fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Meet 2 Sisters Turning Cocoa Beans into Chocolate Bars in Ghana
By: Passion Africa
Tags: Chocolate, Entrepreneur, Features, Africa, Ghanaian

Priscilla and Kimberly Addison, two Ghanaian sisters, have launched a start-up that offers tasty, artisanal, made-in-Africa chocolate products.

Even though Ghana is the world’s second largest exporter of cocoa, the West African nation — along with the rest of the major cocoa producers from Africa — only gets to enjoy a measly 2 percent of the world’s $100 billion chocolate market.

This, economic experts say, is due to the fact that African countries have remained at the bottom of the product’s value chain, exporting cocoa mainly as a raw material without adding value to the final product.

According to the Addisons, though, that old narrative is about to change with their ’57 Chocolate.

As young entrepreneurs, they say they are determined to use widely available home grown resources to create delightful and whimsical treats and bring manufacturing back to Ghana.

“Our mission is to revive the 1957 ‘can do spirit’ by adding value to the cocoa bean and cocoa farmer — on a local scale,” the Sisters state.

“Our passion is to inspire the people of Ghana, especially the youth to not be satisfied at merely selling and trading the country’s natural resources or other items in their ‘natural’ state, but to use their minds and creative geniuses to transform these resources and items by creating and developing made-in-Ghana products of premium value.

As the name suggests, ’57 Chocolate is a throwback to the year 1957, when Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to attain independence from colonial rule.

While the idea for ’57 Chocolate was born in 2014, production did not go in to full swing until 2016. Kim, the youngest sister, first considered the possibility of making chocolate when she visited a chocolate factory in Switzerland.

Today, the sisters have pioneered the artisanal conversion of cocoa beans to chocolate bars in Ghana.

Their chocolate products come uniquely packaged in Adrinka symbols, cultural symbols and aphorisms from the Ashanti people of Ghana, offering a variety of flavors and colors, including mocha latte and bissap flavors.

In recognition of their passion for excellence, the Addisons were awarded the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme for Manufacturing in 2016.

Read the original article on Face2Face Africa
Music Video: The Superweaks — ‘No Sorrow’
Tags: Music Video, The Superweaks, Wtnsound, Music

The Superweaks have released the cool music video ‘No Sorrow’ this week. It’s taken off their new cut on the three-way split with Thin Lips and Modern Baseball.

Aside directed by Adam Peditto who recently had worked with Cayetana dan Thin Lips, this music video also can hit you with a deep feeling to connect with all confusing things in 2016.

“I’m trying hard to let it out / I’m feeling like I let you down / frustrated I wish I could get away” these lyrics go with the Make America Great Again slogan burning in flames.
Top 3 Reads Today
By: Christina M. Ward
Tags: Medium, Poetry, Inspiration, Humor, Writing

Top 3 is a publication all about sharing the work of other writers here on Medium. Today, I bring you the 3 reads that stuck with me today and what it is about them that resonated with me.

1. Character Plumbing by Tapan Avasthi

It’s his BIRTHDAY so here’s a very Happy Birthday to you my friend.

What I like about Tapan’s work is that he has a way of digging really deep with a few words. This Haiku, for example:

Stop by Tapan’s page and check out some of his poetry — it’s his BIRTHDAY, ok?

2. It Annoys Me — Soreness by Tommy Ueland

I had a rough day today and reading this story by Tommy Ueland gave me the laughs I SO needed today.

3. How to Love a Poet by Carolyn Riker

This just nailed it for me. I shared it to my Twitter with a big fat YEEEESSSSS!!!

I hope you’ll give these a read. One makes you think. One makes you laugh. And one reminds you of the wonders of being a poet. Have you shared your Top 3 today? Follow this pub and hop in as a writer. Share the work of your fellow writers and give them a boost! Thanks for reading ~
テスト観点レビュー時のチェックポイント
Tags: Quality Assurance, Japanese, Review

Our mission as a data empowerment company. Dramatically expands data utilization possibilities, from operational reforms to social issue solutions.

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5 Ways to Engage in Social Justice Through Self-Care
By: Taylor Alarcón
Tags: Social Justice, Personal Development, Inequality, Mental Health, Race

3. Meditate and/or exercise (daily, if you can)

We’ve been hearing about the benefits for years; what better time to start?

With particular regard to anxiety, meditation reduces blood pressure, rivals anti-depressant medication in its effectiveness, and even prevents the brain from aging. Unfortunately, often my friends attribute the 15 to 30 minute time-commitment as a barrier to entry.

So, start with 5 minutes.

Something is better than nothing! If inclined, start with 5 minutes per day and work your way up to 15.

I took a break from meditation when everything started crumbling, mostly because I found myself reading, writing and working all day & night. This past week, I re-introduced daily meditation into my routine and found my thoughts, feelings, words and expressions had become much more clear, just from carving out an extra 15 minutes after lunch to allow myself to breathe.

Exercising is also another form of anxiety reduction and one that is much more familiar for most people. Biologically, anxiety in humans and other animals stimulates the “fight or flight” neural system that we all learned about in junior high. Obviously, news or media anxiety is not quite the same as anxiety out in the wild, although there is still energy created in the body, urging us to either fight the threat or run from it; dynamic exercise is a proven way of taking that energy and channeling it in a way that eases it.

While exercising focuses on the physical and releases pent-up anxious energy, meditation focuses on the mental and also has a lower barrier to entry, starting at 2 to 5 minutes each day. Doing one or the other or both, especially recently, has helped me grapple in less direct ways with the perceived burning and dismantling of the outside world.
We’re Hiring a Junior Developer
By: Sam Jenkins
Tags: CRM, Startup, Hiring, Small Business

TutorCruncher is hiring a junior developer. We are a SaaS Startup which has quickly become the market leader in its niche. We offer specialised business management software, working with clients all over the world to provide an outstanding service which continues to meet and adapt to the needs of the tutoring industry.

TutorCruncher gets involved with open source projects — just take a look at our GitHub profile!

We are looking for someone to support us in delivering these projects in a small, dynamic team. The great thing about working in a small company is that you can quite quickly take on responsibilities and have a direct impact on the daily activities of TutorCruncher’s 250+ clients.

Main duties and responsibilities

Supporting existing feature development projects

Bug-fixing

Improvements to tutorcruncher.com

Any other projects that we and you think are worthwhile

Desired skills and qualifications

Python (using Django)

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Git (and GitHub)

A relevant university degree is good, but not mandatory

Other attributes

Enjoys working to a high standard

Is eager to get stuck in

Has a sense of humour

All credit to XKCD for the above comic

How to apply

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then send a CV and a short cover letter to tom@tutorcruncher.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Conversation with My Wife (180)
By: Jack Herlocker
Tags: Retirement, Relationships, Walks By The River, Nobody Got Shot, Fun During Trump Pandemic

Conversation with My Wife (180)

The river is long and the river is wide, but there’s a path running just along the side

Since I recently chided Mark Starlin for not warning readers about photos that are best viewed on a large screen, I will warn you that a couple of the river panoramas below look best on a big screen.

So on Election Day, we went out walking (we’d already voted well before—relax!) along the river trail we’d been enjoying.

A new three-mile stretch had just opened up at the northern end. Re-opened, actually, because the section had been graveled for the most part a long time ago, but the county park association had rebuilt the trails with paved roadway, replaced the old wooden bridges with steel structures, and turned some meandering tracks into straight paths. As of that Monday, the day before Election Day, it was all done!

Okay, maybe mostly done. Mostly.

Trail crew, building up the shoulder of the trail as we were out walking. They were doing at least a mile an hour—pretty impressive! (all photos by author)

DEB: Uh, I think we’ll be okay if we walk over on the left shoulder?

ME: I’m sure someone will tell us if we’re not allowed. (they did not, just smiled and waved)

It was a beautiful day to be walking by the river. The leaves were still in the process of turning, so there was a fair amount of green left. Lovely blue sky and the river was up slightly from rain upstate in the previous week after a bit of a dry spell.
Part 10 — Blood: Respite.
By: Keith R. Higgons
Tags: Short Story, Crime Fiction, Crime, Fiction Series, Very Short Story

They three looked around the cabin.

“What now?” asked Steph.

Tyler walked to the gun cabinet: “Stock up here and then get the fuck out of dodge.”

Mark dropped his clip and cleared the chamber: “Then what?”

Tyler calmly sat down at the kitchen table. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the bag of diamonds: “We fence these.”

Steph lit a cigarette: “We know that guy in the diamond district.”

Mark angrily asked: “How do we get there?”

Steph retorted even angrier: “I don’t …”

Tyler interrupted: “You two really married?”

They replied together: “Yes.”

“You need therapy.”
The New Beginning
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: Americanhaiku, Poetry, Hope, Writing, Beginning

Sign up for American Haiku Steamship To Writing History

By American Haiku

Writing takes practice. American Haiku is a great way to put your words from your fingers to your piece of paper. Don't quit, you can do it. Take a look
Coinbase to allow trading for the fifth cryptocurrency on their platform
Tags: Coinbase, Bitcoincash, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Blockchain

Coinbase to allow trading for the fifth cryptocurrency on their platform

Largest cryptocurrency exchange to welcome fifth listing soon

Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has opened its gates for the fifth cryptocurrency on their platform. Coinbase, on Monday, announced that they will be offering trading facilities to its users for Ethereum classic in coming months.

Post this announcement, the price of Ethereum classic shot up by 20% within one hour. Ethereum classic was created by a group of developers after a cyber attack on the cryptocurrency. The whole team split in two and hence Ethereum classic was born. Since they had to start a whole new blockchain to support the brand-new cryptocurrency, the investors were hesitant and hence the cryptocurrency that was ranked second fell down to under 20.

Currently, Ethereum Classic ranks 18, as per coinmarketcap. Furthermore, the cryptocurrency has a market share of $1.5 billion, where Ethereum is $53.3 billion and Bitcoin is $117.8 billion. Coinbase is working on the technical integration part. Post which the addition will be made public and customers will be able to trade Ethereum classic with the top security they had for the other four cryptocurrencies.

While other exchanges kept growing in a number of tradeable cryptocurrencies on their platform, coinbase was cautious enough to offer only those approved by regulatory bodies in the US. When Coinbase was testing Bitcoin Cash before supporting trading of Bitcoin Cash it on their platform, insiders were trading the news publically, for which they are investigating right now. Having learned from this, Coinbase is making sure no one from the inside trades this news publically.

“We followed our public process for adding new assets to Coinbase. Also, any personnel at Coinbase who were aware of the company’s plans to add Ethereum Classic were subject to a trading blackout,” Coinbase said in a blog post.

Frequently asked questions(FAQs)

Q) What is Ethereum classic? How does it differ from Ethereum?

Ethereum classic is a result of a hard fork that happened in July 2016. You can learn more about Ethereum Classic from its official website. Learn more about forking in cryptocurrency from here.

Q) When will Ethereum classic be available for trading?

Coinbase is in stage four (engineering work) of integration of Ethereum classic on their platform. After this phase, will the final and most important phase, the testing phase. Once this is successfully done, which will be happening in coming months, the trading will be globally accessible.

Q) What geographies will Coinbase support the new asset?

All the geographies where Ethereum classic is legally accepted. That is, all the countries where Ethereum classic is compliant with local law and hence making both, Coinbase and Ethereum Classic, legal for its users.

Further reference: Coinbase FAQ — Ethereum Classic
Milk Carton Haikus #1. pasteurised poetry
By: James Khan
Tags: Senryu, Milk Carton Haiku, Creative Writing, Poetry, Philosophy

fingers touching

broken window glass-

we feel no pane

Nero’s strong Rome

not built in one day-

destroyed in less

you are priceless

you are without cost-

without value

a shallow grave

skeletons exhumed-

locked in closets

chocolate-box life

just what will you get?-

diabetes

in the context

of black-and-white brains

does gray matter?

flags but no Poles

standing in Krakow

is what war saw

firebrand preachers

bring nuclear sermons-

critical Mass!
🔥 Development update: new Ubcoin release to be made next week!
By: Ubcoin. Cryptocurrency Reimagined
Tags: Ubcoin Product, Android

💎 After introducing ability to buy and sell digital items and presenting ETH as an alternative means of payment, Ubcoin is preparing next major app feature. We are removing Telegram from processes of buying and selling in the app.

Buyer will be able to choose whether he wants delivery of item or personal meeting with seller.

Seller can define delivery price to the buyer address.

❤️ No Telegram bot in the process — seamless user experience and higher satisfaction.

New release is planned for the beginning of the next week (February 11–17).

🔥 Download Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubcoin

💥 Download Ubcoin Market iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/ubcoin-market-cryptocurrency/id1410295111?mt=8
Migraine
By: Taylor Moran
Tags: Poetry, Poetry On Medium, Poem

The mottled herald’s come to call

A rip in the sclera fabric shimmering

wild, it won’t be ignored.

No matter where I look there it is!

Covering the clock, the ceiling.

Who knows what the refrigerator

magnet says.

Voyeur eyes follow, split open

send airwaves of glittering magma

from the swollen infrastructure

Out pours

the foil scales of that childhood fish,

frothed ginger, puzzle pieces bent

from trying to fit, exhaust fumes,

the words of Poe’s sixth stanza,

cardboard, rotten clipboards,

lost and forgotten Montanas.

And yes the thudding onslaught, yes

the frolic thunder but with it the wonder,

what else inside is tapping?

What beak was tapping all this time,

vying for attention yet mistaken

for an unthreatening wind?

Go on razor, open, try again.
Violence in Kashmir is Beginning to Bring to Light ISIS Plans
By: Suhana Khiani
Tags: India, ISIS, Kashmir, Global Affairs, Terrorism

Violence in Kashmir is Beginning to Bring to Light ISIS Plans

For more than two decades domestic militant groups, demanding independence for Kashmir have fought Indian security forces. This mix calls for a more significant threat: al Qaeda and ISIS.

· Indian-administered Kashmir is again in the grip of deadly violence, following a series of raids by Indian security forces against militant groups last Sunday

· At least twenty people have been killed, including 13 militants

Indian paramilitary soldiers fire tear gas shells towards Kashmiri protester during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, April 1. Picture Credit: The Pattaya Mail

Last Sunday, a series of raids by Indian security forces against militant groups took place, as a result of Kashmir being in the grip of deadly violence. For more than two decades several domestic groups, demanding either independence of Kashmir or for it to be a part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces. This mix between the two nations becomes a new, potentially more significant threat: al Qaeda and ISIS.

ISIS declared its plan to move into Kashmir back in 2016, claiming that it was part of the Khorasan province. But only in the past few months have there been signs of activity there. In February, ISIS claimed the killing of a police officer in Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, and was the second ISIS claim in three months.

Officials in New Delhi have denied that ISIS exists in Kashmir, and stated that it had no “substantial” presence in the region. The biggest concern about the rise of terrorist groups in Kashmir is that ISIS’ ideology may attract militant Kashmiri youth, resulting in the rise of a dangerous society.

“Unlike their predecessors of the 1990s, this generation is educated and highly active on social media, a powerful recruitment tool for the Islamic State.” -Amira Jadoon of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

Two Pakistani-based groups- Lashkar-e-Taibe and Jaish-e-Mohammed, have been the main jihadi networks in Kashmir, and they have opposed ISIS. Pro-ISIS media has urged Muslims to leave these groups and wage “pure jihad” under its name. The region is potentially attractive to ISIS, with a large community of radicalised youth.

Preventing the spread of radicalism and ISIS from establishing a name in the region would be a key topic of discourse between India and Pakistan.

Sources:

CNN, The Diplomat, NDTV
This Crisis Is Worse than You Think, and Won’t End with a New Year
By: Kyle Chastain
Tags: Future, History, Covid 19, Books, Pandemic

Are you ready for 2020 to be over yet?

A new year is always a promise of a brighter day. For most people, January can’t get here fast enough. Everyone hopes a promising vaccine will provide relief from this pandemic. If you live in the US, you may hope a new political administration will help course-correct a disastrous past four years.

But there’s more going on here than pandemics and presidents.

“There is a mysterious cycle in human events,” Franklin D. Roosevelt told the 1936 Democratic National Convention. “To some generations, much is given. Of other generations, much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”

More than once, Roosevelt compared the times in which he lived to the era of the American Revolution or the Civil War. He understood that his generation had an important role to play at a pivotal point in history.

He was right. And we’re here again. A new year won’t bring an end to the present crisis. The only way out is through.

The cycles of history tell us this current period of crisis won’t end until it reaches a climax and conclusion — good or bad.
Faded
By: Payal Shah
Tags: Happiness, Love, Memories, Letting Go

When you lose someone you dearly love, at first you grapple to hold onto all those memories — especially the happy ones that bring a smile to your face. That wrap that you shared after a crazy drinking session with your friends, the 20 pecks you gave each other because you couldn’t help being smitten, the time he lay on you telling you he’d die without you, the last kiss you shared before he said goodbye for good.

Conversely, your mind subconsciously chooses to block out the ones that make you sad or angry. It’s our own in-built coping mechanism.

Unfortunately this makes you romanticise this person and believe that he/she was the best thing that could have happened to you and you clutch to those memories so hard — to hold onto that thought, that person…just a little longer.

Months pass and those memories begin to fade. At first you don’t remember the occasion why you were there, or the movie you had set out to watch. Then you forget what he/she was wearing. One day you don’t recollect what his/her face felt like. Before you know it, you forget everything about those times, except the feeling you felt while you were there. That’s the only thing your brain will retain for a long long time.

After a few years, you’ve moved on from the person, happily married to another one. You come by the same movie theatre and suddenly that moment you were together comes fleeting past your mind. You once again feel that warm, fuzzy feeling and just for that moment, you smile a little inside to know that you had once felt the way you had that day.

Our memories have a compulsive way of fading away on us, but it only makes sense. The average human mind has very limited conscious memory space. If we keep holding onto the past and don’t make space in our conscious mind, how will we ever make new ones?

While it’s tough to let go, and sometimes it can seem daunting because you don’t know what else to hold onto — have faith! No matter that you forget that person altogether, but always remember that there will always be something or someone that will help that memory fade away a little faster and make you feel the same (or better) warm fuzzy feeling, on a brand new day at a brand new place.

Choose happiness. Always!
We’re All Hopelessly Flawed, but We’re All Flawed Together
By: Marilyn Regan
Tags: Self Improvement, Personal Growth, Social Media, Relationships, Self

My Philosophy on Self-Improvement

Self-improvement is a wonderful thing. And the fact that we want to upgrade ourselves is proof that we’re more worthy than we give ourselves credit for. Just because we’re flawed, doesn’t mean we’re unlovable, inadequate, or have no value as we are.

These imperfections prove that we’re all works in progress, but we have the tools to fix what needs to be fixed. Sometimes the problem is we’re not aware of these tools or unaware of how to take advantage of them. In short, we need help in locating and putting them into action. That’s why there’s a self-help industry out there.

We are often our own worst critics, demeaning ourselves for our mistakes. And this critic tends to lash out at the rest of the world with the same intensity. It makes sense. If you cannot accept your shortcomings, you can’t accept those of others. You can only put out what you have inside.

So if you want to project love and acceptance, you have to love and accept yourself first. And the self-help tools can get you there.

Then we realize that yes, we made a mistake, but we can do better the next time. And when we have the chance to do it over, we’re going to rock it. And if you don’t, so what? With practice, that reaction may have a longer fuse time or create less of an explosion.

The word here is “practice.”

These so-called sins are not as bad as we were taught. Sin is a Greek archery term meaning “to miss the bulls-eye.” Well, who hasn’t? Welcome to earth.

It’s kind of like my improvement in becoming less of a Masshole over the years. You know, that kind of person from Massachusetts who is prone to fits of rage or drives like they’re the only person on the road.
Defeating Our Constant Need to Be Right in a Relationship
By: Jaleel
Tags: Self Improvement, Mindfulness, Relationships, Life, Personal Development

After seven months of living with my partner in another country, we have had every fight imaginable. While we have evolved from the pettiness and passive-aggressiveness that our fights usually descend to, there is just one in particular that we can’t seem to shake off.

It was a sunny Saturday morning when out of nowhere, my partner exclaimed that I shouldn’t have left the jelly out of the fridge. I was confused. What did I do wrong?

He further explained to me that I could have ruined it that way. In fact, he was so sure that it was already ruined. But surely, jellies have a longer shelf-life, right?

I was so annoyed that I went out of my way and showed him he was wrong. I googled every possible article and read it to him condescendingly.

Looking back, we should have approached that fight better. But we were only so determined to win against the other.
Fake Assanges Drive Far-Right Messages
Tags: Twitter, Social Media, Fake News, Digital, Journalism

Three false Twitter accounts which impersonated Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have spent months spreading far-right messaging, in a striking example of how easily fakes can drive online content. A fourth was created on September 4, and immediately began spreading more.

All four accounts — @JuliannAssange, @Julien_Assange, @RealAssange and @JulianAssanged — copied the profile of the genuine Assange (@JulianAssange), occasionally claiming to be a “parody” (or “parity”) account when they were exposed. Their content was not parody, however, but a cocktail of far-right propaganda which achieved the greatest impact when it linked itself with Wikileaks.

Some Twitter users appear to have been fooled by these accounts; others claimed not to have been, but supported their efforts anyway.

Three of the four accounts were created in May. By the time the last of them was suspended on September 4, while under investigation by @DFRLab, it had over 25,000 followers. Minutes after the suspension, a new account was created, using the same techniques.

These four accounts serve as a case study in the power of impersonation — and the worrying tendency of some internet users to spread stories even if they believe the sources to be false.

How the fakes were made

The three early accounts warranted studying to see how they operated, how they survived for so long, and how they gained such a following.

Their survival was based on three factors: the exact copying of the real Assange’s profile; the use of a plausible handle; and the temporary use, when threatened with exposure, of the claim that they were parody accounts (or “parity accounts”).

The genuine Assange’s profile page, from a screenshot on August 17. The salient features remained unchanged as of September 4.

All four fake accounts used the same visuals, including the blue diamond next to the name (this appears to be a reference to the blue check-mark which Twitter itself uses to mark verified accounts). The similarity is most marked in the latest incarnation, @JulianAssanged, as this screenshot demonstrates.

Screenshot of the @JulianAssanged profile page. Note the creation date on September 4. Archived on September 4. Other than the creation date and the number of followers, the profile is identical with the real account.

The earlier incarnations were almost perfect matches, but added the words “parity account” or “parody account” once they were accused of impersonation.

Screenshot of the @Julien_Assange profile page, showing the same visuals, taken on August 17. The words “parity account” were a recent addition; previously, the biographical text had been identical with that of the real Assange. Note that this account had over 14,000 followers.
Challenging How I Feel
By: Sylvia Wohlfarth
Tags: Challenge, Poetry, Covid 19, Quadrille, Mental Health

This was a challenge Tre L. Loadholt which I immediately took up and after a quick gauge of how I was feeling wrote the above Quadrille in about a minute. I counted it once, I counted it twice and had exactly 44 words. Life is weird sometimes.

Thank you for this. Sigh . . .
Reach out and touch faith
By: James Caig
Tags: Lyrics, Advertising, Creative Brief, Depeche Mode

Why are we communicating at all?

[Provide a succinct description of the client’s current business situation and the problems that communication needs to overcome.]

Christianity is in decline.

Or, to put it another way, America isn’t God-fearing any more.

Time was in this country everybody knew their pastor and everyone knew their place and it was all just as God intended it. The world was handed down to us righteous souls just like God handed down the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Founding Fathers handed down their vision for this great country. Together they made us a people safe from persecution. A nation guided in its way of life by the Bible and by the Constitution and by the promise of everything that comes with being an American citizen.

But things are different now. The old ways are disappearing. According to Pew, in 2019, 65% of Americans identifed as Christians. Ten years before that it was 77%. We’ve gone from three quarters market share to two thirds in a decade.

Footfall’s down as well. We’re at a crossroads. In 2007, 54% of adults said they attended religious services monthly or more often; now it’s 45%. Those who only attend a few times a year has gone in the opposite direction, from 45% to 54%.

God is receding from view. Change has come to America and it doesn’t look good. You can see it in every Sunday’s headcount.

And why?

Because liberals hate the things we love. They undermine our culture at every turn. They disgrace our preachers, the very people we look up to and who in turn guide us on our path. Make up all kinds of scandals. Discredit them too. As if our leaders would keep for themselves the money God-fearing folk send so they can spread the word.

Those people don’t understand our traditional values, they don’t understand what it means to spread the word and they don’t understand that a church should be worthy of God. Worship requires splendour.

And besides, why shouldn’t followers affirm their faith the best way they know how? Why shouldn’t they signal, to their Lord and the community they care for, just how much they love Jesus Christ? You spend money on clothes, cars, food — none of which these people — this country — really needs to survive. They’re luxuries compared to loving gaze of our savior. Why on earth should someone curtail their right to free speech, in America of all places — America — and deny the belief they hold most strongly and which sustains them most of all? The power which they hold to be self-evident. The power and the glory of their Lord God Jesus Christ.

We are communicating to arrest this decline and to remind people of their right to that particularly devout form of free speech.
After So Long
By: Somsubhra Banerjee
Tags: Milk Carton Haiku, Longing, Poetry, Love, No Crime In Rhymin

the moonlit night

came after so long

i looked around

our encounter

came after so long

faster heartbeats

words on my lips

came after so long

but you’re not there
The Challenge of the Hubris Leader
By: Paul Myers Mba
Tags: Followers, Hubris, Work, Business, Leadership

Hubris is a great sounding word, don’t you think? It’s meaning however is not that appealing. According to the dictionary hubris is:

“Excessive pride or self-confidence.”

For context, the example the dictionary uses to explain it is: “the self-assured hubris among economists was shaken in the late 1980s”

Hubris is a Greek word, first recorded in 1884. I’m no expert, so I’d invite George, our Greek-Aussie illuminator for his thoughts on this.

Hubris is a classical word, summed up by another word — danger. Especially for those who’ve experienced success. Hubris is also defined as “insolence or arrogance resulting from excessive pride.”
Weekly COVID-19 News for State and Local Leaders
By: Harvard Ash Center
Tags: State And Local, Covid 19, Public Sector, Local Government, Coronavirus

Welcome to our weekly roundup of articles and resources for state and local leaders creating policy to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic as well as steering the social and economic recovery for their communities. Postings below do not convey endorsement of any particular organization or opinion contained in links.

July 29, 2020

Bringing together local farmers, local restaurants, and local food.

Now it’s time for civic innovators to catch their breath and take stock of all they’ve achieved — and how it’s moved their cities forward.

Pooled testing, which can make one coronavirus test as powerful as five, is particularly useful when the infection rate is low. Its use could free up more tests for places where the virus is more widespread.

Urban heat islands can be 22 degrees hotter than their surroundings.

The Housing and Urban Development Department would be required to set up and secure a new, central resource.

Many residents are struggling to pay utility bills during the pandemic, dealing with escalating balances. But local relief programs aren’t designed to help everybody.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google will let employees work from home until July 2021, once again pushing back the re-opening of its offices as the coronavirus continues to rage in many parts of the U.S.

Two adjacent communities underscore the starkly divergent ways in which the coronavirus outbreak in Texas has attacked daily life.

July 22, 2020

Legislation before the New Jersey legislature would use federal coronavirus relief funds to reimburse restaurants, caterers and bars for preparations to resume in-person dining before it was canceled by the governor.

Without plastic shielding between seats or more efficient engines, the environmental benefits of public transport are lost.

As bike lanes and cafes sprout on streets, marginalized residents wonder when their priorities will get attention.

The hard-up find it hardest

The southern California city of El Cajon moved to paperless permitting in just under a month, a project that had originally been expected to take a year.

Residents successfully pressured the city to request the state to cancel rent for Ithaca residents. What lessons can be learned from local organizers?

Uruguay may be best known for beaches and beef. But the country has seen just 1,000 or so cases since the pandemic began, and only 33 deaths. may have as much to do with its policies from years past, as its present day virus response.

Several large U.S. healthcare systems have teamed with Google and SADA to establish an open data platform to provide hospitals and government officials granular views of ICU and ventilator utilization at the local level.

Cities are enforcing capacity restrictions at cooling centers and offering free air conditioners as a way to beat the heat.

The number of Black-owned small businesses dropped 41% between February and April.
Maternally
By: Paul Maplesden
Tags: Mothers, Poetry, Baby, Motherhood, Parenting

The love of a mother for their baby is among the strongest types of love that exist.

There’s a feeling of utter connection, of compassion, love, ancestry and biology, all tied up in that tiny bundle of joy.

A newborn is a perfect reflection of its parents, at that moment that it comes into the world. After that, the infant starts to be shaped by the situations and circumstances as life pushes the child into new forms and attitudes. It’s no surprise then that children of all ages often feel an incredibly strong bond of love with their mothers, and that’s something that we can all celebrate.

Maternally — A Poem

Into life

This suckling babe,

You took

Nurtured as he was

Your own

Held within

These arms

This Love,

This warmth,

This life,

This home.

For it seems

To me,

That if we are

Reflections of each other,

A sweeter start,

Or better way,

I could not choose,

My Mother.

And peace within,

Be with us both

In this time,

This joy,

This place,

My Love for you

Bursts,

Blossoming forth

From that first,

Forever,

Face.

Themes, ideas and background for this poem

This poem explores the bond between a mother and her child, no matter how young or old that child may be. Those moments of being held close, of the dependency between the two and the love that can be shared are the basis of so many parts of our lives. These times are precious and beautiful, a strengthening of the parental connection and an essential part of a healthy childhood. Even as we grow, those initial, fundamental times remain important in everything that we do.

Themes explored in the poem include:

The incredibly important maternal bond that stays with us throughout life

The holding close and eternal nature of a mother’s love

The joy and happiness that we reflect back to our mothers and the gentle blessing of the child-parent relationship

As you read this poem, here are some ideas for further contemplation and exploration:
15toGO's team will attend the biggest blockchain conference in NYC — Consensus
Tags: Traveling, Startup, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Group Travel

15toGO will have its representation in one of the biggest blockchain conferences Consensus in New York.

The CEO of the company Peter Lozanov and one of our early investors and supporters Simeon Naydenov are heading to the Big Apple to meet people from the industry and grow its network. They will attend the blockchain week and be in New York between 10th and 18th of May. The event will take place from the 14th to the 16th of May 2018 in New York. You can contact 15toGO’ team here and schedule a meeting during our stay in NYC.

The host is a big digital media which is well known in the cryptocurrency world — CoinDesk. This is the fourth consecutive year in which it is taking place. Every year the growth that this event sees is impressive.

It started in 2015 with only 400 people attending and now it will have more than 4000 attendees.

This year there will be more than 250 speakers. Last year they were around 200, mainly (90%+) from the startup community with an emphasis on blockchain.

Big names will be part of the event as speakers or just attendees. Some of the key figures this year will be Charlie Lee — creator of Litecoin, Ned Scott — CEO of Steemit, Jesse Powel — CEO of Kraken, also executives and representatives of many well-known projects.

The leading forces in the industry will be there. The event presents an incredible opportunity to get exposure and gives an opportunity to meet people from the industry, visit networking events during the conference, exchange ideas and make new contacts.

The worldwide exposure that the summit presents is also immense. Excluding all of the people attending, there were also more than 80 media partners and more than 80 sponsors last year.

Comparing the number of attendees last year and this one, imagine what will be the increase in the percentage of the presence of media partners.

Consensus represents a big event for the cryptocurrency world. Everyone is anticipating a rise in the overall market capitalization. Last year the market cap rose from 36 to 90 billion dollars from the 1st of May until the 24th which was the last day of the event.

This year the capitalization of the market crashed from 830 billion on the 7th of January, which was the highest this market has ever seen to 244 billion on the 1st of April which is the lowest since the all-time high. The market was in a major downturn but recently there was a sigh of relief as the capitalization is rising, hitting 440 billion on the 29th of April and people hope it will continue to do so in anticipation of Consensus.

References:

https://www.coindesk.com/events/consensus-2018/
FLOW
By: Cynthia Duffy
Tags: Creativity, Resilience, Motivation, Poetry, Nature

Six Years of poetry-only publishing, PoetsUnlimited was a diverse, engaging and authentic poetry magazine. For most of that time a daily publication, it was always diverse and original, and free-to-read by all.

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Dear High School English Teacher
By: Julia Beaudett
Tags: Education, Creative Writing, Poetry, Humor, Writing

Sign up for The Story Box

By Scribe

The Story Box is a lovingly written newsletter featuring delightful stories and all updates from the publication. Every Sunday, just for you. Take a look
Country Living for Dummies
By: Tara Heavey
Tags: Life Lessons, Life, This Happened To Me, Ideas, Humor

Photo by Rose Elena on Unsplash

Take your wellies off before you walk on the white carpet. Whatever you do, don’t get a white carpet. Never brush your sheepdog. He requires dreadlocks so that the other doggies will think he looks cool.

4. If you meet your friend or neighbour while out for a drive, do stop and chat for however long it takes, especially if they are in their own jeep or tractor and especially if it’s a particularly narrow road and especially if there are several cars backed up behind you.

5. Don’t forget to tell Mrs O’Brien all your news at the check out of the local corner shop. Don’t leave out any gripping detail — of Margaret’s most recent visit to hospital and how the grand kids are doing in Australia. All the better if the line is stretching out the shop door.

6. Go to mass. When you meet the parish priest, smile sycophantically, as if he’s a police officer who’s stopped you after you’ve failed to renew your insurance. That’ll be three Hail Mary’s for you.

7.Do not enter your fruitcake/soda bread in the local agricultural show. Don’t you know that Bridie Walsh has won it for the last thirty-three years and that her husband Paddy is one of the judges and what do you know, sure, you’ve only been in the parish for eighteen years? The same rule applies to home made pots of jam and enormous or weirdly shaped vegetables.

8. Don’t expect your neighbours to commune with you at the local football club/shindig/pub quiz/insert as appropriate. Their actual friends whom they’ve known all their life are there. You’re just good to pass the time when there are no locals available with whom to converse.

9. Never, ever speak a bad word about anyone. Even if their cattle have kicked down your dry stone wall and trampled all over your gardenias. You will be invariably talking to their third cousin twice removed or distant relative by marriage or best friend since school.

So there you have it! The best of luck with your adventures in country living …
【ioeX預售活動】帶有ioeX功能的X-Brain 智能管家 獨家預購
By: Ioex Network
Tags: Partnerships, Blockchain, Ioex, IoT

ioeX is a decentralized peer-to-peer network blockchain ecosystem aims to free the internet to the world.

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Thinking about College? Pay Attention to These 5 Rules
By: Anthony P. Carnevale
Tags: Higher Education, College, Careers, Education

By Anthony P. Carnevale

Now more than ever, postsecondary education is a key pathway to economic independence. Before the 1980s, two-thirds of jobs required a high school education or less. Now, the same share of jobs requires at least some college.

But just as postsecondary education has become more valuable, it has also become more expensive. At four-year public colleges and universities, tuition and fees have risen 19 times faster than average family incomes since 1980. Many people can’t afford to repay their student loans, resulting in a default rate of 11.5 percent — a burden on taxpayers.

With these outcomes, it’s little wonder that a significant number of college-educated learners experience some kind of buyer’s remorse. A 2017 Gallup Poll found that given the chance, more than half of Americans would change their degree type, institution, or major.

So how can students avoid this regret? One strategy is to carefully explore the probable financial outcomes of their educational choices. To help students do this, we examined the data and developed five guidelines for making informed decisions:

Generally, more education is better. Workers with bachelor’s degrees have median earnings of $62,000, compared to $47,000 for those with associate’s degrees, and $36,000 for those with high school diplomas. Graduate degree holders fare even better than those with bachelor’s degrees, with median earnings of $80,000. Field of study can be more important than education level. Graduates with bachelor’s degrees in architecture and engineering have median earnings of $85,000, compared to $46,000 for those with bachelor’s degrees in education. While major matters, discipline is not destiny. The top 25 percent of workers with bachelor’s degrees in the arts and humanities earn more than the bottom 25 percent with bachelor’s degrees in architecture and engineering. Less education can be worth more. The median earnings of workers with associate’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are higher ($60,000) than the median earnings of those with bachelor’s degrees in education ($46,000). Earnings gaps persist across career paths. Workers with bachelor’s degrees in the humanities and liberal arts have peak median earnings of $66,000, compared to the $103,000 at peak earning years for those with bachelor’s degrees in architecture and engineering. An earnings gap persists from the beginning to the end of their careers.

To further guide students and their families, we created an interactive College Major Earnings Tool that allows users to examine earnings by major at the state and national level.

While no student should choose a major based purely on earning potential, all students should know what the payoff is likely to be before making the first major investment in their journey from youth dependency to adult independence.

Watch our video and visit our website to learn more about Five Rules of the College and Career Game.
I Am Strong Without You
By: Simran Kankas
Tags: Self Love, Poetry, Relationships, Women, Resistance Poetry

He beat her up

Left her wounded

He went outside for a drink

Still she waited

He treated her like garbage

Made her feel rotten inside

No words of love

No warm hugs

Enough was enough

She took her life’s command

Into her own hands

She understood it’s never too late

To feel alive and take a stand

He followed her

Tried to persuade her

She stopped him and said

Have no doubt in your mind

I loved myself and still do

It’s just that I have realized now

I am strong without you
Masa
By: Noe, Lisa Arana
Tags: Poetry, Cultural Identity, Racism, Homesickness, A Cornered Gurl

*(Trigger Warning: While not [overly] graphic, this poem & video may be upsetting.)

I am making masa I want to feel something warm

to touch something golden

I have been up all night

again

Images flash before my eyes

weeping Black men

the sneer on the White cop’s face

and the protests

tear gas and flash grenades

I want to get into the car

ride with others and head into Portland

but I know this is not L.A.

I am an outsider

and when the crowd grows frenzied

I can’t understand their language

I am just a speck here — there are so few of us

we are flecks of cinnamon in this vanilla latte’ city

Enemies weave through the crowd

some wear uniforms but most do not

and I cannot always tell them apart

they might look like the person standing next to me

“White Power” militias are dressed in camouflage

like the Federal agents and the hunters

like some of the protesters who wear black

In the crowd, my voice is smothered

I once led songs with drumming marchers

but now, I am drowned out … completely

by chants that have no rhythm

So I stay home

making masa

boiling beans

sending checks

to legal funds

I go hungry

I don’t sleep much

but when I do

I dream of the dry air of Southern California

Ranchero music flowing from flashy-hub-capped cars

heat rising like spirits from the asphalt

pauses from the fast ride at intersections — to listen

to sometimes dance
#18 Growth Weekly News
By: Alexandra Poulopoulou
Tags: Google Ads, Firebase, News, Google Cloud Platform, Cloud Computing

Learn the latest news in Digital Analytics world and join us on this week’s stories in the comments.

18 is my personal favourite number and I couldn’t do less for you this week. 😊 So, I promise you this: great things are happening — product updates and learning material. I said enough and I won’t spare your time any longer. So keep reading…

Last week in summary: Firebase introduced a ton of new features, among them Language Identification, Smart Reply and Cloud Run and Google Cloud continues strong for another week, with the new Cloud Dataproc announced at Google Cloud Next ‘19.