At the end of my first season at Liverpool, I had a sense of anticipation that was different to anything I've experienced in my career.
The standout achievement of that opening 12 months was winning the FA Cup but the league table was what made me excited for the seasons to come. We had come third with 82 points, one place and one point behind Manchester United.
Liverpool had only finished ahead of United once in the previous 14 years but, as 2005-06 drew to a close with an 11-game winning sequence, it felt as if we had put a hand on their shoulders.
Rafa Benitez had assembled an excellent squad and I believed that, come the end of 2007, we would be champions.
Pulling alongside United, however, was a world away from overtaking them. In the next campaign, they beat us at Old Trafford and Anfield.
Just thinking about the defeat at home, when John O'Shea scored in the last minute after we had battered them, makes me squirm to this day.
It would be United who took the title off Chelsea. We finished third again but this time Sir Alex Ferguson, with his forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, had seen his side turn a one-point difference into a 21-point chasm.
That, pretty much, is the story of how things have been in the Premier League for these two clubs. Liverpool, in 25 years, have finished in a better position than United on only three occasions, and never managed the feat in consecutive seasons.
This gives you an idea of how United have dominated. They are the biggest club in the country for a reason and it was down to Ferguson being able to add the highest quality to an established group of winners that they kept being able to go again.
What I have seen over the last six months, though, makes me think the power is shifting in this particular battle.
At the start of 2018, after Stoke had played United, I thought United would establish themselves as the main threat to Manchester City.
But Liverpool's form through the calendar year has been relentless and they look to be hitting a peak in time for the Premier League's biggest fixture; no other game — and no other rivalry — matches this one in England and I say that with the benefit of experience.
That first season I was a Liverpool player, we faced United three times. At Old Trafford, Rio Ferdinand scored a last-minute winner and I remember watching Gary Neville charge towards our supporters to give them stick. Everything about that day was horrible.
Back at Anfield in the FA Cup was like nothing I had ever known. You hear people talk about games having an edge but this was different. It was nasty, genuine hatred from all sides of the ground. It's not just about two clubs, it's about two cities that are so different but are also so similar.
I scored that day and people still talk to me about it now when I go to Liverpool. It was a scruffy goal, a header that sneaked past Edwin van der Sar, but the eruption that greeted it was extraordinary.
Whoever scores for Liverpool on Sunday — and they haven't managed to get a goal against United at Anfield in the last three Premier League meetings — will find the noise comparable; it is a clash that makes heroes and there is so much at stake.
United's start to the season has amazed me. Jose Mourinho is a top manager but his team's lack of consistency will be driving him crazy and I'm not sure his best plans will be able to stop Liverpool.
Liverpool look the real deal under Jurgen Klopp. They have backed up reaching the Champions League final with one of the best starts to a season in history and, in a normal year, they would now be odds-on favourites to win the title.
City, of course, will have something to say about that, but it's fair to say that Liverpool are at a different level to United at the moment in terms of how they have shaped their squad and the potential they have.
History has shown that Liverpool have not been able to capitalise on positions of authority over United before — the year after finishing runners-up in 2014, Liverpool slumped to sixth, with United finishing fourth — but things feel different.
The impetus is with Liverpool now in this rivalry. It is up to them to make it count.
I am not going to suggest I have an answer for how we eliminate racism in society. All I can do here is talk about some of the things I have experienced in my career and tell you what I have seen.
The worst episode of racism I encountered was in Eastern Europe playing for England's Under 21s. Shola Ameobi and Shaun Wright-Phillips were on the receiving end from the whole stadium and it was an abysmal experience.
Shola, to his great credit, treated his abusers with total disdain.
I cannot say how widespread racism around stadiums is but what I do know is that it hasn't existed in any of the dressing rooms I have played in.
In there, everyone is equal and you make judgments on how people play — not how they look. That, I believe, is how it will always be.
Is everyone viewed equally from the stands? I don't know and I've thought about something Gary Neville said about Ashley Cole now being a 'footballing refugee'.
Ashley was an England colleague of mine and he was genuinely world-class, a player who hit eight or nine out of 10 each time he played.
But the way he was booed when playing for England suggested there was some underlying ill-feeling towards him. People will say it stems from the money he asked for when he was playing for Arsenal but, be honest, he was not the only man to have contractual issues.
Were people resentful of him? Ashley, I must stress, never said anything to us. If he felt there was something sinister behind his treatment, he didn't speak about it to the group. He just got on with it in the face of the booing and the shouting.
And that is something I have never understood — why people behave in such an aggressive way once they step into a football ground.
I've been screamed at all my life from the stands for the way I look and it will never change.
You look at some people when they swear at you and make gestures, and know that if you met each other on the street, they would ask for a selfie or an autograph. So why is there such a big change when you put on a different coloured kit?
Nobody of fair mind will ever understand.
With all respect to Liverpool, Tottenham produced the week's standout performance in Europe. I know people have been going on about Lionel Messi starting as a substitute but it was still a magnificent effort to go to the Nou Camp and have more possession than Barcelona.
To then come back from a goal down to pinch an equaliser was a brilliant effort and it should not be underestimated how critical it is to their season.
If Tottenham do not spend in January, I would have had deep concerns about the Thursday-Sunday routine hurting their top-four push.
Lucas Moura's late equaliser, then, had an added spin-off. It saved their campaign.
Mentally, Tottenham's players would have been shattered about falling out of the best competition and physically they would have become drained by having to contest the Europa League.
Mauricio Pochettino now knows where he is working and the added bonus is that the new White Hart Lane should be ready for a massive night in the new year.
I make no secret about how much I love watching Spurs I'm delighted they've reached their first major target.
There have been occasions when change has been introduced and my gut feeling has been proven totally wrong.
I never wanted the old Division One to become the Premier League, I didn't want to see the back-pass rule introduced — and I hated the idea of more than two substitutes.
All those initiatives, of course, enhanced football.
I'm not sure, though, the FA Cup will be enhanced by having only 10 matches kick off at 3pm on a Saturday in the third round. I understand what TV has done for our game but I don't get why 22 matches have been shifted from the traditional start time.
Each year it feels like something else is done to dilute its significance. The competition will never be as it was when I was a kid — the FA Cup final was bigger than the European Cup final — but the last thing I want to see is it become the same as the League Cup.
I still get a buzz when the first weekend of January approaches and I cannot wait for our game at Shrewsbury.
But that is scheduled for a 12.30pm kick-off and it won't have the same feeling as it would at 3pm. To play in the FA Cup is special. I don't ever want it to lose its magic.
Lucas Torreira. I have been really impressed since he arrived in England and his performances have been getting better by the week. He is a top prospect.
A return to one of my old clubs on Saturday afternoon and a big game with Aston Villa.
I've got great memories of my time there, particularly of the late Graham Taylor and Doug Ellis, but there will be no sentiment. We are building a decent unbeaten run and confidence is growing by the week.
For one week only, it should be 'What I will be up to'.
On Wednesday I will be conducting the draw for the Carabao Cup semi-finals in London with Piers Morgan.
I can't imagine what mood he will be in if that night's tie at the Emirates Stadium doesn't go Arsenal's way!
If, like me, you have a young family, I'd say you will be familiar with The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
My eldest daughter, Sophia, absolutely loves the movie but we've had the music on so much I think I know every song word for word.


What's the strangest thing that's ever been dropped off at your fire station?
What kind of firefighting foam are you?
Is the firefighter who slipped on tile really sue-happy?


I am only one of numerous farmers along the river that is concerned. My views represent many of the irrigators that will be shut off, especially those who did not go around the intent of the legislature and the settlement requirements. I have data and documents for what I say and I do not try to distort or mislead. What is wrong with a sustainable aquifer?
I feel the land owner will get some compensation. As a landowner without much debt, I can survive as a dryland farmer. Most of my land is farmed by tenants, which is the same for a majority of operations. The Rapid Response would have been shut off most likely 5 of the last 10 years, and as the aquifer is depleted, it will only get worse. What do those tenants or the business and communities that depend on them do? When surface water acres got shut off in 2002 there was compensation for those who received no water or didn't have a well from Federal Crop insurance because of drought. There is nothing for the tenants if they are shut off now.
I did support them as they said they would be fair and equitable. There are several other thing that could be done that are in the statutes for that purpose.
1. "The Legislature finds that ownership of water is held by the state for the benefit of its citizens."
2. "Every landowner shall be entitled to a reasonable and beneficial use of the ground water underlying his or her land subject to the provisions of Chapter 46, article 6, and the Nebraska Ground Water Management and Protection Act and the correlative rights of other landowners when the ground water supply is insufficient to meet the reasonable needs of all users."
3. Any well drilled after July 1, 1998 can be treated different.
4. Any well drilled after January 1, 2001 can be shut off.
5. The settlement and base allotment for the NRD's are based upon the 1998-2002 period. Only allow those irrigated acres that were certified as irrigated acres with the FSA and/or assessed as irrigated with the county assessor be irrigated.
Yes those who added acres would be hurt, but they knew when they got the additional acres, they were subject to these laws. The definition of Fair is; free from bias, dishonest or injustice. Shutting off those irrigated acres is fair, which look like it could be more acres then the Rapid Response acres and then use the occupational tax to buy out or give "just compensation" for the farmer/tenant if they still need to shut off additional wells, is just as they were warned. It would be fair for those who didn't expand. The NRD's "will be fairly compensated" is not the answer, especially if the IMP is considered fair. In one of the opinions it says it is fair is to deplete almost all the surface water used for irrigation, requiring those irrigators to continue to pay for the irrigation projects required by state law, and then charge them an occupation tax whenever they get a partial supply of water, but if they are in a water short period, they don't get the water. Is it fair when the IMP state in a water short year. DNR will take all natural flow and storage permits in the basin and only release then when the NRD's say so?
Is it fair to shut off the most productive and economical irrigation with considerable higher yields using considerably less water, and allow those who have less yield and used more water continue to deplete the aquifer?
Yes there are declines in the Hitchcock and Red Willow areas north of the river. That area had surface water irrigation for over a hundred years that had built up a mound of water just like the areas where Central Platte have canals and irrigation. Stop that surface water irrigation and the water table will drop like a rock. In the URNRD, irrigation has lowered the water level up to 70 feet away from the Frenchman River.
That decline in conjunction of pumping in the vicinity of the river causes the ground water level to decline below the river causes the river to stop flowing. In the '60s, the Frenchman started flowing just east of the Colorado border. It now starts just west of Imperial and it won't be long before Enders will be a dry lake unless something is done to prevent it. There are three studies from the '70s and a '95 study that showed what was happening, what did happen and what was going to happen to a very high degree of accuracy and I know the URNRD has them. As the Frenchman was dried up, surface water irrigators put in wells to keep irrigating in the counties east of Chase County and along the Republican.
When the surface water was no longer available after 2000, the wells pumped down the mound. The wells away from the river also lowered that water table which compounds the problem as less water flowed underground to the streams and river. It just takes longer for when pumping down the water table away from the river to have a effect on the river, but the total amount of the draw down over a period of time does affect the stream flow and that is called a lag effect. It would take too much space to explain, but percentage of declines is another way they have of justifying allowing the shutting off of irrigation close to a stream or river.
Simplified, all the streams and rivers in the URNRD and MRNRD along with the Medicine Creek have declines in the aquifer in their upper reaches which is why the stream flow is declining. In wet spells like the last few years the declines slow or stop and in places actually increase, but when it turns drier the declines are worse.
The best way to describe it is the basin is like a bowl full of water with the Republican on the south edge. Next to the edge there isn't much depth of water and the further away from the edge the deeper it gets. You do not have to take out much water to cause a large percentage of declines at the edge but in the deep part of the bowl, it is a very little percent of decline.
The nitrates are a problem anywhere you have only a few feet of soil over the water table to absorb it so it got to the aquifer sooner. The uplands had the same fertility practices.
I am concerned what the IMP will do to the farmer/tenants and the communities.


BURLINGTON, N.C. — Police said they have arrested a man accused of shooting and injuring another man near an apartment complex Thursday in Burlington.
Vondrell Xavier Majette, 24, is accused of shooting the victim at a location near Stokes Street and Maple Avenue around 1 a.m.
Police said a second suspect is still wanted. Warrants have been issued for 27-year-old Stanley Curtis Gillom.
Majette was charged with one count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
Police said he was placed in the Alamance County Jail under a $300,000 bond and has court planned for Dec. 14.
Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Gillom can call the Burlington Police Department at (336) 229-3500 or Alamance County Crimestoppers at (336) 229-7100.


Mac DeMarco has covered Radiohead‘s 1995 track ‘High And Dry’ at Lollapalooza in Chile.
It’s not the cover you’d expect from DeMarco though as he decided to abandon the frontman position and head for the drums.
He traded spots with drummer Joe McMurray for the performance and he treated it a little like karaoke. He still needs to work a bit on that Yorke falsetto before he can truly nail the track. Still, the audience lapped it up singing along to every word of the song.
They also covered Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Under The Bridge’ with McMurray up front. He told the crowd, “I can’t really sing the song,” but he gave it a shot anyway.
DeMarco was in the country earlier this year for Laneway Festival off the back of his 2017 record This Old Dog. Unfortunately we weren’t treated to any Radiohead covers.
Thankfully, the Lollapalooza festival was filmed so you can watch them below.


The recent geopolitical risk-induced hiccup in the equities market shows that investors are still at risk to swift and sudden turns. Exchange traded fund investors, though, may consider an alternative investment strategy to hedge against unwanted risks.
For instance, the AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (NYSEArca: HDGE), which tries to generate capital appreciation through short sales of domestic equities, tries to identify securities with low earnings quality or aggressive accounting which may be intended on the part of company management to mask operational deterioration and bolster the reported earnings per share over a short time period. This screen helps the fund hone in on those more at risk of a steep sell-off in periods of duress.
The Portfolio Manager also targets earnings driven events that may trigger a price decline of a security, such as downwards earnings revisions or reduced forward guidance.
While this strategy may be unpopular in an ongoing bull market condition, HDGE may help protect an investor’s portfolio.


Athletes have never cared more about style. The NBA dress code and social media peacocking have revolutionized the way our favorite sports stars dress themselves, and gone are the days of garbage-bag suits, pinstripes everywhere, and this thing. That said, not everyone's caught up to the times, which is why each week, we'll be highlighting the poor souls who are still running the proverbial triple option of sartorial playbooks.
This week: Some young QBs have more to learn than just route packages, LeBron's Cavs are trailing LeBron's Heat in more than just wins, and more. These are The Worst Athlete Style Fails of the Week.


BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Saying he never doubted he’d be able to play in Sunday’s Super Bowl, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was cleared from concussion protocol Thursday. He practiced in full for the first time since the Jaguars’ Barry Church hit him in the AFC title game.
Gronkowski had 69 catches for 1,084 yards during the regular season.
Bears guard Kyle Long will not travel to Minneapolis to watch brother Chris play for the Eagles after having surgery Wednesday. Long did not specify the surgery, but said it was his last of the offseason; previously, he said he needed a shoulder operation.
Eagles rookie receiver Mack Hollins, who played with quarterback Mitch Trubisky at North Carolina, said the Bears’ new offense fits his friend.


Everton manager Ronald Koeman is lining up a £25 million bid for Gylfi Sigurdsson as the club accelerate their search for new signings.
Koeman will make a substantial offer for the Iceland international after the appointment of Steve Walsh as director of football was confirmed on Thursday.
Sigurdsson has been a target for both Koeman and Walsh at their former clubs and Everton have identified the Swansea midfielder as a marquee signing this summer.
The 26-year-old impressed at Euro 2016 as Iceland reached the quarter-finals in their first major tournament, starting all the games, and Swansea are now facing a huge challenge to keep him at the Liberty Stadium.
Signed from Tottenham Hotspur in July 2014, Sigurdsson has been one of Swansea’s most consistent players and Koeman will step up his long-term interest with an official bid.
Everton’s appointment of Walsh means Koeman will kick-start his recruitment drive after a quiet summer which has seen only Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg move to Goodison Park so far.
As first reported by Telegraph Sport, Walsh was targeted by Everton after an ambitious move for Sevilla’s transfer guru Monchi fell through and leaves Leicester less than two months after signing a new contract with the Premier League champions.
After playing a key role in the discoveries of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, Everton hope Walsh will help take the club into a new era under owner Farhad Moshiri.
Koeman said: “It’s really good for the club to have someone in Steve who has shown his quality in his job at a number of clubs over many years.
It is believed Everton paid around £2 million in compensation to land Walsh, who has also worked at Chelsea and Hull City.


In the context enterprise technology, tech consultants adorn the role of catalysts by aligning themselves to the organization's objectives. "Back when we started off in 1992, before the dot com era, there were perpetual voids within the enterprise solutions arena that restricted business from utilizing the technologies available at their disposal." says Arvin Talwar, Managing Principal and CEO of Chicago based Catalyst Consulting Group. Today, the company which started off with a handful of leads boasts more than 500 clients ranging from SMBs to Fortune 500 companies.
Over the years Catalyst has kept up to the changing technological trends and needs their clients required. The company's solutions span across application development and design, infrastructure and networking services, mobility, analytics and security. "Whether we are developing a custom application or conducting a system integration project, our approach ensures our customers get the maximum value from our team and the innovative solutions we develop together," mentions Talwar. Catalyst's approach pertaining to change management, business re-engineering, and training ensures customized delivery.
The expertise of a consultancy is deeply rooted in the strategic partnerships with solution providers. Choosing the right partner is in the best interest of clients. "We know technology projects are complex, multifaceted and constantly evolving. By working in tandem with our trusted strategic partners we bring our clients a level of expertise unsurpassed in the industry." adds Talwar. Catalyst prides on a number of partnership alliances that include Microsoft, Addison Group, TEKsystems to name a few. The company also has ties with solution providers based in Chicago to cater to the needs of local solution seekers including state entities.
Catalyst had worked closely with Cook County through multiple projects pertaining to IT innovation, application, and modernization. Recently the Center for Digital Government (CDG) named Cook County one of the Top 10 Digital Counties. In another instance, Catalyst was able to reduce the human resource cost by implementing a Full Payment Certification solution for a real estate agency wherein the client could ensure the bills for a property are paid prior to certification. Previously, this was not streamlined and the agency staffs were burdened with the task. "We have always been guided by a single principle: treat every client as if it's the only one you have. This has allowed us to sustain and grow in the fast evolving industry," says Talwar.
From a work culture perspective, Catalyst encourages vibrancy within its workplace environment. "We maintain a diverse team of technologists and creatives, and though each member of our team fills a role, any of us are happy to tell you we are not defined by our job titles." asserts Talwar. The company's social media window showcases a number of outdoor activities that its employees have participated. "We would not be the company we are today without the strong connections we have built internally." he adds.
As a company that has witnessed the changing demographics of technology for nearly 25 years, Catalyst aims to broaden its expertise in the realm of predictive analytics and IoT as a Solution. The company is well placed in its path to success as it enforces its work principle at every level of operation. "We are committed to ensuring our IT solutions have a direct impact on solving the toughest business challenges while helping our clients accomplish their short and long-term business goals," concludes Talwar.


HIV/AIDS is not merely a disease, but an illness that is shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political circumstances. A variety of approaches to prevention and treatment have been implemented throughout the world, but in many cases have failed to stop the spread of the epidemic. In Africa, religious organizations play a significant role in providing health care infrastructure as well as material and human resources. Positive Muslims is an example of a religious organization that is grounded in a clear theological framework. In contrast to Muslim responses to HIV/AIDS in South Africa and other parts of the Muslim world, Positive Muslims emphasizes compassion and non-judgment in both discourse and practice. This theology of compassion has been strongly influenced by liberation theology developed during the anti-apartheid movement. Although aspects of religion are highly variable, and may also contribute to stigmatization of those living with HIV/AIDS, religious organizations may be ideally situated to intervene against stigma. A framework that deals with these theological challenges is therefore essential to effective compassionate religious responses. This thesis is an investigation of one particular organization, Positive Muslims, as an example of such a response.
Willson, Katherine Davila, "Breaking the Silence: South African Muslim Responses to HIV/AIDS and a Theology of Compassion" (2008). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 839.


Data shows Nashville's codes and police departments received at least 975 complaints from homes with short-term rental permits over a 22-month period.
As Nashville considers banning or placing a moratorium on certain short-term rental properties, much of the debate has been based on anecdotes.
One side tells of wild parties terrorizing neighborhoods, and the other talks of wholesome, responsible homeowners supplementing their income through rental platforms like Airbnb.
But because the city doesn't centrally track which complaints were lodged against rental properties, council members haven’t seen data showing the scope of problems.
To help fill in the void, The Tennessean requested complaint information from both the Metro Police Department and the Department of Codes and Building Safety, which is responsible for permitting short-term rentals — then used software to compare addresses to the city’s list of active short-term rental permits. Complaint and permit data is considered public under the state’s open records act.
In total, the city received at least 975 complaints against 568 Davidson County addresses with active short-term rental permits, from April 1, 2015 to February 14, 2017. The permitting process began in April 2015. Some police complaints were listed at intersections, so the figures may be higher.
Also, the Tennessean only requested certain types of police calls: those for disorderly or intoxicated persons, indecent exposure, and a broad group of calls called “Want Officer for Investigation / Assistance” that includes noise complaints. Altogether, police received 647 calls at short-term rentals in the roughly 22 months. For some context, there were a 457,000 total complaints, citywide, in those categories during that time frame. The other 328 calls were fielded by the Codes Department.
Four addresses had double-digit complaints, with the highest two at 26 each. Three of them were multifamily complexes with more than one rental permit, while one was a single-family home with 10 complaints. About 40 percent of the addresses where the police were summoned only had one complaint.
There are some important caveats with the data.
Some of the complaints may be unrelated to the property’s use as a short-term rental. A person might complain about trash in their neighbor’s yard, for instance, but the city’s data doesn’t indicate if it was on a day the property was being rented. Likewise, people might have complained about property maintenance at an address, regardless of its rental status.
The Codes Department doesn’t keep track of many unsubstantiated complaints, while the Police Department records all calls for service.
One of the people who called the police was Jim Rayome, who lives next to a large rental home in Sylvan Park — the one that received 10 complaints. His teenage daughter's room overlooks the pool, where he's seen renters partying with sexually explicit blow-up dolls, he said. Rayome called the cops when parties kept his family up in the middle of the night.
The homeowner, Jeff Estepp, lives elsewhere, and said he didn't learn of some of the complaints until months later. Police don't notify homeowners of calls for service, nor do they refer the complaints to the Codes Department.
“Now that we found out we had the complaints, we’ve been proactive about it,” said Estepp. He warns potential renters that they could be evicted or lose their deposit if the police are called.
Depending on one’s perspective about short-term rentals, the 975 complaints could be interpreted as either concerning or inconsequential.
Summers added that many neighbors with gripes don’t complain directly to the city departments, for fear of reprisal or other concerns. Some try to handle it through their city council office, which may not pass on the information to other officials.
On the other hand, hosts and industry representatives say the numbers show complaints about short-term rentals are insignificant compared to the city’s broader problems.
“Obviously the most egregious cases get the story,” said former Metro Councilman Jamie Hollin, a lobbyist for the Nashville Area Short Term Rental Association, “but the opposition to short-term rentals is not grounded in problems. It’s a policy dispute."
Most of the opposition, Hollin said, comes from people opposed to the very concept of allowing the rentals in residential neighborhoods.
The Metro Council is considering a moratorium or a ban on short-term rentals in multifamily buildings and those where the owner doesn't live on the property. Those types of properties accounted for 18 percent and 49 percent of the police complaints, respectively -- roughly the same proportions as the permits issued under each category.
One of the problems in the city government appears to be coordination. Nashville’s short-term rental ordinance requires, for instance, that properties to follow the city’s noise laws, and people typically call the police department to complain of loud parties. But the police have never referred a complaint to the codes department, which is responsible for enforcing rental permit violations, said Bill Penn, assistant director of the Codes Department. Some neighbors lodge noise complaints with the Codes Department directly.
When the Codes Department receives a complaint about a short-term rental — for having too many occupants, for example — it sends a notice to the permit holder right away, said Penn, and then it investigates the complaint. If the department can’t find proof, it closes the case.
After three verified complaints against one property, the Codes Department can move to revoke a permit. As of February 8, Metro had revoked five permits for violations ranging from having the wrong type of permit to noise complaints.
“What’s most disconcerting" about the 975 complaints, said Nashville Councilwoman Burkley Allen, "is the disparity with that number and how many we’ve actually revoked the permit for.” Allen helped write the city's existing short-term rental regulations.
One of the most common violations — renting a property without a permit — is hard to verify, officials say. A consultant's report from December estimated that the city has 4,600 short-term rental properties, with nearly half of those operating without a permit. But rental websites typically don’t list addresses, so officials have to match online rental photos to homes.
The city has one codes inspector assigned full-time to short-term rental properties, said Penn. The Metro Council passed a resolution on Tuesday ordering the department to fill vacancies, and the department was already in the process of hiring five new inspectors. They won’t be focused solely on short-term rentals, Penn said. Instead, they will enforce various laws covering abandoned vehicles, overgrown weeds, and other issues.
To be more proactive, Mayor Megan Barry’s office advocated for software that can help officials track whether rental properties are paying enough in taxes and complying with other regulations. It would also maintain a 24-hour hotline to take in short-term rental complaints. That proposal restarted in January when the council decided to seek other software bidders.
Santa Monica, Calif. - The city hired full-time employees to investigate short-term rentals. In 2015 that city restricted rentals to those where the property owner stays in the unit with the guest. After nine months, the city had cited 102 property owners with fines up to $500, according to news reports. City officials estimate that it cut illegal rentals by more than 40 percent.
New Orleans - Airbnb has an agreement with the city where it only rents properties that have city permits. It also collects taxes from hosts.
New York - The city threatens fines ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 for renting out a unit in a multifamily building for less than 30 days. It’s unclear how the law is being enforced.
Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the proportion of police complaints from multifamily buildings and those where the owner doesn't live on the property. They account for 18 percent and 49 percent of the complaints, respectively.


FIFA's Council has decided to leave the bidding window for the 2026 World Cup open for a further three months to allow other interested countries to enter the race.
The North American bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico had hoped the ruling Council would agree to fast-track their effort at a meeting today.
But world football's governing body has rejected their proposal for the time being, handing other nations the chance to submit a bid.
The process will still be expedited, however, with countries given until August 11 to put themselves forward.
As part of current World Cup rotation rules, UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will not be able to bid as Russia and Qatar are hosting the 2018 and 2022 editions respectively.
But UEFA and the AFC would be invited to bid if any of the candidates for 2026 are turned down at next year's Congress, where the 2018 host is set to be confirmed.
The joint North American attempt remains the overwhelming favourite to be awarded the 2026 tournament.
FIFA have invited bids from the member associations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).
The relatively short time-frame FIFA has given the eligible confederations is likely to scare off countries from bidding.
Morocco are the only other mooted potential bidder for 2026 but may reconsider in the face of competition from North America.
The Congress will rubber-stamp the decision of the Council here on Thursday (May 11).
As part of the joint bid, the US would stage 60 matches - including every game from the quarter-finals onwards - while Canada and Mexico would each host 10.
FIFA usually decides World Cup host cities six years before the event, meaning a vote on 2026 would not ordinarily be staged until 2020.
They have already gone against this, however, when they awarded both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in one go in 2010.
The 2026 tournament will be the largest-ever edition of the World Cup after the FIFA Council agreed to expand the competition by 16 teams under plans spearheaded by President Gianni Infantino.
The Council today ratified the allocation of places at the 2026 competition made by the Bureau in March.
UEFA will have 16 European spots - a third of the number of countries at the tournament - while other Confederations have also been granted increases in their previous allocations.
The OFC will receive an automatic slot, with the winners of their qualification event currently having to play-off against a side from another region in order to secure a World Cup place.
The AFC were given eight dircect berths, one less than they were originally anticipating, with the Confederation of African Football given nine, also a place lower than they had hoped for.
The CONCACAF and the South American Football Confederation ere each given six direct places.
The final two slots will be filled at a new six-team play-off tournament, which will feature one nation from each of the Confederations, except UEFA, and one additional country from the host region.
The mini-tournament is set to be held in November 2025 and will be used as a test event for the World Cup.
FIFA has confirmed the two highest-ranked nations in the qualification competition would be seeded and would go up against the winners of the first two knock-out games involving the four unseeded teams.


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My favorite book is always the one I’m reading now. I get vested in the story, in the characters, in the voice of the writer.
The last few pages can feel like a kind of death (a sense of foreboding, a final ending), which is why I often sequentially, and sometimes obsessively, read the works of a writer I like.
So when I tried to choose my top recommendations among the books I read in 2017 that will make you a better writer in 2018 … well, it was agony.
I had to exclude more than I could include. But, eventually, I compiled a list of my top recommendations. They aren’t necessarily my all-time favorite books (although some are), but they will make you a better writer. I explain why.
Most of these are not new books. Many were published years ago; and, in at least a few cases, decades ago. And some I didn’t read for the first time in 2017, but re-read them.
The best books lend themselves to rediscovery: Over and over you can re-read what’s old … and stumble into worlds that feel brand new.
1. Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
Roz’s book is painful, honest, and (often darkly) hilarious. It’s a great read even if you aren’t dealing with aging parents or grandparents—and I’m not; my parents died decades ago.
You might also like: Caring for Red tackles a similar subject. It’s written by my friend Mindy Fried, a sociologist who writes about caring for her 97-year-old father in the final year of his life, with a political backdrop (her father was an actor, writer and a labor organizer who was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee).
What writers can learn: How to write about ordinary stuff in an unordinary way (b-to-b content writers, I’m looking at you). Each of these books documents ordinary moments in ordinary lives—but with a perspective and treatment that make the stories anything but prosaic.
My friend Mitch Joel recommended Steven Pressfield’s book to me years ago, and I finally got around to reading it in 2017. I don’t know why it took me so long.
Then again, Steven’s book is about procrastination. I procrastinated reading it. That seems apt.
What writers can learn: How to get things done. Steven writes, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.” Yep.
This series of short stories by Lucia Berlin was published posthumously. I bought it on a whim in the Oslo airport only because I had 200 kroner I needed to spend. (I bought a packet of nuts, too.) It turned out to be one of the more important books I read in 2017.
This book makes prose crackle like poetry. Yet it always feels as accessible and grounded as a newspaper article.
It wasn’t always a pleasant read. Some of the 40-odd stories are disturbing and brutal. But Lucia’s use of language, the pacing of her prose, the unorthodoxy of the grammar and the intensity of the characters stuck with me long after I finished it. Sometimes, I’ll be driving down the road, mechanically, and suddenly I realize I’m thinking of a Lucia Berlin story.
Ann Handley is chief content officer of MarketingProfs and author of Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.


The German cabinet has backed proposals to hit social media firms with fines of up to €50 million if they fail to promptly remove illegal hate speech from their platforms — within 24 hours after a complaint has been made for “obviously criminal content”, and within seven days for other illegal content.
The draft law would also see individuals from companies facing fines of up to €5M for any criminal content removal failures.
“Freedom of expression ends where criminal law begins,” he added.
Germany has specific hate speech laws which criminalize certain types of speech, such as incitement to racial violence. But Maas is also agitating for a European-level approach to tackling the spread of hate speech by online platforms, saying now that he will present the government’s proposals for regulation to colleagues in the European Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers.
“We want to continue the process at European level,” he said.
The EU currently has 28 Member States, including Germany, and in May last year its executive body, the European Commission, unveiled a code of conduct for handling hate speech on social platforms, securing agreement on this initiative from Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft. It remains to be seen whether the EC will feel the need to push for a tougher stance across the region.
The German government has been cranking up the pressure on social media companies to tackle a surge in hate speech sentiments spreading via their platforms for several years now, following the refugee crisis in Europe.
In December 2015 it secured an agreement from Facebook, Google and Twitter they would delete hate speech on their platforms within 24 hours. But it’s been unhappy with their performance — calling out Facebook and Twitter for poor complaint handling earlier this month, when it also proposed the new law that’s now been approved by the cabinet.
The government is clearly hoping the threat of fines will enforce better handling of complaints and faster removal of illegal content than political pressure and verbal agreements from social media giants to ‘do more’ has thus far achieved.
Maas said today the cabinet backing for the draft law paves the way for it to be adopted in Germany within the current legislative period.
On the fake news front, the company has been trialling new tools to flag disputed content in Germany since January, as well as working with a local third party fact checking organization.
Twitter has also made recent changes aimed at reducing the spread of abusive content on its platform — which a spokesman previously told us may not have been in place at the time jugendschutz.net was monitoring its performance.


EL AMARI REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli forces on Saturday demolished the family home of a Palestinian charged with killing an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank, the military and witnesses said.
Israel says Islam Abu Humaid, 32, threw a 40 pound (18 kg) marble plate from a rooftop, killing an Israeli special forces sergeant, Ronen Lubarsky, 20, during a May arrest raid in El Amari refugee camp in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
Israeli forces arrived at the El Amari camp before dawn on Saturday, sealed off the four-storey Abu Humaid house and destroyed it, the military said in a statement.
The Abu Humaid family home has been destroyed before and rebuilt. Two other Abu Humaid sons are in Israeli custody, charged with the killings of five Israelis, and another two face lengthy incarceration for serious security offences.
A sixth Abu Humaid son was killed by Israeli forces in 1994 after himself being involved in a deadly ambush against an Israeli intelligence officer in the West Bank.
According to the indictment against him, Islam Abu Humaid told interrogators that he wanted to avenge the injury of one of his brothers in a previous Israeli army raid.
“What can we do? This is an enemy who thinks that by doing such actions they will terrorize us and make us fear them,” said Islam’s mother, Latifa Abu Humaid.
Israeli rights groups have criticized family-home demolitions of Palestinian attackers as acts of vengeance and collective punishment.
Israel’s Supreme Court has largely upheld the demolition policy. Israeli officials have termed it both punitive and a deterrence to potential attackers.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will continue operating in order to thwart terror and maintain security in the area,” the military said.
Tensions flared this week in the West Bank with a string of Palestinian attacks that killed an Israeli baby and two Israeli soldiers and Israeli forces shot dead four suspected Palestinian assailants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that in response to the attacks, slated demolitions would be sped up.


NABLUS, West Bank — An 85-year old Palestinian died Thursday after inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli army to disperse protesters in the occupied West Bank, witnesses said.
He is the first Palestinian casualty of the conflict with Israel in 2014 following the clash with soldiers on the outskirts of Kufr Qaddoum village near Nablus.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that a clash had broken out.
"Last night, a violent riot took place in the village of Qaddoum in which Palestinian residents hurled rocks at security forces, who responded with riot dispersal means," she said.
The military is investigating the incident.
Youths in the village were on Wednesday celebrating the 49th anniversary of the founding of the Fattah movement, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, when the clash erupted.
Villagers told Reuters the soldiers fired dozens of tear gas canisters at them, one of which entered Saeed Jaser Ali's home. He was taken to a hospital, where he died early on Thursday.
Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to return to the region on Thursday to aid peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The negotiations, revived in July after a three-year hiatus, have made no outward progress and Palestinian officials have threatened to take Israel before the International Criminal Court for Jewish settlement activity and killing civilians.
Violence in the West Bank has increased in recent months, and at least 19 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed in the occupied territory since the negotiations resumed.
Human rights group B'Tselem, which monitors the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that the number of killings in the West Bank in 2013 had jumped three-fold over the previous year.
An 85-year old Palestinian died Thursday after inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli army to disperse protesters in the occupied West Bank, witnesses said.


Microsoft has jumped into the free, self-service data analysis space with Power BI.
Power BI offers basic data wrangling capabilities similar to Excel's Power Query. It also lets you create interactive visualizations, reports and dashboards with a few clicks or drag-and-drops; type natural-language questions about your data on a dashboard; and handle files that are too large for Excel.
It can work with dozens of data types -- not only Excel, Access and CSV files, but also Salesforce, Google Analytics, MailChimp, GitHub, QuickBooks Online and dozens of others. And, it will run R scripts -- meaning that any data you can pull in and massage via R you can import into Power BI.
What is Power BI exactly?
Power BI includes both a downloadable desktop program and a cloud service, each of which offers different but overlapping capabilities. Data wrangling is desktop-only; visualizations and reports can be created in either; dashboards and report sharing are cloud-only. In addition, there are mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows that let you view your Power BI or SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports and dashboards.
At least for now, you can take advantage of most Power BI capabilities without paying -- although Microsoft is clearly betting that you'll like the basic cloud service enough to spring for a $9.99/month paid account. Chief benefits of the paid account are increased data storage (10GB vs. 1GB), more timely automated data refreshes, the ability to create enterprise "content packs" and higher streaming capacity.
Be advised, though, that Microsoft wants a business email address when you sign up for Power BI cloud service -- while it can't screen out all non-commercial addresses, it won't accept known free consumer addresses like Gmail.com. Accounts from .gov and .mil addresses aren't supported for direct sign-up at powerbi.com either, although addresses at .edu and .org are.
And if you'd like to use any of Power BI's free mobile apps, you'll need a Power BI cloud account or access to your organization's SQL Server.
On the other hand, Power BI Desktop (at least for now) is not only free but doesn't require an account, an email address or a credit card -- just a Windows PC.
If you'd like to learn how to use this new, still-evolving tool to create reports and dashboards, read on.
If you're used to Excel, you might think that selecting File > Open is the way to start analyzing your data in Power BI. But you'd be wrong -- File > Open is only for an already existing Power BI project.
Instead, to import new data, click the Get Data button on the Home tab, choose your data source type and click Connect.
To load a file, go to Get Data and select your data type.
This will bring up a familiar Windows file-selection dialog. Choose your file and you'll see a preview of your data. If it looks okay and there's nothing more you want to do to the data before starting to graph and chart, hit Load. Otherwise, click Edit, which brings up the Power BI Query Editor.
In this article, I'm going to use monthly files of airline flight-delay information from last summer that I downloaded from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website. I know -- especially where airlines are concerned, past performance is no guarantee of future results. But if you're going to book a flight this summer, it might be fun (if not necessarily predictive) to answer questions such as: Which airlines had the best and worst delays last summer? Are there any specific flights that do especially poorly or well? These Power BI charts can help you easily answer these questions.
If you want to follow along, you can download your own data files from the Department of Transportation website. Or if you want, you can download the same files I'm using here -- the file download is available to all members of the Computerworld Insider program; registration is free, so if you're not already an Insider, it's easy enough to sign up. Files include data for domestic flights in the U.S. by month (so if you want to check flights to Paris, this won't help). There are separate files for June, July, August and September.
Start by loading in the June file (2015_06_ONTIME.csv): Go to Get Data > CSV in Power BI. Select and open your file, and you'll see a preview of your data. Then click Edit (not Load) to bring up the Query Editor. Now we can do some data wrangling.
One thing that can be useful to check at this point is whether number columns are loading in as numeric (aligned to the right) or text (aligned to the left). In other words, if you see numbers that are flush left in your data preview, they're not importing correctly -- which is one reason to choose Edit and bring up the Query Editor window even if you don't think you need to make changes in your data's structure.
Make sure that the number columns are loading in as numeric -- in other words, aligned to the right.
Once in the Query Editor, you can right-click on a column header and select "Change Type" in order to manually select a data type such as whole number, decimal number, date, date/time, etc. But there's plenty more we can do with this data besides checking column types.
Once in the Query Editor, you can start tweaking your data.
Note: If you're not interested in data wrangling and want to get started with charts and graphs, load the summer15delays.csv file instead and skip ahead to the Easy visualizations section -- but do make sure that the flight number is changed from numeric to text when you import the file.
It can be confusing for beginners to understand when to use Power BI's desktop software and when to use the Power BI cloud service, since they do some but not all of the same things.
To begin with, the desktop application runs only on Windows. The cloud service is multi-platform, running on Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari for Mac and Firefox. In addition, mobile apps are available for iOS, Android and Windows 10 for viewing your reports and dashboards.
The desktop app is designed for authoring. It's where you can do data modeling, merging different data sources and so on as well as visualization.
The Power BI cloud service is for sharing and creating dashboards. It's also where you can access features like natural-language questions ("Hey Cortana...."). Cortana natural-language technology is getting baked into Power BI cloud. You can build visualizations and reports in the service, too, but you can wrangle data only in the desktop app.
If you need to massage your data for analysis -- combine data sources, add or delete columns, or reshape tables -- you'll want to use the desktop software, since it's the only option for data modeling.
To create dashboards -- visual summaries of data from one or more different sources -- and ask natural-language questions about data on those dashboards, you need the Power BI cloud service.
To get some rudimentary automated analysis (Quick Insights) from your data, you need the cloud service.
To share your analysis with others, you need the cloud service.
Some online data sources, such as Adobe Analytics, require using the cloud service.
You can start off working in Power BI desktop if you need its data-wrangling capabilities and then publish your data or report to your cloud account to create dashboards and share your work.


Minorities’ share of jobs equals sanitary work only?
Despite being college graduates, their applications for desk jobs stand ignored.
Asif Ghani Masih starts his day by sweeping the dusty corridors of the Sindh Secretariat. As the day progresses, he scrubs dirty toilets and empties dustbins, tasks that are part of his day job as a sanitation worker.
In the evening, however, the 27-year-old becomes a neatly dressed student, who attends classes for a Bachelor’s degree; the tasks of the day shelved away as he scribbles notes. At school, he had often dreamt of being an engineer.
Three years ago, Masih was thrilled when he heard about the five per cent minority quota in all Sindh government departments. The prospect of having a secure job and pension made the intermediate graduate leave his job at a small, cash-strapped courier company and apply for a clerical post at the secretariat.
“I was hoping that my education would be enough to land me a decent desk job,” says Masih, as he sits in his modest house in Old Golimar. “But when the list came out I was shocked to see myself appointed as a sanitary worker in the finance department.” His eyes fill with tears as he remembers the day. “It hurts to be called a bhangi [sanitation worker],” he adds.
For the religious minorities’ members lucky enough to land government jobs on the oft-bragged five per cent job quota, the only positions available at dozens of departments for them are of sanitation workers.
Take, for example, all 21 janitors who work with Masih. All of them are Christians or Hindus. Of the 16 who work at the Sindh minorities’ affairs department, most are Christians or Hindus too.
Even educated young men can’t get anything out of the quota but jobs as sanitary workers. He was a role model for his family, but does not like to talk about his job with them.
“Of the few educated youngsters in my family, I was lucky to land a job in the Express Courier Link and worked there for almost eight years,” said Masih. He started off in the customer services section and became an operations manager, but then switched gears in favour of a permanent government job.
Months ago, Masih had applied for the position of a dispatch rider at another department, but had no luck. He has reached out to politicians also but received no replies.
At the Sindh law department, a Hindu employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing his dismissal from service, said he had completed a college degree but is suffering due to his different beliefs.
“This is what the poor and minorities get for educating themselves,” he said. “We are suffering because of our faith.” He does not plan to spend money on educating his child, as he believes that won’t help him get a decent job in the end. The sanitary worker had got the job on minority quota after he asked for help from his community’s political representatives.
MPA Saleem Khokhar acknowledges the issue. Minority members are only given such jobs, he said. “Muslims who are appointed sanitation workers, do not work and only draw their salaries,” he claimed.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2012.
Religious intolerance continues to be a bane for minorities in the two countries.
Finance dept’s secretary says no money in ADP spent on development projects.
Despite non-utilisation of funds, minorities department wants Rs100m for the upcoming budget.
Leaders say Muslims were given priority in the emergency phase by relief organisations.
It is a shame for us that we call ourselves Muslims but we are so unjust to our human brethren from other religions. ET, thanks for publishing this analysis. It would be great if somebody at ET could do a detailed research on the issue and publish metrics on employment and education patterns of minorities across all the provinces spanning over at least one to two decades. The more this issue is exposed, the more progressive people of the society will be able to fight for the rights of minorities.
He should feel lucky to be alive in the Islamic Republic, what more does he want?
its really sad to hear that this particular person has to work like this in a Government job but we are just missing a very important point here. The minorities are always highlighted more but in truth many poor Pakistani’s work like this! Be it Muslims or non-Muslims. There are so many kids who have left their primary education either because of the fact that our public education sector has been totally destroyed, I don’t even want to talk about the private education sector, or poverty is so much that they have to support their families instead of pursuing studies. There are people out there with bachelor’s degree who are unemployed let alone a person without a bachelor’s degree! Competition is tough in today’s world, a master’s degree is now deemed as minimum plus there are limited seats in both public & private sector. so have a sense of situation in Pakistan, everyone is suffering, we just highlight the few and forget that everyone is a Human foremost. Jobs should be given on merit not on the basis of connections or quota’s, if somebody has a good CV he/she should be given a job accordingly, be it anyone.
The treatment if the minorities in Pakistan is deeply shocking and distressing. Many In Pakistan refer to the Sachar Committe report to point to discrimination against Muslims in India. That such a report was commissioned is itself witness to the fact that there is concern for minorities in India. Though the figures are disappointing it should not be forgotten Muslims are among the high achievers of the country. They can be found in the higher echelons of the judiciary, military, sports, government, science, business and entertainment. I remember reading somewhere that that the net worth of Azim Premjis Wipro alone would exceed that of the entire Karachi stock exchange listed companies.
@themiddleone : You are very silly. These men are not just minorities, they are graduates and getting lowly work just because of their faith.
Once the Caliphate is established, you will be treated as equal citizens. Until then, you will have to bear basic inconveniences.
Nothing wrong, we all know what Pakistanis do in USA. To have a good job, you must have good qualification. It is simple.
but pakistan is a country and nation of these minorities, and cannot afford to treat them like american can, as they are not their countrymen.
Nothing wrong, we all know what Pakistanis do in USA.
But they are not in USA they are in their own country, unless you think they are unwelcome aliens here. Think before you write.
Minorities currently at 3% will be reduced to zero within 5 years, all became Muslim due to love of Islam ?
In india some people do nonsense. Yet all minories can prosper, And many do reach the higest level of govt jobs.
I just happen to stumble upon this news site .Did not like it .


A bull sculpture stands on a desk at a stocks market in Nantong, Jiangsu proovince, China on 10th July 2015.
The U.S. stock market just had its worst day in 18 months, and it's all because of China.
China's stock market struggles might be happening thousands of miles away from U.S. shores, but as today's 358-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows, domestic companies could soon be feeling the shockwaves of the ongoing crash.
If you're a large, successful U.S. company in 2015, chances are that you're heavily involved with China. In the last few decades, the country's robust economic growth and growing middle class — combined with softening rules on foreign business operations — have meant big opportunities for companies intrepid enough to develop operations there.
That opportunity, however, carries with it some hefty risk. China's economy and its investment world is not as mature as the U.S., and it looks like the country is about to learn a hard lesson about investment and financial regulation. China's main stock index plunged 8.5% on Monday, a decline that builds on previous drops despite the best efforts of China's government to prop up stock prices.
The stock decline could precipitate a broader economic slowdown in China, leaving U.S. firms without the growth driver they have enjoyed. Let's take a look at a few companies and industries that could be affected.
Apple has few other options for serious growth than the burgeoning Chinese smartphone market. That's what happens when you're already a gigantic and wildly successful company.
Apple has already enjoyed meteoric growth in China, generating $13.2 billion in sales in the most recent quarter. That's more than double revenue generated a year earlier.
That growth will inevitably slow, but broader economic struggles in China could mean that Apple's days of setting revenue records could be numbered. CEO Tim Cook recently touched on these issues, expressing long-term optimism but concern about the current situation.
"Nothing that's happened has changed our fundamental view that China will be Apple's largest market at some point in the future," Cook told an analyst during Apple's most recent earnings call. "It's true, as you point out, that the equity markets have recently been volatile. This could create some speed bumps in the near term."
The name "Yum" might not be familiar, but chances are you've eaten in one of their fast-food chains. Yum operates KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and a stable of other brands.
Many of those American eateries have found success in China. KFC alone had 4,828 locations in 2014 in the country, according to Yum. It's actually a cultural tradition in China to eat KFC on Christmas day.
Patrons eat at a KFC restaurant in Shanghai, China on 23 November 2010. Yum! brands, the parent company of KFC, is opening up one KFC outlet in China everyday in a race to cash in on the country's explosive growth.
This success has led Yum to generate more than half of its revenue from China. As a result, the company is particularly sensitive to the country's tastes and its economic fortunes.
China's emergence as an economic power has led to it becoming a major factor in both the production and consumption of semiconductors, which are integral to modern electronics.
China "represents the largest and fastest growing country market for U.S. semiconductors," according to a recent report from the Department of Commerce. That means a variety of companies including Intel, Qualcomm, Micron Technologies and Texas Instruments are at risk, all of which rely on greater Asia for more than 50% of their sales.
GE originally had loft goals for China. The company had previously said that it hoped to generate $10 billion per year in the country, but fell rather short of that.
Still, China has become an important market for GE's industrial goods like airplane engines and medical equipment. Asia as a whole is responsible for about 16% of GE's total sales.
Like Apple, Boeing has been boosted by growing demand in China. The airline manufacturer recently raised its 20-year forecast for commercial jet demand thanks to increasingly rosy projections from China.
Such a long-term outlook means that Boeing probably won't be too hurt by any small fluctuations, but a more serious slowdown would mean trouble for the company.
Travel is one area where even short-term problems could spell trouble.
Macau serves as the Las Vegas of China, sitting just off the coast and hosting numerous major resorts and large casinos. The semi-independent island (like Hong Kong, it is a "Special Administrative Region) is a destination around the region.
The island has fallen on hard times. Unlike Vegas, which has become relatively diversified in how it makes money off tourists, Macau is still primarily a gambling haven, although there have been efforts to change that.
Night view of the Sands Macao Casino, owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, in Macao, China, 28 March 2015.
Gambling revenue has already been dropping off, with May 2015 coming in 37% below the same time last year.
Numerous U.S. companies have built operations in Macau, including Las Vegas Sands, Whynn Resorts and MGM resorts. These companies are also involved in ongoing developments, banking on the island's future.
China's stock market struggles could mean less disposable income for trips and gambling. If the market leads to great economic hardship, one only needs to look at Las Vegas's struggles during the financial crisis.


Ola Toivonen took advantage of a Hugo Lloris error to score an injury-time winner from inside his own half as Sweden beat France in their World Cup qualifier in Stockholm.
The Toulouse midfielder collected a low clearance from Lloris close to the halfway line and clinically lifted the ball into the unguarded net to earn a 2-1 victory that leaves Sweden top of Group A in qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Russia.
France, who are second to Sweden on goal difference, took the lead through Olivier Giroud’s superb left-footed volley after 37 minutes, only for Jimmy Durmaz to equalise for Sweden just before half-time.
Holland moved to within three points of the top two with a 5-0 win over Luxembourg in Rotterdam. Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at half-time, with Liverpool’s Gini Wijnaldum and Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen on target in the second half. Bulgaria lost ground in the race for top spot, falling to fourth in the group after losing 2-1 in Belarus.
In Group B Marc Rebes’ first-half header earned Andorra their first competitive victory since 2004 as they beat Hungary 1-0. The tiny nation’s first qualifying success since a 1-0 win over Macedonia 13 years ago was also a humiliating setback for the visitors, who topped their group at last summer’s European Championship but are now eight points adrift of second-placed Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for the Euro 2016 winners as they won 3-0 in Latvia to keep up their pursuit of Group B leaders Switzerland. Goals from Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka and Stoke City’s Xherdan Shaqiri earned Switzerland a 2-0 win against the Faroe Islands which extends their 100% start in qualifying to six games.
In Group H Dries Mertens and Nacer Chadli were on target for Belgium as they won 2-0 in Estonia. Mertens opened the scoring after half an hour, turning the ball home after Mihkel Aksalu had spilled Kevin de Bruyne’s right-wing cross. The hosts had Artjom Dmitrijev sent off just before half-time with the score at 1-0. Elsewhere Gibraltar were denied a first-ever point in qualifying when Pieros Sotiriou scored the winner for Cyprus in the 87th minute.
Belgium now lead their group by four points from Greece, who drew 0-0 with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnia forward Edin Dzeko and his Roma team-mate Konstantinos Manolas were involved in an altercation after the final whistle following a bad-tempered contest in Zenica.


Senate: Democrats would strip Fed of supervisory powers, create three agencies WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed stripping the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three new federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers and dismantle failing institutions.
The 1,136-page bill, released by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, would represent a significant shift in power in federal oversight of the U.S. market. The Fed has been a dominant figure in managing the economy, although many lawmakers blame the central bank for not doing enough to prevent last year’s crisis.
“We saw over the last number of years when (the Fed) took on consumer protection responsibilities and the regulation of bank holding companies, it was an abysmal failure,” said Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat.
Dodd’s proposal prompted cheers from consumer advocates and other Democrats, including Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., an influential moderate who said swift action was necessary to prevent future government bailouts of big banks.


Newly relegated West Bromwich Albion, Bristol City and newly promoted Wigan Athletic have been linked with a move for the midfielder but the Gazette understands that Town have not received any offers.
If bids were to come in, Fleetwood are in a strong position with Dempsey under contract until 2020.
Having joined on loan from Huddersfield Town, the midfielder was a key figure in the 2016/17 Fleetwood side that challenged for automatic promotion from League One under Uwe Rosler.
That form saw Town chairman Andy Pilley pay out an undisclosed six-figure sum to secure his services on a permanent basis in the summer of 2017.
Dempsey built on that 46-game, two-goal term by playing 52 games last season, albeit in different circumstances as Fleetwood just avoided relegation from League One.
John Sheridan, who took over from Rosler in February this year and steered Town to safety, challenged Dempsey to start finding the net more often.
He scored 11 times for Carlisle in his breakthrough 2014/15 season, a tally that helped clinch his move to Huddersfield.
Sheridan, who was a regular scorer from midfield during his career, recognised that Dempsey had the attributes to pose a threat to opposing defences.
Speaking after Dempsey scored his only goal of the 2017/18 season in the 2-0 win over Northampton Town in March Sheridan said: “Kyle should be scoring seven, eight goals a season with what he has got in his game.
“I’ve given him that licence to get forward a little bit more and I’m very pleased his performance merited a goal.


Published: May 20, 2012 3:00 pm Updated: May 20, 2012 3:51 p.m.
Common lavender should be planted in well-drained soil.
Last week I covered five of the herbs that the National Garden Bureau and the Herb Society of America recommend as easy to grow. This week I will cover another five.
Selecting which herbs to grow depends on personal preferences and on your growing conditions.
While herbs do not require the best of everything, the quality and the quantity of your harvest depends on providing what they need.
We will lead off with a multipurpose herb that makes an excellent garden perennial flower, a great plant for cooking, and also for fragrance and crafting.
Lavandula angustifolia — or common lavender — is a great choice as a flower, even if it had no other uses. Plant it in full sun in a well-drained soil. Waterlogged lavender plants do not usually survive the winter, so if your soil is heavy clay, create raised beds or amend your soil to improve the drainage.
As a kitchen herb it is one of the main ingredients in blends of Herbes de Provence. Its fragrance is well-known, and the flowers are harvested to make potpourris and perfume.
L. latifolia — or spike lavender — is used in soap. Essential lavender oils are used to make soap, perfume and household cleaners.
There are many cultivars of lavender including AAS Winner "Lavender Lady," "Hidcote Blue," "Munstead," "Kew Red" and "Gray Lady." Each of these varies in flower color and leaf shape, size and other characteristics.
The plants grow well in Utah. Young Living Farm at Whispering Springs in Mona, Utah, which grows 200 acres of fragrant lavender, is one of the county's largest lavender farms.
Greek oregano — or Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum and its counterpart marjoram or O. majorana — are popular culinary herbs.
They are used in many ways, including stuffing, casseroles, soups, stews, and egg and meat dishes.
Greek oregano is known for its sizzling, spicy flavor, while marjoram is favored by those who like a milder and sweeter flavor. They are both perennials that favor well-drained soil and full sun.
Try garden cultivars such as "Herrenhausen," "Amethyst Falls," "Kent Beauty," "Zaatar," "Greek" and "Hot and Spicy."
Melissa officinalis is better known as lemon balm. This perennial herb needs moist, well-drained soil but will thrive in full sun or partial shade. Keep an eye on this plant because it can quickly become invasive if not contained.
The plant also spreads easily by seed, so cut off the spent flowers before they drop seeds. Many gardeners prefer to grow this plant in containers, as that is a good way to keep this spreading plant under control.
Use the lemon-scented leaves in teas and desserts, or dry them for crafting projects. Cultivars include "Aurea," "Citronella" and "Lime."
Parsley is another common herb that has several uses. There are two types of parsley that are commonly grown in herb gardens. They are common or curled-leaf parsley — Petroselinum crispum — and flat-leaved or Italian parsley — P. crispum var. neapolitanum.
Both types are excellent for kitchen use and are frequently added to soups, stews, casseroles and meat dishes.
Italian parsley is usually the preferred choice for cooking, while curled parsley is the eye-catching green sprig that is often used to garnish a dinner plate.
Grow parsley in a well-drained garden loam type soil. Keep the soil moist because stressed plants become tough and bitter. This plant is grown as an annual or as a biennial.
Sages are perennial herbs that grow best in full sun in well-drained garden loam soil. Not all sages are edible, and some types are only grown for landscaping purposes. These different sage types come in a variety of flower colors and fragrances.
Garden sage — or Salvia officinalis — is the one used in cooking and is an excellent flavoring for turkey, stuffing and sausage. There are several cultivars that have excellent perennial foliage. Cultivars include "Berggarten," "Kew Gold," "Tri-color" and "Purpurascens."
Pineapple sage — or S. elegans — has attractive variegated foliage and produces vivid scarlet-red flowers in the fall. It is not hardy in our area.
Red Butte Garden is offering a free class on weed management and identification on May 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
The course will teach participants how to control the weeds that plague your garden. For more information, call 801-468-3187.
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is offering a free class titled "Perennial Color All Season Long" on May 23, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Learning Garden in Layton, 2837 E. Hwy. 193. For more information, log on to www.weberbasin.com/conservation.
For more information on events at Young Living Lavender Farm, go to www.youngliving.com or call 1-800-371-0819 or 1-435-623-8006.
Larry A. Sagers is a horticulture specialist for the Utah State University Extension Service at Thanksgiving Point.
Larry A. Sagers Larry is a horticultural specialist for the USU.


Professor Rahmatullah Khan is currently Secretary General of the Indian Society of International Law and also the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of International Law. He is a former professor of International Law in the International Legal Studies Division and held the Jawaharlal Nehru Chair for International Environmental Law at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He also held the position of Rector at the University. He was the recipient of the Humboldt Research Award in recognition of achievements in teaching and research, the first Indian scholar in International Law to do so. This article was first published in the IDSA Journal, 8(2/3), October–December 1975/January–March 1976, pp. 252–265.
The new World Economic Order, advocated at the end of the Sixth Special Session of the UN General Assembly through a Declaration in Action Programme, and later by the regular session of the Assembly in the form of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties, poses quite a few problems. Its legal validity, its political wisdom, its economic content and a host of other issues have been questioned. The two instruments contain provocative provisions, like the right to nationalise foreign property.


As I continued to travel down a road of both parenting and faith shifts, it became clear that I didn’t understand a great deal about feelings and emotions. I realized that when I parented my sons, I considered their expressions of certain feelings as out of bounds. My response to normal human emotions such as anger, frustration, jealousy, and the like was often to label them as disrespectful, disobedient, or shameful.
My goal was to prompt each child to shut down strong reactions as soon as possible, or better yet repress them altogether. I needed to reexamine the corporal punishment and timeout/microwave timer strategies that I used with my boys. Conservative Christian parenting advice often includes the idea that children must obey at first command, and there is a subsequent harsh punishment or isolation if they do not comply. Timeout, corporal punishment, and removal of privileges are touted as appropriate reactions to a child’s expression of any “negative” emotion. As I became more fully educated about normal child development, I further questioned the wisdom and truth of the parenting practices I had embraced.
I had to ask and answer a series of important questions: Is there a distinction between “positive” and “negative” emotions? Aren’t all feelings a part of being human? Why is any kind of “negative” emotional expression immediately deemed as disrespect and something to be squashed ASAP? Why do I seek to control rather than lovingly teach and mold my children’s behaviors? Why do I default to shame and fear tactics to keep my children in line? Sure, kids who are immediately compliant make my life easier, but isn’t there something more profound to model and teach these precious souls in my care?
I had hit a wall in parenting my girls. The methods that I had used with my sons were only intensifying problematic behaviors that were happening with our daughters. I was clearly “out of my league.” The discipline tools I reached for were like throwing gasoline on a fire. And we were just in the toddler stage of life. I was well aware that there was a long road of parenting ahead.
From a faith perspective, my questions multiplied as well. What is inherently “Christian” about spanking and punishment? Why did I insist that our children meet a standard that I was unable to meet without the gifts of mercy and grace? A major tenet of the Christian faith is that human beings have free will. God does not force us to love, follow, or obey. Though it seems that there are natural consequences that flow out of our choices, God rarely, if ever, flexes big muscles and forces us to walk a certain path. Grace is the overarching story between God and human.
One of our daughters regularly reminds me of a difficult truth of our relationship when she says, “You can’t make me do anything.” In former days, I would have preached a mini-sermon and doled out a punishment if a child interacted with me like this. After years of reprogramming my parental brain, I reach for different tools. I give honor to the emotions around such encounters, remind her that in our family we can express anything as long as we are respectful of one another, and then we take the necessary time and intention to work through the core feelings in each tantrum or disagreement. Sometimes we have to separate for a period of time and then return to the matter at hand. Each of us is granted a “time-out” to process our emotions – my own response is most often to practice deep breathing and get myself in a calmer state. This approach certainly takes more time than doling out a rash and sometimes random consequence, but it also preserves connection and intimate relationship between mother and child. When appropriate, I communicate natural consequences as one portion of a holistic discipline approach.
As hard as it is to admit at times, my daughter’s assessment that I can’t make her do anything is correct. Her expression of this reality used to send me to a place of great anger, frustration, and then a “digging in” around an attempt to prove her wrong. Though I sometimes still protest internally, I have surrendered to the truth of her words. I now respond with honesty. “You are right. I can’t make you do anything. But I hope that you will choose to do this thing that is safest and healthiest for both you and our family.” These days, she most often does.
For a while, I lived in the fantasy that I actually controlled my children, their emotions, and their choices. But the raw truth is this: the only one that I can truly manage is myself. There are unhealthy fear based tactics such as brute force (which is only available for a time since they will grow up and become stronger than me), manipulation, and shame that I can attempt to deploy as I navigate the discipline of our kids. The reality is that such methods don’t even work that well to control the behavior of many children. Even more importantly, they cause short and long term damage to tender souls as well as to parent-child relationships.
I have decided that I am in this for the long haul. I choose connection and the preservation of a healthy relationship over doing all in my power to get my kids to behave in ways that make me most comfortable. When I acknowledge the reality that each of my children is a separate individual soul and not an extension of me or my ego, the level of my comfort around their behavior and choices becomes irrelevant. I am able to see challenges and bumps along the road as opportunities for both me and my child to learn and grow. We are each free to be ourselves and take delight in our differences as well as our shared characteristics and viewpoints. My job is to coach and teach them as they develop and move toward independence.
After years of practicing a parenting paradigm heavy with punishment, I have come to believe that there is a better approach in the training and teaching of a child. A simple, yet far from easy, way to express this change in parenting perspective is a shift from fear to love. In John’s first epistle, he said it this way: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us.” I, for one, am grateful that God doesn’t use a traditional parenting method with me. I need all the grace I can get.
Tricia Wilson began her motherhood journey over thirty years ago, and amidst the ups and downs of parenting three biological sons and two adopted daughters, she overhauled both her parenting and faith perspective and practice. She has now found what she was looking for: grace and peace as a mom, wife, friend, and human being. She is a Circle of Security International Parenting Facilitator and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tricia can be found online at www.tricia-wilson.com.


Dagenham & Redbridge picked up only their second win in nine games with victory over Sutton United at Victoria Road.
The Daggers came close just before the break when Jack Munns connected with Alex McQueen's corner, but the post denied him.
Seconds later, full-back Liam Gordon stormed forward and again hit the upright as Sutton rode their luck.
Peter Taylor's men finally hit the front in the 71st minute when Conor Wilkinson looped a header over Ross Worner to establish a lead that proved decisive.
The hosts' Elliot Justham saved superbly from substitute Dylan Kearney late on to secure the three points.
Match ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 1, Sutton United 0.
Second Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 1, Sutton United 0.
Roarie Deacon (Sutton United) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Chike Kandi replaces Tomi Adeloye.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Will Wright replaces Doug Loft.
Substitution, Sutton United. Dylan Kearney replaces James Dobson.
Goal! Dagenham and Redbridge 1, Sutton United 0. Conor Wilkinson (Dagenham and Redbridge).
Substitution, Sutton United. Tom Bolarinwa replaces Brett Williams.
Jonah Ayunga (Sutton United) is shown the yellow card.
Second Half begins Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Sutton United 0.
First Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Sutton United 0.
Liam Gordon (Dagenham and Redbridge) is shown the yellow card.


Yelp's new Wordmap pulls double duty, either pointing you in the direction of a romantic eatery in your neighborhood, or helping you steer clear of notorious hipster joints.
Yelp's new Wordmap pulls double duty by pointing you in the direction of a romantic eatery in your neighborhood, or helping you steer clear of notorious hipster joints.
The review site hosts a plethora of information about local businesses around the world, but most of it stays hidden behind reviews, photos, and business hours.
That's why Yelp built the Wordmap, a heatmap showing density of keywords used in reviews to reveal what Yelp called "fascinating patterns of local discovery."
"We chose some of the most interesting words to show hot areas for cocktails, typical tourist hangouts and hipster hoods in 14 of our Yelpiest cities," Yelp said in a blog post, pointing to Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.
For example, Chicagoans can look for a classier dining spot by clicking on "cocktails," or try "BYOB" for a more laid-back vibe.
Almost every one of Yelp's initial cities are on everyone's to-visit list, turning them into tourist-filled hubs, much to the chagrin of most local residents. But you can make a better effort to avoid day-trippers with the Wordmap. Want to head out for lunch in New York, without the hassle of photo-taking city newbies? Yelp gives you fair warning (pictured) to avoid the Times Square area (duh), and instead try an Upper West Side eatery, or perhaps hit any restaurant in Brooklyn.
Meanwhile, Paris seems to be filled with expensive cafés that serve something chocolaty for breakfast.
Those just looking to find a decent bar for happy hour or their next Sunday brunch locale can stick to the full Yelp experience, which recently added images to reviews and boosted its Nearby tab with suggestions geared specifically toward the user's mood.
For more, see PCMag's review of Yelp for iPad and iPhone.


Palestinian front is the only one in which Israel controls its fate, Mideast scholar tells INSS panel.
Israel’s regional standing is as precarious as at any time in its history, a leading Mideast scholar said at a panel discussion Thursday, but the country can cut its losses by waging a unilateral “disengagement” from the Palestinians.
Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies, Asher Susser said that although Israel’s ability to influence regional events is severely limited, its relations with the Palestinians is one arena in which it still controls its own fate. Susser said a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement may never be signed, but a unilateral disengagement would help Israel avoid becoming a binational Jewish-Arab state.
Susser – a fellow and former director of Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center for Middle East and African Studies – said the past year’s Arab upheavals represent the reemergence of sectarianism, tribalism and above all political Islam.
Susser disputed the view – one he described as the prevailing conventional wisdom in Israel – that the country should bide its time indefinitely in hope the region’s volatility eventually subsides. Instead, he called for a unilateral initiative to secure Israel as a Jewish, democratic state rather than risk letting it become a binational state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.
Susser said the term “Arab Spring” is inaccurate to describe the region’s recent upheavals. The phrase, he said, “reflects the unwillingness of many in the West to look at the Middle East and accept the ‘otherness’ of the other” – particularly regarding the role of religion in society.
Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agreed that terms like “Arab Spring” and “Arab awakening” are misnomers.
“We’ve had a series of intifadas – uprisings, either violent or nonviolent, whose outcomes are uncertain,” he said. “Except for Algeria one could travel from Morocco to the Persian Gulf encountering only Islamist leaders. This is what I call the ‘new Middle East.’” Still, Satloff warned, prognoses of US irrelevance in the region may be premature.


Just a FYI in case anyone is also caught off guard! Flew out of Heathrow today, and Qantas (as of today) have changed their check in counter at Heathrow from Aisle B to C. This is bc they have established a baggage arrangement or something with Finnair and CX at LHR, or so the check in lady informed me.
Thank you, it’s Terminal 3 Aisle C, better make a note on itinerary.
Apologies if I should have started a new thread, but this IS the header I would have used.
Firstly, thanks for the tip JA, much appreciated.
Secondly, last time I was at Heathrow, September 2018, the check-in didn't kick off until exactly 3 hours before the flight, by which time there was a very long queue. Is there an alternative to this? With hotel/Airbnb chuck out times, even with luggage storage offered, you still end up at the airport early and it is a pain being saddled with luggage for hours at the less than salubrious LHR.
I will probably be at the airport by 16:30 - to avoid the bulk of the regular commuter overload, yes, I take the tube, not the Heathrow Express - and my flight is QF2 at 21:05. I am wondering if, as a platinum/emerald, there is an option to check in early, perhaps with another Oneworld member? Or is there a Qantas early check-in desk that I have failed to notice?
You are correct about the three hours but as a platinum you won’t have a long queue to deal with. It will be you or one in front of you. First and platinums like to do late check ins from my experience. Worth coming a little later to avoid the 2 your wait before check in. I did that wait last year.


Welcome to 2013, the year that shall go down in history as the one that started with every being in my household violently expelling substances out of every orifice imaginable. That's my fancy way of saying the this one's going to be a short one.
My wife, two 18-month-old boys and I were given the gift of a nasty stomach bug for Christmas, and while the children and their mother succumbed early on, come last weekend we were all in the same boat. I didn't want to play any gaming apps. I didn't want to stare at colorful things. I just wanted to curl up in a bathtub and hide.
I've done some catching up since I got back into fighting form on Wednesday, and while I only managed to play an additional five more games on top of a shortened Gaming App of the Day rotation, one of the makes me feel pretty so it all balances out in the end. Happy New Year, everybody!
The distilled essence of every 8-bit action role-playing game ever. Love it.
A physics puzzler with a cute and quirky style, challenging and polished.
I dig LEGO's new line of furry warrior playsets. Not all that fond of the racing game for the iPad and iPhone, but the price was right (free).
Don't you judge me. I am a pretty princess.
A mini version of the greatest PC game of 2012, without all the annoying multiplayer. I've learned a lot.
I think I know what you're thinking: Game of the Year 2013? Already? That's crazy talk.


The work An den Frühling : Lieder für Männerchor = Part-songs for men's chorus, Vol. II represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Boston University Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Audio, Musical, Music.


A wonderful world opens up for a girl with Autism.
Directed by Jakob Strom, the short opens with a young girl named Charlotte awaking in a tiny shack with her stuffed pig. She peeks outsides her window and gazes curiously upon a world unknown, just before she and her stuffed friend go on to explore it. From clouds of glittering fireflies to majestic waterfalls, we get to see an enchanting world through the eyes of a brave adventurer.
As beautiful as Charlotte’s surroundings are, it’s the impressive CGI rendering of a swimming fish, comprised of the very nature that she’s been traversing, that shows how this world—her own mind—is a hub of endless possibilities. It’s a gorgeous sight not only in its appearance but in the way that concept flies in the face of the popular misconception that those living with autism and other developmental disorders are somehow barred from all the beautiful things that this world has to offer.
At first, Charlotte appears to be lost in her own mind, but then she successfully identifies the word, much to her mother’s delight. The bridge managed to connect the different worlds that she and her mother individually navigate, allowing her to thrive in both.
“The Bridge” is the latest in an ongoing relationship between the agency and SunTrust, which also includes the 2016 campaign that marked the bank’s Super Bowl debut.


G. Alfred Hess Jr., an expert on Chicago school reform and urban education policy, died Jan. 27. He was 68 and had pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Hess retired in December as a professor at Northwestern University’s school of education and social policy, where he had worked since 1996. He was the director of the Center for Urban School Policy.
Before moving to the university, he founded and directed the nonprofit Chicago Panel on School Policy. He was the author of two books about the city’s public schools.
Mr. Hess was also a former president of the Council on Anthropology and Education.
Published in Print: February 15, 2006, as G. Alfred Hess Jr.