pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 44
1.02M
| source
stringlengths 38
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.720838
| 0.720838
|
Calexico Unified School District administrative offices.
Calexico Unified School district files lawsuit against Calexico
CALEXICO — The Calexico Unified School District served its lawsuit against the City of Calexico Wednesday, December 16, over the city’s failure to ensure construction project applicants paid the District’s school impact fees as required by law. The District previously submitted a government code claim to the City over the issue and filed the lawsuit after it had not heard a response from the City within the City’s period to respond to that claim under California law, according to the press release.
The District recently discovered and confirmed the discrepancies between records of building permits issued by the City and district records through a Public Records Act request for approved building permits and related information. The documents reviewed by the District show that the City issued building permits but neglected to require certification from the District that the District had received the required school impact fee payment for the project or a specific exemption from fee payment.
Based on the initial records that have been released, the preliminary estimated amount of the developer fees that have not been paid because of the City’s actions are approximately $1,000,000. Though this amount may increase, and other related details may come to light as a review is conducted of all of the City’s records during litigation.
Under California law, the school impact fee payments from construction projects are one of only a very limited number of options available to pay for costs for upkeep and construction of new school facilities that will be required by the students enrolled with the District. The fact that the City has issued building permits without following its legal obligations has put the District in an untenable position regarding paying for increased facilities needs to house students in the community, according to a release.
To address this issue with the City, and reflecting the severity of not having enough funding for its school facilities, the District has undertaken the following:
● The District filed a claim with the City and an amended claim to make the City aware of the issues. The District has not received a response from the City to these claims.
● The District approached the City with a request to enter an agreement so that the parties could work to resolve the issues without litigation. The City Council has not agreed to the agreement so that the parties could work cooperatively to resolve the matter, declining to act on the agreement at two separate City Council meetings.
● As a result, the District was left with no choice but to file a lawsuit against the City to pursue the fees to which it was legally entitled so that the District could provide much-needed District facilities to serve the students.
NotPC Dec 20, 2020 1:31pm
it's Calexico. A US City run and operated as any city in Mexico would be manged and operated. Is anyone really surprised???
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535118
|
__label__cc
| 0.563038
| 0.436962
|
September - 2018 special1 issue
Better U
By Brad Loiselle, President & CEO
Brad Loiselle
An avid public speaker, a serial entrepreneur, and a published author, Brad Loiselle is a multitalented personality and an ardent believer of 'Education is a human right.' He is committed to leaving a global mark by providing access to quality, affordable education to the mass populations of emerging markets. Primarily focused on the development of India, in order to understand the root challenges pertaining to education access and other underlying issues of the country, Brad traveled to India several dozen times and met with hundreds of companies, government and educational leaders, students and so on. With a clear and bold vision of educating an entire nation of more than one billion people, Brad brought betterU to India in 2013, an education technology company headquartered in Ottawa and Mumbai that is resolute to establish a digital marketplace for online education—connecting global educators and content providers with learners of India.
Acting as the ecosystem that bridges the gap between education and jobs by providing the tools necessary to prepare prospective learners for the jobs they want and better their lives, betterU is backed by partnerships with media groups like Times of India and Hindustan Times. "This association was important for reaching the mass populations. Both media outlets have become shareholders in betterU now," pinpoints Brad. Later, betterU also went on to build a global job portal, including employment services and expanded its partnerships with leading educators such as Skillsoft, Adobe, Merit Nation, Edx, BSEI, Pluralsight, EdCast, ICICIdirect Centre for Financial Learning, IELTS Online, Imarticus Learning, International Career Institute, Internshala, iTrack, John Academy, Udemy and the list does not end there. "The emphasis is always given to the quality. We keep on partnering with leading brands to ensure the education and content being delivered is of top quality," says Brad proudly.
"Followed by $10 million of investment to date, betterU presently offers thousands of courses in Business, Design, Exams Preparatory, KG-Class 12, Personal Interest & Technology, and is adding more every day"
betterU prides itself on being the only platform that has been able to bring together students from across the country along with educators from preschool to Class 12 under
one roof, and facilitates accessibility to multiple formats of delivery including self-paced, online, instructor-led in class, and on-site learning. "Having spent years researching how to bring global education to India, we contemplated that coupled with urban India, we also need to cater to the educational needs of the students who are residing in Tier 1,2,3 and rural areas," opines Brad. Followed by $10 million of investment to date, betterU presently offers thousands of courses in Business, Design, Exams Preparatory, KG-Class 12, Personal Interest & Technology, and is adding more every day.
Brad shares, "Our focus was to build a system that would make sense for India's growing population and enable us to solve the mass education needs with all types of education. In the pursuit of fulfilling this dream, we have included world-class educators from the USA, Canada, and nine other countries, and we are still striving to enhance our offering." Offering programmes to people of multiple age groups, career paths and industries, the aspiring learners at betterU just have to register for the desired course, which will give them easy access to the contents right away. "We have programs planned for rural areas, skills development support for many sectors and much more. Funding has been what has held us back, but that too is being solved with a US$ 100M equity investment coming to betterU shortly. These funds will accelerate all our advancements for India," concludes Brad.
Scholarships for Indian Students to Study in the US
Riya Das
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535121
|
__label__cc
| 0.714972
| 0.285028
|
OIV Director General Meets 21st Century Challenges
IWSR interviews OIV's current director general, Pau Roca, to get his insights into the current challenges facing the wine industry
News & Comment Interview
Pau Roca, elected last November as the tenth director general of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), has a deep-rooted attachment and pride in the heritage and traditions of the vine and wine industry. This has been built up over a lifetime’s service to the sector. His experience also gives him a clearly defined understanding of the twenty first century challenges that the industry now faces.
Roca believes that sustainability is a “dominant theme” and that the strategies developed to adapt to the “environmental, economic and social impacts of climate change” will dictate the future wellbeing of the sector. His work as the vice-president of the ‘Sustainable Development and Climate Change’ expert group makes him well placed to contribute to plotting the best course going forward.
Grape producers, Roca maintains, have never been in denial because they have been on the frontline of the consequences of climate change for years. “The way that they have been vinifying has been changing for some years as a consequence, they have felt it at the moment of vintage and they have felt it in their cellars”. The sector in reality has already been adjusting to changing temperatures for some time.
We are, he thinks, entering a new era where a new economic model needs to be deployed with less emphasis on growth and more on managing the natural equilibrium. This requires producers to innovate to respond to “what nature gives you” and to understand the huge potential of the vine to accustom itself to an evolving climate. “The soil is the same, the human input is unchanged, the only variable is the climate”. That will continue to shape Viticultural practices in the future.
We are entering a new era where a new economic model needs to be deployed with less emphasis on growth and more on managing the natural equilibrium.
The sector can also play its part in dealing with the underlying cause of climate change – CO2 emissions – through embracing new greener packaging solutions and making logistical changes. There is an expectation from the consumer to act, and in the digital age, all industries are now accountable. The consumer has been empowered by a digital environment that has given them access to an abundance of information, quite literally at their fingertips.
Roca considers that the second major issue for the sector to come to terms with is how to communicate in this new digital era. What the modern consumer might want to know about their product can no longer just be captured on the label on an individual bottle. It is up to governments, OIV and other intergovernmental organisations to work together to establish global industry standards for how, where and what information is presented.
The two core aspirations of the public are for their grapes and wines to be naturally produced and traceable. Viticulturalists work with nature to ensure their product is authentically natural while new technologies have enabled an exceptional degree of transparency and traceability to be achieved. Roca says that the vine and wine business can deliver over and above the expectations of their audience; the issue that needs to be addressed is not meeting their consumer’s aspirations but using the new modes of communication to transmit how successful they are at achieving them.
It is up to governments, OIV and other intergovernmental organisations to work together to establish global industry standards for how, where and what information is presented.
Digitalisation is not just changing the way that information is collated, stored and distributed, it is also accelerating the process of decision making and ultimately the time that actions happen. In this context, Roca feels that it must be priority of the OIV to put in place the mechanisms to ensure the organisation is able to act and respond more quickly to a fast-changing landscape. With its 750-1000 active members, extensive community of experts and general secretariat, he compares the organisation to a huge cargo vessel where any change of direction is a long drawn out process. While recognising the importance of building consensus in a member driven organisation, he advocates reforms that will make decision making in OIV a more agile and flexible process.
We will gain more insight into how Pau Roca’s plans to confront the challenges when his five-year strategic plan is unveiled shortly. Roca hopes that when his five-year tenure is completed, the plan will have helped to justify the faith shown in him by the members he serves.
About the IWSR
The IWSR is the leading source of data and intelligence on the alcoholic beverage market. The IWSR’s database, essential to the industry, quantifies the global market of wine, spirits, beer, cider and mixed drinks by volume and value in 157 countries, and provides insight into short- and long-term trends, including five-year volume and value forecasts. The IWSR tracks overall consumption and trends at brand, price segment and category level. Our data is used by the major international wine, spirits and beer companies, as well as financial and alcoholic beverage market suppliers. The IWSR’s unique methodology allows us to get closer to what is actually consumed and better understand how markets work. Our analysts travel the world in order to meet over 1,600 local professionals to capture market trends and the ‘why’ behind the numbers.
The world’s most comprehensive, consistent & reliable source of data for the global alcoholic beverage market.
The key figures, market by market
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535123
|
__label__wiki
| 0.646775
| 0.646775
|
Missed chances made it tough - Evans
Steve Evans post MK Dons...
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans was left ruing his side’s missed chances after they slipped to a 4-1 defeat to MK Dons on the opening day of the 2015/16 campaign.
The Millers started brightly at AESSEAL New York Stadium but fell behind when Rob Hall bundled the visitors in front from close range, before Matt Derbyshire levelled with a header minutes later.
Evans’ men then took the bull by the horns and launched an onslaught on the MK Dons defence which saw them forced to repel a number of attacks with Aidy White coming closest for the Millers. However, Karl Robinson’s men repelled their efforts and went on to record victory after a resolute display.
“I think if you don’t defend right and take chances at the key stages of the match it’s always going to be tough,” he conceded.
“Our defending wasn’t good enough but at 1-1 it looked like there was only one team in the ground that was going to go on and score a couple of goals but you can’t miss the chances and open goals that we’ve missed and expect to win a game.
“We got a good goal from Matt from a set piece that we’ve worked on for a couple of days and then we’ve laid siege to their goal. Matt then gets another chance that he doesn’t take and then they’ve gone up the other end and within five minutes a deflection puts them 2-1 up and then we’ve had some naïve defending and gone 3-1 down.”
Before the game Evans named his captain for the season with Greg Halford the man charged with taking the armband. However, the Millers’ boss insists that he won’t be alone in leading the team.
“We’ve said that Greg will be the captain and he’ll be ably supported by Danny Collins. Danny’s a very experienced man in a captaincy role and Greg will lead it but he’ll be closely assisted by Danny,” he explained.
With a Capital One Cup clash with Cambridge United on the horizon Evans is keen to get his players ready for the visit of Richard Money’s men by dissecting the Millers’ performance against MK Dons:
“Its our job as a coaching staff to sit down with the players on the training ground tomorrow and look at it with some clarity. We’ll get back on the training ground on Monday and prepare for Cambridge on Tuesday who have had a very smart result today."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535125
|
__label__cc
| 0.643496
| 0.356504
|
Improvement works at Willen Lake are back underway
The improvement works at Willen Lake are due to resume this week (Monday 4th May 2020).
Appointed construction firm Ashe Construction, have been working over recent weeks to develop safe working practices and environments for their staff which complies with government advice in relation to the outbreak of coronavirus and now they and The Parks Trust, who are funding the scheme deem it safe for work to continue as planned at Willen Lake.
These improvement works are the second phase to happen at Willen Lake and will involve the construction of an impressive new building, designed by Q2 Architects, situated on the edge of the lake. The building will house a purpose-built watersports centre with state-of-the-art facilities for customers including; modern changing rooms, showers and additional toilets. This centre will be the hub for all watersports activities at Willen Lake by bringing them under one roof. It will also be home to popular activity, Aqua Parcs, the inflatable water course on the lake. The building will include a new café and restaurant, which will offer dining options on both the ground and first floor. The restaurant will offer stunning views across the lake and the opportunity to dine alfresco.
The building will be fully accessible, with level access, lifts, accessible toilets and baby change facilities. Furthermore, we are pleased to announce the inclusion of a full Changing Places facility in this building. This is in addition to the accessible toilets and will accommodate people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, as well as older people with severe disabilities. For more information visit: www.changing-places.org
The construction of this impressive new building will be undertaken by Ashe. Ashe Construction manages the design and build construction of buildings for public and private sector clients. From their head office in Hertfordshire they serve a great diversity of markets and industries on new construction, internal and external refurbishment, alterations, and fit-outs.
Andrew Morris, Director of Ashe Construction says: ‘We are delighted to be re-mobilising the construction works on this exciting project. The recent events have served as a timely reminder of how important our green open spaces and recreational facilities are for our wellbeing. We look forward to the completion of the project because we are confident, we will then be in a place where the facilities can be utilised to their full potential, where friends and families can meet up and enjoy being together in the beautiful setting that Willen Lake affords’.
Phase two of the improvement work is due to be completed in time for the 2021 summer season. The improvements will be entirely funded by The Parks Trust, the independent charity that cares for the greenspace in Milton Keynes. The scheme is financed by The Trust’s endowment fund which enables the charity to make investments that provide the income to maintain and improve the parks. All income generated from activities and car parking at Willen Lake contribute to this.
To keep up to date with developments and to find out more please visit: www.willenlake.org.uk/phasetwo
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535126
|
__label__cc
| 0.61894
| 0.38106
|
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, Public Use Weights, Wave IV
Data Archive > U.S. Surveys > General Population > National > Add Health Surveys > Summary
Summary Codebook Search Download Site Tutorials
10.17605/OSF.IO/Y364W
Harris, K. M. (2020, December 7). National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, Public Use Weights, Wave IV.
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades seven through 12 in the United States. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, the most recent in 2008, when the sample was aged 24-32.* Add Health combines longitudinal survey data on respondents' social, economic, psychological and physical well-being with contextual data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships, providing unique opportunities to study how social environments and behaviors in adolescence are linked to health and achievement outcomes in young adulthood. The fourth wave of interviews expanded the collection of biological data in Add Health to understand the social, behavioral, and biological linkages in health trajectories as the Add Health cohort ages through adulthood. The fifth wave of data collection is planned to begin in 2016.
Initiated in 1994 and supported by three program project grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) with co-funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations, Add Health is the largest, most comprehensive longitudinal survey of adolescents ever undertaken. Beginning with an in-school questionnaire administered to a nationally representative sample of students in grades seven through 12, the study followed up with a series of in-home interviews conducted in 1995, 1996, 2001-02, and 2008. Other sources of data include questionnaires for parents, siblings, fellow students, and school administrators and interviews with romantic partners. Preexisting databases provide information about neighborhoods and communities.
Add Health was developed in response to a mandate from the U.S. Congress to fund a study of adolescent health, and Waves I and II focus on the forces that may influence adolescents' health and risk behaviors, including personal traits, families, friendships, romantic relationships, peer groups, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. As participants have aged into adulthood, however, the scientific goals of the study have expanded and evolved. Wave III, conducted when respondents were between 18 and 26** years old, focuses on how adolescent experiences and behaviors are related to decisions, behavior, and health outcomes in the transition to adulthood. At Wave IV, respondents were ages 24-32* and assuming adult roles and responsibilities. Follow up at Wave IV has enabled researchers to study developmental and health trajectories across the life course of adolescence into adulthood using an integrative approach that combines the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences in its research objectives, design, data collection, and analysis.
* 52 respondents were 33-34 years old at the time of the Wave IV interview.
** 24 respondents were 27-28 years old at the time of the Wave III interview.
Wave IV was designed to study the developmental and health trajectories across the life course of adolescence into young adulthood. Biological data was gathered in an attempt to acquire a greater understanding of pre-disease pathways, with a specific focus on obesity, stress, and health risk behavior. Included in this dataset are the Wave IV weights.
Variables: 5
Weight Variable:
See the following online document for details on weighting: Guidelines for Analyzing Add Health Data. To merge waves, use the merge variable "AID."
Date Collected: In-Home Interviews and biomarker collection: April-June 2007 (pretest), January 2008-February 2009 (main study)
Original Survey (Instrument)
Wave IV Public-use Weights
Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations.
In-home interviews
Biomarker collection: blood pressure readings, anthropometric measures (height, weight, and waist circumference), and blood spots from a finger stick from all consenting respondents
All original Wave I in-home respondents were eligible for in-home interviews at Wave IV. The Wave IV public-use file contains data on 5,114 respondents.
Dr. Kathleen Mullan Harris, Director, Add Health; James E. Haar Distinguished Professor of Sociology;
Carolina Population Center Faculty Fellow, UNC-Chapel Hill
To access a publications database on the Add Health website, visit here, which includes more than 5,000 publications, presentations, unpublished manuscripts, and dissertations by Add Health researchers. To obtain a copy of any item, please contact the author.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535128
|
__label__wiki
| 0.850925
| 0.850925
|
Home Michelle Harrison | 'We’ve still got superstitions all around us and I love playing on that'
Michelle Harrison | 'We’ve still got superstitions all around us and I love playing on that'
Published November 13, 2020 by Fiona Noble
A family curse trapped the three Widdershins sisters on the prison isle of Crowstone in A Pinch of Magic. The sequel, A Sprinkle of Sorcery,...
A family curse trapped the three Widdershins sisters on the prison isle of Crowstone in A Pinch of Magic. The sequel, A Sprinkle of Sorcery, took them across the marshes and waves to a secret island not found on any map. In February, Simon & Schuster Children’s Books will publish the third Widdershins adventure, A Tangle of Spells, which sees the family move away to a new village.
“Pendlewick is very postcard-pretty on the surface,” Michelle Harrison tells me, speaking on the phone from her Essex home, “but upon scratching a little deeper, the sisters begin to find strange things”. There’s the “hungry tree”, rumoured to devour everything in its path, and standing stones, said to house the grave of a witch with a wooden leg. A curious spinning wheel thrums ominously in the village shop. And yet, the neighbours flinch at the mere mention of magic: “There’s a whole history of witchcraft in this village that people are trying to gloss over.”
The girls find a secret room in their new house and discover the diary of a girl called Ivy, who was suspected of being a witch. This gives Harrison the “story within a story”, a device that she loves to use in her work to add depth and extra layers of storytelling. As the air of foreboding builds, eldest sister Fliss succumbs to a strange enchantment, and it’s up to Betty and Charlie to break the dark hold over the village and to save their sister.
The theme of witchcraft is one that has long fascinated Harrison. “I’ve been steadily getting witchier and witchier with each book,” she laughs. “Those are the stories I love to read. It’s the unfairness, the terrifying things people used to do to these poor women.” From children’s books right through to adult fiction, there’s a current resurgence of interest in stories featuring witches, female power and persecution, and this, she believes, is no accident. “In some ways it feels that women’s rights are going backwards—the abortion laws in America, for example. We think the oppression of women is in the past, but actually you wonder if it could all happen again.”
Fairytales and folklore feature heavily in Harrison’s work, from the fairy quests of The Thirteen Treasures trilogy to the magical objects of the Widdershins stories. Pendlewick’s stories and superstitions reflect the rich tapestry of myths and legends found across the British Isles, stories that Harrison is always looking out for. “I’m a bit of a magpie,” she confesses, “I collect all of these little snippets and weave them into something else.” In A Tangle of Magic, Chambercombe Manor in Ilfracombe, Devon provided the inspiration for the Widdershins’ spooky new house. Repairs in the 18th century uncovered a secret room housing a skeletal woman, disturbing, it is said, a ghostly presence. A tree in Dublin, growing in such a way that it appears to “eat” the bench beneath it, was too good not to include. Harrison is fascinated by how resonant these stories remain. “There is still an element of belief there. We’ve still got these superstitions all around us and I love playing on that, getting the stories behind it.”
Getting schooled
The relationship and dynamics between the Widdershins sisters have proved to be just as strong a lure as the magic itself. Ironically, Harrison never intended the books to be about siblings; her original idea would have followed Betty’s adventures at witch school, and she thought a second title might feature completely new characters in the same magical world. It was only when she came up with the idea of a family curse that the sisters appeared. “I needed to give Betty a family, and because I’m one of three sisters, I thought, ‘I can do that’.”
Much of the charm is in how real these characters feel; their impatient bickering and fierce loyalties recognisable to anyone with a sibling. Do Harrison’s sisters see themselves in the characters, I ask? “Yes,” she admits, a little sheepishly. “I’ve just stolen their personalities really. It’s very much us.” Her biggest surprise in writing the Widdershins books is just how strongly readers have responded to Charlie, Betty and Fliss. “In my books, it’s always the plot that comes first and I work on the characters after. But I think I’ve learned how important the characters are, and I’ve tried to develop them.”
A voracious reader in childhood, Harrison resolved to become an author by the age of 12 or 13, learning her craft by penning short stories inspired by teen favourites such as Point Horror and Christopher Pike. “I was heavily influenced,” she recalls, “lots of best friends of serial killers.” Following a degree in illustration, she worked as a bookseller for Ottakar’s and Waterstones, and then as an editorial assistant at Oxford University Press, writing her début novel over seven years.
Her dark fairy tale adventure The Thirteen Treasures was published in 2008, and won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Our industry is notoriously obsessed with shiny débuts, but I’m always interested to hear about what comes next in authors’ careers. Harrison wrote two sequels and several standalone titles, and although published to critical acclaim, sales were quieter. When she began work on A Pinch of Magic, her expectations were not particularly high. “You hope that every book is going to take off, but I was starting to feel like a bit of a one-book wonder,” she remembers. The book was hard work, involving several extensive edits, but it paid off.
Strong support
Simon & Schuster backed A Pinch of Magic heavily from the off, with an ambitious marketing campaign and beautiful design featuring Melissa Castrillon’s artwork. The book secured the influential Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month slot and was an instant hit, selling strongly across the whole trade. It became one of 2019’s bestselling children’s fiction titles, and was shortlisted for a British Book Award. Writing A Sprinkle of Sorcery was, she says, much more straightforward, but a combination of lockdown and the subsequent home-schooling of her children have made A Tangle of Spells a lengthier project. This autumn sees the launch of Harrison’s début young fiction
series Midnight Magic, published by Stripes in time for Halloween. Born out of her love for often unwanted black cats, it’s a spooky delight of a tale, starring a small girl called Trixie, her magical kitten Midnight, and Twiggy the broom. Written in rhyming verse and illustrated in purple hues by Elissa Elwick, two further titles are planned
for 2021.
And as for those Widdershins sisters? “Three books, three sisters... it would round it off,” she says, so hesitantly that it’s clear leaving this world and these characters behind will be no easy task. “I don’t know if I’m ready to finish it yet.”
Richard Flanagan | 'We are many possibilities that masquerade as one. Literature reminds us of that'
Shaun Bythell | 'What I object to is the digitisation of everything that's ever been printed'
Lucy Jago | 'It really mattered to me that I didn’t play fast and loose with the facts'
That's my author
The Meal Prep King Plan
by The Meal Prep King
Good Vibes, Good Life
by King, Vex
by Adele Parks
30 Day Kick Start Plan
by Joe Wicks
1st Case
Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid
by Fearne Cotton
by Walliams, David
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535130
|
__label__cc
| 0.534514
| 0.465486
|
What is Brand USA?
As the destination marketing organization for the United States, Brand USA's mission is to increase incremental international visitation, spend, and market share to fuel the nation’s economy and enhance the image of the USA worldwide.
The law that created us is called the Travel Promotion Act—and it had overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle.
We are laser-focused on increasing international visitation to fuel the nation’s economy.
Now in our seventh year, we’re delivering on our promise to fuel the nation’s economy by inspiring the world to visit the USA. In other words, it’s working.
About Brand USA (History & Operations)
It looks like international visitation to the United States is already up—so why do we need this program?
Visitation is up—but not enough. We have a lot of ground to make up to get even close to the market share we once enjoyed more than 10 years ago. In fact, between 2000 and 2010 the U.S. share of international arrivals dropped 36% (from a market share of 17% to 12.4%). The associated economic costs of that decline are estimated to be a loss of 78 million visitors, $606 billion in spending, and support for 467,000 jobs annually.
The United States continues to regain lost market share. While the standalone results clearly demonstrate the success of Brand USA initiatives, global market share analysis adds additional perspective on our impact. The collective efforts of Brand USA and the travel and tourism industry have propelled the United States ahead of the global average since 2010. Nevertheless, the United States still has a long way to go to regain the market share that was conceded during “The Lost Decade,” a period after 9/11 during which the United States lost 30% of its global long haul market share.
One reason for the significant decline is because the United States did not have a nationally coordinated collaborative marketing effort. In fact, the United States was the only industrialized country without a program like this in place. Other countries have spent a tremendous amount of money (of more than $100 million to $200 million a year) running successful tourism efforts for years. Brand USA’s marketing efforts resulted in millions of new international visitors who spent billions of dollars in the United States, which created tens of thousands of new jobs across the nation.
Absent the industry’s specialized, coordinated efforts to attract additional international visitors, the United States would have continued ceding more share to other tourism markets around the world. For each measure of progress, we are not only counteracting, but outpacing a current that flows against us.
Why is the work of Brand USA so important?
Travel and tourism is a vital economic engine, providing skilled and high-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced. And international inbound travel to the United States is a major driver of the engine. Ranking ahead of agricultural goods and motor vehicles, international travel is the single-largest services export, accounting for 31% of all services exports in 2014.
According to the Department of Commerce, in 2014, nearly 75 million international visitors came to the United States and spent a record $220 billion on goods and services, which are counted as U.S. exports. In total, spending by international travelers while traveling the United States supported 1.8 million American jobs (directly and indirectly) and benefits virtually every sector of the economy.
How does the work of Brand USA benefit the United States?
Boosting international tourism is one of the best levers we have to create new, outsource-proof U.S. jobs and spur economic activity. Visitor spending also provides much needed economic activity to local communities around the country.
Every sector of the economy benefits from more heads in beds, more passengers on planes and trains, more visitors to destinations across the country, more diners at restaurants, and more customers at local businesses across the country.
According to studies by the U.S. Travel Association, the average overseas visitor to the United States spends approximately $4,400 per trip, which directly or indirectly supports one new job in the United States. In fact, according to the U.S. Travel, every 33 new overseas visitors to the United States directly or indirectly supports one new job in the United States.
What is the mission of Brand USA?
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, is the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. entry/exit policies and procedures to worldwide travelers.
Our mission is to increase incremental international visitation, spend, and market share to fuel our nation’s economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide.
Our vision is to be the best-in-class national destination marketing organization—earning the USA the largest share of the global travel market and significantly contributing to job creation, GDP, export growth, and tax revenues.
What and how was Brand USA formed?
Brand USA began operations in May 2011. Originally created as the Corporation for Travel Promotion (and now doing business as Brand USA), the organization was established by the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 as the nation’s first public-private partnership to spearhead a globally coordinated marketing effort to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and communicate U.S. entry policies.
This first-ever effort has put the United States on equal footing with other countries’ tourism efforts and has brought millions of new international visitors to the United States who spend billions of dollars during their travels—thus creating thousands of new American jobs each year.
Is it common practice for countries to charge a fee to international travelers?
Yes. In fact, the $14 fee for eligible travelers who come to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is significantly lower than what travelers pay to visit other countries. To put this in perspective, it's important to note that on average other countries charge entry and/or exit fees of nearly $60 per traveler per visit—usually attached to taxes and fees on travel purchases such as airline tickets. Some of these fees are as high as $150 per traveler. In contrast, the $14 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee covers travelers from VWP markets for a period of up to two years regardless of the number of visits these travelers make to the United States.
How is the program funded?
No U.S. taxpayer dollars are used to fund Brand USA’s marketing efforts. Instead, the organization is supported by contributions from over 700 partnering organizations that are matched by fees paid by international travelers to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program.
ESTA is an automated system implemented by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008 that determines the eligibility of visitors from 38 international markets to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). ESTA authorizations are generally valid for multiple trips over a period of two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first.
Why should my organization contribute in-kind to Brand USA?
For Fiscal Year 2012 & Fiscal Year 2013, over half of our funds were realized through in-kind contributions from our partners. Those funds go toward expanding our brand presence internationally as well as expanding partner opportunities at Brand USA. That means we can offer more ways to deliver value directly to you and leverage our collective marketing efforts around the globe. Additionally, we utilize contributed content and images to promote destinations and attractions through our social media channels, public relations, and events. Together, our combined efforts are increasingly making the United States top-of-mind for international travelers.
What results is Brand USA seeing so far?
The campaign is driving results as intended—from intent to visit to consumer sentiment to engagement. Brand USA delivered powerful results in Fiscal Year 2015. According to a study by Oxford Economics, Brand USA’s initiatives in the 14 markets where it had fully deployed consumer, trade, and co-op marketing outreach campaigns, contributed to a stronger more dynamic U.S. economy.
Brand USA's overall marketing efforts generated, over the past three years:
3 million incremental visitors who spent
$9.5 billion in incremental spending, resulting in
More than $21 billion in total economic impact, which support over
Nearly 50,000 incremental jobs per year Brand USA operated both efficiently and effectively. Our return on investment for its marketing efforts is ranked among some of the most successful tourism marketing campaigns in the world. Brand USA has consistently managed its overhead to be at less than 15% (and most often significantly below that at 10%).
How do you verify the study results?
The study results are valid and verified.
The study was conducted by Oxford Economics, the worldwide leader in economic impact studies, which is used by destinations worldwide.
The 3-prong approach used is a highly regarded and robust econometric analysis validated by consumer sentiment and market share analysis. In addition, this analysis fully considered external factors outside of Brand USA's marketing efforts such as macroeconomic conditions, direct marketing investments by others, policy changes such as visa waiver status of international markets, and other general market dynamics.
This assures with a high level of confidence that the effective results credited to Brand USA's efforts are valid.
How does Brand USA measure its success?
Brand USA is tracking and measuring its success based on improvements and increases related to:
Awareness and image of the USA as a travel destination
International travelers’ intent to travel to the United States and, most importantly,
International visitation and spend
What is Brand USA's current consumer campaign?
Brand USA’s new campaign, “See How Far You Can Go,” illustrates the diversity of the United States and invites travelers to share their own unique experiences. The “See How Far You Can Go” consumer campaign spans a variety of advertising and media platforms including, online videos, out-of-home signage, online display ads, and social media posts that will drive awareness of the new campaign and inspire visitation to the USA.
The campaign takes an innovative social-first approach, concentrating on shareable and relatable imagery and video content whose first person viewpoint will draw consumers into the frame and make them feel like they could have captured the shots themselves. Music also plays a significant role in the new campaign, with music tracks tailored to individual personas and reflective of sounds distinct to the USA.
In an era of likes, tweets and #latergrams, social networks are one of the most influential forces driving travel planning today. The campaign, which runs across Facebook, Instagram, and various digital networks, helps potential travelers discover the variety of experiences, hidden gems, and off-the-beaten-path destinations available throughout the USA.
How does Brand USA identify and prioritize key international markets for its marketing efforts?
During Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016), Brand USA will deploy its marketing efforts in a strategic combination of emerging and established markets that have the potential to drive the greatest returns in terms of visitation, spend, and market share.
The FY2016 target markets were determined by using a unique modeling tool that focuses on opportunity (feeder market size) and market opportunity rather than relying solely on past visitation to the United States.
The model considers international travel behavior, including expenditures and departures, and a variety of factors, including:
Macroeconomic factors, such as GDP growth and unemployment
Demographic factors, such as population size and age
Sociopolitical factors, such as civil liberty
Situational factors, such as visa waiver status
Diversification factors, targeting a mix of established and emerging markets
How exciting are things at Brand USA with the wide variety of initiatives recently unveiled?
Our team here in Washington, DC and our representatives around the world are extremely excited about our accomplishments to date and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Brand USA with and through the support of more than 700 partners worldwide has made notable progress towards our mission of increasing international visitation to the United States and by all accounts, our efforts are working.
Generated more than $100 million in industry contributions, including cash contributions of $53 million (53% of all contributions) and in-kind contributions of $47 million in recognized revenue (47% of all contributions).
Grew Brand USA’s partnership network from 577 partners through Fiscal Year 2015 (a 21% increase from Fiscal Year 2014) to 707 partners through Fiscal Year 2016 (a 23% increase from FY2015).
Increased number of unique LOA contributors to 163 in FY2016 compared 154 in FY2015
Maintained a partnership program retention rate of over 90%.
Increased the number of state and regional destination partners participating in Brand USA cooperative marketing programs by 56% from 32 in FY2015 to 50 in FY2016 (including 30 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Increased partner program participation in Brand USA multi-channel cooperative marketing programs by 13% from 245 in FY2015 to 277 in FY2016.
Increased the number of partners featured in the print edition of the Brand USA travel inspiration guide by 3%—from 180 in FY2015 to 186 in FY2016—by increasing customization of partner content to create a richer magazine look and feel.
More than tripled our program offerings over the past four years, with cooperative marketing opportunities that add or create demonstrated value for partners.
Produced 665 in-language videos to promote partner destinations and travel brands through FY2015. Filled 100% of available exhibitor space in Brand USA pavilions at international trade shows, with a 5% average increase in the number of U.S. exhibitors per show.
Hosted the second year of CMO and marketing roundtables—earning an 86% overall approval rating from attendees.
Launched the Brand USA partner reporting portal on TheBrandUSA.com, enabling partners to gain real-time access to program results for their destination or travel brand.
Presented at more than 100 industry events around the world.
How promising is it to see legislators in both houses and from both parties recognize the work Brand USA is doing?
The support we are seeing for Brand USA is consistent with our beginnings. The Travel Promotion Act was passed in 2010 with strong support from both houses and parties—and given that Brand USA benefits more than just the travel sector and is one of the fastest paths to creating jobs, the bi-party support is not surprising.
We are pleased with the unbridled support that exists for Brand USA—which was exemplified by Congress’ reauthorization of Federal funding for Brand USA through fiscal year 2020.
The reauthorization of Brand USA recognizes the positive impact international visitation has on the United States’ economy.
A few notable achievements by Brand USA include:
Generating more than 3 million incremental international visitors to the United States over the past three years.
These additional visitors spent about $9.5 billion in the United States, including travel and fare receipts.
This spending has fueled the U.S. economy by generating:
More than $21 billion in business sales
More than $3 billion in Federal, state, and local taxes
The result? The creation and support of nearly 50,000 incremental U.S. jobs per year.
Where will Brand USA be active in 2017?
Brand USA will be active in more than 40 international markets, which generate 90% of all inbound travel to the United States. Every 1% increase in visitation from these markets allows us to welcome 500,000 more international travelers to the United States, infuse $1 billion in additional revenue to destinations across the country, and support an average of 50,000 new American jobs.
Benelux Region (Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands)
Central America*
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries*
Nordic Countries*
Southeast Asia*
*select markets
What kind of marketing does Brand USA employ?
Brand USA utilizes a number of market-driven platforms and programs to increase inbound visitor travel to the United States and drive tourism dollars to communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five territories. Our programs include the USA marketing campaign, trade outreach initiatives, co-op marketing opportunities, and media/ public relations outreach that, in total, promote the United States in its entirety, and add and create value for partners.
The USA Campaign includes any combination of broadcast, out-of-home, and social media/digital efforts, plus earned media and public relations.
Our co-op marketing programs and platforms make up the majority of our marketing efforts and deliver an array of marketing options to increase awareness, visitation and spend. They include a variety of opportunities for partners of all shapes and sizes to participate and include: Brand USA Originals, Affinity Programs, and Market-Specific Programs.
Brand USA currently works with its expanding network of international representatives, Visit USA committees, travel and tourism advisory boards, U.S. embassy personnel and U.S. commercial services teams to support participation in numerous trade activities, including: trade shows, sales missions, road shows and themed events, training initiatives, MegaFams, and Advisory Boards.
Additionally, through its public policy efforts, Brand USA works in partnership with its Federal partners to communicate U.S. entry policies and help make the international traveler’s experience more welcoming upon arrival and departure.
What are the components of the consumer marketing campaign?
The USA Campaign aspires to reach the right person, with the right media at the right moment and includes any combination of broadcast, out-of-home, digital, and social efforts, plus earned media and public relations. The media mix varies by market.
Partners, Programs, & Contributions
How much time and involvement is required of my organization if we contribute in-kind to Brand USA?
We have developed forms targeted to specific types of in-kind contributions that make the process easier. You can access the forms here. These forms require a signature from your organization and documentation reflecting the value of the contribution. If you need assistance, email Brand USA at [email protected] and let us know what you'd like to contribute. Our in-kind coordinators can walk you through the process.
What is an in-kind Contribution?
A donation of non-cash goods or services that will aid Brand USA in carrying out its statutory mission, as well as its matching requirements.
What is the policy for using images and logos from Brand USA's corporate and consumer websites?
The trade marks, logos, names, and images displayed on Brand USA websites are the registered or unregistered trade marks of Brand USA and others. All marks and images not owned by Brand USA are used by permission. Nothing on the Brand USA website should be taken as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right to use any trade mark displayed on such website without the prior written approval of Brand USA or such third party as may own the relevant trade mark or image. Users may not print, copy, reproduce, download, republish, broadcast, transmit, display, modify or re-use the materials from a Brand USA website for any other purpose without written permission of Brand USA or the mark or image owner, including in particular any purpose which publicly re-sells or re-uses the materials.
How does Brand USA address years (i.e. 2016, 2017, etc.)?
Brand USA follows AP Style, with some agreed upon exceptions. Brand USA writes years as four digits, e.g., 1990. Years may be abbreviated by the last two digits preceded by an apostrophe if necessary (e.g., “Class of ’81”). Decades should be spelled out using lowercase letters or given as a four-digit number followed by an “s” (no apostrophe needed). “The twenties,” “the 1920s,” NOT “the 20’s.” The first through ninth centuries should be spelled out in lowercase letters; others may be in numerals. “Second century,” “18th century.”
Current Trends & Issues
How has the strength of the U.S. dollar affected Brand USA marketing programs?
We are not putting the U.S. on sale, instead, we’re finding that visitors are altering their travel plans. We realize they may shop, dine, or stay differently than before, but our research and studies show that they will still travel to visit the United States.
There’s plenty to do in the United States for less. For example, virtually every destination offers free concerts, festivals, and fairs. Additionally, the United States has plenty of offerings in proximity to gateway cities. Travelers can take advantage of scenic “All American Road Trips,” especially while gas prices are low.
Additionally, inbound and domestic travelers alike can explore our great outdoors. Last year, in partnership with MacGillivray Freeman Films, we produced National Parks Adventure a giant-format film that has inspired worldwide travelers to visit our nation’s National Parks in commemoration of the 2016 centennial anniversary of the National Parks Service.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535131
|
__label__wiki
| 0.631742
| 0.631742
|
Trump Beach Club Hires Foreign Workers
Updated Apr. 13, 2017 5:51PM ET / Published Feb. 25, 2016 8:00AM ET
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has a problem hiring Americans at Mar-a-Lago, his elite Florida beach club. Foreign workers have been the majority of hires for certain posts at the luxurious Palm Beach resort since 2010, The New York Times reported Thursday. The newspaper alleges that nearly 300 U.S. residents have been referred for or applied for jobs as waitstaff, cooks, and housekeepers, but federal records indicate only 17 have been hired. Instead, the club filled those jobs with hundreds of workers from Romania and elsewhere. The real-estate mogul has also reportedly pursued more than 500 visas for foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago in the past six years, according to the Department of Labor. Hundreds of domestic applicants allegedly failed to get those same jobs. Trump claims, though, that U.S. applicants would only be refused if they “weren’t qualified, for some reason.” He has said that “there are very few qualified people during the high season in the area.” Meanwhile, Trump has come under fire in the last year for various anti-immigration comments, largely framing migrants as displacing Americans from the workforce. Trump has said that if he’s elected, he would “greatly strengthen our border, making it impenetrable... I will bring jobs back to the United States.” The GOP frontrunner has also said, however, that he supports legal immigration.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535134
|
__label__wiki
| 0.938265
| 0.938265
|
Camp Tuscazoar marks 100 years of serving youth of eastern Ohio
Jon Baker TimesReporter.com staff writer
ZOARVILLE Camp Tuscazoar, “Ohio‘s Most Historic Camp,” will be celebrating 100 years in operation this year with a full slate of events in 2020.
The camp is situated on Boy Scout Road in Fairfield Township. Its more than 600 acres encompass such landmarks as Buzzard’s Roost and most of the remaining Zoarite Iron Ore Mines, where the Separatists who founded Zoar mined iron ore to feed their furnace located just north of the camp.
The south end of the camp includes the former Dessecker Mine site, where two brothers operated a coal mine in the decades following World War II. The mine area has been completely reclaimed.
“A hundred years is a long time, and to me it‘s a great endeavor that it still exists, that there’s green space that these kids can come to,” said Nancy Schoenbaum, treasurer for the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation, which owns and operates the facility.
“They can build a fire, they can sing a song, they can throw a rock across the river. In this day and age, with kids so linked to their devices, there‘s no wi-fi here, and that’s a good thing. So we really appreciate the fact that we‘ve been able to maintain this.”
Last year, more than 7,000 people visited Camp Tuscazoar — daily visitors and weekend campers. The Boy Scouts is the biggest user of the facility.
In recent years, the camp has become popular with mountain bikers. There are eight miles of dirt bike trails. People riding horses are another group using Camp Tuscazoar.
The history of the camp begins in 1920, when Boy Scouts from Troop 5 in Canton built a cabin in the area. The following year, the newly formed Canton Scout Council picked an open meadow a half-mile away for its summer camp, which became known as Wilderness Camp, according to the Camp Tuscazoar website.
In 1924, council benefactor Frank G. Hoover provided the funds to buy the first tract of 65� acres and placed it in trust for the benefit of the Scouts. The next year, the name “Tuscazoar” was selected as the name for the new camp — a combination of the words Tuscarawas and Zoar, as both have played a significant role in the history of the land composing the camp.
By 1930, the camp covered 160 acres and operations were in full swing, with almost all of the new camp buildings situated right along the Tuscarawas River. There were a number of reasons for this, the most pressing of which was that river access was important for swimming and bathing because the camp lacked shower facilities.
Camp Tuscazoar faced problems when plans were announced in the 1930s to construct Dover Dam on the Tuscarawas River near the camp. A lake was planned behind the dam, and the water would cover the camp‘s central area.
The council seriously considered abandoning Camp Tuscazoar. The council and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, which was building the dam, were also unable to agree on values for the camp’s buildings and land, and a lawsuit ensued. Things were settled in 1937 when George Markley, president of the Tuscarawas Mineral Land Co., agreed to sell the council a 336-acre tract south of the camp’s 160 acres.
The old camp buildings were then demolished, and central camp rebuilt where it is today.
Attendance at Camp Tuscazoar remained high through the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. But the Canton council decided to combine operations of Camp Tuscazoar and its sister camp, Camp Buckeye near Beach City, at a new location. Camp Tuscazoar was sold to the Kimble family of Dover in 1984.
Almost immediately, the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation was formed to save the camp. The Kimble family agreed to lease the camp to the foundation and Scouts began camping there again in 1987.
In 1989, the Kimble family donated 110 acres containing the central camp area to the foundation. Several smaller purchases of land in 1997 from the MWCD along the Tuscarawas River added a hiking trail, and later that year the foundation accepted the donation of the Zoarville Station Bridge from Charles Lebold, which included a permanent right-of-way for a hiking trail from the bridge to state Route 800.
In 2006, a grant from the Clean Ohio Fund allowed the purchase of another 241 acres of the camp by the foundation.
The foundation is a non-profit organization with no paid staff, even the camp ranger, who works for his housing.
“You can‘t get much leaner than that,” Schoenbaum said. “But that’s what‘s made it a success. We all have a stake in this game.”
She encouraged people to come to Camp Tuscazoar.
“We welcome people to come out,” she said. “We‘re open daily, dawn to dusk, to hike, bike, horseback ride, whatever you want to do. Just come out and enjoy the beauty. It’s very pretty here.”
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535137
|
__label__wiki
| 0.787103
| 0.787103
|
NHL: APR 28 2nd Round Game 2 - Predators at Blues
ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 28: Nashville Predators Defenseman Ryan Ellis (4) skates with the puck during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series. The Blues defeated the Predators 3-2 April 28, 2017, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire)
ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 28: Nashville Predators Goalie Pekka Rinne (35) stands in the net while play is stopped during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series. The Blues defeated the Predators 3-2 April 28, 2017, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire)
ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 28: Nashville Predators' Viktor Arvidsson, left, leaps in the air to avoid a shot on goal as St. Louis Blues Goalie Jake Allen gets set to make a save during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series. The Blues defeated the Predators 3-2 April 28, 2017, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Tim Spyers/Icon Sportswire)
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535138
|
__label__cc
| 0.666485
| 0.333515
|
Bravo, Bravo Mr. Cohen. Sticking it to the homeopaths.
One tiny niggle: the placebo effect is real and when there\’s no other available treatment, why not use it?
But as to the use against malaria, or AIDS, thi is absolutely correct:
This is murder. It\’s really that simple.
previousCherie Booth
nextOh For Fuck\’s Sake Will!
5 thoughts on “Homeopathy”
Bob B October 28, 2007 at 9:57 am
But Prince Charles is Patron of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.
Helen October 28, 2007 at 12:29 pm
When it comes to murder and malaria, it may be time for all those self-important defenders of allopathic medicine to have a tiny look at the fact that domestic DDT spraying is being effectively banned across large parts of Africa by threats of not buying their goods. Never mind homeopathy. As for placebo effects, how much allopathic medicine is little more than placebo and how much of it has absolutely horrendous side-effects, that doctors don’t always remember to tell the patient till afterwards.
Not taking sides, you understand, just evening up the argument a bit.
Philip Thomas October 28, 2007 at 2:37 pm
“how much of it has absolutely horrendous side-effects, that doctors don’t always remember to tell the patient till afterwards.”
Errr, the side-effects of conventional drugs are known and listed. This is because there has been rigorous screening procedures performed on the drugs. It’s also a testament to the power of the chemicals used in allopathic medicine. The purported absence of side-effects in alternative medicine stems from both the frequently inert concoctions used and the unwillingness to run independent tests.
Your criticism of doctors may be founded or not. That is, however, a criticism as to the practices of medical staff, not the principle of evidentially-based medicine.
“As for placebo effects, how much allopathic medicine is little more than placebo”
Pretty much all of it. The aforementioned testing involves comparisons between placebo groups and those taking the drug. A difference in outcomes is needed to proceed further.
Tim said, “the placebo effect is real and when there’s no other available treatment, why not use it?”
Actually, there is recent evidence suggesting that the placebo effect does not apply to clinical outcomes, only to the patient’s judgement of their health. In other words, you think and perhaps feel better, but you may not be. This is the danger with the placebo effect and why relying upon it, as is de rigueur for alternative medicine, can prove so hazardous.
There isn’t an even argument to be had. Therapies that work should be used, whether they include the laying of hands, poking with needles, or ingesting laboratory-made chemicals. Therapies that don’t, should not be used. The proponents of alternative medicine are frequently guilty of the latter and thus their exploitation of the sick and vulnerable makes them worthy of contempt, not equal status.
gene berman October 28, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Philip:
Yours is a very concise, impregnable, and straightforward summary. I might even add a bit of unproven but reasonable supposition to your explanation of the placebo effect (as a facet of the patient’s judgment–a subjective matter).
If there’s a oonnection between the state of one’s health and one’s judgment of it, the use of (scientifically) effective treatment may very well provide a “super-placebo” effect as feeling of getting better due to the effect of the treatment being augmented to some degree by the actually better feeling due to the treatment.
Many years ago, I met a doctor (an M.D.) who routinely sent some patients (those whom he judged not to be actually ill) to several “quacks,” including a “witch.” He said he had a long-standing agreement with them: he wouldn’t make any trouble for them as long as they didn’t try to “treat” anyone who was injured or ill (in a medical sense). With that guy, it wasn’t ethics of any kind–strictly a trade-unionist sort of thing.
Helen:
Your facts are not in dispute. But I believe the causality runs somewhat otherwise.
The rise in malaria (and probably some other insect-borne scourges) can, in all likelihood, be laid to decrease in DDT spraying; that decrease, in turn, is likely the result of political pressure related to spraying perceived as environmental threat.
Your piece suggests such pressure is related to allopaths; I believe you’re mistaken, whether or not some allopaths were associated with political groups supporting cessation of spraying. I haven’t the foggiest just when they started the campaign to vilify (and not buy from) African farmers in places that sprayed but it seems to me that pressure to stop (or reduce) spraying in the U.S. began in the ’60s or early ’70s (as was the entire movement) by Carson’s books “The Sea Around Us” and “Silent Spring” (both appearing in the late ’50s, to my recollection). Spraying was reduced in the 70s and stories of reappearance of endangered species (esp. raptors) began to appear in the news; waterways once almost devoid of life once again became productive fisheries (PCBs, etc., here, rather than–or in addition to–DDT).
My guess would be that the environmentalists are not the only source of the pressure against the African farmers–that there are probably those whose financial interests are threatened by those growing under more advantageous conditions (and who thus want to burden their potential competitors).
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535139
|
__label__cc
| 0.745522
| 0.254478
|
Amazingly, England works on English law
Julian Assange will demand on Friday that Sweden and the UK lift any threat of arrest to allow him to walk free from Ecuador’s embassy in London, after a United Nations panel found that his three-and-a-half year confinement at the embassy in London amounted to “arbitrary detention”.
As the police have said, if he walks out he will be arrested. And not for anything to do with Sweden either. He skipped bail. When found and available he will be arrested.
previousTelegraph subs? Report for a beating
nextDem Froggies sure are strange
19 thoughts on “Amazingly, England works on English law”
Matt W February 5, 2016 at 9:40 am
I found the Murphalunar Maths interesting in that transcript, even after the “I’m a Professor dontchaknow” introduction.
‘FTSE 100 companies have joined the Fair Tax Mark’ comprsing SSE.
He still doesn’t get the difference between “one” and “plural”.
JuliaM February 5, 2016 at 9:44 am
“The findings of the UN working group on arbitrary detention (UNWGAD) are not legally binding…”
That’s all, folks!
“Assange issued a statement via Twitter early on Thursday saying that if the five-person panel found against him, he would voluntarily walk out of the embassy and offer himself for immediate arrest, “as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal”.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.””
Let’s meet him half way. Place his passport on the pavement outside the embassy. Then just wait.
The Meissen Bison February 5, 2016 at 10:12 am
England works on English law?
Up to a point. If the ECJ made a ruling rather than some quanglet no one has heard of, it would be a rather different story.
Still, Assange may unknowingly be doing his little bit for the brexit campaign.
So Much For Subtlety February 5, 2016 at 10:14 am
The Meissen Bison – “Up to a point. If the ECJ made a ruling rather than some quanglet no one has heard of, it would be a rather different story.”
The next step will be to argue that Britain is bound under international humanitarian law to listen to that quanglet. And then to take it to the ECJ to get their opinion.
I think they will side with Assange.
SMFS: I think they will side with Assange
Of course. Anything to subvert the nation state and have it subsumed into some supranational gloop.
Rupert Fiennes February 5, 2016 at 11:42 am
Great. We now know the name of another UN quango we can stop funding 🙂
PS Clearly Julian knew what the ruling was in advance. Could this be grounds for mistrial in a normal court?
Chris Miller February 5, 2016 at 12:05 pm
The WGAD in their ruling claim that the ECJ is bound to take their findings into consideration. But they’re part of the UNHCR which is currently chaired by Saudi Arabia. They’re beyond parody.
Gamecock February 5, 2016 at 1:13 pm
So the Ecuadorian bastards have held him for three-and-a-half years. Wait . . . what?
Liberal Yank February 5, 2016 at 1:42 pm
I know there is a lot more depth to the issue but doesn’t the UN panel calling running from the law “arbitrary detention” mean that any criminal on the run is arbitrarily detained? Following the logical consequences if I were to rob a ban for $1M all I have to do is to wait for the statute of limitations to run out in a place authorities can’t get to me. After the SoL is up I can there come back and sue the government for imprisoning me(well I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere I wanted so I must be imprisoned) without following due process.
If Assange’s mistake, like Snowden’s in Russia, was poor planning. He could be serving his time for skipping bail on a Cuban beach if he had some foresight. I really need to turn to a life of crime. The retirement package for being mostly successful just became really lucrative. Even if I do slip up and get caught the payment from my time on the run should be fairly hefty.
Bloke in Wales February 5, 2016 at 2:11 pm
Anyone know what the likely Swedish jail term is for the rape he’s accused of?
ie, even if found guilty and jailed at the time he did a runner, would he be walking free by now?
So Much For Subtlety February 5, 2016 at 2:42 pm
Liberal Yank – “He could be serving his time for skipping bail on a Cuban beach if he had some foresight. I really need to turn to a life of crime.”
You could become a Fugitive Consultant. Not even sure it would be illegal. The people who made money out of the Gold Rush were the ones selling the shovels. Don’t commit the crime. That is dangerous and people shoot at you. Sell the idiots who do a service they need.
Social Justice Warrior February 5, 2016 at 3:10 pm
…they’re part of the UNHCR which is currently chaired by Saudi Arabia
No it isn’t. The current President (since last month) of the UNHRC is Korean, and his predecessor was German. The UNHRC High Commissioner is Jordanian.
The UNHRC has among its bodies a five-member “Consultative Group” composed of five ambassadors, one chosen by each region, who serve for one year only. It is responsible for interviewing shortlisted expert candidates for various roles, then making recommendations to the UNHRC President. During 2015, the Asia-Pacific member was Saudi Arabian. The group is responsible for choosing its own chair from among its members: for the last six months of 2015 it chose the Saudi. As of last month it has a whole different membership.
I don’t I approve of this. But, facts.
The sentence for rape according to the Swedish Penal Code is two to six years. Or two to four years if the crime is considered to be “less aggravated”. (Or up to ten years for “gross rape”).
That is a much better use of my time SMFS. Once again the government is creating jobs. I can’t wait to see the political spin.
Thanks SJW
Liberal Yank – “That is a much better use of my time SMFS. Once again the government is creating jobs. I can’t wait to see the political spin.”
Better yet when Quentin Tarantino makes a film of your life, Harvey Keitel will play you. With some asinine name unfortunately.
Oblong February 5, 2016 at 4:37 pm
It’s not the Swedish charge he is scared of; it’s the extradition to the U.S. that might follow. Which could have a much longer sentence than merely violating a woman.
The onwards extradition claim is a smokescreen. First, it’s hard to see on what charge the US could extradite Assange from either Sweden or the UK. Second, it’s impossible to see why it would be easier to extradite him from Sweden than from the UK, where we have a generous extradition treaty with the USA. Third, under the European Arrest Warrant framework, Sweden would not be able to extradite Assange to the USA without the UK’s agreement.
Richard February 5, 2016 at 8:19 pm
SJW said:
“Second, it’s impossible to see why it would be easier to extradite him from Sweden than from the UK, where we have a generous extradition treaty with the USA”
Yes, that was the bit that always confused me as well.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535140
|
__label__wiki
| 0.565539
| 0.565539
|
Oh Aye?
Ukip leader Diane James has quit the role after just 18 days.
Ms James said on Tuesday night that she does not “have sufficient authority, nor the full support” of Ukip MEPs and officers to reform party.
In a statement she said: “It is with great regret that I announce that I will not be formalising my recent nomination to become the new leader of the party with the Electoral Commission.
There’s a franchise and a movement out there. All it needs is a leader….
It’s as good an opportunity as anyones’ had these past 50 years, on a par with the SNP and SDP, to change the electoral landscape. Just needs someone who can ride it.
Surveying those who did run not sure the party’s got one though.
previousAn interesting and not trick question
nextI’m with the players here
12 thoughts on “Oh Aye?”
Alan Douglas October 5, 2016 at 6:58 am
There is one candidate who who be eminently suitable.
Don’t suppose there is any chance of recruiting him ?
Tim Worstall October 5, 2016 at 7:18 am
Nigel’s retired so he says…..
Steve. October 5, 2016 at 7:23 am
UKIP has a problem. Does it go towards the Front National model of nationalism and socialism? Or does it stick with its libertarian roots? The money and Nige are behind the latter, the votes are with the former.
abacab October 5, 2016 at 8:10 am
I suspect that Nigel will respond to the call and come out of retirement rather than see the party disintegrate.
Chris Bayliss October 5, 2016 at 8:35 am
Ukip has two jobs, and effectively needs to split into two to acheive it. The first is to rout Labour from the North, and the second is its more traditional role of acting as a threat to sitting Tory MPs who are tempted to move to far to the centre / left. The obvious man for the first job is Paul Nuttall, and Ukip has the structures in place to achieve it.
The second job doesn’t require something resembling a political party, so much as a right-wing version of Momentum (Languidity would be my preferred name), which is occasionally willing to stand candidates against wet Tories if they fail to toe the line. The benefit of not being a traditional party is that Tory politicians and activists would not have to leave the party to join it, meaning that Carswell could act as a figurehead without having to deal with the morons in Ukip who seem to have such an irrational loathing for him.
Rob Moss October 5, 2016 at 9:32 am
It doesn’t hugely matter who’s in charge as long as Aaron Banks is happy with the result. UKIP would struggle very badly without him.
Matthew L October 5, 2016 at 9:52 am
Come on, get it together. Can’t let Labour off the hook!
Mr Ecks October 5, 2016 at 1:41 pm
Story was that James was attacked or threatened by some leftist a few days ago. Maybe.
In view of the increased violence of the scum of the left people need to be ensuring that a well-developed capacity for self defence exists all round.
Chris Miller October 5, 2016 at 4:40 pm
UKIP have won and all credit to them. They need to stick around a bit longer to ensure Brexit actually happens and then they can go their separate ways proud of a job well done.
But they’re at heart a single issue pressure group – the only thing that unites them is a firm belief that the UK is better off outside the EU. Now that’s in sight, there’s nothing to hold them together, and I doubt even the inimitable Nigel could do so.
[I’ve always said much the same thing about the SNP. If they actually achieved their goal of an independent Scotland, they logically ought to disband – no free nation has need of its own national party (the Germans tried it and it didn’t turn out well) – but they won’t, of course, because their leaders are mostly career politicians.]
Richard October 5, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Time for Tim to take the top job?
But according to the wireless at lunchtime, Nigel is saying that he is still technically leader, because Diane James didn’t actually complete the formalities to take office before she resigned.
Liberal Yank October 5, 2016 at 5:38 pm
Tim is far too good for the job. By that I mean at least slightly capable which means his efforts are far more profitable in other endeavors.
KJ October 5, 2016 at 9:12 pm
http://newsthump.com/2016/10/05/bear-grylls-to-attempt-to-survive-two-weeks-as-ukip-leader/
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535141
|
__label__cc
| 0.748151
| 0.251849
|
HomeBOOKSArchipelago of Stars is out
Archipelago of Stars is out
Tng Man August 24, 2017
My new book Archipelago of Stars is out. It is a collection of essays which I wrote within a ten-year period (2005-2015). Several of the essays started as blog posts here which I developed in the course of the years.
Victor Dennis Nierva did a fabulous job with the book design. He asked me about the elements that I wanted to include on the cover. I told him I have a penchant for the asterisk. In fact I use it in an unconventional manner that Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo took notice of it in my essays during the 2015 UP National Writers Workshop where I was a writing fellow. She was aghast. But an asterisk is a marker of origin. I can call it mine. As a reaction, I wrote in my book's bionote that I "take pride in the deconstruction of the asterisk as his way of rebelling against the formality of political and artistic establishments." What I didn't tell Victor was that an asterisk reminded me of the jackstone stars which I loved playing as a kid. I told him that I wanted a denim texture for the cover to convey a down-to-earth and contemporary feel. It also features Gill Sans, one of my favorite fonts.
In my essay Archipelago of Stars from which the title of the book is derived, I wrote about the origin of my writing life:
“HOW CAN I BECOME A (GOOD) WRITER?” is probably one of the trickiest questions that I have been asked in my life. “Are writers born or made?” ranks closely in second place. The first question denotes the existence of a step-by-step procedure similar to, say, gourmet cuisine, guiding the novice through a logical sequence of actions from mincing and chopping, to sautéing and flambéing, and then continuing to the delicate art of plate presentation. Meanwhile, the second question implies the role of genetics, or the difference one brand of infant formula milk makes in the development of a would-be writer.
I never considered becoming a writer when I was growing up. There was no oracle foretelling what I’d end up to be, although soothsayers have always been inclined to say that I was bound to do great things. I’m okay with the thought, for as long as it doesn’t entail death by firing squad or hanging like most of the great people I encountered in grade school history lessons. I get embarrassed when I’m asked, “What do you do for a living?” I don’t want to be presumptuous by announcing, “I’m a writer.” Then again it’s a more pleasant thing to say compared to admitting that I’m a bum most of the time.
Until recently, when I was asked to speak in a career guidance seminar, I haven’t bothered tracing the origins of my writing life.
Like many children I dreamed of becoming a doctor. When I was five years old I showed an intense fascination with the doctors who looked esteemed in their starched, antiseptic white gowns as they attended to my paralyzed grandfather. However, my mother was so opposed to the idea that she announced it right there and then that she would not hear of me wanting to become a doctor."
Archipelago of Stars is published by the Ateneo de Naga University Press. For another sampling of the essays, click here.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535142
|
__label__wiki
| 0.806933
| 0.806933
|
Chesterfield MP backs scrapping prescription charges for long-term conditions
Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, has given his support to a campaign to scrap prescription charges for everyone in England with a long-term condition, as new economic analysis reveals that such a move would save the NHS millions and improve health outcomes.
The independent research by the York Health Economics Consortium, commissioned by Parkinson’s UK and Crohn’s and Colitis UK, showed savings of more than £20 million per year if the NHS scrapped prescriptions for people with Parkinson’s and Inflammatory Bowel Disease alone.
Savings would be made from a reduction in health complications due to people not taking their medication as prescribed: previous research has shown around a third of people with long term conditions who pay for prescriptions do not pick up or take their medication properly due to the cost¹.
The £20 million would be saved by reductions in hospital admissions, inpatient days, A&E visits and GP appointments.
Attending the launch of the report at Westminster on Wednesday 23rd May, Toby Perkins MP expressed his concern that not everyone with a long-term condition in England was entitled to free prescriptions, despite the projected government savings.
Toby said: “This is an extremely important report, highlighting a significant injustice to so many people with long-term conditions in England.
“The NHS has a list of conditions that exempt people from paying prescriptions, but this hasn’t been updated since its creation in 1968.
“Over the past five decades, medical progress has been astounding, but this list is stuck in the past, omitting so many conditions that were undiscovered or had very short life expectancy at the time. I am committed to ensuring people in Chesterfield with long-term conditions are treated fairly.”
The report shows that extending prescription charge exemptions to people with long-term conditions would save the NHS:
£93 per person with Parkinson’s per year
£180 per person with Inflammatory Bowel Disease per year
And would result in:
789 fewer A&E visits for people with Parkinson’s
3,796 fewer GP visits for people with Crohn’s Disease
Matina Loizou, Senior Policy Adviser at Parkinson’s UK and Co-Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition, said: “No diagnosis should come with a bill – not from our NHS – and it is appalling that so many people have to pay for the privilege of having a long-term condition they certainly didn’t ask for.”
Jackie Glatter, Health Service Development Manager at Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Co-Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition said: “The Government has freely admitted that the current prescription exemption criteria are outdated and arbitrary and this analysis clearly shows they are also a false economy.
“This broken system needs urgent reform to ensure people with long-term conditions get the vital medicines they need and to deliver value for money for the tax payer.”
Toby with Matina Loizou, Senior Policy Adviser at Parkinson’s UK and Co-Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535143
|
__label__cc
| 0.628251
| 0.371749
|
Evacuation Plan Stalled After Syrian Rebel Leader Killed
Monitors and security sources say a U.N.-brokered plan to evacuate thousands of jihadist fighters under siege near the Syrian capital has been delayed following Friday's killing of an anti-government rebel leader who was to guarantee safe passage to the militants. The evacuation of some 4,000 fighters and their families from southern Damascus had been expected to take place early Saturday. But the Britain-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deal stalled...
© Voice of America - Sunday, December 27, 2015
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535145
|
__label__cc
| 0.67132
| 0.32868
|
Tucson Chapter
Home Newsletter News/Events Resources Donations
Tucson TCF Facebook
TCF Origins
TCF Credo
Contacts Page
We're sorry for the reason you're here, but we're glad you've found us.
Dear our Tucson Compassionate Friends (TCF) family,
We have continued to follow the social distancing guidance provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and have canceled our in-person meetings until further notice. With that said, we will be hosting our TCF meetings for the near future via Zoom.
Zoom is a virtual video conferencing platform for people to connect. You can access the Zoom application on a smartphone, tablet, or computer by clicking on the links provided in TCF emails.
The mission of The Compassionate Friends:
When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated. The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.
The Compassionate Friends was founded over 40 years ago when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and The Society of the Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in Illinois.
Each chapter, along with the supporting National Office, is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us.
Today TCF has about 660 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Around the world more than 30 countries have a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so desperately needed when the worst has happened.
Support Group Meetings
2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Jan 13th & 27th, Feb 10th & 24th, Mar 10th & 24th, 2021
We would like to start in-person meetings outside at Udall Park. Please check back here for updates or call (520) 721-8042 with any questions. We will post here on our website and Facebook when we will resume face to face meetings.
The 2020 TCF Steering Committee
Disclaimer COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION: While participating in events held or sponsored by Tucson Compassionate Friends (“TCF”) “social distancing” must be practiced and face coverings worn at all times to reduce the risks of exposure to COVID-19. Because COVID-19 is extremely contagious and is spread mainly from person-to-person contact, TCF has put in place preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. However, TCF cannot guarantee that its participants, volunteers, partners, or others in attendance will not become infected with COVID-19. By attending this event, you voluntarily agree to assume all of the foregoing risks and accept sole responsibility for any injury to yourself (including, but not limited to, personal injury, disability, and death), illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense, of any kind, that you may experience or incur in connection with your attendance to this event.
Specifics: See the most recent newsletter for more information
For more information about The Compassionate Friends, visit TCF's national website at www.compassionatefriends.org
Template design by Arcsin Web Templates
Thanks to DakotaCom.Net for providing this web server space and support.
© Tucson Compassionate Friends - 2021
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535148
|
__label__wiki
| 0.97301
| 0.97301
|
'Sex and the City' Hunk Chris Noth Joins FX's 'Tyrant'
Gregory E. Miller March 14, 2016, 2:00 pm
Jim Spellman/WireImage
aption:NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Actor Chris Noth attends the 2016 Eco Rock - a benefit for the Rainforest Action Network at The Cutting Room on February 26, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)
Mr. Big has landed a big new role.
Chris Noth, who played Sarah Jessica Parker's love interest on Sex and the City, has been cast on the third season of Tyrant, FX announced Monday. He'll appear as American General William Cogswell, who was summarily transferred out of Abbudin. In the new season, he'll return to that country when Barry (Adam Rayner) assumes the provisional presidency. Though he'll first offer support, Cogswell will rise in power as he rekindles a romantic past with Leila (Moran Atias).
Noth famously starred as Detective Mike Logan on Law & Order. More recently, he's been busy portraying Peter Florrick on The Good Wife.
Tyrant returns with 10 new episodes later this year.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535150
|
__label__wiki
| 0.957848
| 0.957848
|
New fall TV shows you won’t want to miss
PUBLISHED: September 16, 2016 at 8:22 a.m. | UPDATED: September 5, 2017 at 2:48 p.m.
It’s that time of year when the major networks unleash a new batch of shows onto the fall TV landscape. This year’s group includes the usual suspects — brilliant doctors, clueless dads and conflicted cops. And while it’s difficult to judge a show by its pilot episode, we can get a feel for what’s in store. Luckily, there are a few gems among the more than 20 new network pilots — from a mom trying to make life better for her disabled son to a minor Cabinet member being thrust into the role of president of the United States to a group of people connected to each other in an unexpected way. And then there’s Prior Lake’s Kylie Bunbury on the verge of becoming one of the season’s breakout stars as the first female Major League Baseball player in the Fox drama “Pitch.”
Here’s a lineup of all the new shows grouped by network with capsule descriptions, times and dates. Highly recommended shows are labeled “must see.” Happy viewing!
Must See: ‘Speechless’
Without a doubt one of the high points of this fall TV season, “Speechless” stars Minnie Driver as Maya DiMeo, a force of a mom willing to do anything to make life “normal” for her eldest son, J.J. (Micah Fowler), who has cerebral palsy and relies on an electronic board to communicate with people. Along with Driver and Fowler, the family also includes the understated John Ross Bowie as the dad and Kyla Kenedy and Mason Cook as the other two DiMeo siblings. The show is smart, sassy, thoughtful and funny even when exploring challenging topics like a school that prides itself on inclusivity, even though it’s only wheelchair ramp is in the back of the building and is mostly used to bring out the trash. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21
Must See: ‘Designated Survivor’
Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) as a nerdy, soft-spoken President of the United States? Might be hard to picture, but an impressive Sutherland skillfully pulls it off in this tense and compelling drama. After a tragic event at the State of the Union address, Kiefer’s Tom Kirkman trades in his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development title (along with his Cornell hoodie) for the presidency. His mild manner makes some doubt his ability to lead the country, including a key military bigwig, but Kirkman steps up to make good on his “designated survivor” pledge. Maggie Q plays an inquisitive FBI agent attempting to figure out who’s behind the attack and Kal Penn is believable as a skeptical speech writer. 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21
‘Notorious’
This behind the scenes look at a cable news show stars Piper Perabo as a powerhouse TV producer. 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22
‘Conviction’
Controversial former first daughter and hotshot lawyer Hayes Morrison (Hayley Atwell) is put in charge of a newly created Conviction Integrity Unit, which takes a look at cases that may have resulted in wrongful convictions. 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3
‘American Housewife’
Katie Otto, played by the talented Katy Mixon, is a plus-size mom of three living in a Westport, Conn. — the kind of place where “people have big houses and tiny butts,” she says. She’s horrified of becoming the “second fattest” housewife in Westport after an overweight neighbor sells her house. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11
‘The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey’
A six-part limited docuseries examining the unsolved murder of JonBenet Ramsey. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18
‘Kevin Can Wait’
In this better-than-average sitcom, Kevin James (“King of Queens”) is a retired police officer looking forward to spending more time with his wife and three kids. James is funny as a somewhat clueless dad who is trying to understand his kids and attempting to get his fellow retirees to have more fun. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19
‘Bull’
Michael Weatherly plays Dr. Bull, a man who uses psychology and high tech data to help figure out how to tip the scales in favor of his clients in this drama inspired by the early days of Dr. Phil’s career. 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20
‘MacGyver’
A reimagining of the action-packed ABC series that ran from 1985-1992, CBS’s version stars Lucas Till as a man who’s skilled at problem-solving under extreme circumstances. 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
‘Man With a Plan’
Matt LeBlanc (“Friends,” “Episodes”) stars as a contractor in this comedy about a man who has to spend more time with the kids (and do more housework) when his wife goes back to work. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24
‘The Great Indoors’
It’s millennials vs. Gen Xers in this sitcom about an adventure journalist (Joel McHale) who is forced to give up his life in the great outdoors for a desk job at an outdoor magazine. While he wants to do stories that inspire people, his team of millennials prefer to focus on listicles, slideshows and podcasts. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27
‘Pure Genius’
From Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights”) this drama stars Dermot Mulroney as a genius doctor who joins an elite team of medical professionals put together by a hot-shot tech titan. 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27
‘No Tomorrow’
A beautiful type-A woman (Tori Anderson) falls for a handsome free-spirited man (Joshua Sasse) who believes the world is ending in eight months. 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4
‘Frequency’
Detective Raimy Sullivan (Peyton List) discovers she can talk to her dead father (Riley Smith) through his old ham radio on a frequency only the two of them can hear. Based on the Jim Caviezel/Dennis Quaid film of the same name, “Frequency” also stars Mekhi Phifer, Daniel Bonjour and St. Paul-born Devin Kelley, who we last saw in ABC’s “Resurrection.” 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5
‘Lethal Weapon’
Free spirit Riggs (Clayne Crawford) is paired with uptight Murtaugh (Damon Wayans) in a reboot of the buddy cop franchise originally starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21
Must See: ‘Pitch’
The story of the first woman Major League Baseball player, “Pitch” follows Ginny Baker as she makes her pitching debut at the San Diego Padres’ Petco Field. The event causes a media frenzy and puts the young woman — played by Kylie Bunbury, a Prior Lake High School graduate poised to become fall TV’s biggest breakout star — under scrutiny from sport commentators, teammates and fans before she even throws her first signature pitch — a nasty screwdriver. Ginny’s journey to the mound is interspersed with scenes from her childhood making for an intensely powerful sequence that Bunbury handles with a perfect mix of fierceness and vulnerability. Done with full participation from the MLB, “Pitch’s” pilot is a compelling kick off to what we hope is a winning season for the show and Bunbury. Also stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mark Consuelos. 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22
‘The Exorcist’
The classic 1973 horror film gets an update with Fox’s take on the tale of a possessed girl and the two priests who attempt to rid her of evil. The TV version stars Geena Davis as a mom who suspects her daughter is possessed and Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels as the priests who come together to fight the demon. 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
‘Son of Zorn’
Perhaps this season’s oddest offering, this animated/live action mashup features Zorn, a legendary warrior (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) who returns to earth from his homeland of Zephyria to see his son (Minnesota native Johnny Pemberton) and ex-flame (Cheryl Hines). It’s been a decade since he last saw his now 17-year-old kid and they have a very awkward relationship to say the least. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 (time period premiere)
Must See: ‘The Good Place’
Kristen Bell is perfect as flawed meany Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who mistakenly ends up in “The Good Place” after she dies in a tragically funny parking lot incident. She quickly realizes there’s been a mistake, but doesn’t fess up to the Good Place’s Michael (Ted Danson), who is in charge of making sure things are perfect in the afterlife for his group of do-gooders. With the kind Chidi (William Jackson Harper) as Eleanor’s “soul mate,” the show from Michael Schur (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation”) has plenty of laughs thanks to great character chemistry and lines like this: “Thirty glasses of wine and no hangover? This place rules!” Bonus: St. Paul Central High School grad Joe Mande is a writer on the show. 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19 (moves to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays starting Sept. 22)
Must See: ‘This is Us’
Fans of “Parenthood” will automatically be drawn to this NBC drama about a group of people who share the same birthday. With lots of buzz including millions of trailer views in the months leading up to its debut, the show is already one of the most anticipated of the fall season. There’s a couple (Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore) dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, a man looking for his biological father (Sterling K. Brown), a woman struggling with her weight (Chrissy Metz) and a famous actor who is unsatisfied with his job (Justin Hartley). The unexpected twist toward the end offers an intriguing surprise and makes us curious about future episodes. Be warned: Have a box of Kleenex nearby while watching. 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 (moves to 8 p.m. Tuesdays starting Oct. 11)
‘Timeless’
From the producers of “The Blacklist,” a history professor (Abigail Spencer), soldier (Matt Lanter) and coder (Malcolm Barrett) go back in time to stop criminals from changing history and destroying America. 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3
More in Movies & TV
Dave Dahl shares his five most memorable Twin Cities storms from his 43 years at KSTP
Ken Barlow and Wren Clair take new roles in the KSTP weather department
Walz allows restaurants, bars to reopen Monday. Wedding receptions, movies, bowling and pools can also resume.
New Science Channel series looks at Kensington Runestone in ‘Secrets of the Viking Stone’
North Oaks native on premiere of new game show ‘The Hustler’
Report: Talk show host Larry King in hospital with COVID-19
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535151
|
__label__wiki
| 0.768566
| 0.768566
|
Five Takeaways: Canucks vs Predators
The Canucks powered past the Predators 6-3 on Thursday night
By Jeff Paterson
Bo Horvat
Follow|Archive
1) It's pretty clear the Nashville Predators are slow learners. A week after getting torched for three power play goals on three opportunities by the Canucks in a 5-3 loss in Vancouver, the Preds continued their parade to the penalty box and the Canucks made them pay once again. Once again, Vancouver cashed in on its first three opportunities of the night and tacked on two more goals with the man-advantage for good measure. In all, the Canucks went five for six and scored their five goals on eight shots and in just 6:24 of power play time. A sneaky part of the team's success was the fact the Canucks went 5 for 6 on power play face-offs and the fact there were only six stoppages with the man-advantage tells you just how potent the team was on the night. To put the Canucks 26 power play goals in 23 games in context, it took the team 43 games last season to cash in 26 times. The five power play goals in a game was the first time the Canucks had achieved that since November 6, 2011 in Chicago. Thursday's performance tops the four PPG the Canucks scored in LA three weeks ago and the pair of three power play goal outbursts the team has also enjoyed already this season.
2) The Canucks best players -- aided greatly by the Preds lack of discipline -- stepped up when the team needed them. Brock Boeser scored his team leading 10th goal of the season, Elias Pettersson and JT Miller each bagged their ninth and Bo Horvat netted his eighth of the season. Miller hadn't scored since a 4-1 loss in Winnipeg and Pettersson's only goals in the previous eight games were also against the Preds when he scored a pair in last week's win. After watching Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin step up on Tuesday and Nathan MacKinnon before that last Saturday, the Canucks best players had been out-produced by stars on the other side in recent games. That was not the case on Thursday. The Canucks best players seized the opportunity to swing the game in their favour and they did it emphatically with the top-four goal scorers on the hockey club all scoring in the same game for the first time this season.
3) The goals the Canucks scored on the night may not make many highlight shows, but they sure looked good to a team desperately in need of a victory. Pettersson's goal came with Miller standing his ground at the edge of the crease, Tyler Graovac's goal came on a deflection in the slot, Boeser's goal pinballed around off bodies in front of Pekka Rinne. Horvat scored on a rebound. The only power play goal that wasn't scored from the net front was JT Miller's wrist shot off the rush that deflected off the stick of a Preds defender. For the most part, the Canucks relied on the tried and true formula of getting bodies to the net and then finding a way to get the puck there, too. It's how the team generated a lot of its offense early in the season and it certainly worked wonders for the team on Thursday night.
4) The Canucks relied on Jacob Markstrom a little more than they probably should have -- especially in the third period when the Preds outshot the Canucks 22-6. While Vancouver had a seemingly comfortable three-goal lead after 40 minutes, a Matt Duchene goal at 8:31 of the final period brought Nashville within two with plenty of time remaining. And that's when the Canucks netminder reverted to his October form. The Preds went 6-on-4 on a late power play, but couldn't get another puck past Markstrom who tasted victory for the first time since October 30th in Los Angeles. According to naturalstattrick.com, the third period shot attempts (all situations) were 43-5 in Nashville's favour, the scoring chances were 22-4 and the high-danger chances were 8-0. Markstrom weathered the storm and allowed just one goal over the final 20 minutes of play. Canuck goaltenders had been outdueled by their counterparts at the other end of the ice in a number of recent games, that certainly wasn't the case on Thursday.
5) With new look defense pairings after a couple of tough outings against Colorado and Dallas, the Canucks found a way to evenly distribute ice time in Nashville. Alex Edler led the six blueliners -- as he usually does -- with a manageable 23:17 (although that's partly due to the fact he took two more minor penalties). Quinn Hughes was the low-man on the ice time list at 14:52 (and only 2:39 of the final period including watching the final 7:44 from the bench). In between those two, Chris Tanev clocked in at 21:39, Jordie Benn logged 21:00, Tyler Myers played 17:39 and Troy Stecher saw 15:48 of ice time. With four more games out on the road and a tough test awaiting them in Washington on Saturday afternoon, the Canucks helped their cause by spreading the ice time around in Nashville. Instead of leaning too heavily on Edler and Myers and underutilizing their third pair, the Canucks coaching staff handled the defense corps wisely on Thursday. It wasn't a perfect game -- far from it based on the third period and the overall shooting metrics for the night -- but it was a sensible one and one that should provide the template for ice time distribution on many nights moving forward. Defensive depth is supposed to be one of the strengths of this year's team, but it can only be so if all six get a chance to shoulder the workload.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535157
|
__label__wiki
| 0.982207
| 0.982207
|
Home Rowing Jürgen Grobler steps down as Chief Coach of the GB Rowing Team
Jürgen Grobler steps down as Chief Coach of the GB Rowing Team
21st August 2020 0 comment
After nearly 30 years with British Rowing, Jürgen Grobler OBE will bring to an end one of the most successful and decorated coaching careers in the history of rowing and the Olympic Games.
Jürgen Grobler OBE has stepped down as Chief Coach of the GB Rowing Team after 28 years with British Rowing.
Regarded by many as the greatest Olympic coach of all time, Jürgen has decided to end a glittering coaching career that has seen him personally coach eight gold-medal crews from Great Britain in each of the past seven Olympic Games. Before moving to the UK in 1991, he had an outstanding coaching career in rowing with the former East Germany.
Jürgen has coached some of Great Britain’s greatest Olympic champions including Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge. His first two GB gold medals – in Barcelona (’92) and Atlanta (’96) – were with the pair of Redgrave and Pinsent.
As Chief Coach for Men, and latterly Chief Coach for Men and Women, Jürgen has directly coached 20 Olympic champions to 33 gold medals from eight crews for Great Britain. Additionally, a staggering 23 crews have medalled at World Championships since 1991 of which 16 took home gold.
Jürgen Grobler said: “I have had the most incredible experience with the GB Rowing Team working with fantastic British athletes for nearly three decades. This has been a hard and difficult decision but British Rowing has big plans for Paris 2024 and we want to organise it now to give the GB Rowing Team the best chance of success. I can’t commit for the next four years so I have resigned in order to let everything start now.”
Paying tribute to his remarkable Olympic career, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said: “Behind every great athlete and every great team is a great coach. They are the unsung heroes of sport. So it gives me great pleasure to pay tribute to Jürgen Grobler who is an exceptional talent and someone who has benefited so many athletes. His dedication is a great example for everyone in the Olympic Movement. I wish him all the best for the future.”
Reflecting on his long history of success at Olympic Games and the impact he has had on the sport of rowing, Jean-Christophe Rolland, FISA President said: “Jürgen’s contribution to rowing as a coach is simply tremendous. He has one of the most impressive achievement lists in the rowing landscape and probably even beyond in the world of sport. Jürgen first coached a crew to an Olympic medal back at the 1972 Olympics when he was just 26 years old and then continued to coach Olympic medal-winning crews through to the last Olympic Games in Rio.
“Jürgen is very much respected among his peers and they all know of his knack of putting together the right combinations in team boats and also the knack of getting his crews to peak just at the right time. We will miss seeing Jürgen at international events especially seeing him biking along beside races – usually out in front.”
When Jürgen arrived at the Leander Club to coach in 1991, Steve Redgrave already had two Olympic titles to his name but Matthew Pinsent was just 20 years old with two senior bronzes. Jürgen moulded them into one of the best pairs of all time and, after Atlanta, presided over their move into the four which won gold in Sydney. With Tim Foster and James Cracknell, this crew won world titles in ’97, ’98 and ’99 and their race for gold in Sydney gained worldwide publicity, much of it attracted by Redgrave’s quest for a record fifth Olympic title.
Jürgen continued his winning streak throughout the early 2000s and into a hugely successful home Games at London 2012, where the British team dominated on the water. Most recently at the Rio 2016 Olympic Regatta, he delivered gold medals in both the men’s four and men’s eight. He was subsequently awarded Sports Coach UK’s Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2016 and Lifetime Achievement Award at the BT Sports Industry Awards in April 2017.
Reacting to his decision to step down, British Rowing Chief Executive Officer Andy Parkinson said: “On behalf of everyone involved in rowing in Great Britain, I would like to say congratulations and an enormous thank you to Jürgen for everything he has achieved during his 28 years with British Rowing.
“I am naturally very disappointed that Jürgen was unable to finish his amazing career at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games scheduled this year as I am sure he would have finished on a high. What happens next is a discussion for another time – now is the time to celebrate a fantastic coaching career and an incredible person.
“I would like to wish Jürgen the very best for the future and look forward to seeing him on the towpath at our National Training Centre (Caversham) anytime. He leaves an inspiring legacy at Caversham, across the sport in the UK and around the world.”
Jürgen has been a key member of Team GB since 1992 and Sir Hugh Robertson, Chairman of the British Olympic Association looks back on his massive contribution during this time: “Jürgen Grobler has been an extraordinarily successful coach in one of Team GB’s most important sports. He has coached, inspired and supported athletes to deliver their best results when it mattered, Games after Games, across generations of athletes, and has been a key ingredient in Team GB’s phenomenal success. As a coach and as a man, he will be hugely missed.”
Jürgen has always believed that Great Britain’s success at international level has been the result of a solid partnership between British Rowing, Team GB and UK Sport. Dame Katherine Grainger, Team GB’s five-time Olympic medallist and British Rowing alumna said: “Over the last twenty years, it has been incredible to see Jürgen lead the men’s team onto the podium time and time again, coaching many athletes to fulfil their dreams and successfully represent Great Britain on the global stage.
“Whilst I was never directly coached by Jürgen, he was an undeniably influential figurehead of the rowing team. We shared an extraordinary time at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000; my first Olympics and Steve Redgrave’s memorable last. Jürgen may have been finishing his partnership with Steve but he was just beginning a bright new legacy with the British men’s four. His ability to create successful crews year after year, decade after decade, is practically unparalleled. To this day it feels a tremendous privilege to have been part of British Rowing history and Jürgen has undoubtedly and deservedly cemented his name in the record books.”
Working with athletes every day has always been a huge motivation for Jürgen and four-time Olympic Champion Sir Matthew Pinsent was glowing in his praise of his former coach and mentor: “Jürgen has, for a number years, credibly laid claim to be the best rowing coach in history and I mark it as a privilege to have had him guide my career. He has single handedly constructed the longest winning streak in Olympic gold medals in Britain and his staying power and commitment alone are remarkable. He’s always coached with a deep passion for his sport and his athletes. He’s been one of the greatest assets for British rowing before, during and after our home Games in 2012.”
Jürgen is confident the GB Rowing Team will continue to take on the world’s best and challenge for medals at Olympic Games and World Championships having topped the medal table at the last three Olympic Games and two of the last three Paralympic Games. “For nearly 50 years of my coaching career I have been in the driving seat, working with athletes and fellow coaches. People trusted me to help them achieve their dreams but the show must go on and I really wish the British team well,” Jürgen said.
Mark Davies Chair of British Rowing added his praise while also expressing his disappointment that his career with Great Britain has come to an end: “He has been the architect of close to three decades of GB rowing dominance and he has defined how British Rowing is respected both internationally and domestically. I am very disappointed to see Jürgen go and I would have loved to see him stay through to the Tokyo 2021 Games but I believe we have a great team at Caversham to build on Jürgen’s legacy in Tokyo next year and beyond.”
Jurgen Grobler during The FISA World Rowing Cup II at Lake Malta in Poznan, Poland on 18th June 2017.
British Rowing Director of Performance Brendan Purcell now has the task of creating and overseeing a new coaching structure at the GB Rowing Team and preparing British Rowing’s high-performance programme for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. In the meantime, Brendan paid tribute to Jürgen for his outstanding service to the Team and rowing: “Jürgen has left a legacy in our sport of sustained medal success and a commitment to performance excellence that we have all been inspired and influenced by. Our responsibility as rowers, coaches, sport science medicine practitioners and team staff is to use that inspiration and honour his legacy starting next summer in Tokyo and then onto Paris.”
Jürgen informed senior athletes, his crew and colleagues on 20 August that he has stepped down and Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the men’s four Mohamed Sbihi paid tribute: “This news is emotional for me and is a big shock. Jürgen is a father figure to me. Everything I have achieved in my career is down to a handful of people and he is the main reason for my success.
“As a team we now have to honour his legacy through our performances over the next year and in Tokyo.”
World bronze medallist and women’s senior squad athlete Jess Leyden added: “I feel really privileged to have worked with Jürgen for the time that I did, both as a rower and as an athlete rep. He’s given so much to the sport and has achieved so much. We’ll definitely see him around the towpath, I’m sure.”
Jürgen acknowledged that there are many more people who have helped him to so much gold medal success. “I would like to thank the whole rowing family for their fantastic support throughout my entire career and in particular the British fans. They have travelled the world to support the team and I have always had big respect for that and also for the many parents and families who support the athletes through good times and bad behind the scenes.
“Also, teams within teams have always been so important to me. Take spares who didn’t make selection; their input was always just as crucial as they allowed the team to progress. The athletes will think that I just said that to make them feel better but I mean it. It was always about the team.”
Images courtesy of
Jurgen Grobler Boathouse – Credit Nick Middleton.jpg
Jurgen Grobler – Credit Naomi Baker.jpg
british rowing teamJürgen Grobler
SilverFish is back for 2020-2021
FCN Launch European Sports Leadership & Coaching Network
Olympic silver medallist Zoë Lee announces her retirement from rowing
British Rowing announces four nation indoor rowing challenge
British Rowing receives confirmation of funding for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 cycle
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535158
|
__label__wiki
| 0.723217
| 0.723217
|
Barron’s: Wells Fargo Best Bet to Avoid Credit Mess
Last updated on November 3rd, 2010
Barron’s said in its latest cover story that Wells Fargo is the bank “most likely to find the safest, fastest route through the U.S.’ dangerous credit mess.”
The weekly magazine noted that Wells was stronger than most big banks for a number of reasons, including less exposure to subprime mortgages, a smaller capital markets operation, the only bank triple-A rated by both major credit agencies, and one that hasn’t had to turn to foreign investors for help.
Last year, the nation’s fifth largest bank ranked number one among the top five U.S. banks for return on equity and return on assets, despite trading at around 10 times 2009 earnings forecasts recently, Barron’s said.
The mag added that Wells relies on its retail platform to cross-sell, providing greater benefits to its already existing customers while offering a wide array of products that hedge exposure.
Wells CEO John Stumpf noted in the article that diversification was the key if banks wants to stick around, saying one-trick ponies like Countrywide probably won’t be around long.
“It’s the death of the monolines,” Stumpf told Barron’s.
Instead of chasing after subprime offerings, Wells took a more calculated approach, reducing the max loan-to-value ratio on many products while eliminating other higher-risk loan programs as the other big banks got more aggressive.
Despite the caution, Wells Fargo was the biggest retail mortgage originator last year and the second largest mortgage servicer, but its financial results were a far cry from those of Countrywide’s, thanks in part to its avoidance of exotic loan programs.
“With German banks buying these subprimes that we wouldn’t touch, it was no wonder it blew up,” former CEO Dick Kovacevich told Barron’s. “It’s just a stupid bubble that you have to work through.”
Barron’s also interviewed Goldman Sachs’ Managing Director Lori Appelbaum who believes the stock could gain as much as 15 percent in the next 12 months.
Shares of the mortgage lender were up 17 cents, or 0.57%, to $29.86 in midday trading on Wall Street, still well off its 52-week high of $37.99.
Read the full article here. (subscription required)
(photo: MiguelVieira)
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535160
|
__label__cc
| 0.539451
| 0.460549
|
_Medical
_Cosmetics
_Jobs
_Professional
_Automation
_ Religion
HomeMedicalIs Global Tuberculosis Progression at Risk according to WHO?
Is Global Tuberculosis Progression at Risk according to WHO?
WHO: Global tuberculosis progression is at risk
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries made steady progress in tackling tuberculosis. The incidence rate dropped by 9% between 2015 and 2019, and the mortality rate dropped by 14% during the same period. Global and national high-level political commitments are also being implemented.
However, a new WHO report shows that access to tuberculosis services is still a challenge. If urgent action and investment are not taken, the global tuberculosis control target may not be achieved.
How many people dies from tuberculosis in the year 2019?
In 2019, approximately 1.4 million people died from tuberculosis-related diseases.
It is estimated that 10 million people will suffer from tuberculosis in 2019, of which about 3 million have not been diagnosed or formally reported to the national health department.
The situation of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis is even more serious
In 2019, approximately 465,000 people were newly diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis, and less than 40% of them received treatment.
There is also limited progress in expanding tuberculosis prevention and treatment services.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, pointed out on Tuberculosis:
“equal access to high-quality and timely diagnosis, prevention, treatment and care is still a challenge. To realize our goals in 2022, there is an urgent need to accelerate action around the world.”
According to the report, approximately 14 million people received tuberculosis treatment during 2018-2019, which is just over one-third of the five-year target (40 million people) for 2018-2022.
From 2018 to 2019, about 6.3 million people started receiving tuberculosis prevention and treatment, which is only about one-fifth of the 5-year target (30 million people).
Is Funding a big issue in Tuberculosis Treatment?
In 2020, the amount of funding provided for tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care is US$6.5 billion, which is only half of the US$13 billion target agreed by world leaders in the "United Nations Political Declaration on Tuberculosis."
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted services and further frustrated tuberculosis control efforts
Many countries have transferred human, financial and other resources in the field of tuberculosis to COVID-19 response measures. Data collection and reporting systems are also affected.
COVID-19 pandemic and tuberculosis
According to the new report, data collected from more than 200 countries show that the number of notified cases of tuberculosis has decreased significantly.
From January to June 2020, the number of cases reported by the three high-burden countries (India, Indonesia, and the Philippines) decreased by 25%-30% compared to the same period in 2019.
According to WHO simulation estimates, as the number of reported cases decreases, the actual number of deaths from tuberculosis may increase significantly.
Do all Countries take measures to Lower the Impact of COVID19 on Tuberculosis?
Under the guidance of WHO, countries have taken measures to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on basic tuberculosis services by strengthening infection control measures.
A total of 108 countries (including 21 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis) further use digital technology to provide remote consultation and support.
In order to reduce the need for people to visit medical facilities, many countries encourage patients to treat at home, provide oral treatment for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis, carry out tuberculosis prevention and treatment, and ensure that tuberculosis patients receive adequate drug supplies.
Dr. Tereza Kaseva, Director of WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Programme, said:
“In the face of this pandemic, the state, civil society and other partners have joined forces to ensure the continued provision of basic tuberculosis and COVID-19 services to those in need.
These Efforts are essential to strengthen the health system, ensure the health of everyone and save lives."
TB Infection in Lungs
A recent progress report prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations pointed out that Member States and other stakeholders need to take 10 priority actions to close the gaps in tuberculosis care, funding and research, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic and other Situation, advancing multi-sectoral actions and accountability.
Latest Development regarding Tuberculosis Worldwide
In 2014 and 2015, WHO and member states of the United Nations adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the WHO’s End Tuberculosis Strategy.
The Sustainable Development Goals and the "End Tuberculosis Strategy" set out targets and indicators to substantially reduce the incidence of tuberculosis, tuberculosis mortality, and medical expenses faced by tuberculosis patients and families.
Target 3.3 under Sustainable Development Goal 3 lists a tuberculosis indicator that determines "to eliminate epidemics such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases by 2030".
The WHO’s "End Tuberculosis Strategy" aims to reduce tuberculosis deaths by 90% and tuberculosis incidence by 80% by 2030, with 2015 as the baseline.
The target set by the strategy for 2020 is to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis by 20% and the number of deaths from tuberculosis by 35%.
In 2017 and 2018, the political commitment to fight tuberculosis was increased, and the first high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on tuberculosis was held in September 2018.
The high-level meeting adopted a political declaration reaffirming its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and the End Tuberculosis Strategy. The United Nations Political Declaration on Tuberculosis sets forth 4 new goals for 2018-2022:
Treat 40 million tuberculosis patients
Provide tuberculosis prevention and treatment for at least 30 million people with latent tuberculosis infection
Raise at least US$13 billion annually for universal tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment and care
Raise at least US$2 billion each year for tuberculosis research.
Progress in advancing global goals
According to this new report, the WHO European region is expected to achieve the main 2020 targets set in the WHO’s End Tuberculosis Strategy, with morbidity and mortality reduced by 19% and 31% respectively in the past five years.
TB Infographics
Significant progress has also been made in the African region, with morbidity and mortality rates reduced by 16% and 19% respectively over the past five years.
However, the global progress is lagging behind. Therefore, the world will not be able to achieve the main 2020 targets set in the End TB Strategy.
Fundraising for TB
As in previous years, most funding for TB in 2020 (85%) will come from domestic funding. Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa account for 57% of total global funding.
In 2019, international donations amounted to US$900 million, which will increase to US$1 billion in 2020.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the largest international tuberculosis contributor in 2020, and the United States remains the largest bilateral funder for the end of tuberculosis.
Research and innovation regarding TB
To achieve the 2030 global tuberculosis target, technological breakthroughs need to be achieved before the end of 2025.
The world needs to provide fast, easy and affordable point-of-care testing, and it needs to provide new, safer and more effective treatment tools and vaccines.
In response to these challenges, Member States in 2018 called on WHO to formulate a global strategy for tuberculosis research and innovation, identifying important measures that governments and non-state actors can take. The World Health Assembly adopted this strategy in August 2020.
Multisectoral actions and accountability Regarding TB
To make further progress in ending tuberculosis, cross-sectoral actions must be taken and focus on implementing the WHO multisectoral accountability framework for tuberculosis.
During 2019 and 2020, WHO worked with countries with a high burden of tuberculosis to ensure that accountability mechanisms were incorporated into national budget plans.
We sent high-level missions to conduct assessments and carried out tuberculosis planning reviews with civil society representatives.
What are some Tuberculosis facts?
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that often infect the lungs. It is the deadliest infectious disease killer in the world.
Tuberculosis patients discharge bacteria into the air through coughing, etc., causing tuberculosis to spread.
About 90% of TB patients come from 30 countries each year.
Most patients are adults, and there are more cases in men than women.
Tuberculosis is preventable and curable. Approximately 85% of tuberculosis patients can be cured by receiving 6 months of drug treatment; another benefit of treatment is that it can inhibit secondary transmission.
Since 2000, tuberculosis treatment has saved more than 60 million lives. However, due to the lack of universal health coverage, millions of people are still unable to receive diagnosis and treatment.
Recent Post List
Safest Place to Hide if Global Virus Breaks and End of World comes
What is Road capacity Theory?
Australian Immigration Visa Types 188 A 188 B 188 C 132 Type 189 Type
Automation 11
BREAKING 48
Crypto 12
Salman Khan 4
Recent in Fashion
3/Fashion/post-list
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535162
|
__label__wiki
| 0.717933
| 0.717933
|
Covenant and Calling: Towards a Theology of Same-Sex Relationships
on Sunday, 9 November 2014 at 9.56 pm by Jeremy Fletcher
categorised as Book review
Anglican Social Theology: Renewing the Vision Today London: SCM Press, 2014 ISBN 978-0-3340-5188-6. pp. xvii + 111. £16.99 pbk.
Jeremy Fletcher reviews ‘Covenant and Calling: Towards a Theology of Same-Sex Relationships’
Robert Song is Professor of Theological Ethics at Durham University. He was an adviser to the Church of England House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality, chaired by Joe Pilling, and therefore had a role in that group’s report, which he signed. Song says that the group ‘provided the context in which the thoughts in this book germinated’.
Covenant and Calling is fully aware of the wider context: that the Pilling Report contained its own ‘Dissenting Statement’ from the Bishop of Birkenhead; that it could only outline an indication of the processes to come, and could not make clear and unambiguous statements about same-sex relationships; that different views on same-sex relationships choose very different foundations on which to construct their arguments; and that such varying views rarely contain the tools for reconciliation to be achieved.
Others will be able to review Covenant and Calling using their expertise in biblical interpretation, in theological ethics, in systematic theology and in the study of eschatology. All of these are required fully to engage with what is a deceptively slim volume. My starting point is as a jobbing vicar who exercises a pastoral ministry recognisable to most Anglican parish clergy. My practical engagement with theological ethics is at the level of the remarriage of the divorced and what to do with the faithful Christian same-sex couple for whom the most natural thing in the world is to come to church following their civil partnership.
From this perspective, Covenant and Calling offers very little specific help, and it does not pretend to. It does not offer a magic bullet which will instantly transform what will be dreadfully painful ‘facilitated conversations’, soon to begin. Neither will it unite the Primates of the Anglican Communion joyfully around a solution to the intractable problem that in one province not to bless same-sex unions is an offence to the gospel, and in another province to bless them gives the same offence.
But … it does offer a starting point which may offer some common ground to those who are in disagreement. Song does not begin with the battleground of Scriptural texts, nor the claims of contemporary culture, nor an anthropological analysis of the role of marriage in society, but with eschatology. If, as Luke 20, Matthew 22 and Mark 12 state, there is no marriage or giving in marriage in the age to come, then how is our status as those ‘in Christ’ affected by the present experience of our future hope? As Song puts it “a created world of which marriage and the birth of children are crucial defining features will be fulfilled in a resurrected world in which neither is present” (p. 16). “The coming of Christ resituates marriage” (p. 23)
Song deliberately takes a conservative view on the temporal ‘goods’ of marriage, notably that, as a creation ordinance, marriage is defined by, or at least ‘open to’ procreation, and therefore has an inextricable relationship with differentiation of gender. He also recognises celibacy as an eschatological calling for some. What he proposes is a third possibility, equal in status to both marriage and celibacy: ‘covenant partnership’ which echoes the ‘goods’ of marriage insofar as they express the values of or future calling, but does not require procreation, since in the realm where there is no death there needs to be no birth. Song’s contention is that, just as most recognise that not every marriage requires procreation for its validity, so there can be a new set of faithful covenanted relationships which do not need to be defined as marriage in order to express our future calling and our present experience of the Trinity.
Crucially this does not need the situation of same-sex couples to be its starting point, in that deliberately childless marriages are of the same category. But it is clearly a framework which can see the faithful and permanent love of a non-procreating couple as an expression of the love of God, and that sexual expression not leading to procreation can be a physical expression of that covenant relationship. This would apply as much to same-sex as to heterosexual couples.
Song approaches this from various angles, including a view of Scripture which does not shy away from a ‘conventional’ reading of the six or so main texts, but allows for a recognition of a ‘direction of travel’ in the Bible which might allow for a reframing of relationships in the way he proposes. In that regard his treatment of Biblical interpretation and the issues of slavery and just war theory were very instructive to this ethical amateur.
Covenant and Calling has no direct answers to aid the Vicar responding to a same-sex couple who would like to marry. Rather, stepping back, it asks for a “major reimagination of the churches’ relations to the culture”, and guards against both an “endorsement of current trends” and a “reactionary response which condemns the sexual revolution out of hand” (p. 97). Robert Song offers some tools for engaging in this debate which I have not been offered before, and does so in a way which takes Scripture, tradition and contemporary society seriously, while seeking to transcend them all in an eschatological perspective I had not seen articulated in quite this way.
Song himself says that much of the approach is “tentative”, not least how to relate covenant partnerships to existing modes of civil partnership and marriage, and whether these can be expressed legally and liturgically. But there is enough here for those at the sharp edge of the debates to gather around, and at least to express their common understandings of the nature of their disagreements. And there is a future hope around which to gather too, for in the end all our understandings based in the experience of the created order will be taken up into the new age, and everything will be transformed.
Stanley Hauerwas’s blurb for the book talks about Robert Song opening up “a new space for discussions and questions”. It was certainly new for me, and was a welcome relief from the Prime Minister’s Question Time nature of much of the current debate. For that I’m grateful. Whether it will help in the next two years of facilitated conversations remains to be seen. And I’ll be fascinated to read what those coming from a conservative position make of it all.
Should you read it? Yes.
Jeremy Fletcher is the Vicar of Beverley Minster in the diocese of York.
Book Review: More Perfect Union
on Sunday, 5 October 2014 at 3.00 pm by Simon Sarmiento
categorised as Book review, Church of England
The Revd Dr Charlotte Methuen has written a review of Bishop Alan Wilson’s book More Perfect Union. Dr Methuen is Senior Lecturer in Church History and Head of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow.
Anglican Social Theology
on Friday, 5 September 2014 at 3.10 pm by Paul Bayes
Anglican Social Theology: Renewing the Vision Today London: Church House Publishing, 2014 ISBN 978-0-715-14440-4. pp.240. £19.99 pbk.
Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool, reviews Anglican Social Theology.
Anglican Social Theology gives an overview of the theological traditions and ideas underlying the Church of England’s involvement in the public affairs of the nation since the late 1930s. Interesting essays on the legacy associated with Archbishop William Temple, and on more recent “post-liberal” ideas, are joined by helpful insights and reflections from evangelical and Roman Catholic perspectives.
It is “offered as a resource for parishes and church members who are responding in numerous practical ways to widening social divisions and other problems in contemporary society.” It “looks to develop strong theological foundations for social action initiatives by churches”.
I myself badly need the book and I’m very grateful for it, though I cannot pretend to understand all of it. I need the book because I need to discover and develop “strong theological foundations for social action”.
Any new Bishop of Liverpool stands on giants’ shoulders and from that perspective sees the horizon slipping and sliding. I see David Sheppard who spoke courageously for the urban poor in his own speeches and books and through “Faith in the City” which he inspired. I see James Jones who was asked by the Government to chair the Hillsborough Independent Panel because he was seen as a leader in and beyond the community of faith, and to have the wisdom and credibility to do the job well.
But the horizon is slipping and sliding. “Faith in the City” was addressed by the Church to the nation, in the secure belief that the two had a language in common and a platform of mutual respect on which to stand. It assumed an unruffled process by which groups of clever, (mostly) middle-aged (mostly) men would meet together in a room and by thinking carefully about things would come to agreement, and would make progress together for everyone’s benefit. That way of working is described in this book as the “Royal Commission” approach.
But “Faith in the City” was not received with agreement. It offended many in power. It was contentious and controversial and it made and continues to make an enormous difference to the Church’s self-understanding, and on the ground to help people through CUF and its offshoots, and through other practical initiatives. For many in the Thatcher years the Church was seen as a credible voice of opposition, sometimes perhaps the only voice of opposition. However that road was ending and “Faith in the City” was its terminus.
The only Church of England report to have sold as many copies as “Faith in the City” is “Mission-Shaped Church” on which I worked with Bishop James Jones. I believe the report is vital to the future of a Church that can make a difference; but it was addressed by the Church to the Church as a means of getting to grips with a changing England. Like “Faith in the City” it was contended and controversial, but only within the Church. And when Bishop James made his own enormous contribution to the Liverpool region, it was not as the patron of a church report. The Hillsborough Panel was, inevitably and rightly, far more specific and far more emotional than a Royal Commission. It was, and is, a matter of public justice in public view. Years of denial and evasion have been exposed, and the patience and perseverance of the families of the 96 who died has been vindicated. This has been a harrowing process and the Church has been at the heart of it; but it was not a Church initiative and if it had been, it would not have done what it has.
And now the horizon is slipping and sliding more and more wildly. The gyroscope of our public theology has badly slipped. The Church’s public credibility is deeply contended within and outside the Christian community. We don’t have to look far for the evidence. The Pilling report sought to stand in that old tradition of calm, magisterial reflection on difficult issues, as the Church more widely tried to do in the national debate over same-sex marriage. Readers of “Thinking Anglicans” will remember the result.
What will be next for the Church? A disaster, or a genuinely engaged conversation with surprising outcomes? Avoiding the disaster will need a rare and a key resource — good public theology, ordinary theology, designed for and understandable by ordinary Christians.
Anglican Social Theology offers a toolbox with which to make that resource. But it does not offer the resource itself. Its tone is set too high. It is introverted, academic and erudite, sometimes eye-wateringly so.
But to make such a resource; there’s a task for the Church’s theologians. Because polemic and shouting may be necessary but they are not sufficient. It is thinking together about God — corporate theology — that gives the mind a place to stand, and from that place to reflect wisely on what’s happening around. Otherwise the Church has nothing to say outside its own circle, and our internal culture wars become exchanges of insult, or clashes of popular prejudice between Daily Mail people who happen to be Christians and Guardian people who happen to be Christians.
Among the martyrs of the Hitler years were the sophisticated Bonhöffer and the simple church worker Franz Jägerstätter. Whether it was high-modern Lutheran theology or a penny Catholic catechism, both had resources to use, a place for their mind to stand. I hope that Anglican Social Theology will help us develop similar resources for our generation. On its own it is not enough and does not pretend to be. But even so I need it, and maybe you do too.
One final word. For me the most helpful chapter is that exploring “post-liberal” social thought and written by John Hughes, a wonderful young thinker and priest whose tragic death a few months ago has robbed the Church of a future leader of real stature. He will be deeply and greatly missed. I hope that any future edition of this book will be dedicated to him.
Last week’s Church Times had a feature article by William Whyte entitled The Church: ‘appalling, yet wonderful’.
Diarmaid MacCulloch has just completed a sweeping history of Christianity. William Whyte dragged him from his indexing to talk about it. A History of Christianity: The first three thousand years (Allen Lane, £30 (CT Bookshop £27) is published on 24 September.
The Guardian published a review of the book, written by Rowan Williams last Saturday. See A History of Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch.
The Economist also published a review, under the heading The greatest story, or the trickiest?
The BBC television series can be previewed here.
on Sunday, 21 September 2008 at 8.11 pm by Simon Sarmiento
Power and the Religious Right in the USA
by Stephen Bates
Hodder and Stoughton July 2008 £9.99
Since Sarah Palin was nominated as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, newspaper articles about her religious views have poured off the presses. See for example, these from Salon: The pastor who clashed with Palin by David Talbot, or Sarah Palin, anointed by God by Alex Koppelman or Sarah Palin, faith-based mayor by Sarah Posner.
To most Britons, it seems quite extraordinary that a person holding such views could be a serious candidate for national office. But to anyone who had read Stephen Bates’ book God’s Own Country when it first came out in 2007 it would not be a surprise. It had good reviews in the Church Times, the Guardian, and the Independent.
The book was republished in paperback in the UK in July this year, with the subtitle changed to more accurately describe the content, just in time for the American election campaign. Inexplicably, the US edition is not due until February 2009, neatly missing what must surely be a major marketing opportunity. However, it can readily be obtained now from Amazon UK.
Although Sarah Palin does not appear in the book, John McCain is mentioned three times. Jim Wallis of Sojourners is quoted as saying:
“John McCain is taking a risk dealing with these people: he has to get the Republican nomination and unless he gets these people’s endorsement from the Religious Right, he has no chance.”
Well, with Palin on the ticket, that endorsement for McCain, which earlier looked quite remote, now appears likely.
The book is aimed primarily at UK readers, and covers a lot of US historical background which one hopes would not be new material for Americans. The purpose is described by Bates himself like this:
There is a tendency here, in the secular UK, to write off American religiosity as alien and monolithic when, of course, it is far from that; and to see all US religious people as crazed fundamentalists, when they are not that either…. What I am hoping to show in this book is that US religion’s relationship with politics did not start with George W. Bush… These motivations have shaped the USA from the beginning and have very deep roots in the American psyche.
In fifteen chapters and nearly 400 pages, Bates therefore has plenty of ground to cover. He keeps the reader’s interest by writing as a journalist rather than as an academic. As with his earlier A Church at War this makes the book a much more enjoyable read.
The Pilgrim Fathers, The Great Awakening, William Jennings Bryan, Mother Angelica, Father Charles Coughlin, Aimee Semple McPherson, Joel Osteen, Judge Roy Moore, Ken Ham, Tim LaHaye, TD Jakes, and many other religious personalities are all included. The religious aspects of recent presidential campaigns (Clinton, Bush) are also covered.
As background to the current US election campaign, it is the ideal, even an essential, introduction to the religious dimension of American politics. Which as the nomination of Sarah Palin demonstrates, will be a crucial factor in the race for the White House this time round as well.
Rebuilding Communion
on Friday, 18 July 2008 at 10.16 pm by Simon Sarmiento
categorised as Anglican Communion, Book review
In last week’s Church Times Bishop Kenneth Stevenson reviewed the book to which I contributed a chapter, Rebuilding Communion: Who pays the price? From the Lambeth Conference 1988 to the Lambeth Conference 2008 and beyond Peter Francis, editor.
The review was published under the headline Telling it like it is.
Read more about the book here.
Bishop Stevenson writes:
IT MUST be hard to be gay and Anglican at the moment. After a largely hidden history, Anglican gays now find themselves the subject of open discussion, caused partly by a greater general readiness to talk about issues of sexuality, and partly by activists in the gay community speaking up for their rights. Sadly, the majority of them feel excluded from this discussion, and some of them even echo what some Jews used to say in Nazi Germany — “Don’t champion us, because it will only make things more difficult for us.”
A turning-point in England was the General Synod in February last year, when gay members fearlessly spoke up for themselves in a chamber that had not hitherto heard from them in that way.
This timely little book opens with an essay by Simon Sarmiento chronicling events, resolutions, and decisions about homosexuality in the Anglican Communion over the past decade. His personal views are clear, but the facts he describes are indisputable. There is a hardening of the line in many places, with some obvious exceptions.
There follow six essays from different continents, telling personal stories about what it is like to be gay and Anglican — the African perspective is particularly significant. And a third section is made up of six further short contributions, including one from Martyn Percy on Anglican history and attitudes, and one from Michael Ingham, arguing in favour of something that is still too far for many sympathisers: the same-sex blessing.
This book needs to be read far beyond the confines of the gay community. In some ways, it provides a worldwide Anglican counterpoint to those speeches at last year’s Synod. Those who are deaf, or over-ready to condemn, need at least to recognise the historic pain that this increasingly vocal minority brings to the discussion table. Whatever our views, we should all be ready to condemn homophobia, as Cardinal Hume used to remind us.
I voted for Lambeth 1.10 on that desultory Wednesday afternoon in 1998, and I have regretted it ever since. As these essays show, it has become far too blunt an instrument; moreover, the “listening process” for which it calls should have been well under way by the time Archbishop Rowan Williams arrived at Canterbury.
Here’s hoping that we can be helped to locate exactly where our disagreements lie, and to find an authentically Anglican way through them.
more on Scotland
on Thursday, 24 March 2005 at 8.58 am by Simon Sarmiento
The Scottish Episcopal Church has itself issued a press release Statement regarding today’s media reports – 23rd March 2005.
There has today been wide reporting of a statement issued by the College of Bishops in response to the Anglican Communion’s Windsor Report and the meeting of the Anglican Primates in February. Press interest has focused on one small part of the overall statement.
The statement was in fact issued on 4 March. It acknowledges the difficulties currently faced by the Anglican Communion and expresses the Bishops’ commitment to work to preserve the unity of the Communion. In particular, the Bishops commit themselves to facilitating discussion “across difference”, recognising that within the Scottish Episcopal Church there are both those of gay and lesbian orientation and those whose theology and stance would be critical of attitudes to sexuality other than abstinence outside marriage. The Bishops “rejoice in both” and express the hope that the energy of both groups can be harnessed to serve the Church and the proclamation of the gospel.
In referring to the fact that there is no current bar to ordination for someone who might be in a close relationship with a member of the same sex, the Bishops were simply stating the present position as it applies in Scotland where, unlike some other provinces, no motion discouraging such ordinations has ever been passed by our General Synod. Consequently, the statement earlier this month does not represent any change in policy on the part of the Bishops.
The Glasgow Herald continues with Split in Anglican community over gay priests.
The Scotsman has Evangelicals warn of ‘battle for Church’s soul’ in gay row.
Cedric Pulford of ENI filed Anglican bishops in Scotland say gays not barred from priesthood.
Jonathan Petre in the Telegraph has Scottish bishops declare support for gay priests.
Ruth Gledhill in The Times has Scottish bishops risk split by supporting gay priests and there is a second article ‘I feel proud of my Church today’.
In the Guardian Stephen Bates has Scottish church reignites gay row which follows a late afternoon report on the website yesterday: Scottish church declares support for gay priests.
The CEN reported Scots on collision course with Communion.
Diarmaid MacCulloch interview
on Monday, 17 January 2005 at 11.25 pm by Simon Sarmiento
Big hat tip to KH for finding this:
Summer Season: Reformation – Europe’s House Divided, by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The transcript of an Australian radio interview with Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of a multi-award-winning biography of ‘Thomas Cranmer, A Life’, who was Archbishop of Canterbury under King Henry VIII. Now he’s written an equally distinguished history of the Reformation, or as he says, ‘Reformations’ plural.
This programme was first broadcast on 31 March 2004 and apparently rebroadcast on 12 January 2005.
Improvisation: the Drama of Christian Ethics
on Sunday, 5 December 2004 at 4.57 pm by Simon Sarmiento
In The Times yesterday Stephen Plant wrote about a book by Samuel Wells, previously published in the USA,
Improvisation: the Drama of Christian ethics whose British edition is imminent.
Stephen Plant’s article can be read in full here: How to face moral problems in a fluid world.
An extract is below the fold.
Nick Ralph writes:
I thought this was a tremendously helpful insight into our ethical decision-making as Christians. We need to be reminded that what we are often trying to negotiate is not easy. Whether conservative or liberal, there are often no Biblical verses which will immediately supply an answer to complex issues in a modern world. All we can do then, as this article suggests, is to rehearse, and dance perhaps like Sydney Carter’s Lord of the dance, trying to learn the way the steps work so that we can improvise new steps in the ethical theatre in which we now play. I cannot help but find it appealing and wonder if it might perhaps help us, at least to understand each other better, in the plays we are currently trying to interpret.
Some Issues in Human Sexuality
on Friday, 14 November 2003 at 9.00 pm by Simon Sarmiento
This is the title of the new book published last week by Church House Publishing. The book, prepared by a committee of four bishops, is commended to the Church for study by the House of Bishops of the Church of England. I commented briefly about it when it was published.
The key thing to understand about this book is that it is a study guide, it does not set out to be an expression of any new opinions, by bishops or by anybody else. Rather, it aims to state a full range of existing opinions on the subject, so that they can all be studied.
Here is the official publishers blurb for the book.
Here is the Church Times digest of the book.
You can download the front matter and Chapter 1 of the book from the CHP website as a pdf file. You can also download the first two chapters of the short accompanying booklet, A Companion to Some Issues in Human Sexuality, with study material for individuals and groups.
Today the Church Times carried this comment on the book by Giles Fraser, Let’s be realistic about sex.
Thinking Anglicans hopes to publish other comments and reflections on the book when people have had time to read it.
Biography of Rowan Williams reviewed
on Thursday, 14 August 2003 at 8.18 am by Simon Sarmiento
Damian Thompson reviews Rowan Williams by Rupert Shortt
The only half-crown item in a sixpenny bazaar
on Sunday, 10 August 2003 at 10.27 am by Simon Kershaw
Last week the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England published a report entitled Being Human and with the long explanatory subtitle “A Christian understanding of personhood illustrated with reference to power, money, sex and time”.
It doesn’t seem to be readable on the web, but there is a summary on this week’s Church Times website and the report can be bought from Church House Publishing or, as they say, from any good bookshop.
From the summaries I have seen so far this looks like an important contribution as to how we understand ourselves. I plan to get a copy soon, and will add my further thoughts here.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535163
|
__label__wiki
| 0.669882
| 0.669882
|
The Robin Hood You Love is A Lie
Wed Apr 18, 2018 10:00am 86 comments 27 Favorites [+]
In the earliest tales, Robin Hood was many things—gambler, fighter, braggart, gentleman, con artist, master of disguise—but he was never a nobleman.
Despite scholarly fights and centuries of material to choose from, no one has ever agreed on why this change became so popular. It may have been a desire to link the legendary bandit with a real live person (such as Fulk fitz Warin or Robert Hod), or fear that the poor folks of the world might read stories of Robin’s origin and start a rebellion of their own, or simply the novelty of a man displaced and still carrying on despite it all. No matter the cause, the version of Robin that we come across most often is a figure of privilege. He’s an earl or a member of the landed gentry. He’s in the forest for now, while he waits for the rightful king and the restoration of his lands and position. With very few exceptions, modern Robin Hood stories are about a rich dude who is briefly less rich, and thankfully doesn’t hate poor people.
Moreover, Robin Hood’s position as a “hero for the people” has always been one of the most aggressively contested aspects of his character. Over the centuries, the tale has been rewritten and reinterpreted countless times, leading to confusion about Robin’s true origins and motivations. The question of which aspects to favor when piecing together the long arc of the tale’s history are never in agreement, in part because there is so little information about the earliest stories. When you add politics in to the mix, things get even more awkward: one scholar contends (J.C. Holt, 1982) that the gentry are responsible for keeping the story alive and growing, so Robin Hood cannot possibly be a figure of plebeian rebellion; another scholar (Jeffrey L. Singman, 1998) insists that Robin Hood is a subversive figure, and an enemy of serfdom and feudalism. Where some see a figure of dissent and resistance, others find a vehement enabler of the status quo who just likes a good laugh.
When it comes right down to it, the root of this constant argument is simple: people want the outlaw of Sherwood Forest to belong to them, to their own ideologies. Following Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, there were arguments that this pseudo-historical Robin would have been a member of the Tea Party (Jared Keller, 2010), or that he was clearly a libertarian (Maura Pennington, 2012). During the era of McCarthyism, Robin Hood was banned from textbooks (Alison Kysia, 2013) in the United States for “promoting communism” with its rob-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor schtick. If you were to ask me over friendly pints at a bar, I’d tell you without hesitation that Robin Hood and the Merry Men in Sherwood Forest are a gay socialist utopia that the world needs to embrace. But none of these interpretations can encompass the entirety of the legend. It is simply too vast and too long-lived.
But in recent memory, this is the story we are most likely to recognize:
There is a band that lives in Sherwood Forest and they rob from the rich and give to the poor.
They do this because the good king is away, and his little brother was left to rule in his place. The prince is an idiot and he surrounds himself with monstrous men, and he demands everything of his people. He taxes his citizenry bare and tells them that it is good for them. He sits on their gold like a great dragon and portends to virtue while they starve. He ignores their pleas for help and acts surprised when there is unrest in his country.
Never fear! Everything will be all right. A dispossessed nobleman is here to stop the prince and his lackeys. He brought friends to aid him in this national hour of need.
That tendency toward making Robin Hood a nobleman who robs from people just like him—it smudges the image up, like grit on a lens. The very idea has a disingenuous sheen to it, or worse, a heavy aura of wishing thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if there was one super nice wealthy person who would make the rest of the wealthy people hand over their money and take care of the poor and needy around them? Wouldn’t it be even greater if he could alleviate them of said wealth in a comical fashion so that the concept of class warfare and potential revolution didn’t seem nearly so serious? Hollywood is failing us, and so are a multitude of current adaptations. It’s akin to making every female Disney lead a princess; every Robin Hood must come with a title and a patch of land that a mean sheriff or haughty prince can commandeer. It’s lazy storytelling, and worse for the fact that it has nothing to do with origin of the figure.
Contextually, the root of Robin Hood’s character and popular elements of his story come from a likely multitude of sources as the legend was being built over the 13th and 14th centuries. Robin Hood was a member of the middle class at a time when chivalry was the rule of the day—and civil unrest was, too. The earliest known stories contain no record of him robbing the rich and giving over the plunder to peasants, but they do make mention of him being a “good” outlaw who helped poor men. He became king of the May Day festivities by 15th century, where Maid Marion also became a popular mainstay of his story. The Historia Majoris Brittaniae of 1521 was responsible for tying Robin Hood rather permanently to King Richard and the Crusades. The earliest known source that mentions his nobility is Anthony Munday’s The Downfall and The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington, a series of plays published in 1601.
Still, nobility was not a common feature of Robin Hood stories until Joseph Ritson published a work called Robin Hood: A collection of all the Ancient Poems Songs and Ballads now extant, relative to the celebrated Outlaw in 1795. In this work, which attempted to reassert the medieval version of the figure (who had been somewhat displaced by more comical ballads in the 18th century), Ritson did some dubious detective work into the potential truth of Robin Hood as a living human being, concluding that he was a real man named Robert Fitzooth. Pointedly, Robert Fitzooth was not a real man—he was likely an invention of William Stukeley, who created Fitzooth and his family tree for Paleographica Britannica (1746). As we can see, the evidence Ritson used was beyond wobbly; it seems that in an effort to become to foremost Robin Hood scholar in the world, he was determined to make the outlaw real by any means necessary, even citing fiction (such as Munday’s plays) in his argument for Robin Hood’s historical presence. Even so, his work is still one of the most influential in the character’s history, and Ritson’s pal Sir Walter Scott referenced this mighty tome in creating his own version of Robin Hood for Ivanhoe—itself an incredibly popular and influential book.
Ritson’s version of Robin Hood was meant to be a hero of the people, and Ritson himself was an advocate of the principles espoused by the French Revolution—obviously not very forgiving of the wealthy and privileged classes. But Ritson was unlikely to find records dating back to the 12th century for his “real life” Robin Hood among the annals of peasants or yeoman—and perhaps this is the key. Ritson’s champion of the common man became an aristocrat not because Ritson desired it, but because he was determined to offer up a historical Robin Hood, and records of the gentry were the only places where he could even attempt to establish lineage that others would take seriously. And though most earlier versions of the story did not grant Robin of Locksley (or of anywhere else) a sheen of nobility, this was the backstory that stuck. Films and television and many modern revisions, they can’t shake this rewrite, no matter how hard they try.
Most of the Robin Hoods you know embody this error. Errol Flynn is a nobleman and a Saxon fighting against the Normans. Douglas Fairbanks is the Earl of Huntingdon, who asks to return home from the Crusades in order to take the throne back from the king’s evil brother. Kevin Costner returns from the Crusades to find his father dead and his estate destroyed, but King Richard still blesses his marriage to Marian. Cary Elwes finds Loxley Hall repossessed when he arrives back in England. Russell Crowe pretends to be a nobleman throughout his misadventure because the concept is so ingrained that even a “realistic” version of the tale must abide. Television series Robin of Sherwood (1984) features two distinct noble born versions of Robin, and the BBC’s Robin Hood (2006) features their own Earl of Huntingdon running the Merry Men into Nottingham and back. Even Disney’s dashing fox is likely to be a nobleman—it’s highly unlikely that he would have been Marian’s childhood sweetheart if they weren’t both of the upper crust.
And still we must ask—why?
Why is it more appealing, more comfortable, more exciting to imagine Robin Hood as a rich fellow who forgoes his wealth to fight against a corrupt system? Why are we taken in and placated by a nobleman of charity and occasional good humor?
The truth is, our fictional halls of fame are lousy with this figure, this exact prototype. Think carefully and you will recognize him well: He is Batman. He is the Scarlet Pimpernel. He is Tony Stark. He is literally Green Arrow because that character was very obviously based on Robin Hood. Modern fiction wants us, needs us, to believe that this hero exists. And what’s more, we are not meant to merely tolerate this figure—we are supposed to love him. To demand more of him. To feel safer because he exists.
Which is ironic, given the unconscionable imbalance in the distribution of wealth and resources that we see today, and the incalculable greed of those who are lucky enough to have it.
Because the truth is far more painful to reckon with. There are a few figures of incredible means who go out of their way to provide for everyone else. Some may give to charity, create programs to get much-needed resources into the hands of those who need them, offer the world more energy-efficient cars. But they are not here to save us by any stretch of imagination. They do not hit the street day and night to fight crime, stop oppression, and keep monsters at bay. So we have created a fictional crew, like a table setting, to be laid out whenever this reality becomes too much. The Good Wealthy Men set. They have money and still care what happens to the destitute. Thank goodness someone does.
But Robin’s Hood real origin as an average man is the true inspirational plot, and one that likely brought comfort to the masses for centuries before that retrofitted narrative took hold. When the Forest Laws were still intact in England and hunting for food without paying a hefty fee could land you in prison, Robin Hood was there to stop the sheriff and his men from hauling you in. When chivalry was still the code that people were expected to abide by, Robin Hood was gallant and kind to those who needed aid. When the Peasant Revolt of 1381 was still fresh in the mind of the populace, Robin Hood showed people that there was hope beyond a life of serfdom and servitude, beyond poverty and isolation.
In Sherwood Forest, we look out for one another and no one is king.
The legend of Robin Hood may have been rewritten and overwritten by nobility, but it was a tale meant for everyone. Ridding ourselves of this ridiculous alteration not only revives the source material, it makes the story matter again. Robin Hood as the trust fund baby who decides to go live in the woods to prove a point is just another ad for the virtue of simple living. It’s Silicon Valley millionaires raising their own chickens, and start up gurus claiming to be as accessible as their low-level employees, and financially sound power couples making the choice to live according to tenets of minimalism because they can afford to do so. There is nothing genuine or meaningful about it.
We deserve heroes who are doing real work to alleviate the suffering of others. Robin Hood of the gentry has had his day. He’s had a couple of centuries, in fact. If we’re going to keep telling this story over and over (and we will, because mythology tends to work that way), we may as well cherrypick the best pieces.
Sherwood Forest is ours. No one can wall it off, or chase us from it, or brand it with their name in big block letters. We are outlaws with bow and arrows, with rowdy friends, with disguises and songs. Robin Hood belongs to us all, not to a privileged few. It’s time he was returned.
Emmet Asher-Perrin is going to go have a quarterstaff fight on a bridge. You can bug her on Twitter and Tumblr, and read more of her work here and elsewhere.
archetypeshistoryliteraturemoviesRobin Hoodtelevision
WandaVision Plays With Reality and Sitcom History in Its Two-Part Premiere
Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow Might Be Coming to FX
James Davis Nicoll Five Thrilling SF Stories About Patrolling Space 22 hours ago
Karl on Rhythm of War Reread: Interludes 1 (Sylphrena, Sja-Anat, Into the Fire) 22 mins ago
Sunspear on “Let’s fly!” — Star Trek: Discovery Third Season Overview 1 hour ago
ridcully on Terry Pratchett Book Club: Wyrd Sisters, Part V 2 hours ago
pjcamp on Five of the Best Books I Never Meant to Read 2 hours ago
Sunspear on Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow Might Be Coming to FX 3 hours ago
pjcamp on Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow Might Be Coming to FX 4 hours ago
Being Healthy Soul on Nicolas Cage Coldly Murders Nightmare Animatronics in the Trailer for Willy’s Wonderland 4 hours ago
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535165
|
__label__wiki
| 0.981296
| 0.981296
|
James Taylor Shares New Song, Extended Trailer For ‘American Standard’
Taylor remembered ‘As Easy As Rolling Off A Log’ from his childhood, and its appearance in the Merrie Melodies cartoon ‘Katnip Kollege.’
Photo: Norman Sieff
James Taylor has shared another song from his forthcoming Fantasy Records album of 14 classic American songs, American Standard, which is released on 28 February. Following his interpretation of Gene De Paul and Sammy Cahn’s ‘Teach Me Tonight,’ the new track is Jack Scholl and M.K. Jerome’s ‘As Easy As Rolling Off A Log.’
As opposed to many of the songs on the set, which come from some of the most celebrated Broadway musicals, ‘As Easy As Rolling Off A Log’ is one that Taylor remembered from his childhood, and its appearance in the 1938 Merrie Melodies cartoon Katnip Kollege. The music in that short came from several Warner Brothers feature films of the period; ‘Log’ was sung by Johnnie Davis and Mabel Todd in the 1937 comedy Over the Goal.
Taylor has also shared an extended eight-minute version of the trailer for the new album, in which we see him at work in The Barn, the storied singer-songwriter’s studio in Western Massachusetts. “What makes a standard?”, he says. “Just a certain amount of history and familiarity, just a presence in the popular culture for a long period of time. It’s a song of a certain age, generally something your mom or dad would have liked.
“I’ve always had songs that I grew up with, that I remember really well, that were part of the family record collection, and that I basically had a sense of how to approach, so it was a natural for us to put this project together. These are the songs that Lennon and McCartney listened to, that so many of my generation that got started in the ’60s, these were their musical foundation.”
Dave O’Donnell, the artist’s longtime collaborator with whom he and John Pizzarelli produced the album, says: “When James covers a song, it sounds like he wrote it.” Concludes Taylor: “Somehow these songs are more civilised, these standards. They’re like a puzzle, they’re so much more sophisticated than music has become, and because of that they’re a challenge. But it’s also something that shouldn’t be lost.”
American Standard is released on 28 February and can be pre-ordered here.
LISTEN/BUY
Related Topics:Classic PopDave O'DonnellJames TaylorJohn PizzarelliLennon & McCartneyNew ReleasesSammy Cahn
Tyrannosaurus Rex Goes Extinct: Meet The New T. Rex
Fania Records: How A New York Label Took Salsa To The World
Pride Of The Opry: Charley Pride Makes Musical And Cultural History
Doris Troy: Remembering Mama Soul
‘Here Come The Warm Jets’: Bathing In Brian Eno’s Genius
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535172
|
__label__wiki
| 0.748885
| 0.748885
|
Daily Wrap-up: Proposal to dissolve United Methodist Church, gay-rights demonstration dominate assem
By Linda Bloom* May 6, 2004 | PITTSBURGH (UMNS)
Advocates for gay and lesbian rights protest church policies during the 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh. A UMNS Photo by John C. Goodwin
United Methodist Bishop Robert E. Fannin (at podium and reflected in video screen), Birmingham Area, gives the sermon during morning worship on May 6 at the denomination's 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh. At left is presiding Bishop Janice Riggle Huie. A UMNS photo by John C. Goodwin.
The floating of a proposal to dissolve the United Methodist Church into two separate denominations sparked hallway discussions at the church’s top legislative meeting. This proposal and a morning demonstration by gay-rights supporters overshadowed May 6 legislative actions.
Although it appeared unlikely that such a proposal to separate the 10-million member denomination would come to the floor of the 2004 General Conference before its May 7 adjournment, two key conservative church leaders openly talked about an “amicable” divorce over “irreconcilable differences.”
Conference business was peacefully interrupted around 11:10 a.m. when more than 500 people circled the floor for 35 minutes, carrying banners and singing hymns of reconciliation. The demonstration was led by Soulforce, a non-denominational gay rights advocacy group.
Earlier in the week, delegates had upheld the denomination’s positions on homosexuality, including the belief that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” should not be allowed into the ordained ministry.
Dressed in liturgical robes, some members of the group walked to the altar and poured water into the baptismal font, symbolizing a common bowl. “We’ve been holding water at the entrance to General Conference every morning and inviting people to remember their baptism,” explained Marjorie Carlson, a participant in the demonstration. “We brought that water here to remember what we bring to the church –– that we are of one faith and baptized by one God.”
Speaking to the proposal, yet to be presented to the delegates, the Rev. William Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement, said, “United Methodist is an oxymoron. We haven’t been united for a long time.”
The Rev. James Heidinger, president of the Good News organization, believes there is “no expectation” that agreement will ever be reached among the various constituencies of the church. “This is a deep theological divide.”
But other conservatives do not endorse the idea of separation. The Rev. Eddie Fox, a delegate and director of World Evangelism for the World Methodist Council, said, “I don’t want to go there, and there are many who would take the same stand. I know a lot of people have strong feelings, but that’s not where I am.”
Three liberal groups supporting gay rights also rejected a split. The Common Witness Coalition, made up of the Reconciling Ministries Network, Methodist Federation for Social Action and Affirmation, said it was not in favor of a schism and was fully committed to inclusion of all opinions.
Retired Bishop C. Dale White called the proposal hurtful and destructive. “Why should we destroy a great church on the basis of peripheral issues? On the core issues of ministry and theology, the whole church agrees, even if we articulate them differently.”
In the worship service before the day’s business began, Bishop Robert E. Fannin, Birmingham, Ala., tried to keep things in perspective by reminding the delegates, “If we cannot agree that our primary task is the presentation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then some of you got on the wrong bus, came to the wrong town and the wrong conference.”
In the May 6 morning session, delegates continued to struggle with overwhelming needs around the world and pressing financial concerns of local churches.
While the church’s top fiscal agency proposes a 2005-2008 budget of $585 million, the financial administration legislative committee at General Conference estimates the 10-million-member church could apportion a total of $612 million.
By the end of the morning, delegates had added another $43.8 million to the $585 million budget proposed by the General Council on Finance and Administration. That agency will consider all requests for additional funds before making its final presentation on May 7, the final day of the assembly.
Whatever the final figure is, the organization of the church will be somewhat different after 2004, according to action taken by delegates. Beginning Jan. 1, a “Connectional Table,” with 47 members, will help guide the work of general agencies.
What was adopted by delegates is an alternate version of the “Living into the Future” proposal presented to General Conference by the denomination’s Council on Ministries. That group had proposed that the new Connectional Table would have performed both its own functions and that of the General Council on Finance and Administration, meaning that both agencies would have gone out of existence.
Instead, the finance agency will remain intact, while the Council on Ministries will cease to operate after a transitional period.
The new table will be composed of 28 people elected through jurisdictional and central conferences; the presidents of most of the church’s general agencies; a member from each of the racial-ethnic caucuses; one youth and one young adult from the new Division on Ministries with Young People; and the general secretaries of the agencies, who will have voice but no vote.
Building on evangelism efforts in Africa, southeast Asia and Europe, delegates approved a $4 million Global Education Fund to assist the 748 Methodist schools, colleges, universities and seminaries in 69 countries. Administered by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the fund will help in its training of new generations of clergy and lay leaders.
One proven success is the United Methodist-related Africa University in Zimbabwe, which serves 1,123 students from 22 African nations. Delegates approved $10 million in apportioned funds and an additional $10 million, to be raised through World Service Special Gifts, for the university over the next four years.
In other business, delegates ordered the United Methodist Board of Pensions and Health Benefits to conduct a study on the feasibility of providing health care coverage that would effectively unite all U.S. annual (regional) conferences into one single plan.
If it is feasible, the pensions agency would provide detailed information to the annual conference boards of pensions by Jan. 1, 2007, and work with those boards to produce the most acceptable plan for submission to the 2008 General Conference.
General Conference delegates also:
Approved the creation of an African-American Methodist Heritage Center, which will be housed at the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History at Drew University in Madison, N.J., until a permanent facility is built at one of the denomination’s historically black colleges or universities.
Created a task force to study the connection between teen sexual identity and suicide risk and publish a resource on the issue for congregations and families.
Rejected petitions that would have changed or eliminated the mandatory retirement age of 70 for bishops, clergy and general agency staff.
Supported the Okinawan government and its people in their efforts to remove or substantially reduce U.S. military bases and U.S. military personnel on the island of Okinawa.
Urged all agencies of the church, local congregations and affiliated organizations to purchase coffee for corporate and personal use through a fair trade partner, such as Equal Exchange.
Joined previous General Conferences in requesting that the U.S. government lift its economic embargo against Cuba and seek negotiations with the Cuban government for the purpose of resuming normal diplomatic relations.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer.
News media contact: (412) 325-6080 during General Conference, April 27-May 7.
After May 10: (615) 742-5470.
Radio Stories
Bishops Respond to Call for Amicable Separation
Delegates discuss mapping new church vision
General Conference delegates shared some of the international feedback they have received about The United Methodist Church’s future.
Taking concrete steps to move against racism
United Methodist conferences are confronting the sin of racism through prayers, calls for justice and education on white supremacy.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535173
|
__label__wiki
| 0.712862
| 0.712862
|
7-year-old girl killed in gang crossfire
26 February 2020 • News, VOC News • No Comments
By Qudissiyah Kasu
Residents of Oceanview have been left in a state of shock and devastation after a 7-year-old girl was killed in gang crossfire on Tuesday evening. It’s believed little Emaan had been in the yard of her home in Libra street when she was struck by the bullet. She was wounded in the chest and hand and died in hospital. A 31-year-old man was also shot in Andromeda Way and died due to his injuries.
“According to available information, the seven-year-old girl was caught in the crossfire and was wounded in the chest and hand,” said police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana.
“She was transported to a medical facility, where she later died.”
Rwexana confirmed that the Anti-Gang Unit members were patrolling the area.
Earlier this month in Ocean View, Jocelyn Claasen, 27, was shot dead in the early hours on a Sunday morning. Her body was found in an open field. Claasen, who was due to give birth in a few days’ time, was last seen leaving her house after 1am.
The Ocean View Community Policing Forum’s Kathy Cronje said at the time the shooting showed more needed to be done to ensure the safety of residents.
Cronje said the Anti-Gang Unit had helped to stabilise the situation in Ocean View for a while at the beginning of the year.
“In January, they sent the Anti-Gang Unit and it stabilised the situation for a while. When they left, it picked up again,” Cronje said
“To prevent a woman and an unborn child from being shot, we need people who can come in here and stay in here.”
The circumstances surrounding both incidents are under investigation. Detectives are following up on leads in order to bring the perpetrators to book.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535174
|
__label__cc
| 0.597723
| 0.402277
|
Wat Buddhanusorn, “temple for the dedication of the Buddha”, was founded in 1983 and in keeping with Thai Theravadan Buddhist traditional has always relied on donations and volunteer work for its support. The main objectives behind the founding of the temple community are for propagating the Buddha’s teachings and practice, to teach and promote Thai art, language, and culture to all those who are interested, and to serve as a pillar of the Thai community.
Every morning the monks gather in the main hall to chant and meditate. Following the morning meal they begin their work in and around the temple. The lush and colorful landscape features a rich assortment of flowers, shrubs, and trees all maintained by the monks. The sound of sweeping is a common refrain as the monks meditate on sweeping the grounds. There is always some ongoing project, whether it is cleaning and maintaining the property and buildings or publishing one of the many booklets. After the main lunch meal the monks continue with the temple projects. In the evening the monks again gather in the main hall for chanting and meditation.
The temple buildings are well used—the blue and white house serves as a residence for the
monks as well as kitchen, dining room, office, and meeting and social place for the frequent visitors. The garage also serves as a dance studio and place for the young people to socialize. The beautiful main temple building, under its colorful, Thai-style tile roof and exquisite gold leaf spires and embellishments was completed in 1997 and has two levels. The lower level houses several offices, music studio and rehearsal hall for the Thai Student Orchestra, storage areas, and a large open space, called the multipurpose hall, which is used for performances, meetings, and classrooms. The upper level in the main hall is used for Buddhist ceremonies, festivals, teaching and the daily chanting and meditation. Here you will see the central altar with the large, golden Earth-Touching Buddha amid a profuse offering of flowers in vases and delicate objects. The altar alcove is covered in a hand-painted mural depicting traditional Buddhist and Thai legends and life scenes. The hall reverberates with the chanting from the monks and provides a welcome environment for the many visitors who seek a happy place to practice the Buddha’s teachings. Besides the activities of the temple itself, the monks and supporters are involved in the greater community of Fremont and abroad. They work with the Tri-Cities Ministerial Association, donate food and supplies to local and national charities and homeless shelters, provide scholarships and meal funds for students in Thai villages, support traditional Thai medical pharmacies, the Chai Pattana Foundation, and the National Council of Welfare of Thailand. The abbot, Pramaha Prasert also volunteers to teach Buddhism to prison inmates.
Many of the projects the monks and supporters are involved in focus on building and strengthening the Buddhist community in Fremont whether it be holding an open house or conducting meditation and dhamma classes. All are welcome to attend without discrimination and the congregation has begun to reflect the diversity of their community, something rather uncommon in Thai temples in the west. Wat Buddhanusorn has been blessed with visits from many dignitaries. One of the most memorable events at the temple was a visit from Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand i 1993, during the temple’s tenth anniversary. Her Majesty dedicated a stone and planted a tree to commemorate the event, making this the only temple outside Thailand where the Queen has given such a blessing. His Holiness Somdech Phramaha Thiracarya , the lord abbot of wat Chanasongkranm, visited and blessed the temple in 1993. In 1996 Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali dedicated the temple’s spire as well as having planted trees on previous visits. Her Royal Highness Princess Bajakitiyabha has also visited and planted trees. In 1997 His Holiness Somdech Phramaha Rajmangalacarya, presided over the largest gathering of Thai monks in the Bay Area, over 150 monks, for the demarcation of the temple. Truly these and many other blessings recognize and reflect the hard work of the whole community.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535178
|
__label__wiki
| 0.928981
| 0.928981
|
The Mirage: A fake tavern that exposed real corruption, ten bucks at a time
By Dan Weissmann
Jan. 16, 2012, 5:26 a.m. CT
A city fire inspector reaches for his ten-dollar payoff. (Photo/Jim Frost for Chicago Sun-Times)
As a young reporter at the Chicago Tribune in the early 1970s, Pam Zekman had repeatedly asked her editors to buy her a tavern. Then she went across the street to the Sun-Times, and she found an editor ready to say yes.
To be clear, Zekman’s desire to open a bar was strictly journalistic. Like lots of other reporters, she got calls all the time from small-business owners who complained about being shaken down for bribes by city inspectors— day after day after friggin’ day.
“They were fed up,” she recalls. “They didn’t want to pay these bribes anymore.” Somebody, they said, ought to write a story.
But she could never, ever get anyone to go on the record. They were all afraid that the city would find a way to get back at them and destroy their business.
Which, she had to admit, was an understandable fear.
“We thought about it, and we decided that the only way we could document this was to become the victims.”
Zekman had a ready partner in the Better Government Association, or BGA, a non-profit that worked with investigative reporters, where Mindy Trossman was a young investigator.
“And as far as what kind of establishment,” Trossman recalls, “we couldn’t do a dry cleaner. After all, what did we know? We knew how to drink. And make a hot dog.”
Plus, a bar offered special reporting opportunities because so many inspectors had jurisdiction: health inspectors, liquor inspectors, building inspectors—from both city and state agencies. “And that’s just what we wanted,” Zekman says. “We wanted to test out how widespread this was—not just one agency.”
Thirty-five years ago, at the very end of 1976, Zekman’s boss found the money to fund the project, and sent her off to shop for a seedy tavern.
It took months. As Zekman notes, there were a lot of factors: “Is the location good? Where could we hide a photographer? Could we afford them? And were there obvious violations?”
The place they found, on the corner of Superior and Wells, had plenty of those. Frayed wires dangled everywhere, the bathroom’s plumbing was a bad joke, and both rats and roaches had thriving colonies. The basement’s floor oozed raw sewage—and was crawling with maggots.
It was perfect. They named it The Mirage and started getting ready to open.
They had some strict ground rules. Most important, says Zekman, was that they couldn’t actually offer anybody a bribe. “We couldn’t say, how much would it cost me to ignore this?”
And the inspectors were too savvy to just come out and ask for money. “They’d say things like, I’d like to work with you.”
Luckily, Zeckman and crew had a guy.
“Our job became much easier when we hooked up with Mr. Fixit, Phil Barasch,” she recalls. “He was straight from Central Casting.”
Zekman and the BGA’s director of investigations, Bill Recktenwald, were shopping for saloons—posing as a married couple—when they met Barasch, who represented some bar owners who were looking to sell.
He let them know, at that first meeting, that they’d want him as their accountant. He offered to help them cheat on their taxes, and to make sure inspectors didn’t bother them.
“We weren’t there for more than a few minutes when he just openly told us that he would tell us how to take care of the inspectors,” Zekman recalls. “And in fact he ended up doing just that, telling us to put ten, twenty, whatever—in cash, in an envelope, and tell them Phil Barasch told me to give this to you.”
And now it turned out, it wasn’t so hard to work with the inspectors after all. Bill Recktenwald sounds like he kind of enjoyed it.
“We just acted dumb!” he says. “And the dumber we acted, the more people wanted to tell us how things really operated. A number of them asked us, ‘Are you from Chicago? Don’t you understand how things work?’”
And the inspectors came surprisingly cheap. When an inspector came to visit, whoever was handling the guy “would leave an envelope on the bar—which had a whopping ten dollars in it,” says Jim Frost, a Sun-Times photographer who worked on the story.
Perched in a loft above the bathroom, shooting through a hole in the wall, Frost got photos of the fire inspector who took his ten bucks without even looking at the exposed electrical wiring.
The building inspector did look around, took note of a couple of serious issues—then scooped up his fifteen bucks and left without writing up a thing.
“It was an amazing part to everybody that they would sell out so cheap,” says Frost. “The public safety for ten dollars.”
Actually, the state liquor inspector held out for fifty bucks.
And not everybody was on the take. The health inspector gave the Mirage a thumbs-up without going near the funky bathrooms or the filthy basement—but he didn’t take a dime.
“So, he was incompetent,” says Zekman, “But he didn’t take money.”
And the story went beyond inspectors: Accountants became a big part of it.
After all, Mr. Fixit had promised to help them keep a set of phony books for tax purposes, so Zekman and Recktenwald wondered if other accountants would offer the same service.
Boy, did they.
“Over and over and over again,” says Zekman, “they would say, ‘I can show you how to skim 20 percent, I can show you how to skim 30 percent, 40.’”
The Mirage hired them all, and ended up keeping several sets of books: One honest set, which they submitted at tax time, and another for each of their crooked accountants.
Then, after just two months of operations, the Mirage closed—on Halloween.
“We could not stay in business longer,” says Zekman. “There was concern that people already were getting an idea that we were there.”
Especially because the Mirage staff weren’t the only journalists trying to keep a low profile around the joint. Mike Wallace and a crew from 60 Minutes had been visiting the bar on and off even before it opened.
In fact, had they stayed open much longer, they might well have gotten caught—by the competition.
Zay Smith, the Sun-Times reporter who wrote up the Mirage saga, says that shortly after the bar closed, the Chicago Tribune assigned a reporter to check out rumors about Zekman’s project. “The assignment was to pub crawl,” he says, “and look for a short redhead behind the bar.”
After the Mirage closed, the staff didn’t exactly mind going back to their day jobs.
“There is no glamour in being a day-to-day barmaid,” says Trossman, who didn’t find the hot-dog-making side such a thrill either. “It’s like, ‘I have a masters degree, and, yes, you want what? What do you want on that?‘”
The Sun-Times published the first installment of its Mirage Tavern series on Sunday, January 8, 1978. That evening, after the Super Bowl, the 60 Minutes segment aired, including a stunning Mike Wallace interview with Mr. Fixit.
After Barasch acknowledged that widespread tax fraud in cash businesses was “common knowledge,” Wallace went in for the kill, with a purr: “Look, between you and me,” Wallace said to the accountant, cameras rolling, “you do it. Everybody does it.” Barasch didn’t deny it a bit. (Decades later, Wallace titled his memoir Between You and Me in Mr. Fixit’s honor.)
The world sat up and noticed.
“I remember sitting in the BGA office one day,” says Trossman, “and getting a call from London: ‘Hullo, I’d like to talk to you about your pub.’”
Chicago noticed too. Inspectors were suspended, fired, and chastised. The state department of revenue set up a special bureau to investigate cash businesses—and called it the Mirage Audit Unit.
Readers responded too—by coming forward with their own stories. “After the story ran, we had to set up a phone bank in the city room,” says Sun-Times photographer Jim Frost. The complaints about shakedowns were the same as ever, he says, “but now people would actually talk.”
The Sun-Times ran stories from the Mirage investigation for almost a month solid. The paper named names of inspectors and accountants, of contractors who passed along bribes, of a gun-runner who did some business in the bar, and of the people who ran the brothel down the street.
None of them denied that the stories about them were accurate. (The manager of the brothel did complain, says Zay Smith, that the stories about his business were “too accurate—apparently he thought it was in bad taste.” That is, he didn’t think a family newspaper should print that kind of thing.)
And none of them—not even Phil Barasch, who had admitted on national TV to committing tax fraud—went to jail.
But federal investigators did then step on the gas in an ongoing sting operation of their own. A few months after the Mirage stories came out, federal prosecutors indicted a third of the city’s electrical inspectors. Zekman thinks the federal case—and all the federal corruption prosecutions that have followed in its wake—did contribute to a real change in the last few decades.
“All the public corruption indictments have had an effect,” she says. “Maybe not on governors yet. But I do think that— not just with low-level inspectors but their supervisors, and their supervisors’ supervisors— that has had an effect.”
Government by shakedown isn’t over— just ask William Cellini— but the ante has gotten considerably higher. (Just ask Tom Rosenberg.)
A lot of the little fish have been scared away.
“Does it still go on?” says Zekman. “Yes. Is it as wide-open as it was? I don’t think so.”
[Correction: The original version of this story— and the audio version still posted here— placed the Mirage at Superior and Clark instead of Superior and Wells.]
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535179
|
__label__wiki
| 0.982771
| 0.982771
|
Taco Bell is bringing potatoes back to its menu, and ‘going big’ with vegetarian options
Taco Bell is bringing back a familiar favorite: the humble potato.
In social media posts Thursday, Taco Bell CEO Mark King said potatoes will return to Taco Bell menus as of March 11.
Potatoes were cut from Taco Bell menus last year, when locations switched entirely to drive-thru service at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. To better service customers with long drive-thru lines, Taco Bell simplified its menu, and potatoes didn’t make the cut, King explained.
“But it’s a new year, with new possibilities, and you know what? We’re bringing them back!” King said of potatoes.
With the return of potatoes, King said Taco Bell was “going big” with its vegetarian menu – “above and beyond” – a hint to its newly announced partnership with plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat.
by Ashley Haycraft / Jan 16, 2021
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) -- 26 West Virginia counties are in orange on the Department Health and Human Resources County Alert System map.
As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, West Virginia has confirmed 28 additional deaths, including DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 66-year-old male from Summers County, a 78-year-old male from Tucker County, a 76-year-old female from Hancock County, an 89-year-old female from Hancock County, a 65-year-old male from Hancock County, a 67-year-old female from Kanawha County, a 90-year-old female from Hancock County, an 82-year-old male from Jackson County, a 79-year-old female from Upshur County, a 56-year-old female from Barbour County, a 72-year-old male from Cabell County, a 92-year-old male from Mercer County, a 74-year-old female from Harrison County, a 93-year-old male from Hancock County, an 87-year-old female from Hancock County, a 69-year-old male from Kanawha County, a 95-year-old female from Hancock County, a 72-year-old female from McDowell County, a 79-year-old female from Brooke County, a 93-year-old female from Hancock County, an 86-year-old female from Fayette County, a 93-year-old female from Ohio County, an 84-year-old female from Ohio County, an 83-year-old female from Doddridge County, an 80-year-old male from Kanawha County, an 85-year-old female from Wayne County, an 88-year-old female from Wood County, and a 56-year-old male from Cabell County.
Messy Friday into the weekend
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535180
|
__label__cc
| 0.548654
| 0.451346
|
Posted on March 2, 2009 December 24, 2015 by Anne Minard
Pluto’s Atmosphere Boasts Methane, Warmer Temps
Artist’s impression of how the surface of Pluto might look, if patches of pure methane rest on the surface. At the distance of Pluto, the Sun appears about 1,000 times fainter than on Earth. Credit: ESO
Pluto is certainly frigid, but new research has revealed its atmosphere is a bit warmer.
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have found unexpectedly large amounts of methane in Pluto’s atmosphere, which evidently helps it stay about 40 degrees warmer than the dwarf planet’s surface. The atmosphere warms to -180 degrees Celsius (-356 degrees Fahrenheit), compared to a surface that’s usually -220 degrees Celsius (-428 degrees Fahrenheit).
“With lots of methane in the atmosphere, it becomes clear why Pluto’s atmosphere is so warm,” said Emmanuel Lellouch of the Observatoire de Paris in France. Lellouch is lead author of the paper reporting the results, which is in press at the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Pluto, which is about a fifth the size of Earth, is composed primarily of rock and ice and orbits about 40 times further from the Sun than the Earth.
It has been known since the 1980s that Pluto also has a thin, tenuous atmosphere. Abundant nitrogen, along with traces of methane and probably carbon monoxide, are held to the surface by an atmospheric pressure only about one hundred thousandth of that on Earth, or about 0.015 millibars. As Pluto moves away from the Sun, during its 248 year-long orbit, its atmosphere gradually freezes and falls to the ground. In periods when it is closer to the Sun — as it is now — the temperature of Pluto’s solid surface increases, causing the ice to sublimate into gas.
Until recently, only the upper parts of the atmosphere of Pluto could be studied. By observing stellar occultations, a phenomenon that occurs when a Solar System body blocks the light from a background star, astronomers were able to demonstrate that Pluto’s upper atmosphere was some 50 degrees warmer than the surface. Those observations couldn’t shed any light on the atmospheric temperature and pressure near Pluto’s surface. But unique, new observations made with the CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES), attached to ESO’s Very Large Telescope, have now revealed that the atmosphere as a whole, not just the upper atmosphere, has a mean temperature much less frigid than the surface.
Usually, air near the surface of the Earth is warmer than the air above it, largely because the atmosphere is heated from below as solar radiation warms the Earth’s surface, which, in turn, warms the layer of the atmosphere directly above it. Under certain conditions, this situation is inverted so that the air is colder near the surface of the Earth. Meteorologists call this an inversion layer, and it can cause smog build-up.
Most, if not all, of Pluto’s atmosphere is thus undergoing a temperature inversion: the temperature is higher, the higher in the atmosphere you look. The change is about 3 to 15 degrees per kilometer (.62 miles). On Earth, under normal circumstances, the temperature decreases through the atmosphere by about 6 degrees per kilometer.
The reason why Pluto’s surface is so cold is linked to the existence of Pluto’s atmosphere, and is due to the sublimation of the surface ice; much like sweat cools the body as it evaporates from the surface of the skin, this sublimation has a cooling effect on the surface of Pluto.
The CRIRES observations also indicate that methane is the second most common gas in Pluto’s atmosphere, representing half a percent of the molecules. “We were able to show that these quantities of methane play a crucial role in the heating processes in the atmosphere and can explain the elevated atmospheric temperature,” said Lellouch.
Two different models can explain the properties of Pluto’s atmosphere. In the first, the astronomers assume that Pluto’s surface is covered with a thin layer of methane, which will inhibit the sublimation of the nitrogen frost. The second scenario invokes the existence of pure methane patches on the surface.
“Discriminating between the two will require further study of Pluto as it moves away from the Sun,” says Lellouch. “And of course, NASA’s New Horizons space probe will also provide us with more clues when it reaches the dwarf planet in 2015.”
LEAD IMAGE CAPTION: Artist’s impression of how the surface of Pluto might look, if patches of pure methane rest on the surface. At the distance of Pluto, the Sun appears about 1,000 times fainter than on Earth. Credit: ESO
Source: ESO
CategoriesPluto, Solar System
25 Replies to “Pluto’s Atmosphere Boasts Methane, Warmer Temps”
On Earth, under normal circumstances, the temperature decreases through the atmosphere by about 6 degrees per kilometer.
Only in the troposphere. The temperature profile is more complicated than that above 10 km altitude. In fact, in the thermosphere, the temperature skyrockets, if you forgive me for the bad pun.
There’s one thing I don’t get. Knowing that the temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of some material’s constituent particles. wouldn’t it be expected that, in the absence of surface irradiation of heat and/or layers opaque to infrared radiation, the higher you get the higher the temperature, since those molecules found there would be the ones fast enough to get that high?
@LouisS says:
I think they’ll have to re-think this whole “Pluto is not a planet” thing now. 😉
Nephish777 says:
“The change is about 3 to 15 degrees per kilometer (about 3.3 feet). ” There is something wrong here. 1 meter is about 3.3 feet. 1 kilometer is about .62 miles.
OilIsMastery says:
There must be a lot of cows, cyanobacteria, and dinosaurs living on Pluto to produce all that biogenic fossil fuel.
Likely 3 – 15 degrees per kilometer. A 15 degree swing per meter is just to hard to believe. Imagine walking around in freezing temperatures it knee level and a sweater temperatures at your chest. Must be a kilometer
Must be global warming. Can you see any cars or hairspray?
Feenixx says:
Pluto’s highly eccentric orbit makes it believe that it’s a comet, so it tries to do some of the things comets do……
Recently there was this buzz about methane on Mars, which scientists think is either produced by geological or by biological activity.
Where does the methane on Pluto come from? Does it work differently there than on Mars?
Bill L. says:
Jesper;
The reason that methane on Mars caused such a stir is because there was data that suggested it was being replenished somehow. Pluto, on the other hand, most likely has a more fixed amount, so it isn’t as exciting.
If I recall, the buzz about methane was due to it being a chemical that breaks down in direct sunlight.
To find it on earth or mars means it would have to have been replenished over time from some source.
On Pluto, where the Sun is barely brighter than other stars, theres probably not enough energy for the gas to decompose..
(snif… nobody answers my question… snif)
Yael Dragwyla says:
There are good reasons not to “demote” Pluto and the other KBOs (although they’re far older than we are, and will go on existing after we become extinct, and simply don’t care about the issue, so “demotion” by us or anyone else isn’t an option): http://polaris93.livejournal.com/984977.html But none of those reasons have to do with emissions of methane into Pluto’s or any other planet’s atmosphere. Check out the URL above.
RUF says:
Louis:
“I think they’ll have to re-think this whole “Pluto is not a planet” thing now.”
Why? no planetary criteria have changed.
Does anyone know what state Pluto’s atmosphere will be in when New Horizons arrives? Will it befrozen? Sublimated? Somewhere in-between?
We may have to sent three “New Horizons” to view Pluto in each state to get a good understanding of the dwarf planet.
ideally, yes…. and with about 42 years in between each pair of missions… it’ll require some patience!
Astrofiend says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
It will not be frozen. Pluto is on the outward bound part of it’s orbit, but it’s atmosphere is not expected to be significantly frozen out for some time to come – I read it in an interview with Alan Stern. NH may glimpse the start of the process, but it won’t all be sitting in a heap of snow on the surface.
The temperature and kinetic energy of a particle do affect how they behave in the atmosphere, but it isn’t just a matter of ‘they have high KE and hence can shoot up higher’ – the mean free distance of a molecule in air is very short, so they tend to diffuse only fairly slowly. However, this says nothing about convection! Indeed – hot parcels of air do rise on Earth all the time due to their collective high KE – the constituent molecules have more kinetic energy and hence the gas becomes relatively less dense than that surrounding. They accordingly rise , but when they do the atmospheric pressure rapidly drops, and hence the air does work on it’s surroundings by expanding adiabatically – and the temperature of the parcel of air drops very quickly as a result!
Hence, in a very (over) simplified model, thermal heating from the ground causes the atmosphere in close proximity to heat up and rise, which then cools by adiabatic expansion (look up orographic lift as an example of this process), and so the temperature profile decreases as we move higher in the atmosphere.
maudyfish says:
If Pluto was in a habitable orbit around the Sun would it be an ocean covered planet?
Ah! A reply! Great!
I still have doubts, though.
The temperature and kinetic energy of a particle do affect how they behave in the atmosphere, but it isn’t just a matter of ‘they have high KE and hence can shoot up higher’ – the mean free distance of a molecule in air is very short, so they tend to diffuse only fairly slowly.
On Earth, as on any other planetary body with a thick atmosphere, sure, but I don’t know about something as thin as the atmosphere of Pluto… or Earth’s upper atmosphere, for that matter. I must admit my ignorance as to what kind of pressures would be needed for a gas molecule to become basically free to travel anywhere, though.
However, this says nothing about convection! Indeed – hot parcels of air do rise on Earth all the time due to their collective high KE – the constituent molecules have more kinetic energy and hence the gas becomes relatively less dense than that surrounding. They accordingly rise , but when they do the atmospheric pressure rapidly drops, and hence the air does work on it’s surroundings by expanding adiabatically – and the temperature of the parcel of air drops very quickly as a result!
Hm… yes, that’s true. The result would be an atmosphere which is hotter near the surface and colder higher up. However, in Pluto there is very little heat coming from the Sun to power that kind of system, which is probably also involved in the explanation of this “reversed” heat gradient they’ve observed out there.
I very much doub’t it’s only one thing.
No. It’s too small for that. Water would sublimate and be blown to interplanetary space, leaving behing only its rocky core.
Bill Davis says:
It’s difficult to accept that the tenuous atmosphere, almost a vacuum, can cause a 40 deg rise at a distance of appx 4 billion miles from the only postulated heat source. That’s an enourmous temperature delta considering the tiny solar input. Let’s look to another mechanism. It does not appear that any prior calculation predicted this. Anomalous methane on Pluto…anomalous methane on Mars…but on Mars we instantly pounce on life as a serious possiblity of the source. How about a combining of carbon (from Mars’ CO2 atmosphere, and on Pluto, from organic (that’s Pluto’s red tint perhaps) and solar protons, add some electrons, to make the methane (CH4)?
Vanamonde says:
Okay, that is THREE planets, sorry, two planets and a dwarf with greenhouse gas going on. I blame Gimli.
What would happen to its two satellites, Jorge?
The same thing, basically. They’d partially evaporate and would remain only whatever rock they have. If Pluto was to replace the Earth, the outer satellites might also be lost due to gravitational interference by other bodies, since the inner system is much more packed than the Kuiper Belt. Perhaps. I can’t know for sure, because I don’t know how much mass Pluto would have without its volatiles, so I can’t say how tightly it’d grab Charon, Nyx and Hidra…
Excellent. Thanks for the info Astrofiend! Seem like a good time to catch the dwarf (better than when it is completely frozen).
The poor dwarf!!! You making fun of him.
Previous PostPrevious Circumference of the Earth
Next PostNext Enjoy the Carnival of Space #92
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535183
|
__label__wiki
| 0.927075
| 0.927075
|
Neglect of Syrian women, children documented in new D.C. exhibit
Camille Erickson
International neglect of Syrian women and children documented in new exhibition from Medill Washington on Vimeo.
WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Three Syrian girls, each with a white ribbon atop her head, stand facing a blackboard with chalk in hand. Three words are on the chalkboard: "Open the borders."
This painted portrayal is intended to show that "in the midst of everything, retaining the beauty, the color and the dignity of the people is paramount to me," said Lebanese-American painter Helen Zughaib of the painted ribbons.
A new exhibit of her artwork at the President Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, D.C., provides a window into the lives of Syrian women and children forced to flee their homeland. In a series of 25 paintings and two installations, Zughaib walks viewers through the conflict in which an estimated 570,000 Syrians have been killed and more than 13 million displaced since the civil war erupted in 2011.
In 1919, the Allied powers at the Paris Peace Conference etched the borders of Syria onto the global map. A century later, the country remains mired in violence and fractured by competing political forces, including President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Kurdish forces and the Islamic State terrorist group.
RELATED Religion in the classroom: Where the faithful and the ACLU can agree
"The victims are many times women and children who are paying the price for what is happening around them," Zughaib said, adding that she found inspiration for her series in African-American painter Jacob Lawrence.
Most countries bordering Syria, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, have shut their borders to Syrians in most circumstances as part of an effort to limit the flow of refugees.
"The borders are closed," said Wendy Pearlman, professor of political science at Northwestern University. "These people now are just left to die under bombs."
RELATED Russia denies unsafe encounter with U.S. military plane
The exhibition runs until July 28.
RELATED Israeli airstrikes kill five at Syrian air base
U.S. News // 23 minutes ago
Biden fills out State Department, science adviser teams
Jan. 16 (UPI) -- President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday announced new members of his U.S. State Department team including former Obama-era officials and long-time diplomats, to serve under secretary of state nominee Antony Blinken.
U.S. News // 1 hour ago
Biden gets pending @POTUS Twitter account, but not Trump followers
Alabama defeats Ohio State for college football championship
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535186
|
__label__wiki
| 0.945064
| 0.945064
|
The Planet's Dyin': Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Politics Are More Relevant Than Ever
War, poverty, and climate change in the world of Midgar.
Opinion by Kat Bailey, Editor in Chief
Final Fantasy 7 has a strong case to make for being the most political game in the series. Its premise, which casts you as a mercenary working for a band of terrorists, was provocative enough that at one point former USgamer Editor in Chief Jeremy Parish wondered aloud how Square Enix would address it in the remake.
In a 2018 examination of the original game's intro, in which the protagonists bomb a Shinra power planet, Jeremy wrote about the unique challenge facing the remake. "There's a chance for Square Enix to say something meaningful with this game, to probe the morality of antiheroism in the fashion of premium television series like Breaking Bad or Hannibal," Jeremy wrote.
Such an approach seemed far-fetched at the time—how many big budget games have tip-toed up to the line of saying something interesting, only to rapidly retreat? Jeremy wondered if Square Enix would just avoid the question entirely.
"Questioning the nature of its heroes' actions may not be the most obvious challenge the FF7 remake faces," he wrote, "but it could prove to be the most difficult."
Nobody would have been surprised if Square Enix had opted to just gloss over these issues. And yet, somehow, against all odds, Final Fantasy 7 Remake has more to say on topics on war, poverty, and environmentalism than anyone might have rightfully expected from one of the biggest games of 2020. In that way, it turns out to be more faithful to the original game than anyone could have guessed.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, including the end.
The World According to Shinra
The original Final Fantasy 7 was conceived in a world far different from the one we live in today. In Japan, the economic bubble had only recently burst, giving way to a slow, grinding recession. Squaresoft was an upstart developer, still a few years off from its disastrous turn in the movie business, its creators seasoned but nevertheless relatively young and idealistic artists.
In preparation for the transition to the PlayStation, series director Hironobu Sakaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase conceived of a massive tonal shift for the series. The steampunk world of Final Fantasy 6 gave way to something more akin to cyberpunk, with an all-encompassing mega-corporation called Shinra—think Google with a private army—filling in for the evil empires of games past. The heroes were cast as rebels trying to stop Shinra from sucking away the planet's life force—the sort of environmental motif that wouldn't have been out of place in a contemporary cartoon like Captain Planet. In the '90s, it must have seemed like just one more high-concept setting among many.
Still, there were plenty of interesting ideas nestled just below the surface. Jeremy pointed out in his article the rather radical, and uncomfortable, idea of having the heroes be terrorists. The original also contended with class disparity, particularly when visiting Barret's hometown of Corel—a former mining town rife with unemployment and desperation. It certainly was not what you would have expected from a PlayStation 1-era RPG; perhaps one reason among many that Final Fantasy 7 resonated so deeply.
As for me, I didn't give the setting much thought at the time; it was simply cool. Cloud was cool; Sephiroth was cool, Rufus was hot. But I'm older now, and times have obviously changed. I needn't recite the litany of disasters that have befallen the world since 1997, only to say that they color how we perceive Final Fantasy 7 in this day and age. It's impossible for me not to view the Mako Reactors through the prism of the global climate emergency, or Midgar's overflowing slums in the context of San Francisco's homeless crisis. These are issues that are much on my mind these days, at least when I'm not thinking about the global pandemic.
I don't think it's just me reading too much into it, either, despite producer Yoshinori Kitase's assertion that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is meant to be "strictly within the realm of fantasy." If anything, Final Fantasy 7 Remake clearly sets out to substantially expand the themes of the original game, and that includes the issues that could be construed as overtly political.
Case in point: the aftermath of the Mako Reactor bombing that opens the game, in which Cloud and company find a city in chaos as residents flood the streets and emergency announcements blare. It's a fairly intense sequence; one that pulls no punches in depicting how actual citizens might react to the destruction of their local power plant. At one point you hear a child wondering why they can't go back inside; in another, Cloud looks up the Mako Reactor in a pointed reprise of a famous shot from the original game, only now it's on fire.
Compare this sequence to the original game, which Jeremy correctly refers to as "antiseptic" in his article. In the original Final Fantasy 7, you see people running around in the streets somewhat chaotically, but there's otherwise little direct evidence of your actions. There's less time to dwell on consequences in general, as Final Fantasy 7 is in a hurry to tell a much larger story. Jessie's remorse over building an unexpectedly powerful bomb is a plot point that is dispensed with relatively quickly.
It's in this moment that Final Fantasy 7 Remake shows it's clearly out to make a statement. I find that determination admirable, especially in light of how conservative triple-A games tend to be (remember Far Cry 5?). It firmly puts to bed any questions about Square Enix downplaying the original's more uncomfortable moments.
Then again, it's mostly in the smaller details, not in the grand gestures, that I find Final Fantasy 7 Remake most interesting. Remember the Shinra employee who's terrified of Barret in the original game? The one who cowers as Barret struts up and down the train slamming the wall? In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, that one employee is replaced by three well-dressed "middle managers," who talk worriedly (and realistically) about Avalanche bombing the reactor, wondering if there's "anything they won't do."
When Barret confronts them, one of the middle managers replies, "We will not submit to intimidation or violence! But work together for peace and prosperity! That is how civilized people change the world!" His colleagues respond by applauding enthusiastically.
Somewhat later, when another train comes under attack by Shinra robots, Tifa begs the same middle manager to escape. He seems surprised, "But I'm Shinra. I'm the enemy." Still, he agrees to help the others.
It's a surprising moment for Final Fantasy 7 given that Shinra tends to lean toward cartoonish supervillainy more often than not. It serves to humanize Shinra just enough to make the company seem even more evil, in the process uncomfortably mirroring a good deal of the rhetoric you'll hear in the U.S. around terrorism. Heavy-handed as it is, it's also needed.
Other details are more subtle, if only slightly. Televisions, which are omnipresent in the original game, are even more prevalent in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, with Fox News-like anchors who are constantly reciting Shinra talking points about how Avalanche are agents of Wutai. One of the main sources of tension is that citizens actually seem to buy into Shinra's false claims, to Barret's endless frustration. Shinra, for its part, seems intent on drumming up hysteria so that it can launch a fresh war on false pretenses, which is a scenario that should be all too familiar to Americans.
Much of the story is set in the Midgar slums: areas where grinding poverty is constantly in evidence. Orphans wander the street; abandoned construction is everywhere, and most of the residents live in what look like metal shacks. After a falling plate destroys Sector 7, you watch firsthand as residents dig out from underneath the rubble, bringing to mind the aftermath of a pivotal scene in Parasite—another story about rampant inequality. When you go "topside," the disparity is even more evident as you see the leafy Japanese-style suburbs in which Shinra employees reside, oblivious to the suffering below.
President Shinra lays out his worldview in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and it's not pretty | Screenshot by Kat Bailey / Square Enix
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is rife with such moments, which is one benefit of containing the first part's story wholly within Midgar. On occasion it even manages to nibble at deeper, and exponentially more interesting issues. When another Avalanche cell shows up early in the game, for instance, Barret's group is explicitly referred to as too radical for Avalanche as a whole. It brings to mind his line about how "nothing worth fighting for was ever won without sacrifice," suggesting that while Barret himself is noble, his methods might be too extreme. It's something I wish Final Fantasy 7 Remake would explore even further, perhaps in a sidequest.
As for Shinra, it's depicted as a deeply evil organization that makes accomplices of even well-meaning employees. Take Reeve, for instance, the "good face" of Shinra. Reeve is an executive who finds many of the company's actions morally reprehensible, but nevertheless abets them by his very presence. He will eventually rebel, but in Part 1 he's still very much trying to work within the system, even as his efforts are casually brushed aside by President Shinra. He's not alone. There's one particular moment where you see Shinra employees working overtime at their desks to address the fallout from the plate drop, unaware that their own company ordered the operation hours before. They're just trying to help.
In the climax, Barret and company at last confront President Shinra, the omnipresent villain of the first part of the story; a cigar chomping executive who feels like Jeff Bezos meets Wall Street. There's even a moment where you step into Shinra's museum and learn the heroic story of President Shinra and his golden gun—the sort of modern corporate mythmaking endemic to Silicon Valley.
In the original, President Shinra is already dead when you discover him, having been cleanly dispensed with by Sephiroth. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, he's dangling desperately from the roof of Shinra HQ, leaving Barret to save him. He scrambles back into his penthouse like a cockroach as Barret gives chase, swearing that he'll give him anything he wants. When he eventually regains control, holding Barret at gunpoint, he becomes robber baron incarnate, sneering, "I know what I want, and I take it."
It's a moment that pretty much crystallizes President Shinra's character, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake's view of Shinra in general. What's frustrating, and more than a little terrifying, is that there are plenty of people who subscribe to President Shinra's zero-sum, law of the jungle way of thinking. Our president is one of them. He even finds time to give Barret the "you need us" speech, arguing that world without Mako energy would be "stagnant, impotent"—a not-so-distant distant echo of all the arguments against efforts to stop global climate change.
Mercifully, it's at this point that President Shinra finally gets the sword through the chest. It's a moment that couldn't come sooner.
Stepping Out Into the World
The sad thing about Final Fantasy 7 Remake is that the more interesting, grounded subtleties ultimately get lost in the Kingdom Hearts-like plot that follows President Shinra getting kebabed. They play with Final Fantasy 7's storytelling in their own way, but they feel out of place.
For all the people arguing that Final Fantasy 7 Remake shouldn't follow the beats of the original story, I'd point to moments like Jessie and company heading topside, which enriches the original story's themes while remaining faithful to the source material. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's deeper, more relevant politics are evidence of what a good remake can accomplish.
What comes next in the series is anyone's guess. The original game explored the death of the small town; the end of the mining industry, and rampant militarism, the last of which was exemplified by the Junon Cannon—a weapon the size of roughly two city blocks. Will there be room for similar exploration in the next chapter? It depends on how far afield Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 decides to wander.
In the meantime, Final Fantasy 7 Remake does everything one could want and more in expanding on the most overtly political elements of the original game. It's unsparing in its depiction of a society addicted to the unsustainable luxury of Mako, driven by war and wealth disparity, and presided over by a cold, self-interested mega-corporation. When I think of the current White House, I can't help thinking of the Shinra board meeting near the end of the game, where Palmer tries to grub money for his beloved space program and Heidegger just sort of laughs cruelly, because cruelty seems to be in his nature.
It's a grim world, unfortunately, and I can't say I ever thought Final Fantasy 7 Remake would go as far as it ultimately did in exploring it. It's a welcome surprise in a remake that turns out to be full of them.
More about Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Review
Kat Bailey
Kat Bailey is a former freelance writer and contributor to publications including 1UP, IGN, GameSpot, GamesRadar, and EGM. Her fondest memories as a journalist are at GamePro, where she hosted RolePlayer's Realm and had legal access to the term "Protip." She is USgamer's resident mecha enthusiast, Pokemon Master, and Minnesota Vikings nut (skol).
Kat, Mat, and Eric's Top 10 Games of 2020
Our favorites of the year, from those who remain.
Axe of the Blood God: One Quest Ends, Another Begins
Happy adventuring.
USG's Top 20 Games of 2020
From thirsty gods to avaricious raccoons, these were our favorite games in 2020.
Cyberpunk 2077 Review: Death by a Thousand Cyber-Cuts
Even if you get beyond the bugs, it's just not worth it.
Witcher 3: How to Start the Blood and Wine DLC and Meet Its Level Requirements
We explain how to get to Toussaint and what level you should be when you do.
Witcher 3: All the Correct Play Lines in "The Play's the Thing" Quest
We explain how to perform the Doppler's play with Priscilla, as well as whether to choose tragedy or comedy.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Mystery Gift Codes List (January 2020)
You can get free gifts in Pokemon Sword and Shield by entering certain Mystery Gift Codes. Here’s a full list of all the active codes available right now.
The Outer Worlds Shrink Ray - How to Get the Unique Shrink Ray Science Weapon
This is where you can get the Shrink Ray science weapon in The Outer Worlds, one of the unique weapons in the game.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535188
|
__label__wiki
| 0.981111
| 0.981111
|
Dec O'Reilly
Jorome Slew: "It's good to be back"
Wealdstone Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of forward Jorome Slew from Maldon & Tiptree.
The 22-year-old returns to the club after a brief spell in 2018, which included a late winner at East Thurrock United.
Slew began his career in the Sheffield United academy and also had spells with North Ferriby and Chester, but made a statement at Maldon & Tiptree with over 30 goals in the 2019/20 season and scoring a wonderful solo goal at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup First Round.
This signing would not have been possible without our StoneShare scheme, which has raised over £4,000 in the last 48 hours. Email stoneshare@btinternet.com to sign up!
The pacey forward is available for selection for our National League opener against Chesterfield and said: "It's good to be back playing in familiar territory and I'm ready to come back here and score some goals."
You can watch Jorome's full interview now:
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535189
|
__label__wiki
| 0.513586
| 0.513586
|
About Wellesley Field Hockey
Winter Program
Field Hockey Equipment
Shop Scoops
Field Hockey Basics
Field Hockey: The Sport
The game of field hockey is played by men and women in more than 130 countries worldwide and is second in popularity only to soccer as a team sport throughout the world?
Field Hockey, as we know it, was first played in the 19th century in London. It’s played by men and women all over the world. It holds tournaments such as the World Cup, World League, Champions Trophy, Junior World Cup and participates in the Olympics. There is also an annual Disney Junior Field Hockey Classic Tournament held at Disney World! Locally, there is also a 4Goals Cup tournament held at Brown University in Providence.
In the US, it is more popular among women than men. However, internationally, it is more popular with men than women. Also becoming a popular sport option is indoor field hockey, which has similar principles to field hockey but is played 5-a-side variant since the field size is smaller.
Field Hockey is played with 11 players on each team, including the goalie. Games are played on a pitch, which is either grass or turf. The pitch is bound by white lines to determine when the ball is out of play. The semi-circular area surrounding the goal is known as the shooting or scoring circle.
Field Hockey sticks are curved and only the flat, inner side of the stick (the face side) is allowed to touch the ball while it’s in play. This is a natural fit for righties. Left-handed sticks are not permitted. Dribbling is rotating the stick from left to right and hitting the ball in a forehand motion. Penalties can be awarded for lifting the stick or ball too high, where it may endanger an opponent by hitting them in the face.
There are no official fixed positions, but team formation is similar to soccer. There are defenders, midfielders, offenders and the goalie. Goalies are the only positions allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body. But in doing so, goalies need to stay inside the scoring circle.
There should be no bodily contact with the opponent or their stick. This would result in a penalty. If a penalty occurs outside the shooting circle, a free hit is awarded. If a penalty occurs inside the shooting circle, then a penalty corner is awarded. The attackers from the opposing team are lined up along the semi-circle, and another member hits form the corner sideline. Five defenders are positioned behind the backline bordering the goal, and run out to defend once the ball is in play. All other defenders must be at the center line of the pitch.
When defenders commit deliberate fouls in the shooting circle, a penalty stroke can be given to the opposing team, in which a single attacker has a chance on goal.
Some famous field hockey players:
Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, future Queen
Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State (1997 - 2001) (played field hockey at Wellesley College)
Emma Watson, actress plays Hermione Granger in Harry Potter
Rachel McAdams, actress
Bridget Moynahan, actress
Erin Burnett, CNN anchor (played both field hockey & lacrosse at Williams College)
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535190
|
__label__wiki
| 0.888118
| 0.888118
|
Adventure Through Colorful And Historic Allentown
By Katie Blackley • May 22, 2020
A mural created by artist Lucas Stock in 2013 depicts the diversity and history of Allentown.
Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
The southern hilltop neighborhood of Allentown is a walkable community with a number of historic buildings and beautiful murals.
Approx. 25 minutes
Annexed by the City of Pittsburgh in 1872, Allentown was named for butcher Joseph Allen and attracted many German, Welsh, Irish and English immigrants. The architecture of the buildings and churches in Allentown reflect this early population, although the community’s make-up has changed. Now, according to 2010 census data, the neighborhood is comprised about 2,500 people, with about half of residents identifying as white and more than one-third as Black or African American.
Start at the intersection of East Warrington and Arlington avenues, near the Allentown sign
A Daily Mart sits on what was once the upper station of the Knoxville Incline. Pittsburgh was home to more than a dozen inclines in the late 19th century, which carried coal, produce and people up and down the city’s hills. The Knoxville Incline was the city’s second curved funicular (the first was the Nunnery Hill Incline in Fineview) and ran from Bradford Street (now Bradish Street) on the South Side Flats, curving along what’s now Brosville Street.
Listen to a story about Pittsburgh's historic inclines.
According to an 1890 Pittsburgh Daily Post article, “great skill was required to overcome the difficulties of this curve.” The incline formally closed in 1960, due to the rise in popularity of personal vehicles and new public transit technology.
Cross the street to the side with Pittsburgh Police Zone 3 station. This building was once the Hilltop Savings and Trust Company. Can you find the Pittsburgh drawing in the window and the night deposit box?
Arlington Avenue used to be called the Pittsburgh and Brownsville Turnpike, according to Bob Kress, director of the Saint George Church Preservation Society and author of “Allentown: The Story of a Pittsburgh Neighborhood.” Travelers would take the Turnpike from the South Side Flats up the steep hill to the Allentown neighborhood and further south.
Artwork on the side of Pittsburgh Police Zone 3 in Allentown.
Credit Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
“There were no tunnels, so your horses were very tired when they got to the top of the hill,” Kress said. “This was the main intersection where you rested your horses.”
A hotel sat where the incline would later locate its upper station and there, Kress said, travelers would grab a beer or a room to relax while their horses refueled.
Continue down East Warrington Avenue away from the intersection. Warrington was once called Washington Road, according to Kress, because it was the route to Washington, Pa., about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
As you pass by buildings in Allentown’s business district, look up at the facades. Many still have their original ornate detailing.
Signs of spring on East Warrington Avenue.
Past Leon’s Caribbean Restaurant and Paisano’s Pizza, there’s a small lot that’s been converted into a parklet. It even includes a little penguin (as seen on the Allentown sign earlier). These miniature birds are formally part of a project called “A Hilltop Waddle” by local artist James Simon. He created 44 ceramic penguins for the south hilltop neighborhoods of Alllentown, Beltzhoover and Knoxville.
According to Pittsburgh Art Places’ website, “Because of how penguins live and survive, Simon states that the creatures are symbolic of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, sharing, and living harmoniously – qualities that he and community members wanted to highlight in regard to the development and future of the Southern Hilltops.”
Penguins greet visitors and residents to Allentown.
Continue down the street and you’ll see a store called The Weeping Glass, next to a barber shop called Dark Root. These are two newer businesses to Allentown, and they’re changing the character of the community. This, along with places like Dr. Tumblety’s Apothecary & Tasting Lounge, Black Forge Coffee and Onion Maiden are giving the neighborhood a more metal, punk and offbeat vibe.
Listen to a story about Allentown's unique business district.
Turn left when you get to Asteroid Way and be sure to look at the massive mural on the side of Warrington Beer. Allentown sports a number of colorful paintings along its businesses district and side streets. (Note: Asteroid Way is an alley, so the concrete might be a little rough if you’re bringing a stroller or using walking assistance. You can also take Allen Street, a bit further down Warrington.)
Walk all the way down Asteroid Way toward the giant church in front of you. Right before you arrive, you’ll see another mural on the left side of the alley. This was created by artist Lucas Stock in 2013 and features images that represent the neighborhood’s history and diversity.
The huge building in front of you is the former St. George Roman Catholic Church. It was built in the early 20th century in traditional German Romanesque and Rundbogenstil architecture. The latter originated from a 19th century revival style in Germany that typically includes rounded arches and indentations under the roof and window linings.
Kress said the congregation who attended St. George’s originally built a small church and quickly outgrew it.
“So they built this cathedral,” Kress said. “It’s the most significant building in Allentown.”
The church was renamed St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church. It was deconsecrated and closed by the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2016, citing financial issues. Since then, Kress and the St. George Church Preservation Society have been working to take control and reopen the building.
The rose window above the entrance on Allen Street is typical of churches built in Gothic architecture, most of which originated in France. These windows are often called “Catherine windows,” after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was, according to legend, supposed to be killed on a spiked breaking wheel. But, as the story goes, the wheel “shattered” at her touch and she was beheaded instead. She’s the patron saint of students, teachers, librarians and lawyers.
Head back toward Warrington Avenue via Allen Street.
Trolleys and transit
Allentown was the first community west of the Allegheny Mountains to have an electric streetcar in 1888.
“It came up Brownsville and one of the stops was the intersection of Warrington and Arlington avenues,” said Kress.
A Red Line T to South Hills Village rides along Warrington Avenue in June 2014. The cars were decorated for the 50th annivesary of Port Authority of Allegheny County.
Credit John Polyak / Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
As technology advanced, the Warrington Avenue route was always included on public transit lines. When trolleys were installed throughout the region, Pittsburgh Railways route 52 rolled through Allentown. Later, when cars rose to prominence and the trolleys became too expensive for their upkeep, Allentown was given a light rail T route along Warrington Avenue.
Listen to a story about the history of transit in Pittsburgh.
The Brown Line ran from South Hills Junction to Gateway Center downtown. It was originally branded as the 52 Allentown by the Port Authority in 1984. But by 2011, due to transit cuts, the Brown Line was discontinued. It’s still used, however, when there are accidents or construction on the T’s Red and Blue lines.
At the intersection of Allen Street and Warrington Avenue, look to your right. This is now Alla Famiglia restaurant, a longtime neighborhood fixture .
Alla Famiglia restaurant was once the Hilltop Theater.
“That used to be the Hilltop Theater,” said Kress. “It started out just before the war in 1941 and continued up to about 1956 as a theater.”
It was later converted to a “five and ten [cheap convenience store],”Kress said, and then a supermarket.
Art, community and utilities
The mural across the street was also created by artist Lucas Stock. It’s located on the Caliguiri High Rise, a Housing Authority development named for Pittsburgh’s 55th mayor, Richard Caliguiri (his statue stands outside the downtown City-County Building).
Take a left and head down East Warrington Avenue. When you reach Walter Street, take a peak to your left. At the end of the block is the Pennsylvania Sportsman’s Club, one of the first such clubs in Allegheny County. According to Kress it was chartered in 1887 asa place where men would play billiards and gather without female companions. (Feel free to move link up so it’s not removed.)
“There’s no sign or anything,” Kress said. “But it’s still there and still operating.”
Cross Walter Street and look across East Warrington Avenue at the large brick building with a Verizon sign over the entrance. This was once home to the Bell Telephone Company.
The former Bell Telephone Company building is now home to Verizon.
“All of the telecommunications that go south of Pittsburgh go through that structure and head on down Warrington Avenue and out to the south and west,” Kress said. “And going the other direction, the main exchange is in downtown Pittsburgh, it’s all connected together.”
Kress said the structure was a “big router” when telephones were still relatively new and helped connect communities south of Pittsburgh.
Continue down East Warrington Avenue until you reach the intersection with Millbridge Street. The pink brick building on the corner (with a laundromat on the first floor) was recently restored and Kress said it was once a sheet metal company that grew into Limbach Engineering Company. The business operates plumbing, HVAC and other control systems at multiple locations throughout the United States.
Cross the street at Millbridge and head up the hill. When you get to Excelsior Street, turn right.
Soon you’ll come upon Abiding Ministries, an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The building started its life as Bethlehem Lutheran Church in 1916. Allentown, because of its large population of German residents, had a number of Lutheran churches. The denomination is named after Martin Luther, a German theology professor known for his rejection of many teachings of the Catholic Church.
At the stop sign, turn left onto Allen Street again and continue up the hill.
Our final destination is Grandview Park. From here, on McLain Street, are some great views of the City of Pittsburgh. Enjoy!
Love learning about Pittsburgh neighborhood histories? Check out these other community walking tours and submit a suggestion of your favorite place here.
historical walking tours
90.5 WESA's Good Question!
Take A Stroll Through Historic Lawrenceville
By Katie Blackley • Apr 7, 2020
Lawrenceville is one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and largest neighborhoods. Founded in 1814, it was named for Captain James Lawrence, who served in the War of 1812 (of “Don’t Give Up The Ship!” fame).
Stretch Your Legs On This Historical Riverfront Tour
By Katie Blackley • Mar 24, 2020
Stir Crazy? Take This Historical Walk Of The Golden Triangle
Going a little stir crazy? Pittsburgh residents can take a break from idle time and work-from-home routines and get to know the city’s history while taking a stroll. Here’s a guide to one of a number of upcoming tours WESA is compiling for history lovers throughout the region.
Metal, Punk Or Offbeat: Allentown Businesses Give The Neighborhood A Distinct Identity
By Katie Blackley • Nov 11, 2019
Jared Murphy / 90.5 WESA
In Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood, visitors can purchase a shark skull, read a recipe book of potions and catch a concert next to a mystical goat. The once-blue-collar neighborhood has been transformed into a center for creative entrepreneurship.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535191
|
__label__wiki
| 0.998829
| 0.998829
|
Retired Officer: 'I Did Not Mean To Kill Son'
21-Year-Old Dead After Argument With Father
Updated: 8:04 AM EDT Oct 4, 2011
A 21-year-old man has died after an argument with his father, who is a retired Orlando police officer. Click Like For Central Florida News Updates:Police said Tim Davis Sr., 47, shot and killed his son, Tim Davis Jr., after an argument at a home on King's Eagle Lane in the Pines of Wekiva subdivision Saturday evening.Apopka Police Department Capt. Jerome Miller said Davis faces a first-degree murder charge."I did not mean to kill him. I have nothing to hide. I was not trying to kill him. I just lost it," Davis said, according to investigators.MORE ON WESH.COM: Casey Anthony Jail Reaction Video According to an arrest affidavit, Davis said his son punched and pushed him, bloodying his mouth. Police said he told them that he went to his car, got the gun and shot his son twice."I was in a funk," Davis stated in a document. "I went and got my gun, and I shot him."Police said the men were arguing about the custody of the son's child.A 9-year-old family member said she saw the elder Davis get the gun and was there when the shooting happened.The victim was a former standout football player at Apopka High School and played for the University of Alabama-Birmingham in college.Neighbors Shocked By Davis Killing Neighbors said the shooting was out of character for the family they know."It hit me out of left field," one woman said. "I would've never expected this to happen.""From what I see, he's always out here with the kids," another neighbor said. "Everybody has problems. I can't see going that far."The elder Davis owns and operates three day care centers. A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families said his arrest on murder charges could change that."The arrest is a disqualifying offense under Florida statute," the DCF representative said in a statement. "Our legal team is aware of the arrest and reviewing information to determine the best course of action."Neighbors of the former Apopka football player and the retired police officer are numb."I can't understand what happened," Sean Chambers said. "I'm still trying to feel what happened. I'm kind of hurting." .mostpoplink a:link, a:active, a:visited {text-decoration: none} .mostpoplink A:hover {text-decoration: underline;} Most Popular Stories On WESH.com
APOPKA, Fla. —
A 21-year-old man has died after an argument with his father, who is a retired Orlando police officer.
Click Like For Central Florida News Updates:
Police said Tim Davis Sr., 47, shot and killed his son, Tim Davis Jr., after an argument at a home on King's Eagle Lane in the Pines of Wekiva subdivision Saturday evening.
Apopka Police Department Capt. Jerome Miller said Davis faces a first-degree murder charge.
"I did not mean to kill him. I have nothing to hide. I was not trying to kill him. I just lost it," Davis said, according to investigators.
MORE ON WESH.COM: Casey Anthony Jail Reaction Video
According to an arrest affidavit, Davis said his son punched and pushed him, bloodying his mouth. Police said he told them that he went to his car, got the gun and shot his son twice.
"I was in a funk," Davis stated in a document. "I went and got my gun, and I shot him."
Police said the men were arguing about the custody of the son's child.
A 9-year-old family member said she saw the elder Davis get the gun and was there when the shooting happened.
The victim was a former standout football player at Apopka High School and played for the University of Alabama-Birmingham in college.
Neighbors Shocked By Davis Killing
Neighbors said the shooting was out of character for the family they know.
"It hit me out of left field," one woman said. "I would've never expected this to happen."
"From what I see, he's always out here with the kids," another neighbor said. "Everybody has problems. I can't see going that far."
The elder Davis owns and operates three day care centers. A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families said his arrest on murder charges could change that.
"The arrest is a disqualifying offense under Florida statute," the DCF representative said in a statement. "Our legal team is aware of the arrest and reviewing information to determine the best course of action."
Neighbors of the former Apopka football player and the retired police officer are numb.
"I can't understand what happened," Sean Chambers said. "I'm still trying to feel what happened. I'm kind of hurting."
.mostpoplink a:link, a:active, a:visited {text-decoration: none} .mostpoplink A:hover {text-decoration: underline;}
Most Popular Stories On WESH.com
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535192
|
__label__wiki
| 0.965905
| 0.965905
|
How the three UK approved Covid-19 vaccines differ? - what you need to know
How the three UK approved Covid-19 vaccines differ?
How the the three UK approved Covid-19 vaccines differ? (JPI Media)
The UK has now approved three different vaccines to be deployed in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Boris Johnson said the plan was to expand the supply of vaccines that can be administered, get more places doing the vaccinations and expand partnerships to “get the job done”.
Vaccinations against Covid-19 are currently being rolled out across the country, with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines already being administered. The Moderna jab is the latest Covid vaccine to receive approval for use in the UK.
The Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna jab will all now be rolled out across the country to the priority groups designated by the Government.
Though all three vaccines have proven effective in protecting recipients against coronavirus, they differ slightly from one another in certain aspects, such as the method of protection and the storage conditions in which they must be kept.
This is how each vaccine works, and how they differ from one another.
Pfizer/BioNTech
The first vaccine to be approved by UK health authorities, the Pfizer vaccine was developed in Germany, and was the first coronavirus vaccine to be administered anywhere in the world.
The Pfizer jab uses technology known as mRNA (messenger RNA) to provide protection against the virus.
This vaccine introduces a messenger sequence into the body which contains genetic instructions to cells, allowing them to produce antigens to coronavirus, thus generating an immune response in the body.
In trials, the Pfizer vaccine was found to be 95 per cent effective against coronavirus.
One of its downsides, however, is that it must be kept at a temperature of -70C, making it more difficult to store and distribute than the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
It will be administered in two separate doses, at an interval of between four and 12 weeks.
University of Oxford/AstraZeneca
The Oxford vaccine, developed in the UK and already rolled out to some recipients across the country, works in a different way to the Pfizer vaccine.
This jab works by smuggling the coronavirus gene into human cells through a harmless virus, allowing cells to create the “spike protein”, a key biological characteristic of Covid-19.
The body responds to this by building up an immune response. This means that if the recipient later catches coronavirus, they already have antibodies and T-cells to fight it.
It’s a jab that’s much easier to store and distribute than the Pfizer vaccine, given it can be stored at a normal fridge temperature. This means it can be distributed in GP surgeries and pharmacies.
Trials of this vaccine showed a 62 per cent effectiveness, though some data showed that when people were given a half dose followed by a full dose, effectiveness hit 90 per cent.
This data was not clear enough, however, to approve the ‘half dose, full dose’ method, and the UK’s medicines regulator concluded that delaying the second dose by three months brought effectiveness to 80 per cent.
Like the Pfizer jab, the Oxford vaccine will be administered in two doses at an interval of between four and 12 weeks.
The Moderna vaccine uses the same mRNA technology as the Pfizer jab to protect against coronavirus, using genetic instructions that allow the body to create an immune response to the virus.
The US-based company's vaccine was shown to have 94 per cent efficacy against coronavirus in final trials, and an additional 10 million doses have been ordered by the UK.
It’s expected, however, that they won’t be rolling out the Moderna vaccine in the UK until March 2021.
Again, two doses are needed, at an interval of approximately four weeks apart.
Moderna is said to be easier to store and move, lasting up to 30 days in household fridges and up to 12 hours at room temperature.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535194
|
__label__cc
| 0.584094
| 0.415906
|
Part IV: Glossary
BICS | CALP | Castañeda v. Pickard
Content-based ESL | Dual Language | ELL
ESL | EEOA of 1974 | FEP | Informed Parental Consent
Language Dominance | Language Proficiency | Lau v. Nichols
LEP | MBE | May 25 Memorandum | NEP | Newcomer Program
Sheltered English | Structured English | Submersion
Title VI | Title VII of ESEA | Transitional Bilingual Education
BICS: Basic interpersonal communication skills. The language ability required for verbal face-to-face communication.
CALP: Cognitive academic language proficiency. The language ability required for academic achievement.
Castañeda v. Pickard: On June 23, 1981, the Fifth Circuit Court issued a decision that is the seminal post-Lau decision concerning education of language minority students. The case established a three-part test to evaluate the adequacy of a district's program for ELL students: (1) is the program based on an educational theory recognized as sound by some experts in the field or is considered by experts as a legitimate experimental strategy; (2) are the programs and practices, including resources and personnel, reasonably calculated to implement this theory effectively; and (3) does the school district evaluate its programs and make adjustments where needed to ensure language barriers are actually being overcome? [648 F.2d 989 (5th Cir., 1981)]
Content-based English as a Second Language: This approach makes use of instructional materials, learning tasks, and classroom techniques from academic content areas as the vehicle for developing language, content, cognitive and study skills. English is used as the medium of instruction.
Dual Language Program: Also known as two-way or developmental, the goal of these bilingual programs is for students to develop language proficiency in two languages by receiving instruction in English and another language in a classroom that is usually comprised of half native English speakers and half native speakers of the other language.
ELL: English language learner. A national-origin-minority student who is limited-English-proficient. This term is often preferred over limited-English-proficient (LEP) as it highlights accomplishments rather than deficits.
English as a Second Language (ESL): A program of techniques, methodology and special curriculum designed to teach ELL students English language skills, which may include listening, speaking, reading, writing, study skills, content vocabulary, and cultural orientation. ESL instruction is usually in English with little use of native language.
Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974: This civil rights statute prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin. The statute specifically prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity by the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs. [20 U.S.C. §1203(f)]
FEP: Fluent (or fully) English proficient.
Informed Parental Consent: The permission of a parent to enroll their child in an ELL program, or the refusal to allow their child to enroll in such a program, after the parent is provided effective notice of the educational options and the district's educational recommendation.
Language Dominance: Refers to the measurement of the degree of bilingualism, which implies a comparison of the proficiencies in two or more languages.
Language Proficiency: Refers to the degree to which the student exhibits control over the use of language, including the measurement of expressive and receptive language skills in the areas of phonology, syntax, vocabulary, and semantics and including the areas of pragmatics or language use within various domains or social circumstances. Proficiency in a language is judged independently and does not imply a lack of proficiency in another language.
Lau v. Nichols: A class action suit brought by parents of non-English-proficient Chinese students against the San Francisco Unified School District. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that identical education does not constitute equal education under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court ruled that the district must take affirmative steps to overcome educational barriers faced by the non-English speaking Chinese students in the district. [414 U.S. 563 (1974)]
LEP: Limited-English-proficient. (See ELL)
Maintenance Bilingual Education (MBE): MBE, also referred to as late-exit bilingual education, is a program that uses two languages, the student's primary language and English, as a means of instruction. The instruction builds upon the student's primary language skills and develops and expands the English language skills of each student to enable him or her to achieve proficiency in both languages, while providing access to the content areas.
The May 25 Memorandum: To clarify a school district's responsibilities with respect to national-origin-minority children, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, on May 25, 1970, issued a policy statement stating, in part, that "where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national-origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open the instructional program to the students."
NEP: Non-English-proficient.
Newcomer Program: Newcomer pro-grams are separate, relatively self-contained educational interventions designed to meet the academic and transitional needs of newly arrived immigrants. Typically, students attend these programs before they enter more traditional interventions (e.g., English language development programs or mainstream classrooms with supplemental ESL instruction).
Sheltered English Instruction: An instructional approach used to make academic instruction in English understandable to ELL students. In the sheltered classroom, teachers use physical activities, visual aids, and the environment to teach vocabulary for concept development in mathematics, science, social studies, and other subjects.
Structured English Immersion Program: The goal of this program is acquisition of English language skills so that the ELL student can succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom. All instruction in an immersion strategy program is in English. Teachers have specialized training in meeting the needs of ELL students, possessing either a bilingual education or ESL teaching credential and/or training, and strong receptive skills in the students' primary language.
Submersion Program: A submersion program places ELL students in a regular English-only program with little or no support services on the theory that they will pick up English naturally. This program should not be confused with a structured English immersion program.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title VI prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. The Title VI regulatory requirements have been interpreted to prohibit denial of equal access to education because of a language minority student's limited proficiency in English.
Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: The Bilingual Education Act, Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), recognizes the unique educational disadvantages faced by non-English speaking students. Enacted in 1968, the Bilingual Education Act established a federal policy to assist educational agencies to serve students with limited-English-proficiency by authorizing funding to support those efforts. In addition to providing funds to support services to limited-English-proficient students, Title VII also supports professional development and research activities. Reauthorized in 1994 as part of the Improving America’s Schools Act, Title VII was restructured to provide for an increased state role and give priority to applicants seeking to develop bilingual proficiency. The Improving America’s Schools Act also modified eligibility requirements for services under Title I so that limited-English-proficient students are eligible for services under that program on the same basis as other students.
Transitional Bilingual Education Program: This program, also known as early-exit bilingual education, utilizes a student's primary language in instruction. The program maintains and develops skills in the primary language and culture while introducing, maintaining, and developing skills in English. The primary purpose of a TBE program is to facilitate the ELL student's transition to an all English instructional program while receiving academic subject instruction in the native language to the extent necessary.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535203
|
__label__cc
| 0.718377
| 0.281623
|
Yeovil Arts
The Yeovil Community Arts Association is an organisation dedicated to supporting opportunities and facilities for those involved and interested in the Creative Arts and Crafts in the South Somerset area.
01/01/2021 – Yeovil Literary Prize Opens
The annual international Yeovil Literary Prize opens for entries on Friday 1st January 2021. Categories include…
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN?
The YCAA is always looking to expand its membership so that we can really build a cultural community in Yeovil. A larger membership will allow greater diversification, and more opportunities for inspiring ideas. More info…
YEOVIL ARTS EVENTS
06/01/2021 – New Year Quiz
12/01/2021 – Book Group Meeting – WITH SPECIAL GUEST
Yeovil Community Arts Association
The Octagon Theatre
Hendford
Yeovil BA20 1UX
A registered charity
The Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) was formed in 1984 by a group of interested parties that were campaigning for an Arts Centre in Yeovil.
In 1988, the YCAA became a Registered Charity No. 299372 and opened 80 South Street, an arts centre and café in the centre of Yeovil. Continue reading…
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535205
|
__label__wiki
| 0.727722
| 0.727722
|
Your kids are not getting high from an i-Dose download
By Duncan Geere
For the past couple of weeks, a story has been working its way through various media organisations about kids in a high school in Oklahoma listening to MP3 files and getting high. After an initial brief "lol", I've been trying hard to ignore it, but it seems to be gaining more and more attention from supposedly serious newspapers. So here's the reality of the situation: your children are not getting high from listening to audio.
The sounds they're listening to are infused with "binaural beats". This is a phenomenon discovered in 1839 and investigated further in the 1970s, which claims that playing audio at certain frequencies can move the activity of your brain waves towards those frequencies. For example, we know that Alpha waves -- between 7 and 13 Hz -- are associated with relaxation and drowsiness.
However, average human hearing is limited to a range between 20 and 20,000Hz, so binaural beats are used to gain the same effect. One ear gets a 315Hz sine wave, for example, and the other gets a 325Hz wave. The difference between the two -- 10Hz -- entrains the brain to that frequency, bang in the middle of the Alpha wave range, supposedly inducing relaxation.
It's thought that it works better if you take your brainwaves down slowly, starting at a level close to where your brain is currently operating. If you're in full wake-up mode, and you want to send yourself to sleep with binaural beats, you'd begin around 30Hz and reduce the frequency slowly over time to about 5Hz. That's the theory behind it.
Gerald Oster, who collected much of the knowledge around the subject in 1973, hoped that the phenomenon could be used for cognitive and neurological research, as well as for treating anxiety, addiction and stress. Clinical trials have borne some of these functions out to a limited degree. However, what's not possible is the kind of ridiculous reactions that teenagers are posting on YouTube. Here's a few examples, skip to about 2:25 if you're impatient:
The honey detectives are closing in on China’s shady syrup swindlers
By Jonathan Ungoed-Thomas and Jonathan Leake
<object width="480" height="385" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/d1akBw6G180&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d1akBw6G180&hl=en_US&fs=1" />
Here’s what it will take to vaccinate 14 million people by mid-February
By David Cox
</object>
What you're seeing there isn't even a placebo effect, it's just peer pressure. Like smoking banana peel (thoroughly debunked), teenagers pretend to experience some kind of effect because they don't want to feel left out from a group of their friends who are all claiming to be getting high, especially when they know they've got a camera pointed at them.
Unfortunately, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs is fanning the flames of a moral panic, warning parents of schoolkids in the State that these MP3s could be dangerous, and even if they're not, could lead to kids trying something a little harder. Some news organisations have taken that baton and ran with it, with the Sun Sentinel saying, ridiculously: "I think the fact the major universities have done studies which have been 'inconclusive' is reason enough for us to be worried."
No. This is a small collection of websites making vague promises of mood-altering, combined with the natural tendency of teenagers to seek out extreme experiences, and social pressures leading them to talk the effects up to their friends. There's nothing wrong with either of those things on their own, but combining them into a moral panic distracts attention from dealing with far more serious problems with the world.
Oh, and for the record, I've been listening to The Gates of Hades the entire time I've been writing this, which is the track that the teenagers in the video above are supposedly listening to. If you want to try it yourself, it's being taken down from YouTube by "copyright claims" from i-Doser, but should prove trivial to find on the web. It's 23 minutes of drone, followed by a sudden higher-pitched drone that crunches in jarringly, and then a gentle fade out at the end.
30 minutes of that, and you know what? I've never felt so sober in my life.
Feeling lost? Here's what to watch after Game of Thrones
How to download iOS 14 and try out its best new features
By Alex Lee
The best outdoor rides for land and sea in 2019
By Jeremy White and Chris Haslam
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is just Pokémon Go with magic
By Mike Dent
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535208
|
__label__cc
| 0.543792
| 0.456208
|
Reactions to Last Week's Dutch Elections and Fed Decision
Jeremy Schwartz, CFA
Global Head of Research
Follow Jeremy Schwartz @JeremyDSchwartz
Our podcast last week focused on the two market-moving events of the week: the first segment, with WisdomTree’s Director of Research in Europe, Viktor Nossek, focused on politics—we cannot get around this type of discussion these days—including the Dutch elections and their implications for other European elections later this year.
The second segment focused on the Federal Reserve (Fed) decision and policy, where we spoke with Mustafa Chowdhury, the Head of Rates for Voya Investment Management. Chowdhury is responsible for directing the investment strategy for Voya’s rates group, so it was good to get his outlook on the bond market.
Dutch Elections: Not the Resounding Victory for the European Project That Many Thought
One of Nossek’s main arguments: There were concerns surrounding the far-right Dutch parties—which are much more nationalistic—this group did not score a major victory. But just because the far right didn’t gain more seats does not mean this election was a resounding vote in favor of promoting European interests ahead of Dutch interests.
Nossek highlights the Christian Democrats—one of the more mainstream parties in the Netherlands—which did gain seats in the election, and he believes they did so by increasing nationalist rhetoric that included questioning European Central Bank (ECB) policy and whether the ECB’s low rates were hurting Dutch pension participants.
Nossek’s concern is that the Netherlands—despite having experienced a more robust recovery and drop in unemployment than other European countries—still is seeing nationalistic preferences emerging. These reactions are in some ways a response to higher tax rates in the aftermath of the financial crisis to support bank bailouts. But now voters want projects focused on the Netherlands, and they are less willing to support the “European project,” as the Netherlands is one of the net contributors to the EU.
All this is a prelude to French elections taking place in April and May, where there are worries around another far-right party, the National Front, and its leader, Marine Le Pen, who wants to put France’s participation in the European Union and the euro to a referendum. France has a multi-round election cycle, and if Le Pen is to move forward along with an independent candidate, Nossek believes this could put more pressure on the euro.
Yet he thinks European equities—particularly European exporters—are one of the better positioned asset classes to withstand political volatility. Using Brexit as an example, the British pound (GBP) fell with the political uncertainty of Brexit, but UK stocks did well—as long as one hedged GBP exposure. This may be a model for similar events later this year.
Fed Hikes: Synchronized Dance between Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy
Mustafa Chowdhury saw a more dovish set of expectations in the Fed statement than he expected at the start of the week. He believes the Fed successfully managed to push expectations toward not having another hike at the next meeting.
Chowdhury characterizes the U.S. bond market as a synchronized dance between the Fed hiking interest rates, while Donald Trump starts working on the fiscal policy front and changes in tax policy.
The yields on the long bond dropped after the meeting, with an eye on fiscal policy. If we see a more aggressive fiscal policy and stronger economic growth, this would mean more pressure for rates to move higher.
June Hike Likely?
Chowdhury sees the job market as very tight, with inflation heading toward our 2% target. As a result, he believes we are likely to see another hike in rates at the June policy meeting. To move on from there, though, he is looking for signs that the market can handle the two hikes, along with progress on the fiscal policy side.
This was an interesting discussion during a news-filled week, from the Fed to Europe’s elections, and it was a pleasure speaking to these two strategists.
Listen to the entire “Behind the Markets” podcast series here.
Important Risks Related to this Article
Investments focused in Europe increase the impact of events and developments associated with the region, which can adversely affect performance.
BTM Podcast Series Europe Market News
Jeremy Schwartz has served as our Global Head of Research since November 2018 and leads WisdomTree’s investment strategy team in the construction of WisdomTree’s equity indexes, quantitative active strategies and multi-asset model portfolios. Mr. Schwartz joined WisdomTree in May 2005 as a Senior Analyst, adding to his responsibilities in February 2007 as Deputy Director of Research and thereafter, from October 2008 to October 2018, as Director of Research. Prior to joining WisdomTree, he was head research assistant for Professor Jeremy Siegel and helped with the research and writing of Stocks for the Long Run and The Future for Investors. Mr. Schwartz also is co-author of the Financial Analysts Journal paper, What Happened to the Original Stocks in the S&P 500? He received his B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and hosts the Wharton Business Radio program Behind the Markets on SiriusXM 132. Mr. Schwartz is also a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535209
|
__label__wiki
| 0.604288
| 0.604288
|
Wise Women Awards - Nigeria The Wise Women Awards recognizes the contribution that Christian women have made in the church and wider society.
About WWA
Rev Marjorie Esomowei
Bimbola Okutinyang
Adebisi Fetuga
Olanike Kuku
Mary Ikoku
Winners/Awards
Award Tickets
NAOMI EKPOKI
Naomi Ekpoki is a 19 year old, 400 level student of Engineering at Covenant University Nigeria. She started giving out scholarships at the age of 15 to children from financially challenged backgrounds and helping them get the resources they needed to go to school, she did this by seeking for donations from family members and friends. As she worked, she became increasingly disturbed about the lack of educational opportunities available to internally displaced, orphaned and vulnerable children. In wanting to reach out to them on a larger scale, she started the Senema Love Foundation. This foundation is aimed at providing quality education and helping children in such categories, go through school comfortably with all their needs met. She aspires to put an end to child poverty and she believes that every child has a right to good formal education. Her goal is to finally have a world where underprivileged children live free of poverty and have access to formal education, making positive impact on the society.
Her organization gives out scholarships, pays the registration fees for national exams for children who cannot afford the fees, and provides educational materials for them. She has also conducted several outreach efforts to reach children in orphanages and other less privileged children in her community. Through her outreach efforts, she provides educational materials, food, clothes and other necessary items to the children. She also inspires other young people to be part of her work by taking some of them along with her for outreach activities. So far she has worked with over a 100 young volunteers in her organization.
On several occasions she has volunteered at Internally Displaced People’s camps in her community, orphanages and children’s homes, she takes free mathematics tutorials for senior secondary school students in preparation for their final exams.
She is also involved in raising a voice for girls of school age who suffer from VVF (Vesico Vaginal Fistula) due to early marriage or female genital mutilation.
She has reached over 1300 children through her work, sponsored girls for their final exams (of whom are now enrolled in local universities) and raised awareness about the gaps in education for underprivileged children in Plateau and other states in Nigeria. She raises funds by selling of items such as branded t-shirts and drinks and also through the help of individual donors.
All of this work she has been doing for the past four years, while also pursuing a University degree in Information and Communication Engineering.
Naomi is a vibrant Christian and is passionate about taking the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. She plans to do more and have greater impact in years to come, thereby sharing the love of Jesus.
Pastor Marjorie realised that no awards events exist within the Christian community that recognise women’s achievements.
© 2021 Wise Women Awards - Nigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Site by UK Churches.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535211
|
__label__wiki
| 0.920315
| 0.920315
|
Swedish hockey players boycott training, tournament over pay
Posted: Aug 15, 2019 / 08:58 AM EDT / Updated: Aug 15, 2019 / 08:32 PM EDT
FILE – In this Feb. 20, 2018, file photo, Erika Grahm (24), of Sweden, fights for control of the puck with South Korea’s Choi Jiyeon (10), of the combined Koreas team, during the first period of the classification round of the women’s hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. The leading female hockey players in Sweden were refusing to attend a training camp Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, or play in an upcoming international tournament in Finland over a pay dispute with the country’s federation. A statement was posted on social media by Sweden player Erika Grahm, saying the action is being taken to “develop and create better conditions” in the national team to show “encouragement and respect” for current and future generations.(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The top female hockey players in Sweden refused to attend training camp Thursday or play in an upcoming international tournament in Finland, the latest such move by a women’s national team to get better compensation.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation said it had been informed of the looming boycott and was “surprised” at the decision.
A total of 43 national team players are involved in the boycott, which is seemingly about the lack of compensation they receive while on duty with the national team. The players were scheduled to attend a five-day camp starting Thursday outside Stockholm, ahead of the Five Nations Tournament — also involving Russia, Japan, Czech Republic and host Finland — beginning Tuesday.
A statement was posted on social media by Sweden player Erika Grahm, saying the action is being taken to “develop and create better conditions” in the national team to show “encouragement and respect” for current and future generations. It said the players’ demands are not “unreasonable” but didn’t disclose the specific issues.
The move is similar to what happened two years ago in North America, where the U.S. women’s national team threatened to boycott the 2017 world championships on home ice, demanding more pay and treatment similar to what the men’s team receives. They reached a four-year agreement with USA Hockey that increased pay up to $4,000 per month with the ability to make around $71,000 annually and up to $129,000 in Olympic years.
The World Cup champion U.S. women’s soccer team is also in a fight for more compensation, with that dispute likely headed to court.
Many of Sweden’s players have full-time jobs away from the rink, so must fit games around work schedules and family needs. Travel schedules for national team games can be tight, affecting preparation.
“Many of us have borne the frustration that led to today’s decision for several years,” the statement read. “Now it’s all about the younger generation not having to do it.”
The Swedish federation said it gives no compensation to players on the women’s or men’s national teams, and that it instead comes through a financial agreement between the leagues and the top clubs.
This agreement, the federation added, was renewed for the 2019-20 season and uses the “same model that applied to men’s hockey for many years.” Calls to board members of the federation went unanswered Thursday.
Among those coming out in support of the Swedish players were U.S. Olympic champions Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, who tweeted: “Proud of Team Sweden and what this will mean for their program and the next generation of young girls in Europe!” U.S. teammate Meghan Duggan added: “Sending strength to the Swedish National Team in their quest for more support and resources for their program.”
The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association said it stood with Sweden’s players “in your fight for equality and respect your commitment to creating a sustainable future for yourselves and the next generation!”
In May, the National Women’s Hockey League reached an agreement with the NWHL Players’ Association to increase salaries, offer a 50-50 split of sponsor-related revenues and improve benefits. That move came after more than 200 of the world’s top female players pledged not to play professionally in North America.
Sweden, traditionally one of the world’s best teams, failed to qualify for the quarterfinals of the world championship in Finland in April after losing three of its four group matches. That meant the team was relegated for the first time in its history and will compete in Division IA of the 2020 women’s world championship.
“Us players are prepared to take responsibility and do everything possible to take us back to where we belong,” the players’ statement read. “But only with the conditions, encouragement and respect that requires an attitude toward us as elite athletes.
“Until the governors in the ice hockey federation show that, the Damkronorna have an empty squad.”
https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Bowling Green tops UB men 76-69
by Mary Margaret Johnson / Jan 15, 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- After trailing Bowling Green by 16 points at the half, the UB Bulls put together a stellar second half, outscoring the Falcons 44-35 out of the break.
While Bowling Green would hold on to win 76-69, the Bulls are proud of the come from behind spirit shown in the final 20 minutes of play.
Bills legend Darryl Talley talks Bills-Ravens ahead of Saturday’s divisional matchup
by Heather Prusak / Jan 15, 2021
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) - It doesn't matter how long it's been since some guys played for the Bills, they still pay attention to every game and even use the term "we" when talking about the current team, especially the players from the Super Bowl years.
Bills legend, former linebacker Darryl Talley says those guys talk all the time.
by Paul Stockman / Jan 15, 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Missed opportunities. That was the story for the Sabres tonight. 0-for-5 on the powerplay including three separate chances in the first period. Score on just one and it's a different game, but no luck on the man advantage and that made a difference.
Buffalo went 0-for-3 on the power play in the opening period. They scored zero goals despite outshooting the Capitals 11-6.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535212
|
__label__wiki
| 0.849948
| 0.849948
|
US and Canada suspend nonessential travel between the two countries
Updated: 11:47 AM EDT Mar 18, 2020
By Jeremy Diamond
There's been talk about possible domestic travel restrictions in the U. S. To curb the spread of Cove in 19 but nothing solid just yet. If you're still wondering if you should travel, the CDC says you should consider the following things before you head out the door. Is Cove in 19 spreading where you're going? If so, you'll be a higher risk of exposure once you arrive. Is Cove in 19 spreading in your hometown? Will you are people you're traveling with being close contact with others Once you arrive, Gatherings, meetings and even crowded public transportation systems can put you at risk. Other things to ask yourself include the following are you or anyone you're traveling with at higher risk of severe illness? If you're exposed to Kobe 19 you may be asked to self quarantine for up to 14 days. If you're exposed to someone with Coben 19 or if you get sick yourself, you'll be completely isolated. Do you have plans in place to take time off from work in school? Do you live with someone who has a severe chronic condition or is older? If your trip isn't absolutely necessary, Forbes recommends you reconsider not just depending on how you answer these questions, but also think about how things will be for you once you arrive, since a lot of places are closing for a while.
The United States and Canada are suspending nonessential travel between the two countries, President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday.Details on the agreement are forthcoming, but a Trump administration official told CNN the new restrictions will ensure that business and trade between the two countries can continue.The joint agreement is the latest effort by the U.S. and Canada to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, following decisions by both countries to restrict some international travel.Part of the discussions involve what types of vehicles and individuals would still be allowed to travel between the two countries and for what purpose, the official said. The restrictions will likely allow for significant flexibility.Unlike travel restrictions on Europe and China, this would be a mutual agreement between the two countries."The Canadians have been our friends throughout this and many other crises, and they continue to be honest brokers," the official said.When Trump was asked at the coronavirus task force briefing whether he was considering closing the U.S. land borders Tuesday, he said, "I don't want to say that, but we are discussing things with Canada and we're discussing things with Mexico, quite honestly, and again, the relationship is outstanding with both, outstanding. We just signed our deal, the USMCA, and the relationship is very strong."
The United States and Canada are suspending nonessential travel between the two countries, President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday.
Details on the agreement are forthcoming, but a Trump administration official told CNN the new restrictions will ensure that business and trade between the two countries can continue.
Big 3 automakers closing factories amid coronavirus fears
The joint agreement is the latest effort by the U.S. and Canada to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, following decisions by both countries to restrict some international travel.
Part of the discussions involve what types of vehicles and individuals would still be allowed to travel between the two countries and for what purpose, the official said. The restrictions will likely allow for significant flexibility.
Unlike travel restrictions on Europe and China, this would be a mutual agreement between the two countries.
"The Canadians have been our friends throughout this and many other crises, and they continue to be honest brokers," the official said.
When Trump was asked at the coronavirus task force briefing whether he was considering closing the U.S. land borders Tuesday, he said, "I don't want to say that, but we are discussing things with Canada and we're discussing things with Mexico, quite honestly, and again, the relationship is outstanding with both, outstanding. We just signed our deal, the USMCA, and the relationship is very strong."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535213
|
__label__wiki
| 0.629724
| 0.629724
|
Commentary OpinionCULTURE WARS
Marxists' plan to incite the right
Exclusive: Scott Lively warns conservatives to be cautious in face of 'agent provocateur'
By Scott Lively
When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at the University of Chicago Law School in May of 2013, she gave a thinly veiled heads-up to her leftist fellow-travelers around the nation that SCOTUS was not going to find a constitutional right to "gay marriage" in the then-pending United States v. Windsor case (which instead simply struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act – DOMA). Her means of telegraphing this message was a surprising critique of Roe v. Wade in which she said (in essence) that Roe was a bad ruling – not because she disagreed with its pro-abortion substance, but because it went too far too fast, creating the pro-life movement. If they had only gone more slowly, and let the frogs acclimate to the rising temperature of the water, they wouldn't have jumped out of the pot on that issue.
Sure enough, Windsor did not become the LGBT Roe v Wade. But, unable to restrain their zeal for the ultimate leftist cause, the elites waited only two years to force their will and claim their prize in Obergefell v. Hodges by the only means available to them: 1) the invalidation of about two dozen popular (and decisive) elections – in the most conservative states – by a tiny handful of dictatorial federal judges, and 2) the delegitimization of the Supreme Court itself by the outright invention of a new constitutional "right" with no basis in law, whose majority vote relied on two justices (Ginsburg and Elena Kagan) who had performed same-sex "weddings" while the case was pending, in an unprecedented and breathtaking violation of fundamental judicial ethics.
But Obergefell, it seems, did much more than create an LGBT Roe v. Wade. It awakened the sleeping giant of the Christian church while concurrently creating an immediate and actual justification for our civil rebellion. Beginning with just a trickle, an increasing number of Bible-believing Christians are now joining the ranks of the so-called "Christian Right," which, prior to Obergefell, had been slowly but steadily waning in power since the heady days of Ronald Reagan and the Christian Coalition in the 1980s.
In the elections of early November, the extent of this seismic shift was seen all across the country as voters in Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio and Mississippi provided large majorities to conservative candidates and against leftist causes. Houston, Texas, rejected special rights for transgenders by nearly 2 to 1, in a turnout that doubled that of the prior two elections, despite a 3 to 1 spending advantage by the left and threats of the loss of hosting the Superbowl in 2017. In Kentucky, an 80,000-vote majority elected outspoken pro-life and pro-family hero Matt Bevin in a stunning upset, attributed to his promise to defund Planned Parenthood and defend Christians like Kim Davis who defy activist judges on LGBT issues.
Importantly, the rise of the Christian Right parallels and complements that of the Secular Right, which is best recognized in the Trump phenomenon but is represented in a much wider swath of voters than just Trump supporters. The Secular Right is energized far more by the invasion of illegal aliens and the collapse of the economy, the military and our relations with foreign governments than with the collapse of morality and the natural family. But there is significant overlap of these two large and growing movements and tremendous impetus to unify against the common enemy: the Obama administration and ruling leftist elites.
There is no question in my mind that the globalists are making their move while their man is still in the White House, and we're certain to see an increase, not a decrease, in the extent to which the Marxists overplay their hand. They really have no choice since they know that if they do not defeat the republic and establish their empire now, they will likely never again enjoy the current "perfect storm" of culture-wide institutional control, political will and muscle in the executive and judicial branches (and acquiescence in the legislative) and near-dictatorial (but crumbling) global power.
So, rather than play their former game of two steps forward, one step back (the Marxist dialectic) they are now ALL-IN. And knowing that this blatant play for power will inevitably further strengthen and energize their opposition, they have planned and are now implementing a judo move against us. The strategy is to rapidly polarize the society to the point of violence by conservatives, which will serve as a pretext for "defensive" police-state measures to suppress what they have already begun to spin as the rise of neo-Nazism. That's the motivation behind the Black Lives Matter campaign and the outrageous, anger-inducing policies involving illegal aliens and multi-trillion dollar debt financing of ever more bloated entitlement programs and government expansion. The elites are deliberately provoking civil unrest through the suspension of civil liberties and what is left of the rule of law under the Constitution.
An agent provocateur (or "inciting agent") is someone who acts deliberately to entice another to act rashly or illegally so they can be arrested or otherwise punished. That, writ large, is the strategy of the Obama administration and the leftist elites in their continuous and escalating provocation of the right. It is important for the cooler heads in our Christian/Secular conservative coalition to educate our people about this tactic and caution them against rash acts in the coming weeks and months. We should also be on the alert for staged incidents by our opponents that they most likely implement if they can't goad our own people into such acts – and we should make public our accusation that we believe they intend to do so.
Scott Lively
Scott Lively is an attorney, pastor, human rights consultant and missionary with service in more than 50 countries. He is the author of seven books including "The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party" and "Redeeming the Rainbow," a textbook on pro-family advocacy he offers freely by email in PDF form by request to [email protected]
How we take America back
5 steps to survive the Marxist Purge
The revolution begins NOW
'People Get Ready, Jesus is Coming'
Obama, John Roberts and the 'mystery of lawlessness'
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535214
|
__label__wiki
| 0.942181
| 0.942181
|
Louisiana-Pacific makes leadership changes
By Andrew Macklin
Feb. 13, 2015 - Louisiana-Pacific Corporation announced several internal changes to its executive management team. The organizational changes will be effective March 1, 2015.
The changes effective March 1 include:
Mike Sims will become senior vice president sales and marketing. He will replace Rick Olszewski, executive vice president of sales, marketing and South America, who is retiring from LP at the end of March. Frederick Price, president of LP South America, will report directly to Stevens.
Brad Southern will become executive vice president OSB, replacing Jeff Wagner, who will retire from LP mid-year. In the interim, Wagner will be executive vice president Growth and Innovation, reporting directly to Stevens.
Brian Luoma will serve as executive vice president Siding, replacing Southern in that position.
Neil Sherman will become senior vice president, EWP, replacing Luoma in that position.
CEO Curt Stevens said, “These changes provide opportunities for LP to benefit from the shared perspectives and best practices across businesses as we continue to develop our top leadership talent.”
Stevens continued, “LP is very fortunate to have a strong bench of management talent; these team members represent decades of industry and LP experience. We were able to make these moves internally as a result of the talent pool within LP and our robust succession planning process. I look forward to continuing to work with these executives in their new roles to lead us into the future, as we benefit from an improving housing market and aggressively build our growth and innovation capabilities.”
“I would also like to thank Rick Olszewski and Jeff Wagner for their important contributions to LP,” concluded Stevens. “Our sales and marketing organization has never been more customer focused, and our OSB business is strong, efficient, and the safest in the industry.”
Sims has worked in building products in various sales and marketing capacities since 1984. Prior to joining LP, he served as area sales manager for Abitibi-Price Corporation and the director of marketing and vice president sales for ABTco Building Products. He has most recently held the position at LP of vice president OSB sales and marketing. Sims holds a B.A. from Western State Colorado University.
Southern joined LP in 1999. He has led LP’s Siding business since 2005, and was previously vice president of specialty operations. Southern began his career with MacMillan Bloedel as a forester, where he held a variety of positions in forestry, strategic planning, finance, accounting and plant management. He has a B.S. in Forest Resources and a master’s in Forest Resources, both from the University of Georgia.
Luoma has been with LP since 1987 and has headed the engineered wood products business since 2006. In his time with LP, Luoma has held a variety of positions, including director of forest resources, northern regional operations manager OSB, and more recently he served as vice president of procurement, supply management and logistics. He holds a B.S. in Forestry from Humboldt State University, and has completed the Executive Development Program at the University of Tennessee Center for Executive Education.
Sherman joined LP in 1994. Most recently, he served as vice president of procurement, logistics and supply management. He previously was the project manager of LP’s successful ERP implementation and has held the director business development, and corporate real estate position for LP. Sherman holds a B.S. in Waste and Waste Water Management from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.
Louisiana-Pacific reports 2014 losses
WFP to reopen Ladysmith sawmill
Tembec to invest in Ontario sawmills
CFI launches industry webinar series
louisiana-pacific
Record setting year for Interfor
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535215
|
__label__cc
| 0.55524
| 0.44476
|
Home » Casino Figures & Poker Player Bios » Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is a legend in the world of professional golf; his rise to being one of the most celebrated pro-golfers in the world was a self-fulfilled prophecy that Mickelson made when he was a child. Despite some hiccups along the way, both professional and personal — Mickelson has achieved a stellar level of success that many pro-golfers aspire for.
Born in June of 1970 to Phil Anthony Mickelson and Mary Mickelson, Phil Mickelson Junior learned to play golf from his father at a young age. Although he is right handed, Mickelson learned to play using his left hand. His father introduced him to the game when he was only eighteen months old, and there did not seem to be any turning back. When he was nine years old Mickelson watched as Seve Ballesteros won the Masters Tournament at the Augusta Nationals Golf Course, and it was then that he told his mother that one day he would do the same (“About Phil” par 5).
That story, though, is only one of the many that dot his biography. As the biography posted on his website notes:
[Mickelson] ran away from home at age 3 1/2, telling neighbors he was going to the golf course; the neighbors steered him around the block and back home. He won 34 San Diego Junior Golf Association titles. He flew with his airline pilot father’s pass and his mother took a second job to help pay for his American Junior Golf Association play; he repaid his parents by winning an unprecedented and unequaled three consecutive AJGA Rolex Player of the Year awards and a scholarship to Arizona State University.
While at Arizona State University, he pursued a degree in psychology — graduating in 1992. But he placed as much attention on a professional golf career as he did on working towards his degree while at university; he officially went pro the same year he graduated college, and just before the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (“About Phil” par 9). And in 1993 he won his first title as a pro.
Since then he was won forty-two (42) PGA Tour titles, and an additional four (4) titles in international tournaments; his total money winnings from PGA tournaments is $2,154,200 as of 2015, and he is ranked as the twenty-seventh (27th) best player in the PGA (“Phil Mickelson,” PGA Tour). In addition, Mickelson has a reported annual endorsement income of forty-eight (48) million dollars (Rishe par 5).
Even with his success, Mickelson’s name has been linked with some questionable practices in the past; most notably with sports betting. In fact, he “is known for rarely shying away from a money match and his affinity for sports gambling is no secret either” (Fish par 15). Mostly Mickelson places his bets in Las Vegas and has raked in a substantial amount of money while engaging in sports betting.
However, many people — both in the media and in professional sports — are upset by the gambling practices Mickelson engages in. In 2001 Mickelson won five hundred (500) dollars from a bet from Mike Weir in the players’ lounge at the NEC Invitational after wagering $20 at 25-1 odds that Jim Furyk would hole a bunker shot; when this story broke the PGA tour reprimanded Mickelson (Fish par 16). While a minor in-house incident, with little impact, Mickelson has been associated with more controversial stories related to sports betting.
More recently he has been linked to a money laundering scandal when he transferred almost three million dollars to a middle-man. This middle-man was a part of what federal authorities called “an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events. Although federal authorities do not pursue those that place bets, the news has led to some people to question Mickelson’s judgment and his gambling habits.
Patrick Rishe, writing for Forbes, commented that as his career winds down, Mickelson’s gambling habits — and his association with illegal sports betting — might cause his sponsors to reconsider his endorsements; also, Rishe has openly asked if “PGA Tour Commissioner, Tim Finchem, might consider a suspension. There are reasons why many professional sports leagues and the NCAA has strict rules about their athletes engaging in gambling. Might this recent news inspire Finchem”.
Yet none of this seems to bother Mickelson in the least.
He keeps pursuing his game and does not appear very concerned about what his critics have to say. Speaking to reporters about the issue he said
“People are going to say things well; they are going to say things badly; they are going to say things true; they are going to say things not true. The fact is I’m comfortable enough with who I am as a person that I don’t feel like I need to comment on every little report that comes out”.
So Mickelson will keep playing golf, and keep meeting with his fans; he loves what he does, and is determined to keep playing.
Phil Mickelson, Billy Walters and Sports Betting
Casino Figures & Poker Player Bios
Inside Phil Ivey’s $10 Million Scam
Billy Walters
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535216
|
__label__wiki
| 0.529661
| 0.529661
|
'Siracusa' by Edward Lear in 1847
Classic Vintage Edward Lear 250gsm Gloss Art Card Reproduction A3 Poster
Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, and is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to illustrate birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books; as a (minor) illustrator of Alfred Tennyson's poems. As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes, and alphabets. He also composed and published twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry.
'A Country House' by Edward Lear in 1834 £6.99
'A Distant View of Mt Athos' by Edward Lear in 1856 £6.99
'A Ruined Tower House' by Edward Lear in 1836 £6.99
'Abu Simbel' by Edward Lear in 1867 £6.99
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535217
|
__label__wiki
| 0.522329
| 0.522329
|
Must See TV: How God Made the English
Church History 14 Mar 2012 1 Comment
The first in a three-part series in which Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of Church History at Oxford University and presenter of the award-winning BBC series A History of Christianity, explores both what it means to be English and what has shaped English identity, from the Dark Ages, through the Reformation to modern times. Professor MacCulloch identifies three broad traits commonly associated with the English: the idea that the English think they’re better than others; the idea that they are a specially tolerant people; and the idea that to be English, quintessentially is to be white, Anglo-Saxon and Church of England Christian. He investigates whether these stereotypes are accurate and looks at what forces have shaped English identity – secular or religious?
In this first episode, Professor MacCulloch chronicles the roots of the idea that the English think themselves better than others and duty-bound to play a leading role in world affairs. He argues that the roots of this attitude lie in a tangle of religious motives. He traces its origins to the notion of a ‘chosen people’ – a Biblical idea which the monk and historian, the Venerable Bede, took lock, stock and barrel from the Jewish scriptures and applied to the early English.
If you’re in Britain you must watch this Saturday at 8 PM. You must.
Tagged: BBC, Diarmaid MacCulloch, History of Christianity
← Support Real Archaeology: At Gath
The Chronicle of Higher Education: On the Verdict →
One thought on “Must See TV: How God Made the English”
carl sweatman 14 Mar 2012 at 3:43 pm
Fiiiine, since I’m here; I’ll watch it. Geez, Jim; you’re so pushy. 🙂
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535220
|
__label__cc
| 0.721195
| 0.278805
|
A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia
C. S. Ki, W. Y. Lee, D. H. Han, D. H. Sung, K. B. Lee, K. A. Lee, S. S. Cho, S. Cho, H. Hwang, K. M. Sohn, Y. J. Choi, J. W. Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine
Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower extremities. Among eight loci linked with autosomal-dominant (AD)-HSP, the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2p22 accounts for about 40% of all patients. Recently, mutations in a new member of the AAA protein family, called spastin, have been identified as responsible for SPG4-linked AD-HSP. Here, we describe a novel missense mutation (c.1031T>A; I344K) in exon 7 of the SPG4 gene identified in a Korean family with typical clinical features of pure AD-HSP. The mutation affects the third amino acid of the highly conserved AAA cassette domain, which is the most fore part of the domain altered by a missense mutation reported so far. Clinical presentations of affected individuals carrying the I344K mutation were not different from those of pure AD-HSP with SPG4 mutations reported previously. However, it is noteworthy that neither urinary dysfunction nor involvement of upper extremities was noticed in this family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed AD-HSP in Korea.
Journal of human genetics
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100380200068
Genetics(clinical)
10.1007/s100380200068
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Medicine & Life Sciences
Missense Mutation Medicine & Life Sciences
Spastin Medicine & Life Sciences
AAA Proteins Medicine & Life Sciences
AAA Domain Medicine & Life Sciences
Korea Medicine & Life Sciences
Ki, C. S., Lee, W. Y., Han, D. H., Sung, D. H., Lee, K. B., Lee, K. A., Cho, S. S., Cho, S., Hwang, H., Sohn, K. M., Choi, Y. J., & Kim, J. W. (2002). A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia. Journal of human genetics, 47(9), 473-477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100380200068
Ki, C. S. ; Lee, W. Y. ; Han, D. H. ; Sung, D. H. ; Lee, K. B. ; Lee, K. A. ; Cho, S. S. ; Cho, S. ; Hwang, H. ; Sohn, K. M. ; Choi, Y. J. ; Kim, J. W. / A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia. In: Journal of human genetics. 2002 ; Vol. 47, No. 9. pp. 473-477.
@article{0c4121d347094dd283b7685493e26757,
title = "A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia",
abstract = "Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower extremities. Among eight loci linked with autosomal-dominant (AD)-HSP, the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2p22 accounts for about 40% of all patients. Recently, mutations in a new member of the AAA protein family, called spastin, have been identified as responsible for SPG4-linked AD-HSP. Here, we describe a novel missense mutation (c.1031T>A; I344K) in exon 7 of the SPG4 gene identified in a Korean family with typical clinical features of pure AD-HSP. The mutation affects the third amino acid of the highly conserved AAA cassette domain, which is the most fore part of the domain altered by a missense mutation reported so far. Clinical presentations of affected individuals carrying the I344K mutation were not different from those of pure AD-HSP with SPG4 mutations reported previously. However, it is noteworthy that neither urinary dysfunction nor involvement of upper extremities was noticed in this family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed AD-HSP in Korea.",
author = "Ki, {C. S.} and Lee, {W. Y.} and Han, {D. H.} and Sung, {D. H.} and Lee, {K. B.} and Lee, {K. A.} and Cho, {S. S.} and S. Cho and H. Hwang and Sohn, {K. M.} and Choi, {Y. J.} and Kim, {J. W.}",
doi = "10.1007/s100380200068",
journal = "Journal of Human Genetics",
Ki, CS, Lee, WY, Han, DH, Sung, DH, Lee, KB, Lee, KA, Cho, SS, Cho, S, Hwang, H, Sohn, KM, Choi, YJ & Kim, JW 2002, 'A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia', Journal of human genetics, vol. 47, no. 9, pp. 473-477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100380200068
A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia. / Ki, C. S.; Lee, W. Y.; Han, D. H.; Sung, D. H.; Lee, K. B.; Lee, K. A.; Cho, S. S.; Cho, S.; Hwang, H.; Sohn, K. M.; Choi, Y. J.; Kim, J. W.
In: Journal of human genetics, Vol. 47, No. 9, 2002, p. 473-477.
T1 - A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia
AU - Ki, C. S.
AU - Lee, W. Y.
AU - Han, D. H.
AU - Sung, D. H.
AU - Lee, K. B.
AU - Lee, K. A.
AU - Cho, S. S.
AU - Cho, S.
AU - Hwang, H.
AU - Sohn, K. M.
AU - Choi, Y. J.
AU - Kim, J. W.
N2 - Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower extremities. Among eight loci linked with autosomal-dominant (AD)-HSP, the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2p22 accounts for about 40% of all patients. Recently, mutations in a new member of the AAA protein family, called spastin, have been identified as responsible for SPG4-linked AD-HSP. Here, we describe a novel missense mutation (c.1031T>A; I344K) in exon 7 of the SPG4 gene identified in a Korean family with typical clinical features of pure AD-HSP. The mutation affects the third amino acid of the highly conserved AAA cassette domain, which is the most fore part of the domain altered by a missense mutation reported so far. Clinical presentations of affected individuals carrying the I344K mutation were not different from those of pure AD-HSP with SPG4 mutations reported previously. However, it is noteworthy that neither urinary dysfunction nor involvement of upper extremities was noticed in this family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed AD-HSP in Korea.
AB - Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower extremities. Among eight loci linked with autosomal-dominant (AD)-HSP, the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2p22 accounts for about 40% of all patients. Recently, mutations in a new member of the AAA protein family, called spastin, have been identified as responsible for SPG4-linked AD-HSP. Here, we describe a novel missense mutation (c.1031T>A; I344K) in exon 7 of the SPG4 gene identified in a Korean family with typical clinical features of pure AD-HSP. The mutation affects the third amino acid of the highly conserved AAA cassette domain, which is the most fore part of the domain altered by a missense mutation reported so far. Clinical presentations of affected individuals carrying the I344K mutation were not different from those of pure AD-HSP with SPG4 mutations reported previously. However, it is noteworthy that neither urinary dysfunction nor involvement of upper extremities was noticed in this family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed AD-HSP in Korea.
U2 - 10.1007/s100380200068
DO - 10.1007/s100380200068
JO - Journal of Human Genetics
JF - Journal of Human Genetics
Ki CS, Lee WY, Han DH, Sung DH, Lee KB, Lee KA et al. A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4 gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia. Journal of human genetics. 2002;47(9):473-477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100380200068
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535221
|
__label__wiki
| 0.71802
| 0.71802
|
Home/News/World/Russian opponent Alexei Navalny announces he will return to Russia on January 17
Russian opponent Alexei Navalny announces he will return to Russia on January 17
yrtnews3 days ago
Victim of poisoning during a trip to Siberia, transported and hospitalized in a coma on August 20 in Berlin, the Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, still recovering in Germany, expressed, Wednesday, January 13, his desire to return soon in his country.
” I survived. And now [le président russe Vladimir] Putin, who ordered my assassination, (…) told his servants to do everything so that I do not return “, he said in a video posted on his Instagram page, before adding that he had taken a ticket on a regular line dated January 17.
“The question” to come back or not” [en Russie] never arose for me. Simply because I haven’t left. I ended up in Germany when I got there in an intensive care unit ”, continued Mr. Navalny.
Anti-corruption activist and sworn enemy of the Kremlin, the 44-year-old was unwell in August while on a plane, returning from an election tour of Siberia. The aircraft had made an emergency landing in Omsk, where he was hospitalized for forty-eight hours before being evacuated, in a coma, to Germany. It came out in early September and three European laboratories concluded that it was poisoned by a Novichok-type nerve agent, a substance designed by Soviet specialists for military purposes.
This conclusion was confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and an investigation by several media pointed to the responsibility of the Russian special services (FSB) in this poisoning.
Read also: A journalistic investigation accuses the Russian security services of the poisoning of Alexey Navalny
Threat of imprisonment in Russia
Since coming out of the coma, Mr. Navalny has accused President Vladimir Putin of directly ordering his murder, which the Kremlin categorically denies.
Read also: “The Russian patient” … Alexeï Navalny, the opponent whose name Putin never mentions
The opponent risks a prison sentence in Russia, the justice having registered, Tuesday, January 12, a complaint asking for the conversion of a suspended prison sentence targeting him in prison. Mr Navalny says the complaint was lodged by the Russian Prison Service (FSIN) for a conviction dating from December 2014, believing it to be a maneuver to prevent him from returning to his country.
At the end of December, a survey for “Large-scale fraud” was opened against him, the Russian investigation committee specifying that he is suspected of having spent for his personal use 356 million rubles (3.9 million euros at the current rate) on donations. A felony punishable by ten years of imprisonment.
Article reserved for our subscribers Read also Russian justice opens investigation for “fraud” against Alexeï Navalny
Ethiopia grants UN access to deliver humanitarian aid to Tigray region
Steve Bannon joins long list of Trump advisers on trial
In China, the page on Covid-19 has already been turned
Italy records nearly 150% increase in migrant arrivals in one year – RT en français
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535222
|
__label__wiki
| 0.939227
| 0.939227
|
NC partners with Charlotte organizations to distribute 1M vaccinations by July 4
Updated: January 15, 2021 - 6:36 PM
CHARLOTTE — Novant Health and other state providers have started vaccinating people aged 65 and older. Novant announced six mass-vaccination sites across North Carolina and the goal of delivering close to 95,000 doses a week to meet demand for the vaccine.
Novant officials say those plans depend on supply. If the state can provide that number of shots, then Novant can meet the need.
“Then, yes, our plan would be to be able to vaccinate seven-to-ten thousand people a day in the Charlotte market. If we have the supply for that,” said Dr. Pam Oliver, Novant Health executive vice president.
Novant plans to open two mass-vaccination sites in Charlotte. It is still finalizing plans for one of the sites, but the second site would be at the Spectrum Center.
Meanwhile, Atrium Health has partnered with Honeywell, Tepper Sports and Entertainment, and Charlotte Motor Speedway in an effort to distribute a million vaccinations by the Fourth of July.
This is part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s announcement earlier this week to open mass vaccination sites across the state.
[ Handful of mass COVID-19 vaccination sites to be set up across NC, Cooper says ]
Both Bank of America Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway will serve as the initial venues, according to a news release. They’re also looking for another one in the Winston-Salem area.
>> READ NORTH CAROLINA’S FULL VACCINE PLAN HERE
“In collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, these organizations aim to unleash their combined strength to vaccinate as many frontline workers, members of the general public and of underserved communities as quickly and efficiently as possible,” the release said.
Times and dates are still being worked on.
Earlier this week, Cooper and Secretary of DHHS, Dr. Mandy Cohen, announced Atrium Health as the health system to offer mass vaccination events in Charlotte and surrounding counties.
To meet the goal of 1 million vaccinations, the partners will work together to administer the vaccine, provide logistics and operations support and offer a venue for an efficient and safe initiative.
Honeywell, Atrium Health, Tepper Sports & Entertainment and the Charlotte Motor Speedway have announced a unique public-private partnership with the State of North Carolina, and backed by Gov. Roy Cooper, to support the goal of 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations by July 4, 2021
In collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, these organizations will work together to administer the vaccine, provide logistics and operations support, and offer a venue for an efficient and safe initiative.
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Motor Speedway and a soon to be determined location in the Winston-Salem area will serve as initial venues to contribute to this public-private initiative. More details will be shared in the coming days on the process and timing for each of the mass vaccination events.
More information about Atrium Health’s vaccination plans for the public, including FAQs, can be found here.
>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
State health officials also expanded plans to create new mass-vaccination sites in North Carolina and said they will put them in 23 counties, including Mecklenburg and Cabarrus.
Cohen said vaccines for the new sites will be diverted from areas that have had problems getting rid of it quickly.
“This week, we’re able to take that,” Cohen said. “That vaccine that may have gone to them in the past couple of weeks, we’re able to use that and concentrate it in some of these higher throughput sites.”
To learn more about the events, visit the websites of the providers that can be found here.
Here’s what the players involved had to say about the partnership:
“Getting vaccines in people’s arms as quickly and equitably as possible is a top priority for North Carolina,” said Cooper. “Partnerships with businesses, health providers and government like this can help get it done.”
“I am very pleased that Honeywell is leading this coalition of private and public organizations that will strive to put North Carolina on the top of the list for vaccination rates in the United States and to get as many North Carolinians vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Darius Adamczyk, chairman and chief executive officer of Honeywell. “Honeywell is world-renowned for managing highly complex logistics, information technology and operational issues, and we’re looking forward to helping streamline the vaccination process to deliver as many vaccinations as efficiently as possible to our community.”
“I’m incredibly proud of the nationally leading models of care we continue to offer our community, like distributing over 2 million masks, eliminating testing disparities in underserved communities, developing our Atrium Health Hospital at Home program, and now this incredible goal of reaching 1 million vaccinations by July 4,” said Eugene A. Woods, president and chief executive officer of Atrium Health. “Through public-private partnerships like this, we have the opportunity to defeat this virus, allow children to return to school and help local businesses return to normal operations.”
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our community and country,” said David Tepper, owner of Tepper Sports & Entertainment. “We stand ready to join Honeywell, Atrium Health and Governor Cooper in the effort to administer vaccines and defeat this virus. We hope that our participation will serve as a model for other venues.”
“In our business, it’s all about speed and safety,” said Marcus Smith, president and chief executive officer, Speedway Motorsports. “Last year we moved quickly alongside Atrium Health to create on-site drive-thru testing as well as produce COVID-safe drive-in movies, concerts and our Christmas light show. We want to accelerate the process of getting the general public back to its next normal, where people can enjoy everyday activities and sporting events safely. We’re ready to support this aggressive vaccine initiative and help restore our community to good health.”
“Our entire community must join together to beat this pandemic and I appreciate all of our partners coming together to help address this critical issue,” said Vi Lyles, Mayor of the City of Charlotte. “We look forward to supporting this work to ensure that our residents have access to COVID-19 vaccines, and we all look forward to working together to help our community get vaccinated in the coming weeks and months.”
“We look forward to working with our partners to make this happen,” said Gibbie Harris, public health director for Mecklenburg County. “The only way to get the virus behind us is for people to be vaccinated. I also hope that by July, by working together, we can exceed the goal of 1 million people in this region starting to be protected.”
Novant Health to open 6 statewide mass vaccination sites delivering 1 million doses by April
Novant Health on Thursday announced it will open six mass vaccination distribution sites across the state after a commitment by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to increase its COVID-19 vaccine supply allocation.
The health care system has requested 95,000 doses a week in order to meet high demand and ensure equitable and efficient distribution of the vaccine. There will be one in Brunswick County, two in Winston Salem, one in Rowan County and two in Charlotte -- including the Spectrum Center.
“The people of North Carolina deserve a vaccination program that leads the nation in speed, scope and efficient distribution,” said Carl S. Armato, president and chief executive officer of Novant Health. “We appreciate the state’s support and are eager to activate our plan to immediately, and significantly, increase vaccination rates across North Carolina.”
The state’s commitment to increasing allocation comes at a critical time with its expansion of phase 1b, group 1, to include a larger population of senior citizens age 65 and older. To ensure additional populations across all communities are able to access the vaccine as soon as they become eligible, Novant Health’s mass distribution plan can accommodate up to 20,000 vaccines a day. If Novant Health receives a weekly allocation of 95,000 doses from NCDHHS, the health care system has the capability to administer 1 million doses by the beginning of April.
While more details are forthcoming, the mass vaccination sites will more than quadruple the amount of appointments available in each community. Novant Health is partnering with climate innovator Trane Technologies, who will provide large-capacity SuperFreezers to support safe and ultra-cold storage of the vaccine, as well as logistics expertise to help the sites run as efficiently as possible.
Additionally, Novant Health is working with the Charlotte Hornets to utilize Spectrum Center in various activations during the vaccine distribution process. The Uptown arena would provide people easy access to the light-rail line.
“Our plan not only optimizes for speed, scale, and efficiency, but more importantly, ensures equity for all,” added Armato. “We have to work together - across health care systems and county lines - to be certain no community is at a disadvantage. At the end of the day, our collective goal is to vaccinate as many people as quickly possible, leaving no dose unused and no community behind.”
To date, Novant Health has administered over 18,500 vaccines for team members during phase 1a in North Carolina, 4,500 of which were second doses of the vaccine. Since patient vaccinations began on Jan. 5, the health care system has vaccinated more than 3,300 patients 75 and older across its footprint in North Carolina, with thousands of appointments scheduled through March.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535224
|
__label__wiki
| 0.620432
| 0.620432
|
One in 10 COVID-19 patients with diabetes die within a week, study finds
By Shelby Lin Erdman
SERA AS WE’VE REPORTED, CHELSEA HAS THE HIGHEST RATE OF COVID-19 IN MASSACHUSETTS A STATE DESIGNATION BECAUSE OF HIGH RATES OF ASTHMA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES. RESEARCHERS SAY THERE MAY BE LINK. A NATIONWIDE STUDY BY HARVARD THIS MONTH FOUND LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF DYING FROM CORONAVIRUS. THEY DO NOT KNOW WHY THEY DON’T KNOW IF POLLUTION CAN ALSO INCREASE YOUR RISK OF GETTING INFECTED. THE GLOBE REPORTS SOME 85,000 VEHICLES, IN ADDITION TO SHIPS AND PLANES, PASS OVER AND UNDER THIS CITY NEAR THE TOBIN BRIDGE EVERY DA THAT HARVARD STUDY FOUND SOMEONE WHO LIVED IN A HIGH POLLUTION AREA FOR DECADES WOULD BE 8% MORE LIKELY TO DIE OF COVID-19. CDC HAS PREVIOUSLY WARNED THAT PEOPLE WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE ASTHMA MAY BE AT A HIGHER RISK FROM THE VIRUS SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES TOPPING THE COVID-19 INFECTION LIST, INCLUDING CHELSEA, BROCKTON AND LAWRENCE, ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST ASTHMA RATES IN THE STAT WCVB NEW
One in 10 coronavirus patients with diabetes died within the first seven days of hospitalization, and one in five needed a ventilator to breathe, according to a new study by French researchers.Diabetes is one of the underlying health conditions that health experts believe put people at greater risk for developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19 and the study, published in the journal Diabetologia Thursday, seems to confirm this.The researchers looked at more than 1,300 coronavirus patients in 53 hospitals in France between March 10 and March 31. Most — 89% — had Type 2 diabetes; 3% had Type 1 diabetes; and the rest had other forms of the disease. A majority of the patients were men and the average age of all the patients in the study was 70.By day seven of the study, 29% of the patients were either on a ventilator or had died. Researchers said 1 in 5 patients were on a ventilator and 1 in 10 had died, while 18% had been discharged from the hospital.Patients with diabetic complications were more than twice as likely to die within a week, the researchers concluded. They also found that patients 75 years and older were 14 times more likely to die than patients under 55; and patients 65 to 74 years old were three times more likely to die than those under 55.Related video above: Study: Pollution raises coronavirus death riskThose with sleep apnea and shortness of breath faced triple the risk of death by day seven and obese patients with diabetes were also more likely to die, researchers said.Obesity is becoming a major risk factor for bad outcomes both in people with and without diabetes, said Dr. Robert Eckel, the president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, who was not involved in the study."The other thing, age and being male, I think both of those two things have been recently and repeatedly validated by other studies. So, basically being above the age of 70 and being male with diabetes and being overweight or obese really had a major outcome on the outcome," Eckel said.The researchers said they found no independent relationship between severe cases of COVID-19 and age, sex, long-term glucose control, chronic complications, high blood pressure or unusual medications. Being overweight, as measured by body mass index (BMI) was an important factor, however."Only BMI turned out to be independently associated with the primary outcome," the authors wrote.Raising risk of infection"It is well known that people with diabetes have increased infection risk, especially for influenza and pneumonia," the researchers wrote."Moreover, diabetes was previously reported as a major risk factor for mortality in people infected with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza and, more recently, with the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS). Epidemiological studies have quickly and consistently pointed out diabetes as one of the major comorbidities associated with COVID-19 and affecting its severity."The researchers found that patients who used insulin and other treatments for modifying blood sugar levels did not have a higher risk for developing a more severe case of COVID-19. They said diabetics should continue these treatments.No one in the study under 65 with Type 1 diabetes died, but the authors noted only 39 patients in the analysis had Type 1 diabetes.Eckels pointed out that this study alone doesn't necessarily show that people with Type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of getting sicker with COVID-19."It may well be that they do. We just don't have that information to speak clearly to that question," he said.The study suggests that special attention should be paid to seniors with long-term diabetes and advanced complications who are at increased risk of severe COVID-19."Based on the observation of data, I think, ultimately, one can't be overly conclusive about it, but it does again validate some other studies indicating diabetes is a predictor for outcome," Eckel said."Older males do worse. I think the obesity factor enters in now and makes this increasingly an important factor," he said."And then people with chronic medical conditions either heart disease, or ultimately obstructive sleep apnea, who present with shortness of breath, what we can say there are these are some observations that I think the health care provider needs to heed in terms of their own practice of medicine that relates to COVID-19 and diabetes."
One in 10 coronavirus patients with diabetes died within the first seven days of hospitalization, and one in five needed a ventilator to breathe, according to a new study by French researchers.
Diabetes is one of the underlying health conditions that health experts believe put people at greater risk for developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19 and the study, published in the journal Diabetologia Thursday, seems to confirm this.
The researchers looked at more than 1,300 coronavirus patients in 53 hospitals in France between March 10 and March 31. Most — 89% — had Type 2 diabetes; 3% had Type 1 diabetes; and the rest had other forms of the disease. A majority of the patients were men and the average age of all the patients in the study was 70.
By day seven of the study, 29% of the patients were either on a ventilator or had died. Researchers said 1 in 5 patients were on a ventilator and 1 in 10 had died, while 18% had been discharged from the hospital.
Patients with diabetic complications were more than twice as likely to die within a week, the researchers concluded. They also found that patients 75 years and older were 14 times more likely to die than patients under 55; and patients 65 to 74 years old were three times more likely to die than those under 55.
Related video above: Study: Pollution raises coronavirus death risk
Those with sleep apnea and shortness of breath faced triple the risk of death by day seven and obese patients with diabetes were also more likely to die, researchers said.
Obesity is becoming a major risk factor for bad outcomes both in people with and without diabetes, said Dr. Robert Eckel, the president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, who was not involved in the study.
"The other thing, age and being male, I think both of those two things have been recently and repeatedly validated by other studies. So, basically being above the age of 70 and being male with diabetes and being overweight or obese really had a major outcome on the outcome," Eckel said.
The researchers said they found no independent relationship between severe cases of COVID-19 and age, sex, long-term glucose control, chronic complications, high blood pressure or unusual medications. Being overweight, as measured by body mass index (BMI) was an important factor, however.
"Only BMI turned out to be independently associated with the primary outcome," the authors wrote.
Raising risk of infection
"It is well known that people with diabetes have increased infection risk, especially for influenza and pneumonia," the researchers wrote.
"Moreover, diabetes was previously reported as a major risk factor for mortality in people infected with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza and, more recently, with the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS). Epidemiological studies have quickly and consistently pointed out diabetes as one of the major comorbidities associated with COVID-19 and affecting its severity."
The researchers found that patients who used insulin and other treatments for modifying blood sugar levels did not have a higher risk for developing a more severe case of COVID-19. They said diabetics should continue these treatments.
What are the underlying conditions causing more serious illness from coronavirus?
No one in the study under 65 with Type 1 diabetes died, but the authors noted only 39 patients in the analysis had Type 1 diabetes.
Eckels pointed out that this study alone doesn't necessarily show that people with Type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of getting sicker with COVID-19.
"It may well be that they do. We just don't have that information to speak clearly to that question," he said.
The study suggests that special attention should be paid to seniors with long-term diabetes and advanced complications who are at increased risk of severe COVID-19.
"Based on the observation of data, I think, ultimately, one can't be overly conclusive about it, but it does again validate some other studies indicating diabetes is a predictor for outcome," Eckel said.
"Older males do worse. I think the obesity factor enters in now and makes this increasingly an important factor," he said.
"And then people with chronic medical conditions either heart disease, or ultimately obstructive sleep apnea, who present with shortness of breath, what we can say there are these are some observations that I think the health care provider needs to heed in terms of their own practice of medicine that relates to COVID-19 and diabetes."
US missed early chance to slow coronavirus, genetic study indicates
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535225
|
__label__wiki
| 0.896728
| 0.896728
|
The Irish are sending relief to Native Americans, inspired by a tribe donation during the Great Famine
Updated: 11:17 AM CDT May 6, 2020
SOLEDAD: MAJOR CITIES ARE THE FOCUS OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COVID-19. TRIBAL LANDS APPEAR TO BE EVEN MOMO VULNERABLE. HARDEST HIT, THE NAVAJO NATION. IT STRETCHES ACROSS THRERE STATES. ARIZONA, UTAH AND NEW MEXICO. IT’S HOME TO ABOUT 175 THOUSAND PEOPLE. LACK OF ACCESS TO WATER COMBINED WITH HEALTH INEQUITIES IS FUELING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS AMONG THE NAVAJO. I SPOKE WITH DEAN SENECA OF THE SENECA NATION. HE’S AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT WHO SPENT NEARLY 20 YEARS AS A SENIOR HEALTH SCIENTIST FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. DEAN, THANK YOU FOR TALKING WITH ME. I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT. LET’S BEGIN WITH THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM. HOW BAD IS IT ACROSS ALL OF INDIAN COUNTRY, NOT JUST THE SENECA RIGHT NOW? DEAN: WELL. YOU KNOW, NAVAJO NATION, THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA, AREAS WITHIN ARIZONA HAVE BEEN HIT VERY, VERY HARD. I BELIEVE THERE’S CLOSE TO 1500 CASES COMBINED IN THAT AREA. WE HAVE A FEW IN THE HIGH DOUBLE DIGITS KIND OF IN THE PORTLAND AREA, I BELIEVE. AND THEN SPARSELY THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, A HANDFUL IN ALASK BUT, YOU KNOW, SO WE’RE DOING PRETTY WELL. BUT GIVEN THE FACT OF ALL OF THE CONDITIONS THAT NATIVE PEOPLE ARE SUBJECTED TO REGARDING LACK OF FUNDING, HIGH HEALTH DISPARITIES, NOT HAVING THE EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, RELYING ON OTHERS FOR FOR ASSISTANCE AND HELP, THE SITUATION, IN MY OPINION, COULD BE MUCH WORSE. SOLEDAD: SO THE PANDEMIC, WE KNOW HASN’T HIT RURAL AREAS AS HARD AS IT’S HIT SOME BIG URBAN AREAS. ARE YOUR HOSPITALS, OUR RURAL HOSPITALS PREPARED IF THERE IS AN INFLUX WHICH IS EXPECTED? DEAN: WHAT WE ARE SEEING, NO. THEY ARE STRUGGLING WITH WHAT MANY OF THE URBAN HOSPITALS ARE SUFFERING FROM. THAT IS LACK OF PPE, LACK OF PROPER EQUIPMENT, LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT HAVING THE QUALIFIED WORKFORCE, LACK OF ABILITY TO DO PROPER TESTING. RURAL AMERICA IS IMPACTED JUST AS MUCH AS URBAN AMERICA. WE NEED ABOUT THREE TIMES THE MONEY THAT WE GET RIGHT NOW OUR TRIBAL COMMUNITIES JUST TO HAVE EQUAL HEALTH SERVICE PER CAPITA WITH THE REST OF THE POPULATION. THAT’S HUGE. SOLEDAD: WHAT’S YOUR STATUS RIGHT NOW ON THE TESTS? ARE THERE TESTS AVAILABLE? DEAN: I’M NOT SEEING THAT. THE LAST DAY I DID SEE WAS THAT INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE WAS PURCHASING 9000 TEST KITS. NOW 9000 TEST KITS FOR 5.5 MILLION PEOPLE, CLOSE TO 6 MILLION PEOPLE, YOU COULD FIGURE THAT OUT. THAT’S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. SOLEDAD: WHAT IS SOCIAL DISTANCING LIKE ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION? DEAN: WHEN YOU HAVE A NATIVE COMMUNITY, IT’S VERY COMMON TO HAVE THE GREAT GRANDMOTHER, THE GRANDMOTHER, THE PARENTS AND THE KIDS ALL IN ONE HOUSEHOLD. IT’S VERY CULTURAL. GIVEN THAT SITUATION, IT’S VERY, VERY HARD TO DO, SAY, SOCIAL DISTANCING, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE FOLKS IN A VERY CROWDED AREA IN A HOME AND IT’S HARD TO TO STAY APART. AND THESE ARE NOT THE BEST EQUIPPED FACILITIES TO BE HOMES AND PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, PROPER LIVING CONDITIONS, YOU KNOW. SOLEDAD: FINAL QUESTION FOR YOU. THE STIMULUS, $8 BILLION TO COVER THE NEARLY 600 TRIBES ACROSS THE NATION. WHEN DO YOU GET THAT MONEY? IS THAT ENOUGH MONEY? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO USE IT FOR? DEAN: WELL WE ASKED FOR 20 AND WE GOT EIGHT. NO IT IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH MONEY. IT’S REALLY JUST A DROP IN THE BUCKET. AND WE NEED MUCH MORE. SOLEDAD: DEAN SENECA IS A MEMBER
Video above: What’s fueling the rapid spread of coronavirus through the Navajo NationPeople in Ireland inspired by an act of generosity committed more than 170 years ago are paying it forward.In 1847, the Choctaw people collected $170 to send to people in Ireland who were starving during the potato famine.The struggles experienced by the Irish were familiar to the tribal nation: Just 16 years earlier, the Choctaw people had embarked on the Trail of Tears and lost thousands of their own to starvation and disease.Now, donations are pouring in from people across Ireland for a GoFundMe campaign set up to support the Navajo Nation and Hopi reservation during the coronavirus pandemic."From Ireland, 170 years later, the is returned!" a message from one donor reads. "To our Native American brothers and sisters in your moment of hardship."Irish have donated about half a million, organizer saysThe donations from Ireland seem to have started after The Irish Times journalist Naomi O'Leary shared the Navajo and Hopi fundraiser on Twitter, garnering thousands of likes and retweets."Native Americans raised a huge amount in famine relief for Ireland at a time when they had very little," O'Leary wrote on Saturday. "It's time for is to come through for them now."Ethel Branch, the fundraiser's organizer, estimated on Tuesday that Irish people had donated about half a million dollars to the relief efforts so far, which goes toward food, water and other necessary supplies for Navajo and Hopi communities.The campaign had raised more than $2 million, as of Tuesday evening."It's very unexpected, but it's just incredible to see the solidarity and to see how much people who are so far away care about our community and have sympathy for what we're experiencing," Branch told CNN.The Navajo Nation has seen more than 2,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 70 deaths, the tribal nation announced on Monday. The Hopi reservation, which is surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, has reported 52 positive cases.The gift was an act of solidarityIn 1845, a fungus devastated Ireland's potato crop, which the Irish depended on for food. The Irish potato famine would go on to cause widespread starvation and disease, killing hundreds of thousands of people and having a catastrophic effect on the country.News of the Irish potato famine was first reported in American newspapers later that year. As coverage of the famine continued to ramp up, newspapers appealed to the American public to provide relief for those affected in Ireland — and Americans responded by sending funds.The news eventually reached the Choctaw people in 1847, when Major William Armstrong came to Oklahoma for a meeting intended to raise money "for the starving poor of Ireland," according to historian Turtle Bunbury. Those assembled at the meeting included missionaries, traders and chiefs of the Choctaw Nation.The Choctaw leaders in the crowd had already experienced their own tribulations.In the 1830s, between 12,500 and 15,000 Choctaw forcibly relocated from their ancestral home in Mississippi to Oklahoma, walking thousands of miles on the Trail of Tears. As much as a quarter of the tribe's population was lost on the journey, and effects of the relocation were felt long after, according to Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton.So when the Choctaw heard about the plight of the Irish, they dug into their own pockets, Batton said."We felt their pain," Batton told CNN. "We sensed what they were dealing with."Much of the $170 — the equivalent of more than $5,000 today — raised at the meeting in Oklahoma that day came from the tribal nation, Bunbury wrote.Irish and Native American solidarity continuesThe act of kindness was never forgotten, and the solidarity between the Irish and Native Americans has continued over the years.In 1992, 22 Irish men and women walked the Trail of Tears to raise money for famine relief efforts in Somalia, according to Bunbury. They raised $170,000 — $1,000 for each dollar the Choctaw gave in 1847. A Choctaw citizen reciprocated by leading a famine walk in Ireland seven years later.In 2017, the town of Midleton in Ireland unveiled a sculpture commemorating the Choctaw's 1847 gift. In 2018, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a scholarship program for Choctaw people to study in Ireland while he was visiting the tribal nation in Oklahoma.The GoFundMe donations are just the latest example of the longstanding relationship. As one Irish donor on the fundraising page wrote:"You helped us in our darkest hour. Honoured to return the kindness. Ireland remembers, with thanks."Related video: 7-year-old's Native American healing dance offers comfort to millions amid coronavirus outbreak
Video above: What’s fueling the rapid spread of coronavirus through the Navajo Nation
People in Ireland inspired by an act of generosity committed more than 170 years ago are paying it forward.
In 1847, the Choctaw people collected $170 to send to people in Ireland who were starving during the potato famine.
The struggles experienced by the Irish were familiar to the tribal nation: Just 16 years earlier, the Choctaw people had embarked on the Trail of Tears and lost thousands of their own to starvation and disease.
Now, donations are pouring in from people across Ireland for a GoFundMe campaign set up to support the Navajo Nation and Hopi reservation during the coronavirus pandemic.
"From Ireland, 170 years later, the [favor] is returned!" a message from one donor reads. "To our Native American brothers and sisters in your moment of hardship."
Irish have donated about half a million, organizer says
The donations from Ireland seem to have started after The Irish Times journalist Naomi O'Leary shared the Navajo and Hopi fundraiser on Twitter, garnering thousands of likes and retweets.
"Native Americans raised a huge amount in famine relief for Ireland at a time when they had very little," O'Leary wrote on Saturday. "It's time for is [sic] to come through for them now."
Ethel Branch, the fundraiser's organizer, estimated on Tuesday that Irish people had donated about half a million dollars to the relief efforts so far, which goes toward food, water and other necessary supplies for Navajo and Hopi communities.
The campaign had raised more than $2 million, as of Tuesday evening.
"It's very unexpected, but it's just incredible to see the solidarity and to see how much people who are so far away care about our community and have sympathy for what we're experiencing," Branch told CNN.
The Navajo Nation has seen more than 2,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 70 deaths, the tribal nation announced on Monday. The Hopi reservation, which is surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, has reported 52 positive cases.
The gift was an act of solidarity
In 1845, a fungus devastated Ireland's potato crop, which the Irish depended on for food. The Irish potato famine would go on to cause widespread starvation and disease, killing hundreds of thousands of people and having a catastrophic effect on the country.
News of the Irish potato famine was first reported in American newspapers later that year. As coverage of the famine continued to ramp up, newspapers appealed to the American public to provide relief for those affected in Ireland — and Americans responded by sending funds.
Hulton Archive via Getty Images
An Irish priest visits a farming family during the Great Famine.
The news eventually reached the Choctaw people in 1847, when Major William Armstrong came to Oklahoma for a meeting intended to raise money "for the starving poor of Ireland," according to historian Turtle Bunbury. Those assembled at the meeting included missionaries, traders and chiefs of the Choctaw Nation.
The Choctaw leaders in the crowd had already experienced their own tribulations.
In the 1830s, between 12,500 and 15,000 Choctaw forcibly relocated from their ancestral home in Mississippi to Oklahoma, walking thousands of miles on the Trail of Tears. As much as a quarter of the tribe's population was lost on the journey, and effects of the relocation were felt long after, according to Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton.
So when the Choctaw heard about the plight of the Irish, they dug into their own pockets, Batton said.
"We felt their pain," Batton told CNN. "We sensed what they were dealing with."
Much of the $170 — the equivalent of more than $5,000 today — raised at the meeting in Oklahoma that day came from the tribal nation, Bunbury wrote.
Irish and Native American solidarity continues
The act of kindness was never forgotten, and the solidarity between the Irish and Native Americans has continued over the years.
In 1992, 22 Irish men and women walked the Trail of Tears to raise money for famine relief efforts in Somalia, according to Bunbury. They raised $170,000 — $1,000 for each dollar the Choctaw gave in 1847. A Choctaw citizen reciprocated by leading a famine walk in Ireland seven years later.
In 2017, the town of Midleton in Ireland unveiled a sculpture commemorating the Choctaw's 1847 gift. In 2018, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a scholarship program for Choctaw people to study in Ireland while he was visiting the tribal nation in Oklahoma.
The GoFundMe donations are just the latest example of the longstanding relationship. As one Irish donor on the fundraising page wrote:
"You helped us in our darkest hour. Honoured to return the kindness. Ireland remembers, with thanks."
Related video: 7-year-old's Native American healing dance offers comfort to millions amid coronavirus outbreak
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0042.json.gz/line1535226
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.