbkvPB1m via @ABC — Private Figure (@Kingjavanna) February 6, 2020 Advertisement
I have to admit, this is no average man, he is definitely smart and knew exactly what he was doing. I really have to give this man props, especially for doing it at a gas station where there are a million cameras. Someone will definitely recognize him on the street and turn him in.
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But, as of today Hamden Police Department has yet to find him and are asking the public for help in finding this sneaky man. So, if you see someone on the street similar to the guy in the video, well, you know what to do. | 4 |
While one of the many gags online is that ish doesn't get real across the pond, series like Top Boy prove that what goes on in the ends is just as real as it is stateside. Making that point clearer is Blue Story, an acclaimed UK film that's finally hitting select theaters in America later this month.
The directorial debut from writer/director Andrew Onwubolu (aka Rapman, who caught the eye of JAY-Z, leading to an affiliation with Roc Nation), Blue Story is like a UK version of Boyz n the Hood or Juice. It features Micheal Ward, who blew everyone's mind when Top Boy hit Netflix, and delves into a friendship between two friends from opposite boroughs in London. It's no joke; you learn early on that things get hectic when clans clash, leading to tragic ends and insane realizations. It's a provocative look at London youth right now, especially from impoverished areas, all conducted by Rapman, who himself makes interesting appearances throughout the film, guiding the story along.
The intoxicating Blue Story hits theaters in New York on March 20, followed by openings in Los Angeles on March 27. Check out the official U.S. trailer above, then check out the synopsis (and the official poster) below.
Best friends Timmy (Stephen Odubola) and Marco (Micheal Ward) go to the same high school in Peckham, but live in neighboring London boroughs. When Marco’s beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends the two boys wind up on rival sides of a never-ending cycle of gang war in which there are no winners … only victims. | Paramount Pictures has released a new trailer to the urban drama, Blue Story, written and directed by Onwubolu, who is known as Rapman on his successful YouTube videos.
Produced by Damian Jones and Joy Gharoro-Akpoiotor, the film stars an array of up-and-coming U.K. talent: Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Stephen Odubola, Micheal Ward, Khali Best, Max Fincham, Kadeem Ramsay and Karla-Simone Spence. Junior Afolabi Salokun and Micaiah Lewis will make their feature-film debuts.
Best friends Timmy (Stephen Odubola) and Marco (Micheal Ward) go to the same high school in Peckham, but live in neighboring London boroughs. When Marco’s beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends the two boys wind up on rival sides of a never-ending cycle of gang war in which there are no winners … only victims.
Paramount Pictures will release Blue Story in select theaters on March 20. | 4 |
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Marco Scandella #6 of the St. Louis Blues skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 06, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Blues 4-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Montreal Canadiens added defenceman Marco Scandella for a short stint this season. How has he fit in with the St. Louis Blues after being traded by the Habs?
The Montreal Canadiens season was falling off the rails around the new year. They had some decent stretches in the first half of the season but also had some long losing streaks. They were in the middle of what would become their second eight game losing streak of the year when the calendar flipped to 2020.
With their playoff hopes circling around the drain, the Habs made a couple of minor moves to add some depth to their team. They signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a contract and they also dealt a fourth round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for defenceman Marco Scandella.
Scandella had played 31 games for the Sabres and was providing solid defensive minutes for another team that had faint playoff hopes. The Sabres oddly built their team by adding as many NHL caliber defenceman as they could get their hands on, but forgot to find a second NHL caliber centre to play behind Jack Eichel.
With Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Colin Miller, Jake McCabe, Henri Jokiharju and Zach Bogosian on the roster, as well as Scandella, the Sabres were looking to deal a defender.
They eventually decided to trade Scandella to a division rival in Montreal and only received a fourth round pick in return.
Scandella is a Montreal native and was ecstatic to get a chance to play in Montreal. He moved around the pairing on the left side, battling Victor Mete, Brett Kulak and Ben Chiarot for ice time. He mostly settled into a third pairing role on the left side and provided solid defensive, responsible minutes.
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Scandella played 20 games with the Canadiens, scoring three points including one big goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 2-1 overtime victory. As the trade deadline approached, it became obvious the Habs were not going to make the postseason, so Scandella was on the move again. Though the Canadiens only gave up a fourth round pick for him, they dealt him to the St. Louis Blues for a second round pick and a conditional fourth.
Since arriving in St. Louis, the Blues have caught fire. They are battling the Colorado Avalanche for first in the Central Division. When Jay Bouwmeester was ruled out for the rest of the season after a scary incident where he collapsed on the Blues bench, they were in the market for a left defenceman.
Scandella stepped into the Blues lineup and has been great. He has played 11 games with his third team this season and won nine of them. The Blues only two losses since Scandella arrived in town were to Eastern Conference opponents, so they haven’t lost ground in the Western Conference race.
Scandella has averaged just over 20 minutes per game in St. Louis. He plays a regular role at even strength but has taken over Bouwmeester’s important role on the top penalty killing unit. Scandella has averaged 2:22 per game on the penalty kill in those 11 games with the Blues, which is third highest on their team this season, just behind Bouwmeester and Robert Bortuzzo.
The Blues have been staying just ahead of the Avalanche for first place in the Western Conference standings. They have 94 points and the Avalanche have 92. There is very little margin for error atop the Central Division and thanks to Scandella stepping in and playing a crucial role, the Blues have maintained their perch atop the conference standings.
There is no way to know when the NHL will pick back up again or what the rest of the regular season or playoff schedule will look like when the NHL does eventually return to action.
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We do know that the Blues will be in contention to repeat as champions whenever we see NHL games again. They will have one new key player in the lineup compared to last year’s Stanley Cup run and that will be Marco Scandella who has fit in extremely well after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens. | Marco Scandella was traded to the St. Louis Blues by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday for a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Scandella is in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 29, 2014 and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He was traded to the Canadiens by the Buffalo Sabres for a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft on Jan. 2.
The defenseman has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 51 games this season.
[RELATED: 2019-20 NHL Trade Tracker]
Selected by Minnesota in the second round (No. 55) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Scandella has 136 points (42 goals, 94 assists) in 569 regular-season games for the Wild, Sabres and Canadiens and nine points (six goals, three assists) in 39 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Blues (32-17-10), tied with the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference, host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-MW, MSG+, NHL.TV). St. Louis is without defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who had a cardiac episode during the first period of a game at the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 11 and was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday. | 1 |
Thursday, March 5
Circle of Grandparents Group — 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Family Resource Center. Includes free child care.
SilverSneakers Classic — 10 a.m., Heritage Center.
Life Long Learning ‘The Best of the Forgotten Plants’ — 1 p.m., CSU Regional Engagement Center.
Cornhole — 1 p.m., Heritage Center.
Novice Tai Chi — 1:30 p.m., Heritage Center.
Al-Anon/Family Support Group — 5 to 6 p.m., 230 B-Broadway. Information: Office 970-526-6500, cell 970-518-3414, csrecovery1028@gmail.com. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
Under the Umbrella LCC Meal — 5 to 6 p.m., Prince of Peace Church, 201 Phelps St. Anyone in need of a meal is welcome.
Housing Assessment Open House — 5:30 to 7 p.m., The Annex, Shred Workspace room, 121 S. 4th St. Childcare available at Family Resource Center from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Food provided.
Sterling Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2020 Launch Party — 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Parts and Labor Brewing Company.
Living with Alzheimer’s — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., CSU Engagement Center, 304 Main St. For people with early stage Alzheimer’s and care partners. Free to the public. Register by calling 970-7207 or 800-272-3900.
All Recovery Support Group — 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., 230 B-Broadway. Information: Office 970-526-6500, cell 970-518-3414, csrecovery1028@gmail.com. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
Sterling Camera Club — 7 p.m., Heritage Center.
Sweet Adelines — 7 p.m., Sterling High School choir room. For ladies who love to sing.
Friday, March 6
Qi Gong — 10 a.m., Heritage Center.
SRM Community Blood Drive — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sterling Regional MedCenter south parking lot. Appointments: 521-3284.
Sterling Creatives Just Plain(s) Creative Opening Reception — 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., 120 N. 4th St. Featuring monotypes created by artist members.
First Friday @ First Presbyterian — 12:05 to 12:35 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 130 S. 4th St. Orpheus Music Club Young Artists. Musical presentation, free and open to the public.
Trivia — 12:15 p.m., Heritage Center.
Cards and Pool — 1 p.m., Heritage Center.
Iliff Triangle AA Step Study — 6 to 7 p.m., Iliff Trading Post, 315 Railroad Ave., Iliff. Study of various interesting AA books. Riders often available. Information: 970-580-0576.
Northern Lights Narcotics Anonymous — 7 p.m., 1325 N. 7th St.
Saturday, March 7
Women of Truth 2020 Conference — 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., NJC. Cost $25. For tickets: https://bit.ly/2vkRdSV.
Settlers’ Saturdays — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Overland Trail Museum. Theme: Music (instruments and watercolor). Kids 12 and under are free, adults $5. Self-guided activity tour ending with a craft.
Logan County Precinct Caucus — 10 a.m., various locations.
Narcotics Anonymous — 1:30 p.m., First Christian Church. Information: 970-520-1474.
Heritage Center Dance Group — 6:30 to 10 p.m. FM Country. Cost is $7. Everyone is welcome.
Northern Lights Narcotics Anonymous — 9 p.m., 1325 N. 7th St.
Sunday, March 8
Zion Congregational Church Soup Kitchen — 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 5th Street and Chestnut. Come to the back door and down the stairs. Free. Meals served to anyone who is hungry and in need of a hot meal. | Tuesday, March 17
Logan County Commission Meeting — 9 a.m., Courthouse, 2nd floor meeting room.
SilverSneakers Classic — 10 a.m., Heritage Center.
Sterling Lions Club — Noon, Elks Club.
Cross My Heart Ministries Brown Bag Bible Study — noon to 12:45 p.m., Rock Assembly of God, 916 S. 4th Ave. Geared for women who work outside the home and would like to attend during their lunch hour. Information: Call 526-2732 or e-mail crossmyheart@kci.net.
Las Amigas Bridge Club — 1 p.m., Heritage Center.
Sewing & Etc. — 1:30 p.m., Heritage Center.
Logan County Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Courthouse, 2nd floor meeting room.
Sterling Masonic Lodge Meeting — 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 18
Weekly Lenten Worship Service — noon, First Presbyterian Church, 130. S. 4th St. Pastor Richard von Steinman, First English Lutheran Church. Lunch follows service.
Rotary Club — Noon, The Grill at River City.
Walking Wednesday — 12:10 and 5:15 p.m., Prairie Park.
Fleming VFW Oyster Fry — Begins at 5 p.m.
Iliff Triangle AA Group — 6 p.m., Iliff Trading Post, 315 Railroad Ave., Iliff. Rides available by calling Kathy at 580-0576 or can be arranged with other members.
Thursday, March 19
Circle of Grandparents Group — 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Family Resource Center. Includes free child care.
Older & Wiser Workout — 10 a.m., Heritage Center.
Novice Tai Chi — 1:30 p.m., Heritage Center.
Movie Matinee ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ — 2 p.m., Heritage Center.
Al-Anon/Family Support Group — 5 to 6 p.m., 230 B-Broadway. Information: Office 970-526-6500, cell 970-518-3414, csrecovery1028@gmail.com. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
All Recovery Support Group — 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., 230 B-Broadway. Information: Office 970-526-6500, cell 970-518-3414, csrecovery1028@gmail.com. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
American Legion Auxiliary — 6:00 p.m., VFW.
Sweet Adelines — 7 p.m., Sterling High School choir room. For ladies who love to sing.
The Songs & Stories of Brent Vernon & Sam — 7 p.m., Christ United Methodist Church.
Sterling Camera Club — 7 p.m., Heritage Center. | 3 |
NBC has made fans of The Blacklist quite happy by renewing the hit television show for an eighth season. In fact, this is the second consecutive year that the show has earned an early renewal, and it couldn't come at a better time, as the show recently celebrated its 150th episode. According to Deadline, there are also no current plans for the eighth season to be the final one for the hit drama, so fans can rest easy. Sony Pictures Television had also been closing deals with the show's original cast members in hopes of renewing the show, and it worked, as the entire cast will be reprising their roles in season 8.
“Congratulations to our incredible cast, producers and crew, all of whom continue to reach excellence week in and week out,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment. “We couldn’t be more excited to continue Red and Liz’s story into season eight.”
The Blacklist has become a consistent ratings earner for NBC, as it averages a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with the overall audience of 6.6 million viewers. It also happens to be a very profitable show for the network thanks to its streaming deal with Netflix and strong international sales.
“The Blacklist’ continues to tell exciting and imaginative stories,” said Chris Parnell, Co-President, Sony Pictures Television. “It’s due to the brilliant cast, crew and our writing staff, led by Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath, who commit to unparalleled creativity. Wait until you see what’s in store for season eight. Thank you to Lisa Katz, Tracey Pakosta, Pearlena Igbokwe and all of our partners at NBC and Universal Television.”
NBC also revealed that season 7 of The Blacklist will resume on Friday, March 20th with back to back episodes starting at 8 pm.
Are you excited for the new season of The Blacklist? Let us know in the comments!
Did you know ComicBook.com has a podcast? That's right folks, ComicBook Nation is available every Wednesday and Friday bringing you the best breakdowns of the week's biggest news from Kofi Outlaw, Matt Aguilar, Janell Wheeler & the rest of the staff at the site. Catch the newest episode right here or subscribe on iTunes today! | Of all the complaints people have about Netflix, the most common of the bunch is undoubtedly the various autoplay features on the site. Any time you turn on Netflix, you're met with a giant trailer for its new featured project having never asked to see it. The same thing happens when you finish a movie or TV series. Autoplaying trailers on Netflix have been inescapable and it has been a point of frustration to loads of users. Well, it looks like Netflix is finally listening to its subscribers, now offering the option to turn off the autoplay features altogether.
In response to yet another complaint about the frequency of autoplay ads on Netflix, the streamer's Twitter account told its fans around the world that the autoplay is now able to be toggled. This could be a game-changer for the users that have been aggravated by Netflix's ads for any period of time.
"Some people find this feature helpful. Others not so much," reads the tweet from Netflix. "We've heard the feedback loud and clear - members can now control whether or not they see autoplay previews on Netflix."
Some people find this feature helpful. Others not so much. We’ve heard the feedback loud and clear — members can now control whether or not they see autoplay previews on Netflix. Here's how: https://t.co/6V2TjEW6HD https://t.co/zbz4E8fVab — Netflix US (@netflix) February 6, 2020
Along with the announcement, Netflix shared a link to a help article that explains how to turn off both the preview and next episode autoplay, and it's a pretty easy process to follow.
If you login to your Netflix account, click on the drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the home page (make sure you're on a browser and not in the mobile app). Click on the "Manage Profiles" option from that menu and it'll bring up all of the different profiles associated with your account. Choose the profile you want to edit and you'll be given the choice to turn off autoplay. One of the two options lets you toggle the preview autoplay, while the other lets you toggle the next episode autoplay feature.
Did you know ComicBook.com has a podcast? That's right folks, ComicBook Nation is available every Wednesday and Friday bringing you the best breakdowns of the week's biggest news from Kofi Outlaw, Matt Aguilar, Janell Wheeler & the rest of the staff at the site. Catch the newest episode right here or subscribe on iTunes today! | 2 |
As the COVID-19 virus spreads across the world, many governments have shut down schools, nurseries and other care providers. With more and more people working from home, it is likely that many families will find themselves in a situation where both parents are trying to work from the kitchen table while also attempting to home-school the children.
This, on top of the regular household chores as well as cooking and cleaning can feel like an extra load for many parents at this time. The likelihood is though that despite both parents now being at home, much of the “domestic” work will still land squarely on the shoulders of the women of the house. So much like the 1950s housewife, women will not only be expected to make exciting meals, keep the house clean and tidy and the children entertained – but she’ll also have to do all this while working from home.
Read more: Coronavirus: how to help children through isolation and lockdown
In her seminal work, professor of sociology Arlie Hochschild looked at heterosexual couples in the 1970s and 1980s and noted that women were doing what she termed “the second shift”. So despite record numbers of women being in the labour market, women still end up going to work and then coming home to do a second job – namely the bulk of housework and childcare.
Although her data is from the US and almost 40 years old, the most recent analysis of parents’ time in the UK in 2015 found that women still spend two if not three times as much time on care and routine housework compared to men. Even when both parents work full-time, mums still carry out almost double the amount of childcare compared to fathers.
‘Woman’s work’
With schools, nurseries and afterschool clubs closed, this is the end of the facilities that relieve parents – but mostly women – of their care responsibilities. Indeed, it is through the introduction of affordable and accessible childcare that women were able to take part in the labour market after childbirth. With this ending, that care burden now lies with the family again.
Now you may think that if both parents are able to work from home, both fathers and mothers can share the load. Theoretically that can be the case. But as our research has found in several studies, working from home tends to lead to a more traditional division of labour.
A recent German study has shown that when women work from home, they tend to do three hours more childcare compared to women who do not work from home – while men who are home-workers end up doing more overtime hours.
Similar patterns have been found across the world, including in the US and Poland. The reason for this is because our societies still believe that women hold the responsibility when it comes to housework and care, while men are still mainly responsible for the bread-winning.
In the 2017 British Social Attitude Survey, for example, two thirds of respondents say that it is better for mothers to stay home or work part-time when children are under school age. The majority felt that fathers, on the other hand, should work full-time. So it is highly likely that for as long as the schools and nurseries are closed, women will carry out the role of teacher while also trying to ensure they themselves get some work done.
The mental load
The world is a scary place for children and teenagers at the moment, and mothers across the world are also undoubtedly having to carry out the “third shift” – ensuring the emotional wellbeing of not only her children but also parents and other family members. In other words, they are in charge of the mental load of worrying about the family.
This triple load women are carrying may exacerbate the high levels of stress that mothers are already at risk of – along with other mental health issues.
Read more: Coronavirus self-isolation: a psychologist explains how to avoid cabin fever
So to mums I say this: you are amazing for trying to do everything but you need to understand that you are trying to do three people’s job in a time of crisis – when your mental health and capacity will have also suffered. Give yourselves a break.
This is also a time for couples to have an honest conversation about who is doing what – and how things can be made fairer. There are some great websites and books to help you divvy up the chores.
I know it might not feel like the right time but it’s important – and studies show that dad’s involvement in childcare and an equal division of housework leads to good outcomes for children, their relationship with dad, as well as improvements in the couple’s relationship. It also increases dad’s own wellbeing and can plant the seeds of a more equal society for the future. Ultimately, dads need to and want to take on these roles.
But more importantly, employers may also need to be realistic about what working parents, and other workers, can do at this point. Many were able to perform the “ideal worker” image, where they have no other responsibility outside of work, but it will be difficult to maintain that in these times for both men and women. | creative duo jacob witzling and sara underwood present the latest body of work in their ongoing project cabinland, including their latest diamond cabin. the project comprises a collection of moss-covered, off-grid cabin dwellings in the middle of the forest. the design/build team has so far demonstrated their knack for creating tiny, unique woodland homes with a wanderlust-arousing truck cabin and an octagonal, fairytale-like dwelling. before the construction of the main house, cabinland sees the completion of three new jewel-like structures including the diamond cabin, a hot-tub, and a video series which documents the team’s entire design-build process.
diamond house
as sara and jacob’s cabinland continues to grow, now with three new tiny woodland structures, the team develops a documentary-like video series. during the upcoming construction of the main house, the team will live in the newly built ‘diamond cabin,’ a radially planned, two story dwelling — its second level accessible by ladder — finished in timber shingles and a thick layer of moss.
diamond cabin
in the meantime, the team keeps their clothes and things stored away in the new wardrobe cabin — its asymmetrical and dramatically pitched roof clad in the same lush moss. the property’s water filtration system is housed within a pump house, the third cabin designed in the same language and forested materials, expressing an inverted, steeply pitched roof. viewers can follow the continuing progress on the project through the video series ‘cabinland.’
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jacob Witzling (@jacobwitzling) on Jan 15, 2020 at 10:14am PST
wardrobe cabin
pump house
pump house
diamond cabin interior
hot tub
exterior shower
project info:
project title: cabinland
design/build: jacob witzling, sara underwood | 1 |
VINEMONT, Ala. (AP) — Pay raises are in the future for an Alabama town's council and mayor as long as they attend the council's monthly meetings.
The South Vinemont Town Council passed an ordinance to raise members' pay this November. The raise is the first for the council since February 2008, said Mayor Radginal Dodson.
The town’s five council members previously received $300 per month with the mayor being paid $1,000 per month, The Cullman Times reported. The new ordinance keeps council members’ pay at $300 per month but with an additional $100 per month if the members attend the council’s meetings, and raises the mayor’s pay to $1,400 per month with an additional $100 per month if he, too, attends the council’s meetings, the newspaper reported.
The vice-mayor’s pay would stay at $550 per month with the additional $100 per month if he attends the meetings, the newspaper said.
The changes will take effect after the town’s municipal elections are held and new terms begin in November. | MCINTOSH, Ala. (WKRG) — A UFC fighter from McIntosh gets his first win with the premier mixed martial arts promotion, but maybe not in the way he would have wanted. According to MMA Fighting.com, Brok Weaver was declared the winner of his bout with Rodrigo Vargas after Weaver was knocked out by a “blatantly illegal knee” late in the first round Saturday night.
Weaver landed his UFC contract after winning in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. Weaver had a hero’s welcome with a parade last year after landing the contract. A post from Port City MMA says Weaver is eager to get back into the gym to train for his next fight. | 1 |
About
What is #Supporter of Each Other?
The goal of this new campaign is to inspire people, players, fans, clubs, leagues, FAs and all other organisations and companies to support each other to overcome the current COVID-19 crisis. We will communicate tips and initiatives to stop the further spread of the virus, to stay healthy and socially active from home and to look after each other. The campaign informs people about the activities and initiatives taken by people, players, clubs, leagues and FAs from all around Europe. In addition to this, Supporter of Each Other also encourages everyone to contribute to fundraising initiatives, for example, from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation.
Why did we start #Supporter of Each Other?
For the good of our society, we all need to do our part to prevent the further spread of the virus but also to keep society going. Especially in times like this, we must not forget the people that need our support the most. We need to help people to get better, prevent further spread of the virus and support people that are affected by self-isolation and other preventive measures. The time has come for us all to unite and to become a supporter of your own family, your neighbours, the people working in healthcare and the people in your community that you might not know, but who need the support of others to overcome this crisis.
How do we support each other?
Supporter of each other will highlight best practice examples from football and community organisations internationally. We will focus on the following 5 topics:
1. Education- sharing advice on how to stay healthy and safe during the COVID-19 outbreak
2. Health- promoting physical activity at home
3. Social Cohesion- supporting each other, especially the people in risk of isolation
4. Volunteering- encouraging people to start volunteering from home
5. Inspire – sharing positive initiatives from all over the world to overcome the COVID-19 crisis
Why Football?
Football has the power to bring people together, regardless of their cultural and language differences. It has the ability to bring communities together by connecting people with the sport that brings them joy. It breaks down barriers that divide us from one another and it can be a powerful tool for social development – even in the state of crisis.
At times like this, it doesn’t matter what your age, race or gender is, what nationality you have or which colours your favourite club has. We all need to stand together and become a #SupporterofEachother to overcome this crisis. The #SupporterofEachOther campaign is for everyone! Every person, club, organisation or company can join our campaign and become a #Supporterofeachother.
Who started #SupporterofEachOther?
The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) launched ‘Supporter of Each Other” together with several clubs and other football organisations. EFDN consists of more than 90 professional football clubs, leagues and FAs who are committed to their communities and social responsibilities and have the passion to cooperate and engage on a European level. The network aims to promote the power of football as a tool for social development and support the efforts of the network members in their initiatives to use football to reach out to various target groups in their communities.
We are Supporter of Each Other
More than 90 clubs, leagues, FAs and other organisations have joined our campaign. You can find the whole list of Supporters here. | The extraordinary times we find ourselves in during the global COVID-19 crisis has led to extraordinary measures being taken by product manufacturers and suppliers across the globe. In an effort to do their part to counteract the lack of life-saving medical supplies, clothes manufacturers are making surgical masks and other protective clothing items for medical personnel, airplane makers and other heavy industrial manufacturers are turning their hand to produce medical devices, and alcohol distillers are now manufacturing hand sanitizers.
Regulatory bodies and governments around the world are taking equally unprecedented measures. The changing regulatory landscape, where deviations from normal course are being permitted on an almost daily basis across Europe, warrants a well-considered but flexible and fast-moving response from those seeking to benefit from it.
Below are some key considerations for companies looking to move into time-pressured medical supply production in Europe, against the backdrop of a regulatory landscape subject to daily change.
What regulatory regimes apply to the new products?
There are several regimes that can potentially apply to COVID-19 medical supply products, depending on many factors, including product composition, product function and claims made about the product in advertising/labelling. All of these factors will be heavily influenced by the current climate in which the product is being manufactured.
Some relevant regulatory regimes include:
Medical devices regime. Medical devices are articles (including software) intended to be used to diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat or alleviate disease, injury or handicap; investigate, replace or modify anatomy or physiological process; or control conception other than primarily by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means.
Medical devices are articles (including software) intended to be used to diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat or alleviate disease, injury or handicap; investigate, replace or modify anatomy or physiological process; or control conception other than primarily by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means. Personal protective equipment regime. Personal protective equipment is equipment that will protect the user against health or safety risks at work, including gloves, eye protection and respiratory protective equipment.
Personal protective equipment is equipment that will protect the user against health or safety risks at work, including gloves, eye protection and respiratory protective equipment. Biocidal products regime. A biocidal product is one which controls harmful or unwanted organisms through chemical or biological means and includes a very diverse group of products, including disinfectants, pest control products and preservatives.
A biocidal product is one which controls harmful or unwanted organisms through chemical or biological means and includes a very diverse group of products, including disinfectants, pest control products and preservatives. Human medicines regime. A medicinal product is any substance(s) for humans that has properties of preventing or treating disease or that restores, corrects or modifies a physiological function by exerting a pharmacological, immunological or metabolic action, or by making a medical diagnosis.
Other regimes such as poisons legislation and detergents legislation may also apply.
As is often the case in the life sciences context, products can be considered ‘borderline products’ in straddling many of these regimes, and careful consideration needs to be given to these issues. The circumstances of production of the products may limit arguments that less medically-orientated regimes apply, such as the cosmetics regime, when in simpler times such arguments could be validly made.
The above-mentioned regimes impose different obligations and are overseen by different regulatory bodies. Expert assistance and a case-by-case assessment is required, but surveying existing products on the market makes a good starting point (and something authorities will consider). Well thought-out outreach to authorities may be considered in some contexts.
2. Do your products comply with the applicable regulatory regimes?
Given the particularly close link between human health and safety and medical supplies, these regulatory regimes tend to be particularly technical and complex.
From a practical perspective, the following are the types of issues likely to be encountered when bringing the product to market, which differ from regime to regime:
Allowable product compositions
Authorizations/licenses and/or approval from relevant regulatory bodies
Testing requirements, including clinical trials
Information-keeping requirements
Manufacturing standards/processes
Labelling, including specific hazard warnings and use instructions and CE marking
Whilst the goodwill efforts of the companies trying to do their part for society in these circumstances will hopefully not be overlooked, it seems product safety and quality is still paramount to authorities charged with oversight of these areas. We have seen examples of European health authorities rejecting supplied personal protective equipment on the basis of lack of CE marking or other mandatory product safety labelling. There are examples of non-compliant and/or counterfeit products being seized across Europe as well.
3. Can you team up with other manufacturers or actors in the supply chain, especially those that are experienced in the production of the specific products, to lighten the regulatory lift and speed up production times?
A technical expert may well be required in respect of the above requirements, especially for testing and resultant documentation.
Companies could consider teaming up with pre-existing manufacturers in this area, as this may often result in a reduced regulatory uplift to get new products to market. It also means companies new to the area can benefit from the extensive expertise of the more established medical supply manufacturer and their reputation and relationships with relevant stakeholders, such as regulators and suppliers.
Trade bodies are an invaluable source of information at this time for up-to-date information affecting their membership and to assist in any lobbying activities.
4. Can you benefit from any exemptions or derogations being granted by local governments and authorities to address the supply chain issues associated with COVID-19?
Several governments and local authorities are making COVID-19-specific exemptions to allow manufacturers to produce medical supplies very quickly. Currently, despite initial appearances otherwise, these derogations are often quite narrow – aimed at allowing local manufacturers, sometimes only in areas somewhat rehearsed in the manufacture of the relevant product, to produce products for the benefit of local health authorities. Companies need to carefully assess any derogations or reliefs from regulatory compliance made and whether these are applicable to their situations.
Whilst it is positive to see governments take steps to address the COVID-19 situation, the very specific exemptions allowable would, in some ways, suggest that they might be less likely to entertain exceptions outside the scenario they have addressed specifically. It is not correct to assume that authorities will allow complete relaxation of regulatory compliance requirements given the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in. However, the regulatory landscape changes on a daily basis and monitoring and adapting to the same is required.
We will provide relevant updates on specific areas as they become available. | 1 |
Ryan Grim
March 8 2020, 7:42 a.m. (theintercept.com)
MICHIGAN HOLDS A special place in the memory of Jesse Jackson and the supporters of his insurgent 1988 presidential campaign. It was Jackson’s Nevada, the moment that the party establishment realized this campaign it had long written off might just seize the nomination.
At a rally in Michigan on Sunday, Jackson will endorse Sanders ahead of a do-or-die primary for the Vermont senator.
The Michigan contest in 1988 fell on March 27. After more than three dozen primaries and caucuses, a crowded presidential field had been winnowed down to three serious contenders: Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor and presumed frontrunner; Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt; and the Rev. Jackson, a former close aide to Martin Luther King Jr., and the public bearer of the torch of the civil rights movement.
Joe Biden, then a senator from Delaware, had dropped out of the race following a plagiarism scandal and dismal polling numbers.
Given Gephardt’s hard-hat, working-class brand, he badly needed a win in Michigan. He threw everything he had left into the state. Dukakis, too, wanted Michigan — to show that his appeal extended beyond the liberal confines of Harvard Square, and that he could win back those Reagan Democrats whose defection had cost Jimmy Carter reelection.
Jackson spent that election day touring Detroit, hitting black churches and five different housing projects. The New York Times’ legendary political reporter, R.W. Apple, was on hand for the last minute push. Jackson, Apple observed in his election night dispatch, “had drawn surprisingly large crowds of both blacks and whites in the last few days,” adding that despite the black establishment’s support of Michael Dukakis — Detroit Mayor Coleman Young was backing Dukakis — Jackson won some Detroit neighborhoods by 15 or 20 to one. “But the surprise was the Chicago clergyman’s powerful showing in predominantly white cities like Lansing, Flint, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, several of which he carried.”
Indeed, Jackson did more than get out the black vote. Progressive whites in the state also rallied hard to his cause. (Dean Baker, now a prominent progressive economist, was district director for Jackson in Ann Arbor.)
The energy of the moment comes through in the Times dispatch. “So dramatically did [Jackson] seize the public imagination that he was able to counter successfully the notion that Mr. Dukakis was the Democrat with the best chance of nomination,” the Times wrote.
Jackson, after 37 primaries and caucuses, was now effectively tied with Dukakis in the delegate count — a stunning moment in American politics that has gone down the memory hole.
The victory generated two polar opposite responses in Washington, D.C., and Burlington, Vermont, both of which would have profound implications for the future of the party.
In Burlington, the city’s independent mayor, an outspoken supporter of Jackson, had to decide if he would engage directly with the Democratic Party in order to help Jackson win. After the Michigan victory, Bernie Sanders went all in, calling a local press conference and announcing that he would be participating in the April Democratic caucus to back Jackson. “I am the only non-Democrat, non-Republican, independent progressive mayor in the United States of America. OK, it is awkward, I freely admit, it is awkward for me to walk into a Democratic Party caucus, believe me, it is awkward. I am not a Democrat. Period,” he said.
But he said the stakes were too high, and the opportunity too great, to stand aside on principle. Jackson, he argued, could remake the Democratic Party in an image of social justice. “So while in fact, he may end up losing some conservative white votes, some racist white votes, I think there is a real chance that he could do what [Walter] Mondale couldn’t do in a million years. That is to bring millions and millions of poor people and working people into the political arena who in the past never participated.”
‘Pick up your sling shot, pick up your rock, declare our time has come, a new day has begun!’ — Rev. Jesse Jackson’s iconic ‘David and Goliath’ speech from 1984 is just as relevant today
3526:31 PM – Feb 5, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy165 people are talking about this
In Washington, though, the reaction was pandemonium. Just as party leaders melted down publicly after Sanders’s win in the Nevada caucuses, they did so after Jackson’s triumph in Michigan. Talk in the top echelons of the Democratic Party turned to panic, with David Espo of the Associated Press reporting that the establishment feared a general-election blowout if Jackson was the nominee. Plans were being drawn up, he reported, to draft New York Governor Mario Cuomo to challenge Jackson at the convention if Dukakis couldn’t stop the reverend.
E.J. Dionne, then reporting for the New York Times, captured the sense of dread.
White Democratic leaders who do not support Mr. Jackson admitted they were in a quandary, wondering how to confront the growing movement toward Mr. Jackson without appearing to be racist and without alienating the large core of activists, including many white liberals, that he has attracted…. Around Washington, the words used by leading white Democrats to describe their party’s situation included crisis, disarray, disaster, consternation, mess, and wacky. “You’ve never heard a sense of panic sweep the party as it has in the last few days,” said David Garth, an adviser to Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee. Mr. Garth predicted that ‘”the anti-Jackson constituency, when the reality of his becoming President seeps in, may be a much bigger constituency than there is out there right now.”
Jackson, the Democratic political class argued, was simply unelectable, so the party should go with a winner like Dukakis. Rep. Barney Frank’s sister, Ann Lewis, was working for the Jackson campaign, but Frank was backing his home state governor. He explained to Dionne that there were two reasons Jackson couldn’t win. “One, there is unfortunately still racism in the country….That doesn’t mean the whole country’s prejudiced. It means that if there’s an irreducible 15 or 20 percent prejudice against a particular group, you’re giving away an awful lot,” Frank said. “Two, he’s still to the left of the country, especially on foreign policy.”
Jackson’s opponents had argued that his proximity to the nomination would paradoxically push some white Democrats away from him. It’s all fine and good to vote for the charismatic black guy with the unifying message in 1988 — indeed, it was an anti-racist badge of honor — just not if he actually might win. The party establishment pulled the fire alarm. I asked Jackson, in an interview for my recent book We’ve Got People, what kind of pressure he felt after his Michigan win. “The pressure was not on me,” he said. “It was the so-called Reagan Democrats who began sewing discord and spreading lies.”
At the April Democratic caucus in Vermont, Sanders spoke on Jackson’s behalf. The interloper’s speech did not go over well with every Democrat. As he headed back to his seat, a woman in the audience slapped him across the face, he later recounted in his 1997 book, “Outsider in the House.”
“Bernie represents direction not complexion. He stood up for me in ’88 and we won Vermont — the whitest state in the country,” Jackson recently recalled to Jeremy Scahill. On the back of the progressive coalition Sanders had organized in Vermont, Jackson won the Vermont caucuses 46 to 45 percent.
Outside of Vermont, it didn’t go as well. Jackson had been polling ahead in the next state on the calendar, Wisconsin, but the party consolidation behind Dukakis, fueled by the panic, flipped the momentum, and Dukakis took the state.
Over the next month, Dukakis would win Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Indiana, and while Jackson continued picking off a state here and some delegates there, the nomination contest was effectively over. As is often the case, political wisdom failed the party elite, and Dukakis was crushed by the unpopular George H.W. Bush.
Jackson’s endorsement comes in the wake of Elizabeth Warren’s departure from the race. “I will not go against Bernie, but I’ve not made a decision to endorse anybody,” Jackson said in a February episode of Intercepted. “And when we talk, I share with him observations. Same with Warren, share observations. I’m not endorsing either one at this point.”
But Jackson was clear on who he would not be supporting. “I think the idea that somehow Biden has largely inherited the black vote in South Carolina is not sound judgment,” he said. “We were saying no to Clarence Thomas, he said, yes, to Clarence Thomas. We were saying no to the Crime Bill. He said yes to the Crime Bill. No to the Iraq War. He said yes to the Iraq war. He’s on a different side of history. It’s his right to be there but he might as well own up to his side of history.”
Jackson said that Biden had taken on the aura of Obama, though that misunderstood the role Biden had played on the Obama’s ticket. “Joe Biden is seen as connected to Barack. He was put on the ticket to balance the ticket not to enhance it. Barack was against the Iraq war. He was for the Iraq war. Barack was against the Crime Bill. He was for the Crime Bill. Barack was supporting Anita Hill and Biden let Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court as a monument to his leadership in that committee. So his proximity to Barack gives the impression he is active in Civil Rights is clearer than it is,” Jackson said. “Biden was Barack’s right-wing. With Barack out, there’s nothing left but the right-wing.”
Biden isn’t offering a vision that meets the moment, Jackson said. “His message does not address the pain of our people. I’m not sure what moderate means if people don’t have affordable healthcare. I’m not sure what moderate, ‘I’m a moderate’ means to us. In fact, it means very little to us,” he said.
Just as Biden isn’t moderate, Jackson argued, Sanders isn’t on the left. “What Sanders represents is not the left-wing,” he said. “It’s the moral center. Healthcare for everybody is moral. Education even for the poor without student loan debt is the moral center. Middle East policy where you recognize Israel and Palestine is the moral center.”
Ryan Grim is the author of the book We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a MovementWAIT! BEFORE YOU GO on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadn’t done it? Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters weren’t on the beat? The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. We don’t have ads, so we depend on our members — 35,000 and counting — to help us hold the powerful to account. Joining is simple and doesn’t need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. That’s all it takes to support the journalism you rely on.Become a Member
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Ryan Grim ryan.grim@theintercept.com @ryangrim | Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. on Sunday endorsed 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and urged black voters to reject the “moderate path” in favor of a progressive agenda that aims to actually meet the needs and demands of their communities.
The endorsement from Jackson, who sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988, came just a day after the U.S. senator from Vermont held a rally in Chicago’s Grant Park attended by about 15,000 people. Jackson spoke Sunday at a Sanders campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Registered Democrats in Michigan, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Washington are slated to weigh in on the party’s presidential primary race on March 10, followed by voters in Illinois, Arizona, Florida, and Ohio on March 17.
The only way we will defeat Trump in November is by bringing in people who have given up on the the political process. We have the movement and agenda to do that. Live now from Grand Rapids with Rev. Jesse Jackson: https://t.co/WpDcJbCty8 — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 8, 2020
Since Super Tuesday, political commentators have declared the contest a two-person race between Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden “for the future of the Democratic Party and the country.” Jackson said in his endorsement of Sanders Sunday that “we have a right to ask and expect candidates who benefit from the African-American political firewall to deliver what we need under the potential leadership of Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden.”
“With the exception of Native Americans, African Americans are the people who are most behind socially and economically in the United States and our needs are not moderate,” said Jackson. “A people far behind cannot catch up choosing the most moderate path. The most progressive social and economic path gives us the best chance to catch up and Senator Bernie Sanders represents the most progressive path. That’s why I choose to endorse him today.”
Today is a special day for our campaign. Rev. Jesse Jackson is one of the most transformative figures in modern American history and a hero of mine. It is one of the honors of my life to have his support. pic.twitter.com/CAszZIuKDT — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 8, 2020
“The Biden campaign has not reached out to me or asked for my support,” Jackson noted. “The Sanders campaign has, and they responded to the issues I raised and the concerns I expressed.” The civil rights leader shared a list of 13 comments and commitments from the Sanders campaign, which included addressing voter suppression; tax and trade reforms; advancing Medicare for All; providing high-quality, free public education; and promoting peace and ending endless wars.
The campaign also pledged that as president, Sanders will ensure that Black women are in his cabinet, at the highest levels of his administration, and on the U.S. Supreme Court; “work to create a market” for black farmers,” who have historically faced discrimination; invest in specific educational needs of black, brown and poor communities; commit extra funding to rural and minority health centers; and support “more trade and fair trade between African Americans, Africa, and the Caribbean nations.”
Sanders announced Jackson’s endorsement on ABC News Sunday morning after being asked about former primary rival Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) endorsing Biden:
JUST IN: Sen. Bernie Sanders tells @GStephanopoulos that civil rights activist Jesse Jackson will endorse him later today. “We have the support of virtually every major grassroots organization.” https://t.co/omRqv4pvVR pic.twitter.com/eCoe3yD4uq — ABC News (@ABC) March 8, 2020
The Intercept‘s Ryan Grim reported Sunday that the “Rainbow Coalition Comes Full Circle as Jesse Jackson Endorses Bernie Sanders,” referring to the political organization that grew out of Jackson’s 1984 presidential race.
In 1988, as Grim detailed, Jackson secured a significant victory in the Michigan primary and Sanders—then the Independent mayor of Burlington, Vermont—supported his insurgent candidacy:
After the Michigan victory, Bernie Sanders went all in, calling a local press conference and announcing that he would be participating in the April Democratic caucus to back Jackson. “I am the only non-Democrat, non-Republican, Independent progressive mayor in the United States of America. OK, it is awkward, I freely admit, it is awkward for me to walk into a Democratic Party caucus, believe me, it is awkward. I am not a Democrat. Period,” he said. But he said the stakes were too high, and the opportunity too great, to stand aside on principle. Jackson, he argued, could remake the Democratic Party in an image of social justice. “So while in fact, he may end up losing some conservative white votes, some racist white votes, I think there is a real chance that he could do what [Walter] Mondale couldn’t do in a million years. That is to bring millions and millions of poor people and working people into the political arena who in the past never participated.”
The embrace of Jackson’s rise in Burlington was quite different from the reaction of “pandemonium” in Washington, D.C. As Grim put it: “Just as party leaders melted down publicly after Sanders’ win in the Nevada caucuses, they did so after Jackson’s triumph in Michigan.”
Meanwhile, he noted, “Biden, then a senator from Delaware, had dropped out of the race following a plagiarism scandal and dismal polling numbers.”
Grim was far from alone in regarding Jackson’s endorsement of Sanders as a “full circle moment.”
It’s an incredible Full Circle moment. 1988: Bernie Sanders Endorses Jesse Jackson For President 2020: Jesse Jackson Endorses Bernie Sanders For President. #SuperTuesday2 #MichiganPrimary pic.twitter.com/yRRarlWX4J — Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) March 8, 2020 | 4 |
After the fatal crash, Uber stopped testing its self-driving cars in all four of its testing grounds -- Tempe, Arizona; Toronto; San Francisco and Pittsburgh. However, the company resumed testing in Pittsburgh just months later, and has plans to begin tests in Washington, D.C. by the end of the year. About a year after the pedestrian was killed, the company raised a $1 billion investment in its self-driving division from three Japanese organizations -- Softbank, Denso and Toyota -- despite allegedly ramping down its efforts in the autonomous vehicle industry.
It's extremely probable that more deaths will occur during the testing and use of self-driving cars. How the industry handles these fatalities could have a big impact on how the technology progresses -- and how quickly the public warms up to the idea of autonomous vehicles. | 4 | |
Impacted by prolonged trade disputes, the global economy suffered its lowest growth in a decade, slipping to 2.3 per cent in 2019. The world, however, could see a slight uptick in economic activity in 2020 if risks are kept at bay, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020, which was launched today. The Report states that growth of 2.5 per cent in 2020 is possible,… Read more on https://africa-newsroom.com/press/un-finds-that-prospects-for-economic-growth-in-2020-hinge-on-reducing-trade-disputes-and-uncertainty?lang=en
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Like this: Like Loading... Related | Little has been done to provide people with disabilities with the guidance and support needed to protect them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, even though many of them are part of the high-risk group, today warned the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas. “People with disabilities feel they have been left behind,” the UN human rights expert said.… Read more on https://africa-newsroom.com/press/covid19-who-is-protecting-the-people-with-disabilities–un-rights-expert?lang=en
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Like this: Like Loading... Related | 1 |
16-year-old stabbing suspect dies after Daytona police take him into custody | An Ocala mother left her 9-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter in their home for 10 minutes on Monday. She went on a quick walk to check the mail and get some candy for the kids.
When she left, the two were playing. Police said that when she came back, she saw her son stabbing her daughter and saying, “Die. Die!”
The mother hurriedly grabbed the knife from her son as she picked up her daughter and took her to the bathroom, Ocala police said. Her son dashed out of the home and hid under a nearby maintenance shed.
After police were called, the boy was found shortly after. Officers say that he told them that he’s had thoughts of killing his sister since Saturday.
He tried to get it out of his head but could not, police said. When his mother left, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
Hiding it behind his back, he approached his sister from behind as she was bent over trying to show him something. He grabbed her by the neck and stabbed her several times in the back, police said.
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When officers asked him again why he stabbed his sister he said “he wanted to be able to go outside.”
The 5-year-old girl was airlifted to a nearby hospital and treated for multiple stab wounds. Her condition is not known, police said.
The boy was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
Police did not release the names of the mother or daughter.
Local news has never been more important Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the news that matters to your community. #readlocal | 1 |
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Jazz music is setting the mood as guests come to visit the grand opening of Rod Dyer’s exhibit “Jazz Impressions.”
Dyer is known for his graphic designs, but it is actually his once popular West Hollywood restaurant Pane E Vino that is giving the nostalgic feel.
"All the customers I had at my restaurant all are here tonight. So it feels like that restaurant vibe, and I'm not sure about the art," said Dyer.
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The restaurant lasted 23 years and that was where Mister Musichead Gallery owner Sam Millgrom met Dyer for the first time. They instantly connected with their love of music.
"That's when I found out he had designed all these album covers that I was so familiar with and had enjoyed over the years," said Millgrom.
He has designed countless album covers while working for Capitol Records and is responsible for some of the most recognizable logos. When Milllgrom saw Dyer’s personal drawings and paintings of jazz legends he knew he needed to curate an exhibit.
"I thought they were just brilliant and his use of color and the simplicity of it and I thought there was a great market to sell these and the world should know about it," said Millgrom.
Dyer’s love affair with jazz music began while growing up in South Africa.
"I'd take my salary and pay my rent and the rest of the money I would buy jazz albums," said Dyer.
He fled apartheid and made his way to the states where his love of the genre flourished while visiting jazz clubs in New York and Los Angles. Over the years that love led him to create.
"Once I got started on one, I couldn't stop. And I would get so absorbed, I would try to do one or two a day," said Dyer.
Taking a look at his art there are all but two jazz legends who are still alive.
"The legends of jazz should live on through their music and through their visual aspect of their work," said Millgrom.
For Dyer who has used his lifetime to reinvent himself says this first solo show feels like his life is beginning again.
"I believed in myself, I believed in my work, I believed I could do it, and I try to do it better than anybody else," said Dyer.
Inspired by his love of jazz and visual art forms to continually create. | I am in a very unfulfilling marriage with two lovely children. I got married in a hurry to escape my abusive alcoholic father and my spineless mother who would vent her sorrows with me as a young girl, make me fight with my father for her, but stayed on in the marriage.
A married man from our friends’ group expressed his attraction to me and I got drawn to the attention, as I neither got any attention as a child nor from my dismissive and dominating husband. The sex in our marriage was always rushed and one-sided and I never experienced any pleasure through the years.
When I had sex with ‘this man’ I felt myself as a sensual being for the first time. This gradually became an addiction as I craved to be with him anytime I could.
Over time he became aloof and refused to meet me and asked me to not get attached to him and to get ‘real’ about being married. He then completely stopped contact and has been putting up happy holiday pictures with his pregnant wife.
I feel jealous and crave to hold him again. I am restless, irritable and disinterested in home affairs and aloof from everyone. I want to be able to move on, but the physical memory and craving in my body draws me to fantasising about being back with him. How should I move on?
All human beings have needs. The need to be looked at and paid attention to ranks as one of our most fundamental needs. A young baby first experiences this need as he/she is constantly attended to by a parent figure.
A baby can’t help itself but to rely on others at this point – but learns to cope and live autonomously as he/she grows up. All human beings therefore have a need to be seen, visible, relevant and at best loved. While this need to be ‘heeded’ continues to be much ‘needed’, we must adapt our methods at seeking out ways in which this need can be met.
Children and adults have different ways to seek out the attention of others and therefore the manners in which and measures through which – we like acknowledgement and attention must evolve with us over the years.
Now as an adult woman, you have both emotional and physical needs that harken back to this fundamental need I have just explained. This is important to you.
In the absence of attention given to you by your father (while growing up as a little girl) and as a grown up woman from your dominating husband, this man served the function of a ‘proxy’.
This is not to suggest that what was shared between you both was not real. Only you know what you had shared and based on your question, one may imagine that a mutually gratifying sexual relationship was at the heart of your affair.
Clearly, the sex in your marriage wasn’t enjoyable so you found a partner with whom sex was enjoyable. He fulfilled your need to be looked at and held. However, for some people, having multiple sexual partners or cheating on a spouse can lead to moral dilemmas.
In most cultures, an extramarital affair brings with it both social stigma and scorn of one’s near and dear ones. One way or the other, the emotional ramifications of the phenomenon of infidelity are inescapable.
His wife’s pregnancy may have presented him with the ethical dilemma of whether he wants to be with you or with his pregnant wife who will be mothering his baby. We are all free to make decisions on what we would like to focus on. Sometimes the path of pleasure is directly in conflict with the path of responsibility.
His responsibilities currently involve being there for his wife and baby as the ‘family man’. Your responsibilities currently entail being free of the burden of your past so that you are free to decide what kind of future you like for yourself. If you would really like to move on, you are going to have to be practical about this.
That would also require you to be frank with yourself. You have your children who will look to you for support. You felt unsupported in your childhood by your mother who also relied heavily on you to help her with her own emotional problems.
This was a role you were not prepared to take on. You had neither the resources nor the experience to fully understand your mother’s woes. But times have changed. You will now have to do for yourself what your mother expected you to do for her. Persevere and plan.
The attention of men is a fleeting thing. One moment you will have it and the other moment; they will return to tending to their own lives. Perhaps spend time focusing on your wellness, fitness, emotional growth and learning something that excites you, you will find yourself more fulfilled and clear about what you need from yourself and from life.
A visit to a counsellor may help to improve the relationship between you and your husband – if you would like to come clean with him about your extra-marital affair (in the spirit of honesty) or tell him about how you are not happy with the sex in the marriage.
He needs to do what you are going through if you like for the situation with your husband to improve. Sometimes oblivion is the root cause of discord. Once you have put your cards on the table, a negotiation may occur. | 1 |
A New York man is charged with manslaughter after he allegedly pushed his 71-year-old landlord, who was trying to collect rent, down a flight of stairs to his death.
Edgar Moncayo, 71, and his wife are described as a gentle couple from Ecuador with three daughters and several grandchildren. (Source: Cristina Moncayo/WABC/CNN)
The family of 71-year-old Edgar Moncayo says the landlord was simply trying to collect rent Sunday afternoon from 22-year-old tenant Alex Garces.
The renter had reportedly missed at least a month’s payment, given his landlord problems and was threatening to leave without paying.
Following a dispute over the unpaid rent, police say Garces pushed Edgar Moncayo down the front stairs of his building.
The victim was found at the bottom of the staircase, unconscious and bleeding from the head. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead of a traumatic brain injury.
"The guy pushed my dad so furiously that my dad flew from the front door to the concrete of the sidewalk,” said Cristina Moncayo, Edgar Moncayo’s daughter.
In court Tuesday, it was revealed that Garces initially told police he was moving a mattress and accidentally knocked Edgar Moncayo down the stairs. But officers say Ring surveillance video, which they reviewed during the investigation, shows the victim was pushed.
“We didn't expect this to ever happen. It's like a dream, you know, a nightmare," said Juan Jose Farfan, Edgar Moncayo’s grandson.
Farfan says that before his death, his grandfather had tried to help Garces with the rent, reducing it from $400 to $200 per month.
Edgar Moncayo lived with his wife in the basement of the New York City home and rented out the floors above. The two are described as a gentle couple from Ecuador with three daughters and several grandchildren.
Family says he emigrated nearly 30 years ago and worked two jobs as a parking attendant, so he and his wife could buy their home and raise their family.
Cristina Moncayo says they will donate her father’s organs, as he would have wished.
Garces pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree manslaughter. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
Copyright 2020 WABC, Ring, Cristina Moncayo via CNN. All rights reserved. | The deadbeat Queens tenant caught on video shoving his landlord down a flight of stairs to his death is now charged with manslaughter.
Alex Garces, 22, was arrested Monday afternoon in connection to the deadly run-in with his landlord, Edgar Moncayo, according to police.
Moncayo, 71, was trying to collect back rent from Garces at his building on 102nd Street in Corona around 3 p.m. Sunday when Garces shoved him down the stoop, cops allege.
Garces initially told cops that he had accidentally knocked Moncayo down the stairs while trying to carry a mattress out of the building, according to police sources — but a camera installed in the doorbell told a different story.
The troubling footage shows Moncayo using one hand to hold his cell phone to his ear and pushing the other against the door, when the door is pushed open from the inside, sending the septuagenarian flying down the stairs to the sidewalk below.
With Moncayo splayed out motionless on the concrete, two men — one of them identified by authorities as Garces — leave the home and head down the stairs.
One stopped briefly to put a hand to Moncayo’s face, then flung both hands to his head in disbelief, as the other man walks out of frame.
Moncayo was placed on life support with severe head trauma, but succumbed to his injuries on Monday at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.
“I didn’t believe it until I saw the video for myself, and it’s horrible,” Nicolas Jativa, Moncayo’s distraught grandson, previously told The Post. “It was all about rent, rent money that this guy didn’t want to pay.”
Garces was arrested hours after Moncayo’s death on charges of manslaughter, but public court records indicate that he was additionally charged with felony assault.
His bail was set at $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash during his Tuesday arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.
Garces, due back in court on Friday, faces up to 25 years in prison. | 4 |
Police are investigating vandalism that outraged visitors on Monday to Plymouth Rock and other historic sites on the waterfront at Pilgrim Memorial State Park.
Red spray paint was found Monday morning on Plymouth Rock, the National Monument to the Forefathers, the Pilgrim Maiden statue, Chamber of Commerce scallop shells, an amphitheater and a commemorative bench, according to a state Department of Conservation and Recreation spokesman.
“Seeing this type of disrespect for the historic reminders of the Mayflower story is both sad and unsettling,” said Lea Filson, executive director of See Plymouth, a destination management organization for the town and county.
“By the time I made it to the rock, I ran into … around a dozen people from all over Plymouth that had headed down to see it. Everyone was outraged and sick about it. By that time, the rock had been cleaned and there was great relief,” Filson said.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation reported the incident to the Plymouth Police Department, State Police and the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) and then power washed the graffiti off of Plymouth Rock and the National Monument to the Forefathers, a DCR spokesman said.
The graffiti included the numbers 508 and the letters MOF.
The department was working on Monday afternoon to remove the remainder of the graffiti from the amphitheater, Filson said, and if power washing doesn’t remove it all, DCR will explore other options to remove the paint.
Plymouth Rock is traditionally believed to be the site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620.
“As Plymouth commemorates the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower this year, we have already begun welcoming international and domestic visitors,” Filson said. “The waterfront and the historic district are safe, well-lit and will continue to welcome all who visit.” | Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Plymouth Rock and several other landmarks in the Massachusetts town were vandalized ahead of the 400th anniversary of Pilgrims arriving at the site on the Mayflower.
Crews cleaned up the rock and other landmarks late Monday morning and Plymouth town manager Melissa Arrighi said police are investigating the incident.
"We are saddened and sickened by the recent vandalism in our historic town," she wrote.
We are saddened and sickened by the recent vandalism in our historic town. This is just one of our historic monuments that was hit. We will begin clean up as soon as possible and the police are investigating. pic.twitter.com/kQeTxO7sor— Melissa Arrighi (@MelissaArrighi) February 17, 2020
Plymouth Rock, a seashell-shaped sign celebrating the 400th anniversary, the Pilgrim Maiden statue and the National Monument to the Forefathers were among the monuments that were sprayed with red paint.
Photos of the rock showed "508" and "MOF" painted over Plymouth Rock's "1620 inscription.
Lea Filson, executive director of tourism organization See Plymouth condemned the vandalism but praised the community for coming together in response.
"Seeing this type of disrespect for the historic reminders of the Mayflower story is both sad and unsettling," Filson said. "The outpouring of concern and anger over the incident has been a positive ending to a thoughtless gesture." | 4 |
Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber are among the 2 million people who have signed a Change.org petition to change the NBA logo to a silhouette of the late Kobe Bryant.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Since that time, there has been an outpouring of grief from his fans, with this petition being the latest attempt to honor the 18-time all-star player.
The petition was started by a man named Nick M. who wrote: “With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo.”
As of this writing, the petition has more than 2.3 million signatures.
According to a statement given to CNN, it’s the fastest-growing petition on Change.org.
“Nick’s petition is not only the fastest-growing on Change.org, it’s also the first petition of 2020 to top 1 million signatures anywhere in the globe,” said Michael Jones, managing director of Change.org. “As the world comes to terms with the death of someone as famous and well-known as Kobe Bryant, Nick has given basketball fans an outlet to create a permanent memory of someone who made history in the NBA.”
The hashtag #ChangeTheLogo also began trending on Twitter, with fans and celebrities alike supporting the change.
Fans have also been suggesting possible images of Kobe that could be used as the new logo.
Na this is one right here...@NBA gotta do this straight up pic.twitter.com/zRecMhzM7T — LaFaybeion Brown (@Mr_Brown26) January 28, 2020
The NBA’s current logo was designed in 1969 by Alan Siegel and features the silhouette of Jerry West. Like Bryant, West was also a shooting guard who played his entire career for the Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974). He later became the team’s coach and is now an executive board member for the NBA.
West has publicly stated that, although he was flattered by the logo designed, he is also somewhat embarrassed by it. In 2017, he told the Washington Post that he wished the NBA would change it. “If they would want to change it, I wish they would,” he said during the interview. West joked that commissioner Adam Silver would be a good replacement. Previously, in a 2015 Huffington Post article, West suggested that Michael Jordan would be a good choice for a new logo.
So it’s a fair bet that the man who is the current NBA logo wouldn’t object to the change, especially since he was the Lakers general manager when Bryant joined the team.
“I will love Kobe forever and always cherish the time that I spent with him,” West said in a statement given to the Los Angeles Times following the crash “I watched him grow from an energetic kid into the man he became, making a difference in so many people’s lives. He has left the world a better place. Kobe’s legacy will live forever.
READ MORE: | A petition to use Kobe Bryant's image as the new logo for the NBA has more than 2 million signatures.
Bryant, 41, one of the league's all-time greatest players, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among nine people who died Sunday in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area. Bryant spent 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired in 2016.
Change.org said the petition, which has the support of such celebrities as Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg and Usher, is the fastest-growing on its website and the first petition of 2020 to top 1 million signatures.
"With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo," reads the petition, which was created by Nikyar Moghtader, 16, of Vancouver.
He said his initial goal was a mere one hundred signatures.
“The reason I began the petition for Kobe Bryant was because he was a hero and role model to me just like he was to countless amounts of fans," Moghtader told NBC News. "His passing took a big chunk out of my heart and I began the petition out of respect for him not really expecting it to go anywhere."
The current NBA logo was introduced in 1969 and features the silhouette of Lakers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West.
The NBA did not immediately return a request for comment. | 4 |
Peter Weber's sizzling cover with Victoria Fuller has been pulled by the magazine.
The Bachelor will not be featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan. On the same day the ABC reality show featured a date in which contestant Victoria Fuller won the opportunity to pose for the iconic magazine alongside leading man Peter Weber, the magazine announced the cover has been pulled due to Fuller’s past association with the “White Lives Matter” slogan.
Victoria, 26, was expected to grace the cover of the magazine’s next digital issue, but Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Jessica Pels released a statement denouncing the model’s controversial past.
“Unequivocally, the White Lives Matter movement does not reflect the values of the Cosmo brand,” Pels said, per People. “We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and any cause that fights to end injustices for people of color.”
Pels went on to explain that when the Cosmopolitan team flew down to Costa Rica for The Bachelor date challenge, they did not meet any of the potential models until they were ready to shoot. The editor-in-chief explained that she only knew Victoria’s first name and nothing about her past when she chose the winner of the digital Cosmo cover.
“It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found out that the woman I’d chosen had, in her past, modeled in an ad campaign wearing White Lives Matter attire,” Pels explained in her statement.
After long discussions regarding the situation, the magazine decided to drop plans for Victoria’s cover on the brand’s website and social media feeds. Photos from The Bachelor fashion shoot have already been printed for Cosmo’s March issue, complete with an inset of the questionable cover, and some photos from the shoot appear on the magazine’s website with the headline “We Spent the Day with Pilot Pete In Costa Rica.”
People notes that Victoria once modeled for a White Marlin Marina ad campaign titled “Marlin Lives Matter” in regards to endangered fish species. The “White Lives Matter” slogan was reportedly used to promote the conservation of white marlin. “Blue Lives Matter” messaging was also used on promotional shirts and hats, in reference to blue marlin.
The ABC reality star has not yet publicly commented on the controversy about her past modeling shoot, not have Bachelor producers, but fans of the show have praised Cosmo for pulling the cover.
“Happy to see Cosmpolitan taking an ethical stand against bigoted Bachelor contestant Victoria Fuller. No one who models for a White Lives Matter campaign deserves any kind of platform; it’s a shame she’s received one at all,” one commenter tweeted.
Even before this setback, Victoria Fuller had been a controversial contestant on Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor. She previously caused drama due to her past relationship with country singer Chase Rice, who was blindsided when he was hired to serenade Victoria and Peter during a one-on-one date.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. | This letter from the editor is hot off the presses.
Tonight's group date on The Bachelor took Peter Weber's suitors to Costa Rica, where the ladies were asked to pose in their bikinis for a chance to get featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. Ultimately, Cosmo editor-in-chief Jessica Pels picked Victoria Fuller (who took a risk and kissed Peter during their photo shoot) as the lucky winner. But as Pels just revealed, those images won't actually make it to the printer after all.
In a letter titled "Why We're Not Publishing the Cosmo Bachelor Cover," Pels explains how a controversy involving Victoria helped the staff make their decision.
"As you probably know, the details about upcoming plot points on The Bachelor are as closely guarded as nuclear codes," she writes. "When my team and I flew down to Costa Rica for our challenge, we weren't told who our models were going to be. We didn't even meet them until we were all on camera on-set, ready to start our shoot." | 4 |
During an emotional hearing Tuesday, Jay Brannon, 45, of Atwater, pleaded guilty to setting Portage County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Acklin on fire last year while deputies were attempting to arrest Brannon on a felony warrant.
Brannon wiped away tears during the hearing as did members of the sheriff’s office who filled nearly the entire front row of Judge Becky Doherty’s courtroom. Acklin attended the hearing with his wife, Josee Acklin, who works for the Streetsboro Police Department, Portage County Sheriff David Doak and Portage County Major Larry Limbert, as well as other Portage County sheriff deputies.
Neither Brannon nor Acklin spoke during Tuesday’s hearing.
Brannon pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; aggravated arson, a first-degree felony; and felonious assault, a first-degree felony; all related to the February 2019 incident. He also pleaded guilty to forgery, a fifth-degree felony, from a separate case in a Jan 4, 2019 incident.
Portage County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Michniak said the plea negotiations include a joint recommendation from both the defense attorneys and the prosecutors that Brannon serve 16 years in prison. The recommendation does not mean that Brannon will get the sentence recommended, but often judges sentence based on a joint recommendation to which both parties agree.
On Feb. 14, 2019, three deputies, including Acklin, and two officers from the Northeast Ohio Medical University were serving felony warrants on Brannon about 6:43 p.m. after a source told them Brannon was at a Rootstown Township home on Route 44. Brannon threw a canister of flammable liquid at Acklin and set it on fire, burning about 20 percent of Acklin’s body. Acklin had second and third-degree burns and was hospitalized. Other officers were also injured, though not as badly as Acklin.
Acklin joined the sheriff’s office in 1997 and was promoted to sergeant in 2017.
Doak told the Record-Courier at the time of the incident Brannon threatened he was going to "kill the cops" when confronted by officers inside the garage.
One of Brannon’s attorneys, Erik Jones, thanked the Portage County Sheriff’s Office for allowing Brannon to have a private conversation with his parents while Brannon was being held in jail during the plea negotiations.
Sentencing is set for Monday at 1 p.m.
Contact reporter Eileen McClory at 330-298-1128, emcclory@recordpub.com or @Eileen_McClory. | PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio — While his physical scars are almost healed, the emotional healing is just beginning for Sergeant Jim Acklin and his family.
On February 14, 2019, Acklin was doused in flammable liquid and lit on fire by Jay Brannon while attempting to arrest him on a felony warrant.
Acklin faced his attacker in a Portage County court Monday, before Brannon was sentenced to 16 years behind bars.
Brannon accepted a plea deal earlier this month, in which he will serve 11 years in prison for aggravated attempted murder and five years for aggravated arson.
Josee Acklin, Sgt. Acklin’s wife, addressed Brannon while delivering her victim impact statement.
“My anger towards you lasted a very long time,” Josee Acklin said. “Overnight I went from being a wife and a mom to working full time to missing two months of work to become my husband’s nurse and caregiver.”
Brannon blamed his lengthy criminal history on drugs, alcohol and relationship troubles.
He said he was in a drug-induced state when he lit Jim Acklin on fire and that he was attempting to commit suicide during the incident.
Brannon added he hoped an officer would shoot him.
“No officer that night was meant to be hurt,” Brannon said, “My plan was to remove myself from the pain and the embarrassment I was living in.”
Judge Becky Doherty was not phased by Brannon’s emotional remarks.
“Mr. Brannon, you’re a coward,” Doherty said, “You’re a coward and I want you to look around this room and see bravery.”
She noted Brannon’s lengthy criminal history and told him he had multiple chances to clean up his act before critically injuring Acklin.
“So standing here telling me this was a suicide attempt after you had just recently gone to a gas station, gone to Giant Eagle, had been running around that day without a care in the world until police showed up,” Doherty said. “I’m not buying it.”
Acklin said he’s looking forward to moving on with his life after suffering second and third-degree burns over more than 20% of his body.
“I was trying to think about what was going to be said,” Acklin said, “And you know, everything being brought back up again.”
Brannon will receive 333 days of time served that will be subtracted from his 16-year sentence.
He will also be required to register as an arson offender and a violent offender when he’s released. | 4 |
BENGALURU : After four days of the lockdown, e-commerce and other online delivery companies are still struggling to obtain permits to operate warehouse and deliver food, medicines and other essential items to customers.
Companies said that there is little coordination not only between the central government and states but within states too, as different cities in a single state are citing varying criteria to issue permits. In some cities, companies have received permits to operate warehouses but are still waiting to receive passes for their workers to deliver orders.
In addition, companies are expecting a shortage of labour as hordes of migrant workers from cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have been trying to return to their homes amid the chaos unleashed by the sudden lockdown announced late on 24 March.
An executive at a grocery delivery firm said, on condition of anonymity, that the lack of coordination between the central and state governments about what constitutes essential services and the process for issuing permits is resulting in delays in obtaining permits.
Another e-commerce executive said that there was no standard procedure across cities and states for obtaining permits, resulting in delays and uncertainty. Many warehouses operated by e-commerce companies were still shut as of Sunday afternoon, and only a small number of their delivery workers had passes to make deliveries.
“...Last Wednesday, state governments and local law authorities did intervene but on the ground, every state has its own template and there are different passes for each city within each state. There are multiple levels of jurisdiction and intervention within a state. A self-certification mode would be helpful or a central format which every state would follow," this person said.
m.Paani, a startup that connects local retailers with customers in Mumbai and other cities, said that retailers have been facing issues in getting permits for essential services.
"Given that most stores are already functioning on lower staff capacity at present, getting passes from local authorities was creating hiccups. It is these stores that are in (greater) need of access to e-passes because they have a grassroots presence," said Akanksha Hazari, Founder and CEO of m.Paani.
Hazari noted that during the initial stages of the lockdown many smaller grocery stores on m.Paani’s platform were forced to shut shop because of the lack of clarity around essential services.
To be sure, companies said that city authorities are responding to their complaints and have been issuing permits in larger numbers over the past three days.
The government on Sunday clarified that the supply chain of milk collection and distribution, including its packaging is allowed.
It also said that groceries also include hygiene products along with battery cells and chargers etc.
In addition, it said that transportation of all goods, essential and non-essential, is allowed.
Due to the nationwide lockdown and extensive restrictions on movement of goods and people, Amazon India is unable to predict timelines for delivery of items other than those deemed essential by the government. It has identified and cancelled shipments that currently cannot be delivered to customers in India due to these restrictions. Amazon has also temporarily suspended its pay-on-delivery service to customers and is only accepting online payments to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
“We continue to resume services gradually, adding in more cities as we get the necessary clearances and passes from the local authorities. We are first serving existing orders for essential products and accepting new orders for these items only. We appreciate the central government has recognized e-commerce as essential and continue to work closely with local authorities to help enable more deliveries," the Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
After a period of uncertainty, 90% of Grofers’ warehouses are operational and the company has obtained permits for about 50% of its delivery staff, said Rohit Sharma, head of supply chain at Grofers.
Still, delivery times will be longer as the authorities in many cities had earlier forced the company to suspend its operations for a few days, he said.
“Our teams are working round the clock to serve the unprecedented number of orders we have received over the last few days. In order to meet the demand, we have ramped up our supply chain capabilities and are working closely with our manufacturers to secure sufficient stock and deliver it to our customers at the earliest," Sharma said.
Romita Majundar from Mumbai contributed to the story. | Improved Supplies
Bengaluru: India’s top online grocers and e-retailers said they have restored operations in larger cities but are still hobbled by the massive backlog of orders and shortage of workers triggered by the ongoing nationwide lockdown to stem the tide of Covid-19 E-grocers BigBasket and Grofers, ecommerce firms Amazon and Flipkart , as well as B2B platforms Jumbotail and Udaan cautioned consumers and kirana stores to expect delayed deliveries as they deal with operational upheaval caused by the restriction on manufacturing and movement of goods, and people.“Our people count is improving day by day...but it is still not enough. We should clear up most slots by Tuesday, Wednesday,” said Hari Menon, chief executive of BigBasket, which is now delivering orders in all top cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. However, due to a backlog in orders and some operational issues the company is selectively opening new slots, he said.Gurugram-based Grofers, which was unable to operate in several cities for a few days, following the announcement of the lockdown, has begun operations at 90% of its warehouses with half its delivery partners equipped with all relevant official permissions.For customers there will be “longer delivery times,” Rohit Sharma, head of supply chain at Grofers, told ET.As factories closed and trucking companies faced stoppages at state borders, deliveries to consumers — both online and at offline stores — have been delayed, company executives said.B2B technology platforms like Jumbotail and Udaan are of the view that the disruption will settle in a few days as policymakers and businesses collaborate.To ease this situation, the ministry of home affairs in its revised guidelines on Sunday said that transportation of all goods, and not just essential goods would be allowed.Ecommerce firms welcomed the change, saying it would allow for faster movement of essential goods and let them bring non-essentials stuck in transit safely into their warehouses.An ongoing consumer survey by community platform LocalCircles on the availability of essential goods through both offline and online stores shows a gradual improvement in the last two days.Shortages of essentials were most severe on March 25 and 26, the survey showed, with perceptible improvement in availability at both kiranas, offline stores and online retailers during March 27 and 28.“Keeping the small format retail store opened 24/7 is the key to ensure that everyone gets enough essential supply. Today about 50-70% of them are open but not all the time,” said Ashish Jhina, cofounder of Jumbotail.Ecommerce companies also continue to service orders for essentials, but delivery timelines remain stretched.“We continue to resume services gradually, adding in more cities as we get the necessary clearances and passes from the local authorities. We are first serving existing orders for essential products and accepting new orders for these items only,” an Amazon spokesperson told ET.A senior executive at a leading ecommerce firm said while inter-state truck movement had begun, companies are facing challenges of managing stock within fulfilment centres.“The bottleneck will move from trucks to fulfilment centres. It’s not ideal, but the government has been supportive, and we are slowly limping back,” the person said. “I won’t say back to normal, I don’t think it’ll get back to normal during this time, but things are certainly moving.”Snapdeal, Paytm Mall and Shopclues are also delivering essentials. “We have started intracity deliveries of food and grocery items in Delhi-NCR, including in Gurugram,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said. | 3 |
OLD TRAFFORD, the 74,879-capacity Theatre of Dreams, will host the Lionesses' opening match of the Uefa Women's Euro on Wednesday July 7 2021. The FA hope that the 13th edition of the tournament will kick-off with a record attendance which will set a benchmark for the rest of the tournament played across eight other venues in England, culminating with the final at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium on Sunday August 1.
The 110-year-old home of Manchester United, Old Trafford last staged a women's football match in 2012, when the United States defeated Canada 4-3 in a dramatic Olympic semi-final in front of 26,630 fans.
Former Manchester United player Phil Neville will lead his country out at the stadium where he played for 11 seasons. "It doesn't get much bigger than managing your country at a home Euro and to have the opportunity to do so at a stadium that holds so many memories for me is huge. Old Trafford has a special place in my heart, but it is also one of the country's most iconic football grounds, so today's announcement is a significant one for the tournament.”
Natalie Burrell, founder of Manchester United Women's supporters group, Barmy Army, is confident that the demand for women's football from fans living in the city will fill the stadium. "Every time I go to Old Trafford, people are saying to me: 'I see what you're doing with the girls, when is it coming here?' People are waiting for it.”
As well as Manchester and Wembley, matches will also be played at Brentford, Brighton, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Sheffield, Southampton and Wigan and Leigh.
The FA's Director of Women's Football Baroness Sue Campbell declared: "We’d like to welcome fans from all over Europe, we hope they will come. We’d like to work with our European colleagues to help develop the women’s game across Europe.”
Hoping to build on the huge television viewing figures generated during last summer's Women's World Cup and this season's burgeoning WSL attendances, she added that "we want to excite everyone in this country to come out and watch the women's game, even if they’ve never watched before.
“Euro 2021 is an opportunity. We want to raise the bar yet again for the women's game in England. More fans watching, more women playing, more women coaching, more women refereeing, and an outstanding Women's Super League, to make it the best league in Europe.”
The record attendance for a Women's Euro match was set in Solna, Sweden when 41,301 people watched Germany defeat Norway in the 2013 Final.
Now Uefa's Head of Women's Football, Nadine Kessler was a member of that German side and describes it as the highlight of her career. "I think it makes all the difference to give players and teams the stage they deserve. I think it is a completely different experience, a different pressure you have to handle but also a different excitement and motivation.”
In December 2018, Kessler helped negotiate the deal which saw Visa become Uefa's first exclusive sponsor of women's football. They have since been joined by Nike, who will supply the official match ball for the tournament and Espirit, who will design the uniforms for tournament staff and volunteers.
Kessler believes more big-name sponsors will follow. “It was a very important step we took. There are more sponsors on board. Every cent Uefa will gain from partners will go back into the game. It’s very important to show that women’s football has its own value and partners, and that the media and everybody is interested in the women's game on its own. It will most certainly be our strategy to further enhance this.”
The tournament's Head of Delivery Chris Bryant previously worked in the same capacity on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was realistic about the goals the tournament should be looking to achieve. "We should be doing everything we can to seize on the opportunity that we've got in hosting what is an elite football tournament. It's a phenomenal time for women's football in general.
“The UK has a fantastic tradition of delivering major events. We've got a very high-skilled team working on the men's Euro who will role straight over to deliver the women's Euros.”
The eight cities chosen in December to host the tournament do not include any in the south-west or north-east of the country.
“Whilst we are not everywhere, we are relatively comfortable that we are in a good enough spread of venues across the country,” said Bryant. "We will of course engage with the wider country through our marketing campaign. We know people will travel for big events, we know people will travel to go and watch England. That’s very much part of our plan as well.”
In 2017, each of the seven host cities in the Netherlands set up city-centre fan zones where 72,916 fans congregated to watch matches on big screens. Bryant is open to the idea but remains unsure if the demand is there.
“Our first priority is to try and sell as many tickets and get people in the stadium if possible. For Euro 2020 in London we’re setting up additional screenings because there’s only 90,000 seats and the ticket demand for England games in the men’s Euro is phenomenal.
“That’s not quite the same for the women’s Euros. If there is demand in host cities, we’d love to talk to them about fan zones. We need to be quite realistic about the budgets that the cities have and where our priorities are.
“Absolutely we are talking to host cities about, be it a fan march, a meeting point, a fan zone, a screening, they’re all on the table but we need to be quite realistic about what will be delivered and where our focus should be and that’s driving attendance to stadia to give the teams that full stadium experience.”
A common inducement during previous tournaments, free city-centre transport for supporters will not be offered to ticket-holders as Bryant explained. “Hosting the event already puts a significant strain on host cities in order to provide security and transport infrastructure.
“What we will do is focus on those cities where potentially you might need a transport solution that doesn’t already exist. We will work the local councils to potentially put on shuttle buses to try and move fans from the city centre to the venue.
“We’re not going to do what the men’s Euros did and offer free public transport with every ticket. It’s incredible costly and it’s incredibly difficult to deliver and we believe our priorities and focus are best elsewhere.”
Burrell, who travels from Didsbury to another of the Euro 2021 venues, the Leigh Sports Village, to watch Manchester United hopes that one tournament legacy will be to improve infrastructure around the LSV Stadium.
"You'll see better transport links then, which hopefully then we can take advantage of. It's got great facilities. I'd encourage people to go to Leigh.”
Over 700,000 tickets will be made available for the tournament compared to the record 240,045 tickets sold at Euro 2017.
“That's a huge jump in the available number of tickets that we want to sell,” admits Bryant. “Across the board, we want to try and sell as many tickets as possible. We’ll look at doing that through accessible tickets, but also through working with local communities to ensure that schools and universities have the opportunities to come to the games as well.”
How the FA will generate interest in games not involving England remains to be seen as Bryant explains. “We know that some games are going to be more attractive than others, therefore how do we manage that balance across the country to try and give all of the teams the same experience of having full stadiums?
“That certainly has been a challenge. We bid before the World Cup in France and that certainly changed how people viewed the tournament, and maybe how we viewed the tournament with some of our venue selections.
“Really it was that led to our inclusion of Old Trafford as the opening venue. We sensed there was an opportunity here maybe to try and open the tournament with a special bang. I think it's really exciting.
“This is elite sport. This is a big major event, a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a football tournament in your own country. It’s a rare occasion and therefore people should embrace that, people should embrace those games in their host cities and everyone should try and be a part of it.
“A big part of our marketing campaign is to not just look at football fans but ‘big eventers,’ people that want to be part of something special which we believe this tournament can be.
“We want it to be remembered as a tournament, a major event, that gripped the country, that everyone felt part of, that everyone was reminiscing about, a fantastic summer in which everyone had a great time going to the tournament.”
To register for tickets, competitions and volunteering opportunities visit TheFA.com/WEuro2021 | 4 | |
One of the most conservative judges in the country just handed down an opinion saying that the Trump administration acted illegally when it permitted the state of Arkansas to strip health coverage from thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries.
Judge David Sentelle’s opinion in Gresham v. Azar, on behalf of himself and two of his colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is significant in its own right. But it is also significant because it suggests that the Trump administration will have a tough time defending its conduct if this case is heard by the Supreme Court. Sentelle is one of archconservative Justice Neil Gorsuch’s early mentors — Gorsuch clerked for Sentelle shortly after he graduated from law school. And Sentelle’s views are well to the right of the median Supreme Court justice.
Sentelle is a protégé of the late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), a segregationist who thought so highly of Sentelle that he once said that he “would do whatever I could to make sure that this young man’s integrity and talent, principles and courage, would be used by this country.” As a judge, Sentelle joined an opinion complaining that the Supreme Court abandoned doctrines it once used to strike down labor protections such as the minimum wage.
The case involves an effort by the state of Arkansas to impose a work requirement on many Medicaid beneficiaries. Arkansas could not implement this policy on its own; it had to obtain permission from the federal government. And the Trump administration gave Arkansas the permission it sought.
The consequence of that decision, Sentelle writes, was that “more than 18,000 people (about 25 percent of those subject to the work requirement) lost coverage as a result of the project in just five months.”
The Trump administration cannot push Medicaid policies that run counter to Congress’s stated objectives
Gresham turns on the scope of the federal government’s power to approve experimental state programs that depart from the way Medicaid normally operates. The law permits the Department of Health and Human Services to approve “any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project which, in the judgment of the Secretary, is likely to assist in promoting the objectives” of Medicaid.
But those objectives were also defined by Congress. Among other things, the Medicaid statute states that the purpose of the program is to “to furnish ... medical assistance on behalf of families with dependent children and of aged, blind, or disabled individuals, whose income and resources are insufficient to meet the costs of necessary medical services.”
The thrust of Sentelle’s opinion in Gresham is that the Trump administration ignored this purpose, and tried to replace it with different objectives.
Trump officials approved Arkansas’s work requirements because it thought that these requirements would “address behavioral and social factors that influence health outcomes” and encourage Medicaid beneficiaries to find work — something the Trump administration believes is “correlated with improved health and wellness.”
But even if the Trump administration is right that a work requirement will, in the long run, lead to better health outcomes, the law does not permit them to substitute their own opinions about how to improve poor people’s health. As Sentelle writes, “the Supreme Court and this court have consistently reminded agencies that they are ‘bound, not only by the ultimate purposes Congress has selected, but by the means it has deemed appropriate, and prescribed, for the pursuit of those purposes.’”
In this case, Congress decided that “the principal objective of Medicaid is providing health care coverage,” not to encourage people to find jobs by making their health coverage contingent upon securing work.
Under Sentelle’s opinion, the Trump administration could conceivably revive Arkansas’s work requirement if it provided an adequate explanation of how that requirement would foster Medicaid’s goal of expanding coverage to poor people. But given the fact that the requirement caused thousands of people to lose health coverage, it seems unlikely that the administration will clear that hurdle. | 4.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard
One of the most conservative judges in the country ruled against a Trump administration effort to allow the states to throw millions off Medicaid.
Vox reported:
One of the most conservative judges in the country just handed down an opinion saying that the Trump administration acted illegally when it permitted the state of Arkansas to strip health coverage from thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries.
Judge David Sentelle’s opinion in Gresham v. Azar, on behalf of himself and two of his colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is significant in its own right. But it is also significant because it suggests that the Trump administration will have a tough time defending its conduct if this case is heard by the Supreme Court.
The heart of the ruling is that Trump can’t toss out the objectives of Congress and replace them with his own. In other words, Congress makes the laws and Trump implements them. The President does not have the power to changes the legislative objectives that are passed by Congress.
Eighteen thousand people would have lost their Medicaid coverage in Arkansas, and without this ruling other larger red states would have followed Arkansas. The result would have been millions of Americans without health insurance coverage.
Trump has made it his goal to publicly proclaim to be saving healthcare while privately attempting to take away insurance from millions of people.
The President is already worried that Democrats are going to kill him on healthcare, and court rulings that he broke the law while trying to make more Americans uninsured will only boost the Democratic case in November.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook | 3 |
A public interest litigation has been filed in Supreme Court on Thursday seeking declaration of financial emergency in light of nationwide lockdown amidst rising cases of COVID-19.
The PIL by Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) filed against Ministry of Home Affairs and seeks the imposition of financial emergency under Article 360 of the Constitution of India as it submits that unified commands by the Centre and state can address this issue more efficiently. The petitioner claim that difference in the order imposed by various states and the centre is creating confusion and state of lawlessness in an already difficult situation.
As per the petitioner after the 21 days lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 March different states and police authorities took independent action under the Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the guise of orders issued by the central government which "amounts to constitutional fraud".
"This use of emergencyprovisions of Constitution is required not only to defeat the war against coronavirus but also in recovery of the Indian economy after lockdown is over," said the petition states.
CASC has also sought directions from the apex court for government to provide necessary directions for suspension of collection of utility bills (electricity, water, gas, telephone, internet) and EMI payments liable to be paid during lockdown.
Directions have also bee sought for the state police and local authorities to strictly comply with home ministry instructions so that essential services are not disrupted.
The petition filed through advocate Virag Gupta has made a request for urgent hearing through video-conferencing by the top court. | NEW DELHI: A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on whether petitions challenging constitutional validity of the Centre's decision to amend Article 370 to scrap special status to Jammu and Kashmir be referred to a larger bench.Wrapping up the hearing, a bench of Justices N V Ramana, Sanjay K Kaul, B Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant said it will not refer the case to a larger bench if it comes to the conclusion that there was no major contradictions in the apex court's earlier rulings of Constitution bench on interpretation of Article 370 as alleged by some of the petitioners.Although more than two dozens of petitions have been filed challenging the Centre's decision to scrap special status to J&K and its bifurcation into two UTs, only few of them have raised the issue of referring the case to a larger bench. | 1 |
My friend in Omaha, Nebraska, assures me that a disturbing phenomenon once focused on the coasts has invaded the heartland. He speaks of young couples where the woman is nicely dressed and her male date or mate is in slob mode. The women are neat and stylish, often wearing some (or a lot of) makeup, but their male partners are in soiled sweatshirts and baggy jeans, hems dragging on the floor.
This is a sign of gross inequality. It flashes a disparity of effort. The women are trying, and the men are not.
Some may regard this discourse on dress as superficial and frivolous. Feminists haven't landed on the issue, perhaps for that reason -- or perhaps out of an aversion to commenting on a woman's appearance, whether shaming or acclaiming. But as one sensitive to female dignity, this reeks of women working so much harder than men to achieve, I assume, the same goals.
And it is never more glaring than on Valentine's Day. That's when nice restaurants sparkle with hearts and festivity. The women enter dressed for celebration. Their men are attired for casual Friday -- if they've tried even that hard.
I've seen worse. I've seen young women in cocktail dresses, heels and dangly earrings sitting across from boys in athletic shoes, their shirttails flapping, and, of course, no jacket.
Excused from the discussion are most gay men of my acquaintance. They tend to dress carefully and often with style. And that is why so many women, gay or straight, enjoy going out to dinner with them. I recall meeting a beautifully groomed gay friend at a bar area and having to peel him away from the single ladies gushing at him. Made me smile and think, "If only the straight guys understood."
The gay difference is the formula fueling the enduring "Queer Eye" series on Netflix. In each episode, five gay men try to rehabilitate a disheveled individual. My favorite makeovers are those performed on straight fellows who can't get a job, a girl or their parents' approval. Some must be taught how to shave. The end result is a guy who seems not just sophisticated but grown-up.
I sometimes wonder whether these boy-men even comprehend the benefits of making an effort. I know an elderly gentleman of average looks who dresses in a blazer and tie whenever he flies. When he stands at the rear of the plane waiting for a restroom, female flight attendants surround him to say how grateful they are to see a well-dressed passenger. That he's in economy class matters not.
By the way, this isn't necessarily about formality. I've seen male ranchers look spectacular on a Saturday night in pressed jeans and a spotless shirt.
What caused this inequality? Here's one theory. Media in recent decades have feasted on storylines in which a sloppy male character, because of his other virtues, wins the affection of a foxy beauty. Note that the female prize, even if she's in jeans, is always superbly groomed.
Nowadays, pictures of celebrity weddings show the groom's shirttails hanging -- a sign of conspicuous disrespect -- while the bride is draped in a zillion-dollar white creation. Heaven knows how much time she spent on her hair.
In America, women have long been a civilizing influence. How did they let the gap in male vs. female effort grow so wide? Some may blame it on sexual discrimination, others on feminism. I believe the women's tolerance plays a part.
Come Valentine's Day, there's one thing you surely will not see: a young elegantly attired man next to a young woman in dirty jeans, an old T-shirt and running shoes. Think about it.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM | Police are conducting an investigation after two people were shot in the Cochituate Homes complex in Framingham on Friday night.
FRAMINGHAM – Two men are dead after a shooting on Second Street late Friday night, authorities said Saturday morning.
In a statement, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Framingham Police Chief Steven Trask said their preliminary investigation suggests the shooting was an isolated incident.
Authorities said the shooting occurred just after 11:30 p.m. on Second Street.
No one has been arrested and it remains an active investigation.
According to Framingham police radio reports, a resident on Second Street called dispatch at about 11:40 p.m. Friday, reporting they heard five to seven gunshots and that they could see a person on the ground.
When police arrived, they found two victims who had been shot, one on Second Street, and another around the corner on Beaver Terrace Circle.
A resident of a Second Street apartment, who did not wish to be identified, said he saw what appeared to be a body in the parking lot.
That area was surrounded by yellow crime scene tape, as Massachusetts State Police officers and police dog soon arrived. Framingham police could be seen talking in a parking lot that was lit with floodlights.
State Police detectives were also at the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as they become available. | 1 |
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / January 14, 2020 / Curcio Law Offices pledges to make a monthly donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository throughout the year 2020.
Curcio Law Offices, which focuses on personal injury law, has also vowed to organize a volunteer day where its staff will help out at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the city of Chicago's food bank. The Greater Chicago Food Depository strives to end hunger in the Chicagoland area.
"Having personally supported the Greater Chicago Food Depository on my own for many years, we felt this was a great opportunity for our firm to partner with a local charity to help so many in need. We are planning for our entire office to volunteer on site one day in the coming weeks," said Tracy Robb, managing partner of Curcio Law Offices.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, a member of Feeding America, provides food where it's needed most throughout Chicago and Cook County every day. The organization acts as a hub for a network of more than 700 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs and also addresses the root causes of hunger.
To donate directly to or volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, please visit https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/. Volunteers are vital to its success, and donations are put to use immediately to provide food for hungry people in the community.
Personal injury attorney Tracy Robb is a dedicated professional with more than 25 years of legal experience. Tracy is renowned in the legal community for her outstanding analytical skills and articulate writing style, establishing herself as a strategist for brainstorming with attorneys on many cases at the firm.
Founded by Joseph R. Curcio in 1957, Curcio Law Offices has been representing the injured for over 60 years. To this day, Curcio Law Offices has established a reputation among Chicago's leading personal injury law firms through outstanding legal representation and commitment to clients.
About Curcio Law Offices
Curcio Law Offices exclusively focuses on personal injury, auto accident injuries and wrongful death representation. Its attorneys have obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients and their families who are dealing with serious and catastrophic personal injuries and death. For more information, please call 312-321-1111, or visit https://www.curcio-law.com/. The law office is located at 161 North Clark Street, Suite 2240, Chicago, IL 60601.
For media inquiries, please call THE NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
SOURCE: Curcio Law Offices
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572901/Curcio-Law-Offices-Partners-With-Greater-Chicago-Food-Depository-to-Take-Hunger-off-the-Table | CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / February 21, 2020 / Selecting the right Realtor at the start of your home buying journey is crucial. Chicago Realtor Laura Topp offers her top tips to help you pick the best Realtor for you.
Before selecting a Realtor, there are several points to consider:
Knowledge of the local market - "You need a Realtor who has a deep, personal knowledge of the geography you are considering. Someone who understands the area inside and out will help you find the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood," advises Laura Topp.
Pricing Expectations - Being given the correct market price of your home is important so that you have realistic expectations of what your home will sell for and how much you will be able to afford when buying a new home.
Build a relationship with your Realtor - This is not just a transactional relationship. "You need to connect with your Realtor and feel like you can be completely honest with them about your expectations," Topp urges. "A forthright relationship is important; a Realtor cannot help you if you are only saying what you think they want to hear."
Home structure and knowledge - Know exactly what kind of home you are looking for and consider the size, style, and acreage. Deciding what you are looking for prior to selecting your Realtor will help inform your decision of what Realtor to go with, as some specialize in certain types of housing.
More isn't necessarily better - Find a Realtor that will carefully examine listings beforehand to bring you only what is relevant. Looking at everything that comes up is a waste of time and energy for you and your Realtor.
Education - As a client, you want a Realtor who will help explain every aspect of the home buying and selling process - remember that they are the experts and that they have important knowledge and experience to impart to their clients.
Questions to ask your Realtor before you commit to working with them:
What is your availability to speak with me?
Most Realtors have very flexible hours. It is important for your Realtor to know your schedule and you to know theirs.
Do you have a team or are you an independent Realtor?
This will help you understand if you will have additional help and resources when purchasing your home. Working with a team has an added benefit of having access to more market knowledge more people to rely on.
How are you paid?
"It is different from market to market, so ask up front because it all depends on your area, if you are buying or selling and the brokerage that each agent works with," says Laura Topp.
Have you helped people buy or sell a house like the one I'm looking for?
It is important to know if your potential Realtor has experience in the type of home you are looking for and even more so in the area.
What makes this property valuable?
This is an important question because it allows you to see what value a property has from the Realtor's perspective.
Armed with these tips and questions, you will surely be able to build a relationship with the right Realtor that will greatly benefit you on the road to real estate ownership.
About Laura Topp, TOPP Chicago Real Estate, Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff
Laura Topp is a broker associate at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff and is licensed in Illinois and Indiana. She works with both buyers and sellers in the Chicagoland area. Topp specializes in all facets of residential real estate from single family homes, condos and new construction to luxury homes, foreclosures, multi-units, investment properties and 1031 exchanges. For Laura's news, visit https://thenala.com/media-room/media-room-detail/laura-topp-topp-chicago-real-estate-berkshire-hathaway-koenigrubloff and for more information, please call (773) 419-0076, or visit https://www.toppchicagorealestate.com/.
For media inquiries, please call the NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
SOURCE: Laura Topp, TOPP Chicago Real Estate, Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Chicago
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577205/Working-with-the-Right-Realtor-is-Imperative-Says-Leading-Chicago-Realtor-Laura-Topp | 1 |
SoftBank emerged as a big winner from the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
Topline: Despite SoftBank Group reporting a 99% drop in third-quarter profits on Wednesday, its stock has continued to gain momentum recently, in large part thanks to the approval of a merger between SoftBank-owned Sprint and T-Mobile.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund took a $2 billion loss last quarter after writing down investments in WeWork and Uber, slashing the company’s operating income by 99%—from nearly $4 billion to less than $25 million, compared to a year earlier.
SoftBank stock was down slightly on the news Wednesday, falling by 0.6% as founder Masayoshi Son said that the fund’s recent poor performance was spooking investors and causing big losses.
Son has reportedly scaled back his ambitions for a second Vision Fund, following SoftBank’s disastrous bet on WeWork and pressure from activist investor Paul Singer’s hedge fund, Elliott Management.
Despite such dismal earnings figures, SoftBank stock is largely holding steady—with no substantial decline on Wednesday, especially after it surged 12% Tuesday when a federal judge approved the $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint.
Sprint stock skyrocketed 77% on the news and SoftBank, which owns almost 85% of Sprint, subsequently netted more than $12 billion on paper.
The company’s latest earnings release comes amid ongoing discussions with activist fund Elliott Management, which amassed a $2.5 billion stake in the Japanese conglomerate and is pushing for stock buybacks, improved corporate governance and more transparency on the Vision Fund’s investments.
Crucial statistics: SoftBank stock is still up nearly 20% so far this year. The Japanese conglomerate currently has a market cap of $110 billion, up from $90 billion at the start of 2020. SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is Japan’s second richest person, with a net worth of $24.2 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates. His fortune rose by $2.3 billion alone on Tuesday, when T-Mobile and Sprint won approval for their $26 billion merger.
Crucial quotes: “The tide has turned,” Son said in a press conference, while trying to highlight the Vision Fund’s improving performance. “There is no change to my basic vision or strategy.” In terms of addressing the activist demands from Elliott, Son said that his own interests were “basically aligned” with other shareholders, especially given the fact that he has a 25% stake in SoftBank.
Key background: SoftBank stock fell 12% in the second half of 2019, amid mounting losses from missed bets on unproven tech startups. SoftBank spent around $10 billion bailing out WeWork in October, after the embattled office startup cancelled its IPO and almost ran out of cash to fund its business. Uber stock, on the other hand, lost almost 25% of its value in 2019 after going public in May, though shares have since recovered.
What to watch for: SoftBank’s ongoing discussions with Elliott Management. Both sides have said they want to keep the engagement friendly, and dialogue between the two sides has so far gone well, according to the Wall Street Journal. Founded in 1977 by billionaire Paul Singer—a famed activist investor and veteran of numerous proxy battles, Elliott is pushing for stock buybacks and improved corporate governance in an effort to boost SoftBank’s lagging share price. SoftBank is one of the hedge fund’s largest positions.
Further reading: Sprint Stock Soars 77% On T-Mobile Merger, Here’s Why One Expert Thinks It Could Keep Surging
Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Invests Over $2.5 Billion In SoftBank: Report | SoftBank's third-quarter earnings revealed a 99% drop in third-quarter profits.
However, investors sent the Japanese conglomerate's stock up 12% on Wednesday.
The rally was due to a judge approving the merger of SoftBank-owned Sprint and T-Mobile.
Sprint stock skyrocketed 78% on Tuesday, netting SoftBank more than $12 billion.
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SoftBank revealed a 99% drop in third-quarter profits on Wednesday. Investors responded by sending its stock up 12%, adding more than $10 billion to its market capitalization.
The Japanese conglomerate's shareholders haven't lost their minds. SoftBank's Vision Fund certainly stomached a $2 billion loss after writing down its investments in WeWork and Uber, slashing the company's operating income from nearly $4 billion to less than $25 million.
However, investors cared more about a federal judge ruling in favor of Sprint's $26 billion merger with T-Mobile on Tuesday, clearing the way for the deal to close after nearly two years of regulatory challenges. The wireless carrier's stock skyrocketed 78% on the news. As SoftBank owns nearly 85% of Sprint, it netted more than $12 billion on paper.
SoftBank led with the good news in its earnings presentation on Wednesday. The third slide is an image of a roiling ocean with the caption, "Tide is turning." The fifth slide is a chart showing Sprint's stock price going vertical on Tuesday. On the next slide, it downplayed the $2 billion loss at its Vision Fund by pointing out the segment lost $8.8 billion in the second quarter. | 4 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A teenager charged with murder last year has been arrested again after a boy was hit over the head with a gun and robbed late Sunday night while riding in a vehicle in North Nashville.
Police responded around 10 p.m. to Clarksville Pike near Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, where they located the juvenile victim. He told officers he had been pistol-whipped while in a car with at least three other people, and had $200 in cash and his cell phone taken.
The boy was able to identify his attackers and the vehicle they were in, described as a gray Chevrolet Malibu.
Police said they located the Malibu just before 10:30 p.m. about a mile away on Buena Vista Pike near Kirk Avenue in the Bordeaux area. Inside the car, officers reportedly located the victim’s cell phone.
Chaz Payne and Blessing Burks, both 19, were arrested and booked into the Metro jail early Monday morning. Payne was charged with aggravated robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, while Burks faced charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and accessory after the fact.
Blessing Burks & Chaz Payne (Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department)
A warrant mentioned a female juvenile was in the car during the armed robbery, but police have not said if she was charged.
Blessing Burks was arrested in July 2019 in connection with the June murder of William Summers Jr., 21, on Salem Mason Drive. Burks was charged with criminal homicide, but was out on bond at the time of Sunday night’s armed robbery.
News 2 is tracking crime where you live with CrimeTracker reports. Click here for more coverage. | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro police are investigating after a man was stabbed at a home in Bordeaux early Thursday morning.
Officers responded around 4:30 a.m. to a stabbing at a residence on County Hospital Road, not far from Clarksville Pike.
According to police, the man’s daughter is believed to have stabbed him in the abdomen after he hit her during an argument.
The man was transported to a hospital for treatment of serious, but non-life threatening injuries, investigators revealed.
It was not immediately clear if anyone would be charged. | 1 |
Pamra awards IPTV service licence to SCO for GB
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) awarded Internet Protocol IPTV Distribution Service Licence to Special Communications Organisation (SCO) for Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region.
According to announcement made by the SCO here on Friday, in this regard, a signing ceremony was held at Pera HQ Islamabad. The ceremony was attended by Major General Ali Farhan HI (M), Director General SCO and Muhammad Saleem Baig, Chairman Pemra besides senior officials from both sides.
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. IPTV services offer both live TV broadcasting and stored video on demand (VoD). It provides a wide range of geographic coverage and vast range of internet solutions for both consumer as well as corporate sector. “In the era of fifth generation warfare, we would be able to defeat the hostile external narrative through this medium.” said Major General Ali Farhan, HI (M), DG SCO. “SCO intends to work with the local operators and be a facilitator rather than a competitor as earning of revenue is not a priority for us,” he added. | ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has refused the reports regarding draft consultation on regulating the Web TV and Over the Top TV (OTT) Content Services in Pakistan.
In a statement issued by authority on Friday said that in media reports it was alleged that through the Draft Consultation on Regulating the Web TV & Over the Top TV (OTT) Content Services in Pakistan, Pemra intends to curtail the freedom of speech and gag voice. "The allegation is totally denied. The objective for the Consultation on Regulating Web TV and OTT content services is elaborated in Section 1.2 of the Consultation Paper wherein it has been elaborated that the extensive growth of the web TV and OTT market and the excessive disruption of these services to traditional broadcast services have made regulators vigilant all over the world," it stated
It further said, moreover, the broadcasters and TV operators and other traditional service providers are losing their market share to online web TV and content providers. "Although, there was other regulatory issues also which necessitate it to bring under regulations the Web TV & OTT services. For example all Pemra licensed broadcasters are subject to compliance with Code of Conduct-2015 which required the operators to have in-house time delaying mechanism and editorial control to filter out content which is not in compliance with the Code etc," it added.
Pemra said, however, the web TV and OTT players were not subject to any code of conduct and other authority laws. Moreover, as a regulator, it was the responsibility of Pemra to provide a level playing field to all stakeholders. Since OTT and Web TV operators were competing for the same advertisement or subscription revenue as the licensed operators, therefore, it was imperative that the services be regulated at par with other services. It claimed that Pemra has received tremendous response from some stakeholders, including international players on the consultation process.
As a result of public feedback received through this consultation process, recommendations for regulating the web TV and OTT content will be finalised. It is unfortunate that instead of giving feedback in a professional way and sharing concerns if any with the regulator, some individuals and organisations have adopted a highly objectionable way of simply rejecting the consultation process and have initiated a smear campaign against Pemra. It said more the news that Pemra has circulated another version of the draft regulation with the federal cabinet is totally false and devoid of any facts.
The Nation | 1 |
With the spread of the coronavirus, more and more well-known people are falling victim to the virus; earlier in the day, it was reported that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tested positive for COVID-19.
Rammstein's frontman Till Lindemann was hospitalised in Berlin after testing positive for coronavirus, the German newspaper Bild reported on Friday.
The 57-year-old musician had high body temperature and pneumonic fever, and after testing positive for COVID-19, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. However, doctors reportedly claim that there's no danger to the musician's health.
In early-March, Lindemann had a concert in Moscow and after a gig in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, he had a tour of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. | According to reports in the German daily Bild newspaper, Lindemann is presently not in critical condition, despite being admitted to a Berlin ICU. The tabloid wrote that the Rammstein singer had returned to Berlin last week after a performance in Moscow, upon which he reportedly suffered from a lung infection as well as fever, prompting his ongoing stay in intensive care.
The newspaper claimed that Lindemann had contracted the novel coronavirus after positive test results; however, Bild later added that subsequent tests came back negative.
While still remaining in intensive care, the overall health of the 57-year-old singer is said to be improving.
German music export
Till Lindemann is known as Rammstein’s poster-boy. Born in Leipzig in 1963, he worked as a drummer in various bands during the 1980s before launching Rammstein in 1994. The band quickly became one of the most successful German rock bands in history, selling more than 20 million albums.
Rammstein is recognized the world over for their provocative lyrics, music and performances. Taking artistic liberties to new levels, the band has repeatedly made headlines with supposed references to Nazi aesthetics and more. Belonging to the “Neue Deutsche Härte” (NDH) music scene, they mix techno sounds with hard rock and other styles.
More recently, Lindemann pursued his solo career, performing in Russia without his legendary band ; Russia hosts one of the biggest fan communities of Rammstein. During his stage performances there, Till Lindemann is said to recently have made references to the novel coronavirus.
With an ongoing ban on public gatherings of more than 5,000 people in place in Moscow, Lindemann had decided to give two separate performances to smaller audiences.
An earlier Version of this article said that according to Bild, the singer had contracted the novel coronavirus. The newspaper has since changed its depiction of events. This text has been modified accordingly.
jk,ss/rf (Bild/ntv) | 4 |
THE Talomo Police Station will be deploying nearly 300 policemen to ensure the security at Shrine Hills, Matina, Davao City during the celebration of the Feast of the Santo Nino today.Police Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Lao, Talomo Police Station commander, said there are a total of 291 security forces excluding medical and emergency teams from Central 911 who will be within the area of the procession and parade routes to provide security.“The security measure is to ensure the safety of thousands of local devotees as well as other visitors that are expected to be in Davao City for the religious feast,” Lao said.He added that the deployed workforce will be composed of personnel from their station together with the Newly Appointed Police Commission Officers (NAPCOs), Traffic Group, Davao City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO), and Police Auxiliaries.Lao directed the personnel to enforce orderliness, traffic management, and security measures inside and outside the perimeter of the Holy Infant of Jesus of Prague in Shrine Hills.“I’m asking for your cooperation and support on our strict implementation. After all, we are for everyone’s safety,” Lao said.Authorities reiterated the city-wide gun ban in Davao City and so, permit to carry firearms outside residence (PTCFOR) is suspended. Only the members of the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies on duty and are wearing prescribed uniforms are allowed to carry firearms. | A MAN, who threatened his girlfriend with a gun during an argument Monday, February 3, is facing multiple charges for illegal possession of firearms and violence against women.The incident alarmed the authorities, who then warned male partners on using force against women.Based on the report, the incident happened around 3 p.m. of February 3. The suspect's girlfriend, whose name was withheld, went to Talomo Police Station to seek police assistance regarding the alleged violation of his partner of the Republic Act 9262 during their altercation.The man was allegedly armed with a firearm inside the complainant's house in Catalunan Pequeño, Davao City. The suspect allegedly threatened and intimidated her with his firearm.After receiving the report, the operatives responded to the area and arrested the suspect who was identified as Harold Tampos, 24, unemployed and a resident of Catalunan Pequeño, Davao City.During the operation, policemen recovered from the suspect a caliber .38 revolver with four pieces of live ammunition.When asked for the permit of his firearm, the suspect failed to present any document.Police Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Lao, chief of Talomo Police Station, said the suspect will now face gun charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 10591 and RA 9262, or Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) Law.Lao also reminded the men not to take advantage of the vulnerability of women by using violence to intimidate them, as he assured that they will not tolerate such action."Women are born to be loved, respected, like on how we adore our mothers. All acts of violence against women, whether intentional or not, will not be tolerated and the PNP (Philippine National Police) will continue to hold those responsible for this type of behavior accountable for their actions," Lao said.Meanwhile, the police advised the victim to undergo a physical examination and psychological evaluation at the Southern Philippines Medical Center.Lao said the suspect is currently detained at this office for proper disposition. | 1.5 |
Dyeing eggs in spring may be a pagan tradition that was adopted by the Christians, but the folks in Eastern Europe took it to the highest level. The technique of creating colorful patterns with a wax resist is called pysanky, and it came to the United States with the émigrés of the Ukraine in the diaspora that began just before WWI. The cultural traditions took root here and in Canada, and were passed through to the current generation.
Shannon Wallis is from the Upper Valley, not the Ukraine, but nevertheless enjoys the patterns and colors of the pysanky technique. She often runs into folks who know the history and recognize the regional patterns on her eggs — the patterns she first used to learn the process.
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After eight years of developing her style, Wallis created her own language of design elements that goes beyond the traditional. She sees patterns everywhere — on someone’s dress, in a Hindi henna tattoo or flowers. Wallis says it’s a challenge creating two-dimensional geometric designs with squares and triangles that skirt a conical egg, but therein lies the satisfaction.
Starting with a raw chicken or duck egg, Wallis draws on the first layer of design with a kistka filled with flowing hot wax. Wallis says the method is like creating a coloring book — first she draws the lines in wax and then colors in between with dyes. Finally, all the wax is removed with a few seconds in a microwave, and the design is revealed. That is her favorite moment — is it a masterpiece or a mess? The finished eggs are “blown out” to preserve them.
Lately, she has been experimenting with brown eggs that are first “etched” with vinegar in spots to create whites lines, revealed under the brown surface. The colors used may be the only seasonal element to her designs, as she sells the most eggs in December as hanging ornaments.
But Easter is the traditional time for egg dyeing throughout history and cultures. Wallis may not have a Ukrainian heritage for design inspiration, but she has gathered dozens of “egg friends” all over the world on social media. She’s also been invited to participate in a show at the Pysanka Museum in Kolomyia, Ukraine, in April to bring back to the homeland variations of the technique that took root in America and Canada over the past 100 years. As a side note, she says that the most respected egg artist in the Ukraine is a soldier fighting, at the moment, against the Russian aggression.
When Wallis gets around to having her DNA tested, she almost hopes there is a percentage from Eastern Europe. That would explain a lot of things. | The report by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization did not immediately say the missiles caused the crash but only that “the impact of these missiles on the accident and the analysis of this action are under investigation.”
The report also requested help from U.S. and French authorities for equipment and know-how to recover information from Flight 752’s flight recorders, the so-called “black boxes” that record the voices in the cockpit and the flight data.
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Iran faces growing impatience by countries whose citizens were on the plane, particularly Canada and Ukraine, for access to the recorders. Iranian officials first said they would send them to Ukraine for analysis but then backtracked.
The plane was shot down on Jan. 8 during a tense confrontation between the United States and Iran following the killing of a top Iranian commander. | 1 |
Getty Images A man drags a handcart across a road in Wuhan, China, Feb. 5.
On Wednesday, Tencent, a Chinese tech giant best known for its super-popular messaging app WeChat, found itself at the center of a frenzy. Screenshots began to circulate of the company’s "Epidemic Situation Tracker," which tracks the coronavirus’s spread in mainland China, displaying a death toll almost 80 times higher than the official number. This time was reportedly the third instance the tracker briefly displayed numbers much higher than the official counts coming out of Beijing.
Adding to the alarm, the numbers matched a viral WeChat rumor that spread separately across Chinese and American social media. (In actuality, the coronavirus outbreak has killed 565 people and grown to more than 28,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization, with 265 outside of China.) A spokesperson for Tencent told BuzzFeed News the screenshots were fake: “Unfortunately, several social media sources have circulated doctored images of our ‘Epidemic Situation Tracker’ featuring false information which we never published,” the spokesperson said. “Tencent does not condone the dissemination of inaccurate information and fake news especially during this sensitive period. We reserve all legal rights and remedies in this matter.” China's censorship laws, which far predate the first coronavirus cases in the city of Wuhan late last year, have been deployed under the pretense of preventing mass panic. But it has still been a constant struggle for China's government to control the narrative around the outbreak.
Tencent / Supplied A viral screenshot of Tencent's outbreak tracker with numbers higher than official counts. Tencent said the screenshot was doctored.
On Thursday, Chinese state media reported via Weibo, a Twitter-like social platform, that Dr. Li Wenliang died after contracting the coronavirus, only to report hours later that he was alive but in critical condition. Li was then declared dead hours later on Thursday night. "We deeply regret and mourn this," hospital staff wrote on Weibo. Li, who contracted the virus while treating patients, was one of the eight whistleblowers initially arrested by local police in Wuhan, China, last month for "spreading rumors” about the outbreak. There are reports that up to 40 other people have been investigated for similar charges across the country. The reaction to Li’s death on platforms like Weibo and WeChat has been intense. “I’ve never seen such collective anger and sadness on my WeChat feed,” journalist Viola Zhou tweeted. But even as Li became a hero on Chinese social media, the enforcement of anti-misinformation laws like the one used to arrest him is becoming common across Asia.
In the last month, three people were arrested in Kerala, India, on allegations of “spreading fake news,” two people were arrested for purportedly sharing “false information" in Bangkok, and five people were arrested for similar charges in cities across Malaysia.
This week, Hong Kong police arrested a mall security guard for the alleged “transmission of false message[s] by telecommunication," accusing the 37-year-old man of causing panic by sharing an audio file on WhatsApp that claimed five mall staffers had called in sick with a fever. The arrest did little to quell rumors, because following it, Hong Kong police bragged about arresting the man on Facebook. Unlike the rest of China, Hong Kong has no "fake news" law, but it does have a law dating back to 1935 against using a phone to send false messages to cause annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety. But people in China are still using the internet to track the outbreak. The problem is: If they amplify the wrong thing, they could get arrested. Yuan Xiaohui, the CEO of Beijing-based tech company QuantUrban, is trying to create a useful coronavirus crowdsourcing service while avoiding rumors. “To prevent arousing panic, we only add government publicly released data. All of the data comes from [the] Health Commission of the related city,” Yuan told BuzzFeed News. QuantUrban combines preexisting map data of Chinese cities with reports from volunteers along with outbreak data that comes from cities’ health commissions. So far, it shows infection cases for 23 cities, including Beijing, and a timeline of daily changes. To minimize the possible accusations that a live, hyperlocal heat map of coronavirus cases could cause alarm, there’s a warning on its website that reads “don’t panic.” “Some users of our websites will give us feedback when [a] certain place is mistakenly or not accurately annotated, then we will correct it and update the website,” Yuan said. Hong Kong's government has the almost impossible task of navigating between the CCP’s coronavirus plan and a pro-democracy protest movement now entering its eighth month. The city government has demanded more transparent and proactive containment measures and has been accused by users on pro-democracy social networks like Reddit and LIHKG of downplaying the outbreak’s seriousness and putting its citizens in danger to appease the government in Beijing. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has resisted a total border closure, instead enacting quarantines for mainland Chinese travelers entering Hong Kong.
thewuhanvirus.com A screenshot of thebaselab's Wuhan Virus tracker taken on Feb. 7.
As the city’s officials continue to walk a difficult path, a group of high school students in the city, working under the name thebaselab, went viral after building a coronavirus tracker similar to the one on the other side of the Great Firewall, China’s heavily restricted internet.
“The live map idea is inspired by [the] mainland's websites on the coronavirus by Tencent and other tech corporations,” Ken Chung, the map’s developer, told BuzzFeed News. “Those are huge sites with large teams behind them, and really popular among mainlanders. But they were only in Simplified Chinese and mostly report local official news and numbers.” Thebaselab’s live map works in three languages and has been shared several thousand times on Facebook and Reddit since it launched last month. Chung said that Beijing’s inability to control the flow of information about the outbreak will be a huge wake-up call for Chinese users. “I think arresting someone just because they posted inaccurate information is plain ridiculous. While I do agree there's a certain responsibility borne when posting stuff online, it's really impossible to draw a line between misinformation and non-government approved content,” Chung said. “While the Chinese have just noticed the harsh truth of censorship, I don't see why Hong Kongers should step back and accept it.”
“While the Chinese have just noticed the harsh truth of censorship, I don't see why Hong Kongers should step back and accept it.”
The live map is only half of thebaselab’s coronavirus work. The team members also run a WhatsApp group chat called GloNews Room, which they recently gave BuzzFeed News access to. It’s primarily run by thebaselab member Andy Tang.
“Since the Wuhan virus outbreak happened in Wuhan, China, I have been following different Chinese media reports and social platforms as the Beijing government tries to lock down the free flow of information,” Tang told BuzzFeed News. “Eventually it turned into a global emergency issue, and it would be our job to deliver instant reports from countries abroad.” GloNews Room has about 100 users, who collect, vet, and disseminate coronavirus news, but the group doesn't always focus on the virus. A bunch of the members also used the group to share memes about US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address earlier this week. Tang said that while crowdsourcing can make things more confusing, it’s also the best way in the current information ecosystem to deal with the sheer scale of the global news cycle. “Crowdsourcing is providing an all-round perspective for netizens to fact-check the authenticity of a large amount of information,” he said. “Which is now critical under this chaotic environment with all sorts of rumors floating around.” | A Wall Street Journal commentary calling China "the real sick man of Asia" outraged Beijing so much that it immediately kicked out three of its reporters out of the country after the newspaper refused to apologize for running the commentary.
Who would have anticipated at the time that the February incident would later escalate to catch Hong Kong by total surprise?
The Foreign Ministry's expulsion of a further group of American journalists working for three US media outlets after Washington drastically slashed by a third the number of journalists working for five Chinese state media bodies was undoubtedly retaliation in the ongoing diplomatic war between the two countries.
Such expulsions were not unprecedented. However, the Foreign Ministry's decision to say the ban on those American journalists also applied to Hong Kong and Macau was a bad move as it has so much to do with the "one country, two systems" arrangement for the two SARs.
The ill-conceived move by the ministry has created a difficult situation for Hong Kong - it's not as difficult for Macau which is less international than we are here.
That difficulty is evident in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's inability to address some legitimate questions in relation to the ban.
Mute in the beginning, she's now speaking up declaring that she could not possibly predict who would be allowed to work here as she referenced the immigration policy that every application is treated individually.
The reply was not satisfactory. She clearly tried to confine the cases to the remit of Hong Kong's immigration policy that is supposed to form part of the SAR's high degree of autonomy.
That's all she could say.
Unfortunately, this still falls short of addressing the concern that a local matter could readily become a foreign affairs matter. And when a line should have been defined with clarity, it became blurred instead.
Can Lam answer that concern? Perhaps only those in the Foreign Ministry can.
The ministry has been rather dramatic these days with a bewildering array of incidents.
If Global Times' Hu Xijin was known for his often radical commentaries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has proved he's more than a match for Hu because the latter - despite his combative mockery of the United States - has never been as successful as Zhao in creating a diplomatic storm.
Angry that the world hasn't been thankful to Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic, Zhao dropped the bombshell alleging sick US soldiers were cuplrits of the virus that began in Wuhan. His predecessor, Cui Tianhai - currently the Chinese ambassador to the United States - had to clear the mess saying Zhao's tweet didn't represent the central government's point of view.
Hu is no match for Zhao because, while Hu is a man of the media, Zhao is an official spokesman of the Foreign Ministry.
It appears that Zhao has since gone into hibernation. Is the ministry making an adjustment to its policy towards the United States? If so, should it also adjust its ill-conceived decision to involve Hong Kong in the Sino-US diplomatic row? | 2 |
Photo: Hailey BollingerIn light of the global COVID-19 outbreak, CityBeat has made the decision to postpone our annual Best of Cincinnati event, which was scheduled for Wednesday, March 25.
While disappointed, the health and safety of event attendees, vendors and staff are the highest priority for our business. We are following the lead of our city, state and federally elected officials, who have advised that large events be canceled or rescheduled.
We are working to notify everyone involved and plan to keep you up to date on any details we have regarding the new date for the event. As soon as we have a new date confirmed, we will notify you in hopes that you can still attend and join us for the celebration.
The Best of Cincinnati magazine will be going to press and printed on schedule and will be on newsstands and online March 25.
We appreciate your support of CityBeat Events and hope to see you soon.
Visit our live blog for the latest COVID-19-related news, announcements, cancelations and other updates. | Photos: Hailey Bollinger
As the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on both public health and the national and local economy continues to swell, elected officials, health care leaders and businesses have taken unprecedented measures — at least in our lifetime — to curb the spread of the virus and mitigate its effects. That means, whether voluntarily, preemptively or under direction, major events like the Flying Pig Marathon, Ohio’s primary election and even Sunday mass have been rescheduled or suspended; orders have been issued requiring social distancing in public; bars and restaurants have had to shut their dining rooms and shared spaces; live music events and theater runs have been canceled — basically, regular life is on hold as we deal with COVID-19.
And the effect of all of the above has had a direct impact on us here at the paper.
The reality is CityBeat is and always has been a free publication, both in print and online — there’s no subscription fee and no paywall, which means our revenue relies 100 percent on Cincinnatians being able to gather at concerts, theaters, restaurants, bars, museums, festivals and even our own events. As advertisers have had to make tough decisions and cut their budgets to weather the quarantine, we are asking for your support.
We have no idea how this pandemic is going to affect us long-term, and everyone will need as much information as they can get.Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to cover issues that matter to the community, and to spotlight Cincinnati businesses and the city's active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Cincinnati with independent, free press.
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AVANESHNI Govender was one of Scottburgh High’s top matric achievers, bagging an impressive six distinctions.
Unlike most pupils, Avaneshni did not have a fixed study schedule.
ALSO READ : Sfundo soars with six distinctions
“The manner in which I studied changed according to the subject,” she said.
“I planned and strategised each day. This helped make studying feel more of an adventurous challenge and less of a stressful and boring process.”
Her subjects included English home language, Afrikaans first additional language, life orientation, mathematics, accounting, life sciences and physical sciences.
“My favourite subject was Afrikaans because it was different to the other subjects and my teacher, Reinette Tylcoat, never failed to put a smile on my face during lessons.”
The matric year is notorious for being fast-paced and crammed with work.
This is one of the biggest challenges pupils face.
“Towards the end of the year, I felt as if I was running out of fuel! I began to feel nervous and demotivated, but through positive self-talk I was able to uplift myself and keep going,” said Avaneshni.
“I reminded myself of the long-term goals that I wanted to achieve. This was a driving force which I used to overcome any hurdles that I experienced.”
Avaneshni explained that her final year at school was “nothing but memorable”, adding that although the highlight was undoubtedly the matric dance, she also thoroughly enjoyed the school’s Evolution Tour to Maropeng.
And what does the future hold for this bright and dedicated lass?
First step – a degree in chemical engineering.
“Science has always been a thought-provoking subject and I’m positive that I will enjoy the challenges that come with this course of study.”
With the degree behind her, Avaneshni plans to travel, with the first stop being the United Kingdom.
“I’m grateful to my parents and best friend for their love and support. I would not be who I am without the people who have been there for me every step of the way,” she said.
“To the matrics of 2020, don’t stop believing in yourself. The things that feel overwhelmingly impossible to do are often the things which one is capable of.”
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
To receive our FREE email newsletter, click HERE | Jealousy has destructive power.
It’s actually a disagreement with God over something we don’t have that He has chosen to give someone else.
In some cases, it results from fear of being replaced in a relationship or job.
ALSO READ : Devotion: You matter to Him
To overcome this attitude, we must first acknowledge that we have a conflict with God.
We should confess our wrong mindset, repent, and then turn away from it.
The next step is harder: Thank God for the person of whom you’re jealous, and express gratitude for the blessings in his or her life.
Then the weight of our ill feelings will begin to lift.
In addition, do something good for the other person, regardless of how you feel.
We can never overcome jealousy if we think only of our feelings.
One of the most helpful things we can do is focus on what the Lord is doing in our own life.
(Source: InTouch.org)
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Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. | BARNWELL COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) — A rumor circulating social media concerning a case of the coronavirus in Barnwell County is inaccurate, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“Corona Virus has touched down in Bwell county yall be safe! Wash yo hands,” the social media post said.
“DHEC has no reports of any confirmed cases in Barnwell County, to date,” officials told NewsChannel 6’s Shawn Cabbagestalk.
We’re told the agency is continuing to monitor, assess and respond to cases of COVID-19 throughout the state.
New positive cases are expected to be updated on the agency’s COVID-19 webpage. | 3 |
Coronavirus cases grow to 45 in Michigan, state working to temporarily close casinos
Show Caption Hide Caption Nursing homes dealing with coronavirus Johanna Mannone visits her husband Michael Mannone at WellBridge of Rochester Hills but only for 30 minutes and she had to wear a gown and mask. Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press
As the number of coronavirus cases grow in Michigan, the state’s Gaming Control Board is working with Detroit’s three casinos to temporarily shut down in order to help stop the spread of the virus.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Sunday night that another 12 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 45.
“This is a moment in Michigan. We are up to the challenge and we’ll do everything to mitigate the challenge,” she said. “Every decision we’ve made has been based on the best science and the best facts.”
The state has the capacity to test about 115 samples a day, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. But private labs and hospitals also are beginning to come on board to begin testing what is expected to be a widely burgeoning number of samples.
More: Where are the coronavirus cases in Michigan?
More: Michigan reacts as coronavirus hits the state
Without the additional help from hospitals and labs, the state might not be able to get results for 72 hours.
Casinos have been a continuing question as the virus has spread. Often filled with elderly people, sitting shoulder to shoulder at slot machines and gaming tables, it is an ideal place for transmission of the virus. Some of the casinos have been trying to section off areas with temporary walls to stay under the 250 person limit, but Whitmer said the Gaming Control Board was working to at least temporarily to shut down the casinos.
“We’re working diligently to put a policy together and enforce it so that there is a temporary closure of casinos,” Whitmer said. “There is a lot of close contact in the casinos, so we’re taking a serious look at that.”
Social distancing is key, Whitmer said, in flattening the curve of the coronavirus so that hospitals will have the capacity to treat patients over a longer period of time.
“With social distancing, we can slow down the number of infections and give our hospitals more time to respond,” she said.
And to deal with essential items and food flying off grocery store shelves, Whitmer said the spring weight restrictions that are usually put on trucks at this time of year has been lifted so that trucks can make more frequent deliveries to stores so that they can restock their shelves.
The number of cases in the state have ticked up since Tuesday when the state announced its first two cases of the virus that causes the global, deadly COVID-19 respiratory illness. Whitmer also announced a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Since then, the state has moved to close all K-12 schools, public and private universities have closed, and gatherings of more than 250 people have been banned.
Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal | Gov. Whitmer signs executive order banning gatherings of more than 250 people
Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gives coronavirus updates Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan talks with the media about the coronavirus and officials' recommendation for response to the growing problem on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press
In light of the expanding number of coronavirus cases in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered that all gatherings of 250 people or more be canceled or postponed.
Under the executive order, which was to begin at 5 p.m. Friday, all events and gatherings of more than 250 people are temporarily prohibited in the state. Certain events are exempt from this prohibition, such as industrial or manufacturing work, mass transit, or the purchase of groceries or consumer goods.
While high school, college and major league sporting events have all already been canceled, the new order could affect some church services this weekend and many churches had already canceled Sunday Mass.
“This is about protecting the most people we can from the spread of coronavirus,” Whitmer said. “My administration will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread, and to ensure our children, families and businesses have the support they need during this time. We are going to get through this, but we must be flexible and take care of each other.”
More: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: All Michigan K-12 schools must close until April 5
More: Amid coronavirus concerns in jail, there's nowhere to avoid the crowds
The order came about 12 hours after Whitmer ordered all schools to shut down through April 5. The number of cases has grown to 16 in Michigan as of Friday afternoon and the state is awaiting results from another 26 suspected cases.
“Prohibiting large assemblages is the smart thing to do to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief deputy for health and chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “It’s crucial that everyone in Michigan follow these orders and make smart choices that will slow the spread of the virus, including practicing good hygiene and social distancing. We will continue to work with the governor and our partners across state government to protect Michigan families and businesses.”
One of the events that was canceled by Friday afternoon was the annual Boat Show at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
"The situation today is much different than it was two days ago when we decided to move forward with the Progressive Novi Boat Show," the sponsors of the show said on its website. "In light of the new developments surrounding the coronavirus, the MBIA Board has decided to cancel the remaining 3 days of the Progressive Novi Boat Show."
Information about the outbreak is changing rapidly. For updates, see Michigan.gov/Coronavirus
Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com and on Twitter @michpoligal. | 2 |
Norwegian-born model Frida Aasen has a body worthy of envy, and she likes to show it off in a bikini every once in a while. The former Victoria's Secret model took to Instagram on Wednesday to showcase her curves in a black string bikini that left little to the imagination.
Frida's bikini top had uniquely shaped cups and skinny straps, and a strap was also threaded through the cups for a cool look. The cups were spread far apart, revealing her cleavage. The tiny top also gave her fans a peek of underboob. The bottoms were a classic style with a thin strap that wrapped around her hips and tied on one side.
The beauty's update consisted of two photos that showed her outside, standing next to a white wall that was partially shaded. The snaps captured her body from the middle of her thighs up. Her hair was wet, and a drop of water ran down her bare thigh, indicating that she might have just come from a swim.
In one photo, Frida stood with one leg in front of the other, her hip cocked to the side. The pose put her flat abs and hourglass figure on display. She ran her hands through her hair as she gave the camera a sultry look.
The second picture captured the model as she shook her hair. Her head was tilted to the side and her hand was above it. She also had a dreamy look on her face. Her bronze skin popped against the white paint on the wall, and her body looked perfect in the outdoor lighting.
Frida looked to be wearing little — if any — makeup. Her cheeks and lips were a natural rosy color. | Norwegian beauty Frida Aasen posted a new photo set on Instagram that showed her rocking a blue bikini. The first image was the most revealing, showing her laying on her stomach in a thong bikini.
The model was seen posing on a boat laying on an off-white platform. She crossed her arms in front of her, and lay her head on top of them. Meanwhile, Frida extended her legs behind her and crossed her right leg on top in a way that accentuated her long legs.
The bikini bottoms, which were a bright light blue tone, popped against her tanned body. The swimsuit also featured dark blue trim.
The stunner's face was obscured in the shot, thanks to her hair and pose.
The second picture showed off the blonde's look from a different angle. This time, Frida stood up and leaned on a low, silver railing. She raised her left hand into the air, as she was seemingly playing with her hair. Her locks fell down behind her backs. Meanwhile, the model wore a pair of dark sunglasses.
This image also revealed much more about the swimsuit. The front of the top and bottoms had multiple shades of blue, with the lightest hue being the most prominent. Her tiny waist and flat abs were on full display here.
Behind the sensation were other boats on the dark blue waters and green hills. The photos were taken on a cloudy day with hardly any blue skies visible in the frame. | 3 |
Two employees associated with the Department of Public Instruction — a teacher serving with a government primary school and a cluster resource person — have been suspended from service for sharing messages on social media critical of the recent request from Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for donations from the public for COVID-19 relief works.
Dakya Naik, a teacher serving with the government higher primary school in Thimmapura village of Sorab taluk, had shared an audio clipping on WhatsApp in which the Chief Minister was criticised for requesting the public to chip in funds. The audio also had suggestions for the Chief Minister on mobilising resources from various sources to handle such exigences.
Sri Raju, a cluster resource person serving with the department, was the administrator of the WhatsApp group in which Mr. Naik posted the audio clip. He also endorsed the opinion voiced in it.
In a press release, K.M. Vaishali, CEO of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat, said that prima facie, it was evident that both Mr. Naik and Mr. Raju had acted in contravention to their service conditions by showing disrespect to elected representatives. The CEO also said that when the people were in distress owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the duo had acted in an irresponsible manner by spreading misinformation about the government and the Chief Minister. | The COVID-19 pandemic poses special challenges to patients with organ failure. Those waiting for transplant or who had received a transplant tend to have more severe disease due to weak immunity. Patients with severe heart, lung, or liver failure and waiting for transplant are at a high risk for dying if a transplant does not happen within a short period of time. But if there are clusters of COVID-19 disease in the region around the hospital or if there are COVID-19 patients already admitted in the hospital then, the course ahead becomes a quandry.
Performing a transplant surgery in such situation will increase the risk of exposure to the recipient during the surgery and in the recovery period. This exposure could happen from the donor or healthcare providers or other patients in the hospital. It is possible that the hospital resources could become limited due to COVID-19 cases and the care of the transplant recipients may get compromised.
Non-urgent transplant surgeries such as kidney transplants in relatively stable patients on dialysis may be avoided in areas of high prevalence of COVID-19. If the recipient is critically ill and the surgery is unavoidable then care must be taken to check both the donor and the recipient for COVID-19 prior to transplant.
Elective living donation transplants could continue in regions with low incidence and in hospitals with no infected patients. Deceased donation can continue in countries/regions with low incidence of COVID-19 but with stringent precautions.
Currently, there is no evidence to support blood-transfusion related transmission of the virus particles and no additional precautions need to be taken by the blood bank during transplant surgeries. But voluntary blood donation may decrease and hence available blood must be used judiciously.
All brain dead donors should be adequately screened for recent travel and potential exposure to virus. Deceased donation involves significant amount of interaction with the donor family, and increased human movement in hospital. Transplant coordinators should follow appropriate preventive measures to avoid exposure during evaluation. Donors with active infection or exposure to COVID-19 should not be considered for transplantation. Organ transportation throws additional challenges. Also deceased organ donation from hospitals with COVID-19 patients should be avoided due to risk of cross contamination.
Regular visits to the doctor should be limited during this period of virus spread. Physicians can use telemedicine to reduce visits but continue interacting with the patient. Routine investigations should be limited and any elective procedures must be postponed. Dialysis patients and their treating physician should identify another small volume unit for dialysis needs if the situation arises where the primary centre is overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
The role of pre-emptive placement of AV fistula should be evaluated in patients with advanced renal failure to avoid the occurrence of emergent needs during COVID-19 epidemic. Transplant recipients with mild symptoms including runny nose, cough, throat pain and low-grade fever should be considered as suspected case of COVID- 19. They should be asked to self-quarantine themselves at home and consideration must be given to lower the immunosuppression.
A majority of mild illnesses resolve spontaneously, with time and rest. However, such patients should be asked to closely monitor their symptoms. Patients with severe symptoms such as breathing difficulty, high fever and lack of oxygen should be admitted to the hospital.
Immunosuppressive therapy should be discontinued or reduced in patients with severe illnesses. Currently, there are no proven therapies to cure coronavirus infection. The treatment in the hospital includes oxygen and organ supportive care until the lung injury resolves. Certain anti viral medication have been used on experimental basis with some reported benefits. | 1 |
LEE TWP. — Two ice fishers were pulled from Lower Scott Lake Sunday after falling through the ice.
The two men, who are brothers, fell through the ice around 4:24 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, near 54th Street and 110th Avenue. The Allegan County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police, a Department of Natural Resources officer and the Lee Township Fire Department responded to the call.
The Allegan County Sheriff's Office Casco Township deputy, who is also on the county's dive/rescue team, arrived on the scene to find two males in the water and a third male using a small boat to attempt to rescue the men in the water.
The deputy and a state trooper were able to get one of the fishers on shore after he got on top of the ice. They threw a rescue line to the other male. Once the second fisher was out of the water and onto thin ice, police instructed the man to flatten out and roll toward shore until they were able to pull him to safety.
In total, the men were in the water about 20-30 minutes.
The brothers, who are 62 and 60 years old, are longtime residents of Lower Scott Lake and have nearly 30 years of ice fishing experience. Neither of them, however, had any safety gear with them. Both brothers showed signs of hypothermia and small cuts from the ice, but they declined to go to the hospital.
The Allegan County Sheriff’s Department was also assisted at the scene by Fennville AMR and Clyde Township Fire Department. The sheriff's office is reminding everyone that "no ice is safe ice," according to Lt. Brett Ensfield. The sheriff's office asks anyone going onto a frozen lake or pond to abide by these safety precautions:
Tell someone where you are going and when you should return.Bring proper safety gear, including a Personal Flotation Device (life jacket), ice picks, and a whistle.Do not walk out on less than four inches of clear ice. This is the minimum recommended thickness. | Two separate fires in east Toronto kept fire crews busy on Sunday.
Toronto Fire said they were called to an apartment building on Dawes Road in East York at around 10:30 a.m.
There were concerns there may be children trapped inside the building, so the call was upgraded to a second-alarm, bringing more fire units to the scene.
Toronto Fire said the children were quickly located in a neighbouring apartment and were not injured.
The blaze was contained to a unit on the 11th floor and was quickly extinguished.
Toronto Fire said there were no other reports of injuries, but two cats were rescued by firefighters. It is not known if the pets were injured.
The second fire call was at a townhouse on Parma Court, near Victoria Park Avenue, at around 11:30 a.m.
When crews arrived, flames were seen coming from a third-floor window, Toronto fire said.
The residents got out of the building before crews arrived and there were no reports of injuries.
The cause of both fires is under investigation. | 1 |
× Expand File photo LGWC_Outhouse_Firefighters Despite their heavy turnout gear and slippery boot soles, Lake George firefighters stay close to their competitors — skiing enthusiasts from Albany — in an outhouse race held years ago during Lake George Winter Carnival.
LAKE GEORGE | The region’s premier event for combating “cabin fever” — Lake George Winter Carnival — kicks off this weekend, offering a wide variety of activities for family fun.
The opening weekend of the 59th annual carnival is expected to be a blockbuster because it hosts the ever-popular outhouse races. This zany event features people-powered privies fashioned in bizarre and humorous themes, skidding across the lake-top ice, or on packed snow. Whether the races feature a giant Star Wars creature, a sleek Batmobile replica with a toilet seat, or there’s a bride in her wedding gown careening in an outhouse on skis, the race has never failed to amuse spectators.
People attending the carnival can witness their dog compete in a canine talent contest, sing at an open mic session, gather around a bonfire on the beach, or gaze at fireworks — There’s an array of family-oriented activities planned for this weekend at the Lake George Winter Carnival.
Most all the activities are centered around Shepard Park beach. Saturday’s events start off with opening ceremonies at noon at MacDonald Pier, followed by a chili cook-off in the Shepard Park amphitheater featuring cuisine prepared by local chefs.
The wacky outhouse races start at 1 p.m. at the Charles Wood Park Festival Commons off West Brook Road due to lack ice not forming soon enough. Registration is held at The Lagoon starting at 10 a.m.; call (518) 685-5009 for details.
Beginning at 1:45 p.m., people will be gathering around bonfires on Shepard Park Beach and making s’mores as they enjoy hot chocolate.
From 1:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., people are welcome to make their own tie-dyed T-shirts in the snow.
Following at 4 p.m. is the annual winter carnival parade down Canada St., and a large number of floats and attractions are participating this year. Featured are several monster trucks, as well as firefighters from all over the region with their fire trucks.
Beginning at 6 p.m., spectacular fireworks will light up the sky — and their blazing hues will reflect off the ice of Lake George.
Sunday: keg toss, free sundaes, canine talent
On Sunday, scheduled events start with youth hockey scrimmages on the lake — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — if the ice is thick enough.
Make-your-own sundaes with toppings are provided free of charge by Stewart’s Shops beginning at noon on Shepard Park beach until supplies are gone. Then from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, people will be showing off their talents — or lack thereof — in the karaoke/open mic event in Shepard Park, and all are welcome to perform.
Following at 2 p.m. is another top draw, for folks seeking to impress their dates — a keg toss on the beach. Sign-up is from 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the souvenir tent. All ages are welcome to test their strength.
On both Saturday and Sunday, a variety of activities will be held through daylight hours. Cornhole games are offered beginning at noon for youth and adults, and from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., arts, crafts, games and face painting are offered at various area venues, while pony rides will be offered at Shepard Park for a modest fee.
Beginning at noon each day, a chainsaw-wielding artist will carve felled tree trunks into various creatures.
At 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, the Lake George Dogs Got Talent Contest is to be held — and whether your dog can sing or dance, be sure to enter.
At 3 p.m. is the event that for half a century has drawn a crowd — the carnival’s public Polar Plunge. Those participating are urged to bring a towel and dry clothes.
Throughout each day, people will be warming up at bonfires and socializing, while other folks will be taking horse-drawn carriage and sleigh rides for a fee. Call Tina Purdy at (518) 321-5539 for details.
Lake George Winter Carnival co-chairman Lou Tokos said this week that more and more families are participating in the carnival each year.
“Most people have ‘cabin fever’ by February, and our carnival prompts people to get outdoors and enjoy fun activities,” he said. “Considering all our family-friendly events which are free, we’re definitely unique.” ■ | × Expand Photo by Tim Weatherwax/One Shot Photography LGWC.ATV.Poker.1 A group of all-terrain vehicle riders drive along the lakeside walkway during a prior year’s Lake George Winter Carnival. This year’s edition of the popular four-weekend event resumes this Saturday and Sunday featuring an ATV Poker Run, a barbecue cookoff, bonfires by the beach, a dog talent show, and a karaoke contest — as well as an array of children’s activities.
LAKE GEORGE | A myriad of activities are to be held at this weekend’s Lake George Winter Carnival — whether it’s prompting your dog to howl in a canine talent show, imitating Adele in a karaoke session, riding an ATV around the lake, gazing at fireworks, or making new friends while warming up at a bonfire on the beach.
The 2020 edition of the carnival returns for its second weekend Saturday Feb. 8 and Sunday Feb. 9, featuring an ATV Poker Run, which annually brings hundreds of three- and four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles and their riders into the village.
But with the ice of Lake George not yet thick enough to support automobiles, the sports car ice racing events scheduled for the carnival have been postponed until later this month, event officials said this week.
All the carnival’s other traditional attractions are to occur as planned.
The variety of children’s activities is vast this year, featuring pony rides, face painting, and indoor craft sessions — all held both Saturday and Sunday.
All ages will enjoy Saturday’s barbecue cook-off, evening fireworks, and ice diving demonstrations.
Also on Feb. 8 are tie-dyeing of T-shirts in snow, and making s’mores or sipping hot chocolate beside a bonfire on Shepard Park Beach.
Sunday features youth hockey competitions on ice, make-your-own sundaes, an open mic session, a keg toss contest on the beach, and a snowman-building contest.
Held both Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. are the “Dogs Got Talent” shows, in which aanyone can enter their pet or watch the canine antics, as well as the traditional bonfire-on-the-beach likely be to burning from mid-afternoon into the evening.
Both days also host woodcarving demonstrations, cornhole games, children’s activities, as well as the traditional carnival Polar Plunge, in which people of all ages dash into the frigid water, while others watch and wince.
Sleigh and carriage rides, as well as helicopter excursions are also to be offered through the weekend.
Times of these events and other details are posted online at: LakeGeorgeWinterCarnival.com.
“We provide a wide variety of activities for people of all ages, offering them the opportunity to get outdoors and really enjoy winter,” carnival official Lou Tokos said. ■ | 3 |
Houston performer Roxanne Collins is a renowned Tina Turner impersonator. Photo: courtesy of Roxanne Collins
We've heard a lot, and rightfully so, about how the coronavirus closures are affecting live music and the livelihood of musical acts. The closure of bars and clubs has affected another community of performers: drag queens.
No more drag brunches or midnight shows, at least for the time being. Roxanne Collins, a lauded Houston performer and renowned Tina Turner impersonator, is doing something about it.
Collins will host "QuaranTina" at 9 p.m. Friday from her Facebook page. The hourlong show will feature songs from several of Turner's albums, including "Private Dancer," "Break Every Rule" and "Foreign Affair." And of course Collins will do "Proud Mary." She'll continue doing livestreams while she's home, digging into Turner's more recent work.
"As the isolation became a stay home order and off work extension, I knew I needed to do something," Collins says. "People often underestimate the love I receive through my work that translates financially. I have been so blessed to make a career out of doing what I love to do. I have faith, and my faith is strong. I will be OK, and in the end, better than before this happened. You will make it through this, too. We are gonna make it together."
Spoken like a true diva.
The stars of "RuPaul's Drag Race" are also doing their part. The Werq the World livestream will feature performances by some of the show's most popular queens, 7 p.m. April 4 at vossevents.com. Bianca Del Rio and Lady Bunny will host. Admission is $7.99 for the first 5,000 people. Proceeds will go to local performers across the country.
Houston drag entertainers who have lost all income due to shutdowns can apply for aid at vossevents.com/aid.
Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter. Get experts’ picks for concerts, kids’ stuff, fine arts, movies and more by subscribing to the Preview entertainment newsletter. | BTS, Blackpink, Got7: Who will be the first K-pop act to perform at RodeoHouston?
Who will be the first K-pop act to play RodeoHouston? Click through for some guesses>>> Who will be the first K-pop act to play RodeoHouston? Click through for some guesses>>> Photo: Photo Collage Photo: Photo Collage Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close BTS, Blackpink, Got7: Who will be the first K-pop act to perform at RodeoHouston? 1 / 14 Back to Gallery
K-pop is coming to RodeoHouston. But who will be the first Korean act to take the rotating stage?
Rumors began swirling in December when the RodeoHouston genre calendar was revealed and included a March 10 K-pop date. Twitter was still talking it about it earlier this week.
HTOWN: 23 Houston acts making great music in 2020
BTS, of course, was the most frequently mentioned contender. But that might not be the case. The group is readying a new album and might be on tour elsewhere.
There are several other acts, then, who could send fans into hysterics. Click through above to see who it might be.
Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter. Get experts’ picks for concerts, kids’ stuff, fine arts, movies and more by subscribing to the Preview entertainment newsletter. | 2 |
On Thursday morning, Bernie Sanders took to twitter to share a clip of Joe Rogan seemingly endorsing him in the Democratic primary. The Vermont senator posted a clip of Rogan from one of his recent podcasts with New York Times op-ed columnist Bari Weiss, where the comedian stated he would probably support Sanders in the upcoming election.
”I think I’ll probably vote for Bernie. Him as a human being when I was hanging out with him, I believe in him. I like him, I like him a lot,”, Rogan said before dismissing the recent controversy between Sanders and fellow candidate Elizabeth Warren. “Look, you could dig up dirt on every single human being that’s ever existed if you catch them in their worst moment. That said, you can’t find very many with Bernie. He’s been insanely consistent his entire life. He’s basically been saying the same thing, been for the same thing his whole life. And that in and of itself is a very powerful structure to operate from.”
The endorsement, followed by Sander’s amplification of Rogan’s support, has sparked newfound controversy and debate surrounding the campaign and has divided the senator’s supporters on social media.
Rogan is a well known comedian, former Fear Factor host and beloved UFC commentator with an exceptionally successful podcast called The Joe Rogan Experience, which has over seven million YouTube subscribers and is downloaded tens of millions of times each month. However, Rogan is almost as controversial as he is popular due to the selection of questionable guests he has hosted on his show over the past few years, including far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, disgraced far-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, and conservative commentator (and homophobe) Steven Crowder.
While there is much for the Sanders campaign to gain from Rogan’s endorsement, it has also created a schism between the senator’s supporters, especially among those who do not approve of Rogan’s world view or approach to his podcast. This article will attempt to lay out the various pros and cons from Rogan’s endorsement while determining its significance on the upcoming election.
The Good
Over the past decade, Joe Rogan has managed to build a podcasting empire. His show, The Joe Rogan Experience, is one of the most popular podcasts available on the internet, and was the second most downloaded podcast on Apple’s network in 2017 and 2018. The podcast also receives tens of millions of views on YouTube each month, mainly from the highly coveted young male demographic who are drawn to the relatable, laid back nature of the podcast.
Over the last couple of years, Rogan’s podcast has also become politically significant. In 2019, the comedian hosted three 2020 Democratic presidential candidates: Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, and Bernie Sanders. Rogan later claimed that other Democratic candidates like Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren requested to appear on the show but were not accepted as guests.
Yang was the first 2020 presidential candidate to appear on the show. A fringe candidate with a loyal base of young supporters, Yang’s campaign later reported a significant spike in campaign donations stemming from his appearance on the show. “Everything is up and to the right since the Joe Rogan podcast,” Yang’s campaign manager told the Daily Beast. “That was the key. That was the moment.”
Then in August 2019, Rogan hosted Sanders on his podcast, where the two discussed health care, gun laws, and — naturally — aliens. The hour-long appearance was important for several reasons. Firstly, it showed that Sanders was communicating left-wing values on platforms that did not represent his ideological stance. By appearing on the show, Sanders not only promoted his own policies, but successfully exposed Rogan’s audience to left-wing ideas in a favourable and persuasive manner.
Secondly, it was arguably a better platform for Sanders to deliver his policies than mainstream media has proven to be since the Democratic primaries began. While Sanders has not gotten a fair shake from outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and the New York Times, he was allowed the time to reach non-traditional constituencies while on Rogan’s podcast without being interrupted or written off. He managed to persuade a portion of Rogan’s audience while still delivering his pro-working class message.
Sander’s appearance on Rogan’s show clearly left a positive mark on the host, as Rogan has since admitted that he would “probably” vote for the Vermont senator, even going so far as to say that “when I was hanging out with him, I believe in him.” If that is how Sander’s impacted Rogan after a single podcast appearance, imagine the effect it had on the millions of impressionable young minds that listen to Rogan’s show. The opportunity to win back some of the voters that mainstream Democrats have alienated is something that Sanders should continue to do and proves that he would be a formidable challenger for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The Bad
While Joe Rogan is an exceptionally popular podcast host with a cult-like following, he has also proven to be a controversial figure with a willingness to push the boundaries when it comes to acceptable guests on his shows.
Over the past decade, Rogan has hosted a wide range of characters that fall across the entire political spectrum, including liberals, conservatives, reactionaries, innocuous weirdos, conspiracy theorists, and snake oil salesmen. His list of guests include the likes of Edward Snowden, Richard Dawkins, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Jesse Ventura, Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Elon Musk, Bob Lazar, Roseanne Barr, Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Mike Tyson. There is no common denominator between the aforementioned guests except for their status as well-known figures.
However, Rogan has hosted several figures who should not have been offered such expansive platforms. These include Alex Jones, who promotes conspiracy theories on his InfoWars network such as white genocide, vaccines, and climate change denial. Some of his most despicable actions include claiming that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 and the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 were false flag operations, which led to parents of victims and survivors being harassed and threatened.
Despite Jones’ reputation, Rogan still referred to him as the “most misunderstood guy on the planet” in 2019. By normalizing people like Jones as a loveable lunatic and harmless weirdo, Rogan is inadvertently exposing his audience to hateful and xenophobic rhetoric and contributing to their potential radicalization.
Rogan has also been guilty of transphobic comments over the past few years, most notably when discussing trans MMA fighter Fallon Fox in 2013, whom he referred to as a “f***ing man.”
“She calls herself a woman but... I tend to disagree,” Rogan said on his podcast in 2013 (h/t Bleacher Report). “And, uh, she, um... she used to be a man but now she has had, she’s a transgender which is (the) official term that means you’ve gone through it, right? And she wants to be able to fight women in MMA. I say no f***ing way. I say if you had a dick at one point in time, you also have all the bone structure that comes with having a dick. You have bigger hands, you have bigger shoulder joints. You’re a f***ing man. That’s a man, OK? You can’t have... that’s... I don’t care if you don’t have a dick any more…”
Fox, a natal male who transitioned in 2006, had served in the Navy as a operations specialist 2nd class for the U.S.S. Enterprise to support her daughter. She was also forced to quit college and to work as a trucker in order to save money for gender reassignment surgery. Yet despite the fact that she had transitioned seven years earlier, she was still made the target of Rogan’s bullying campaign.
“Look, [Fox is] huge! She’s not just huge, she’s got a f***ing man’s face,”Rogan continued. “I mean, you can wear all the lipstick you want. You want to be a woman and you want to take female hormones, you want to get a boob job, that’s all fine. I support your life to live, your right to live as a woman. Fight guys, yes. She has to fight guys. First of all, she’s not really a she. She’s a transgender, post-op person. The operation doesn’t shave down your bone density. It doesn’t change. You look at a man’s hands and you look at a women’s hands and they’re built different. They’re just thicker, they’re stronger, your wrists are thicker, your elbows are thicker, your joints are thicker. Just the mechanical function of punching, a man can do it much harder than a woman can, period.”
While Rogan promotes himself as a free thinker who is happy to discuss topics with both sides of the political spectrum, he has also allowed his podcast — and its substantial audience — to be hijacked by charlatans, conspiracy theorists, and bad faith actors who end up influencing his impressionable audience. However, while Rogan’s support for Sanders is controversial given Rogan’s past mistakes, it should be placed in relative contrast with the countless controversial characters who have previously endorsed Democratic candidates and were not met with the same level of scrutiny.
The Political
While Sanders’s willingness to amplify Rogan’s endorsement is problematic given Rogan’s questionable perspective on several topics, it is hardly the most controversial endorsement that a Democratic candidate has received.
In 2016, Bernie Sanders criticized Hillary Clinton’s ties to Henry Kissinger during one of the Democratic debates, admitting he found it “rather amazing” that she was proud of her relationship with Kissinger. He added that Kissinger — whose legacy includes much of the Vietnam War and the genocidal bombing of Cambodia — was “one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country.”
”I’m proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend,” Sanders added during the debate. “I will not take advice from Henry Kissinger.”
Instead of referring to Kissinger as the war criminal he is for helping orchestrate the carpet-bombing of Cambodia which killed between 150,000 to 500,000 citizens among other crimes, Clinton referred to him as a “friend.” And while her comments were criticized by the media, it highlighted the hypocrisy of establishment democrats and their willingness to put aside controversial differences in the pursuit of self-interest. In the end, Clinton’s comments about Kissinger had little effect on her winning the Democratic nomination. She continued to rack up endorsements, this time from celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z, Lena Dunham, Bruce Springsteen and Kate Perry. The Kissinger comments became a thing of the past.
Sanders has proven that he can communicate through American pop culture after endorsements from Jack White, rapper T.I, Norah Jones and Brandi Carlile, as well as interviews with the likes of Cardi B and Killer Mike. And while Sanders did not need to amplify Rogan’s endorsement to reap its benefits, it highlights his willingness to take advantage of opportunities to capture a voter base that is generally skeptical of Democrats and their policies.
Rogan’s fan base does not have a primary political allegiance — their allegiance is to Rogan, who has taught them to question everything. Winning them over is a coup because many are potentially undecided voters. It could also open the door for other progressive voices to be featured on Rogan’s show, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib among others.
In response to the criticism, Sanders spokeswoman Briahna Joy Gray released a statement saying that “the goal of our campaign is to build a multi-racial, multi-generational movement that is large enough to defeat Donald Trump and the powerful special interests whose greed and corruption is the root cause of the outrageous inequality in America. Sharing a big tent requires including those who do not share every one of our beliefs, while always making clear that we will never compromise our values.”
While Rogan’s transphobia and questionable guests should be criticized, it is understandable why Sanders would use Rogan’s platform and support at such a crucial stage of the presidential campaign.
It is strictly political. | Joe Rogan is one of the most popular talk show hosts in the world, a hero to politically disenchanted men across America in particular. The Joe Rogan Experience covers an eclectic range of topics, from sports to science to politics, and has millions of dedicated followers on YouTube alone. Rogan has described himself as “left on everything” politically, and said on Tuesday that he would likely vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary.
It’s the kind of endorsement that strengthens Sanders’s electability argument: that he can reach out to audiences beyond progressive activists.
But when the Sanders campaign made a short video trumpeting Rogan’s announcement on Thursday, it immediately kicked off a controversy over whether the campaign should have trumpeted the endorsement so publicly. Rogan, despite his claims to be left-wing, also has a very long history of offensive commentary, especially about trans people. He’s had friendly interviews with right-wing extremists like Milo Yiannopoulos, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones — and even voiced some support for 9/11 conspiracy theories.
The progressive world immediately split into competing camps. Some are arguing that Sanders was right to trumpet Rogan’s support because beating Donald Trump will require alliances with people who you disagree with on some issues. Others argue that Rogan’s views on transgender people — in a 2013 show, he referred to a trans woman as “a fucking man,” saying, “I don’t care if you don’t have a dick anymore” — should place him beyond the pale, just as an endorsement from a prominent racist would.
This Twitter exchange between two prominent left-leaning Washington, DC, journalists — the Justice Collaborative’s Chris Geidner, a longtime reporter on law and LGBT issues; and the Intercept’s Ryan Grim, who covers Democratic Party politics — cuts to the core of the disagreement:
Everyone on the left has correctly expended so much energy over the past years condemning Trump for his association with and support from white supremacists, but when it’s Sanders and an anti-trans, anti-gay bigot it’s “he’s a part of our politics, what can we do?” What bullshit. https://t.co/kpa3t4YxAa — Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) January 24, 2020
This is one of the most revealing spats in the 2020 primary so far. It touches on a core moral question about politics: What views should render someone unacceptable in polite discourse? It’s also a dispute about how to win in 2020. Should Democrats water down some of their commitments to win over potential Trump voters and, if so, which views?
And it’s also yet another piece of ammunition in the war over Sanders among progressives, a sign that the 2016-era fight over how much he can be trusted on issues other than economic inequality still hasn’t been settled.
Why you should care about Joe Rogan’s endorsement
For about 10 years, Rogan has been the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, an internet talk show that’s become astonishingly popular both in podcast and video form on YouTube. It’s been the No. 1 or 2 show in the world on Apple Podcasts for the past few years; its YouTube channel, PowerfulJRE, has over 7 million subscribers.
It’s given a new relevancy to the 52-year-old media veteran. He started his career as a standup comedian, starred in the ’90s sitcom NewsRadio, and then worked as the host of the gross-out reality show Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006. He’s also a passionate mixed martial arts fan who has worked as an announcer at MMA fights.
Rogan’s show is a meandering interview series with a very strange panel of guests that reflect the host’s personal interests, ranging from MMA fighters to comedians to evolutionary biologists to Dr. Phil. His most famous episode is a 2018 interview with tech mogul Elon Musk, in which Musk smoked a blunt with Rogan and floated a proposal to sell his company stock at $420 (get it?). The interview kicked off a panic in the business world about Musk’s mental competency.
Rogan is an engaging host, one who lets conversations float freely on a range of diverse and often quite interesting topics. When you watch some of Rogan’s more thoughtful interviews, it’s easy to understand why he has such a big cult following.
But the show’s treatment of politics, a common topic in the interviews, is something else entirely. While Rogan claims to be left-wing, the show’s principal political enemy appears to be liberal identity politics. He’s a leading light of the “Intellectual Dark Web,” the loose confederation of anti-PC thinkers including Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and right-wing gadfly Ben Shapiro. In fact, the question that led to his Sanders endorsement came from one of the IDW’s chief popularizers, New York Times columnist Bari Weiss.
Rogan’s contempt for political correctness comes through throughout the show. In a 2013 episode, for example, he “joked” that seeing a screening of Planet of the Apes in a mostly black neighborhood was “walk[ing] in to Planet of the Apes.” He described the experience of finding out that his comedy hero Richard Pryor had sex with men as “a spike to the heart.”
He has a particular distaste for the trans rights movement. In a 2017 JRE episode with Shapiro, he describes his radicalization on the issue as stemming from anger at Fallon Fox, a trans woman who competed in women’s MMA fights:
I didn’t have a dog in this fight. I was completely open and liberal about it — until there was a case where a man who had been a man for 30 years became a woman for a little less than two years and then started MMA fighting women. Beating the fuck out of these women, and then not proclaiming that he or she used to be a man ... if you ever watch the fights, she wasn’t winning because she was skillful. She was fucking manhandling these women, it was ugly.
This very short paragraph contains all the classic tropes of transphobia: a denial of the authenticity of trans people’s identity, an insinuation that they’re a threat to cis folks, and a claim that they’re using their gender identity to somehow get ahead in life. It is, to quote Rogan, ugly, and one of many such examples when it comes to trans issues.
Trying to understand the nature of The Joe Rogan Experience, what connections there are between its often-offensive content and immense popularity, is a kind of tricky question. One plausible conclusion, exemplified by this piece by Slate’s Justin Phillips, is that they’re deeply intertwined — that the show succeeds because it’s a kind of dangerous faux-intellectualism for shallow bigots:
By routinely disparaging the credibility and intentions of traditional centers of learning while giving idiots hours on end to profess their theories, Rogan allows his guests to establish themselves as the real fonts of mind-expanding knowledge. Many of his listeners are buying in. ‘My generation has hit the jackpot with this new way of learning. If you don’t watch or trust television and school feels like it has failed you, there is still hope to claim back your humanity, this show is the answer. … You’re welcome,’ wrote one podcast reviewer at the iTunes Store. Another: ‘Great Show please have Richard Spencer on.’
A second and opposing view, embodied in an Atlantic feature by Devin Gordon, is to understand Rogan as a way to reach a unique and underserved audience of men. “Most of Rogan’s critics don’t really grasp the breadth and depth of the community he has built, and they act as though trying is pointless,” he writes:
The bedrock issue, though, is Rogan’s courting of a middle-bro audience that the cultural elite hold in particular contempt—guys who get barbed-wire tattoos and fill their fridge with Monster energy drinks and preordered their tickets to see Hobbs & Shaw. Joe loves these guys, and his affection has none of the condescension and ironic distance many people fall back on in order to get comfortable with them. He shares their passions and enthusiasms at a moment when the public dialogue has branded them childish or problematic or a slippery slope to Trumpism. Like many of these men, Joe grumbles a lot about “political correctness.” He knows that he is privileged by virtue of his gender and his skin color, but in his heart he is sick of being reminded about it. Like lots of other white men in America, he is grappling with a growing sense that the term white man has become an epithet. And like lots of other men in America, not just the white ones, he’s reckoning out loud with a fear that the word masculinity has become, by definition, toxic.
It is the gulf between these two ways of seeing of Rogan and the subculture he speaks to that defines the debate over how Sanders should have handled Rogan’s endorsement.
Joe Rogan, Bernie Sanders, and the big debates about 2020
After Rogan said he’d likely vote for Sanders on Tuesday’s Joe Rogan Experience episode, Sanders’s team released an edited version of Rogan’s comments, tweeting them out on the senator’s heavily followed personal account Thursday afternoon:
“I think I'll probably vote for Bernie... He’s been insanely consistent his entire life. He’s basically been saying the same thing, been for the same thing his whole life. And that in and of itself is a very powerful structure to operate from.” -Joe Rogan pic.twitter.com/fuQP0KwGGI — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 23, 2020
The online backlash started more or less immediately on Twitter, with numerous high-profile users accusing the campaign of promoting a transphobe. Via email, Sanders campaign spokesperson Briahna Joy Gray argued that these criticisms were largely off-base.
“Sharing a big tent requires including those who do not share every one of our beliefs, while always making clear that we will never compromise our values,” she writes. “The truth is that by standing together in solidarity, we share the values of love and respect that will move us in the direction of a more humane, more equal world.”
There’s a lot implied in both the initial arguments against releasing the video and Gray’s response. Broadly speaking, the issues under debate deal with three different issues: one moral, one tactical, and one about the identity of the Sanders campaign itself.
Let’s start with the moral dispute: whether someone with Rogan’s views should be outside the realm of acceptable political discourse.
On the one hand, politics inevitably requires a degree of compromise and coalition-building. You simply can’t win elections and pass laws without appealing to a broad group of people who disagree internally, and in a country like the United States that will likely include some people with social views progressives find odious.
At the same time, though, there has been an idea that some people’s views are so odious that they can never be acceptable political partners. In 2008, for example, Nation of Islam leader and notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan endorsed Barack Obama for president. Obama denounced Farrakhan’s bigoted comments but faced criticism for not saying more explicitly that he rejected the endorsement itself. Virtually everyone called on Donald Trump to reject former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke’s endorsement in 2016; the fact that he didn’t really do it kicked off a major political firestorm.
The question, then, is where Joe Rogan falls on this spectrum. Is his history of offensive comments, especially about transgender people, so odious that the Sanders campaign shouldn’t ethically promote him, or maybe even should denounce him? Or is it a case where trumpeting Rogan’s support is worth it for the greater good of beating Trump?
The idea that Rogan’s endorsement is helpful to the Sanders campaign also depends on a particular theory of victory: the idea that winning the White House requires appealing to both disaffected non-voters and working-class, non-college whites who populate the Rust Belt states. You hear this sort of argument a lot from the Sanders campaign and its media surrogates, particularly at the flagship socialist publication Jacobin. In this view, Rogan’s audience is a uniquely persuadable subset of these people, which helps explain why Sanders actually appeared on Rogan’s show last August.
A competing vision, though, is that focusing on winning over these demographics — which include a healthy number of Trump supporters — is a huge mistake because they’re animated primarily by their resentment of marginalized groups, and winning them over would require selling out the Democratic base: racial minorities and women and LGBTQ voters. Any gains, in this view, would be offset by depressed turnout in the base.
There’s a lot of room for nuance here. It can be true that, broadly speaking, the second view is correct, but also that the Sanders campaign rejecting the endorsement would still ultimately do more harm than good because Rogan’s fans are obsessive, while most non-fans don’t care all that much. It’s possible the smartest move politically would have been to say nothing about Rogan’s comments, letting it reach his hardcore fans without trumpeting it to a more mainstream audience (and kicking off a controversy).
But broadly speaking, the differences in big-picture strategic assessment help explain why Sanders and his allies are at odds with other people in the progressive camp.
And this brings us to the last question: How much has Sanders learned from his last presidential run?
Throughout the 2016 campaign, Sanders was dogged by accusations of disinterest in identity issues — of having a monomaniacal socialist focus on economic inequality and class that led him to sideline other vectors of oppression. The Sanders campaign has worked to address this concern in 2020, building a strong base of support in minority communities (particularly among young voters) and putting forward highly progressive plans on issues like criminal justice and immigration.
But the scars from 2016 aren’t entirely healed over. Trumpeting Joe Rogan’s support plays right into this axis of conflict. Rogan isn’t particularly offensive to the left on class issues; his worst excesses all come on other identity-based concerns. Deciding to highlight his support so prominently will play to stereotypes, justified or not, about what Sanders really cares about.
The fight over Bernie Sanders and Joe Rogan is, in short, not really a fight about Joe Rogan. It’s a fight over the direction and identity of the Democratic Party at a moment when Sanders is rocketing up in the polls — a debate over who he is, and whether he has the right values and judgment to lead the party. | 4 |
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) took to Twitter on Thursday where he seemed to suggest that Donald Trump needs to be watched at all times, almost as if he were a toddler.
In the tweet, Grassley pleaded to have someone in the White House make Trump read a column by the Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henninger, presumable to influence the president’s trade policy.
“Whoever keeps watch on [President Trump] at [the White House] have the economist there especially Navarro read WSJ oped by Henninger,” Grassley wrote. “This is what I’ve been preaching to the President for two years. President would benefit from reading it.”
Whoever keeps watch on @realDonaldTrump at WH have the economist there especially Navarro read WSJ oped by Henninger This is what I’ve been preaching to the President for two yrs./President wld benefit fr reading it / IN TURN USA BENEFITS — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 2, 2020
Some people were quick to notice Grassley referring to Trump as if he were a toddler.
Congratulations to @dandrezner on getting Chuck Grassley to effectively blurb his new book, Toddler-In-Chief! 🎉 https://t.co/N4hDcOfM9e — Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 2, 2020
Grassley pleading to the daycare workers at the White House. — Paul 👻 (@pablo_honey1) January 2, 2020
Chuck, this is literally the job of Congress. Congress is supposed to keep an eye on the POTUS. — Matt (@BigotedVsBigots) January 2, 2020
Even you agree he needs a babysitter lol. — Emily Doton (@Emilyisadem_) January 2, 2020
If we need someone “keeping watch” over a President, maybe he doesn’t need to be President — Mimi62, Fiona Hill Fan Club member (@GMimi62) January 2, 2020
RELATED: Trump Rips ‘Dirty (Filthy) Cops’ For Arresting His Criminal Associates | Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) caused a few chuckles on Thursday when he asked President Donald Trump’s handlers to direct him to an editorial in The Wall Street Journal.
In a tweet sent on Thursday morning, Grassley wrote: “Whoever keeps watch on [Donald Trump] at WH have the economist there especially Navarro read WSJ oped by Henninger.”
He added, “This is what I’ve been preaching to the President for two [years]./President [would] benefit [from] reading it / IN TURN USA BENEFITS.”
Whoever keeps watch on @realDonaldTrump at WH have the economist there especially Navarro read WSJ oped by Henninger This is what I’ve been preaching to the President for two yrs./President wld benefit fr reading it / IN TURN USA BENEFITS — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 2, 2020
Grassley appears to be talking about a column by The Wall Street Journal editorial writer Daniel Henninger.
Henninger’s most recent column, titled “Will the ’20s Roar Again?” addresses economic issues and praised tax cuts.
In the piece, Henninger declared that, because of Trump’s tax cuts, “the consumer is again king.” He also criticized tariffs but, largely, the column spoke on about how wonderful everybody was in the 1920s.
This isn’t even the first time that Grassley has tweeted at Trump, hoping to get him to read something. In early 2017, he made it a bit of a habit, though, at the time, he wasn’t tagging the president in his tweets.
In February of 2017, Grassley tweeted at “whoever monitors twitter at WH for President Trump” and called for the president to “start declassifying.”
Whoever monitors twitter at WH for Pres Trump get on subject of my immediate tweet and stop overclassification & start declassifying — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) February 11, 2017
On the next day, the Iowa senator sent out a tweet asking when the White House would be open for public tours and saying that his wife wanted to know. That was during the usual period just after the inauguration in which the White House is closed to the public.
Whoever monitors twitter at WH for businessman president Trump "when is WH going to be opened for public tours?" Mrs G wants to know — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) February 12, 2017
But Grassley probably would have had better luck in getting the president’s attention if he appeared on Fox News. On Thursday, around the same time that Grassley was tweeting at him, Trump was tweeting at his favorite network and complaining about impeachment. | 3.5 |
ST PETE BEACH
St. Pete Beach Recreation Dept. has Senior Trips Saturdays 8:30-4 pm this month for $15/person (plus lunch) to…March 7 – Tampa Bay Downs March 14 – Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
March 21 – The Florida Aquarium
March 28 – Brooker Creek Preserve
March 29 – Music in the Afternoon
April 11 – Underwater Egg Hunt & Chalk-Lit Fair
April 17 – Beach Goes Pops – TomKats Orchestra 6-9pm
April 18 – Beach Goes Rock – Horny Toads 4-6pm, Greg Billings 7-9pm
MADEIRA BEACH
Incumbent Commissioner Deby Weinstein will face a challenge from resident Helen Price in District 1. In District 2, incumbent Commissioner, and current Vice Mayor, Nancy Hodges won unopposed. Mayor Maggi Black has chosen not to seek re-election. John Hendricks and Gary Hughes are Mad Beach voter choices for the mayor’s job.
The Ninth Annual Great American Grunt Hunt Returns to Madeira Beach March 13-14. On Saturday, March 14th at 4pm, don’t miss the weigh-in and fish fry! For just $10 you get a heaping portion of freshly cleaned fish with fries and coleslaw prepared by Snappers Sea Grill. The Grunt Hunt is an easy, inexpensive and fun event that anyone from kids to grandparents can participate in and win. Contact Curt Preisser, City of Madeira Beach Public Information Officer at 727-391-9951 ext. 299 or cpreisser@madeirabeachfl.gov.
The Gulfcoast Rotary Club’s big fun and fundraiser with the City of Madeira Beach is the Spring Break Festival and Carnival held this year March 19-22nd at ROC Park in Mad Beach. With the proceeds they have built theMiracle League’s Field, contribute to All Children’s and Rotary Camp Florida.
Mad Burger Fest, Sunday, April 5th
Madeira beach’s first hamburger food festival and car show! Benefiting R.O.C. Park “Remember Our Children”
• Best Burger Contest
• Food trucks • Car Show
• Trophies / Awards
• Kids Zone • Vendors • Music
Contact Dona Crowley, LUXE Fashion Group, Event Design & Marketing, (813) 580-9000
Donacrowley@gmail.com
@DONACROWLEY
Movies on the Beach at Archibald Park
April 17 – The Wizard of Oz
May 15 – Splash
June 19 – Hook
July 17 – Summer Rental
August 21 – Rocky
September 18 – Back to the Future
Oct 2 – ET
ST PETERSBURG
Florida CraftArt presents: Contemporary Fiber in Florida March 13 – May 3, 2020 This juried exhibition at Florida CraftArt showcases innovative approaches to traditional fiber techniques, includes weaving, surface design, wearable art, basketry, beading and textile dyeing. It features 40 artists from around the state of Florida, from Tallahassee to Sunrise.
The opening reception and awards presentation are on March 13 from 5:30-7:30pm and the exhibit runs through May 3. This inventive show is curated by Cindy Bartosek, a West Palm Beach-based artist and educator. Ms. Bartosek specializes in tapestry weaving, botanical eco-printing, and photography, as well as photographic printing on fiber.
Creative Clay hosts a workshop with Missionary Mary Proctor March 14 from 3-5pm Create a mixed media/assemblage one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. Basic supplies, such as boards, glue and paints will be provided by Missionary Mary. You bring the fun stuff, like mementos, photos or copies of photos, grandma’s buttons, costume jewelry, keys, old letters, dried flowers, ribbon, wire, and anything else you love. Creative Clay also welcomes participants to peruse our Creative Thrift store, which has many fun items that can be used in the workshop as well. Mary Proctor’s artwork is included in permanent collections from St. Petersburg’s MFA and the Smithsonian Institution to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New Orleans Museum of Art and the California African American Museum (Los Angeles). Mary has also participated in 13 of Creative Clay’s art and music festivals held each fall since 2007.
Contact jody@creativeclay.org 727-825-0515
facebook.com/events/200995787658107/
Florida Suncoast Tiny Home Festival, March 28-29, 10am-6pm at England Brothers Park, 5010 81st Ave N. in Pinellas Park. The festival, organized by LocalShops1, features the latest and greatest in tiny home living trends! In addition to the tiny structures, the festival brings a lineup of more than two dozen leading experts in the Tiny House movement. It is a kid and dog-friendly outdoor event!
General Admission, $15 for one day, $20 for both includes full access to the festival grounds, where guests will get to explore the Tiny Homes and speak directly with the homeowners and builders. Admission also includes access to all the presentations, with topics including zoning, building regulations, de-cluttering your home, living green and much more.
Florida Suncoast Tiny Home Festival, March 28-29, 10am-6pm at England Brothers Park, 5010 81st Ave N. Early Bird Tickets are $10 for one day, or $15 for the weekend.
Reflection of Mirror Lake to Rise
After selling his Tierra Verde home, longtime local Fred Hemmer and his wife moved into the Camden Pier District, an 18-story apartment building in Downtown St. Pete. And although they traded their waterfront home for a high-rise, they viewed the move as an upgrade, “Downtown has so much entertainment to offer,” Hemmer says, “We were tired of always driving downtown and figured, why not just move there?”
Now, Hemmer is looking to use his decades of experience in banking and real estate to further transform downtown St. Pete. A group of locals, led by Hemmer, are proposing an 18-story condominium tower for the northeast corner of 3rd Ave. N. and 8th St. N. The project, named Reflection, will be located a block from Mirror Lake and will offer 77 units in a modern building with a glass facade. The building was designed by SMP Architecture. Reflection will rise 200 feet over Mirror Lake with views of the Downtown St. Pete skyline.
Unlike other condominium buildings in downtown St. Pete, the top floor won’t contain penthouse units. Instead, drawing on his experience living at Camden Pier District, Hemmer’s plans call for a rooftop amenity deck featuring a resort style pool that will offer 360 degree views of the city.
Units at Reflection will range from 1,300-2,300 square feet with 1-3 bedrooms. Pricing is set to begin in the $600,000s, which is about 30% lower than Beach Drive prices, and will rise to around $1.3 million.
Albert Whitted Airport expansion could help fuel downtown boom located on 179 acres just south of downtown St. Petersburg, a new master plan is expected for Albert Whitted Airport by the end of 2020. A key focus of the plan likely will be a proposal to extend one of the runways further east into Tampa Bay, Rich Lesniak, airport manager, told a City Council committee.
Making that shift could allow the airport’s neighbor, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and the hospitals and businesses west of USF, to build taller buildings and employ more people in those buildings. That could create a potential economic impact of close to $400 million, according to an economic analysis. It is a general aviation airport with two runways. About 180 aircraft are based at the airport and it averages about 90,000 takeoffs and landings per year.
The last master plan for Albert Whitted was completed in 2007, and the city has since wrapped up most of the projects in that plan. About 85 percent of the $18.5 million in capital improvements from the 2007 master plan were paid for with federal and state grants.
St. Pete’s future tallest building?
The New York-based Red Apple Group, can now submit a building permit application with design and construction plans to the city. The hotel, condominium and retail complex would sit on the 2.27-acreparcel south of Central Ave, between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
Included in the complex: 45 stories of condominiums, a 20-story hotel and an 842-space parking garage. The site would also include a six-story building with office and retail space. Obstacles remain, however. Corey Malyszka, an urban design and development coordinator with the city, said the developers had not, to his knowledge, gotten approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for their 515-foot tower.
With Albert Whitted Airport nearby, that’s a must. Council Member Gina Driscoll said she is concerned about how the site would interact with downtown traffic.
Body Electric gym in the Warehouse Arts District
The owners of The Body Electric Yoga Co. cut the ribbon Friday on their second site, The Body Electric Athletic Co.
The nearly 16,000-square-foot facility, at 655 31st St. S. in the Warehouse Arts District, was packed with people who turned out to see the three large studios, an open gym for members, a café and childcare facilities.
Charge of the Soul LLC, led by co-owners Katelyn Grady and Jenny Miller, paid $840,000 for the building in July 2019, and the company has put at least $650,000 in. Wannemacher Jensen Architects designed the project, which was financed by Bank OZK. Body Electric Athletic Co., 655 31St S., St. Petersburg
PINELLAS COUNTY
Free tire collection event to help reduce mosquito population. Residents can drop off tires at four locations on April 18. Pinellas County is hosting a FREE tire collection event on Saturday, April 18, 9am-1pm.
Tires are a common breeding location for mosquitoes. They can hold water, which provides mosquitoes with the perfect location to lay eggs and grow larvae.
Tires will be collected at the following locations:
Largo: Eagle Lake Park, 1800 Keene Road
Lealman: Lealman Exchange, 5175 45th St. N.
Palm Harbor: John Chesnut Sr. Park, 2200 East Lake Road S.
Seminole: Walsingham Park, 12615 102nd Ave. N.
Proof of residence in any Pinellas town or city qualifies too. No business drop-offs accepted. Residents may bring up to 12 tires of 36 inches or less in diameter with or without rims.
The collected tires will be processed through Pinellas County Solid Waste’s Waste-to-Energy facility, which generates enough electricity to power approximately 45,000 homes a day. Additionally, metal from the tires will be recovered from the processed ash and recycled.
For more information, residents may call Pinellas County Mosquito Control at (727) 464-7503 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/resident/mosquito_control.htm.
Sunstar First Care Ambulance Membership
Enroll today for ambulance coverage through March, 2021.There is still time for individuals and families to enroll in the Sunstar FirstCare Ambulance Membership program and receive medical transport cost coverage for more than a year.
The Sunstar First Care Ambulance Membership is a Pinellas County Government program that works to minimize out-of-pocket ambulance expenses. While the membership is not an insurance plan, having it can cover out-of-pocket expenses associated with copays or significantly reduce the cost of medically necessary transportation expenses for members without insurance.
The family membership covers individuals who reside in the same household related by blood, marriage or adoption. The average cost of a single transport is $746. Annual membership fees are $68 for a single membership and $103 for a family membership.
Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL) announced a $210,000 grant to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council to support the development of a comprehensive economic development strategy for the region. Administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, this funding will double the amount being invested by Tampa Bay counties, establishing an economic development strategy for the future that supports capital investment and job creation in the region.
This EDA grant supports the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) for the region served by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, which comprises the counties of Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas. The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the
regional economy.
Crist also announced a $263,040 grant to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to be used for the restoration of seven threatened coral species. Allocated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these funds will allow FWC to respond to the severe decline of corals in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The funds will be used to establish two permanent field-based coral nurseries and four pop-up nurseries, to transplant nursery-reared corals onto degraded reefs, and gene banking of genotypes of these corals.
TAMPA BAY & BEYOND
The Tampa Bay Vipers will play its home games at Raymond James Stadium, headquartered at Plant City Stadium where players will be housed and practices held. Tampa Bay joins Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. as the league’s inaugural cities. Teams will have 40-man active rosters and play a 10-week season. Vince McMahon said “the game will feature simplified rules for a faster pace of game that should complete in under three hours,” and will draw from former college and NFL players. On March 5, 2019, Marc Trestman was announced to be the head coach and general manager of the Tampa Bay XFL team.
Clyde Butcher, world renowned landscape photographer, especially of the Everglades in black & white, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Florida National Parks Trust (SFNPT) at their 5th Annual Wine & Wildlife at Naples Botanical Garden late last month. “The SFNPT is a special organization to our family and we have partnered with them for many years in support of the SWAMP program. SWAMP is an environmental education program that sends Collier County 6th graders into Big Cypress National Preserve on ranger-led field trips to see their backyard and become scientists for the day. I can’t think of a better organization to honor Clyde for his lifetime of conservation and educational work in support of Florida’s national parks,” said Clyde’s daughter Jackie Butcher Obendorf.
Top 15 Beaches In America
Florida is home to some of the most famous beaches in the world, according to a recent TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards selection. Here are the Top 15 beaches in America.
#1 – Clearwater Beach, Florida
#2 – Siesta Beach, Florida
#3 – Ka’anapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii
#4 – South Beach, Florida
#5 – Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu, Hawaii
#6 – Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida
#7 – St. Pete Beach, Florida
#8 – Hollywood Beach, Florida
#9 – Santa Monica Beach, California
#10 – Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
#11 – Panama City Beach, Florida
#12 – Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
#13 – Kailua Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
#14 – Fort Myers Beach, Florida
#15 -Napili Beach, Maui, Hawaii | You have reached the limit for free access to our important and valuable work.
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Queen makes Christmas pudding with Prince George
royal alerts including a daily special Jubilee edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forincluding a daily special Jubilee edition We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Prince George looked all grown-up standing next to Prince Charles wearing a blue and green tartan pair of trousers. Traditionally royal boys have been dressed in shorts, even in winter, and Prince George’s outfits in the past have been no exception.
However William and Kate’s eldest has now reached the age where he can wear trousers at official royal events and photos. The young royal made his Sandringham Christmas debut as he joined the royals for their traditional Christmas Day church service in public with his sister Princess Charlotte. Prince George donned trousers, while his sister looked adorable in a festive green coat. Kate and William released a black and white photo on Christmas, after their Christmas card photo was leaked online.
Prince George stands with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William
The Queen and three future kings Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George
In the photo, William, Charlotte and young Louis are picture all bundled up in coats and jumpers, while Prince George wears shorts and a fleece jacket. The photo was taken by Kate at their place in Norfolk and so the Duchess of Cambridge did not feature in the snap. For Cambridge family’s Christmas photo in 2018, George was pictured wearing jeans like his dad William. The family picture to mark the beginning of the 2020 decade is only the second time such a portrait of just the Queen and her heirs has been issued. READ MORE: The ONE thing Kate Middleton wants for her children
Prince George wearing shorts during the Cambridge family’s tour of Canada in October 2016
Prince George wearing shorts aged 3 in Canada
The first was released in April 2016 to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday and featured a three-year-old Prince George in shorts. The photo released on Friday night by photographer Ranald Mackechnie was taken on December 18, the same day as the Christmas pudding photos – which were released before Christmas – and the Royal Family’s annual Christmas lunch, hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The Queen, Charles, William and George made Christmas puddings in Buckingham Palace in front of a Christmas tree adorned with regal corgi and crown decorations. DON'T MISS
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A photo released of the Queen, Charles, William and George to mark her 90th birthday in 2016
Trending
In footage shared on the Royal Family’s social media accounts as well as being played during the Queen's Christmas message, George was seen battling with the thick pudding mixture with a wooden spoon, making his grandfather chuckle. The video was shared on Twitter with the caption: “The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George came together to make Christmas puddings at Buckingham Palace as part of a Royal British Legion initiative.” The Queen is patron of the Royal British Legion and the puddings will be served at Christmas gatherings of the Armed Forces community in late 2020. However, it was young Prince George who stole the show as royal fans flocked to comment on the post.
Prince George is third in line to the British throne | Prince George looks so grown up as he poses for new photo with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William The photo was taken on the day of the Queen's Christmas lunch
Buckingham Palace has released a new portrait of the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George, to mark the start of a new decade.
The 93-year-old monarch, wearing a white dress and sapphire brooch, poses for a photo with her three heirs in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. Her son Prince Charles, 71, stands on her right with his arm around his six-year-old grandson Prince George. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's eldest child looks smart in a blue-trimmed white shirt from Amaiakids, a pair of blue and green tartan trousers and a sweet pair of shoes, also by Amaiakids, as he smiles for the camera. The Queen's grandson, Prince William, 37, who is second-in-line to the throne, stands on her left, dressed in a navy-blue suit.
READ: Prince William teams up with Strictly's Alex Scott and other football stars for important cause
The new portrait of the Queen, Charles, William and George. Credit: Ranald Mackechnie
This is only the second time a portrait has been issued of the Queen, Charles, William and George; the first was released in April 2016 to mark Her Majesty's 90th birthday. The youngest royal's elevated position in the new picture is reminiscent of the 2016 photo, when then-two-year-old George stood next to his great-grandmother on a blue and black step, holding the hand of his father, William.
The latest photo of the four generations of the royal family was taken by the same photographer, Ranald Mackechnie, on Wednesday 18 December 2019 – the day of the Queen's Christmas lunch for her family. William and George arrived at the festive bash a little earlier than Kate, Charlotte and Louis, so they could make Christmas puddings with the Queen and Prince Charles.
WATCH: Go behind the scenes at HELLO! as we reveal the royal highlights of 2019
The first photo of the Queen and her three heirs in 2016. Credit: Ranald Mackechnie
Buckingham Palace released a series of adorable photos and a video of the Queen, Charles, William and George stirring the mixture to make the festive treat, as part of a Royal British Legion project. The Together at Christmas initiative aims to provide extra support to the Armed Forces community at annual festive "get-togethers" across the charity's network, both at home and abroad. The royals placed commemorative sixpences into the mixture, ready to be found by those attending the gatherings next year.
George and his sister Princess Charlotte, four, made their public debut at the annual Christmas Day church service in December. The Prince looked smart in a navy blazer, jumper and trousers, while his sibling wore a dark green double-breasted coat from Amaia Kids.
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Bulldog Track & Field has ‘Amazing Opener’ at Orange & Purple Elite Meet
SOURCE: GEORGIA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
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Georgia’s track and field teams posted nine top collegiate finishes and a series of top-five national finishes at the indoor season opening Orange & Purple Elite meet in Clemson, S.C., on Saturday.
“I’m very happy with our season opener today,” said Georgia head coach Petros Kyprianou. “We have a young but tough team on both sides. Everyone who set personal bests were my highlight today. But I was also excited to see Jasmine (Moore), Darius (Carbin) and Shelby (Tyler) for setting top-three NCAA marks. It is very early in the year but I am seeing a very, very bright future for these Dawg teams.
“Lots of energy, hunger for greatness and enthusiasm is the sum of the good culture that we have on this team. Ninety-nine percent of our student-athletes work really hard and they want to see results. We as a coaching staff are excited to ride this ride with them as they attempt to pursue success at the NCAA Championships in Marsh. I can’t wait for the next meet to see how we improve upon an amazing opener in Clemson!”
Senior Darius Carbin had four first attempt clearances in the high jump, including his victorious mark of 7 feet, 4 ¼ inches, to take over the early national lead in the event. This came within an inch of his personal best of 7-5 set at last year’s Tyson Invitational.
On the women’s side, freshman Shelby Tyler answered a third attempt in the high jump with a clearance at 5-11.50 to win in her collegiate debut. Her mark is tied for No. 2 on the current NCAA list.
Freshman Matthew Boling had a busy start to his collegiate career. He made his debut on the track and left with the third-fastest 60-meter dash time in school history. Boling sped to a 6.68 to finish .01 behind Florida State freshman Taylor Banks for second and shot to No. 10 on this year’s NCAA list. He was fifth (6.74) in the prelims with what was sixth on Georgia’s all-time list.
In the long jump, Boling took off for an opening mark of 24-7.25 to earn runner-up honors and move to ninth in the school record books. This effort tied the No. 10 entry in the Bulldog record books. He then anchored the 4x400m relay team to a 3:11.42 victory with Elija Godwin, Johannes Erm and Caleb Cavanaugh also taking a turn with the baton.
This was Godwin’s meet back with the Bulldogs after sustaining a season-ending injury during practice for last year’s SEC Outdoor Championships. Cavanaugh was making his collegiate debut on Saturday.
The women’s 4x400m relay squad helped complete the sweep for Georgia with the nation’s fifth-best time in 2020. Arria Minor, Victoria Powell, Sterling Lester and Amber Tanner moved into the No. 9 spot on the school’s all-time top-10 list after clocking a 3:41.26. Minor and Powell were competing in the red and black for the first time.
Freshman Jasmine Moore soared 20-11.75 on her first career attempt in the long jump to win and rocket to second on this year’s NCAA performance list. This gave her possession of the No. 9 spot in the school record books. Sophomore teammate Titiana Marsh approached her personal record with a fifth attempt of 20-3, which gave her second in the competition and No. 7 on the national list.
Also of note, Marsh registered a career-best finish of 7.66 in the 60m on Saturday.
Sophomore Imani Carothers recorded the top collegiate finish and was third overall in the 60m hurdle final with an 8.25. This ties Carothers’ No. 5 entry from last year in the school record books and situates her eighth on this year’s national performance list. In the prelims, Carothers was fourth with an 8.33.
Tanner, who was third at last year’s indoor conference meet in the 800m and qualified for the NCAA meet, won the 600m after crossing the finish line in 1:29.79. Freshman heptathlete Anna Hall came across in sixth place with a 1:34.38 during the first race of her collegiate career.
Georgia went 1-2-3 in the men’s pole vault with a true freshman leading two of the Bulldog decathletes. Haze Farmer went over the bar at 16-6.75 on his second try while Erm (15-11) and Tilga (15-1) finished second and third, respectively.
A pair of Lady Bulldog pole vaulters posted matching marks for fifth and sixth place. Freshman Gracie Jauch and sophomore Courtney Long each cleared 12-3.50 (Jauch on her first attempt and Long on her second) in the 17-woman field.
Kyle Garland and Erm began their in-season training for the heptathlon in the 60m hurdle prelims. Garland was 10th with an 8.07 while Erm, who is the two-time defending SEC heptathlon champion, improved his personal record to 8.08, which betters his No. 10 spot in the school record books.
Junior transfer Nina Schultz also clocked an 8.72 in the 60m hurdle prelim. This marked her first action after redshirting in 2019 and earning two national runner-up finishes in the multi-events for Kansas State in 2017-18.
In the 3000m races, redshirt freshman Sam Bowers was the top collegiate finisher (third overall) after running a time of 8:29.32 and true freshman Chase Condra was fourth with an 8:32.23. On the women’s side, freshman Ellie Hall was the second collegiate finisher (third overall) after completing her laps in 10:02.19 while senior Tiffany Yue finished one spot behind with a 10:04.10.
Results and a recap from the Orange & Purple Elite meet will also be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on Twitter/Instagram at @UGATrack.
Bulldog Winners Name Event Mark/Time Jasmine Moore W. Long Jump 20 feet, 11 ¾ inches (No. 9 in UGA history) Darius Carbin M. High Jump 7-4.25 Amber Tanner W. 600m 1:29.79 *Imani Carothers W. 60mH 8.25 (No. 5 in UGA history) *Sam Bowers M. 3000m 8:29.32 A. Minor, V. Powell W. 4x400m relay 3:41.26 (No. 9 in UGA history) S. Lester, A. Tanner E. Godwin, J. Erm M. 4x400m relay 3:11.42 C. Cavanaugh, M. Boling Haze Farmer M. Pole Vault 16-6.75 Shelby Tyler W. High Jump 5-11.50 *top collegiate finish, third overall | Bulldog Elite Put UGA on the NCAA, World Radar at Razorback Invite
SOURCE: GEORGIA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
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Georgia’s track and field teams exploded for a series of performances that repositioned the Bulldogs at the top or near the top of the 2020 NCAA and world performance lists at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
Starting the day in 1-2-4, the Bulldogs finished the meet with a perfect gold, silver and bronze in the heptathlon with two scores of at least 6,000 points and one six points short. Junior Johannes Erm moved to second in the school record books with a 2020 NCAA/world leading mark of 6,114 points to be the 11th top performer in collegiate history.
Sophomore Karel Tilga battled in his first collegiate combined event competition for 6,019 points for runner-up honors and to take over the No. 6 spot in the school record books, No. 2 on this year’s NCAA list, No. 3 on the 2020 world list and No. 22 collegiate performer of all-time.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Garland was third in his first multi-event comp at UGA with 5,994 points, which ranks seventh in school history, third on the national performance list, fourth on the 2020 world list and become the No. 25 all-time collegiate performer.
In addition, freshman Jasmine Moore put her name up with some of the all-time greats in the women’s triple jump by taking control of this year’s women’s triple jump list.
Full Results: For full meet results, please visit: http://gado.gs/47h
“This was a pretty good weekend for us and an outstanding meet for our elite competitors,” said head coach Petros Kyprianou. “Overall, we had some ups and downs, but our positives overshadowed any of the other spots where we still need to work. We are making everyone understand that Georgia is here and that we are and will be challenging for titles.
“The highlight on the men’s side was not only our heptathletes going 1-2-3, but the way they did it. We have the top four spots in the world right now, counting former Bulldog Garrett Scantling, and that speaks to the ‘Decathlon Academy’ we are trying to establish here. The guys today kept responding with big performances and pushed each other in a healthy way. They, along with Darius Carbin in the high jump, are working to put this men’s team on the map. As always, we need leaders to step up and for our aces to perform when it counts.
“I think the high point of the weekend for the women was Jasmine Moore’s monster jump in the triple. She came within eight centimeters or so of Keturah (Orji’s) American junior record and continues to make strides. Having Titiana Marsh also leave with one of the top marks of her indoor career also gives up two strong reps in the triple on the national level. I was also impressed with Anna Hall’s performance in the pentathlon this weekend and probably one of the more notable performances came from Kayla Smith in the pole vault. She showed everyone that she is not here to mess around this year and after a number of surgeries is taking that ‘Mamba Mentality’ and taking care of business. I am excited for her and to see her journey this year.”
Already hanging around the top five nationally in both the long and triple jumps, freshman Jasmine Moore answered an opening foul in the triple with an effort of 45 feet, 7 ¼ inches. This takes over the national lead, moves her to No. 3 on the 2020 world list and No. 2 in the UGA record books behind collegiate record holder Keturah Orji. Moore also had a mark of 45-0.50 in her series, which also would lead the country.
Sophomore Titiana Marsh opened at 43-0.25 in the triple and then improved to 43-8 on her fourth try for fourth place. This betters Marsh’s spot on this year’s national performance top-10 list.
The Drop sisters fought for a 2-3 finish in the 3000-meter Invitational to move into the nation’s top 10 this year and establish a new top-five entry in the school record books. Junior Jessica Drop was the runner-up with a 9:18.64, which put her seventh on the national list for this season. Fellow junior Samantha Drop finished in 9:26.50 and jumped from 10th to fourth on the school’s all-time top-10 list.
Senior Amber Tanner nearly caught her personal record in the 800m set last year on her way to third-place honors on Saturday. She completed her laps in 2:05.72, which is expected to move her into the top 10 nationally and was only .13 off of her time from the 2019 SEC Championships.
Two weeks after establishing a new personal record, sophomore Imani Carothers bettered her 60m hurdle time to 8.18 to be third in the qualifying round and improve her No. 4 spot in the school record books. She finished fifth with an 8.21 for fifth in the final.
Freshman Ellie Hall ran a season-best time of 9:51.76 to take sixth in the women’s 3000m. Also of note, a pair of Georgia freshmen – Sam Bowers and Chase Condra – set fresh personal bests in the 3000m with an 8:25.13 and 8:26.95, respectively, to finish in the race’s top 15.
The Bulldogs flexed their muscle in the multi-events with a 1-2-3 finish in the heptathlon and a runner-up showing in the pentathlon.
For the second week in a row, Erm bettered his personal record in the 60m hurdles to 8.03 (actually 8.028 behind Garland’s 8.027) for 972 points and second place. Erm was also in second place overall going into the pole vault. He posted three clearances in the pole vault, including an effort of 15-9 to score 849 points, and breaks into the lead with just the 1000m to go. He completed the competition with a personal-best time in the 1000m at 2:36.02.
Tilga was third in the third heat after crossing the 60m hurdle finish line in 8.40. His 884 points, which was eighth in the competition, situated Tilga in third place with two events to go. He used a second attempt clearance at a UGA personal-best height of 15-5 to add 819 points to his total and put him in third place overall behind his teammates. Tilga stayed on pace with Erm in the 1000m and finished in 2:36.34.
Garland won the 60m hurdles by .001 over Erm for 974 points. Garland registered a season best 8.03, which put him in the lead. He battled for a third and final try clearance at 14-5.25 to score 731 points. Garland was in second overall by just 44 points heading into the 1000m. He wrapped up his competition by completing his 1000m laps in 2:42.82.
The Bulldogs return to work in two weeks at the Husky Classic (Seattle, Wash.) and the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville.
How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
Heptathlon Scores
Name 60m LJ SP HJ Day 1
Johannes Erm *6.99 ^24-11 *47-9.25 ^6-5 *3,373 pts.
60mH PV 1000m TOTAL
*8.03 15-9 *2:36.02 *6,114
Karel Tilga 60m LJ SP HJ Day 1
*7.18 24-4.25 50-8.25 *6-8.75 *3,401 pts.
60mH PV 1000m TOTAL
8.40 *15-5 *2:36.34 *6,019
Kyle Garland 60m LJ SP HJ Day 1
*6.95 24-2.50 44-11.50 *7-0.25 *3,447 pts.
60mH PV 1000m TOTAL
8.03 14-5.25 *2:42.82 *5,994
*UGA personal record; ^season best | 3 |
A 64-year-old man who was tested positive of Coronavirus in Mumbai, passed away on Monday at Kasturba Hospital, confirmed BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi. As per sources, the deceased was tested positive after returning from Dubai.
Earlier, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi, making this the third Coronavirus death in India
Maha CM declares 'Coronavirus epidemic'
The Maharashtra government on Friday invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act declaring the Coronavirus as an epidemic, as announced by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Informing the state assembly of the number of positive cases detected at that time, he declared all the schools to be shut in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad till further notice barring where 10th and 12th standard board exams are being conducted. Further, gyms, swimming pools and theatres in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad have been shut till March 30. Subsequent to that, the state government has notified that offices mustn't work with over 50% attendance at any given time, in order to further 'social distancing'.
Read: 16 Italian tourists infected; Rajasthan govt takes anti-COVID measures along their trail
The Coronavirus outbreak
As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared over 125, including 17 foreign nationals. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. The Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. The government is also monitoring all suspected cases and has issued preventive advisories. Earlier on Saturday, the Central government decided to treat the deadly virus as a "notified disaster", and has since issued even more advisories and travel restrictions.
Read: Will COVID 19 go away with warmer weather? Here are some myths that are busted by WHO
First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 148 countries in the world. Presently, there are around 182,609 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of around 7,171 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19 yet, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus.
Read: Aaditya Thackeray reviews preparations to deal with COVID in Mumbai suburbs
Read: TDP responds to AP CM's 'Coronavirus only harms the already sick, cured by Paracetamol' | In a significant development, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which has been medically heading India's fight against coronavirus, is holding a crucial meeting on the measures that have been taken so far. Earlier in the day, ICMR had confirmed that there is no community transmission of the Covid-19 virus yet. The development comes after ICMR tested 826 cases to check if there is any community transmission of the virus and found the results to be negative.
The ICMR is said to have shared details of the same with the Central government on Thursday. Had the results turned positive, it would have been a serious concern nationwide as other nations such as Italy, France, Iran are bearing the brunt of the community transmission of the virus leading to lockdown in their respective countries.
The high-level meeting is being attended by ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria. It is also reported that discussions about community transmission are being held.
READ: 'No evidence of community transmission in India so far': ICMR on Coronavirus outbreak
Government measures
The government has announced numerous measures to combat the deadly virus. Thermal screening is being carried out at airports across the country. The Ministry has deployed around 30,000 - 35,000 personnel on community surveillance keeping a close watch.
The government has also allowed private testing facilities to test patients for Coronavirus, besides the already functional government testing facilities. Schools and other educational institutions, malls, cinema halls, pubs, gyms and swimming pools have been shut down in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, religious and spiritual places of pilgrimage and worship such as Vaishnodevi, Shirdi's Saibaba temple and Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple among others have been shut down.
READ: Change in temp will not impact coronavirus spread: ICMR chief
The Coronavirus crisis
First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 173 countries in the world and one international conveyance-- the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan. Presently, there are around 219,087 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of around 8,961 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19 yet, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.
On March 19, the total number of positive cases in India has reached 182. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. The third death was reported in India on Tuesday in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital. Earlier, two deaths were reported in Kalaburgi and West Delhi.
The Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. The government is also monitoring all suspected cases and has issued preventive advisories. Earlier on Saturday, the Central government decided to treat the deadly virus as a "notified disaster", and has since issued even more advisories and travel restrictions.
READ: 'India has reached stage 2 of COVID-19 pandemic,' says ICMR Director-General Dr Balram
READ: India's ICMR rules out dreaded Stage 3; confirms no Coronavirus community transmission yet | 3 |
By MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA
Four years down the road, Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) are ready to re-launch their annual awards tonight at GEMS Cambridge International School – Butabiika.
The awards were first organized in 2016 to reward the top achievers of 2015 but USF struggled to sustain that momentum after Arnold Kisulo and Jamila Lunkuse were awarded as the top swimmers then.
The two retired almost immediately after that recognition – as they got to the peak of their powers – but their legacy is intact.
In fact among the winners from 2016, Greenhill Academy still ranks among the best primary and secondary schools while among individuals, only Muzafaru Muwanguzi is still around to defend his title as best coach.
He goes up against Erick Kisero and Joseph Kabogoza, who was head coach as Uganda’s Kirabo Namutebi won the country’s first ever continental gold at the Africa Junior Championships in September.
Muwanguzi, however, deserves even more credit for raising Namutebi – who holds the national record (26.98) in the girls’ 50m freestyle made at the World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August 2019. His club Dolphins also ranked number one at the USF National Championships in June last year.
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Kisero, who was Muwanguzi’s assistant at the Cana Zone III Championships where Uganda finished second out of nine countries, also had his relatively smaller Altona Swim Club rank fourth at the nationals and top in water polo.
Their counterparts Cari Karugireyo (Silverfin), Zamzam Khalil (Aga Khan and Dolphins) and Tabithah Nakasinde (Malta) are in running for the best female coach award.
Meanwhile, Namutebi, who bagged gold in the 50m breaststroke (35.13) and 50m freestyle (27.33) at the Africa Juniors will likely be crowned best female swimmer ahead of her senior counterparts Avice Meya and Selina Katumba.
Her only competition tonight could be Dolphins teammate and para-swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe, who at 12 years represented Uganda at three international para meets and Paulsen Settumba, who made the most age group records. The trio battle for the most inspirational swimmer award.
The real clash of the titans is for best male swimmer award; Atuhaire Ambala broke national records for fun last year but Tendo Mukalazi edged him as best swimmer at the nationals last year.
Meanwhile, Adnan Kabuye did not only break records like the two front-runners but was easily Uganda’s best male performer at the Cana Zone III Championships in Nairobi last December.
Kabuye’s influence transcended the pool and featured for the national team in open water too in Nairobi. And his consolation could be an open water award at the expense of his younger teammates Mikkah Kigundu and Hayyan Kisitu.
For USF and sponsors DStv, the challenge will be to make the awards night an annual fixture on their calendar.
2019 Nominations
Best Female Swimmer: Avice Meya, Kirabo Namutebi, Selina Katumba
Best Male Swimmer: Adnan Kabuye, Atuhaire Ambala, Tendo Mukalazi
Most Inspiring Athlete: Husnah Kukundakwe, Kirabo Namutebi, Paulsen Settumba
Best Female Coach: Cari Karugireyo, Tabithah Nakasinde, Zamzam Khalil
Best Male Coach: Erick Kisero, Joseph Kabogoza, Muzafaru Muwanguzi
Best Female Open water swimmer: Ahura Ambala, Mubiru Swagiah, Olivia Nalwadda
Best Male Open water swimmer: Adnan Kabuye, Hayyan Kisitu, Mikka Kigundu
Best Female Masters Swimmer: Aya Nakitanda, Grace Kigundu, Philippa Makobere
Best Male Masters Swimmer: Gilbert Kaburu, Hassan Latif, Morris Yuda Ssekamatte
Best Swim Club: Dolphins, Seals, Silverfin
Best Waterpolo Team: Altona, King’s College Budo, Seeta Green HS
Best Primary School: Greenhill Academy, Kampala Junior Academy, Seeta Junior Academy
Best Secondary School: Greenhill Academy, Seeta Green High School, Taiba Secondary School
2015 USF Awards Winners
Best Senior Male Swimmer: Arnold Kisulo
Best Senior Female Swimmer: Jamila Lunkuse
Best Junior Male Swimmer: Nabil Saleh
Best Junior Female Swimmer: Rebecca Ssengonzi
Best Masters Female Swimmer: Kate Kizza
Best Masters Male Swimmer: Latif Kajumbi
Best Coach: Muzafaru Muwanguzi
Best National Primary School: Greenhill Academy
Best National Secondary School: Greenhill Academy | Kirabo won 11 individual gold medals and broke all meet records in her category on top of setting a new 50m freestyle record of 26.90.
Kirabo won 11 individual gold medals and broke all meet records in her category on top of setting a new 50m freestyle record of 26.90.
SWIMMING
Juniors still hold the fort for Uganda swimming with now over 600 swimmers engaged in the sport at different levels.
Dolphins Club and national swimmer Kirabo Namutebi, 14, in particular, continued to prove how far she has come and grown with the sport by again shining out locally and internationally.
She received plaudits from the swimming fraternity and many other Ugandans following her superb performance at the 7th FINA World Swimming Championship that was held in Hungary, in August.
The 14-year-old British School of Uganda, Dolphins Swim Club, and national swimmer did not only achieve personal bests in all her races but set a new national record when she clocked 26.98 in the 50m freestyle race.
She bettered Jamila Lunkuse’s 27.43 set in 2014 over the same distance by 1.45 seconds as she became Uganda’s first swimmer in recent times to win a heat at the World Championships.
Despite her time being 2.27 second shy of USA’s Warsh Gretchen who won gold over the distance, Namutebi beat nine other swimmers from different countries in her heat and finished 38th overall out of 102 swimmers who swam that race.
She also registered personal bests in the 50m fly, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke races.
She had earlier claimed 2gold and 1silver and 2bronze in the CANA Zone IV championship in Namibia in February where Uganda team Captain Avice Meya also bagged 2silver and 1bronze.
During the 13th CANA Junior Swimming Championship in Tunisia, she achieved another milestone when she bagged 2 gold and 1silver to help Uganda finish 4th overall out of 42 countries. That earned her the Real Stars Monthly Sports Award and only lost out on the USPA monthly award to athlete Halima Nakayi who had also grabbed gold in the 800m race at the World Athletics Championship.
Her brother Tendo Mukalazi also shattered the national 50m breaststroke national record at the FINA Junior World Championships in Korea. Tendo made 32.64 and 29.70 in the 50m breast and backstroke races, which were all personal bests. Atuhaire Ambala, Selina Katumba and Avice Meya were the other members on the team.
Another international outing was made by Darren Ssamula and Adnan Kabuye who together with Kirabo made their debut at the worlds in Budapest, Hungary, in August.
At the CANA Zone 3 Swimming Championship held at the Kasarani Aquatic Center in Nairobi, Namutebi was once again unstoppable in the 13-14 years category that she led with 174 points ahead of Kenya’s Islam Lubaina (140pts) and South Africa’s Adams Keesha (131pts).
Kirabo picked 6 gold and 3 silver and was instrumental in a number of relay races as Ugandan won 53 individual medals overall (14gold, 29sliver,10bronze).
The girls finished third overall on 851 points behind Tanzania and Kenya who won the category with 1,180 points.
Earlier during the annual Independence Swimming Gala Kirabo won 11 individual gold medals and broke all meet records in her category on top of setting a new 50m freestyle record of 26.90.
Kirabo, who was USPA swimmer of the year in 2013 and 2016, looks to add another award from her 2019 performance.
The Dolphins Swim Club missed her as they competed in the KSF Long Course Nationals 2019 at the Kenya Swimming Federation Age Group Swimming Championships in Nairobi, in February but they would collect a total of 42 medals (8gold, 18silver and 16bronze) to finish second for the first time in five years.
The Coach Paul Bampata led team produced some golden performances in the three-day event with Pendo Kaumi, Jordan Ssamula, Tendo Kaumi picking gold in the 200m freestyle, 400IM and in the 100m backstroke races, in a time of 2:36.97, 6:45.30 and 1:17.38 respectively in some of the races.
The other Uganda club the Seals was also on top of their game topping the girls’ category on 862 points ahead of Bandari and Loreto teams but finishing third overall.
It was also a first for most of the Seals but the likes of Amelia Mudanye, Alexis Kituuka, Mpeera Yalonda, Neema Kangi, Anthea Mudanye, Natalie Lutalo, and John Kafumbe gave a good account of themselves with some golden performances.
Clubs also continued to develop the sport through the different club events like the Seals League Meets and Invitational, the Dolphins Fast and Furious as well as the Silverfin Pentathlon.
The Dolphins Swim Club swimmers proved dominant throughout the year in the Seals League meets that were held at the Kampala Parents School pool.
But the
The Dolphins topped six of the ten categories with the Seals only getting a top spot in only the boys’ 13-14, the girls’ 9-10 and 13-14 years categories where John Kafumbe, Mpeera Yalonda, Neema Kangi and Amelia Mudanye won.
Dolphins’ Adnan Kabuye, Ethan Ssengooba, Daniel Nuwagaba, Ssango Kiggundu, Michelle Sine and Shalom Birungi topped the other age categories.
The Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) also organised two sprint galas in the year where juniors continued to test their speed in the different races.
In the second sprints gala Seals’ Amelia Mudanye’s time of 1: 23.33 in the 100IM, in the girls 10&Under category remained intact with the winner of the category Kampala Aquatics’ Rahmah Nakasule, managing 1: 28.03. Daniel Nuwagaba who won the boys’ event in the same category was also slower 60 microseconds slower than his previous time from the same race
In the girls’ 11-12 years category Dolphins’ Kirabo Namutebi’s 1: 15.43 set in 2017 also remained intact with Michelle Sine who won making 1:17.72; just like John Kafumbe’s 1: 09.67 set from the first gala. Pendo Kaumi could only manage 1:14.95 over the four-stroke race.
In the girls’ 13-14 years Namutebi (1:08.90) and Paulsen Ssettumba (equaled their first sprint time while Selina Katumba in the 15&Over made 1:14.95 to edge fast-improving Alexis Kituuka.
Elsewhere, Uganda para swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe’s classification classes were confirmed after she competed in the World Para Swimming World Series 2019 in Singapore in May.
Kukundakwe currently competes in the S9 (freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke), SB8 (breaststroke) and SM9 (Individual Medley) which was due for review at the championship.
All these were confirmed at the championship where the 12-year-old managed to collect some points in all the four events although she could not make it to the finals.
She also competed in the World Para-Swimming Championships in London, United Kingdom.
Kukundakwe, 12, was the youngest swimmer at the championship but the weight of the competition and seniority of her colleagues did not stop her from posting personal bests (PB) in the 50m and 100m freestyle events.She made 1:24.85 and 38.14 in the 100m and 50m freestyle races.
Aga Khan High School garnered 2,701 points to win the Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) Independence Gala tournament held at Kampala International School of Uganda (KISU) for the fifth time in a row.
Aga Khan dominated both the girl’s and boys’ categories to beat the British School of Kampala that finished second overall, by 1216 points.
But despite being beaten to the overall title, the British School produced some of the best individuals of the tournament with national swimmer Kirabo Namutebi, Neema Kangi, Ethan Olowo and Mpeera Yalonda shining for their school.
Kirabo won 11 individual gold medals and broke all meet records in her category on top of setting a new 50m freestyle record of 26.90.
His brother Tendo Mukalazi also weighed in with ten medals; 4 Gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze on top of four meet records and a new national 50m freestyle record of 24.54.
The USF has also been keen on developing water polo by organizing a schools league and water polo development clinics in Jinja and Masaka.
They also joined the 3rd FINA World Aquatics Day celebrations that involved a brief address on Water Safety, Water Health, the Environment, and a 1.5km Open Water Swimming Exhibition Sprint at Aero Beach in Entebbe.
They also continued to hold the Masters Championship for retired swimmers and those who swim for fun as a way of keeping them active in swimming. | 3 |
1. North Dakota gas prices plummet to near historic lows, 99 cents a possibility
The coronavirus has caused the price of gasoline in North Dakota to drop 15 cents in the past week, and some industry analysts say the downward spiral could see gas plummet to 99 cents a gallon.
More from Adam Kurtz
2. A bittersweet day: UND unloads last load of coal into old steam plant
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As the last pile of coal was unloaded into UND’s old steam plant Monday morning, with it went more than 100 years of university history. When that coal is consumed in the coming days, plant manager Craig Machart says it will be a “bittersweet” day.
More from Sydney Mook
3. Kirsten Baesler: Failed bill allowing virtual classes could have helped with closures
A bill that failed last year in the North Dakota House of Representatives would have allowed school districts to propose plans for online learning in lieu of in-person classes and might now be “very applicable” had it become law, according to Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler.
More from Jeremy Turley and Sydney Mook
4. Salvation Army food pantry available by drive-thru only; donations accepted in Grand Forks, East Grand Forks
The Salvation Army will provide items from its food pantry via drive-thru only from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Lt. Matthew Beatty announced Monday, March 23.
More from Pamela Knudson
5. Digi-Key is teaming with the University of Minnesota in hopes of ending the ventilator shortage
Digi-Key collaborates with the University of Minnesota to create a plan to make parts for low-cost respirators — devices that could save lives.
More from Ken Chase | 1. Cooler, wetter weather could result in a later flood season
The flood outlook in the Red River Basin has changed little in previous weeks, and the Grand Forks area is still expected to see a Top 10 or Top 5 flood.
More from Hannah Shirley
2. UND to go online-only for two weeks after spring break
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UND has become the latest university to alter its class schedule amid coronavirus concerns. UND on Thursday, March 12, made the decision to move its courses online for a two-week period after spring break.
More from Sydney Mook
3. As coronavirus precautions ratchet up, Edgewood senior living facilities further restrict visits
Edgewood Healthcare senior homes have tightened visitor restrictions as institutions across the country ramp up measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
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4. Forecasters eye potential snowstorm in Red River Valley Sunday and Monday
Forecasters are keeping their eyes on potential weather conditions that could bring snow to the Red River Valley on Sunday and Monday, March 15 and 16, but caution that it’s too early to make predictions.
More from Pat Springer
5. New Hope Food Shelf to open in Crookston
After a five-month hiatus, Crookston will have a food shelf. New Hope Food Shelf, based at the Care and Share Center in Crookston, will open its doors Monday, March. 16. The food shelf will be open Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 pm.
More from Ann Bailey | 1 |
Telehealth services are being expanded under Medicare in an effort to mitigate the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.1
In a press briefing with the Coronavirus Task Force, Trump said the expansion of telehealth services allows more patients to communicate with physicians through digital services, such as Skype and Facetime. He indicated that the goals of the expansion are to maintain social distancing and to avoid overburdening hospitals with patients.1
“This is a historic breakthrough,” Trump said.1 “It’s been a very successful method of communication, but never used on [this large of a] scale.”
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the “dramatic expansion” will benefit the 62 million beneficiaries across the country enrolled in Medicare. Previously, she said, full telehealth services were limited to patients who met certain criteria, including those mostly in rural areas of the United States who had difficulty accessing medical care. However, these services are now accessible in more homes and in a variety of care facilities.1 | People Under Investigation (PUI) in the United States*†‡
Cases of COVID-19 Reported in the US, by Source of Exposure Travel-related 92 Close contact 75 Under investigation 771 Total cases 938
* Data include both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since January 21, 2020, with the exception of testing results for persons repatriated to the United States from Wuhan, China and Japan. State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases. In the event of a discrepancy between CDC cases and cases reported by state and local public health officials, data reported by states should be considered the most up to date.
† CDC is no longer reporting the number of persons under investigation (PUIs) that have been tested, as well as PUIs that have tested negative. Now that states are testing and reporting their own results, CDC’s numbers are not representative of all testing being done nationwide. | 1 |
Windows 10 users, yes it has been a rocky spell, but you need to be on high alert yet again. Here’s everything you need to know.
Windows 10 updates continue to cause problems STEVE KOTECKI
MORE FROM FORBES How To Upgrade To Windows 10 For 'Free' In 2020 [Updated]
Picked up by both BleepingComputer and Windows Latest, the early problems with Microsoft’s new KB4535996 Windows 10 update are now spiraling out of control. Here are the main issues you need to be aware of.
03/09 Update: Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 has run into more trouble. The company has published a support page explaining that a new bug in Windows 10 can prevent users from manually installing drivers on their PCs. Users will receive the error message: "A driver can't load on this device" and it can break installations even after they appear to complete successfully. Microsoft states "If you choose to continue using your device without addressing the driver problem, you might discover that the functionality the driver supports does not work any longer, which could have consequences ranging from negligible to severe." Third party drivers can be essential, particularly for legacy devices, so Microsoft has offered a workaround which (perhaps surprisingly) involves turning off a Windows 10 security setting that guards memory integrity to allow the driver installation to complete:
Go to the Core isolation page in Windows Security. Turn the Memory integrity setting Off if it isn’t already. You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Microsoft offers no timeline for a proper fix to this issue but, given the level of inconvenience and potential problems, surely it will be a priority.
03/10 Update: the problems associated with KB4535996 are still increasing. The always diligent BetaNews, reports that some Windows 10 users who have installed the update are discovering that sleep no longer works correctly on their computers and Microsoft's KB4535996 community page is filled complaints including broken search, trouble opening apps and a growing number of users reporting their PCs will not boot after updating. Remarkably, three days on from these troubles beginning, Microsoft still states on its KB4535996 update page that it is "not currently aware of any issues with this update". Ignore this. If you haven't already, get the Windows Update troubleshooter and proactively block KB4535996. Until more is known, this is an update you need to avoid.
Boot Problems And Crashes
The former appears to be widespread among users who have installed KB4535996, with significant delays in PCs starting after installing the update and occasionally showing a disconcerting black screen partway through the elongated boot process. My own PC is exhibiting this problem.
That said, if you have this issue you are lucky because for others their PCs will not boot at all:
“I just had this update on my PC and now it will not boot. Fails the BIOS POST test with a series of beeps, completely blank screen. I bought it only 5 days ago, have tried re-seating the RAM and GPU. Hard to decipher the beeps as the screen is blank and I don’t know what MB make it is. (8 regular slow beeps. Then a repeat of two slow low tone beeps, two fast high tone beeps - if that means anything to anyone!) I did have some important work to do, but I guess not, thanks Microsoft :( I presume there is no way to fix this and the PC is now dead, as it won’t ever boot up again now, to receive a Windows update fix ... to fix this ‘update fix’?” - source
Blue Screen Of Death
The infamous BSOD is also hitting users with KB4535996 installed with the blue screen appearing as Windows loads the login screen. This appears to be less widespread, but when it does hit it can hit hard. Bleeping Computer highlights the plight of one company in particular:
“Seeing this issue with about 200 machines. Uninstalling the update doesn’t come off cleanly and still gets lock ups on initial boot.”
Slowdowns
Windows 10 stutters, dropped frame rates (primarily in games), high disk usage and thrashing have also all been reported.
“It's not extreme, but I say my framerate in games has gone down 10 frames or so and stuttering occurs once in a while,” wrote one user on Reddit. “After uninstalling the cumulative update, everything was fine. Weird.”
“Can confirm. Ramped up my CPU usage and caused stuttering even on the easiest games to run,” - source
“After I installed the update the disk usage in task manager is 100% all the time, and my pc is slow af now!” - source
Audio Problems
Installing KB4535996 has resulted in reports of broken audio in Windows 10 too:
“Thanks to the recent update I no longer have any sound on my computer, I’ve tried everything and nothing will fix it besides rolling the update back, point is [I] shouldn't have to. Microsoft needs to get their **** together.” - source
“The latest Microsoft update has caused my audio to stop working.” - source
“I updated on the 1st March I have nothing but troubles now intermittent shutting down sound issues video issues I cannot uninstall this even after a reset” - source
Microsoft Visual Studio Impacted
The Visual Studio code-signing tool signtool.exe appears widely broken for many users. Coder Rafael Rivera appears to have found the root of it warning: “If you're having trouble with signtool.exe, check if you have KB4535996 (optional 2020-02 CU) installed. Looks like WTLogConfigCiScriptEvent got removed from wldp.dll without sufficient testing.”
Microsoft has also issued a warning about this stating: “We’re aware of issues with signtool.exe after installing the latest optional update for Windows 10, version 1903 or Windows 10, version 1909 (KB4535996). If you are encountering issues or receiving errors related to signtool.exe, you can uninstall the optional update KB4535996. We are working on a resolution and estimate a solution will be available in mid-March."
And yet here’s the crazy part: go to the KB4535996 page and Microsoft still writes “Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update”. The company regularly fails to update the warnings on troubled Windows 10 updates (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) but this time it’s particularly poor.
While some users have experienced problems trying to uninstall KB4535996, these are the steps you need to follow:
In Windows Desktop Search type ‘update history’ then click ‘View your Update history’
Select ‘Uninstall Updates’
On the Installed Updates dialog window, find and select KB4535996, click the Uninstall button
Restart
You can also download Windows Update troubleshooter, which will enable you to block KB4535996 proactively / stop it from reinstalling.
All these problems come just weeks after a Windows 10 update started deleting user data while another was pulled days earlier for causing system crashes. Microsoft has recently rolled out Windows 10 optional update improvements first announced in September but the quality of updates themselves still leave a lot to be desired.
Microsoft, it's time to do better.
___
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New Windows 10 Update Is Deleting Data For Some Users | Since the release of the Windows 10 KB4535996 cumulative update, Windows users have been reporting numerous problems including boot issues, crashes, performance problems, audio issues, and developer tools no longer working.
The optional Windows 10 KB4535996 cumulative update was released on February 27th, 2020 and while it resolved some Windows Search issues, it also introduced other issues for users who installed the update.
Unfortunately with Windows 10 installed on over 900 million PCs, there are always going to be problems for some users when installing a new update such as Windows not booting, the screen flickers, Cortana is broken, or they can no longer launch programs.
For some, these issues can be resolved by updating to newer drivers or software installed on the computer.
Below are the most common issues Windows 10 users are encountering after installing the KB4535996 option update released on February 27th.
Boot issues and hangs
On two machines that BleepingComputer has installed the KB4535996 update there is a noticeable slowdown before we are shown the login screen after restarting Windows 10.
Before the update, the booting of Windows 10 was quick and would go right into the lock screen. Now there is a few seconds delay during which Windows 10 shows a black screen before displaying the login prompt.
I am lucky, though, as others have reported worse issues [1, 2, 3] such as Windows 10 not starting at all after installing the update.
"On the initial download and install my PC hung at 100% for 5 - 10 mins. Afterwards it hung on the welcome screen after restarts. I recovered the PC by running startup recovery in WinRE, it removed the update. I tried again to install it with the same result. I ran sfc/scannow after both attempts, it found and repaired a few things."
Blue screen crashes at login
One enterprise user reported on the Microsoft forums that after installing the KB4535996 cumulative update almost 200 PCs in their organization would crash with blue screens at the login screen.
"Seeing this issue with about 200 machines. Uninstalling the update doesnt come off cleanly and still gets lock ups on initial boot. "
It should be noted that this may be an outlier or something related to software installed in their organization as I am not seeing many reports like this elsewhere.
Performance issues
One of our readers submitted a tip this week stating that after installing the KB4535996 update, their system has been having performance issues and once they uninstalled the update it worked properly again.
"March 2020 - Installed Microsoft cumulative update KB4535996 on Windows 10 Home 64 bit - caused severe machine slowdown, application and website loading delays. Uninstalled update and problem went away."
Others have also reported similar performance issues [1, 2, 3] where Windows 'stutters', frame rates in games have gone down, and reports of high disk usage or thrashing.
Sound and audio hardware issues
After installing the KB4535996 update, users are reporting [1, 2, 3] that the sound in Windows 10 no longer works.
One user stated that their problem was related to their Sound Blaster USB device no longer being detected by Windows 10.
"After this update my Sound Blaster USB Audio cards stopped working, They would not even show up in the Device Manager yet they were properly connected and worked prior to the update."
Microsoft Visual Studio signtool.exe stops working
Since KB4535996 was released, we have had numerous reports about the Visual Studio code-signing tool signtool.exe no longer working.
Signtool.exe is a program that allows you to digitally sign an executable with a code-signing certificate to indicate that the program comes from a specific publisher and has not been tampered with.
After installing KB4535996, users are reporting that when they use the tool it generates an error code -1073741502.
According to Windows developer Rafael Rivera, this bug is being caused by WTLogConfigCiScriptEvent being removed from wldp.dll.
Microsoft has stated that they are aware of the issue and are working on a resolution for release in mid-March.
"We’re aware of issues with signtool.exe after installing the latest optional update for Windows 10, version 1903 or Windows 10, version 1909 (KB4535996). If you are encountering issues or receiving errors related to signtool.exe, you can uninstall the optional update KB4535996. We are working on a resolution and estimate a solution will be available in mid-March." | 4 |
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine at his Thursday coronavirus media briefing said his plea to parents to take their kids out of day care was yielding results.
The state has already closed down schools and limited gatherings in the state to 10 people as a response to the infectious COVID-19 virus. The governor has indicated that restrictions will be placed on child day care at some point, though he said in past briefings he is giving time for parents to make arrangements.
“People have taken our advice and used their own judgment and taken their kids home,” DeWine said. “We are now in the process of determining how many of the kids left there represent parents who are vital to our health system, vital to our economy and those determinations are being made. But you’re already seeing a dramatic drop in the number of kids in day care and we will have more for you tomorrow.”
Last week, DeWine suggested parents find accommodations in the event he closes child care facilities. During last Sunday’s briefing, he said an order would be coming soon.
Throughout his administration’s response to coronavirus, the governor has generally telegraphed the next possible steps he might take to prevent the spread of the disease, which reached 119 confirmed cases on Thursday.
Close contact between any two individuals is not recommended as they may spread the disease even if they don’t show symptoms.
Doctors have gone so far as to suggest that even small gatherings of children should be avoided, such as playdates.
Read more cleveland.com coverage:
Ohio health officials investigating possible first death from coronavirus in Lucas County
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When thermometers are not available, what should Ohio employers do to screen workers for the coronavirus?
Gov. Mike DeWine deploys Ohio National Guard to help distribute food during coronavirus crisis | CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday that he would consider a mass shutdown of businesses in the state if employers do not take the proper precautions to protect employees from coronavirus.
It’s a drastic move that has been applied in other states – one that DeWine said he was trying his hardest to avoid as he balances keeping the economy going with ensuring the safety and health of Ohioans. However, DeWine said his office continues to receive texts and emails about businesses that are not taking the proper precautions, which could force his hand to shut down businesses statewide.
“This simply must stop. I implore you, please, do what is right,” DeWine said. “As I continue to balance my responsibility to the people of the state of Ohio, the responsibility, when I took an oath of office to do the essential thing government does, which is to protect the people. As I balance that with our attempt to keep this economy moving, let me make it very, very clear, that I will err on the side of protecting people.”
The aggressive announcement came the same day Ohio confirmed its first death from coronavirus – a Toledo attorney whom DeWine said he and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted considered a friend – as the number of cases climbed to 169.
So far, DeWine and health officials have decided against mass business closures across the state, with the exception of restaurants and bars, salons, barbershops and some others. At no time had they ruled out the option, though.
“No announcement today,” DeWine said. “But the bad behavior, the reckless behavior, must stop. And I congratulate all those who are out there making a difference every day, businesses who are mindful of what they need to do to protect their employees. Evidence shows when businesses do this and are very, very aggressive, they can protect their employees. I would ask, please, do that.”
DeWine said call centers were among the list of businesses he’s received complaints about, though they included a “wide range of different types of businesses.”
DeWine made several recommendations – now, more appropriately viewed as orders – for businesses to take extra care and pay attention to best practices: physical distancing, sanitary conditions and monitoring employees’ health.
Earlier this week, he asked businesses to take workers’ temperatures. Fever is one symptom of the coronavirus.
“I think people can imagine what that next step would be,” DeWine said. “I’ve not hesitated in the past to close businesses and other operations if they are a threat to the public. The safety of the public has to come first. There’s a way we can do this, but we have to do it. I think I’ve demonstrated that I’m going to put the safety of the people first.”
Read more cleveland.com politics coverage:
President Trump suspends student loan interest, allows payment delays during coronavirus pandemic
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President Trump, Ohio Gov. DeWine, authoritarianism and the coronavirus: When does a leader cross the line?
Coronavirus information, services limited for Ohioans who don’t speak English | 3 |
Image caption The project aims to tackle a decline in salmon numbers
Plans to plant one million trees in the Cairngorms as part of a major wildlife restoration project have been unveiled.
The £5.5m project aims to tackle a decline in salmon numbers, by providing shade on tributaries of the Dee in the Balmoral and Invercauld estates.
It is believed the shade will help keep river temperatures down, easing damage on young salmon stocks.
The project is being led by the River Dee Trust charity, in the hope it will help wildlife to thrive in the future.
The trees would also offer nutrition and shelter for other species.
So far, about 200,000 have already been planted.
The aim is for the remainder to go into the ground over the next 15 years, doubling the current rate of planting.
Image caption Fisheries officer Colin Esson is planting saplings
The main species of trees involved are alder, willow, rowan, birch, aspen and Scots pine.
It is said they would have been common in the landscape thousands of years ago.
'Help nature help itself'
River Dee director Lorraine Hawkins said that Atlantic salmon are now "virtually extinct" across their southern European range, and are vanishing fast in the south of England.
"All the major Scottish salmon rivers have seen drastic declines," she explained. "At current rates, we may have just 20 years to save the species.
"We know there are catastrophic losses at sea. Those factors must be tackled urgently. But we can take action now to give the young fish their best chance of survival before leaving their native rivers.
"We must provide shade against more of the extreme temperatures we have been told to expect, while restoring a whole ecosystem that's been degraded over many centuries. This will help our threatened salmon, and all wildlife will benefit."
Image caption The trees could eventually help shade salmon
She added: "Of all the major Scottish rivers, the Dee is especially vulnerable to extreme temperatures because of its land use. We are determined to do everything we can to help nature help itself."
The Trusts's fisheries officer Colin Esson is among those doing the planting by hand, his small spade breaking the ground to allow thousands of young saplings to be carefully placed down.
He said of his efforts: "Hopefully it should give a bit of shelter not only to the animals but to the river.
"That's what we're concerned about - the rise in temperature, so we want to get some shelter, particularly in these high up burns, (which are) more vulnerable to higher temperatures."
Angling in the River Dee is said to generate about £15m annually and support hundreds of jobs. | Volunteers would deliver supplies to vulnerable people who are self-isolating (Victoria Jones/PA)
A volunteering scheme for those who want to help NHS Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic should be quickly set up, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
People living in England who do not show symptoms of Covid-19 can sign up to be an NHS volunteer responder, helping those who are most at risk.
This can include delivering supplies for vulnerable people who are self-isolating, transporting discharged patients home or phoning to chat with people who feel isolated.
Went to sign up for the NHS volunteer scheme but it says England only. Anything similar going on for Scotland? pic.twitter.com/MufbtW3CSN — Eddie Barnes (@EddieBarnes23) March 25, 2020
While the Scottish Government is pointing people towards volunteering opportunities such as the Red Cross community reserves, there is not currently a scheme specific to the Scottish NHS.
The Scottish Conservatives said thousands of people would be willing to help during the Covid-19 lockdown, which is due to last for at least three weeks.
Miles Briggs, the party’s health spokesman, said: “So far, both the Scottish and UK Governments have worked really well together as we face this unprecedented crisis.
“Now this volunteering scheme has been set up for England, this would be another good way for both to collaborate.
“Thousands of Scots would have seen this announcement and immediately looked into it, only to find it was just those living south of the border who could get involved.
“Hopefully now the Scottish Government will follow suit and harness the amazing goodwill that is out there.”
He added: “Ordinary people are desperate to help out our amazing NHS at this crucial time.
“Scots help out fellow Scots when they are facing tough times.
“That’s just how Scotland works and that’s exactly what we are all going to have to do.”
PA | 1 |
His social worker, who has borne witness to extremes of challenging environmental situations in her many years of caring for cancer patients, looked grim. “His father’s in jail. His mother is addicted to drugs and in the past has stolen his money and medications. His sister is developmentally delayed. He doesn’t have any caregivers and has been living independently for years.” She paused, giving me space to absorb this. “It’s going to be tricky for him to get through all of his therapy.”
Adolescents and young adults, which in medicine we define as ages 15 to 39, are a special population of patients with respect to the types of cancers they commonly get and the biology of those cancers. They also have distinct concerns from older or younger cancer patients, including unique issues surrounding their emerging identities, body image and autonomy. They are caught in the no-man’s land between being treated by adult oncologists, who may not be sensitive to these concerns, or by pediatric oncologists, where they may feel out of place sitting in an infusion chair receiving treatment next to a child.
I walked into my patient’s room, where he lay in his hospital bed, looking almost too fragile to be able to handle this huge mass lesion, never mind the chemotherapy I was about to propose. Slight, at five-and-a-half feet and 125 pounds, his face appeared even smaller, with a thick, black beard, oxygen tubing beneath his nose, and a snapback trucker baseball cap over his head. Tattoos covered both of his arms — a style element that my teenage children tell me is now considered normative. Another young man sat in the chair by his bed.
I discussed his diagnosis and its treatment. “The first course of chemotherapy we’ll give you in the hospital. After that, over the next few months, we’ll provide most of your care as an outpatient, meaning you’ll need to come back and forth to clinic a bunch of times.” I paused, giving him space to absorb this. “Is that something you can do?”
He nodded and gestured with his thumb toward his buddy, sitting in the chair beside him. “These guys will help me out.” He sounded confident. | Think Well, Think Different is a series of columns devoted to discussing trends in fintech, both from the consumer and founder points of view. Click here for previous columns.
What we value is hard to achieve. Things like physical fitness require discipline. Spirituality requires practice. Education takes years of incremental challenges. Marriage requires patience and understanding. Creating a successful business is no different—it requires courage and determination.
In my experience, one of the hardest parts of building a business is creating a company culture. Building a company culture that reflects the mission and vision of the founder is as hard as starting the business in the first place. Well, almost.
Everyone talks about company culture because it is hard to build and difficult to maintain. It is the reason you read so much about company culture in CEO interviews, entrepreneur blog posts, and motivational Instagram feeds.
One of the tensions in creating a company culture is something each of us faces in our careers: idealism versus practicality. Idealism is the pursuit of the pure form of values, even unrealistically. Practicality is the exceptions and rationalizations we make to our ideals to be able to function in a complex world. In other words, the way we wish the world was versus the way it is.
Ideally, we are able to harness this tension to form the right mixture of the two. Inspiration in ideals is necessary to give the company purpose, whereas the values must be realistic and helpful enough to support the decisions facing your team each and every day.
Here are four considerations when approaching the battle between idealism and practicality within the culture of your company.
Leaders bring the weather. Organizations tend to take on the personality of the leader. Your team looks up to your team leader the same way an entire company of people looks up to the CEO. How you approach culture will dictate how serious it is treated by your team. The best cultures and the best leaders provide the values in a way that supports day-to-day decisions.
Understand the tradeoffs. Allowing practical concessions to your company culture is an example of a tradeoff. Bad company cultures are either nonexistent or asking team members to fight against their own human nature (and sometimes common sense) in order to maintain the company culture. An example of a conflicted company culture is the large bank that claims to value its people but enforces a strict travel policy where the cheapest flight must be booked even if it is three stops and 12 hours of travel. Here, the tradeoff may mean spending a little more on travel expenses to value your peoples’ time and energy.
Another example of a tradeoff could mean sacrificing revenue or market share to honor a core value of the company. A digital, financial services lead aggregator can maximize profitability by selling a lead as fast as possible and as many times as possible. A lead generator that decides to curate the lead and offer a more human experience – collecting information, vetting providers and placing the lead with the right match – is sacrificing volume and (likely) revenue based on ideals to benefit the consumer.
Both models can operate as a successful business, just not at the same time, which is why the company must be aware and honest about the tension between the ideal and the practical.
Release control. The hardest part of the tension in building a consistent company culture is knowing what you can control and what you cannot. You are in control of your message but not in control of how it is received. You are in control of your policies and procedures but not in control of how your clients or customers will behave. Recognizing that people are not going to buy your product simply because of the goodness of the employees is helpful in remembering the realities of your business.
It will be hard. In business, being first and being wrong feel the same. When defining your company culture, you have defined the company. There will be uncertainty, second-guessing, and the temptation to change course all the time. Fight that urge with the discipline of a marathon runner or surgeon. Do not enforce discipline, however, to such a degree that you squeeze the flexibility right out of your people.
Whether you are thinking about starting a company, just started a company, or leading a company or a large group of people, you know there is a lot to balance. That balance between values and practice can determine a company’s potential. Too idealistic, and the company cannot be taken seriously. Too practical, and the company will not motivate or retain employees or customers.
The hard thing for any company is striking the proper mix of purpose and execution. That’s why we place such a high premium on culture; it’s the company equivalent of diet and exercise. | 1 |
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