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// 20th Anniversary of National Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week
20th Anniversary of National Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week
Leading Indigenous Voice Faces Funding Impact on HIV Programs
OTTAWA, Nov. 6, 2018 /CNW/ - The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) announces Indigenous leadership and their supporters will celebrate its 20thAnniversary of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week on November 29, 2018 in Ottawa, ON with a Parliamentary Breakfast followed by December 1 – 6, 2018events across the country (Vancouver, Edmonton, Peace River, Grande Prairie, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and more) to unite an Indigenous response to HIV and AIDS in a similar theme to World AIDS Day: Health For All – Know Your Status.
Ottawa November 29 Keynote: Hon. Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services
Peace River Correctional Centre event includes an open dialogue on Prison Needle Exchange Program with incarcerated inmates.
Vancouver event focus on Harm Reduction for Indigenous peoples leaving Federal Institutions in Pacific Region.
Indigenous peoples are over-represented in the HIV epidemic 2.7 times higher than other Canadians.
This series of events will connect Indigenous organizations, government partners, health care providers, and community leaders as they share lessons learned in order to create community readiness and culturally safe approaches to wholistic testing, care and treatment.
For over 20 years Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week has provided HIV prevention, treatment and support resources and worked with Indigenous communities to empower them to address infectious diseases. In addition, CAAN's Promising Practices documentaries have received awards and accolades and Comcast has acquired global distribution.
The annual campaign is supported by CAAN's network which spans over 400 individuals and AIDS services partners; along with international alliances in 11 countries.
Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week 2018 will also act as a platform for CAAN to continue to lobby for an urgent review of the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund, which has left so many long-standing organizations crippled by reduced funding or no funding. CAAN is experiencing the harsh impact of a 46% funding cut from the Community Action Fund.
"CAAN's severely reduced funding decimates the leading voice of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples living with HIV or AIDS and will have severe consequences on both Indigenous health and reconciliation," states Ken Clement, CEO of Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network. "We struggle to identify and support the newly funded groups in order to add an Indigenous voice to their work, and with our work we face losing the momentum we've made to eradicate the spread of HIV."
The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network and its launch co-hosts, Canadian Global Health All-Parliamentary Caucus HIV TB & Malaria, Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD), and Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association of Canada invite you to participate in Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week as it addresses different aspects of HIV prevention in a manner that reflects Indigenous cultures and traditional knowledge, and also the unique social, spiritual, economic and political needs of key populations.
For more information, Schedule of Events or to RSVP, visit: www.aboriginalaidsawareness.com
About CAAN www.caan.ca
The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) is a non-profit organization that leads a collective response to protect the wholistic wellness of First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples impacted by HIV, hepatitis C and related diseases and issues, such as mental health, addictions and aging. Through research and programming, it informs and influences public health policy from an Indigenous worldview and advances self-determination to address health determinants with Indigenous traditions, values and knowledge.
About ICAD www.icad-cisd.com/
About Pauktuutit http://pauktuutit.ca/
National non-profit organization representing all Inuit women in Canada.
SOURCE Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN)
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// THE $500+ BILLION GLOBAL WELLNESS TOURISM INDUSTRY NOW HAS ITS OWN ASSOCIATION – PRESS RELEASE
Denver, Colo. (January 31, 2018) – A group of seasoned wellness industry executives have joined forces to create the Wellness Tourism Association (WTA). Registered in the State of Colorado as a not-for-profit, privately-held organization, the WTA has been established and designed to serve this booming travel sector.
“Our mission is clear and concise,” says Co-Founder and Chairman Andrew Gibson, VP Wellbeing, Accor Hotels, “We plan to support and further the growth and development of the wellness tourism industry through networking, education, communication and marketing.”
The new association will be a network of and for qualifying members of the wellness tourism industry. Its objectives will help to define the industry, as well as educate consumers to recognize legitimate and credible wellness suppliers and operators.
Co-Founding member Tom Klein, President & COO of Canyon Ranch stated, “The WTA will fill a gap in this global industry by providing a credible and unified voice.” Klein added, “As with all associations, the goals and objectives will be determined by the members.”
According to the Global Wellness Institute’s 2017 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, the Wellness Tourism segment is a $563 billion industry -- growing faster than the tourism industry itself. “It makes perfect sense to have our own association,” says Co-Founder and President, Anne Dimon, Founder/CEO of TravelToWellness.com “Especially since there is some confusion with consumers and travel agents as to what constitutes legitimate ‘wellness travel.”
Nilendu Srivastava, Managing Director of The Art of Living Retreat Center, a year-round wellness retreat facility in Boone, North Carolina is another Founding Member.
The association’s first tourism office member - the Monaco Government Tourist Office - will be represented by Cindy Hoddeson, Monaco’s Director, North America. The wellness history of this city-state dates back to 1860 and the Etablissement des Bains, Monaco’s first baths where people traveled to benefit from the curative powers of the Mediterranean.
Madeleine Marentette, owner of Grail Springs -- recent recipient of Canada's Best Wellness Retreat 2017 -- will also sit on the first Board of Directors - - as will Jim Forberg, Founding Partner and COO of Unicomm LLC, producers of the long-running Travel & Adventure Show and introducing a wellness element to their shows in 2018.
Wellness Tourism is not a new industry, as people have traveled both nationally and internationally with health or wellness the primary focus since the time of the Roman Baths. Today, the commitment to ‘health as your wealth’ transcends borders, cultures and ages, with many new companies flocking to the sector.
Membership will be open to qualifying destination marketing organizations, hotels and resorts, destination spas, tour operators, travel advisors, wellness educators and others with an interest in supporting the industry and helping shape its future and sustainability. Dimon adds that, “while ‘wellness’ is often thought to be a luxury category of travel, we also want to ensure we represent a diverse range of members across consumer segment."
For more information, please visit http://www.wellnesstourismassociation.org and for interview opportunities and additional details, email the WTA at admin@wellnesstourismassociation.org
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The Future of 5G for IoT: Hype vs Reality
By Emily Maxie
For an innovation that receives as much attention as 5G, we don’t actually know much about how it will play out for the industry and what the telecom operators plan to do.
Idealists tout the great benefits of low latency and high capacity that will ultimately allow new valuable use cases, while cynics focus on the lack of actual new use cases to emerge so far.
The term “5G” stands for fifth-generation cellular wireless. The initial standards for 5G were set at the end of 2017. But just because there are standards doesn’t mean that all 5G will work the same. There will be fast 5G with limited coverage and slow but responsive 5G, according to PCMag.
5G brings three unique benefits to the table: the ability to move more data (speed), to be responsive (lower latency), and to more easily connect to sensors and smart devices (connecting to a lot more devices at once).
Most previous generations of wireless technology have been defined by their data transmission speeds, and each is also defined by new encoding methods that make it incompatible with the previous version. While the 5G radio system isn’t compatible with 4G, all 5G devices in the US will need 4G — at least to start — because they’ll use it to make initial connections before leveling up to 5G where available. In a few years, 5G networks will become standalone, not requiring 4G coverage to work.
What does 5G mean for the development of IoT devices?
5G is an extremely exciting evolution of wireless capabilities and will surely impact IoT in a large way. It's difficult to say exactly where the areas of innovation will occur. However, we can surely expect devices to begin to leverage these low latency, high bandwidth connections.
As of today, most IoT applications are built from the ground up, with the understanding that there will be intermittent and/or slow connections for wireless communication, and most applications are architected with this in mind. So, in the short term, applications that can leverage these 5G networks will immediately benefit from a higher quality of service, faster updates, and more reliable situational insight for sensors and networks running on 5G.
For products that will be built to support 5G in the future, you can expect a heavier reliance on video as a source of data along with the transmission of 3D measurements and coordinates in real time. I believe that virtual and augmented reality will become more and more commonplace and that our cellular devices will continue to play a larger role in how we interact with the world.
Where 5G is available, we will see a merging of edge computing and IoT, blurring the lines between what we can expect out of connected devices. This will be a driver of us being able to reliably stream and capture video and 3D data without a persistent WiFi connection. While it’s difficult to say exactly what IoT applications will come of this, security and augmented reality applications are sure to grow in their capabilities exponentially under this new paradigm.
What does the future hold for 5G?
In previous mobile transitions, most of the major changes happen years after the first announcement, and I expect the same to be true of 5G. For instance, 4G phones first appeared in the US in 2010, but the kinds of applications that leveraged 4G to transform our world (like Uber and Snapchat) didn’t come until years later.
So with that in mind, you can expect the real game-changing 5G applications to start cropping up in the early 2020s. Until then, the landscape will continue to be a bit muddy as wireless carriers and app developers explore its potential.
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Senior Vice President of Wealth Management
Dave Huisinga
Refer Dave
“The key to a successful financial future is about time in the markets, not timing the markets.”
Charity Committee Chairman & Board Member, Rooster Foundation (serving disadvantaged children)
Passionate about helping active duty, veterans & their families
BBQ Grill & Smoke Master
Loves to play golf & travel
Supports youth soccer
Get to Know Dave
David Huisinga has distinguished himself as one of the company’s most productive and diligent executives, earning him a top spot for the past 17 years in Trilogy’s prestigious Baker’s Dozen Award*, which honors the company’s top executives on an annual basis. He owes his success to Trilogy’s team of administrative personnel, investment specialists and managers who provide him the time to concentrate on working closely with his clients, many of whom are planning for or entering retirement. The fact that 100 percent of his clients are referral-based is a reflection of their confidence in his abilities.
David’s career path was an unlikely one given that he spent five years at the University of California, Irvine as a Chemistry major. He eventually concluded that chemistry was not a career choice he wanted to follow. He then took a job bartending at night and spent his days helping an entrepreneur launch a start-up health insurance company. With the experience and knowledge gained through these jobs, David began exploring careers that were better suited for his talents and skills. That led him to join Trilogy Financial in 2002 as a Financial Advisor. David would later help open the Trilogy office in Corona, California. As his career progressed, David developed a deep understanding of the Social Security system and frequently holds workshops to help people understand the myriad social security options and benefits available to them.
David has been happily married to his high school sweetheart, Ainara, for over 20 years. Today, he and his wife reside in Cypress, California with their two high school-aged children, Nolan and Ava. Dave is dedicated to helping disadvantaged children in Orange County through the Rooster Foundation where he serves as a board member and the Charity Committee Chairman. Away from his business, Dave enjoys golfing, outdoor barbecuing, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
*The Baker’s Dozen is an award given to the top 13 advisors for the year based on total weighted production.
Meet Dave’s Team
Hallie Dena
hallie.dena@trilogyfs.com
meet Hallie
Nick Dalafu
nick.dalafu@trilogyfs.com
See More of Dave’s news
See More of Dave’s Insights
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Shop New Vinyl
Shop Used Vinyl
RSD Reservation
The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released on October 24, 2006, through Reprise Records, it was produced by Rob Cavallo, known for having produced multiple albums for Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. It is a rock opera centering on a dying character with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death, experiences in the afterlife, and subsequent reflections on his life. It is the band's only studio album to feature drummer Bob Bryar before his departure in 2010.
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Genre: Alternative Rock
Date Release: 2/10/2015
Type: New Vinyl
Vinyl Oasis, Unit A Ocala FL. 34480
Contact@vinyloasisocala.com
Copyright Vinyl Oasis All Rights Reserved
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Thu 10th Dec 2020
As CD Projekt’s much-anticipated new RPG finally arrives on systems this week, we take a look at all the big questions facing gamers before they head on down to Night City…
Few would have expected an adaptation of a dystopian board game series from the 1980s to create quite this level of anticipation. But scant information and an ever-changing release date have made Cyberpunk 2077 the most anticipated game of 2020.
As such, gamers have plenty of questions regarding CD Projekt’s latest title before its release this week. So we’ve assembled a list of questions below and, as succinctly as we can, attempted to answer each and every one…
What will gameplay be like in Cyberpunk 2077?
Many would be forgiven for thinking Cyberpunk 2077 to simply be a neon-lit, futuristic, GTA-type open-world title. They’d be wrong. Much like CD Projekt’s acclaimed The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG. And we mean R.P.G.
Customisation is everywhere. You can choose the sex, race, “cyberware” (ability-gifting pieces of in-built tech) and even piercings of the central character, V. This also extends to V’s “class”, and each one’s respective abilities, with players creating “their” V as either a Net Runner, Solo, or Techie, all of which can be upgraded.
Your vehicles are also very much yours in this game. Each one can be customised to your heart’s content and, unlike GTA, has to be earned. Gone are the days when you can just steal that NPCs sleek sports car and instantly claim it as your own.
Unlike The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077’s exploration and combat is viewed in first-person (though driving can be viewed in third-person, too), and also has a cover-based system during firefights.
Think a mix between Mass Effect’s ability-incorporating gunplay and Arkham Asylum’s counter-based hand-to-hand combat system (when it comes to pummelling foes with your fists), and you’ve a pretty good idea of what to expect.
What is the plot of Cyberpunk 2077?
Details on the overall story of Cyberpunk 2077 have been thin on the ground. Well, aside from leaks but the less said about them the better.
In a nutshell, V is a mercenary and outlaw who, after being betrayed, journeys through Night City’s seedy streets to track down a piece of cyberware which can allegedly render users immortal.
Where is Cyberpunk 2077 set?
Cyberpunk 2077’s setting is big, reeeally big, with all of the action taking place in the neon metropolis that is Night City.
Broken into four distinct districts (Entropism, Kitsch, Neo-Militarism and Neo-Kitsch), each one is named after an era in the city’s history and boasts its own eye-catching style and design. They present a fascinating blend of futuristic cityscapes, disintegrating slums and sandy deserts.
Be warned, however. With homelessness on the rise and corporations effectively running the city, it’s a pretty lawless, terrifying place to explore. If you want to find out more, feel free to visit its own website. No really, that’s actually a thing.
Is there multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077?
If rumours are to be believed, hopefully by 2022. CD Projekt has developed a multiplayer element alongside the main game, but envisions the two being separate entities. So while the multiplayer remains a long way away, when it arrives, think something along the lines of Rockstar’s hugely successful GTA Online.
Oh, and where does Keanu Reeves fit into all this?
Reeves’ reveal last summer pretty much broke the internet, and for good reason. The John Wick star makes his first video game appearance since 2003’s Enter The Matrix, again lending his likeness, performance and voice to one of the game’s central characters.
Said character is Johnny Silverhand, a rock ’n’ roll singer who accompanies V in his aforementioned pursuit for immortality. Whether Johnny can be trusted, however, is up to the player to decide.
When is Cyberpunk 2077 available to play?
At long last, Cyberpunk 2077 will be available to play on PC, PS4 and Xbox One from Thursday 10 December; and on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021, with a release date TBC.
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Tate Donovan Was ‘Dying Inside’ Working With Ex Jennifer Aniston on ‘Friends’
By Stephanie Webber
Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan in New York City on July 28, 1997. K.Mazur/WireImage.com
Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan didn’t last — and neither did their Friends characters. The Argo actor guest-starred on the famed NBC comedy for a six-episode arc in 1994. And at the very same time, the now exes were splitting up in real-life.
Friends Stars: Then and Now
“I was just happy to be on the team. The only bummer was Jennifer and I were breaking up at the time,” Donovan, 54, recalls exclusively to Us Weekly. “And so that was tricky to sort of act, and act like we are just meeting each other, and falling in love, or whatever, interested in each other, when we’re sort of breaking up. That was just tough.”
Donovan played Joshua, a personal shopping client of Rachel Green’s (Aniston) at Bloomingdale’s. Rachel quickly struck up a crush, handed over her Knicks tickets to him and his nephew (he didn’t know it was a date offer!) and ultimately changed into her high school cheerleader outfit to catch his eye.
“It was just six episodes. I mean, only because we were breaking up. We were like, ‘Hey, can we not keep doing this? ‘Cause this is really painful and tough,’” he recalls of his and Aniston’s feelings about working together at the time. “The people that know that we dated think that we met on Friends. But in fact we had dated for two years before then, and it was over by the time we were on Friends together.”
Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan on ‘Friends.’ Alice S. Hall/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Donovan’s Central Perk stint was “very interesting” — to say the least. But despite his personal relationship with Aniston, he felt very welcome by her and her costars — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc.
“Those six people were amazing to me. They were fantastic. It wasn’t cliquey for me at all. I was lucky,” he adds. “The good thing that came out of it was that everyone was really cool about it, and really as helpful as they could be. In other words, they were just compassionate, very compassionate about the whole breakup. It was sort of like I proved that, hey, I guess I’m a pro. If you can go through a tough breakup, and still do your job, then you’re a pro. It was good. It was really ultimately a great experience of how people can treat you really well, and you still do your job even though you’re sort of dying inside.”
'90s Stars: Then and Now
The cast didn’t just crack jokes with Donovan on set, though. They even pranked him before cameras began rolling on his first day.
“They had all of these beautiful dressing rooms behind the stage, and a lot of times guest stars would get the dressing rooms. … But [I was taken on] a 15-minute walk through the back alleys of Warner Brothers Studios. And finally I get to this dumpy wooden trailer from the ’30s. I swear to God. It had carpet that smelled and old fruit that was lying around. It was disgusting — and flies. It wasn’t air-conditioned.”
The crew went on to leave him in the filth for 10 minutes. “Then they came back for rehearsal. They all were looking at me, the whole cast. And I was like, ‘Hey, what’s up guys? How are you doing?’ And they were like, ‘You’re the worst, man. Of course that’s not your trailer,’” he continues. “I didn’t care because I knew I wasn’t gonna spend any time in my trailer. I was like, ‘OK, so it’s a trailer.’ They were trying to play a practical joke on me basically. Like, give him the worst trailer known to mankind. And I didn’t react to it all. I just sort of was like, ‘Oh, OK. Great, fine.’ I didn’t freak out and that’s what they were hoping for, that I would call my agent and say, ‘This is bullsh-t. I’m never gonna work on this show.’”
And from then on, Donovan felt like he was on a “championship” team. “It was like being on the Golden State Warriors,” he says. “They were in their prime doing the greatest stuff.”
Stars Who Worked Together After Breaking Up
He adds: “Those guys were so great to me when they sort of didn’t have to be. They were just really cool.”
Donovan hasn’t run into many of the stars since, but he did cross paths with Perry at the airport once. “He was hilarious. I was doing a play, and I had to get my way home on my own, and I was looking to get a cab. He was doing a television show and he had this huge stretched limousine waiting for him. He was like, ‘See, that’s the difference. You do theater, you have to find your own way home.’”
Years earlier, Friends came to an end after 10 seasons in 2004. Rachel ultimately ended up with Ross Geller (Schwimmer), but Donovan thinks that Joshua turned out just fine.
“Joshua is happily married and has an 18 year-old-kid who is about to go to college,” he envisions. “He’s doing well. He’s doing good.”
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Lineup Notes: MNT vs. Republic of Ireland - International Friendly
Republic of Ireland vs. USA
Aviva Stadium; Dublin, Ireland
Live Broadcast: 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2, UniMás and UDN
Tonight’s U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. Republic of Ireland: 1-Bill Hamid; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 3-Matt Miazga, 19-Jorge Villafaña; 20-Wil Trapp (capt.); 11-Tim Weah, 4-Tyler Adams, 6-Weston McKennie, 23-Rubio Rubin; 7-Bobby Wood
Substitutes: 12-Zack Steffen, 8-Joe Corona, 9-Andrija Novakovich, 13-Josh Sargent, 15-Eric Lichaj, 17-Antonee Robinson, 18-Shaq Moore, 21-Tim Parker, 24-Luca de la Torre
U.S. MNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): DeAndre Yedlin (51), Bobby Wood (38), Jorge Villafaña (18), Rubio Rubin (7), Bill Hamid (6), Matt Miazga (6), Tyler Adams (4), Wil Trapp (4), Cameron Carter-Vickers (3), Weston McKennie (3), Tim Weah (3)
The U.S. Men’s National Team will wear rainbow numbers as part of U.S. Soccer’s celebration of Pride Month. The MNT will do the same for its June 9 match at France, as will the WNT for their two-game set against China PR on June 7 and June 12. Sarachan’s lineup will have eight changes to the Starting XI that faced Bolivia. Midfielders Weston McKennie, Rubio Rubin and Tim Weah are the only holdover starters from the 3-0 win on Monday in Chester, Pa. Villafaña also entered the match as an 89th minute substitute.
The Starting XI’s average cap number (including this match): 13 caps
Tonight’s Starting XI has an average age of 23 years, 73 days. It is the second-youngest starting lineup MNT head coach Dave Sarachan has fielded in his five matches in charge, coming in behind the team that began Monday’s 3-0 win vs. Bolivia (22 years, 160 days).
Six starters are 22 and younger: Miazga, Rubin (22); Carter-Vickers (20); Adams, McKennie (19); Weah (18)
The USA has held opponents scoreless in its last 329 minutes of play, keeping three-straight clean sheets this year. The last goal conceded came in the 31st minute of the 1-1 draw at Portugal on Nov. 14, 2017.
Sarachan runs out the same four-man back line that went the full 90 minutes and helped keep a clean sheet in the USA’s 1-0 win against Paraguay on March 27 in Cary, N.C.
Making his fifth MNT appearance, Wil Trapp captains the side for the third time tonight. Trapp wore the armband in the USA’s 0-0 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina (January 28) and 1-0 win against Paraguay (March 27).
Tonight’s match serves as a “send-off” for long-time Ireland center back John O’Shea. A five-time Premier League champion with Manchester United and former teammate of MNT right back DeAndre Yedlin at Sunderland, the veteran defender will end his international career with 117 caps – third most all-time for the Boys in Green.
Six of the starting XI are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
Eight players have represented the USA at a Youth World Cup: Adams (2015 U-17, 2017 U-20), Carter-Vickers (2015, 2017 U-20), Miazga (2015 U-20), Rubin (2015 U-20), Trapp (2013 U-20), Villafaña (2009 U-20), Weah (2017 U-17), Yedlin (2013 U-20)
Having partnered during the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matt Miazga pair together for the third time with the MNT.
The MNT starting XI represents clubs in six different countries: England (3), Germany (2), Mexico (2), USA (2), Denmark (1), France (1).
Three players will look to make their MNT debuts tonight: Luca de la Torre, Shaq Moore and Tim Parker.
Three players took part in the MNT’s last visit to Dublin, a 4-1 loss on Nov. 18, 2014. Bill Hamid started the match in goal, while Rubio Rubin and Bobby Wood entered as substitutes.
Weah and Trapp will make their first appearances for the MNT on European soil.
Midfielders Julian Green (right foot injury) and Kenny Saief (right knee injury) were held out of tonight’s squad due to injury. Midfielder Keaton Parks, defender Erik Palmer-Brown and goalkeeper William Yarbrough also will not dress for the match.
Both teams will dress 20 players and are allowed six substitutions in tonight’s match.
The series with Ireland is one of the MNT’s longest running. The USA faced the Boys in Green in its sixth international match, a 3-1 defeat in Dublin on June 16, 1924.
The MNT has a 2-5-2 all-time mark against Ireland. The side opened the 1992 U.S. Cup by collecting a 3-1 win on May 30, 1992 in Washington, D.C. The match marked the international debuts of future MNT captain Thomas Dooley and striker Roy Wegerle.
The USA’s other victory came June 9, 1996 in Foxborough, Mass. Tab Ramos and Claudio Reyna scored to give the USA a 2-1 win in the opening match of the 1996 Nike U.S. Cup.
Bill Hamid
DeAndre Yedlin 0
Cameron Carter Vickers
Matt Miazga
Jorge Villafana
Rubio Rubin
Wil Trapp
U.S. MNT vs. Ireland - International Friendly - 06/02/2018
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Amazon founder’s ex-wife is giving away large amounts of her $60 billion fortune
Copyright AP Newsroom
<a href="">AP Newsroom</a>
By: Tricia Goss
MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos met in 1992. Scott was an administrative assistant and Bezos was a vice president at the hedge fund D.E. Shaw. She asked him to lunch, and by 1993, they were married. A year later, they quit their jobs and moved from New York to Seattle, where they started Amazon while living in a one-bedroom rental.
However, after 25 years of marriage and four children, the couple divorced in 2019. Even though she granted her ex-husband 75% of the Amazon stock co-owned by the pair, Scott still walked away as the world’s 18th richest person, with a $60.7 billion net worth.
In May of that year, she joined The Giving Pledge, a movement of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists.
“We each come by the gifts we have to offer by an infinite series of influences and lucky breaks we can never fully understand,” she wrote in her pledge. “In addition to whatever assets life has nurtured in me, I have a disproportionate amount of money to share. My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.”
Scott, who is 50, did not hesitate to begin, donating more than $4 billion in the first four months. In July 2020, she followed up with a post on Medium about nonprofit organizations she had selected to help, noting that she would no longer be going by the surname “Bezos,” but by her new last name after her grandfather Scott.
“Following up on the commitment I made last year to give away the majority of my wealth in my lifetime,” she tweeted.
Following up on the commitment I made last year to give away the majority of my wealth in my lifetime: https://t.co/Ocb8eU5UR1. (Note my Medium account is under my new last name — changed back to middle name I grew up with, after my grandfather Scott.)
— MacKenzie Scott (@mackenziescott) July 28, 2020
In the post, Scott broke down donations by area, donating billions of dollars to organizations focused on racial, LGBTQ+ and gender equity, public health, climate change and more.
This week, she posted an update explaining that, following her July article, she asked her advisory team to help her accelerate giving to help people suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The result over the last four months has been $4,158,500,000 in gifts to 384 organizations across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C.,” she wrote. “Some are filling basic needs: food banks, emergency relief funds, and support services for those most vulnerable. Others are addressing long-term systemic inequities that have been deepened by the crisis: debt relief, employment training, credit and financial services for under-resourced communities, education for historically marginalized and underserved people, civil rights advocacy groups, and legal defense funds that take on institutional discrimination.”
Scott said she is far from completing her pledge and encourages others to use their time, voice or money to help others. You can find a list of the 384 organizations she supported on her Medium post.
“Our hopes are fed by others,” she wrote.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
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Wakefield High School is situated on a 110 acre tract in Northern Wake County near the town of Wake Forest. Just north of Raleigh, the main campus is centrally located in the Wakefield Community. The high school is adjacent to Wakefield Elementary and Middle Schools and a YMCA close to campus enhances its reputation as a community-based school. Wakefield is a comprehensive public secondary school that offers a traditional curriculum based on the North Carolina Essential Standards.
All courses are offered on a 4 x 4 block schedule. In addition to advanced placement and honors classes, Wakefield offers an extensive program of vocational, technical, and career development courses. An award-winning arts program provides instruction in instrumental and vocal music, theater, visual art, and dance. A special programs course of study is offered for exceptional students who meet state guidelines. Wakefield cooperates with North Carolina Virtual Public School and local universities and community colleges to provide dual enrollment opportunities for students who take elective courses not offered on the high school campus.
A 4-AA school governed by the North Carolina Athletic Association, Wakefield has achieved recognition in many sports. Outstanding recognition noted recently for Wolverine Athletics include two state titles in boys’ basketball. The Wolverines compete in football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track, cross country, lacrosse, golf, swimming, volleyball, wrestling, tennis, and gymnastics. Believing that extra-curricular activities are an essential part of high school life, Wakefield is committed to service and leadership through clubs and various organizations. Student life is thriving and there are numerous opportunities for involvement including participation in student government, academic and honor societies, fine arts clubs, service and cultural groups, business and civic organizations, and athletics.
SCHOOL FACTS
Total Enrollment: 1940
Senior Class Enrollment: 446
Accreditation: Souther Association of Colleges and Schools
Post Graduation Plans Data: Four Year College: 63%, Two-Year College: 28%, Military: 4% Other: 5%
Serves student from 9th to 12th grade
Mascot/Logo: Wolverines
School Colors: Maroon, Black, and Silver
Accreditation: AdvancED
CEEB Code: 343244
Select the following links to access information from the current School Improvement Plan, the 2015-2016 Progress Report, and the School Report Card for Wakefield High School.
Wakefield High School maintains a high standard of learning for all students that effectively prepares all students for graduation and for becoming productive citizens.
The Wakefield High School learning community supports students in developing 21st Century skills that allow them to contribute responsibly in an ever-changing environment.
VALUE STATEMENTS
We believe in the education of the whole person and learning is a continuous, lifelong process. Interactive learning experiences, specific assessment of talents and abilities, and exposure to future opportunities prepares students for the pursuit of life goals.
Within the learning community, education extends beyond the classroom and requires the active participation of students, teachers, parents, staff, and business partners. Individual mastery of challenging academic standards requires high expectations, support systems, highly qualified staff, optimal physical facilities and differentiated instruction.
We respect and appreciate diversity as we foster unity in our students, faculty, staff, and community.
The Wakefield High School learning community has the right to a safe, healthy and orderly environment and an atmosphere that supports individual worth, dignity, and mutual respect.
WAKEFIELD HONOR CODE
The students of Wakefield High School are committed to being honest and responsible in the completion of academic materials and interactions with the school administration and community. Cheating, stealing, plagiarism (passing off another’s work, words, or ideas as one’s own), and lying (including willful distortion or misrepresentation) are considered violations of the Honor Code. Through a joint fulfillment of this code, students and faculty will achieve their fullest potential in academic excellence and character.
2200 Wakefield Pines Drive, Raleigh NC 27614
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Every player in group has a lot to offer in T20s: Ford
June 17, 2018 Jeffrey Carter
Graham Ford, Ireland’s coach, believes that each player in his group has much to offer in T20 cricket, ahead of the clash against Scotland in the ongoing tri-series in the Netherlands. Ireland, that are currently placed at No.17, will need to rise up in order to qualify for the World T20 in 2020.
“I don’t want to single out individuals,” said Ford on Saturday (June 16). “But some players have improved their cricket, some take to this format, but every single player in the group has a lot to offer in T20 cricket. It is just about taking their game forward.
“I am quite excited about the make-up of the group and excited by the talent in the squad. There’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done and the boys are up for it, but it’s about sharpening the skills before the next World Twenty20 qualifiers.”
After three games, Ireland have lost two, and won one. Their win was a comfortable one over Scotland on Saturday, after having had posted 205 on the board thanks to fifties from Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie and Gary Wilson, before Scotland were kept to 159 for 5.
Ford, who took over as Ireland coach in September, after the tri-series, has the India challenge at hand. The No.3 T20I side will play a two-match T20I series ahead of the commencement of their England tour.
“We have some good strikers of the ball in the squad and good athletes, attributes which are important in T20 cricket,” said Ford. “The bowlers are probably going for too many boundaries at the minute, and not squeezing enough dot balls, especially when a new batter comes in.
“There are so many areas you have to stay on top of, but the guys are aware of them,” he added.
In their final tri-series match on Sunday, Ireland will be up against Scotland once again.
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Our mission is to empower lifelong curiosity and connection to the natural world through the art of Walter Anderson and kindred artists.
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art inspires discovery, imagination, and community-building on the Gulf Coast and beyond through programs, exhibitions, and outreach; and embodies Walter Anderson’s vision for societies in harmony with their environments.
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art
founded in 1991, is a nationally accredited art museum located in historic Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. WAMA is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of artist-philosopher Walter Anderson (1903-1965). Walter Anderson’s paintings, drawings, murals, block prints, sculpture, carvings, and writings of coastal plants, animals, landscapes, and people have placed him among the most compelling and singular artists of the 20th century. WAMA also honors Anderson's brothers, Peter Anderson (1901-1984), master potter and founder of Shearwater Pottery; and James McConnell Anderson (1907-1998), noted painter and ceramist.
Not unlike Cezanne, Anderson cultivated a belief in realization between man and nature. “If humans need the natural world in order to find spiritual transcendence,” wrote Anderson’s biographer Christopher Maurer, “nature requires the artist to fully ‘realize’ the significance of its forms.” Anderson also believed that nature, in its infinite wisdom and variety, could restore societies to a more perfect and participatory existence. “In order to realize the beauty of man we must realize his relation to nature,” wrote Anderson.
Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965), Self-portrait, c. 1950, Watercolor.
WAMA embodies the dream of The Friends of Walter Anderson, incorporated in 1974. The Friends’ nonprofit corporation secured the use of the land adjacent to the city-owned Ocean Springs Community Center, built in 1949-50. The Community Center is the site of Walter Anderson’s monumental 3,000 square foot murals, which depict the historic discovery of the Mississippi Coast and its diverse climates. The City commissioned Walter Anderson to execute the murals in 1950 for a fee of $1.00. They were completed after 16 months in 1951-52.
The museum was designed by architect Edward Pickard, then husband of Mary Anderson Pickard, daughter of the artist, in conjunction with Eley & Associates. A 2012 expansion was designed by Dennis Cowart. The design, reminiscent of a cathedral, celebrates the artist’s work and echoes its connection nature by literally connecting his most public project, the Community Center murals, and his most private work, the Little Room mural, through a long galleria of southern yellow pine.
Since its inception, WAMA has created a vital center for arts enrichment and study through educational activities, publications, and exhibitions. WAMA is the only AAM Accredited museum in the lower six Mississippi counties and one of three statewide. WAMA has served as a working partner in countless efforts to document and preserve the natural environment of the Gulf Coast. WAMA’s collection is comprised of more than a thousand objects owned by the museum and another thousand on long-term loan from the family. In addition to showcasing the work of the Anderson family, WAMA displays art by visiting artists, chosen for exhibition based upon their connection with Walter Anderson’s art or philosophies.
Walter Anderson did not separate “fine” art from “folk,” knowing that the designation was a temporal phenomenon unasserted across most of human civilization. He saw his art not as a product through which he might earn acclaim or fortune, but as a process for grasping, if only for a moment, the bounty of creation – whether it was the ascent of the tern, the brilliance of aster, the silhouette of the alligator, or the magic hour at sunset. He became more attuned to the beings of nature than to his human counterparts; rather than objectify nature’s beings, he referred to them as his “familiars.” Anderson’s murals, block prints, and ceramics – decorated and designed as an employee of Shearwater Pottery (founded by his brother, Peter) – were propagated widely. These works were intended to be accessible; created, said Anderson, for “people who cannot afford to pay a great deal for works of art, but still have an appetite for beauty.”
Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965), Horn Island at Sunset, Oil on board, 1960; Permanent Collection, Donation of Mary Anderson Pickard.
Horn Island, one in a series of Gulf Coast barrier isles near Anderson’s Ocean Springs home, became for him equal parts Eden – a paradisiacal home; and terra incognita – an elusive, sometimes dangerous, and infinitely mysterious piece of earth that contained elemental ways of knowing and seeing. Storytellers have referred to Anderson as both “Adam in a hat” and “Don Quixote on a bicycle,” referencing his Horn Island existence and his extensive journeys on bicycle, which took him thousands of miles across New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida. He was also part Johnny Appleseed, flinging his creations to the wind, to the fire, or buried in hidden stacks, to let nature and posterity do with them what they would. His fascination with myth and folktale composed his 1949 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Folk Tale and Fantasy: Modern Scroll Prints in Color by Walter I. Anderson, which contained groundbreaking six-foot linoleum block print scrolls depicting Jack the Giant Killer; Sinbad, the Sailor; Three Billy Goats Gruff; The Pied Piper; The Golden Apples of Hesperides; and many others.
Today, WAMA is developing and strengthening partnerships with city governments and public school districts; in spheres of ecotourism, conservation, foodways, science, and technology; with musicians, writers, and chefs, and other artists and scholars; and with individuals across all walks of life and ideology.
During his lifetime, Walter Anderson shirked the spotlight – he did not paint for fame; and much of his work was still a secret when he died in 1965. If not for the museum that bears his name and the family and friends who advocated for it, it is likely that one of the most fascinating stories in American art history might have faded.
Instead, it lives on in stunning color, housed in a jewel-box museum where tens of thousands of visitors from across the country and abroad make the pilgrimage each year. It’s where residents of the coast can see their backyards, oceanside vistas, and wilderness landscapes reflected back with sublime linework, evocative form, and inspiring brushstroke – a testament to the power of place, the value of shifts in perspective, and the potential for continued adventures.
“His significance in the history of art may lie in his perception of fundamental reality: the interconnectedness of the world, the dynamism of matter, the knowledge that man is a participant in nature rather than an observer.” – art historian Patti Carr Black
Staff and Board of Trustees
The Museum and its programs are supported in part by the City of Ocean Springs and Jackson County. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Sunday: 1-5PM
Holiday closings: New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Adults: $10
AAA / Military / Seniors / Students (with ID): $8
Free for members; free ages 5 and under; free to shop
RESERVE TIMED-TICKETS
510 Washington Avenue,
Ocean Springs, MS, 39564
Artwork reproduction courtesy of the Family of Walter Anderson.
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Skip to main content World Africa Americas Asia Europe Middle East Foreign Correspondents
Islamic State advances over wide swaths of Aleppo, activists report
At least 20 people were killed and dozens more injured after a car bomb rocked the Syrian town of Huraytan, five kilometers north of Aleppo, on Thursday. (YouTube/Huraytan City)
By Erin Cunningham
Erin Cunningham
Middle East reporter covering Iran, Turkey, Syria and the wider region
BEIRUT — Islamic State militants swept into villages in northwestern Syria as part of a surprise offensive against rival insurgents on Friday, activists said. The militants threatened the country’s largest city, Aleppo, and dealt a blow to more moderate rebels under fire from Russian warplanes.
The Islamic State advance comes as Russia has backed a Syrian government offensive against rebel fighters elsewhere in the north and west in recent days. Russia says its military intervention in Syria is aimed at defeating the Islamic State. But most of Russia’s airstrikes have targeted Western-backed rebels instead of Islamic State infrastructure, U.S. officials say.
The Islamic State extremists, who have captured wide swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, seized at least five villages and a rebel-held infantry school in Aleppo province on Friday, according to Syrian activists and an online statement issued by the group. The gains were the most significant for the Islamic State in Syria in months, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.
[Pentagon plans major shift in effort to counter Islamic State in Syria]
The infantry school is about 10 miles northeast of Aleppo and just a mile from a government-run industrial zone in the suburbs. Despite the Islamic State’s push toward regime-controlled areas, however, the jihadists were not struck by Russian warplanes, activists said.
View Graphic
Map: What a year of Islamic State terror looks like
In a statement issued on Friday, Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have killed 100 insurgents, including two Islamic State field commanders, in a strike on an ammunitions depot near the city of Aleppo. It was unclear whether the air raid was related to the jihadists’ advance on the city, which has been ravaged by fierce battles between government troops and rebels in the four-year war.
Aleppo province is the area where the United States has planned to increase its own airstrikes against the Islamic State, hoping to push the militants back to the east. As part of an agreement with the Turkish government, U.S. aircraft, and that of other coalition partners in the future, have been allowed to fly out of Turkey’s Incirlik airfield, close to the region. But the proximity of Russian aircraft and debilitation of the rebels have now brought those plans into question.
Also in Aleppo, Islamic State militants killed an Iranian brigadier general and adviser to the Syrian government, Hossein Hamedani, Iran’s official news agency said Friday. Russia and Iran are both staunch allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Iran has long stationed military advisers in the country.
“Brig. Gen. Hamedani was martyred by Daesh terrorists during an advisory mission in the suburb of Aleppo” on Thursday afternoon, said a statement from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps that was read on Iran’s IRNA news agency. “Daesh” is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
But the progress made by Islamic State fighters comes at the expense of rebel groups opposed to Assad and the jihadists. Those groups, which the United States has viewed as the most palpable allies in Syria’s messy civil war, are now confronting both the Islamic State and Russian firepower.
[Clinton criticizes ‘failed’ effort to train Syrian rebels]
In Hama and Idlib provinces, Russian air raids have targeted rebels aligned with the more secular Free Syrian Army and other non-Islamic State groups this week. The rebels have managed to slow a government advance on opposition strongholds there, destroying the regime’s armored vehicles with antitank missiles, local residents said. On Friday, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter confirmed that the United States had indications that four Russian cruise missiles fired from the Caspian Sea landed in Iran instead of Syria this week.
Ground level: On the scene of controversial Russian strikes in Syria
Russia continues its military operations in Syria.
Oct. 12, 2015 A boy makes his way through rubble at a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the town of al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah in Deraa province. Alaa Al-Faqir/Reuters
Wait 1 second to continue.
But anti-government activists are worried the rebels will eventually capitulate to Russia’s military might. Russia’s defense ministry said Friday it had flown nearly 70 sorties in five of Syria’s 14 provinces overnight.
“They are fighting on [Assad’s] behalf,” Idlib-based Syrian activist Raed Fares said of the Russians in an interview this week. “And to preserve their own ally” in Syria, he said.
Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
Russia’s move into Syria upends U.S. plans
This is Russia’s air power in Syria
Russia declares partial victory in bombing campaign in Syria
Washington and Moscow begin talks about Syria conflict
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WATCH WITH WES
by Wes Singleton
Review: Life, Animated, B
Rated PG, 91 minutes
The captivating, uplifting new documentary "Life, Animated" is a charming story of heroes, sidekicks, and autism, viewed through the lens of Owen Suskind, an autistic man who's had his share of challenges. The inspirational story of Owen, who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films such as "The Lion King," "Aladdin" and "Pinocchio." This emotional coming-of-age story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence. Directed by Oscar-winning short film and documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams ("Music by Prudence," "God Loves Uganda") based on the book of the same name and story by Owen's Dad Ron Suskind, who also appears in the film. The first section deals with Owen's childhood and as he discovers Disney films, with the second half exploring Owen's transition to independence and adulthood as he moves into an apartment on his own not to mention dating. Williams intersperses the first act with family footage, interviews and original drawings and animation to tell Owen's story, though the real charmer is Owen himself, who has watched Disney classics over and over he has memorized the whole movie, every line of dialogue. This helps him to communicate and eventually interact with others, though as he grows into an adult, his parents realize the need for independence, which is fascinating and even humorous on its own. Owen experiences love, loss (his girlfriend breaks up with him) and challenges of being on your own, such as a real job and paying bills. His older brother is happy but understandably worried for him and still looks out for him, and tries to educate him on relationships and sex (Do you know how that works, he asks Owen. Yea, I've seen it I know, he replies), given that Disney films are lacking in that area. On that note, Williams tries to underscore the point that Owen's transition to the real world is different than the fun Disney provides, and there's a time for grown-up things. Still, without being an advertisement for Disney - which in some ways it probably is - there's fun in seeing the Disney clips, and a special appearance from "Aladdin's" Iago himself, Gilbert Gottfried, in person. Some of "Life, Animated" lacks an emotional pull, especially as it gets caught up in the day-to-day details of Owen's independence, but then maybe that's the point. The victories for Owen may seem small to us, but they're huge for him. To quote Iago, Owen is, "on a scale of 1 to 10, an eleven!"
#lifeanimated #owensuskind #rogerrosswilliams #ronsuskind
One Night in Miami -B+
Wes's Top 10 Movies of 2020
Soul -B+
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Southern Copper (SCCO) Hits 52-Week High: What's Driving It?
Zacks Equity Research January 05, 2021
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Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (
SCCO - Free Report) scaled a fresh 52-week high of $68.50 during Dec 4 trading session, before retracting to close at $67.27. The surge can primarily be attributed higher silver and copper prices. Further, the company’s upbeat third-quarter results, expected benefits from cost-reduction programs and expansion projects have contributed to this rally.
The company has a market capitalization of $52 billion. It has an expected long-term earnings per share growth rate of 13.2%.
Over the past year, shares of Southern Copper have gained 61.7%, compared with the industry’s growth of 64.6%. The company has outperformed the Basic Materials sector and S&P 500, which rallied 20.6% and 17.7%, respectively, in the same time frame.
Meanwhile, earnings estimates for 2020 and 2021 have gained 9.3% and 6.7%, respectively, over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings 2020 and 2021 projects growth of 1% and 36%, respectively.
Driving Factors
Solid Q3 Earnings: Southern Copper’s adjusted earnings per share grew 30% year over year to 65 cents in third-quarter 2020, while revenues improved 15% to $2,129 million. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both counts driven by increased sales volumes, and higher silver and copper prices.
Rising Copper & Silver Prices: Copper has been gaining lately on solid demand in China, which is the top consumer, and optimism surrounding coronavirus vaccine. Further, pickup in industrial activity bodes well for both copper and silver given their widespread industrial usage.
Largest Copper Reserves & Lower Costs: Southern Copper has the largest copper reserves in the industry and operates high-quality, world-class assets in investment grade countries, such as Peru and Mexico. Notably, Peru is currently the second largest producer of copper globally and its output has surged 93% over the 2009-2019 time frame. It is expected grow to 245000 tons in 2022, per Trading Economics. It is also worth mentioning that Peru holds 13% of the world’s copper reserves.
Backed by its constant commitment to increase low-cost production and growth investments, the company is well-poised to continue delivering enhanced performance.
Solid Growth Prospects: Southern Copper’s board has approved projects in Peru with a total capital budget of $2.8 billion of which $1.6 billion has already been invested. Including the Michiquillay ($2.5 billion) and Los Chancas ($2. billion) projects, its total investment program in Peru runs to $7.9 billion.
In Mexico, the company has a planned investment of $413 million in the Buenavista Zinc — Sonora project. An investment of $159 million is projected for Pilares — Sonora project in Mexico, which comprises an open pit mine operation with an annual production capacity of 35,000 tons of copper in concentrates. The El Pilar project with an investment of $310 million is expected to be completed in 2023 and will add 35,000 tons of copper annually.
The above-mentioned projects and other investments in Mexico will enhance the company’s Mexican operations’ copper production by 16% and zinc production by 93%. The company has a number of other projects that might be developed in the future, which will help it in achieving copper volume production target of 1.5 million tons by 2028.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Southern Copper currently sports a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Fortescue Metals Group Limited (
FSUGY - Free Report) , BHP Group (
BHP - Free Report) and Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (
IMPUY - Free Report) . All of these stocks currently flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Fortescue has a projected earnings growth rate of 53.6% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have soared 153% in a year.
BHP has an expected earnings growth rate of 43.3% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have gained around 23.6% in the past year.
Impala has an expected earnings growth rate of 131.7% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have surged around 43% in the past year.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>
Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) - free report >>
BHP Group Limited (BHP) - free report >>
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMPUY) - free report >>
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUGY) - free report >>
basic-materials
Semiconductor Market on Growth Trajectory: 4 Strong Buys
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Home Science Geology
Ancient tectonic plate re-discovered beneath California
by Tibi Puiu
in Geology, Research
(c) Brown University
Millions of years ago, an ancient tectonic plate called the Farallon oceanic plate used to sit between the Pacific and North American plates. In time, the plate “disappeared” beneath the North American one, however geologists at Brown University have now found physical surface remnants of the plate under sections of central California and Mexico. The Farallon surface fragments may now explain a seismic anomaly in the region that has eluded scientists for some time.
Though they used to be spaced apart by the Farallon plate, currently the North American and Pacific tectonic plates are joined through a continental transform fault known as the San Andreas fault. In the process the Farallon plate was forced underneath the North American one through subduction, leaving a few small remnants at the surface that became part of the Pacific plate.
Research carried out by Brown University geologists has revealed however that bits of the Farallon plate have remained attached at the surface. Surprisingly part of Mexico’s Baja region as well as a considerable landmass in central California rest upon slabs of this ancient plate.
Oddly enough, close to the region a seismic anomaly has been registered in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Golden State. Dubbed the Isabella anomaly, it suggests that a sizable mass of relatively cool and dehydrated material is present at a depth of 100 to kilometers below the Earth’s surface. This was found after many years ago geologists mapped out the region many miles beneath the earth’s surface by transforming seismic waves that can be fast or slow into actual images. These seismic waves travel at velocities varying according to the materials they encounter.
For some time, geologists have been trying to explain this peculiarity and many theories have been proposed to justify it, like delamination – the breaking of the lithospheric plate under the mountains. High-magnesium andesite deposits on the surface near the eastern edge of the anomaly found by the Brown researchers, often linked to the melting of the oceanic crust, provided evidence, however, that in fact the Farallon plate broke off and melted into the mantle.
This evidence convinced Brown geophysicist Donald Forsyth and his collaborators that the Isabella anomaly might also be part of a slab connected to an unsubducted fragment of the Farallon plate. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, might warrant a new investigation into the ancient plate tectonics of western North America, especially considering the region is extremely seismically active.
“The geometry was the kicker,” Forsyth said. “The way they line up just makes sense.”
“However the Sierra Nevada was delaminated,” Forsyth said, “it’s probably not in the way that many people had been thinking.”
Tags: seismologysubductiontectonic plate
Tibi Puiu
Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines.
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Town budget: Legal costs exceed expectations
News // Town Government
Hayden Turek
Feb. 11, 2016 Updated: June 13, 2019 3:21 p.m.
A recent spike in litigation costs will likely reduce savings town officials expected to realize at the end of the fiscal year.
The fiscal year 2016 budget included $188,000 to cover legal costs. But $176,768 had already been expended by January, leading Chief Financial Officer Anne Kelly-Lenz to forecast $110,000 in legal overspending by the end of the fiscal year.
Kelly-Lenz first gave this mid-fiscal year forecast at the Jan. 19 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. That night, she predicted full fiscal year 2016 operating expenses to come in at $30,858,000, under budget by $331,000.
She attributed these savings to a “reduced need for consulting for labor negotiations, energy savings, delays in filling open positions, and reductions in employee benefit costs.”
The forecast savings, would, however, be offset by $110,000 in overspending, expected to result from “an increased volume of tax appeals, litigation, and FOI requests and appeals,” Kelly-Lenz said on Jan. 19. Anticipated operating savings for fiscal year 2016 were thus reduced to $221,000, not $331,000.
The anticipated legal costs, she told The Bulletin, are “based on open cases and their average costs for the next six months.” Kelly-Lenz estimated $122,000 in costs for the second half of fiscal year 2016.
This was before Sensible Wilton — a group that had been fighting the process that brought about the Miller-Driscoll School renovation — had withdrawn its lawsuit on Jan. 30. Because of that, Kelly-Lenz said, the town may not have to spend as much on litigation as she previously anticipated. The final overage will depend on expenses pertaining to other litigation.
Lawsuits the town of Wilton remains involved with include:
A claim for injury brought by an anonymous “Girl Doe” against the town and school district regarding sexual abuse at Miller-Driscoll School.
A claim for injury brought by Marissa and Christopher Lowthert and their children against the town and school district regarding the air quality at Miller-Driscoll School.
An appeal to overturn a decision made by the Wilton Planning and Zoning Commission brought by William and Eliot Patty against the town and the commission regarding lighting at Middlebrook Field.
There are several pending Freedom of Information Act complaints as well, and an administrative appeal.
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Swimming: Giller, Kealy are national champs as Wahoos win title
J.B. Cozens
Aug. 1, 2016 Updated: June 13, 2019 11:22 a.m.
The Wilton Y Wahoo Swim Team won its first long course national team championship since 2012, with a dominating performance at last week’s 2016 YMCA Long Course National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Wahoos finished with 747 points in the combined men’s and women’s standings, easily beating runner-up Cheshire (Conn.) YMCA by nearly 200 points.
The Wahoo men’s team finished in first place for the fifth year in row with 457 points, beating out runner-up Upper Main Line YMCA (Berwyn, Pa.) by 65 points.
On the women’s side, the Wahoos finished third with 290 points, just four points behind runner-up Countryside Ralph Stolle YMCA (Lebanon, Ohio).
The Wahoos won seven events at the meet, which was held Wednesday through Sunday.
Robby Giller, a rising senior at Wilton High School, was a national champ for the second straight year, taking first place in the 400-meter individual medley. Last year he won the 800-meter freestyle at Y nationals.
Giller also had three other top-five finishes, taking third in both the 1500 and 800 freestyle events, and fifth in the 400 freestyle.
Jake Kealy of Wilton, a rising senior at Fairfield Prep, was the national champ in the 200-meter backstroke, and also placed third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 200 IM.
The Wahoos had two double winners in Ky-lee Perry of Norwalk and Hugo Sykes of Weston, who were the national champs in the women’s and men’s 50- and 100-meter freestyle events, respectively.
Sykes was also second in the 200 backstroke and third in the 200 freestyle, while Perry was also sixth in the 100 butterfly and ninth in the 100 backstroke.
Giller and Sykes were also part of Wilton’s victorious 800 freestyle relay for the second year in a row, and both also swam legs on three other relays that finished in the top five.
In the 800 freestyle relay, the winning Wilton team also featured Will Suchy of Wilton and Lexo Walker of Ridgefield.
The Wahoo men took second in the 200 freestyle relay with Walker, Alex Ignatov of Trumbull, Sykes and Giller; and were third in the 200 medley relay with the team of Kealy, Wesley Fales of New Canaan, Sykes and Giller.
Giller, Sykes, Walker and Erik Ryan of Darien teamed up to place fifth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Walker also finished third in the 200 butterfly and fourth in the 200 freestyle.
Four other Wahoo women had top-eight showings.
Emma Holmquist of Wilton was a finalist in three events, taking third in the 200 breaststroke, seventh in the 400 IM and eighth in the 200 IM.
Catherine Buroker of Trumbull dropped 25 seconds off her seed time in the 1500 freestyle to finish fifth, and also placed seventh in the 800 freestyle.
Bella Gary of Weston took fifth in the 200 breaststroke, and Kiersten Daly of Weston finished sixth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200 IM.
For the men’s team, James Mostofi of Darien finished second in the 200 IM and seventh in the 800 freestyle, while Kevin Santoro of Ridgefield was fifth in the 200 backstroke.
The Wahoo women had two top-eight finishes in the relays. They were second in the women’s 400 freestyle relay with the team of Emma Kauffeld of Wilton, Holmquist, Buroker and Perry; and fourth in the 400 medley relay with the foursome of Katy Saladin of Fairfield, Holmquist, Sophie Hayes of Ridgefield and Perry.
Also swimming at the national championships for the women’s team were Ellen Holmquist, Liela Hastings, Natalie Larsen and Ally Bazarian of Wilton, Brenna McLaughlin of Trumbull, and Victoria Piacentino of North Salem, N.Y.
The men’s team effort also featured Christian Larsen of Wilton, Bexhet Dovolani of Stratford, Joseph Sepuca of Norwalk, Noah Cheruk of Stamford, Tim Joyce of Bethel, Brandon Berger of Weston, Jack Lynch of Ridgefield, and Nick Nonnenmacher of Redding.
Results for Wilton Wahoo swimmers at the meet were:
400 freestyle - 14. Catherine Buroker (4:28.12), 22. Emma Kauffeld (4:32.45), 35. Kiersten Daly (4:38.09), 38. Brenna McLaughlin (4:38.52);
50 butterfly - 70. Victoria Piacentino (31.05), 72. Sophie Hayes (31.12), 95. Ally Bazarian (32.12);
100 breaststroke - 13. Emma Holmquist (1:15.59), 21. Ellen Holmquist (1:16.16), 25. Bella Gary (1:16.3), 48. Liela Hastings (1:18.38);
50 freestyle - 1. Ky-lee Perry (25.87);
800 free relay - 9. Wilton (Emma Holmquist, Catherine Buroker, Ky-lee Perry, Emma Kauffeld), 8:39.15;
200 butterfly - 15. Sophie Hayes (2:23.67), 23. Natalie Larsen (2:26.06), 71. Ally Bazarian (2:36.7), 74. Brenna McLaughlin (2:38.32);
100 freestyle - 1. Ky-lee Perry (56.64), 89. Victoria Piacentino (1:01.92);
200 IM - 7. Kiersten Daly (2:25.0), 8. Emma Holmquist (2:25.16), 20. Ellen Holmquist (2:27.02);
50 backstroke - 53. Katy Saladin (32.41), 64. Ally Bazarian (32.91);
400 free relay - 2. Wilton (Emma Kauffeld, Emma Holmquist, Catherine Buroker, Ky-lee Perry), 3:55.76;
800 freestyle - 7. Catherine Buroker (9:11.89), 11. Emma Kauffeld (9:18.87), 19. Brenna McLaughlin (9:29.9);
100 backstroke - 9. Ky-lee Perry (1:03.74), 30. Katy Saladin (1:07.38), 107. Ally Bazarian (1:10.82);
50 breaststroke - 35. Ellen Holmquist (35.57), 44. Bella Gary (35.88), 66. Liela Hastings (36.84);
400 IM - 6. Kiersten Daly (5:03.51), 7. Emma Holmquist (5:10.2), 20. Bella Gary (5:07.93), 34. Natalie Larsen (5:17.77);
200 freestyle - 17. Catherine Buroker (2:08.08), 38. Emma Kauffeld (2:10.64);
200 medley relay - 21. Wilton (Ky-lee Perry, Emma Holmquist, Sophie Hayes, Catherine Buroker), 2:03.34;
1500 freestyle - 5. Catherine Buroker (17:27.39),12. Emma Kauffeld (17:42.09), 13. Brenna McLaughlin (17:45.89);
200 backstroke - 34. Natalie Larsen (2:26.27), 42. Katy Saladin (2:26.95), 45. Kiersten Daly (2:27.01);
100 butterfly - 6. Ky-lee Perry (1:02.81), 37. Sophie Hayes (1:05.37), 59. Natalie Larsen (1:06.49), 92. Victoria Piacentino (1:08.24);
200 breaststroke - 3. Emma Holmquist (2:38.85), 5. Bella Gary (2:41.54), 31. Liela Hastings (2:47.79), 36. Ellen Holmquist (2:48.56);
400 medley relay - 4. Wilton (Katy Saladin, Emma Holmquist, Sophie Hayes, Ky-lee Perry). 4:24.42;
400 freestyle - 5. Robby Giller (3:59.75), 11. James Mostofi (4:06.41), 15. Lexo Walker (4:08.2), 19. Will Suchy (4:09.92), 23. Alex Ignatov (4:11.67), 24. Tim Joyce (4:12.3), 27. Erik Ryan (4:12.36), 52. Nick Nonnenmacher (4:19.55);
50 butterfly - 27. Christian Larsen (27.24);
100 breaststroke - 16. Noah Cheruk (1:09.29), 17. Wesley Fales (1:08.39), 29. Jack Lynch (1:09.84), 37. Joseph Sepuca (1:10.04), 60. Bexhet Dovolani (1:11.28), 63. Brandon Berger (1:11.43);
50 freestyle - 1. Hugo Sykes (23.53);
800 free relay - 1. Wilton (Robby Giller, Will Suchy, Lexo Walker, Hugo Sykes), 7:42.78;
200 butterfly - 3. Lexo Walker (2:05.9), 15. Erik Ryan (2:10.74), 17. Jack Lynch (2:10.07);
100 freestyle - 1. Hugo Sykes (51.62);
200 IM - 4. Jake Kealy (2:10.56)28. Wesley Fales (2:15.38);
50 backstroke - 44. Kevin Santoro (29.53);
400 free relay - 5. Wilton (Robby Giller, Lexo Walker, Erik Ryan, Hugo Sykes), 3:33.64;
800 freestyle - 3. Robby Giller (8:18.64), 7. James Mostofi (8:29.37), 9. Alex Ignatov (8:31.67), 13. Tim Joyce (8:40.74), 15. Will Suchy (8:42.06), 24. Nick Nonnenmacher (8:54.17);
100 backstroke - 3. Jake Kealy (58.22), 25. Kevin Santoro (1:01.28);
50 breaststroke - 39. Noah Cheruk (32.2),58. Joseph Sepuca (32.8),65. Brandon Berger (32.91),67. Bexhet Dovolani (33.06);
400 IM - 1. Robby Giller (4:26.69), 2. James Mostofi (4:35.8), 24. Kevin Santoro (4:49.56), 29. Wesley Fales (4:50.46);
200 freestyle - 3. Hugo Sykes (1:54.55), 4. Lexo Walker (1:54.98), 18. Will Suchy (1:57.36), 27. Alex Ignatov (1:59.04), 54. Tim Joyce (2:01.63), 56. Nick Nonnenmacher (2:01.67);
200 medley relay - 3. Wilton (Jake Kealy, Wesley Fales, Robby Giller, Hugo Sykes), 1:47.93;
200 free relay - 2. Wilton (Lexo Walker, Alex Ignatov, Hugo Sykes, Robby Giller), 1:36.21;
1500 freestyle - 3. Robby Giller (15:42.97), 9. James Mostofi (16:19.12), 10. Tim Joyce (16:28.35), 12. Alex Ignatov (16:29.85), 21. Will Suchy (16:44.18), 28. Nick Nonnenmacher (17:07.5);
200 backstroke - 1. Jake Kealy (2:04.81), 2. Hugo Sykes (2:07.02), 5. Kevin Santoro (2:08.83);
100 butterfly - 10. Lexo Walker (57.23), 42. Jake Kealy (59.49), 43. Erik Ryan (59.49), 69. Christian Larsen (1:01.07);
200 breaststroke - 12. Wesley Fales (2:27.56), 19. Noah Cheruk (2:30.8), 20. Jack Lynch (2:31.64), 22. Joseph Sepuca (2:31.73), 35. Bexhet Dovolani (2:33.42), 36. Brandon Berger (2:33.92).
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RIP Jana Novotna – The Human Face of Sport
Wimbledon will never forget Jana Novotna, who has died of cancer at the age of 49.
Her tears splashed onto a special page in the tennis history books. They didn’t smudge or stain that page, they only enhanced the beauty of the Wimbledon story.
Those tears left a lasting and touching reminder of something we all too easily forget – that sport is played by vulnerable human beings and not machines.
Jana’s raw emotion added something magical, something truly unique to the ongoing drama that is Wimbledon.
It was the 1993 Wimbledon final, when Novotna was 4-1 up in the third set against the great Steffi Graf. The Czech star seemed to see the finishing line and suddenly freeze. Ruthlessly, the German seized her chance to recover and triumphed 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4.
As the Duchess of Kent gave Jana the loser’s trophy, she burst into tears and the royal gave her a shoulder to cry on. It was an extraordinary moment. British royalty comforting a woman who had let her dream slip away in front of millions.
Novotna soon realised the significance of these scenes. When she saw the newspapers the following day, she saw her own picture on the front page, not Graf’s.
Looking back, she said: ‘For a moment it felt like I was the winner and that was a great feeling. I still have the newspapers, they’re beautiful pictures and I think it showed the human side of professional tennis.’
People remembered Novotna’s defeat more than her victory in the 1998 Wimbledon final. Yes, Jana was a champion singles star who bounced back and did eventually achieve that dream. She also achieved a Career Slam in the doubles. She was some player.
Above all, Jana Novotna was a warm and emotional human being, whose life has ended too early. She captured all our hearts on Centre Court – and she will always be loved for that and much more. May she rest in peace.
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Home Profile Company Profile: ACCIONA Windpower
Company Profile: ACCIONA Windpower
With more than 15 years of experience in the global wind industry, this company is making a significant investment in the North American market as well.
Russ Willcutt
As part of a company founded more than 160 years ago, and today a leader in manufacturing cutting-edge turbines, ACCIONA Windpower is firmly rooted in the past with an eye trained toward the future. And with years of experience in the global wind industry, the company is sharing that expertise with the North-American market.
“We wanted to be involved in the largest wind market there is, and that’s here in the United States,” according to Joe Baker, CEO of ACCIONA Windpower, “so in 2007 we established our third turbine assembly plant in West Branch, Iowa, with the other two located in Spain.”
ACCIONA is comprised of three divisions: ACCIONA Infrastructures, which was founded in Pamplona, Spain, in 1850; ACCIONA Agua, targeting water treatment and desalination; and ACCIONA Energy, which is involved in hydro, solar, and wind-farm development, construction, and operations. Housed within this division, ACCIONA Windpower designs and manufactures 1.5 and 3MW turbines for both its parent company and third-party clients. This depth and variety of corporate resources often leads to unexpected innovations.
The first and most apparent example has to do with Windpower’s position within the larger Energy division, with its vast experience in the “develop-build-operate” business model, as opposed selling the wind farms it builds to another operator. “This field experience as a utility is what led to the decision to begin designing and manufacturing our own turbines,” Baker says, “because we were familiar with the turbines in operation at that time and felt we could do better. That’s also an advantage when we’re approaching new clients, because they know we’ve been in their shoes and understand their concerns and the challenges they face every day.”
Another benefit of this internal synergy is that it leads to fresh ideas such as the concrete towers for which ACCIONA Windpower is known. “The Infrastructure division is involved in huge construction projects all around the world, such as the Petronus Towers in Malaysia, the Ting Kay Bridge in China, and the Central Coastal Road Network in Chile, so they pour a lot of concrete. It was during a conversation with members of this division that the idea to build concrete towers for our wind turbines was born. These towers can be formed on site, which eliminates shipping time and costs while at the same time allowing us to contribute to the local economy by purchasing our materials from community businesses and putting them to work for the duration of the project.”
ACCIONA Energy-North America (AENA) also paved the way for ACCIONA Windpower to enter the market by first establishing itself as an operating utility in the States as plans to build the assembly plant proceeded. With a solar farm in Nevada and four wind farms completed and in operation—EcoGrove in Illinois, Red Hills in Oklahoma, Tatanka in North and South Dakota, and Velva in North Dakota—the company’s St. Lawrence Wind Farm in New York State and Dempsey Ridge in Oklahoma are currently in development. Acciona Windpower also has projects in the works. The AW-3000 3MW turbine is undergoing testing for ANSI certification and is drawing a great deal of attention. Already being quoted, the AW-3000 will be available in early 2012. And its AW-1500 1.5MW turbine is one of the most rugged and dependable turbines in the world, with three configurations and less than a 1-percent failure rate on major components.
Active in Spain, Australia, Poland, and seeking to establish itself in South Africa and Brazil, ACCIONA Windpower is poised for growth in North America, with its physical presence standing as proof of its commitment. “We didn’t make this decision lightly,” Baker says. “Years of planning went into where we would locate our facility, and we’re already working toward building a domestic supply chain, which will help grow existing businesses and even help draw new ones to the area. We are also involved in a consortium of international wind-energy companies to discuss the future of the industry, because you simply can’t afford to remain static in such a vibrant, innovative market. It is our goal to help establish wind as an ever-growing component of North America’s renewable energy portfolio.”
To learn more:
Go online to www.acciona-na.com.
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WMM Blog
Get the lastest news on WMM films, festivals and more.
CODED BIAS Opens in Theaters Nationwide
Listed among "the best of Sundance" and predicted by Variety to be an Oscar contender, CODED BIAS, which was made with the support of WMM's Production Assistance Program, premiered theatrically at the Metrograph on November 11. The film will open nationwide -- including in Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and across the country -- starting November 18.
WMM Filmmakers Recognized at Critics Choice Documentary Awards
Congratulations to Melissa Haizlip for winning Best First Documentary Feature for MR. SOUL!, made with the support of WMM’s Production Assistance (PA) Program, and to PA Program alum Kirsten Johnson for winning Best Director and Best Documentary Feature for her new film DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD in the 2020 Critics Choice Documentary Awards!
WMM Films Win Awards at LAAPFF and SDAFF!
Congratulations to Ursula Liang and her team for winning the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) and the Audience Award at San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) for DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL, made with the support of WMM’s Production Assistance (PA) Program, and to WMM filmmaker Ramona Diaz for winning a Global Impact Award at LAAPFF for her new film A THOUSAND…
Q&A with Filmmaker Shola Lynch, Hosted by NYWIFT in Partnership with IDA
On Monday, October 26, 2020, New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) in partnership with the International Documentary Association (IDA) and with support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) hosted a Q&A with filmmaker Shola Lynch about her film CHISHOLM ’72: UNBOUGHT & UNBOSSED, a WMM release. Watch here.
Representing the “the best of the best of a remarkably fruitful moment for documentary filmmaking,” four WMM filmmakers, past and present, have been nominated for 2020 Critics Choice Documentary Awards: WMM-release CODED BIAS (Dir. Shalini Kantayya) has been nominated for Best Science/Nature Documentary. Called “a chilling plunge into Orwellian reality” by HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, CODED BIAS...
WMM filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin Wins the Glenn Gould Prize
Canadian WMM filmmaker of Abenaki descent Alanis Obomsawin has been awarded the $100,000 Glenn Gould Prize in recognition of Obomsawin’s passionate advocacy for Indigenous people in filmmaking. She has directed more than fifty films about First Nations culture and history for the National Film Board of Canada on a wide array of topics.
Two WMM Filmmakers Receive Awards from NYWIFT at the Hamptons International Film Festival
Written by Isabelle Titcomb Two WMM filmmakers were recently awarded New York Women in Film & Television distinctions at the Hamptons International Film Festival, which honor outstanding female filmmakers “who ha[ve] demonstrated exceptional artistic vision and dedication to their craft.” Ekwa Msangi, director of Production Assistance Program film FAREWELL AMOR, was honored with the New...
WMM Filmmaker Heather Rae Partners With Endeavor to Increase the Presence of Indigenous People in Filmmaking
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Ulrike Ottinger Retrospective Hosted by The Metrograph NYC
The Metrograph Cinema in New York City is currently hosting a virtual retrospective of films by legendary German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger. Don’t miss your chance to view these classic films.
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qanon 2020 election joe biden donald trump florida castro cubans florida cubans conspiracy theories
Florida Latinos Getting Hit Over Head With QAnon-sense
Robyn Pennacchia
Throughout the pandemic, disinformation has spread faster than the wildfires overtaking the west coast. It's been constant, it's been everywhere, and it's been in places we did not expect to see it. There are people everywhere, people of all political stripes, even, repeating QAnon-derived talking points without even knowing that that's what they are, or what QAnon even is.
It should come as no surprise that English is not the only language in which this is spreading.
A report from Politico outlines the extent to which it has been spreading in Spanish, in Florida, through Spanish-language media and through WhatsApp chats — and the extent to which it is hurting Joe Biden's chances in that crucial swing state. Conspiracies about George Soros, about Black Lives Matter, about Black people and Jewish people in general, and about Joe Biden being a pedophile abound.
"The onslaught has had an effect," said Eduardo Gamarra, a pollster and director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum at Florida International University.
"It's difficult to measure the effect exactly, but the polling sort of shows it and in focus groups it shows up, with people deeply questioning the Democrats, and referring to the 'Deep State' in particular — that there's a real conspiracy against the president from the inside," he said. "There's a strain in our political culture that's accustomed to conspiracy theories, a culture that's accustomed to coup d'etats."
Republicans have been particularly successful in using WhatsApp to spread their nonsense, because a lot of Latinx immigrants use it to keep in touch with family members abroad.
In South Florida, veteran Latino Democratic strategist Evelyn Perez-Verdia noticed this summer that the WhatsApp groups dedicated to updates on the pandemic and news for the Colombian and Venezuelan communities became intermittently interspersed with conspiracy theories from videos of far-right commentators or news clips from new Spanish-language sites, like Noticias 24 and PanAm Post, and the YouTube-based Informativo G24 website.
"I've never seen this level of disinformation, conspiracy theories and lies," Perez-Verdia, who is of Colombian descent, said. "It looks as if it has to be coordinated."
Bullshit is also being spread on YouTube:
On Informativo G24, long-time Colombian news anchor Sandra Valencia brings on guests via webcam for discussions about Latin America and U.S. politics with analysis that often relies on conspiracy theories, such as how Black Lives Matter and other activist groups are planning a "siege" on the White House later this month. The site does not detail who funds it, but asks supporters to donate to a PayPal account registered to Valencia.
Valencia bills her Spanish-language YouTube page, which has more than 378,000 followers, as a channel for geopolitical analysis. But it often resembles English-language right-wing news sources, such as Infowars, sharing conspiracy theories and strong anti-globalization messages.
I'm not clear on how "anti-globalization" messages would be classified as right-wing (they may mean something else), but the conspiracy theories sure are. And, apparently, there's not much pushback on them available in Spanish-language media.
Some of the disinformation discussed on Informativo G24 has been led by Omar Bula-Escobar, a former United Nations representative and Colombian geopolitical analyst, who in recent years has become a frequent guest on various Latin American radio and television news shows to talk about globalization. Bula-Escobar, who's also a frequent guest on Miami-based Radio Caracol — which is one of Colombia's main radio networks and widely respected throughout Latin America — has gained an increasing amount of notoriety for pushing the claim, often seen as anti-Semitic, that billionaire George Soros is "the world's biggest puppet master" and is the face of the American Democratic Party.
"Who's going to celebrate the day, God forbid, Trump loses? Cuba; ISIS, which Trump ended; Hezbollah, which Obama gave the greenlight to enter Latin America; Iran; China… All the filth of the planet is against Donald Trump. So, if you want to be part of the filth, then go with the filth," Bula-Escobar said in a recent episode of Informativo G24.
Remember that one week toward the end of the primary where it was all "Bernie loves Fidel Castro and if he wins the primary we'll lose Florida because Cubans!" all of the time? I cannot tell you how many times I saw people tweeting that week, "Well, they can't say Joe Biden loves Fidel Castro!"
I hope that it is clear now that, yes, they can say that. They can say any damn thing they want, and they can convince other people that it is true.
They can even claim he is a pedophile, because the cool new thing on the Right is claiming that everyone who disagrees with them is a pedophile.
In June, Noticias 24, a Venezuela-focused news site that has a large following in Latin America, amplified disinformation with a story bearing the headline "social networks also accuse Joe Biden of being a pedophile." A month later, when the lie resurfaced, "#BidenPedofilio" trended in Spain.
On Facebook, a Puerto Rican-born pastor Melvin Moya has circulated a video titled "Signs of pedophilia" with doctored videos of Biden inappropriately touching girls at various public ceremonies to a song in the background that says "I sniffed a girl and I liked it." The fake video posted on Sept. 1 has received more than 33,000 likes and 2,400 comments.
The QAnon stuff? Yep, that's there too.
Conspiracy theories — especially revolving around QAnon, which posits that Trump is fighting a global cabal of Satanic pedophiles — are spreading across Spanish-language radio in Miami as well, said Roberto Tejera, a political independent who has a show on Actualidad Radio. Tejera said QAnon is a constant on another station, La Poderosa, whose station management also did not respond to messages seeking comment.
"It's not right-wing. I don't have a problem with right-wing stuff. It's QAnon stuff. This is conspiracy theory. This goes beyond. This is new. This is a new phenomenon in Spanish speaking radio. We Cubans are not normal," Tejera laughed, "but this is new. This is crazy. This is f---ing crazy."
It is, indeed, fucking crazy, but it's not Cubans in particular that are not normal. This shit is everywhere, and it's probably not going away. At least not for a good long while.
I am telling you, this is all so, so much more pervasive than you might think. These conspiracies could very well tip the election for Trump, and I will not be surprised if they do.
[Politico]
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Robyn Pennacchia is a brilliant, fabulously talented and visually stunning angel of a human being, who shrugged off what she is pretty sure would have been a Tony Award-winning career in musical theater in order to write about stuff on the internet. Follow her on Twitter at @RobynElyse
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Captain Metropolis
Comics DC Universe Other DC Universe corners Watchmen continuity
Captain Metropolis is part of the backstory of the landmark Watchmen graphic novel.
Specifically, he’s part of the 1940s group of costumed adventurers that created the precedent for the Watchmen, and set certain events in motion.
Real Name: Nelson “Nelly” Gardner.
Marital Status: Single (“Confirmed Bachelor”).
Known Relatives: Albert and Matilda Gardner (Parents, Matilda Still alive as of 1966), Frieda (Aunt).
Group Affiliation: The Minutemen.
Base Of Operations: New York.
Height: 5’10″ Weight: 180lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond
Gardner used his experience as a former Marine in his superheroic career.
Born in 1912, Nelson Gardner was a somewhat sickly child. As such he often found himself the butt of other children’s jokes. After graduating from college, he joined the United States Marine Corps, to prove his manhood and served admirably, eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant.
After his honorable discharge, he became an independent security consultant and moved from Straw Valley, Michigan to New York. There he joined the ranks of costumed adventurers after reading of the exploits of his predecessors.
As Captain Metropolis, Gardner set out to prove the supremacy of strategy. He adopted military tactics, techniques, and organization into his war on crime. In 1939, he and Sally Jupiter (aka the Silk Spectre) became the founding members of the Minutemen.
Gardner apparently began his relationship with the Hooded Justice shorty after founding the Minutemen. In order to conceal it from the public, the Minutemen’s agent Laurence Schexnayder had Silk Spectre pose as Justice’s girlfriend.
With the advent of World War II, Gardner was recalled to active duty with the Marines. In spite of the length and apparent high quality of his service, he doesn’t appear to have received a promotion at any point. After the war, he and the other drafted members rejoined the Minutemen.
In 1948 he got into a fistfight with his fellow crimefighter Mothman when he made some racist remarks after a black cabbie splashed mud on his uniform. Once the police broke it up, the pair appear to have reconciled quickly.
In 1949, Captain Metropolis formally disbanded the Minutemen, but continued to work as a solo hero.
In 1954, during the HUAC hearings, the former Minutemen were called upon to reveal their secret identities to a representative. Gardner complied and passed.
At one point, in the 50’s or 60’s he went on record as making racist statements against Hispanic- and African-Americans, which only served to fan the flames of the public’s growing distaste toward superheroes.
Crimebusters
In 1966 Gardner attempted to found another hero group, known as the Crimebusters, with the heroes currently active in New York. The group, however, didn’t make it past their first meeting. The Comedian pointed out how useless a superhero group was in a world that could be wiped out by nuclear weaponry at any time.
The others agreed that the days of groups like the Minutemen were over. They left, deaf to Metropolis’ despairing pleas.
(In the DC Heroes Who Watches the Watchmen module, Captain Metropolis attempted to force the group to come together after this meeting by secretly arranging to have their friends and loved ones (including his own mother) kidnapped, and then led the heroes in “investigating” the incidents.)
(If this is considered canon, all the victims were rescued, the Crimebusters *still* didn’t form, and Metropolis apparently got off scot-free.)
Death and legacy
Gardner remained active longer than any of the other Minutemen, save The Comedian. While still active, he was decapitated in an auto accident in 1974.
However, there is an interesting theory, based off of a single panel within the comic, that the Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis faked their deaths, so that they could live in anonymity. If that’s the case, then they probably both died in Ozymandias’ fake alien invasion. The theory is outlined here .
Nelson Gardner was a tall blond man in good shape, with chiseled features and a lantern jaw. He gained a considerable amount of weight in his later years, in spite of keeping a strict exercise regimen.
Captain Metropolis’ costume consists of a red jacket with a winged “M” emblem on the front, a red mask which leaves his mouth and the top of his head exposed, brown jodhpurs with red stripes on the sides and a brown belt, yellow gloves, dark brown boots, and a blue cape.
In spite of his successful military service and tenure as a superhero, Gardner was an extremely insecure and uncertain person. While with the Minutemen, he had the almost constant delusion that the other members of his group were snickering behind his back. He spent a great deal of effort trying to win their respect, even though he already got on well with all of them.
Due to his insecurity, Metropolis seems to have been quite uncomfortable when dealing with other people or the press. He tended to be timid, weak-willed, and ineffectual.
In spite of being a polite and fairly likable person, if rather reserved, Gardner was also extremely old-fashioned. He was conservative to the point of being hidebound. One of the reasons he wished to form the Crimebusters was to combat social ills such as “black unrest”, “promiscuity”, and “anti-war demonstrations”. He also made racist remarks.
Unlike with Hooded Justice, there doesn’t appear to have been any genuine malice behind this racism. He simply grew up in a far less tolerant time and place, and his racist attitudes underscored the fact that he was a pathetic, aging relic in a world that was changing too fast for him to handle.
It can probably be inferred, given his obsession with “proving his manhood” and his old-fashioned ways, that Gardner was ashamed of his homosexuality. Though he seems to have been wholly in love with Hooded Justice, he certainly wasn’t into the rough stuff his lover liked, and Justice apparently cheated on him quite a bit with younger men who were.
The two had a habit of bickering like an old married couple in public, which nearly blew their cover on several occasions. It’s uncertain how he reacted to the reacted to the disappearance of his lover in 1955, or to the death of Rolf Muller (if that is indeed who Justice was).
Sally Jupiter: “Well, as for me, what I achieved, I’m sitting in it [her house], and as for what I achieved it with, I’m sitting *on* it !” *Laughs*
Nelson Gardner (Blushing uncomfortably): “Aheh, Sally, really….”
Comedian: “This whole ‘Crimebusters’ schtick, it stinks. What it *is*, Nelly, is that you’re gettin’ old and you want to go on playin’ ‘Cowboys and Indians’ !”
Captain Metropolis: “Th-that isn’t true…”
(As the Crimebusters meeting breaks up.)
“Please ! Don’t all *leave*… Somebody has to do it, don’t you see ? *Somebody* has to save the world…”
The early parts of Gardner’s life would probably be essentially the same. But rather than moving to New York, he chose to hang his shingle in Metropolis, becoming the city’s first superhero.
As in Watchmen he founded the Minutemen, who briefly disbanded in World War II. Those members who weren’t drafted or reinstated into the military joined the All-Star Squadron. Though the group re-formed after the war, things weren’t the same, and they broke up for good in 1949.
Gardner sailed through the HUAC hearings that had ended the JSA and continued his heroic activities into the 1960s. Due to the proliferation of costumed heroes in the DCU, he was able to find enough like-minded individuals to successfully form the Crimebusters in 1966.
Though the ultra-conservative group enjoyed a mild degree of popularity at first, the public turned on them after they used excessive force to break up a civil rights demonstration, and the group was forced to disband after only four years, in the face of widespread derision and government disapproval.
Captain Metropolis continued to serve as a superhero until his death.
Though he had no children, his nephew Guy Gardner, viewing him through the eyes of a child, idolized him as an example of a real man (as opposed to his abusive father). Guy sought to emulate his ideals of conservatism and manhood. To this day, Guy remains unaware of the insecurity that haunted his uncle, and even unwitting of his uncle’s sexual orientation.
While Guy Gardner was in space performing missions for the Guardians of Oa, Lex Luthor was able to take control of the rights to the name “Captain Metropolis”. He gave it to one of the members of his version of Infinity Inc., a teenager who had gained supersonic flight and super-strength from the Everyman Project.
Although Guy resented this at first, he found the kid to be quite brave and likable, eventually deeming him worthy of upholding his uncle’s legacy.
The new Captain Metropolis survived being de-powered by Luthor, but as yet has manifested no new powers, as some Everyman subjects have.
Dex: 04 Str: 04 Bod: 04 Motivation: Upholding the Good
Int: 04 Wil: 04 Min: 04 Occupation: Independent Security Consultant
Detective (all but Law): 04, Martial Artist: 05, Medicine (First Aid): 03, Military Science: 04, Vehicles (Air, Land, Water): 03, Weaponry: 04
Expansive Headquarters, Intensive Training, Local Hero (New York).
Military (Low), Minutemen (High), New York-based heroes (Low), NYPD (Low), Street (Low).
Age (Old, Post-1962 only), Dark Secret (Homosexual relationship with Hooded Justice), MIA (Hidebound), Secret Identity, Uncertainty.
Handcuffs (x4) [BODY 05].
.38 special [BODY 04 Projectile weapons: 04, Ammo: 06, R#02, Drawback: Long reload time].
Minutemen Communicator [BODY 03 Radio Communication: 07].
Although Captain Metropolis’ background calls certain subskills of Military Science and Detective into question, his focus on strategy makes it likely that he picked up said skills on his own initiative.
By Civanfan (v.1.0 by Ray Winninger.)
Helper(s): Niles Calder, Roy Cowan, capita_senyera, Michael Davis.
Source of Character: “Watchmen” Graphic Novel, the “Who Watches the Watchmen” module by Dan Greenburg, the “Watchmen Sourcebook” and “Taking out the Trash” module by Ray Winninger (from which I cribbed most of the History and stats, though I disagreed with a few.)
Watchmen absolute edition
DC Heroes Watchmen modules and sourcebook
Maverick Iress
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Australian report highlights collapse of union membership
Oscar Grenfell
Figures released last week by research agency Roy Morgan, revealing record low membership rates, have highlighted the gulf that exists between the trade unions and the working class.
Having worked hand in glove with big business and governments to enforce the destruction of jobs, wages and working conditions over the past three decades, the unions have become bureaucratic shells viewed with hostility and suspicion by millions of workers.
Based on a survey of 50,000 workers across occupational, age and wealth brackets, conducted in September 2016, the report estimates that national union membership stands at around 17.4 percent. This is the lowest result since the research firm began collecting union membership data in 1998.
The figure is higher than the 15 percent recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last year, a fact that some analysts have attributed to the smaller sample size of the Morgan survey.
The results provide a glimpse of the class character of the unions. While they are fraudulently touted as “workers’ organisations” by various pseudo-left groups, the unions have virtually no membership base among the most impoverished sections of the working class and young workers.
The highest density of union membership, at 25.8 percent, is the second wealthiest fifth (quintile) of the working population, with an annual income of between $80,000 and $99,000. Individuals in public administration and defence are 65 percent more likely to be union members than the average working population.
The finding tallied with ABS data from last year, which found that just 11 percent of workers employed in the private sector are in a union. Among construction workers, Roy Morgan reported that the unionisation rate is only 11.5 percent. The figure is 9.7 percent for farm, forestry and gardening workers.
Membership was lowest among the poorest workers, with just 12.9 percent in the lowest quintile surveyed—those with an income between $20,000 and $39,000—and 14.2 percent in the quintile with the second lowest income. This indicates that the unions view with disinterest the plight of the most exploited sections of the working class.
Among most young people, union membership is a thing of the past. Just 6.9 percent of workers under the age of 25 belonged to a union, while the ratio was 12.3 percent among those aged 25–34.
Young people have borne the brunt of the destruction of full-time work by the employers. Hundreds of thousands of youth have been consigned to low-paid, insecure work with poverty-level wages, no entitlements and the constant threat of unemployment. These conditions are spreading throughout the entire workforce, with rates of part-time, casual and contract work soaring to more than 40 percent.
The unions have directly enforced the destruction of the pay and conditions of young workers. Last year, for instance, it was revealed that the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association had signed secret deals with major fast food corporations, clearing the way for the underpayment of up to 250,000 workers—as much as $300 million a year collectively—compared to the mandated award rate.
The state with the lowest proportion of union membership was South Australia, with just 14.9 percent of the working population belonging to a union. The figure was substantially down on the 24.6 percent recorded in 2012.
South Australia’s Public Sector Association general secretary Nev Kitchin summed up the union bureaucracy’s contempt for the working class. Responding to the data, he declared: “We’ve been really good at building up the best working conditions anywhere in the world, so you now have a generation of people who are apathetic and don’t recognise the hard work that went on to gain them.”
In reality, South Australia has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. The unions have collaborated with the major employers in the destruction of large swathes of industry and manufacturing, leaving working-class areas with joblessness of a depression-era magnitude. Officially, the state’s unemployment rate stands at 6.5 percent. But in Elizabeth, in northern Adelaide, where General Motors is shutting its assembly plant this year, joblessness is already at a staggering 33 percent.
The decline in membership rates is one expression of the complete corporatisation of the unions, which function as an industrial police force. They represent a wealthy, upper middle-class officialdom whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the workers they falsely claim to represent.
The unions derive the bulk of their income, not from membership dues, but various parasitic financial arrangements, including control of massive superannuation funds. The royal commission into union corruption in 2015 documented numerous cases of the unions funnelling workers’ compensation monies into financial investment vehicles, establishing bogus union-controlled charities and health and safety companies which solicit donations from big business, and striking countless backroom deals with employers.
Many of those counted as union members may have little choice. In a number of cases detailed by the royal commission, companies paid the union membership dues of their employees. Some workers were not even aware they were members of the union, but were subjected to union-company deals to slash wages and conditions below award rates. The unions, including the Australian Workers Union, formerly headed by Labor Party leader Bill Shorten, also use their fictitious membership numbers to boost their factional weight in the Labor Party.
The decline in union membership is an historic shift, bound up with their transformation into direct agencies of the corporate and financial elite, amid the unprecedented integration of global production. Unions once sought limited concessions for their members, within the framework of wage exploitation, under conditions of a nationally-protected economy. During the 1950s, around 60 percent of workers were union members.
The sharp decline in membership began during the 1980s, as the unions signed a series of Accords with the Hawke and Keating Labor governments to drive down wages and conditions, and eliminate thousands of jobs, in response to globalisation and the demands of business that Australia be “internationally competitive.”
Summarising the decline in union membership in an entire generation of workers, an ABS report in 2008 noted: “In 1986, almost half (48 percent) of those employees born in the 1950s, and then aged 25–34 years, were union members. Ten years later the unionisation rate of this cohort, then aged 35–44 years, had fallen to 36 percent, and a further decade later it was 28 percent (26 percent in 2007).”
Now, amid a deep-going crisis of Australian and world capitalism, the unions are enforcing the demands of the corporate elite backed by governments for unprecedented cuts to real wages, the destruction of what remains of hard-earned conditions and the axing of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Only through the establishment of new organisations of struggle, including rank-and-file committees completely independent of the unions, and a new political perspective based on the struggle for a workers’ government and socialist policies can workers unify and fight back against this company-union offensive.
AustraliaAsia and the Pacific
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Investigative Features
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What happens when all 21 storm names are used before the Atlantic hurricane season ends?
By: Veronica Beltran
Posted at 2:51 PM, Sep 18, 2020
TAMPA, Fla. — It's a known fact that the Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30. But do you know what happens when all the storm names the National Hurricane Center released at the beginning of the season are used before the season has ended?
RECOMMENDED: Hurricane names for the 2020 season
If you answered "yes," pat yourself on the back. If you answered "no," don't worry, you're not alone and keep reading for your "something new learned today."
According to the National Hurricane Center, once all 21 names, which are established by an international committee of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), have been used, "additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet."
"This naming convention has been established by the World Meteorological Organization Tropical Cyclone Programme," the NHC states on their website.
The only time the Greek alphabet has been used for storm names was during the historic 2005 hurricane season, which had 28 named storms, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
According to the WMO, "the National Hurricane Center had to use the Greek alphabet to name a tropical cyclone when the record-breaking Alpha formed" in October 2005. The other Greek alphabet names used that year were Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta.
So let's break it down for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
As of publication, this hurricane season has had 17 named storms, including Hurricanes Hanna, Isaias, Laura, Marco and Nana. That means we are only a few storms away from reaching the final name, Wilfred. If a storm were to form after Wilfred, it would be named Alpha, the next one would be Beta and so on.
And there you have it, today's lesson on what happens when all storm names are used before the end of hurricane season.
As we continue through this hurricane season, remember what Chief Meteorologist Denis Phillips always says, "Rule #7 — Don't freak out!"
To learn more about the naming history of storms, including which names have been retired, click here.
A Twitter List by abc27
WTXLABC27
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Yachting Partners International turns 45 years old
October 9, 2017 7700
Founded by Alex Braden and Mike Everton-Jones in 1972, Yachting Partners International has grown over the past 45 years to become a key player in the yachting scene. We now look back at its rich history that saw it become what it is today.
From its foundation, YPI was meant as a partnership with its founders instilling a collaborative mindset, viewing both internal colleagues and other brokerage houses as collaborators. An approach that worked and saw clients coming back and back again.
We always had the idea that we should become an international company, a company with no borders, and that business could be successful and profitable while also being honest and caring.
Alex Braden, co-founder, Yachting Partners International
First launched in Brighton in 1972, saw the first yacht built under its management launched in 1982, the 48-meter Picchiotti Sara Blue. Around the same time, the brokerage firm opened its first French office in Antibes.
As time went on, YPI kept thriving, launching YPI Crew in 2002 to expand its service offering and opening its Monaco office in 2005. Three years later, YPI became part of the 160-year-old BRS Shipbroking Group that ultimately bought out the company in 2013.
Braden's vision for an international company was realised, now taking the form of an organisation with a worldwide presence and a multicultural team. As Asia continues to grow as a segment in yachting, YPI is also an important part of this area with an office in Hong Kong and the company's CEO, Laurent Debart, having lived for 20 years in China.
As one of the 3 oldest yacht brokerage companies and the only one connected to a shipbroking company, our experience continues to set our service apart. YPI in 2017 is looking ahead, embracing an exciting new phase for the company and finding new ways to use our experience to shape the superyacht stories of the next generation.
Laurent Debart, CEO, Yachting Partners International
Hylas Yachts Hosting the Yacht Show in Florida
Hylas Yachts had a gratifying year in 2020, despite many challenges, as several new models touched the water for the first time and have been delivered to their owners. The shipyard decided that it's time to show the new yachts to the wider Hylas community.Hylas H57The company is going to host an exclusive yacht show on Friday, January the 22nd, and Saturday, January the 23rd at the brand new Hylas Yachts and David Walters Yachts sales and service center located just south of Fort Lauderdale at Harbour Towne Marina in Dania Beach, Florida.The event's program includes private walk-throughs of every new Hylas model and meeting with the family behind Hylas Yachts. Then, Friday evening, the Grand Opening of the new Hylas Sales and Service center will be celebrated."The highlight of this year’s event will be the unveiling of the brand new Hylas H57," said Hylas director Peggy Huang.This exciting new model, designed by Bill Dixon, has just arrived from the yard, making this event the first time the yacht will be on display to the public. Hylas H60Also on the dock will be the 2019 winner of Boat of the Year and Best Boat awards – the Hylas H48 – and the Hylas H60, which was the 2021 Boat of the Year for Best Luxury Cruiser. This is the first time that the entire fleet of new Hylas Sailing Yachts will be on display together.For those who are unable to travel to the event, Hylas Yachts plans to arrange a virtual walk-through and live tour of each of the Hylas models.Credits: Hylas Yachts
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Hartsburg, Illinois
Hartsburg is a village in Logan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 314 at the 2010 census.
Location of Hartsburg in Logan County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 40°15′4″N 89°26′27″W
0.14 sq mi (0.36 km2)
UTC-6 (CST)
ZIP Code(s)
Hartsburg is located at 40°15′4″N 89°26′27″W (40.251193, -89.440723).[3]
According to the 2010 census, Hartsburg has a total area of 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2), all land.[4]
Per the 2010 United States Census, Hartsburg had 314 people. Among non-Hispanics this includes 300 White (95.5%) & 5 from two or more races. The Hispanic or Latino population included 9 people (2.9%).
There were 128 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with children & no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 28.9% had someone who was 65 years of age or older.
The population was spread out with 77.4% over the age of 18 and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. The gender ratio was 48.1% male & 51.9% female. Among 128 occupied households, 82.8% were owner-occupied & 17.8% were renter-occupied.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 358 people, 132 households, and 99 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,465.7 people per square mile (921.5/km²). There were 141 housing units at an average density of 971.1 per square mile (362.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.72% White and 0.28% Native American.
There were 132 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the village, the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,000, and the median income for a family was $39,750. Males had a median income of $31,538 versus $19,125 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,057. About 6.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.
1880 188 —
1890 269 43.1%
1900 269 0.0%
1920 332 −5.1%
1940 269 −15.4%
Est. 2016 310 [2] −1.3%
Decennial US Census
"2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jun 29, 2017.
"Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
"US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
"G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
"American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
Municipalities and communities of Logan County, Illinois, United States
County seat: Lincoln
Mount Pulaski
San Jose‡
East Lincoln
Hurlbut
Laenna
Lake Fork
Orvil
Beason
Cornland
Bakerville
Burtonview
Croft‡
Mount Fulcher
Mountjoy
Illinois portal United States portal
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2019 Cybersecurity & Tech Trend Predictions
2019 Cybersecurity & Tech Trend…
Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes
A Brief Look Back at 2018
Cybersecurity & Tech Predictions for 2019
Increased Demand for “Serverless”, FaaS, and Cloud Provider Security
“Zero Trust” & “Post Perimeter” Gain Ground
Yes. Even More Data Breaches.
Human Error Will Continue to be the Primary Cause of System Intrusions and Data Breaches.
Phishing Continues to Evolve, But Reigns Supreme.
Regulation For All. Fake News, Data Privacy, and Other Concerns.
But, It’s My Right… As a Smart Assistant.
The Ad Tech Industry’s Continued Lip Service to Ad Fraud Prevention
IoT Security in the Home Remains Elusive.
2018 has been a wild year for technology and the internet. The year kicked off with the announcement that the industry-leader, Intel, had major security flaws (Meltdown & Spectre) in their chip architecture. As we now know, the performance boosts from speculative execution—also enjoyed by most of the industry—have some significant security pitfalls. Pitfalls we’ll be coping with for the next several years thanks to years-long product development cycles.
That’s just the beginning. In February, GitHub was hit with the most powerful DDoS attack to date. Peaking at over 1.35 terabits per second, the ante has been upped. Malicious cryptocurrency mining overtook ransomware as the de facto malware threat in terms of prevalence—while mobile phishing continues to evolve as one of the most effective attack methods.
“According to a Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 30% of phishing messages are opened by targeted users—and 12% of those users click on the malicious attachment or link.”
Source: Verizon Data Breach Investigations – blog.dashlane.com
It was also another long year of data breaches. Though, thanks to the implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May, businesses and enterprises have begun responsibly disclosing breaches—if only to avoid the hefty fines associated with non-compliance or covering them up. The list goes on and on. IoT security vulnerabilities, new & growing botnets, router vulnerabilities, we’ll just stop there.
Through all of this, there’s an ongoing skills shortage for cybersecurity professionals. We just simply cannot keep up with the rapid rate of change. In September of 2017, the International Info System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) projected a shortfall of 1.8 million cybersecurity workers by 2022 (reported by CSO). A short year later, the ISC2 estimates that we’ve already surpassed that number, at that the shortage is already nearing 3 million. As a society—individuals, businesses, and even government bodies, are simply not equipped to properly defend against the current threat climate.
And so we turn our attention forward. What’s in store for 2019? We don’t have a magic 8-ball, but we believe that over the next year, these are the trends that will continue to shape our lives. Yes, it’s really that serious. These trends impact business costs, ad revenue, and regulations made by our governing bodies—which in turn contributes to changes in trade and foreign affairs…
Okay. It’s not that dramatic. But at the same time—it kind of is.
Spurred on by the “Serverless” movement and FaaS trends (that’s Function-as-a-Service)—security operations are increasingly being abstracted away from the traditional concepts of on-premises, data center, and even virtual environments on cloud machines that execute critical business operations. Instead, those functions can be executed by leasing computation time from a cloud provider—minimizing both required upfront capital costs, as well as maintenance and personnel costs that effectively achieve the same tasks.
And many of those tasks, including general maintenance, no longer require direct intervention from in-house IT personnel. Instead, the responsibility of securing infrastructure (and data), managing equipment, and technical support shift to cloud providers like Amazon and Google.
With the announcement of widespread security vulnerabilities like Meltdown and Spectre, the entire industry (both good and bad actors) has been spending resources to find weaknesses in the form of backdoors and bugs. As the trend towards FaaS and Serverless computing models continues, we expect a sharp increase in demand and reliance on cloud providers to deliver advanced security solutions. These characteristics come to a head because they not only allow businesses to effectively outsource machines and maintenance costs—but also the associated security costs AND responsibility.
Businesses are already well aware of the costs associated with security and data breaches. This, combined with the rising impact and widespread integration of non-traditional connected devices (i.e. IoT and mobile) in the workplace, will continue to push businesses into focusing on these “no-longer fringe” devices. In 2018, digital commerce reports that 73% of internet consumption occurs on a mobile device—a rate that going to continue to grow.
Even with the market saturation and slow of smartphone sales in the past couple of years—mobile devices continue to outpace growth of traditional desktop computers and laptops. Over the next several years, it is expected that more employees will perform more daily actions on a mobile device as opposed to a desktop or laptop. And we’ve learned the hard way that those devices—moving from network to network with simplified user interfaces and design choices intended to improve “usability” on smaller screens—are more difficult to secure.
In 2019, expect for cybersecurity trends to focus on mobile devices and the post-perimeter world.
At least, more that we hear about.
GDPR how been in effect now for over six months, sites everywhere have implemented those nagging cookie agreement policies and made a mess of browsing the web. But, it’s not all bad. It’s also forced businesses all over the world to take data management seriously. They’ve had to improve security and infrastructure, define safe data information and storage requirements, outline incident response policies—and perhaps most importantly—it’s given all of us a healthy reminder that we should think about what personal information we share online, and with whom.
Consider, the Marriott/Starwood Hotels data breach from just this year. The personal records of over 500 million customers were compromised in a multi-year persistent breach dating back as far as 2014. We’re prepared to see the number of exposed records continue to increase next year.
Companies are perhaps more aware than they’ve ever been about keeping data secure—and are taking steps to secure their infrastructure against future attacks. And that’s a good thing. But as with Marriott/Starwood breach, and the recent Google data exposures, even if companies can achieve a high level of security, doesn’t mean they won’t find that holes have existed and data was compromised in previous years. For 2019, we’re expecting to—at minimum—a modest increase in data breaches, both in the number reported as well as # of records exposed.
Likely though, it will be a significant increase.
Just to jog your memory regarding data breaches in recent years, here’s a graph from Statista on the largest data breaches to date.
The majority of data breaches and exposures boil down to one thing. Our own propensity for mistakes. That’s right, human error. With the increasing complexity of systems and abstractions—along with the continued siphoning and sale of mass amounts of aggregated data on consumers—we’ve created quite a mess. IT professionals, even the best, are still prone to errors and have accidentally left databases and systems unsecured. Ripe for cyber criminals to pick through.
In a report from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the public body responsible for monitoring and fining data breaches, it was found that 88% of UK data breaches were caused by human error, as opposed to intrusion via malicious attack.
Until the dawn of a general artificial intelligence—when a virtual assistant will be able to execute sophisticated commands and properly configure complex systems in order to protect critical infrastructures against all manners of intrusion or vulnerability—we’re probably going to continue to see breaches caused by human error.
Phishing attacks are getting better and more sophisticated every year. Scams that started primarily via email in the 90’s to spread malware have become the most difficult challenge to address in modern cybersecurity. And phishing’s rate of success is actually on the rise.
In a report published earlier this year, Lookout found that the rate at which users fall victim to phishing attacks has increased by 85% every year since 2011. A study conducted by PhishMe found that 91% of all cyberattacks and resulting data breaches started with a phishing email. What’s more, mobile devices are 18x more likely to encounter a phishing attack than to inadvertently download mobile malware.
Despite a security focus on mobile and IoT devices—expect to see effective phishing attacks continue to dominate in the world of cybersecurity challenges. Newer forms of phishing scams have emerged using SMS (“SMiShing”) and Voice/phone calls (“Vishing”) and they are as effective as ever—bringing “traditionally understood” attacks onto new devices and formats that the general public aren’t aware of. Malicious actors are also increasingly relying on mobile and messaging apps to deliver “phishes”.
READ: Network Security, Malicious Threats, and Common Computer Definitions
And if you think because you’re using an iPhone that you’re safe. You couldn’t be more wrong. It was found that mobile users on iOS suffer twice as many mobile phishing attacks as Android users. And as many as 25% of all web-based mobile phishing attacks come from games.
The takeaway here is to be wary and scrutinize all emails and links that you get. “Know before you go” to any link in your emails. And even if you receive a legitimate-looking email from a known contact, you’re better off manually going to the destination, rather than clicking on a link that could have malicious parameters or actually be a homograph attack. Phishing combined with social engineering efforts has proven the most difficult malicious trend to address. And we don’t see an end in sight. Definitely not in 2019.
On the bright side, we expect that the significant advancements made in AI research will help contribute to new and better technologies (and services) for identifying various forms of phishing scams.
It’s been a rough couple of years for tech giants and social media platforms—which have been under fire, not only for major data breaches, but for how loosely they’ve played with the personal information and data (think geolocation and shopping habits) of their users. The EU’s GDPR was a major response to problems that have been brewing for the past several years.
It’s also helped pave the way for regulation from other countries. Australia just passed an encryption bill that requires tech companies to comply with requests to unlock devices (and unencrypt data) from law enforcement agencies and government bodies. It’s already received widespread criticism from tech companies, who say it will have “significant and far-reaching consequences”. Chances are that Australia’s move will have global impacts on privacy. (What those are, we’ll have to wait and see.)
These regulations will continue to cause strain for tech companies in the coming year—as governing bodies exert increasing pressure.
With the U.S. presidential election cycle looming on the horizon and continued concerns over data privacy, we expect that tech and social platforms will receive a lot of continued attention from politicians and media outlets. We’ll continue to see the effects and consequences from these forms of regulation that play out on world stage.
The big question is how—particularly in democratic societies where the media and free press plays an important role—do we address challenges posed by “Fake News”, deep fakes, biases in the media, and what limitations do we place on platforms (social media and other) to maintain balance and trust within our own institutions?
READ: Understanding the Fake News Problem: Challenges with Classification
Advancements in AI and automation have made virtual assistants and smart “chatbots” commonplace. And the advantage of these helpers and services are clear. They have the ability to far outperform any individual employee—communicating with thousands of people simultaneously and automating a growing number of jobs all over the world.
There’s been a lot of talk this year over the expression and free speed rights when considering bots. On September 30th, Jerry Brown of California signed regulations that requires that bots disclose that they are not human. The law won’t go into effect until July 1st, 2019—but it’s sure to make an impact on the online services and support tools that have grown in popularity in recent past.
And once again, it comes back to social media platforms. “The bill was really written around social media accounts, Twitter and Facebook bots in particular,” says Carl Landers, chief marketing officer of Conversica, which sells conversational bots for marketing and sales.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, but in the meantime, we’re continuing with the development of enhanced capabilities to detect and block traffic from known bots.
Ad fraud is still a major problem for the ad tech industry. In 2018, ad fraud worldwide is expected to exceed $19 billion USD (Statista), up from only $6.5 billion in 2016 (White Ops).
There have been some major positive events against ad fraud networks this past year. For instance, the International Bureau of Advertisers (IAB) ads.txt solution outlines how the industry can significantly reduce ad fraud caused by domain spoofing. It has seen significant adoption thanks in large part to Google. In late 2018, we also saw the takedown of 3ve, a massive ad fraud bot network that is believed to have stolen over $29 million from advertisers.
READ MORE: Major Ad Fraud Operation “3ve” Taken Down Thanks to Industry Collaboration
But ultimately, the ad tech industry is not doing enough to stem fraudulent activity. As advertisers are looking for new channels and ways to spend their budgets—fraudsters are similarly engineering new ways to take advantage of industry changes. Mobile and in-app fraud, for example, continues to rise. In 2018, it’s estimated that in-app fraud increased by as much as 800%.
We expect that, without additional intervention on part of ad tech platforms themselves, 2019 will be a banner year for ad fraud. AI and automated classification systems will be crucial in mitigating continued ad fraud on mobile—particularly for in-app advertisements and on other services as fraudsters shift their efforts in response to industry defenses. Ad tech platforms must invest in brand safety, botnet detection, and on-page traffic analytics tools in order to continue to mitigate fraud and prevent revenue losses.
The role of the Internet of Things (IoT) in our modern lives cannot be understated. From self-driving cars to edge computing, the IoT will play a significant role in revolutionizing nearly every industry.
For these industries and applications—security is a must and a “no brainer”.
IoT system and sensor failures within industrial and manufacturing equipment would cause damage to machines and danger to human workers—all undermining the advantages of IoT in the first place: productivity and efficiency. Critical infrastructure failures within our cities would have massive repercussions. Think of the chaos that would ensue if we were to allow malicious actors—including foreign governments—to compromise critical systems like our power grid, water/sanitation, communications, self-driving cars, medical devices, etc.
Businesses and governments are acutely aware of the cost associated with DDoS attacks and therefore willing to pay for security measures to protect themselves. IoT Tech Expo reports that DDoS attacks cost enterprises between $50,000 and $2.5M USD.
The consumer IoT market; however, is an entirely different story. Security has been overlooked for a variety of reasons:
Lack of demand
Lack of regulation
Lack of understanding technology & risk
It’s incredibly difficult to bring a “secured smart device” to market at a competitive price point when all of your competitor’s opt to forego security measures. Because of this, better “secured” devices typically lose to cheaper, “unsecured” functionally-equivalent devices.
On the regulation front, we did see some progress made in 2018. As of September, California signed into law the first IoT Cybersecurity Law for the United States—effectively requiring that any consumer connected device be outfitted with “reasonable security features”. Supporters believe it will “help everybody” even though “it probably doesn’t go far enough.” Meanwhile, critics have described it as a “typically bad bill based on a superficial understanding of cybersecurity/hacking that will do little improve security, while doing a lot to impose costs and harm innovation.”
Ultimately, we haven’t (yet) experienced a major security incident that has impacted consumers directly. And because of that most consumers aren’t aware of the risk. Until that changes, we won’t see a demand for security—and acceptance of higher prices. So for the time being, security takes a back seat in consumer IoT devices.
Because really… ”What’s the worst that’s going to happen if my $30 smart speaker gets compromised?” Will it cost another $30 to replace it? Will it eat up a few extra bucks in electricity costs when it happens?
The answers are… we don’t really know what the full extent of a major security breach would be.
We do know that unsecured IoT devices are “enslaved” by botnets and leveraged for DDoS attacks. And thanks to Project rIoT from UC Berkeley that quantified the associated costs of an IoT device compromised by Mirai Malware—we now know that the costs of increased energy consumption are passed on to the consumer.
We also know that thanks to the convenience of voice-controlled “connected” devices and appliances—IoT has seen rapid adoption within consumer homes. It’s now estimated that over 90% of consumer homes in the United States own a “smart device”. That is a lot of homes and devices that are ripe for the picking.
All of these events and trends lead us to the conclusion that… It’s highly likely that we’ll experience a major IoT security event 2019.
Overall, 2019 is shaping up to be an interesting year and we think these trends will play a significant role in the upcoming year. We know that this is hardly an exhaustive list. We’re also intently focused on advancements in artificial intelligence, deep learning, and neural machine translation (and how we apply them).
But we’ll leave that for another day.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays from zvelo!
READ: Categorizing 99.9% of the ActiveWeb with a Hybrid AI/ML Approach
Categories: Ad Tech & Brand Safety, Cybersecurity, Internet Safety & Privacy, IoT Security Technology, Malicious Detection, Technology & Insights, URL Database, Web Filtering & Parental ControlsBy zvelo December 18, 2018
Tags: Brand SafetyCloud SecurityConfirmation BiasData BreachesFake NewsGDPRPhishing
PreviousPrevious post:Custom Categories for Web Filtering, Parental Controls, Digital Advertising, & More…NextNext post:A Look back at the NeurIPS Conference: AI Advancements, Insights, and Predictions for What’s Next
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After lockdown was announced phone calls across the Vodafone New Zealand network surged by 70%, including a 100% surge in landline calls (image: Tina Tiller).
Conversation came back: How Covid-19 changed the way we communicate
James Borrowdale | Guest writer
On March 23 prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that in 48 hours the country would go into lockdown. New Zealanders had a primal reaction: they called their loved ones.
The moment New Zealand was faced with lockdown, adversity did what it always does: acted as a catalyst on some base element of the human psyche, urging us to reach out to each other, seeking reassurance and seeking to reassure. When Jacinda Ardern announced that the nation’s 5 million citizens had two days to prepare themselves for the level four lockdown – our fortification against the overseas devastation that was daily dominating the news – it was the spirit of a touchingly archaic element of her speech we seized on.
“Support one another,” she urged. “Go home tonight and check in on your neighbours. Start a phone tree with your street. Plan how you’ll keep in touch with one another.”
The phone tree, in an age of Facebook community pages, group emails and WhatsApp, seemed an antiquated form of communication, a detail a decreasing number of us remember as yesteryear’s most efficient way to spread news of a rainout through a children’s cricket team. But it was, the data shows, an instinct seized on by a populace in need of quick comfort. In the hours following Ardern’s speech, it was the familiar we reached for: phone calls across the Vodafone New Zealand network surged by 70%, including a 100% surge in landline calls. It was, says Tony Baird, the company’s chief technology officer, a back-to-the-future kind of moment. “Voice became the new social media.”
It caused, in the hours following Ardern’s address to the nation, unexpected demand across the telecommunications industry. New Zealanders – reaching for their phones in lieu of the physical proximity that was already discouraged, and would soon be disallowed – created havoc on the country’s old public switched telephone network. Vodafone, along with its competitors, had to scramble, and with the help of hastily reinstated 30-year-old technology that had been declining in use for many years – two megabit per second voice circuits to shore up the connections between the Vodafone network and those of the other telecommunications companies servicing the country – to quickly get things back under control.
PM Jacinda Ardern at the press conference announcing the country would move to level four, March 23, 2020 (Photo: Getty Images)
“It took us a bit by surprise,” Baird says of the country’s initial reaction to the announcement of the approaching level four lockdown. Baird has spent his entire professional career in the telecommunications industry, recruited straight from an engineering degree at Auckland University in the late 1980s to work in research and development for a British firm. His career, of course, has coincided with enormous changes in the industry – the rise of the internet, cell phones – with the market more recently orienting itself towards the data-focused services that fuel modern communication. But then, in that moment of crisis, a sort of technological atavism sent us all back to the switchboards.
For Baird, that was a surprise – but also, in many ways, a reinforcement of what makes him passionate about the career he chose. In moments of crisis, it is that connection we crave. It is Baird’s job to oversee the infrastructure and technology that enables those connections.
That initial spike was an early lesson in the specific challenges of this particular crisis. The Christchurch earthquake, for example, saw a similarly massive upswing in mobile activity, but in that instance usage went up across the board – people texting each other to check in, sending photos of the things they’d witnessed, making prolific use of social media to reach out to family and friends, seeking assurance that loved ones were OK.
But on the afternoon of March 23 – as realisation dawned in 5 million minds about the realities of the collective ordeal we were heading into – we turned to the only physical element of the loved ones outside our immediate bubbles we would soon be able to access: their voices. “People weren’t able to physically interact,” Baird says, “so they wanted to be able to talk. Conversation came back.”
The way we lived was temporarily changing, and the way we communicated would change along with it. For Baird, facilitating that change became the professional priority. Vodafone was well placed to adapt to these challenges. A combination of good luck and preparation meant Baird had few fears for the technology he oversees, or the people he counts on to maintain it.
First, the luck that meant the surge in data use, when it came, was no big deal: last year’s Rugby World Cup, and the pressure that All Blacks matches put on the network, meant upgrades – “bigger pipes across the network, bigger pipes between the networks, we had augmented a lot of our radio and wireless capacity for mobile applications, and obviously a big push towards higher capacity broadband, fibre, and wireless connections” – had already been installed.
There had also been significant foresight; Vodafone had taken steps to protect itself against the worst of what Covid-19 might throw in its path. In the weeks preceding the lockdown announcement, the company had tested every site for work-from-home capability, scaling up security, and ensuring that up to 4000 people could log in remotely at any one time. Before even the alert-level system was unveiled, on March 21, the company was putting that flexibility to use.
“I put some people into the remote data centres, I put some people into the main office, and some people worked from home. We went into a rotational split.” Baird was already working from home on the afternoon of Ardern’s address to the nation – not that he was worried enough to feel compelled to watch it live. “We were pretty well set. It wasn’t a big change.”
Still, it instituted a series of “incredibly long days” for Baird. Securing official recognition as critical infrastructure, which meant crews were able to head out to repair any physical damage to the network, was the first important step after the lockdown was announced. The other major change that needed to occur – and quickly – was to figure out how to keep the call centres operational, updating what Baird called an “old-fashioned” set up: “People still sit at a terminal, they have a big desktop, they have a headset on – how could you take that from being at work to being at home?”
The answer was to join the nationwide rush for laptops. “We had to go and secure 300 laptops very very quickly,” he says. Employees worked around the clock to configure them for Vodafone’s needs, allowing call centre personnel to answer queries from home.
Online security tools needed to be considered – and while Vodafone was well-prepared with a range of internal protection measures long in place, its cybersecurity teams were in high demand as business customers quickly realised that a home office environment posed many more risks than a traditional corporate centre.
“Voice became the new social media,” says Tony Baird, Vodafone’s chief technology officer.
Physical Vodafone stores were closed too, of course, but 95% of the workers who had previously kept them running were adroitly redeployed in work-from-home roles, helping, in large part, with the huge surge in consumer queries that flooded in when lockdown began, and communication technology became even more indispensable than usual. Internally, too, enormous changes had to take place – the company saw a 688% increase in the number of video calls between staff. “Who would have thought video conferencing would get so big over the past few weeks? It’s… just been phenomenal,” says Baird.
My own video conference with Baird took place the day the country moved into level two, facilitated by a Vodafone staff member who was working from the Auckland office for the first time in weeks. Baird, however, was still working from home, his ears cushioned in headphones. He still makes time for a daily bike ride with his five-year-old twin sons. (Another daughter, completing a PhD in Sydney, arrived home just after the borders had closed, and was cloistered in self-isolation)
We collectively grew accustomed to other things, too. Conversation came back in those first hurried hours – and then it remained. A week after the beginning of lockdown, voice calls were running at 60% higher than pre-level four levels, as businesses adjusted to the forced decentralisation that cosseted employees in spare bedrooms and living-room corners throughout the country. But it wasn’t just water-cooler chat that was redirected down the phone lines: weekend calling remained much higher – an 87% increase in Christchurch, 77% in Auckland – while, nationwide, texting dropped 25% on pre-lockdown levels. When physical intimacy was denied us, we cherished the next best thing: the immediacy of voice.
For the corporate world, Baird figured, many of those forced changes would continue. “It’s going to be a massive transformation for our industry because people will now realise that… you don’t need to commute, you can work from home quite productively.” Most larger corporations, he imagined, would in time jettison the large headquarter office buildings in favour of something sleeker and more efficient: “A nice slick place where people can come together and interact and collaborate and innovate… So you come together – you ideate, you incubate – and it’s all open-plan. You do that once or twice a week and the rest of the time you’ll be working from home.”
For that, of course, we’ll need the services of companies like Vodafone to provide the technology, and the expertise of people like Baird to make sure it all works as intended. For Baird that would be yet another reminder of the reason he loves his work – its ability to transform lives and livelihoods by optimising that fundamental thing it took adversity to remind us of, that human connection is key, and we’ll take it any way it comes.
This story was created in paid partnership with Vodafone.
With innovation made simple and world-class network technology, Vodafone will help maximise the potential of you and your business. Find out more.
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How Australia’s NRA-inspired lobby is trying to chip away at gun control laws
George Rennie | Guest writer
In an attempt to unwind the country’s gun regulations, Australia’s version of the NRA knows that state governments are as good a place as any to start.
One of the more noticeable ad campaigns in the upcoming Victoria state election comes from a seemingly unlikely source. The Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) seeks to unwind Australia’s gun regulations and knows that state governments are as good a place as any to start.
SIFA is a key part of Australia’s gun lobby, and uses the same tactics as its American equivalent, the National Rifle Association (NRA). Like the NRA, SIFA seeks to co-opt democratic norms to force change, even when it is directly at odds with overwhelming public opinion.
The NRA playbook
A common misconception about the NRA is that it’s a “grass-roots” organisation. This implies that policy comes from its many paid members, and then works its way up to the leaders, who dutifully implement the will of their constituents.
Not so: the NRA’s policies are set by America’s gun industry, which has a vested (financial) interest in lax gun laws. The gun industry controls the NRA’s board and appoints its directors (they are not democratically elected by NRA members), and also dictates policy. This is why the NRA resists almost any calls for stricter gun control, even though NRA members themselves favour some restrictions (such as tougher background checks), not to mention the wider American electorate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=7FOqoR2aj1A
Meanwhile, along with its prevalence of guns, America suffers a mass shooting nine out of every 10 days on average and a shocking number of school massacres.
So, how can the NRA get its way, in spite of so many problems, and being so widely disliked?
It succeeds because it uses America’s representative political system to get its way. The NRA knows that policy is made through leverage: financially supported groups of elected officials can promote its policies, even when the wider public favours tighter gun control laws and Democrats make efforts to try to pass them.
It also uses sophisticated advertisements, and “education” campaigns to muddy the waters and spread misinformation on the efficacy of gun control. (Needless to say, the NRA suggests gun control doesn’t work, despite significant evidence that it does.)
SIFA and the Australian gun lobby
There are some similarities between the NRA and SIFA – and some key differences.
Like the NRA, SIFA is also backed by the gun industry, such as the Beretta family (who are adamant that guns are inextricably linked to freedom) and NIOA (a major gun importer in Australia that was featured in a recent 4 Corners special on the gun industry).
As with the NRA, SIFA is also willing to use a range of tools to get its way. And, as with America, the power to make gun control laws in Australia rests with the states, as well as the federal government.
Yet, SIFA knows there is little support in Australia for weak gun control laws and adopting the NRA’s more aggressive stances would backfire. Australians would react very negatively to an overt push to relax gun laws.
So, the group instead claims it wants to “simplify, not weaken” gun laws (though its principle sources of funding do indeed want to “weaken” rather than merely “simplify” these statutes).
And, when SIFA launched advertisements ahead of the Victoria election, they were not designed to change people’s minds on gun control. Instead, the ad blitz has relied on the catchy, if derivative, slogan “Not Happy Dan”, made famous by the “Not Happy Jan” Yellow Pages ads. And its focus is not on gun control, but rather the performance and competency of the Labor Government.
The campaign is designed to weaken Labor, which favours tighter gun control, perhaps with the hope that any newly elected independents in the state will be pro-gun. SIFA knows that if the balance of power rests with a handful of independents after the election, especially those from parties like the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, then there is a possibility that Australia’s highly effective gun control laws can be slowly unwound.
Given SIFA had the same strategy last year in the Queensland election, it seems clear it has a strategy to try to influence Australian politics wherever it can. And with its financial backers continuing to win government contracts in Australia, it is also likely SIFA will have no shortage of funding in the future.
Undoing hard-won change
On the eve of the Victoria election, Melbourne was shocked by an attack by a madman with a knife on Bourke Street in the CDB. But the city also remembers what happened when a madman went on a rampage with a gun 30 years ago, not far away on Hoddle Street. Seven people were killed and 19 wounded.
This memory, along with many others, sits in stark contrast to the conspicuous lack of gun deaths following the introduction of tighter gun laws in Australia in 1996. This fundamentally underpins much of the country’s resistance to weaker gun laws, and the gun lobby knows it.
America’s guns laws were weakened through a gradual process. This involved the patient undermining of the popular will through the passage of favourable laws in state legislatures – the blocking of others – and a continuing narrative that linked guns with freedom and gun control with an evil or “nanny” state.
The Australian gun lobby has learnt from this American example, and its methods emulate it. Expect to see more from SIFA in the lead-up to other elections in the future – Australia’s very own NRA.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.
Siouxsie Wiles: How the Sydney cluster grew – and what it could mean for NZ
The Bulletin: Australia welcomes talk of a travel bubble
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The Spinoff reviews New Zealand #24: Regina Rugby World Cup 1991 cards plus gum
The Spinoff Board of Review | ⚖️
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Calum Henderson reviews an old pack of rugby cards.
These days Oamaru is known as the steampunk capital of New Zealand, but back in the late 1980s and early 1990s it had a much better claim to fame. For those few glorious years, the North Otago town was the home of New Zealand’s biggest trading card manufacturer.
Regina Confectionery – which still operates in Oamaru today, although under new ownership – was a major player in the burgeoning local trading card scene. The company produced some of the defining childhood ephemera of a generation: Garbage Gang stickers, movie cards (Batman, RoboCop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and rugby and league cards. These were all packaged with a stick of low-quality chewing gum and sold as an irresistible countertop item in seemingly every dairy in the country.
I haven’t seen a box of trading cards in a dairy since about 1999. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if they ever made a comeback – as an adult with my own income I could technically buy as many packs as my bank account allowed. It is a thrilling and very dangerous proposition. My card collecting impulse is still strong enough that when I saw a sealed pack of Regina Rugby World Cup 1991 collector’s cards on TradeMe last week, I bought it without a second thought.
The pack contains five cards, which seems low – by the time I was a fully-blown card freak in the mid-late 90s the norm was at least seven. But quality trumps quantity, and I have no complaints about these five cards: William Campbell (Australia), Jean-Baptiste Lafond (France), Brian Vizard (USA), Gavin Hastings (Scotland), Peter Fatialofa (Western Samoa).
‘Fats,’ number 133 in the set, is obviously the best one. “A hard and uncompromising player / prop who many think should have been selected for the All Blacks,” it says on the back of the card. It also lists his height (six foot), weight (120kg), and occupation (Piano Mover).
The front of the card has a simple and elegant design. The crest of the Western Samoa rugby union and the logos of Regina and the 1991 Rugby World Cup share the left margin, allowing plenty of room for a full-colour player photo. Fatialofa’s is detailed enough that you can see he wore the long sleeves of his heavy cotton jersey carefully rolled up to his elbows.
Each card has some kind of delightful detail like this. Lafond’s reveals that the French winger apparently used to play in shin pads. Wallabies lock Campbell worked as a Medical Practitioner, while legendary Scottish fullback Hastings worked as an Agency Surveyor. He also bore a strong resemblance to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
The question remains: what compelled me to buy a sealed pack of rugby cards from 1991 on TradeMe? On a subconscious level, maybe I yearn to be six years old again – although the six-year-old me didn’t give a rat’s about rugby. More likely, I was influenced by watching ‘Card Show,’ a new SB Nation video series in which writers Jon Bois and Ryan Nanni open old packs of sports cards.
At the end of the first episode, Bois tried to eat some of the old chewing gum that was his ancient pack of baseball cards. Unsurprisingly, the gum tasted disgusting and he has to spit it out. Still, I wanted to see for myself what a 26-year-old stick of chewing gum tasted like, so I snapped a bit off (not a good sign) and popped it in my mouth. Maybe Oamaru was home to a secret recipe which kept gum fresher for longer?
No. It was one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth. I couldn’t spit it out fast enough. – Calum Henderson
Good or bad? Cards good, gum bad.
Verdict: Still waiting patiently for cards to make a comeback
I got kiss cam’d at Eden Park and it was truly horrible
Alice Webb-Liddall
In defence of the drop kick
Justin Latif
Bloomfield of dreams: watching Saint Ashley on the rugby field
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Home » baseball player » Josh Bell Net Worth 2018: What is this baseball player worth?
Josh Bell Net Worth 2018: What is this baseball player worth?
Josh Bell is a pro baseball player who plays Third baseman for the Free agent. Bell was born on November 13, 1986, in Rockford, Illinois. This page will take a closer look at Josh Bell’s net worth.
Josh Bell Career, Earnings
Bell bats Switch and throws Right. Bell debuted in the MLB on July 1, 2010 for the Baltimore Orioles, as well as for the KBO on March 29, 2014 for the LG Twins. In all, Bell played for the Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and LG Twins.
Some of Bell’s most prominent statistics in the MLB included a Batting average stat of .195, a Home runs stat of 4, and a Run batted in stat of 22. In the KBO, Bell’s most prominent statistics included a Batting average stat of.267, a Home runs stat of 10, and a Run batted in stat of 39.
Josh Bell Net Worth 2018
Baseball player annual pay can range widely. In Major League Baseball, the median pay is about $3 million per year. Top baseball players can receive $25 million or more per annum, and lower paid players earn $1 million or less.
Josh Bell net worth: soccer/football salary distribution
So what is baseball player Josh Bell’s net worth in 2018? Our estimate for Josh Bell’s net worth as of 2018 is:
Want to see some related net worth articles? Check out these: Roberto Kelly, Barney McLaughlin, Tommy Raub, Jim Hearn, Vern Benson, Víctor Gárate, Ted Abernathy, William Suero, Noella Leduc, Art Sladen, and Jack Ridgway.
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Script for Tour of Thinkers Lodge by Teresa Kewachuk, Cathy Eaton, Vivian Godfree, and John Eaton
Tour begins in gift shop
Welcome to Thinkers’ Lodge, a National Historic Site, dedicated to peace and creating dialogue to build trust and oppose nuclear weapons. The initial Pugwash Conference in 1957 led to yearly Pugwash Conferences of Science and World Affairs all around the world. In 1995 the conferences and Joseph Rotblat were awarded Nobel Peace Prize. Individuals with courage and determination can impact the world, and from small places can come significant contributions that change the world and make it a safer place to live.
Feel free to interrupt with any questions you may have.
This building wasn’t always called Thinkers’ Lodge. We know that the land was acquired around 1818 by David Pineo. Henry Gesner Pineo (1798-1874), a successful merchant, shipbuilder and member of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia built the house for his daughter Mary who was married to Doctor Clay.
In 1918, the Clay family sold the property to Fred Dakin who ran the house as a lodge known as Pineo Lodge.
In 1928 and 1929 devastating fires destroyed the Empress Hotel on the waterfront, wharves, warehouses, stores, and homes. The flames stopped short of the Pineo Lodge.
Cyrus Eaton, a native of Pugwash who become a US citizen, never forgot his roots. After the fires, he resolved to invest in the revitalization and beautification of Pugwash 46 years after his birth in 1883 in Pugwash River. Understanding the dire straits of his hometown, he returned to offer economic support and provide jobs for the villagers. He hired unemployed workers to clear the buildings ruined in the fire and to cart in soil to convert the area into Eaton Park which he donated to the villagers to enjoy. (Now it is used for picnics, has a playground, and a stage that has musical events, and hosts the highland dancers on Canada Day. He also bought this building, the Pineo Lodge, to be a B & B run by his sister, Eva Webb, and he purchased the adjacent Lobster Canning Factory from Frank Allan which was turned into a dining hall. He hoped to revitalize the economy by providing jobs and bringing in tourists. He hired Andrew Cobb, an architect from Halifax, to expand the Pineo Lodge, to build the Margaret King School for grades one through eleven, and to design his summer home in Deep Cove on the South Shore on Mahone Bay.
Cyrus Eaton was born in 1883 in Pugwash River and attended a one-room school in Pugwash Junction. Influenced by his pious mother, he decided to be a Baptist minister and worked his way through high school in Amherst, then Acadia University, and finally McMasters University in Ontario.
He traveled to Cleveland to visit his uncle, Charles Eaton, a Baptist minister originally from Pugwash. One of his parishioners was John D. Rockefeller who convinced Cyrus that if you wanted to help people, it was better to provide them with jobs than it was to preach to them. This advice changed his life. During summers of college, Cyrus worked as an errand boy, a carriage driver, a body guard, and a caddy for the industrialist. After graduating, Rockefeller offered Cyrus a job and introduced him to many significant industrialists. Soon after, Cyrus branched out on his own, and made a fortune in steel, iron ore, coal, electrical plants, and railroads. Some have called him a robber baron. He became an American citizen, married, had seven children, settled on a cattle farm in Northfield, Ohio, and became a successful millionaire industrialist.
During the Great Depression, he lost his fortune and divorced. Not discouraged, he earned a second fortune and become one of the wealthier men in the world.
In 1955 when the B&B was not bringing in many tourists or adding to the Pugwash economy, Cyrus turned the lodge into a Think Tank. He invited presidents and deans of universities to share ideas about education problems and brainstorm potential solutions.
SHOW political cartoon by Bob Chambers, a cartoonist for the Halifax Chronicle. He won the Order of Canada. He created a series of cartoons based on Rodin’s Thinker; these cartoons made editorial statements about Cyrus Eaton, the Russians, and leaders like Khrushchev and Castro, and the Thinkers (the conference attendees).
(At some point mention the board in Eaton Park where visitors can stick their heads in and snap a photograph. These were created by Louise Cloutier. The Chambers family has given the lodge permission to have fundraising t-shirts and mugs (Point them out). “We must be pretty close to Pugwash.” Pugwash in 1955 was called the Home of the Thinkers.)
In great room, point out arm chairs gifted by different universities.
(Give this information in Anne Eaton’s room) 75-year-old Cyrus Eaton asked Anne Eaton whom he was courting, to help him host the 1957 conference. Anne was 35, divorced, and had a daughter, Lissy. Anne wrote a letter to her father recounting some of these tensions between the brilliant scientists. She described seeing the scientists at the Masonic Lodge meeting around tables lent by the villagers. The room also served as a primary classroom and above the chalkboard filled with scientific and mathematical notations detailing horrific destructive power of the atomic board were the letters of the alphabet with pictures of cats and kittens and ducks. She detailed how interactions between the scientists from both sides of the iron curtain were initially tense, nervous, and distrustful. However, when she and one of the Russians were paired to play crocket against Cyrus and another Russian, she told her partner about how one could send the opponent’s ball after hitting it, into the roots of the apple the tree or into the Northumberland Strait. Amazed that it was okay to send the ball of one’s host, the Russians began to relax and have fun. They shared English and Russian vocabulary, cigarettes, and laughter. These humane stories of exchanges between the participants led to the breaking down of barriers and the beginning of trust which led to working together to create documents decrying nuclear weapons and advocating for their elimination. One saying often heard was “Leave your hat and politics at the door.”
(Move to Nobel Prize room) It was not until 1955 that the Lodge began to be called Thinkers’ Lodge after Rodin’s Thinker Sculpture. Point to sculpture on bookshelves.
What events led to birth of the Pugwash Movement to rid the world of Nuclear Weapons.
On August, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and another one on Nagasaki. World War II ended with some saying the Atomic bombs were responsible for ending the war while others declaring that the bomb never should have been used, and that the Japanese were on the verge on surrendering. Others say, the rationale was to deter the Russians, former allies, not to use atomic weapons. We won’t solve that argument today.
105,000 people were killed, and an equal amount were injured. For decades, many thousands of the survivals suffered terribly from burns and radiation poisoning, and the environment was poisoned.
On November 1, 1952, the US exploded the first “thermonuclear device” otherwise known as the Hydrogen Bomb. Less than a year later, on August 12, 1953 the Soviets detonated one of their own. The nuclear race was on. The Cold War was heating up.
The first US airdrop of a thermonuclear bomb happened on May 20th, 1956. The first hydrogen bomb dropped from the air exploded with a force estimated as equal to a minimum of fifteen million tons of TNT and created a fireball at least four miles wide and brighter than 500 suns. It was described as ‘by far the most stupendous release of explosive energy on earth so far.’
Then two events occurred in 1955 that led to an historic conference held at Thinkers’ Lodge in 1957. The first was the Russell/Einstein Manifesto issued on July 8, 1955. In it, Lord Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein with nine other scientists called for a conference where scientists would assess the dangers that nuclear weapons posed for the survival of human race. It was important that the conference be politically neutral so that delegates could comfortably share ideas without fearing repercussions from their governments. One particular phrase is quoted often: “Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.” From the Russell/Einstein Manifesto. “We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you can not, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”
We have a recording of it here and I encourage you to listen to it on that dial phone in the hallway.
The second event was that Cyrus Eaton began holding conferences of “thinkers and educators” at the Lodge. The first was held in 1955 and Eaton had help organizing the conference from Julian Huxley, a famous British evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. A photo of Julian and his wife is on the wall of the Cyrus Eaton bedroom. Julian is remembered for being one of the founders of the World Wildlife Foundation Fund and the first Director of UNESCO. Anybody know the connection between Julian Huxley and Joggins Fossil Cliffs? (short and long answers to this one – not written).
In 1955, after reading the Manifesto, Cyrus Eaton wrote a letter to Bertrand Russell and offered to host and underwrite the gathering that Russell and Einstein called for in the Manifesto. Disastrous obstacles could have derailed the conference: Einstein died. Egypt and Israel went to war over the Suez Canal. Bertrand Russell couldn’t attend conference because he was ill
Nevertheless, 22 distinguished and brave scientists gathered from 11 different countries from both sides of the Iron Curtain. These thinkers generated a movement since called the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs - sometimes just called the Pugwash Movement for short.
At first, no one took his invitation seriously because in England there was a buffoon cartoon character named Captain Pugwash. [See book of cartoons in gift shop]. The scientists hoped to have the conference in India, but the political crisis in the Suez Canal made that impossible. After a second invitation from Eaton who said his funding of the conference could be anonymous, they located Pugwash on the map and accepted his invitation. Twenty-two scientists and some translators arrived from Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, Communist China, France, Hungary, Japan, Communist Russia, and the United States. Seven of these scientists won Nobel Prizes, including Joseph Rotblat and Linus Pauling who both received the Nobel Peace Prize. Some scientists flew into Quebec and then traveled to Halifax or Moncton where local Pugwash drivers brought them to the village. The scientists were billeted at Thinkers Lodge, on railroad cars, and in private people’s homes. They ate their meals at the Lobster Factory and had their meetings in the high school and at the Masonic Lodge, now restored as the Peace Hall.
In 1995 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to the Pugwash Conferences and to Joseph Rotblat, its leading spirit. The medal displayed here is Professor Rotblat’s Nobel Peace Prize. It was his wish that the medal be brought to Thinkers’ Lodge to serve as an inspiration to those who see it and as a commemoration of the event that started the movement in 1957.
Joseph Rotblat was an inspiring scientist who visited this Lodge numerous times - the last time in 2003, the 46th anniversary. There is some recorded footage of that visit which you can see online.
Display in hallway: Who and what do you recognize? This display and these icons remind us what the world was like in the 1950.
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he became the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball in the 20th century. He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, and was named Rookie of the Year that year, National League MVP in 1949 and a World Series champ in 1955.
Photo of women at computers were NASA technicians. NASA was founded in 1958. It is significant that women played a significant role in doing the computations. Shetterly’s Hidden Figures tells the untold true story of the African American women mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Civil Rights era. The movie aired in 2017.
Kellogs Cornflake ad
Newspaper Article about Einstein. He was a life-long pacifist and an activist against nuclear weapons; however, under the urging of Leo Szilard, Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt a letter urging that the bomb be build Although he opposed the making of weapons, he had been forced to conclude, that pacifism would not succeed against the Nazis, who viewed violence as an end in itself. He could not, he decided, let his inaction give Germany sole possession of such destructive power. The letter was dated August 2, 1939. You might want to read letter Einstein wrote to Eaton in 1946 asking for his financial support against nuclear weapons.
The Suez Canal Crisis: On October 29, 1956, Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal after Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-70) nationalized the canal in July of that same year, initiating the Suez Crisis. The Israelis soon were joined by French and British forces, which nearly brought the Soviet Union into the conflict, and damaged their relationships with the United States. In the end, the British, French and Israeli governments withdrew their troops in late 1956 and early 1957.
Atomic Age Powwow article
Elvis Presley’s musical career began in 1954.
An ad with Cyrus Eaton and his shorthorn cattle was used by Nova Scotia tourist bureau to urge people to visit this beautiful province.
Chuck Berry is known as the father of rock ‘n roll and one who brought the worlds of black and whites together through music
James Dean was an actor known for his role in Rebel Without a Cause. He died in a tragic car accident in 1955 when he was 24.
Rosa Parks is pictured with Martin Luther King in 1955. Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Although not the first to resist bus segregation, she was chosen to be central figure in court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating segregation laws in Alabama.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev publicized Stalin's crimes, was a major player in the Cuban Missile Crisis and established a more open form of Communism in the USSR. He and Cyrus Eaton were friends.
Dr. Seuss, Theodore Seuss Geisel, wrote and illustrated more than 60 books. He attacked racism, fascism, isolationism, and anti-Semitism in political cartoons. His first book was rejected by every publisher he submitted it to. As a member of the military, he made animated training films and propaganda posters. Dr. Seuss was a pullitzer prize in 1984 for contribution to children’s literature.
Joseph Stalin died in 1953. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism.
The Korean Was was Fought from 1950 to 1953. Communist North Korea invaded its southern, democratic neighbor. Backed by the United Nations, with many of the troops furnished by the United States, South Korea resisted. The Korean War saw the United States follow its policy of containment as it worked to block aggression and halt the spread of Communism. As such, the Korean War may be seen as one of the many proxy wars fought during the Cold War.
An ad for atomic electric power. Nuclear Power had beneficial uses and seemed an alternative to fossil fuels.
Coffee ad for Maxwell coffee
Sputnik. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957. It was visible all around the Earth and its radio pulses were detectable. This surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, a part of the larger Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.
Bob Chambers created a series of political cartoons using variations of Rodin's Thinker to depict visual commentary on Thinkers Lodge, Cyrus Eaton, Khrushchev, and the Pugwash Conferences. You will find mugs and t-shirts on sale depicting some of his cartoons.
Fidel Castro was leader of socialist Cuba from 1958 until 2008. Cyrus Eaton visited him and tried to help their cattle-breeding program. The Sea of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis played significant roles in Cuban/Soviet Union/United States relationships.
Queen Elizabeth became queen in 1953 six years after she married Prince Phillip.
Edmond Hillary and Tanzing Norgay summated Mount Everest in 1953.
However, what is more significant than recognizing the icons of the 1950s is paying attention to the two circles showing the destructive force of the Atomic Bombs unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan On August 6 and August 9, 1945. The Japanese surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945. The larger circle shows how much more
Destructive weapons have been created and tested. President Kim Jong II of North Korea is testing these weapons and threatening to unleash them. Pay attention to the Iran Nuclear Treaty and what is means if the US pulls out.
Cyrus Eaton Room. Sometimes Cyrus stayed here. However, he preferred to stay across the street at the Eaton-Webb Cottage where his sister Eva lived. Eva ran the lodge between 1930 and 1954 when it was a Bed and Breakfast. Has anyone heard that this is Cyrus Eaton’s summer home or his ancestral estate? Neither is true. Actually, Cyrus built a summer home in Upper Blandford on Mahone Bay. The Havel family bought the house around 1980 and three generations greatly loved it and the land. Sadly, the house burned down in 2015.
You can listen to segment on your phone about Cyrus Eaton, his roots in Pugwash, his career as an industrialist, his philanthropic endeavors, and his quest to bring peaceful relationships between communist and democratic countries.
You can listen to segment on your phone about Charles Eaton, born in Pugwash and Baptist minister. Cyrus’s uncle was a New Congressman, involved with creating the Marshall Plan, and signer of the UN.
Notice the photographs of Cyrus’s summer home in Deep Cove, Nova Scotia on the South Shore.
Notice photographs of Julian Huxley and Charles Darwin as well as Eaton’s father, Joseph Howe Eaton. Joseph was a farmer, the postmaster, and he ran a general store.
Anne Eaton bedroom.
Listen on your phone to a recording she made reading a letter she wrote to her father about the participants, Judge Kinder just after the 1957 conference ended.
Anne (Kinder Jones) Eaton attended the 1957 conference and acted as the hostess for Cyrus Eaton who was courting her. She was 35, and he was 75. Anne’s youth, charm, and humor were instrumental in helping visiting scientists lay aside their political differences and trust one another. Anne, a gifted writer, recounted how tension between the scientists began to dissolve. On the computer in her room, She used to tell visitors, “You are welcome to leave your hat and your ideology at the door.” Anne contracted polio when she was 23 after her daughter Lissy was born. She was confined to a wheelchair. But it never dampened her spirits or her drive or passion for peace initiatives and fighting for rights of women and rights of African Americans. She was key to providing an atmosphere that helped the conference participants share ideas candidly. She helped German scientists translate their papers into English and describes a competitive crocket game
In 2010 Mount Saint Vincent University and Thinkers Lodge collaborated on a conference to remember and honor the contributions of Murial Duckworth to the Peace Movement. She died in 2009 at the age of 100. To celebrate the contributions of two women at that conference: Anne Eaton and Ruth Adams, Susan Took painted this illustration above the mantel. Ruth Adams was Joseph Rotblat’s assistant and became a well-known activist herself. Copies of her children’s book, Blue is for Bluenose, are available in the gift shop. Her husband, Richard Rudnicki, wrote and illustrated a children’s book on Cyrus Eaton that was published in 2016. If you are interested in learning more about Ruth Adams and Anne Eaton, read the talk on the bureau from the 2010 Conference by Sandy Butcher. Additional information is available on the website at www.thinkerslodgehistories.org.
Note the plaque on the wall indicating that Anne Eaton and Cyrus Eaton were jointed awarded the Canada Federalist Peace Award in 1979, the year that Cyrus died.
Read Sandy Butcher’s talk describing contributions of Anne Eaton and Ruth Adams. Ruth was Rotblat’s assistant early in her career.
Joseph Rotblat’s Bedroom.
Rotblat stayed at Thinkers Lodge many times. He was a life-long peace activist and articulate spokesperson for the anti-nuclear weapons movement. He was the spirit of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
His diploma from Warsaw is displayed on the wall with an English translation.
The photograph over the fireplace shows Joseph Rotblat with his assistant, Ruth Adams, who was also a life-long peace activist.
Listen to segment on your phone to learn more about Rotblat’s life.
Mural on the wall before the steps leading to the Great Room. This enlarged photograph is from a conference in 1960 called Continuing Education held at Thinkers Lodge. Eaton, a life-long learner, supported dialogue in Education. He served as a Trustee of the University of Chicago and he was a strong benefactor of that university as well as Acadia University where he studied for the ministry and McMaster from where he graduated. Before attending McMaster, he attended Amherst Academy, graduating in 1899. At graduation, he won a prize: The Complete Works of Charles Darwin and The Complete Works of Aldous Huxley. We hope someday to have those books in the Lodge. Eaton also built two schools in Pugwash and another in his hometown, Northfield, Ohio.
The Great Room and it seems like a fitting place to talk a little about the history of Pugwash and of this building and its architecture as well as Pugwash as a hub for shipbuilding.
A Brief History of Pugwash (From a discussion led by Vivian Godfree of the North Cumberland Historical Society at the Lobster Factory on July 10, 2010.)
The name Pugwash is probably derived from the native Mi’kmah name Pagwecht or Pagweak, which means shallow water. The Mi’kmah came to the area for the abundance of fish and waterfowl, but there is no evidence that they established a permanent settlement.
In 1697 Pugwash became part of a seigneurial grant of land awarded to a French nobleman Pierre Noel Legardeur Tilly. It is unlikely he ever visited; however, Acadians settled in the area until their expulsion in 1755. We know very little about the Acadians. It’s possible there are in the area remains of Acadian dykes.
United Empire Loyalists, who had fought on the side of the British crown, journeyed to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. Many of them were given land grants in Canada. Two brothers, Stephen and Abraham Seaman, were given grants in the Fort Lawrence area. They purchased land around Pugwash Harbour from three Mi’kmah. Stephen Seaman acquired 400 acres on the east side of the harbour and his brother Abraham Seaman acquired 400 acres on the west of the harbour, all for £5. The first house in Pugwash on record was built by Stephen Seaman in 1807. Due to financial difficulties, Stephen Seaman lost this land in an auction in 1812 to some lawyers, who were land dealers. Stephen was not informed of this auction and spent many years petitioning for some compensation, which he finally was given. Part of the Seaman land was sold in to David Sampson Pineo in 1818, and another part to Oliver King. David Pineo then sold part of his land to Joseph Black. Cyrus Eaton’s great-grandfather Amos Eaton moved to Pugwash from Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.
Imagine how local residents in the early 19th century made their living. Look out the window for some clues. Pugwash developed rapidly because of the fine timber stands within easy reach for shipment overseas, and the beginning of a boom in shipbuilding. The name Waterford stuck as a name from 1827 to 1829. By 1830 the name had reverted back to Pugwash, which means Shallow Waters due to the sandbars that are frequently dredged to let ships with big keels to have a safe harbor. What exports do you think helped sustain the village?
In 1845 James Black plotted and arranged the layout of lots and streets that became the core of the present-day village. He wanted the development of the village to more orderly, and to be diverted away from the area around Crescent beach.
Donald Mckay, an ancestor of Cyrus Eaton, designed and built Clipper Ships in Bostons. You can listen on your phone to segment about his life and the Clipper Ships. The wooded model of The Flying Cloud displayed here was built by Ramon Bourque, Cyrus’s long-time butler, who managed the staff for many of the conferences here.
Levy Eaton and the George Henderson Brigantien Ship. On December 4,1859, a ship built in Pugwash, called the George Henderson, sailed out of Pugwash Harbour to New Zealand, carrying a number of Pugwash and Gulf Shore families including the ship builder himself, Levi Woodworth Eaton. It reached Cape Town, South Africa, on February 6, 1860, then it landed in Sydney, Australia on April 4, 1860. Four and half months after its departure from Pugwash Harbour, it reached Auckland, New Zealand on April 27, 1860. Four months later it wrecked off New Plymouth in August, 1960. Recently in another storm, the ship arose, its ribs still identifiable. But again, it disappeared beneath the surface.
Population of Pugwash: By 1871 the population of Pugwash had expanded to over 3,000 (three times the current population) There were four hotels, a temperance house, six churches, a Masonic lodge, a tannery, two blacksmiths, three physicians and three teachers.
Decline of Shipbuilding in Pugwash: Shipbuilding began to decline in the 1870s but did not cease until 1919. Pugwash went through an economic decline and even the railway line which was built with a spur into Pugwash in 1889 did not give the expected boost.
Pugwash Fires: Devastating fires destroyed much of the village in 1877, 1890, 1898, 1901, 1928, 1929. Think about what might have caused these fires. The last fire of note occurred on May 12, 1929 when 35 buildings were consumed.
Cyrus Eaton and Pineo Lodge: After this fire, Cyrus Eaton bought Pineo Lodge (now known as Thinkers’ Lodge) and the land adjacent to it, which is now Eaton Park. The Pugwash Park Commission, which owns and administers the Lodge, was established in August 1929 as a non‐profit corporation by an act of the Nova Scotia Legislature. Cyrus Eaton employed many of the local people to transport the soil from a hill by the wharf (which can be seen in earlier photos of Pugwash) to fill and build up the land for the park.
1996 Fire at Thinkers Lodge: In 1996 fire at Thinkers Lodge started by an electrical short in the walls of the gift shop. Firefighters from four towns rushed to douse the fire, and villagers from Pugwash hurried to the Lodge. Firefighters handed every piece of furniture, every hooked rug, photograph, lamp and book to villagers who waited outside forming a long line all the way to the Lobster Factory. They passed each treasure hand to hand from one person to another.
History of Thinkers Lodge Building:
The original Pineo Building likely had two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs on either side of our front door. The kitchen was probably added on when a small building was moved here. In 1929, Cyrus Eaton hired Andrew Cobb, a well-known architect from Halifax to remodel it. The great room, the room where the Nobel Prize and Lenin Prize, and the Cyrus Eaton and Anne Eaton bedrooms would have been added. Each room has a fireplace and bathroom. You can see photographs of what it looked like before it was remodeled on the Thinkerslodgehistories.com website.
A primary concern was staying warm in winter and protecting against the wind off the Strait. Consequently, there were no windows on this west-facing wall when the original house was constructed, somewhere between 1822 and 1842. We believe it was enlarged in the 1880s when the kitchen and Anne Eaton’s room were added. Cobb did the most to change the Lodge. He the great room, the room where the Nobel Peace Prize and Lenin Peace are, Cyrus Eaton’s room, the third staircase, and bedroom upstairs, the windows and west facing porch. This has the effect of opening the house up to the sunsets and the view of the Strait. Ron Burdock is the man for this section.
Wood fire places entirely heated The Lodge until 1958. Then Eaton added an oil furnace to heat the downstairs rooms. During the recent restoration in 2010, heat was expanded to all rooms.
The restoration in 2010 to convert this building into an historic site was overseen by CREDA who also oversaw the building of Joggins, the UNESCO site
Back in the Gift Shop: Encourage buying gifts and also making donation. Remind people that we have drawing for up to 13 people to stay in Thinkers Lodge. Remind them we do weddings, conferences, workshops, and retreats for executives. Ask them to do a review on TripAdvisor.
Tour of Thinker Lodge
Tour Script
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