Datasets:

mteb

/

sts22-crosslingual-sts

like 6

Follow

Massive Text Embedding Benchmark 228

1484191459_1484223583

In an earlier blog that drew a lot of response, teachers decried the academic pressures now occurring in kindergarten, saying we are asking young children to learn skills they are developmentally unsuited to do. In nearly 200 comments on AJC Get Schooled Facebook page, teachers and parents recoiled at the intensifying focus on reading and math and structured lessons at the expense of free play and creative activities. Earlier this week, an elementary teacher reached out to me to share her contrary view, one that she feared would be shouted down on AJC Get Schooled Facebook. The reason, she said, for an increasing academic focus in kindergarten is that students are arriving at first grade far behind, and that gap is difficult to surmount. Studies have shown young children who are behind in learning – as defined by tests such as the ITBS Reading Comprehension – seldom blossom into late blooming top readers. If they are poor readers early on, they tend, on average, to remain so. As the teacher explained: We’re in a race to give these children the skills to succeed. When they come to us already so far behind in first grade, it’s impossible for some to ever catch up. We try. We really try. But we need more help from the parents, the pre-Ks and the kindergartens. (Some teachers commented that children who learn to read before kindergarten are not really able to handle such a complex skill. But an Early Childhood Literacy study found that students who are read to and who learn basic reading skills before kindergarten have a more positive association with books and make substantial academic gains once they develop full literacy.) The teacher’s overall point: Young children are capable of more than historically has been asked of them in U.S. kindergartens, which she believes have been resistant to imposing more ambitious academic standards. She spent five weeks in China on an education exchange, and, while she abhorred classrooms of 50 students, she was dazzled by the mathematical fluency of even young children. “We were not in a rich region of China. These were children whose parents were laborers, not bankers.” But is the answer more drilling, testing and worksheets in kindergarten? Georgia education professor Bryan P. Sorohan made this point in an email to me: The statistics reported on socioeconomic differences in school readiness are indisputable, and factor into much of the discussion on school issues. Likewise, I have no reason to doubt the lifetime effects reported for disparities in school readiness: students who are not ready to read when they start school will undoubtedly experience lifelong disparities in educational and other outcomes. The causes for these effects are not simple. Students from poorer families may not be ready to read by age five for a variety of reasons: obstacles to parental involvement related to economic needs, nutritional deficiencies, lack of exposure to information-rich and educative resources in the home and elsewhere (also due to family economic needs) and many others. Research shows that reading to children is one simple factor that greatly increases reading readiness, for example, but parents who are working multiple jobs just to keep the lights on and food on the table are not going to have the same time to read to their children as wealthier parents. Providing access to high-quality preschool is one way to help remedy this problem, but poor parents also do not have the ability to pay for that kind of educational preparation. The problem, said Sorohan, is that children lagging in needed skills aren’t being helped by our current solution of turning kindergarten into first grade. The real problems arise in the way school bureaucracies respond to these realities. Several other facts have to be taken into consideration: first, a student who is not developmentally ready to start reading is not going to be magically catapulted into readiness through a curriculum that is not appropriate for their current developmental level. Nature and human development cannot be altered by just expecting children to learn something we want them to learn before they are ready. The example of Finnish Schools is instructive: they emphasize play and pre-literate reading-related activities , and their literacy rate is one we can only envy. (As an aside, I have actually heard people attribute the educational achievements of the Finns to their relatively homogeneous society, whereas it is the U.S. system that attempts to force a very diverse society into a one-size-fits-all educational system). US bureaucracies, however, respond by essentially denying the socioeconomic factors in school readiness and the realities of human cognitive development. Part of the reason may be that, for some reason, the US continues to put non-educators in leadership positions in our educational establishment. Expecting a business or military professional, regardless of their success in their chosen fields, to understand educational realities has pretty much proven to be a fool's errand. Part of the problem also lies in the high-stakes, punitive style of educational accountability we practice here: too many educational leaders understand that their jobs depend on this year's test scores, not long-term results, and react by retreating into familiar but ultimately detrimental solutions based on approaches they think are "rigorous." The irony is that the very meaning of the term "kindergarten" is "child's garden," reflecting the origins of the concept as a place where children played, explored, and developed according to natural, human processes. The overwrought and reactionary type of educational "reform" that US schools have been stampeded into for the past three decades has led educational bureaucracies to essentially deny the realities of how children learn and develop. Thankfully, teachers such as those at Boston's Brookline schools have finally decided to put their feet down against the kind of abusive bureaucratic nonsense we've been fed about our schools. Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers. Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.

Are we ruining kindergarten? Kindergarten teachers in the Boston suburb of Brookline gained national attention and applause earlier this year for their protest of the increasing academic demands being put on younger and younger children. Creative play, said the teachers, was losing ground to a developmentally inappropriate focus on earlier reading. In a 2018 survey of 189 Massachusetts kindergarten teachers, most reported decreases in time allowed for child-directed activities. Instead, kindergartners, especially those in high poverty schools, were working more on scripted lessons. In a letter delivered to the school board, 27 Brookline teachers said: We have dedicated our careers to teaching 5- and 6-year-olds, and we see that some current practices are leaving an everlasting negative impact on our students’ social-emotional well-being. Therefore, we are here tonight to share with you our concerns about a new kind of gap that is emerging in Brookline kindergarten. It is a “reality gap” — a gap between the way research shows that young children learn best and the curriculum the district requires us to teach. It is a reality gap between Brookline educational values and what is actually happening to children in our classrooms. The district has made significant changes to expectations around literacy. We have all worked with our literacy coaches and specialists to implement the various reading and writing lessons with fidelity. However, block scheduling — 90-minute reading and writing blocks — comes at the expense of thematic units, play-based learning and social-emotional opportunities. We are seeing the effects of this loss. We see many of our kindergartners struggle with anxiety about school because they know they are expected to read. A significant body of research exists showing the negative consequences to children’s emotional well-being when they are forced to read before their developing brains can make sense of it. Reading sooner does not always mean better. The push to get our kindergartners to read earlier without consideration of their readiness is impacting their attitudes toward learning. It is now common to hear their little voices announce to us, “I don’t know how to read.” “I hate reading.” “I hate school.” “I am not good at anything.” This our greatest concern. In our students’ social and emotional development, here’s what we see in our classrooms: Current academic pressures on 5- and 6-year-olds are contributing to increasing challenges with our kindergartners’ ability to self-regulate, to be independent and creative. Study after study has shown that young children need time to play, but in Brookline, because of academic demands, time for play-based learning has been shortened and, on some days, eliminated entirely. As kindergarten teachers, we know that play is not frivolous. It enhances brain structure and function, and promotes executive function, which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions. It helps children learn to persevere, increase attention and navigate emotions. Young children are also meant to move around and explore. Many children who sit for long periods of time experience frustration, muscle cramps and disruptive behaviors. We have seen an increase in the number of children diagnosed with ADHD and behavior issues within our schools, and we know why this is happening. Yet we are doing things that will only exacerbate the problem, rather than make it better. Their advocacy drew a lot of support, including from Boston College professor Peter Gray, author of “Free to Learn” and the college textbook “Psychology.” Writing in Psychology Today this month, Gray praised the teachers for protesting “the excessive testing, dreary drill, and lack of opportunity for playful, creative, joyful activities... The abuse is occurring not because kindergarten teachers are mean. Most of them are kindhearted people who love children; that’s why they chose the career that they did (though this may change over time as the loving ones quit). The abuse is occurring because the teachers are not being allowed to do what they believe and know is right. They are being required to follow policies imposed from above by people who know little about children and don’t have to see the anger, anxiety, and tears that the teachers see in the classrooms.” Gray shares this comment from a kindergarten teacher: Words that have come out of my mouth this fall: ‘We do NOT play in kindergarten. Do not do that again!’ (to a student building a very cool 3D scorpion with the math blocks instead of completing his assigned task to practice addition.) ‘No, I cannot read Pete the Cat to you. We have to do our reading’ (90 minutes of a scripted daily lesson). ‘Those clips (hanging from the ceiling) are for when we do art. No, we cannot do any art. We have to do our reading lesson’ (my kinders get to go to a 40-minute art class once a month). ‘No, you cannot look at the books/play with the toys’ (literacy toys and games). ‘No, we cannot do a science experiment. We have to do our reading.’ ‘No, we cannot color. We have to do our reading." … I hate my job. Love my kids—hate the curriculum. But I cannot afford to quit. Too close to retirement to start over. Yet, alongside this angst about turning kindergarten into a spirit-sapping slog are dismal assessments of the school readiness of America’s children. The concern that too many kids lack the basic academic skills necessary to succeed in school explains why kindergarten has become more like first grade. A report this year from the Center on Children and Families at Brookings warned: Poor children in the United States start school at a disadvantage in terms of their early skills, behaviors, and health. Fewer than half (48 percent) of poor children are ready for school at age five, compared to 75 percent of children from families with moderate and high income, a 27 percentage point gap. School readiness has effects beyond the first few months of kindergarten; children with higher levels of school readiness at age five are generally more successful in grade school, are less likely to drop out of high school, and earn more as adults, even after adjusting for differences in family background (Duncan et al., 2007, Duncan et al., 2010). Entering school ready to learn can improve one’s chances of reaching middle class status by age 40 by about 8 percentage points, according to a recent analysis that uses linked data sets to track success from birth to age 40 (Winship, Sawhill and Gold, 2011). Your thoughts? Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers. Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.

1484008812_1484075036

Three people, including a post office employee, have been arrested in connection with the robbery of the Van Dyk Post Office in Boksburg, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. "[Police] followed up information about suspects who allegedly robbed the Van Dyk Post Office in the morning of 31 December," Captain Kay Makhubela said in a statement. Two people were subsequently arrested in Vosloorus and Leondale respectively, and cash, believed to be the money taken during the robbery, was recovered as well. It was not clear how much money was stolen. "A woman who worked at the post office was also arrested as she was the one who allegedly gave the money to her boyfriend," added Makhubela. All three are due in court shortly. - Compiled by Mirah Langer

Representative image. VIJAYAWADA: Two women and a seven-year-old kid died on the spot while 15 others suffered injuries after an over-crowded tractor lost control near Modalapalli village under Tavanapalli mandal in Chittoor district on Wednesday.The deceased were identified as Bujjamma (49), Lokamma (45) and Gautam (7). According to cops, the incident happened in the afternoon when the tractor was heading towards Siddeswara Swamy Temple atop of a nearby hill as part of their tradition to offer prayers during the new year.Cops said that the tractor crashed upside down while turning at a hairpin bend. Locals rushed to their aid and managed to rescue some of the injured who were stuck under the vehicle.Upon information, cops reached the spot and rushed the injured passengers to a local government hospital for treatment. A case under section 304A of IPC (causing death due to negligence) was registered. All the three bodies were sent for postmortem. Further investigation is still on.

1483805607_1483831880

KCB will release and replace more than eight players – Oduor The Bankers’ assistant coach confirms the team will make radical changes to the playing unit during the January transfer window Kenyan Commercial Bank ( ) will axe nine players during the January transfer window. The mid-season transfer window opened its gates on Wednesday and will run until the end of January. After 13 matches, KCB are sixth on the log with 25 points, four adrift of champions , who have a match in hand. Despite the good run, KCB assistant coach Godfrey Oduor has confirmed the team will fire more than eight players and bring in a similar number ahead of the second leg of the Kenyan Premier League ( ). “We will release more than eight players in the transfer window for us to have the number of players recommended by management,” Oduor is quoted by The Star. Article continues below “At the moment I cannot reveal the names but we will make an official announcement soon. We will then add a player in each department. So far so good for us and I am looking forward to the new year, in which I hope to perform even better.” Before the season kicked-off, KCB beefed up their squad with the signings of Dennis Odhiambo, Steven Waruru and Enoch Agwanda. In addition, the Ruaraka-based club lured in decorated members of the technical bench including Harambee Stars assistant coach Zedekiah 'Zico' Otieno as their head coach. KCB will open the new year with a clash against this weekend and the national U-17 assistant coach said they are ready for the Slum Boys even after watching Salim Ali's charges demolish in their previous outing.

Ulinzi Stars welcome trio ahead of second half of KPL season The trio have successfully completed their military training and are ready to help the Soldiers on the pitch Kenyan Premier League side have been boosted by the return of Masita Masuta, Clinton Omondi, and Quintine Indeche. The trio had been in military training and managed to graduate from the Recruits Training School in September. The three players have already reported back and will be included in the team's second squad. "[Masita, Omondi, Indeche] trained with their mates on [Sunday] and they seem determined and have the right attitude," Ulinzi head coach Benjamin Nyangweso told their official website. Article continues below "They bring onboard the reinforcement we need as a team and I am happy to have them. We are still assessing the different departments ahead of the crucial second leg but I believe we will have the right players for the job," he added. However, the trio might not be included in the Soldiers' Sunday game against Posta . The four-time league champions finished 2019 in fifth position after getting six wins, seven draws, and one defeat. The Nakuru based side is on 25 points, four behind leaders .

1484456134_1484720560

Bollywood has a long history of objectifying women. Almost every part of their bodies, from cleavages to legs, have often been the focal point for cameras charting the male gaze, for titillation, and always in the name of entertainment. In fact, it's been so normalised and societal conditioning has been such that sometimes we even fail to notice that it's happening. But in 2011, Vidya Balan-starrer The Dirty Picture ripped this mask of hypocrisy off Bollywood as it presented the audience with an unapologetic yet heart-wrenching story of a woman who transcends her surroundings, takes on the big dogs of the film industry, but unfortunately, succumbs to the extraordinary pressures of her career. The Dirty Picture stresses on the sensational events to chronicle Reshma aka Silk's journey from a nobody to a sex symbol to a tragic star. More than anything else in her life, Silk wants to be taken seriously as an actress, but no one really seems to care about her talent, forcing her to do parts that are only meant to please men. Soon, she becomes the subject of gossip in Page 3 columns, with only sultry and erotic roles coming her way. But Silk takes pride in her work and is never ashamed of what she is doing. The interesting thing about The Dirty Picture is to watch Vidya Balan skilfully avoid all of the entrapments of the script. She nails Silk's playful, wacky insouciance in the space of just a few minutes. Directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ekta Kapoor, the film is a shrewd commentary on the double standards that still very much exist for women in the film industry. Silk, however, puts on a brave face through all the hardships that women have to face every day, not just in this industry but the entire country - sexual exploitation, abusive relationships, sexual objectification, among other. One of the most moving parts of the film is a brief monologue that comes just before the interval, where Vidya brilliantly portrays how Silk can be tough, sarcastic and glamorous, all at the same time while showing a seasoned actor (played by Naseeruddin Shah) his true place. Also Read | Films of the Decade: Why Peepli Live Represents the Year 2010 in Hindi Cinema In the scene, Silk confronts instances of sexism openly at an awards show as the audience watches her transformation into a completely fearless person. She says, coldly, "I was called vulgar, disgusting, sexy and what not. Just so someone's film could take off, I was used as a boarding pass. And, yet over and over people say I'm vulgar. You made me dance but neither did you notice my effort nor my sincerity. You were busy noticing something else. Yet you label me disgusting. You can make films about sex; sell them; watch them; show them; even present awards to them but you're scared of acknowledging them. You can continue wrapping your head with your so-called honour, I will continue making my dirty pictures." This particular scene feels not only earned, but empowering. It makes Silk feel comfortable in her own skin again, so that the next time someone tries to take advantage of her, she doesn't feel as helpless or hopeless as she might have felt before. The film also gives Vidya an opportunity to mouth some heavy-loaded dialogues unlike other Bollywood films where men do most of the talking. During the promotions of The Dirty Picture, Vidya had spoken at length about how working on this movie was a liberating experience for her. "I have never enjoyed being a woman more than in the Dirty Picture. It celebrates the woman like a rainbow in all the colours. I enjoyed the fact that for the first time, I was getting to mouth dialogues like heroes did in the 80s in films like Shahenshah. I felt an actress getting to mouth such dialogues was incredible," the actress had said. Ask to sum up my response to the film, I will just say, "a big game-changer!" Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

Researchers have found that combining neurologic and blood pressure drugs may reduce breast tumour development. According to the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, adding a medication used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines to a blood pressure medicine reversed some aspects of breast cancer in the offspring of mice at high risk of the disease because of the high fat diet fed to their mothers during pregnancy. "We believe that our research is the first to show that we can reverse some aspects of increased breast cancer risk found in offspring of mouse mothers fed a high fat diet during pregnancy," said study researcher Leena A Hilakivi-Clarke from the Georgetown University in the US. "This finding may have important implications in people because exposures in the womb to certain chemicals, or a mother's high fat diet, or being obese, can subsequently increase a daughter's breast cancer risk," Hilakivi-Clarke. According to the researchers, the key drug in the study regimen was valproic acid which, among several targets, inhibits histone deacetylase (HDAC), an important epigenetic silencer of genes. In contrast to mutations that permanently disrupt the normal functions of genes, epigenetic modifications are reversible. Valproic acid was combined with the blood pressure medication hydralazine that inhibits another critical epigenetic regulator, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT). Early treatment studies in people have shown that these two drugs can work in tandem to disrupt tumour growth. These research findings demonstrate how impactful an epigenetic methyl group addition or subtraction from DNA can be. Compounds that reduce methylation of tumour suppressor genes that are excessively methylated (hypermethylated) can be beneficial. However, these drugs can have the opposite effect if tumour suppressor genes are not hypermethylated; they may remove methyl groups from cancer-causing genes, making these genes more active and potentially leading to more aggressive cancers. The other key aspect of this finding involves the potential impact of diet on cancer risk. Many fruits and vegetables have compounds (such as flavones) that chemically react in the same ways as the HDAC- and DNMT-inhibiting drugs in this study. Some compounds in these foods, especially folic acid, have opposite effects. This research suggests that exposure to a high fat diet or endocrine disrupting chemicals in the womb might be reversed by the consumption of foods high in DNMT and HDAC inhibitors, while those who have not had such exposures might also gain a cancer protective benefit from consuming foods high in folic acid. The scientists noted, however, that their findings, particularly as they relate to diet, need to be studied in people. "Our next step will be to try to identify biomarkers in humans that indicate an exposure in the womb to diets or endocrine disrupting chemicals that could increase breast cancer risk later in life," said Hilakivi-Clarke. Follow @News18Lifestyle for more​ Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

1483806386_1483839770

With more and more developing countries seeking strategies to industrialise, learning institutions are increasingly partnering software development companies to get ahead of their competitors. advertisement Call it the race to the internet of things or as Advanced Design Colleges (ADC) (the distributor and trainer of Autodesk software in Zimbabwe) puts it: “the future of making things.” This movement is sweeping through many countries obsessed with user-friendly production processes and training institutions that are producing talent for the knowledge economy. advertisement Success is a choice It is either a country joins the bandwagon or remains trapped in archaic educational models that advance the objectives of the colonial enterprise. David Ngandu the director and founder of ADC says Zimbabwe needs to position itself for this opportunity by investing in design technology: If things are to be made in 3D technology, we need to start understanding how to prepare for that future now. David Ngandu Ngandu told delegates who attended the inaugural AutoCAD Expo at Elephant Hills, Victoria Falls that Zimbabwe needs to rethink its educational system. The expo, attended by Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education officials, CAD experts from Zambia and South Africa saw lecturers receive training in industry-specific packages such as AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD textile, AutoCAD map 3D, Revit and Inventor among others. The Expo was also an opportunity to evaluate the implementation of AutoCAD in tertiary institutions. Since the adoption of the education 5.0 philosophy and the time the country introduced STEM, many training institutions have started modifying their curricula. Playing catch up… However, despite the progress, Ngandu says the country still lags in technology uptake so much that the future that Zimbabwe craves is the “present in other countries.” The undertaking by ADC has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education which is currently implementing a heritage based education system biased towards innovation and industrialisation. “As a Ministry, we fully embrace initiatives whose actions impact the quality of life of our citizens,” Professor Fanuel Tagwira told delegates who attended the Expo. “The workshop is timely as it reinforces government ideals towards modernisation and industrialisation agenda. AutoCAD will stimulate practical product design,” he said. Zimbabwe has been lagging behind in CAD a situation that calls for urgency in the integration of ICT in educational programmes. Bulawayo Polytechnic Principal, Gilbert Mabasa says a radical stance must be taken to stimulate industrialisation. Instead of insisting on overhauling the curriculum we need to design a new one. The whole concept of design must change for lecturers, policymakers and students. Our experts are exportable to any country in the world because our system of education was designed for an external market. Gilbert Mabasa The AutoCAD programme has improved the competitiveness of graduates but more needs to be done. Kushinga Phikelela Polytechnic Principal, Roy Mavhunga says design technology must be introduced at an early stage. “We need to start at primary level so that pupils are accustomed to using design tools.” Dr. Tonderai Zenda, the principal of Morgen Zintec College agrees “If we want greater impact design technology should start at teacher training colleges.” He adds that while much has been accomplished by institutions that have embraced AutoCAD, the point of inception needs to be revisited. “Many a time we emphasise change at the wrong level,” Dr. Zenda said. ADC’s progress thus far… ADC has trained over 400 lecturers in Polytechnics and teachers Colleges since 2017 when it entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. Under the agreement ADC is responsible for training CAD lecturers, installing the latest AutoCAD software in laboratories as well as personal computers of lecturers and students. Prior to this arrangement, institutions used pirated and old versions of the software. ADC has been pushing for AutoCAD programme to be part of the Higher Examinations Council (HEXCO) curricula. In 2018, it facilitated for 17 tertiary education officials to attend Autodesk University training Expo in Cape Town to get an understanding of how AutoCAD is impacting industry and training. But despite all that not all institutions have embraced the software and programmes are not examinable by HEXCO making participation by students voluntary. Going forward Unathi Ntwana, a Civil Engineering lecturer at Walter Sisulu University in South Africa, who was one of the facilitators at the Expo says more needs to be done to expose “academics and policymakers to the advantages of AutoCAD so that they incorporate it into the curricula. Africa cannot continue to do things the way it has been doing.” Ms. Poniso Watema, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe CAD programme concurred adding” “institutions must take an aggressive approach to the implementation of AutoCAD and the programme must examinable.” The design revolution is setting the pace for economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and countries are waking up to the opportunities that it brings along. The heritage-based philosophy adopted by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education seeks to harness technology, localise it and use natural endowments to spur economic growth. Imraan Lambat, a facilitator from South Africa and the only Autodesk simulation expert in Africa applauds the initiative. He says “Africans should determine their destiny through design technology.” For some time, Autodesk University has been flying in applications engineers from Europe to come and train Africans but this changed in the year 2000 when it took a deliberate policy to train local engineers thus putting them at the forefront of the change. In Zambia, however, Zama Sinkala an Autodesk consultant says despite commendable progress the government lacks “political will” to promote AutoCAD. He adds: “All the major projects are being done by the Chinese. There is a need for a deliberate policy to ensure local engineers are at the forefront of inventions.” As countries brace for the 4th industrial revolution which is predicted to cause seismic changes to the world of production, Sub-Saharan countries need to tackle red tape, partner industry and commit to investing in technologies that will define future production processes. Author Bio Admire Masuku is a journalist based in Harare and a Journalism lecturer at Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism and Media Studies. Quick NetOne, Telecel, Africom, And Econet Airtime Recharge Number to recharge: Airtime amount: Eco Cash number: {{error_message}} {{error_message}} {{notice}} If anything goes wrong, click here to enter your query. WhatsApp Share 5 Shares

Business Reporter Construction of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)’s Southern Africa Regional and Trade Centre head office in Harare is set to commence soon following the continental financial institution’s invitation of expressions of interest from contractors to build the complex. To be built on a 12 000 square metres of land in Newlands, the mixed building complex will provide an integrated one stop shop for trade facilitation and information services as well as trade finance. It will also offer corporate office space, a conference and exhibition centre, innovation and incubation hub and a knowledge centre. Zimbabwe donated land where the complex will be built in 2017, which would help the transformation of the country into an intra-African trade hub, a centre of knowledge and information about the markets and a centre where major deals would be struck. In an expression of interest notice yesterday, the Pan-African bank said interested bidders should provide proof of experience of providing building services for similar projects with a combined value of US$50 million in the past five years. Afreximbank remains Zimbabwe’s major financier and has in recent years, provided facilities to both Government and the private sector worth billions of dollars. Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution involved in financing and promoting intra and inter-African trade. The bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organisation, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved more than US$67 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, of which US$7,2 billion was extend in 2018. Total assets stood at US$13,4 billion as at 31 December 2018. The bank has facilitated promotion of intra-African trade in manufactures and effective participation of African entities in the continent’s extractive industries, supporting industrialisation, export development and diversification, expanding capacity and supporting SMEs to increase efficiencies. It has also facilitated trade-enabling infrastructure, to support intra-African trade and industrialisation in Africa, and providing Trade Finance leadership.

1483803487_1484392382

Winky D Own Correspondent|Winky D last night into early this morning, launched his controversial album Njema at a fully subscribed Harare International Conference Centre. The vibrant musician took to the stage wearing a signature red and white jersey ( same as the ZPCS’s prison garb) which left fans believing that he was sarcastically suggesting the nation is under arrest from government. The album is titled Njema which is Shona slang for handcuffs. Winky D before his album was launched was in a bit of trouble with the authorities after they reportedly banned state-controlled radio stations from playing his new album an allegation they denied.

Zimbabwe police have banned all illegal mining activities and said anyone wishing to go into mining should obtain a relevant licence or permit. The ban follows the killing of Constable Wonder Hokoyo by machete gangs in Kadoma on 28 December. Police Chief Godwin Matanga said police will not tolerate acts of violence by artisanal miners and anyone who decides or attempts to disarm a police officer on duty risks being shot. “All potential miners who are engaged in illegal mining activities should stop doing so and ensure that before they mine, they obtain the relevant licence or permit to do so in terms of the laws of the country,” he said. “Any deviation from this will result in such miners being arrested. No one should interfere with or attack police officers who are maintaining law and order at mining sites. Anyone who decides or attempts to disarm police officers on duty risks being shot.” Matanga said police were working with other stakeholders to ensure that incidences of gold rush in several parts of the country are swiftly dealt with. “Let us all promote law and order and engage in lawful and regularized mining activities. Regulating authorities will be issuing out prohibition orders barring he carrying of machetes and other weapons such as knives, catapults, iron bars and knobkerries…” The police chief said he will ensure that police deployments in mining areas are influenced by the need to protect and preserve life and property. “My office will therefore not stand by and allow unruly elements to attack police officers. We have also engaged the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to ensure that all mining disputes, disused and decommissioned mines are monitored and measures put in place to curtail illegal mining activities,” he said.

1484188644_1484319913

Before I list the chronological of the 2019 Yellow Vest movement allow me to briefly summarize it: Every Saturday eight thousand cops were on the streets of Paris, entire city areas shut down, while the state went on a rampage of indiscriminate violence of police brutality against unarmed protesters. Then it hit me: the metronomic sadism of massive state violence was abnormal, yet Western mainstream media ignored it, and pretended everything was normal. A news chronology of France in 2019: The year of Yellow Vest rebellion [If you are too busy to read it all, I suggest only reading March through May 1 - this is when the Yellow Vest demonstration was gutted via reactionary values which we can call "neo-Vichy", with Brussels replacing Berlin as the master of France's government.] In mid-April I finally was able to get out of Paris for a few days in between Saturdays and I headed to the countryside, which I adore (in any nation). After a day of decompression something hit me: the metronomic sadism of certain, massive state violence every weekend was not at all a normal state of affairs" and yet Parisians were expending all their psychic energy to convince themselves that everything was indeed "normal". What was "everything" from January to mid-April? Every Saturday: Eight thousand cops on the streets of Paris, entire city areas shut down, guaranteed images of violence against unarmed protesters, indiscriminate tear gassings and police brutality, the world aghast at French-style democracy, the knowledge that no way was "President Jupiter" Emmanuel Macron going to make any concessions and that for many people (like me) every Saturday meant certainly risking limb and quite possibly life. What I realized was that during the first third of the year Parisians did their typical best to be blase'; to act as if all this was quite nothing new whatsoever; to act like getting upset over it was quite poor taste; to act typically Parisian. That, of course, was total nonsense - pure poseur. So what I mostly remember is how during this period was that the collective cognitive dissonance in Paris was so immense that it reached a generalized psychosis caused by mass denial. I also realized that this denial of reality and subsequent psychosis can only be found in imperialist countries. "Our treatment of the aboriginals/those with whom we are living alongside and whom we colonized/non-Whites" is totally normal," they insist, as they live under a shroud of silence and feigned "normality". The unsaid reality remains unsaid by both colonized and colonizer (under penalty of social exclusion, jail, death), and the psychosis just mounts and mounts and mounts. It is normal that this imperialist psychosis occurs in the European Union in 2019, as it is indeed a neo-imperialist project. The question the French cannot quite answer is: are they the still the colonizer, or are they now colonized? But such questions are all of no importance to the politically regressive. Nothing to see here, even by the French who watch the nightly news - we cannot question "French exceptionalism". What do I know about the Yellow Vests? I contend that no "mainstream" journalist attended more Yellow Vest demonstrations than I did, at least in Paris. I would also suggest that while I did hundreds of live interviews from the demonstrations - while getting tear gassed, with rubber bullets flying around, literally in between Black Bloc and police - most journalists did zero. This article was generated by me going back through my list of reports with PressTV in 2019 - it's mostly headlines, quotes (mostly from interviews with Yellow Vests) and short excerpts from my reports. I pass on the highlights, and I also tie together the threads with the advantage hindsight - check the key date of March 16th to see what I mean. If you are too busy to read it all, I suggest only reading March through May 1 - this is when the Yellow Vest demonstration was gutted via reactionary values which we can call "neo-Vichy", with Brussels replacing Berlin as the master of France's government. I didn't bother to provide a weblink to the roughly 175 2-3-minute reports I made with PressTV in 2019, but I did include web links to a score of in-depth written reports I did specifically about the Vesters. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22

While a shooter was firing rounds of ammunition into two Jews in Jersey City, New Jersey, a kosher market worker and a police officer simply for who they are and where they were, I was halfway around the world, in Paris. More specifically, I was hurrying past a Parisian cafe where I was made to feel humiliated for being visibly Jewish exactly a year prior. The attack felt more personal to me, a proud Brooklyn Jew. The Jewish community in Jersey City is comprised largely of Chasidic Brooklyn Jews who can’t afford living across the bridge. An anti-Semite went after my home community, the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel. Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up When I travel, I always wear a yarmulke. I refuse to hide my Jewishness — the argument that assimilation will offer Jews safety fails when I consider the yellow stars that assimilated, cultured German Jews were forced to wear as their community was systematically murdered. So I wear my kippah when I travel as a proud banner to counter the cheer that “Jews will not replace us.” I was taught in yeshiva that Jews merited being saved from slavery in ancient Egypt because they didn’t change their names, their language or their clothing. Their refusal to assimilate was their ticket out. In Brooklyn, I heard the message that sticking to my tight-knit Jewish community was the clearest path to safety — that the best way to save myself from anti-Semitism was to simply avoid interacting with non-Jews. I’m working on unlearning this narrative. I proudly travel while Jewish, across nearly 30 countries so far. But recent events have made me question my own conclusions about my place in the world. Last year, after a red-eye from New York on the last day of Chanukah, I arrived in Paris’ city center with enough time to take part in a Parisian ritual, at least according to the movies — sip an espresso on a table with a checkered tablecloth. I found the perfect cafe and ordered espresso in the little French I memorized on the plane. I sat in the booth and took off my beanie, revealing a yarmulke. I tried to get comfortable as I took in the scene — the pretty bar, the checkered pattern and the non-kosher food I could only enjoy with my eyes. And the waiters, who were all wearing uniforms. One was heading my way. He didn’t look happy. He was yelling in French. His body language told me he didn’t want me there. I surmised that to him, I was poison. Humiliated, I paid the 2 euros for my coffee, downed it and headed out into the cold. The event challenged my place in the world. The liberal beliefs I held close, that the Holocaust is now behind us and that Jews are welcomed in Western society, didn’t hold up in light of this experience. I was caught between the idea that Jews should never integrate because assimilation will be our downfall and the idea that best way to combat anti-Semitism is to be even more public with my Jewishness — caught between the push to assimilate and the need to stick to my guns as a Jew and wear my Jewishness more proudly. But that was only in France, where earlier this month another Jewish cemetery was filled with graffiti swastikas. Not in the United States, where I was safe. This was in Europe. It wasn’t like this in America. This juggling act came to mind when I accidentally passed the cafe after making a wrong turn on the day of the New Jersey shooting, exactly a year later. I remembered the awning and the layout, including the wicker chairs outside under the electric heaters. I hurried past it. As I traveled to the airport, I read more about the shooting and how it is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism with anti-Semitic and anti-police intent. I am now back in New York, my former city of safety. But today it feels more like being in Europe as a Jew, with or without a kippah. France was where I realized that I could stay safe in my tristate shtetl, but Jersey City taught me that staying here will never offer complete security. My hopefulness in my place in the world is waning. pjc Eli Reiter is a New York based educator, storyteller and writer. This article first appeared at JTA.org.

1484759181_1484250241

If you’re reading this amid a massive New Year’s hangover, you just might have been Googling “Dry January.” Many people make the commitment, for a month, to dry out, so to speak. To leave the liquor behind in the previous year and start anew, alcohol-free. This year, Marvel Bar, the Minneapolis cocktail spot below Bachelor Farmer, is also taking a break from booze. It’s kicking off 2020 (after a winter break, beginning January 8), with an “exploration” into drinking without drinking. (To be clear, alcoholic drinks will still be available. Just not the star of the show.) Eric Dayton, Marvel Bar’s co-owner, quit drinking three years ago. Marvel Bar’s general manager, Peder Schweigert, doesn’t drink either. Both have noticed a surge of more sophisticated non-alcoholic beverage options in recent years, a trend fueled in part by millennials’ health consciousness. For those who aren’t drinking, or just taking a break, the days of having to settle for a cranberry and soda are over. “You can be a grownup and not drink,” said Dayton, 39. “People our age aren’t going to go out and have a Shirley Temple.” Inside the North Loop's Marvel Bar In 2019, Marvel Bar began a series of deep-dives into certain spirits and topics. It spent months focused on whiskey, then gin, foraging, and finally brandy. So when they got to thinking about an exploration for January 2020, they came upon “Dry.” Schweigert is crafting more than ‘mocktails.’ One drink, the Monarch, uses a syrup made from milkweed flowers foraged over the summer. Mixed with rice vinegar, it tastes like an “adult watermelon Jolly Rancher,” he said. The milkweed shrub is “floral, funky and interesting.” Another drink he’s still tweaking will combine cherry juice and mushroom tea to replicate the “tannins and nuance of an Old World French red.” He’s also experimenting with juices made from wine grapes that haven’t been fermented. Hot drinks and refreshing highballs will be easiest to create. Harder are the elixirs that “scratch the itch of somebody who drinks Old Fashioneds,” Schweigert said. All of the drinks, he assures, will pair perfectly with the bar’s only food option, Cheetos. The program will run through April. The exploration series is meant to be immersive. In addition to the special menu, Dayton is thinking about minimizing the bar-ness of the bar itself. That means making the alcohol in stock “less present, so someone who doesn’t drink feels more comfortable,” he said. “Being surrounded by bottles of alcohol can be a difficult experience.” There will also be an educational component to the series over the next four months, with discussions or classes on what to drink, for people who want to drink less, or not at all. “When I stopped drinking, it meant so much to me when a bar had something thoughtful, not a mocktail, not a lesser version of what I was having before,” Dayton said. It turns out, the audience for those thoughtful drinks is large and varied, whether bar-goers are abstaining because of pregnancy, overall health, for weight loss, or because of addiction. “Each person has their reason for doing it,” Dayton said, “and we want to make them feel welcomed.” Marvel Bar 50 2nd Av. S., Mpls., 612-206-3929, marvelbar.com

Police would continue to focus on the key factors that led to people dying on the road. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery For the first time in six years, there was a reduction in the number of deaths on the road last year. At the end of the year 353 people had died on the roads, a drop of 24 compared to 2018's road toll of 377. Assistant commissioner for road policing, Sandra Venables, said the drop was good news, but the loss of life was still far too high. "It is promising to see after years of death and serious injuries increasing on New Zealand roads, it is starting to turn around," Venables said. "But this number is still no comfort to the people who have lost loved ones on our roads." Duty Minister Iain Lees-Galloway echoed those thoughts, saying the decrease is positive, but the number of dead is still "staggering". "I want to acknowledge and thank all our emergency response professionals who deal first-hand with the trauma on our roads and work to save lives on a daily basis," Lees-Galloway said. "During this busy holiday period I encourage everyone to stay focused, be patient and drive according to the conditions every time they travel. I really want everyone to arrive home safely from their holiday destinations." Lees-Galloway said road safety is a key priority for the government. "This year more safety upgrades, like side and median crash barriers, will be rolled out across the 3000 km of high-risk state highway identified by the NZ Transport Agency. "[This year] marks the beginning of the government's new 10-year road safety action plan, focused on greater investment in safety upgrades, driver training, enforcement, and safer speed limits." Venables said the police would continue to focus on the key factors that led to people dying on the road. "These are not wearing restraints, being impaired or distracted, and speed," she said. "January is one of our highest risk months on the roads as so many people are still on holiday; travelling around visiting loved ones and making the most of their time off over the summer. "We want all road users to do this safely, and not end up in hospital, or worse, the mortuary."

1484395365_1483986288

india Updated: Jan 02, 2020 10:29 IST The Varanasi court of Additional Session Judge S. K. Pandey has granted bail to 57 of the 59 protesters, including the parents of a 14-month-old baby girl, who were arrested during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. The court ordered for the release of each applicant on the submission of two bonds of Rs 25,000 each. Out of 59 arrested protesters, 57 had applied for the bail. The arrested persons will be released on Thursday after completion of formalities. The case of arrest of Ravi Shekhar and his wife Ekta, who run an NGO, was raised by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Lucknow last week since the couple has a 14-month-old baby, who was being looked after by neighbours after they were arrested. The protesters were arrested from the Chetganj area while marching to the Benia Bagh ground for holding the anti-CAA meeting on December 19. Varanasi had witnessed anti-CAA protests on December 19 and 20. On December 19 protesters, including activists of CPI, CPM, other organisations and also 19 Banaras Hindu University students were arrested from the Chetganj area. Some more protesters were arrested in the Badagaon area, after which the total number of arrests on December 19 reached 73.

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday slammed the BJP government over the plight of a 14-month-old girl whose parents were arrested for participating in an anti-CAA protest defying prohibitory orders, saying it is the moral duty of the government to allow the child's mother to go home. On December 19, people gathered in Beniya Bagh area of Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, to protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), defying section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) imposed by police. Champak's parents, activists Ekta (32) and Ravi Shankar (36), who run an NGO, Climate Agenda, were among those arrested in connection with the protest. "To suppress civil demonstrations, the BJP government has shown such inhumanity and separated a small child from her parents," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet. The toddler's health has deteriorated, but there has been no change in the BJP government's intentions, the Congress general secretary said. "It is the moral duty of this government to allow the innocent mother of this child to go home," she said.

1484400597_1484019136

The demonstrators had swarmed outside the embassy, chanting “Death to America!” Some tried to scale the compound’s walls and others clambered onto the roof of the reception building they had burned the day before. In contrast to Tuesday, when some demonstrators forced their way into the compound and set some of the outbuildings on fire, the crowd Wednesday was smaller and no protesters breached the compound’s gates. When the demonstrators — largely members of Iranian-backed militias angered by deadly US airstrikes over the weekend — reached the roof of the burned reception building Wednesday, US security forces, including Marine reinforcements sent by the Pentagon the day before, fired tear gas to drive them back. The full withdrawal came after leaders of the Iranian-backed militias who had organised the demonstration called on the crowd to leave, and most gradually drifted away on foot or drove off in trucks. The leaders later announced that their agreement to withdraw was conditioned on a commitment from Iraq’s prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, to move ahead with legislation to force US troops to withdraw from Iraq. Whether or not such a law comes to pass, the episode reflected the new reality in Iraq. Iran’s ability to deploy militias to blockade US diplomats inside the embassy for most of two days made clear how much power they wield within the Iraqi government. Despite a 16-year US effort to establish a government friendlier to Western interests, at a cost of more than $1 trillion and 5,000 American lives, Iraq’s leaders lined up in opposition to the US airstrikes and its security forces allowed the militias to reach the American diplomatic compound. Some people wearing the uniforms of the Iraqi security forces were even seen attacking the compound themselves. The Iraqi government’s acquiescence raises the question of whether the continued US presence in Iraq is tenable. The two-day standoff at the embassy evoked traumatic memories of earlier attacks on US diplomatic posts in Tehran and Benghazi, Libya, though it ended peacefully, without reports of deaths or injuries. But it was not likely to be the last word on the matter. “This is one round of many rounds to come,” said Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. Miscalculations by both the United States and Iran led to the standoff. It began with a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base Friday that killed an American contractor and wounded several Iraqi and US service members. The United States blamed Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia with close ties to Iran. The militia denied involvement in the rocket attack. US forces retaliated with airstrikes on five sites controlled by the militia, in Syria and Iraq, on Sunday. The airstrikes killed at least two dozen people and wounded twice as many; Iran has put the death toll at 31. Iran’s proxy militias seemed to think they could conduct hit-and-run attacks on military bases without fear of retaliation, and the United States thought it could punish them with sweeping airstrikes without consequence. Both assumptions turned out to be wrong. The US airstrikes, set off a broad outcry in Iraq that the United States seemed not to have anticipated and that now looks likely to precipitate an effort to expel all US forces. On Tuesday, thousands of Iraqi militia fighters marched on the US Embassy compound in Baghdad to protest the American strikes, and some of them forced their way through the outer wall. They did not attempt to breach the embassy itself. The Iraqi authorities, who had prevented previous demonstrators from even entering the Green Zone that encompasses the embassy, allowed the protesters to approach the diplomatic compound unimpeded. In recent months, in the face of antigovernment protests, it was Iraqi forces firing tear gas to dispel protesters. But this week, the Iraqi authorities left the task to the United States, rather than confront their own people. The militias, although closely tied to Iran, are made up of Iraqis and fall under the umbrella of the Iraqi security forces, though they have a great deal of independence. But the Trump administration sees both the killing of the US contractor and the attack on the embassy as the direct work of Iran. “These are the kinds of tactics that they use,” Brian Hook, the administration’s special representative for Iran, said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday. “Forty years ago they stormed our embassy. And then here we are 40 years later and they’re directing these terrorist groups to then attack our embassy.” President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that Iran “will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities.” “They will pay a very BIG PRICE!” he said. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded Wednesday, taunting, “You can’t do anything.” Iraqi militias played a crucial role in the fight against the Islamic State group, or ISIS. While many of the armed groups, which are principally made up of Shiite Muslims, are backed by Iran, a Shiite theocracy at odds with the United States, the two powers had a common goal in their effort to defeat the Islamic State. Once the Islamic State was largely demolished, however, the Iran-backed militias turned their attention to constraining US activities in Iraq, especially after the Trump administration ratcheted up its sanctions against Iran. The administration said that the militias had carried out 11 attacks on Iraqi bases housing US service members in just the past two months and that the airstrikes were a necessary deterrent to prevent further attacks. © 2020 The New York Times Company

Paramilitary groups and their supporters protesting against US airstrikes in Iraq withdrew from Washington's embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday. US security forces guarding the embassy in Baghdad had earlier fired tear gas at pro-Iranian protesters outside the building on Wednesday. By early evening, most protesters appeared to have complied with a call by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — an umbrella group of mainly Shiite militia — to withdraw. The group said the demonstrators' "message has been heard." Tensions have escalated dramatically after thousands of supporters of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force attempted to storm the US Embassy in Iraq the previous day. A large group camped outside the building overnight, angry at US airstrikes that killed 25 pro-Iran fighters over the weekend. They set up about 50 tents and even portable bathrooms after marching unimpeded into the high-security Green Zone. On Tuesday, protesters set fire to part of the wall surrounding the US embassy Rising tensions US Marines worked to disperse the crowd as more people turned up for the second day of action, some of whom lit a fire on the roof of the reception area. In response to the tear gas, some members of the crowd hurled stones towards the embassy. Several protesters were reported injured. Hashed al-Shaabi later released a statement calling on its supporters to withdraw from the embassy perimeter. Iraq's INA state news agency reported that protesters heeded the call and began to withdraw. Marines deployed US President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the mobbing of the embassy. The US has announced it will deploy an infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers to the region. Overnight, a rapid response team of Marines flew in to reinforce the embassy. Trump threatened Iran — which it accuses of organizing the action — of retaliation if events escalated. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the attack was "orchestrated by terrorists." 'Warmongering' Later on Wednesday, Tehran summoned a Swiss Embassy official which represents US interests to complain about American "warmongering," according to Iran's foreign ministry. "The Swiss charge d'affaires was summoned," said the Iranian Foreign Ministry. "The Islamic Republic of Iran conveyed its strong protest … over warmongering remarks made by American officials which are in violation of the United Nations charter." Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had earlier condemned US airstrikes on bases belonging to a Tehran-backed militia. 'US malice' On Sunday, the US military launched the aerial bombardment against the Kataib Hezbollah militia in response to the killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack on Friday on an Iraqi military base. "The Iranian govt & nation & I strongly condemn the US's malice," Khamenei said on his official Twitter account. He also warned Trump that his threats were meaningless. "That guy has tweeted that we (the United States) see Iran responsible for the events in Baghdad & we will respond to Iran," Khamenei said. "First, you can't do anything. Second, if you were logical — which you're not — you'd see that your crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan... have made nations hate you." ls,aw,rc/sms (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)

1484011113_1484176201

Wague returns for Barcelona's final session of the year Barcelona The squad have January 1 off Barcelona trained for the last time in 2019 on Tuesday morning and Moussa Wague took part. Wague had missed out in recent days, battling a dose of conjunctivitis, but he was back to work on New Year's Eve. Ousmane Dembele, Arthur Melo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen all sat out the day's work with injury. Inaki Pena, Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, Alex Collado, RIqui Puig, Carles Perez and Ansu Fati also took part in the session. The squad will rest on New Year's Day before returning to work on Thursday afternoon at 17:00 CET ahead of their derby with Espanyol on Saturday.

The Children’s Hands-On Museum hosted a New Year’s Eve party for kids on Tuesday morning. Party-goers made their own crowns and fired off bubble-wrap “fireworks” during a balloon drop at noon that ushered in 2020. The museum, 2213 University Blvd., will have a Lego Day on Saturday. Kids can take the Lego Challenge and see if their Lego creations can withstand the earthquake table test. Admission is $9, with children younger than 1 admitted free. For more information, call 205-349-4235 or go to www.chomonline.org. .

1484012836_1484268831

King Sunny Ade said he bought his first guitar when he was 16 years old with personal savings and hid the instrument from his family who did not want him to go into music. The 73-year-old foremost Juju singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist disclosed this in Lagos when he met a nine-year-old fan, Temidara Onafuye. Onafuye, a primary school pupil based in North Carolina, USA, visiting Nigeria for the Christmas and New Year, had said she craved to see Sunny Ade because of her love for his music. Fielding questions from the young girl, KSA who visited Onafuye at her family’s residence, said while he could play other musical instruments he had special passion for guitar. “Apart from singing. I play guitar, keyboard, different percussion instruments including talking drum, “Sakara”, “Omele’, “Konga”;. all these make African music stand out. “I have passion for guitar, I see it as my baby and I cannot do without it. “Couple of years ago, I was rated 69th best guitarists in the whole world,” KSA, with original name, Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye said He continued: “I decided to learn how to play guitar on my own and I bought my first guitar when I was 16 years old. “I saved money and bought the guitar for myself. “All my family members did not want me to play music because they believed that musicians at that time were not serious people. “Eventually, when I bought the guitar I hid it under the staircase. “I was afraid to tell anybody that I wanted to go into the city for music training where I would be exposed. Luckily for me, I chose my keys and my style of music which is known as “Juju”. Juju music is a fusion of traditional Yoruba vocal forms and percussion with Western rock and roll and KSA is acclaimed to be in the vanguard of the development and international popularisation of the genre. The internationally renowned musician recalled how he played music with the late comedian, dramatist and actor, Moses Olaiya, popularly known by his stage name, “Baba Sala”. “Hardly do people know that Baba Sala was a musician. He played guitar, talking drum and his music was like that of IK Dairo. “When he floated the Baba Sala Travelling Theatre, I was the one in charge of the music section,” he said. KSA who disclosed that he had composed more than 3, 000 songs said all his songs were his favourite because “each of them serves a purpose”. On retirement, the Juju music maestro said he would play music till his death. “I wanted to retire sometime ago, but my fans all over the world did not allow me. “They said if I retire, what will I be doing. “Juju music is in my blood, I cannot retire from music, I can only retire from stage. “Even at 100 years, God willing, I will still be singing,” he said. KSA disclosed that he was working on a project of building a standard music school and a museum to document and preserve all genres of music, particularly the early ones. “I have started building my own school and by the grace of God in few years, there will be something on ground for people to see. “I did not study music anywhere and was not trained by anybody but I have passion for music. “I look around the entire nation; we do not have a standard music school. “Most of the Nigerian musicians of note are self made.” KSA said the museum would archive all genres of Nigerian early music, images and relics of musicians for young ones like Onafuye to visit and study.

I am searching for a dedicated team of young business executives to join me and our existing team in managing EbonyLife Place, Nigeria’s only Luxury Lifestyle and Entertainment Resort, located in the heart of Victoria Island. If you have a degree from a reputable university, loads of energy, drive, you write well, speak well, of smart appearance, good IT skills, you are proactive in your thinking and tenacious in your attitude, then this might be the right job for you. We will teach you all you need to know! Send us your CV here Our resort boasts of a number of unique features, see below: EbonyLife Place is unrivalled in Nigeria for its attention to architecture and design. EbonyLife Cinemas Nigeria’s most indulgent cinematic experience with five custom-built screening rooms, all fitted with Figueras full-recline armchairs. The White Orchid Hotel Nigeria’s first design-led boutique hotel, combining traditional Nigerian design with a sleek, modern approach. 20 wonderfully curated rooms, each fitted with an original art piece by internationally recognised Nigerian contemporary artist, Gerald Chukwuma. Popina An exceptional gastronomic experience for food-lovers in a sleek dining room, with a fine dining menu showcasing the best of modern international cuisine. Túraká rooftop restaurant & bar A casual yet sophisticated rooftop lounge for contemporary Nigerian cuisine, artisanal cocktails and live music. Framed by outstanding views of Lagos’s city line and the Atlantic Ocean. The Wrap Pool Bar & Restaurant A relaxed outdoor pool bar and cafe, perfect for coffee meet-ups and casual business lunches. The Victoria Hall An exquisite event hall for the most intimate, memorable occasions. Its state-of-the-art audiovisual facilities make it the ideal destination for wedding receptions, birthday parties, award ceremonies and business conferences. The VVIP Lounges We have created a dedicated Mezzanine floor with VVIP lounges for members only. Beautifully curated for business meetings, meet and greets, cocktail parties, amongst other events to include an array of other benefits. —————————————————————————— Sponsored Content

1484189009_1484325906

A car rolled over in a ditch shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, near River Road and County Line Road in the Marengo area. McHenry County sheriff's deputies and Marengo Fire Protection District emergency crews responded to the crash. A car rolled over in a ditch shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, near River Road and County Line Road in the Marengo area. McHenry County sheriff's deputies and Marengo Fire Protection District emergency crews responded to the crash. One male was taken to Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center in Harvard with unspecified injuries. A car rolled over in a ditch shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, near River Road and County Line Road in the Marengo area. McHenry County sheriff's deputies and Marengo Fire Protection District emergency crews responded to the crash. One male was taken to Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center in Harvard with unspecified injuries. A male driver was taken to Mercyhealth Hospital and Medical Center in Harvard with unspecified injuries on Tuesday afternoon after his vehicle rolled over near Marengo, according to the Marengo Fire Protection District. Just a mile north of River Road and County Line Road, a car traveled into a ditch shortly before 1:30 p.m. and rolled several times after sliding on the snow drifting over the road, Battalion Chief William Weiss said.

One of the two passengers was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital after a car rolled over Tuesday afternoon in Woodstock, a Woodstock fire official said Tuesday night. It’s unclear how the car steered off the road in the 4900 block of Route 47 into an open cornfield, Woodstock Fire Capt. Brendan Parker said, but he believes it was caused by snow drifts blowing across the road.

1484697775_1484163542

news, local-news, Just before Christmas two local doctors found out they had passed their final exams, allowing them to become fully accredited General Practitioners. Dr Keith Jarrett and Dr James Ashby heard the news on December 18 that they had passed, which Dr Ashby said was a "big relief". "I've been doing exams for the last 15 years and that should be it now," he said. Port Lincoln GP Dr David Lam said the two doctors staying in Port Lincoln was a "big win" for the Eyre Peninsula. "This is a big win for the region as more and more we're struggling to recruit and retain young doctors because of how hard the job is out here compared to in the city," Dr Lam said. "Sadly, it is rare that GPs-in-training stay in Lincoln more than 12 months so these guys have done well and are the first doctors for years now to stay beyond 12 months and complete their final exams." Dr Ashby said he came to Port Lincoln "by accident" and liked it so stayed. "I have chosen to stay in Port Lincoln because the staff and other doctors at Lincoln Medical Centre have been so supportive and easy to work with - the friendly community has also helped," he said. "It is vital that we continue to promote rural general practice and recruit doctors to fill the gaps left by those retiring...I think in Port Lincoln we are very lucky with the medical care we have. "I hope that by advocating for the local area and showing visiting medical students and registrars the great parts of working in Port Lincoln that we can attract more of them to stay and work in the area longer term." In addition to the two fully accredited GPs, eight fifth-year medical students who were on rural placement last year in Port Lincoln have also passed their final exams to become doctors, with one, Sarah Jones staying on after her exams to December 20. "It is a wonderful (if not a bit surreal) feeling to have passed my final medical school exams, along with the seven other students who studied in Port Lincoln this year," she said. "Living and studying in Port Lincoln exceeded all of my expectations and has been the best year of my medical degree so far. "I am so thankful to the doctors and wider community for being so welcoming...during the year I have enjoyed many community activities including playing netball for Wanilla, sailing at the Coffin Bay Yacht Club and attending lots of local markets. "It is disappointing that we still have so far to go in terms of removing location as a variable for health equity...I would love to see the rural internship pathway expanded in SA. "I am excited to see what the future holds and would be very pleased to live and work in Port Lincoln again in the future." https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/Lauren.dinning/5b2b093e-2dd8-488b-ae0e-be681932b514.jpg/r0_183_3798_2329_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Chairman, Dennis Chung, has said the agency will get one hundred garbage trucks this year. He said some 43 new garbage trucks were added to the Authority's fleet over the last three years to boost solid-waste disposal but the 2020 batch will be the largest the agency has ever received. Mr. Chung also noted that for the first time in the NSWMA's history, three of the eight disposal sites under its jurisdiction have received environmental permits. These include the two largest, at Riverton in Kingston and Retirement in St. James.

1484013741_1484243574

Torrential rains and overflowing rivers flooded dozens on neighborhoods in Jakarta, Indonesia, on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Photo by EPA-EFE/ADI WEDA Jan. 1 (UPI) -- New Year's Eve celebrations turned deadly overnight on Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, as torrential rains and overflowing rivers triggered flooding in the capital and surrounding area, killing nine and displacing thousands. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo told reporters that at least 90 neighborhoods were submerged by flood waters. The heavy rains -- nearly 15 inches, according to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan -- triggered a landslide in Depok, a city just outside Jakarta. More than 120,000 rescue workers have been deployed to assist residents in evacuations and install water pumps. Authorities warned schools and local offices that the emergency may require the use of their facilities to shelter and care for those displaced by the floods. "I want all the officials in the Jakarta administrations to make sure that all government buildings and schools are ready to be used as evacuation shelters," Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said. "Prepare public kitchens, healthcare posts, medicines, sleeping mats, public toilets and other basic needs for evacuees." The torrential downpours brought transportation in the region to a standstill, as flood waters submerged roads, rail ways and runways. Jakarta's airport has been closed since midnight on New Year's Eve, and the Transportation Ministry's air transportation director-general Polana B. Pramesti said officials can't predict when the water will recede enough to allow flights in and out of the Indonesian capitals to resume. According to Bloomberg News, the state-run electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara reported electricity outages in at least 700 areas in greater Jakarta. Jakarta, Indonesia's largest city, is sinking and regularly experiences flooding during the wet season, but the floods that rang in the New Year are the worst the city's experienced since 2013. The risk of extreme flooding is expected to get worse as the city sinks and sea levels rise. As Business Insider reported last year, officials want to spend billions of dollars to both fortify the region's major rivers and relocate many of the most flood-prone parts of the city. The relocation efforts could see hundreds of thousands of people moved, but the plans are likely to take more than a decade to complete.

At least nine people died as Jakarta was hit with severe flooding over the New Year. Torrential rain soaked tens of thousands of revelers as they waited for New Year's Eve fireworks in Indonesia's capital. The rains led to flooding across the city. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said the monsoon rains and rising rivers had submerged at least 90 neighborhoods. Thousands of people were displaced by flooding and a domestic airport was closed after water levels reached up to 3 meters (10 feet) in several places. Wibobo said some of the deaths were due to hypothermia, but also included a 16-year-old high school student who was electrocuted by a power line. "My son's body was covered with newspaper when my two other children passed by," the teenager's father told AFP news agency. Watch video 01:58 Indonesia: Where climate change is real Rescue efforts Indonesia's state electricity utility said it had switched off power to hundreds of districts to prevent further electrocutions. "We're currently focusing on taking measures to ensure people's safety," Ikhsan Asaad, an official at state firm PLN, said. Authorities have deployed about 120,000 rescuers to help evacuate those affected and install mobile water pumps. Further flooding is expected with downpours forecast for the coming day. Read more: After the Indonesian tsunami: Cashing in on the dead Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan told reporters his administration would push ahead with infrastructure projects on two major rivers, including a dam and a sluice, to prevent flooding in the city of 30 million people. This was the worst flooding since 2013 when dozens of people were killed in monsoon rains. Watch video 03:29 Indonesia building earthquake-proof homes with bamboo aw, ed/mm (AP, AFP, Reuters) Every evening, DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here.

1484010756_1484052867

KYODO NEWS - Dec 30, 2019 - 12:44 | Sports, All NEW YORK - Kei Nishikori said Sunday he will miss next year's Australian Open as he is "still not 100 percent" ready or healthy to compete with the world's best following the right elbow surgery he underwent in October. Nishikori, who last played on Aug. 31 in the U.S. Open third round, said in late November he was targeting a return for the ATP Cup, a team event in which players represent their nations, from Jan. 3. He then planned to play at the Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam, from Jan. 20. "Unfortunately, I have to pull out of the ATP Cup and the Aussie Open," Nishikori, who turned 30 on Sunday, wrote on his official app. "Today, together with my team, we have made this decision." Nishikori in November added former world No. 1 doubles player Max Mirnyi of Belarus to his coaching staff, with former French Open champ Michael Chang staying on to provide support in big tournaments. "This decision was not taken lightly as Australia is one of my favorite places to compete. Together with my team, I will keep working hard to be back on the court as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support," he said. Related coverage: Tennis: Kei Nishikori adds Max Mirnyi to coaching team Tennis: Kei Nishikori has season-ending surgery on elbow Tennis: Kei Nishikori splits from long-time coach Dante Bottini

Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori turned 30 years on Sunday but he feels his love for the game has never been bigger as he enters the last stages of his career motivated to achieve more success. The 30-year-old suffered a setback toward the end of the 2019 season as he played his last tournament of the season at the US Open, before undergoing a season-ending elbow surgery in October. "I myself even wonder that... I feel like now I love tennis more than ever. Far from getting tired of playing tennis due to fatigue with age, my love to tennis has grown stronger, I can enjoy tennis more and more across the ages, I don't know why though," Nishikori told WOWOW Tennis, as revealed by Seiadoumogera/Twitter. World No. 13 Nishikori believes he can further improve his game and the addition of coach Max Mirnyi will help him in his bid to become a better player. "For several years I have been feeling that my tennis can improve more, to my surprise, some shots that I used to be weak in are getting better. I need different perspective to improve my tennis, that's why I decided to add a new member into my team," Nishikori claimed.

1484039338_1484002723

The Observer is taking a look back at some of our top headlines of 2019 FILE - ACE students were set to move into the AESS building on Oct. 28, 2019 according to SD78 superintendent Karen Nelson. (Google Maps) From community events to short term rentals and realities about opioids, housing affordability and homelessness, as well as film crews and a cultural hub proposal, there was no shortage of news in Agassiz, Harrison, and surrounding communities this year. In the days leading up to New Year 2020, the Observer is taking a look back at some of these headlines and more. ORIGINAL STORY: ACE students being relocated to Agassiz high school Students at the Agassiz Centre for Education were moving to the AESS building starting on Oct. 28. According to school district superintendent Karen Nelson, the Fraser Cascade school board made a decision to move the ACE program to the high school during a closed board meeting on Oct. 15. The decision was made partly because of declining enrolment numbers in the district, as well as concerns about safety for students and staff in the small building located next to AESS, Nelson said. “Our enrolment numbers have been decreasing over the years as you know, and we just felt this was a good opportunity for students to move over and have some enhanced programming opportunities there,” Nelson said. ACE had an enrolment of 17 students at the time, up from 16 in 2018-19, although down from around 27 students in 2014-15. The students were to be moving with ACE administrator Sandy Balascak to the AESS building, where they would have their own classroom. Students would be able to integrate into other classes if they chose, or continue to learn from Balascak, who was the only teacher at ACE since Ray Steiguilas retired at the end of last year. Nelson said she was at ACE on Oct. 21 to share the news with students, many of whom expressed concerns about returning to AESS. “We know that will be a difficult transition of course,” she said. “It’s going to be a big transition, we understand that for our students, but we believe it will provide enhanced programming options,” she continued. “Sandy’s the only teacher at ACE right now and she can’t be expected to … be an expert in every area.” According to Nelson, students at ACE would be provided with counselling during the move to AESS, which would take place gradually as the school moves its equipment to the new space. Concerns were also raised by Alison Loosdretch, a student at ACE, in the Life in Agassiz Facebook group, who later added that what Nelson told the Observer was not what she had heard from the superintendent. “We are told this will be better for us, but we already know it’s not,” Loosdretch wrote in her post. “We left AESS. Our school is our safe place, as well as our teacher and has helped each one of us in our own way.” RELATED: ACE setting itself up for success She went on to say that staff at AESS had said students who eventually went on to go to ACE “didn’t belong in a mainstream school” and were made fun of for their mental health issues. “We are anxious, nervous, and scared to go back, many of us were bullied at that school, not other by students but the staff as well!” she wrote. “We voiced that, but again our opinion doesn’t matter because we are students.” Loosdretch ended her post by asking parents to contact the school district about the move, and an hour after she published it, had already received more than 45 comments from people who were shocked that the alternative school would be moving. Many said they would be contacting the school district or members of the local government. At least two ACE graduates also commented on the post, speaking about the importance of the school to their own education. “If I was still in ACE at this point I would most definitely had dropped out,” Emma Potts said in her comment on the post. “AESS is a good school but not for everybody. I have been personally victimized by people there, not only the students but staff. “Regardless its not about putting other schools down, it’s about making our students feel safe and excited to go to school. This is outrageous, and very sad to see.” RELATED: Bullying remains key concern in ACE move to Agassiz high school grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

ATLANTA- (WRBL) As we wrap up 2019, a new set of laws go into effect for 2020 in the Peach State starting January 1st. The controversial Heartbeat Bill that moved through the Georgia Assembly will not go into effect after a federal judge blocked it. This year, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed several bills into law — some which are already in effect. Another house bill that is a law allows Hope Scholarship recipients to qualify 10 years after graduating high school and provides exceptions to students who serve in the military. Georgians will also get a generous tax break for college tuition savings, doubling the state tax deduction. The state will get new business courts to manage contract disputes and copyright violations. Patients will have easier access to certain medications and easier access to prescriptions, and genetic counselors will be required to be licensed by the state. There’s also a new law that revises the criteria used by tax assessors to determine property values. A new Georgia law also increases the age someone can legally get married from 16 to 17. Click here for a complete list of all the Georgia laws Governor Brian Kemp signed for 2020.

1484188919_1484152213

We've counted the votes and the 2019 winners of the Battle for Guilford's Best are inside!

By Algenon Cash On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment against the 45th president of the United States – charging Donald J. Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump, the third U.S. president in history to be impeached, joins a rare club that includes Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Prior to Trump, Johnson was the only president to be impeached during his first term. Despite popular belief, Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was never impeached. Nixon sensed his loss of political support and felt it was inevitable the House would impeach him. Nixon resigned the presidency after the House Judiciary Committee voted to adopt three articles of impeachment against him, but his resignation was prior to the full House vote to impeach. Nixon’s former vice president, Gerald Ford, pardoned him for his alleged crimes, after he was sworn in as the new president. Trump’s impeachment was largely passed along party lines with no bi-partisan support in committee or the full House vote. However, more votes were cast in support of Trump’s impeachment than any other impeached president in U.S. history. In August 2019, a whistleblower complaint alleged Trump abused his power when he withheld an invitation to the White House to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a $400 million military aid package to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Furthermore, Trump wanted to promote a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election. This kind of back room “quid pro quo” is routine in foreign affairs – one foreign leader may use some type of aid to negotiate a better deal for their respective country. What’s not routine is coercing a foreign country to investigate a political rival in attempt to shift the outcome of a democratic election. Newly minted House Democratic leaders announced a formal inquiry in September. Voters who don’t quite understand the impeachment process thought president Trump may be removed from office in short order. But, in fact, the House of Representatives only have the authority to impeach or charge a sitting president with high crimes and misdemeanors. Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution gives the Senate the “sole Power to try all impeachments.” Two-thirds majority of present members is required to convict the president on the charges alleged in the House. In other words, a police officer may accuse you of murder, but it’s the judge and jury that will decide guilt or innocence. Similar to how all of us are entitled to our day in court, the president has the same benefit according to the Constitution. Needless to say, the process is just beginning. You may recall the impeachment of Bill Clinton. On December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives impeached Clinton when they passed articles of impeachment on two charges – lying under oath and obstruction of justice. However, on February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted on both counts as neither received the necessary vote threshold required to convict and remove a sitting president from office. Currently House Democrats have chosen not to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate – which delays any trial from commencing. If no trial was to ever occur, then Donald Trump can remain in office, and perhaps even the first president in history to win re-election after being impeached. House Speaker Pelosi has declared she will hold the articles of impeachment indefinitely until she receives solid confirmation the Senate will conduct an impartial trial that will be held free of undue influence from the White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that for the impeachment trial, he would be in “total coordination with the White House counsel’s office,” saying, “I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.” Considering the Senate acts as jurors in the impeachment trial, this would be akin to the jury foreman coordinating with the defense attorneys. Any legal scholar would say this is virtually unheard of in any courtroom. Meanwhile, the impeachment could have great influence over the 2020 election cycle, either causing those who support Trump to show up in record numbers to demonstrate they are behind the president or possibly giving a boost to Trump’s Democratic rivals without the president having a fair opportunity to plead his case. Neither outcome is desired. Algenon Cash is a nationally recognized speaker and the managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment banking firm. Reach him at acash@nullalgenoncash.com

1484011262_1484235264

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter (HealthDay) THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Chyler Leigh has taken on some challenging roles in her career, including helping keep the world safe from alien threats on the TV show "Supergirl" and learning to be a surgeon as Lexie Grey on "Grey's Anatomy." But her most demanding task has been learning to manage bipolar disorder. "I wasn't diagnosed until my late 20s, but I knew at a pretty early age that something wasn't quite right. I had trouble just navigating life in general. At a very young age, I learned to swallow what I was feeling, and started to really spiral into feelings of worthlessness," Leigh explained. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a chronic psychiatric condition. It can cause dramatic shifts in mood, energy and activity levels, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). People with the disorder typically alternate between episodes of mania and depression. Symptoms of mania include having a lot of energy, feeling very "up," participating in risky behaviors, talking really fast about doing lots of things, having trouble sleeping and feeling wired. Depressive symptoms include feeling sad, empty or hopeless, feeling tired or slowed down, sleeping too much or too little, eating too much or too little, and thoughts of suicide, the NIMH says. "The mania would come and go, but the depression felt like it was always there. There are a lot of different ways mania manifests: I had extreme irritability and felt like an engine running on overtime; I couldn't sleep at all; and I felt disconnected from reality, almost like I was high. As a teen, I did a lot of drugs, and that made me feel better, but crashing was devastating," Leigh said. Dr. Dan Iosifescu is an associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health in New York City. He said when people with bipolar disorder are in depression, they are extraordinarily slowed down. "Their depression isn't necessarily different from others with depression, but it does tend to last a long time and it doesn't respond well to antidepressants," he explained. "The mania part is the most flamboyant and eye-catching. The mania is usually how you see bipolar depicted in film and TV. But the most disabling part of bipolar illness is the depression," Iosifescu said. But, he noted, either mood extreme can be very disruptive to a person's life, and make it difficult to do well at work, school and in relationships. Iosifescu said that bipolar disorder has a strong genetic component. There are likely multiple genes that are responsible for the disorder, he explained. Leigh, 37, wasn't the only member of her family with the disorder. Her mother has the condition, too. "When I would try to talk about how I was feeling, I don't think my parents were in a position to really listen. My mom wasn't diagnosed until later in life, and didn't know how to get herself the right kind of help," she said. The two have been estranged since Leigh's early 20s. By the time Leigh was 27, she had three small children, a husband and a busy career. "I felt like I had to be on my game at all times. I hit a point where I could finesse my way into different prescriptions, and I self-medicated and over-medicated to feel numb, and just make the feelings go away," she said. With her husband Nathan West's support, she finally reached out for help about 10 years ago. She was hospitalized for about a week. She said she didn't want to hear that she had bipolar disorder. She didn't want to be diagnosed. "I didn't want to be put in that box," she said. "My greatest victory is being able to talk about it and not feel shame." That's why she's a spokesperson for the new campaign Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health. "It's encouraging folks to have a conversation. Share your story. You're not alone. One in five adults are living with a mental health issue. You have so much to be proud of," Leigh said. Leigh said she takes medication, goes to therapy and tries to stay mindful. "I'm eating better, taking care of myself, and focusing on one thing at a time. I know I don't have to be perfect. When I'm having a great moment, I don't have to fear that it's about to fall apart," she said. "I have really been learning to take care of myself, instead of putting myself last on my list. It's been a struggle in many ways, but I have incredible support from my husband and mother-in-law, friends and family, and co-workers. I've really surrounded myself with a good group of people," she said. Her children, now ages 10, 13 and 16, are another priority. "My biggest mission is my kids, and having powerful, meaningful conversations with them," Leigh said. More information Learn more about bipolar disorder from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

One dies in Jan 1 auto crash on, Ore Road Just before noon on January one, one person had died following an auto crash on Ijebu Ode-Ore Expressway. The lone accident happened about 11.25pm on Tuesday. A Toyota Sienna Bus, with registration number, FKJ 453XW, was on a high speed when its tyres burst and in the process lost control and somersaulted into the bush. Nine persons — five male adults, three female adults and a female child — were involved in the accident. “The corpse of the female victim has been deposited at the mortuary of General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, while two of the survivors are also receiving treatment at the same hospital. “The third survivor who is a child was taken to Ise Oluwa Clinic J3 by a good samaritan before the arrival of FRSC rescue team.

1484038715_1483981773

Maria Lopez spotted him at a bachata class. He checked off all her boxes. Superb dancer. Smart — he had an engineering degree. Tall, dark and handsome. After a month of dating, he revealed he was in the country illegally. She too lacked legal status, though she had the relative protection of being in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Wordlessly, they pumped the brakes on their relationship. Being without legal status under the umbrella of DACA has always been a risky proposition. Deportation always lurked in the background. Advertisement But now that the program is under threat from an unfriendly White House — and currently at the mercy of a conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court — life for its beneficiaries has become cloudier. In May, Lopez, a 25-year-old San Jose resident, launched an Instagram account called YTienePapeles? (AndDoesHeHavePapers?) The page is her attempt “to heal through humor,” she said. Sometimes she’ll create memes about crushing on people without legal status. One post pictured a crying toddler next to text that read: “When you find out your crush no tiene papeles.” Other times she’ll post syrupy sayings: “Unlike DACA, my love for you is permanent.” The memes are relatable, Lopez said. “If you are undocumented and in the dating scene, you will definitely encounter this.” Advertisement Relationships can provide a sense of security and comfort, but the uncertainty of DACA’s future can leave so-called Dreamers feeling just a bit more unsettled about the pursuit of them, said Harvard sociologist Roberto Gonzales. “In our research, we’ve seen DACA beneficiaries victimized by partners who use their fragile status and their families’ status against them,” Gonzales said. “Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America,” Gonzales’ book based on a 12-year project following 150 young people around the L.A. area, found that immigrants often felt their legal status could drive wedges into relationships. Lopez, for example, had begun dating one young man in 2011 — a year before she joined the DACA program. He was the son of immigrants, Lopez said, who had legalized their status in the U.S. After six years, around the time that President Trump announced his intention to wind down DACA, their relationship soured. Lopez said she did not expect to get married right away, but wanted to know if it was in the couple’s future. When she pressed her boyfriend, Lopez said, he asked: “Is citizenship the reason you want to be with me?” And that was that. Said Andrea Simon-Martinez, a 26-year-old DACA recipient who lives in New York: “Telling someone you’re undocumented, it’s like peeling off a Band-Aid, you want to do it sooner rather than later.” Simon-Martinez was born in Mexico and was 6 years old when she overstayed her tourist visa. She said dating and looking for a serious partner takes a toll. In February 2018, she wrote a post about the anxiety of dating while “DACA-mented.” Advertisement “I never know when to bring it up in conversations, and then it makes me feel like I’m leading them on,” she wrote. “It makes me feel like I’m being deceitful and keeping a big part of me hidden away.” Juan Pacheco Marcial, a 23-year-old DACA recipient who attends Cal State Monterey Bay, said his legal status keeps him from dating seriously. He makes sure not to get too attached because of a feeling in his gut that, one day, he will be deported. And he won’t date another DACA recipient or person without legal status. “When I date someone, I don’t see a future with them because I don’t even see a future for myself,” he said. “Of ... having a happy ending here in the United States.” Marcial said he does not want children because of the cloud over his presence in the country. He said it’s the reason he broke up with a girlfriend who was a citizen. “I feel that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I were to have a child and I were, for some reason, to get kicked out of this country and not be able to come back,” he said. Jose Guevara-Johnson, left, and his husband, Stephen Guevara-Johnson, have breakfast at Antigua Bread in Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) “We’ve been through a really hard thing that most couples have not gone through at our age and made it out successfully,” Stephen Guevara-Johnson said. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) A year ago, Jose Guevara, 25, and Stephen Johnson, 29, got married. Advertisement Guevara is a DACA recipient who was brought to the U.S. from El Salvador at age 10. Johnson was born and raised in a conservative Baptist family in North Carolina. They met online two years ago. Guevara said he was upfront from the start — laying out his “baggage.” “I have cancer and I’m a DACA recipient,” he revealed. Johnson, whose work involves community organizing, said it didn’t bother him. After a couple of months of dating, Guevara was hospitalized and underwent treatment for leukemia — which he’s battled off and on since he was 15. The possible end of DACA worried the couple. Guevara feared returning to El Salvador, partly because homophobia is prevalent there. But he felt he was becoming a burden to Johnson, who wanted to marry. “It’s a lot of labor to love someone who is a DACA recipient,” Guevara said. “We are at the will of the government.” But Johnson was determined. “We’ve been through a really hard thing that most couples have not gone through at our age and made it out successfully,” Johnson said. “If we can make it through that, we can make it through anything.” They are now legally the Guevara-Johnsons. In San Francisco, Tony K. Choi said he would like to be able to love and date on his own terms. A DACA recipient who is a creative writer for Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, Choi said his legal status is always part of the life calculations he makes. “Marriage and immigration status are intrinsically linked to my romantic life,” the 31-year-old said. Choi, who came to the U.S. from South Korea on a tourist visa at age 9, realizes marriage to a U.S. citizen is probably his best option for staying in the country, but he’s “incredibly millennial” and not looking to wed anytime soon. Still, he said, he avoids dating DACA recipients or men who are in the country illegally. He had a crush on a man without legal status, but he willed himself to make a cold calculation. “What is there to gain from this relationship?” Choi said. Some DACA recipients said they’ve received marriage proposals from close friends who want to help. Others feel pressure from parents, other family members or older immigrants who repeatedly tell them to fall in love and marry someone who has legal status. Lopez still remembers how, when she was 6, her grandmother sat her down and told her: “You have to marry someone with papers.” “At 6, you don’t even know what that means,” Lopez said. A few weeks ago, she posted a meme on Instagram with a picture of a distraught and teary-eyed SpongeBob SquarePants surrounded with bursting red hearts. The text read: “When you gotta end [it] with your favorite undocu-novio.”

It’s not much of a secret to realize that any Democrat elected president in 2020 would undo President Donald Trump’s efforts to get illegal immigration under control. And while that includes the front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, the notion being peddled that Biden is a moderate belies the pull the hard-left has had on him. While the media gushed over Biden suggesting this week that he would entertain a Republican being his vice president, the candidate made it clear at a campaign rally in Derry, New Hampshire that not only will he work to establish a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, but that he will issue them driver’s licenses. The issue came up during a Q&A session when an attendee said: “I wanted to ask you about getting driver’s licenses for our undocumented immigrants. Do you have a plan in the works for working on that, as I believe it would help them establish residency and the first step towards possible citizenship.” “Actually, yes and yes,” Biden answered. “And, by the way, I’m going to fundamentally change the immigration policy we have.” In a 2007 Democratic presidential primary debate, then-Sen. Biden replied “no” when asked if he supported granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Biden cited his wife’s recent trip to hand out Christmas presents to children in Mexico who were awaiting the processing of their asylum cases in the U.S., saying the children are living in “hobbles.” “It’s bizarre,” he added. “We’re ripping children from the arms of their mothers.” He goes on to sing the praises of DREAMers, saying “they’re already Americans, for God’s sake.” The remarks can be heard in the video below, just past the 17-minute mark: 2020 candidate Joe Biden campaigns in Derry, New HampshireL IVE HAPPENING NOW: 2020 candidate Joe Biden campaigns in Derry, New Hampshire. https://abcn.ws/2K0BLjq Posted by ABC News on Monday, December 30, 2019 Biden openly denounced the idea of hesitating to cross the southern border simply because it’s a violation of the law. “The first thing I will do is send — I mean within the first couple of weeks, we already have it written — a bill to the U.S. Congress providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people,” Biden said. “Second thing, I would surge, surge, to the border,” he continued. “I’d eliminate the proposal that — [President Trump] has as a fancy name but saying you can’t come and make your asylum claim in the United States.” He goes on to talk about spending U.S. tax dollars in Central American countries — many of which are wholly corrupt — to improve conditions there to the point where migrants will have no reason to come to America. Biden’s proposal on immigration includes a $4 billion assistance package south of the border, to include El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In addition to changing the policy on asylum, his plan would increase the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. and does not include funding for a border wall.

1484395537_1483765159

The housemates of "Bigg Boss 13" let go of their warring ways for a while over the yearend, as they let their hair down partying with several other invited guests from shows such as "Naagin 4", "Shubharambh", "Choti Sardarni", "Bepanah Pyar" and "Vidya". The guest list included Jasmin Bhasin, Meera Deosthale, Ishita Dutta, Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia, Pearl V. Puri, Mahima Makwana, Avinesh Rekhi, Namish Taneja, Vijayendra Kumeria and Akshit Sukhija, and the two groups in "Bigg BOss" house had to entertain them, reports timesofindia.com. Amid all the merriment one couldn't help but notice how excited Sidharth Shukla became on seeing "Naagin 4" girl Jasmin. The two TV stars soon took to a corner, to dance with each other, away from the crowd. Sidharth, in fact, had probably made it his gameplan to cash in on Jasmin's presence while in the party. In an obvious boost to the show's ratings, he jacked up the drama by shouting "Bhasin! Bhasin!!" the moment she came in. At one point, Jasmin pointed out to Sidharth how the two of them had their personal party going on. As the group ushered New Year, Bigg Boss announced Shehnaz's team -- including Sidharth, Paras, Shefali Jariwala and Mahira -- had won the task because maximum guests had attended their party. Follow @News18Movies for more Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

Sunil Grover, who has of late taken the responsibility of breaking the contestants' monotony through his power-packed entertainment, is back into the house. The housemates welcome their favorite Gutthi as she surprises them with the good news about her marriage and also introduces her twin sister Putki. Just when the contestants were wondering who Putki is, Sunny Leone enters the house bringing smiles to everyone’s face. Sunny and Gutthi then introduce the Chappal awards. They call the contestants one by one to give them their special Chappal award with amusing categories like Tera bhi khana khaungi award and many more. Displaying her romantic personality, Gutthi shares a lovey-dovey moment with Sidharth and pulls his leg for lying around under the quilt all the time. After spending some fun time with the special guests, the contestants retire for the day. The next morning begins some motivation and serious game planning. Vishal and Asim boost Rashami to strengthen her game by making an unpredictable move by using her and Sidharth's equation. Later in the afternoon, Bigg Boss introduces the Bigg Boss calendar task to the contestants. Shehnaz is assigned the job to click five photos that involve all the housemates in different poses. They have to recreate moments and narrate a story through the pictures. Shehnaz begins by clicking Aarti and Shefali Bagga individually to show their independent personality. Shefali Jariwala and Asim strike a muscular pose showcasing their fit bodies. Paras and Shehnaz disagree on one pose which upsets Shehnaz and she ends up crying blaming Paras for being jealous. After the calendar shoot task, Bigg Boss gives them another interesting task. Its 31st eve and the new year is just a few hours away. Much to everyone’s surprise, they are asked to put on their best party dress on and get ready for a New Year bash. The contestants are divided into two groups- Team Shehnaz- Shehnaz, Sidharth, Paras, Mahira, Shefali Jariwala and Aarti while Team Rashami has Rashami, Vishal, Asim, Shefali Bagga, and Madhurima. The garden area is divided into two parts. Each team has to make their party the most happening one which will be attended by guests coming in from the Colors Family. The teams have to make sure that the guests are part of their team’s party and not attend their opponent's party. Each team tries their best to keep the guests entertained. The first one to enter is Raghbir and Pragati (Pearl V Puri and Ishita Dutta) who ask the contestants to get together and name the contestant who they dislike. The contestant with the maximum number of negative points has to entertain them by dancing. The cast of other shows of Colors’ like Meher and Sarabjit (Nimrat Kaur and Avinesh Rekhi) from Choti Sarrdaarni, Vidya and Vivek (Meera Deosthale and Namish Taneja) from Vidya, Raja and Rani (Mahima Makhwana and Akshit Sukhija) from Shubharambh and Nayantara and Dev (Jasmin Bhasin and Vijayendra Kumeria) from Naagin also join the party. As and when the guests enter the house, Sidharth and the team manage to grab everyone’s attention and get them on their side. As the clock strikes 12, they all ring in the new year together and party their hearts out. Follow @News18Movies for more Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

1484007541_1484143352

PNN/ Nablus/ Nine Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated metal bullets and teargas suffocation of tear gas, during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces which erupted before hundreds of settlers stormed Joseph’s Tomb, east of Nablus. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Nablus told Wafa that three citizens were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets and were transferred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital for treatment, while six others were treated on the ground after they suffocated by tear gas, during the clashes that broke out near the shrine. Hebrew media reported that 2,500 settlers stormed the shrine at dawn to perform Talmudic rituals, with heavy guard from the occupation army, which took over the roofs of a number of buildings.

Nine people were injured when their taxi crashed into a palm tree in Cape Town's CBD on Tuesday night, paramedics said on Wednesday. ER24 spokesperson Ross Campbell said the fire department, Metro EMS and another private service arrived to help the injured, but most appeared to have sustained minor knee and whiplash injuries. One woman's knee was more severely injured and she was treated on the scene. Three other people, including the driver declined going to hospital, but six men and three women were transported to the New Somerset Hospital for further care. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

1484189457_1483848158

For Subscribers Hampton Beach Ocean Wok: Founder Matthew Fan to revive restaurant Ocean Wok founder Matthew Fan is returning to take over the restaurant which he says went downhill after he left.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — An investigation by a state agency has found that an employee at an adult foster care facility in St. Cloud used drugs with a vulnerable adult. The investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Services also found that the worker gave the vulnerable adult money to buy drugs. According to a memo on the investigation, the state found the staff person was responsible for neglect. That person no longer works at Riverside Montage Homes, the St. Cloud Times reported. The facility can serve four adults and is located on 18th Street Southeast in St. Cloud. According to the report, the vulnerable adult involved has a substance use disorder and reported to an employee that another employee gave them money to buy methamphetamine. Text messages between the vulnerable adult and the staff person back up the initial report, the investigation found. “A text from the (staff person) to the (vulnerable adult) … stated, ‘u never give money or anything before you get product,’” the memo said. The client told the state investigator that they once used meth with the staff person outside of the facility, that the staff person got high at work and that the staff person asked the client to get meth or crack about three times. The staff person denied providing money for drugs, the memo said. The investigator determined that the vulnerable adult was consistent and credible, while the staff person had “reasons to minimize his/her actions for fear of repercussion.” The staff person, not the facility, was considered responsible for the neglect, according to the memo. And it was deemed “recurring maltreatment” but not “serious maltreatment,” because it did not cause injury that required a doctor’s care. Montage Homes’ authorized agent Bonnie Rask could not be reached on Monday, the newspaper reported. (© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

1483805955_1484113104

VANCOUVER -- Police are investigating after a Jewish summer camp on Gabriola Island was vandalized with hateful graffiti, including swastikas. A caretaker at Camp Miriam discovered the vandalism on Dec. 19, though investigators said it's possible the graffiti was left as far back as early September. "There's a large gap there that we're trying to narrow," Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey told CTV News. Unfortunately, the camp's remote location near the north point of the island means there are few security cameras around that could shed light on who is responsible. Investigators said they're hoping someone with information on what happened will come forward. In the meantime, the RCMP is consulting with its hate crime team. "We completely understand the feelings that that the community may have … discovering something like this, and we just want to reassure them that we're taking this seriously," O'Donaghey said. Camp Miriam hosts elementary school and high school children over the summers, and teaches them about "Israel, Jewish history, social justice and the environment," according to its website. James Dayson of the Miriam Foundation described the camp as "such a special place" to the young campers who go there. While the vandalism was disturbing, Dayson said he's thankful there were no kids at camp when it was discovered. He also said the response from the small island community – including hundreds of messages of support on social media – has been a silver lining on an otherwise unfortunate situation. "The response we've had has been absolutely beautiful," he said. "The don't want something like this to reflect on their community. It's obviously an isolated incident – we've never had issues with safety." Dayson said some Gabriola residents have also organized a candlelit vigil for the afternoon of Jan. 2 outside the Camp Miriam property. He's hopeful they can take the experience and use it to spread awareness. "This is an opportunity to have more education," Dayson said. "We have a meeting coming up in January where one of the things we want to discuss is how do we take this negative situation and make it into something positive." Police said anyone with information on the graffiti can contact the Gabriola RCMP detachment at 250-247-8333. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can instead call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. With files from CTV News Vancouver's Spencer Harwood

RCMP have launched a criminal investigation after swastikas and "disturbing phrases" were discovered on an out building at a Jewish summer camp for children on Gabriola Island. Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey said in a news release that the graffiti was found by a caretaker at Camp Miriam and reported to Gabriola RCMP on Dec. 19. article continues below Given the camp's secluded location, the vandalism could have occurred any time from the September long weekend to the date of discovery, RCMP say. Investigators are trying to narrow the time frame. "RCMP take matters such as these very seriously," O'Donaghey said. "Local investigators have consulted with the B.C. RCMP Hate Crime Team as they continue the criminal investigation in an effort to identify the person or persons responsible." Anyone with information is asked to contact Gabriola RCMP at 250-247-8333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

1496319911_1483835380

× Expand FeatureChina via AP Images Robots operate on the production line of LOW-E glass in a factory in Qinhuangdao in northern China’s Hebei province, December 19, 2019. Artificial intelligence, robots, and other advanced technologies are already transforming the world of work—and their impact is just beginning. They’ll grow the economy and make it more efficient. But unless American workers are involved, that growth and technological change will benefit only those at the top. The challenge of making economic growth and technological change benefit all working people and not just those at the top is the same challenge I’ve written about and talked a lot about over the years. It’s the challenge of reversing widening inequalities of income, wealth, and political power. A big part of the solution is making sure workers have a voice and a union. That way they have more bargaining leverage to get a piece of the pie that in recent years has been going almost entirely to the top. We shouldn’t think of emerging technologies as things we have no control over—as if they just happen automatically, inevitably. We have the power to shape technological progress. We need to assert our roles as workers and members of a democratic society to ensure that new technologies benefit all of us. Here are five ways to do so: First, workers need a stronger voice, from the boardroom to the shop floor. Workers at all levels should participate in the design, development, and deployment of technology in the workplace—as they do in Germany. This is not only good for workers. It’s also good for companies that otherwise waste countless dollars trying to figure out how best to use new technologies without consulting frontline workers who are closest to processes and products, and know how to get maximum use out of new technologies. In the early 2000s, Home Depot spent over $1 billion in automation but reduced investment in their workforce. In the end, because workers were left out of the process, many of these automated systems failed and had to be scaled back. Second, if we want corporations to invest in innovation and their workers we need to reform Wall Street. So instead of buying back their own shares of stock to manipulate stock prices and laying off employees to boost short-term profits, corporations can make the long-term investments that are necessary for their competitiveness and for the competitiveness of their workers. Every corporation can get access to the same gadgets. What makes a corporation uniquely competitive is its people—how its workers utilize the new technologies. Third, we need to rebuild strong collaboration between government and business in researching and developing new technologies, so they work for the benefit of all. That’s what we did in the three decades after World War II, when the Defense Department worked with the private sector to develop the internet, telecommunications, and aerospace; when the National Institutes of Health did basic research for pharmaceuticals and medical breakthroughs; and our national laboratories pioneered research on biofuel, nuclear, wind and solar energy. Conservatives often object that it’s not the role of government to steer technological development. Yet most of the cutting-edge technology that’s the crowning achievement of the United States’ private sector was in fact developed as a result of public innovation and public funding. Our government is still steering technological development. The difference now is we have the capacity to steer that development in a way that generates broad-based prosperity, not just jaw-dropping incomes for a few innovators and investors. Fourth, a more open and forward-looking industrial policy can help steer the nation’s economic growth toward combating our central challenges—climate change, poverty, our crumbling infrastructure, costly and inaccessible health care, lack of quality education. Tackling big ambitious goals like transitioning to clean energy can encourage collaboration between different sectors of the economy. Backed by the right technologies, they can also be sources of the good jobs of the future. Conservatives claim the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers. But that’s what we’ve done for years. We already have an industrial policy when the government bails out Wall Street banks, gives special tax breaks to oil, and hands out subsidies to Big Agriculture. But it’s a backwards industrial policy, led by powerful industry lobbyists. We need a forward-looking industrial policy that develops the industries and jobs of the future, and does so openly, in ways that benefit working people and society. Finally, we need to assure that our workers are protected from the downsides: That new information technologies along with their increasing potential for monitoring and surveilling workers don’t undermine worker autonomy, dignity, and privacy. That the use of algorithms to manage workers doesn’t give top management unwarranted power in the workplace. And that workplace technologies don’t make work more unpredictable for millions of workers. Workers need some control over how these technologies and the data they produce are used. And for this they need strong unions. New technologies advancing toward our workplace shouldn’t reduce the standard of living of Americans. They should raise our standard of living. But that won’t happen automatically. Workers need a voice. Government needs a responsible role. We deserve a forward-looking and open industrial policy. And the rules of the game need to be fair. We should all be able to steer the direction of technological change and influence how new technologies affect our lives.

Market economies motivate positive-sum activities in which people become rich by creating more wealth for others—both in the form of higher-paying jobs and improved goods and services at lower prices. That doesn’t mean everyone will earn the same, but it means improved conditions for everyone, even the least well off. It is far better, after all, to be poor in Cleveland than in Calcutta. Yet when people talk about increasing income inequality, they almost always discuss the topic as a market failure calling for government correction. They invariably ignore the possibility that increased income inequality has resulted from things few people would want to “correct”—namely, individual freedom and the success of markets in satisfying the needs and wants of the masses. Four such successes come to mind. To begin with, the returns on education have increased significantly in recent years, as reflected in the increased salaries and wages that come with more education. This increased return is exactly what we should want as technological progress increases the productivity of those who acquire more knowledge and improve their abstract reasoning skills relative to those who do not. Second, profound social, economic, and political changes have combined to remove barriers to market access by women. Half the population now has full participation in a marketplace that had for generations been closed to them. More women than ever are taking advantage of the market's opportunities, often building on advanced degrees. Among those women, more are now majoring in fields that yield the highest returns. This choice goes a long way toward explaining why income inequality between men and women in the United States has declined in recent decades. In many fields—once factors such as differences in major, career selection, and duration of employment are controlled for—income disparities between the sexes evaporate. Despite this relatively equality between the genders, we should expect to find increasing income inequality among women as more women ascend to high-salary positions. Third, the day has long passed in most countries when marriages were arranged without the consent of the betrothed. This freedom, along with the increased mobility people enjoy in wealthy countries, means that marriage markets in those countries are highly competitive, with each participant putting his or her looks, personalities, and prospects on offer to compete for someone who best satisfies what he or she is looking for in a partner. With more women getting advanced degrees and working alongside high-earning colleagues, marriage markets have generated more matches between individuals who each have high earning potential. Fourth, spurts of technological progress create big winners. But the resulting technological improvements leave everyone better off by making possible what has always been required for sustainable improvements in our general living standards: the production of more value with less effort and fewer resources—all while increasing the economically relevant resource base. For example, technological progress has recently made it possible for almost everyone in wealthy countries to enjoy the performances of the very best athletes, musicians, singers, talk-show hosts, comedians, etc., wherever they are, with visual and audio clarity that rivals and often exceeds that of live performances. Between those who entertain and those who bring the entertainment to our eyes at relatively low cost, we are bound to find high earners. In other words, technological access explains why people such as Tiger Woods, Britney Spears, and Oprah Winfrey have earned incomes that comparably skilled athletes and entertainers could not have imagined a few decades ago. Those entrepreneurs who develop ways to provide the most value to consumers at the lowest costs, such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerman, Michael Dell, and Jeff Bezos, also become billionaires at young ages. These achievements are consistent with other periods of rapid technological progress. One ambitious and intelligent individual, willing to take a big risk, can come up with the sorts of products and services that improve the lives of millions by offering them low-cost opportunities to be entertained, enlightened, and connected. It is difficult to imagine how anyone interested in improving the welfare of the least advantaged would want to lessen income inequality by reversing any of the four socioeconomic trends above. The increased prosperity these trends have made possible for the most successful among us is obvious. The increased prosperity and well-being for the poor is no less real, but these gains are commonly ignored in discussions of income inequality. Although creating more wealth is the most effective way of reducing poverty—and happens also to be a great way to become fabulously wealthy—one standard argument is that the poor would be better off if government reduced income inequality simply by transferring more money from the rich to the poor. The serious problem with this argument is that government transfers have never been very effective at reducing income inequality or improving the conditions of the poor. Ironically, most government transfers go to those who are not poor. The two largest federal transfer programs, Social Security and Medicare, are targeted to the elderly, most of whom are not poor (medical care for the poor is provided by Medicaid). Many seniors are poorer than they would otherwise be, though, because these programs reduce the incentives for people to save for their old age. These two transfer programs make up close to one-third of all federal spending, and there are many billions of other federal transfer dollars going to politically influential recipients who are not poor and are often quite wealthy (e.g., large agribusiness concerns, defense contractors, pharmaceutical giants, etc). Of course, some government transfer dollars and in-kind benefits do go to the poor, but they often perpetuate poverty among the most economically disadvantaged. When the poor make an effort to improve their skills and work hard to increase their incomes, the government money and benefits they receive are reduced by a large percentage of their additional earnings. Sometimes it’s more than 100 percent, leaving them with less take-home income than before. The result is that many poor people see little benefit in making the effort to earn more income, or any income at all. They are trapped in poverty by the very programs that were supposed to help them escape it. (We’ll pass over the army of administrators who skim a percentage of these transfers and enjoy lavish benefits.) Relative economic freedom, despite the income inequality that results, has done far more to help the poor than government transfer programs have ever done. Indeed, government attempts to reduce income inequality would do little to reduce inequality but a great deal to hamper economic growth and reduce economic opportunities for the poor to improve their lives with productive effort.

1484012254_1483931699

The video will start in 8 Cancel Sign up to FREE daily email alerts from birminghammail - daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Police have launched a murder inquiry after a man and woman were found dead in a Midlands village on New Year's Day. The couple's bodies were discovered in Duffield, Derbyshire, just after 4am on Wednesday, January 1. Derbyshire Police said a man had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of two counts of murder. Officers from Derbyshire Constabulary were called to the village at 4.11am today. (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire) The arrested man, 39, remains in custody. A local resident, who didn’t want to be named, said: "I woke up this morning and had a look outside to see what the New Year was looking like. "I was shocked to see all the tape and cones attached to my gate. "I guess something serious happened because of the men in white suits but police won’t tell me anything. "Everything was fine last night and we entered 2020 fine. We went to bed at around 1am and there were lots of fireworks but nothing unusual." A statement from the East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We received a call at 4.30am on 1 January from our colleagues in Derbyshire Police requesting medical assistance at a private address in Duffield. Large sections of the road near the property have been cordoned off by police. Duffield is a village in south Derbyshire centred on the River Derwent with a population of roughly 5,000.

COPS were called to a murdered mum's home days before she and her new lover were stabbed to death on New Year's Day. Helen Almey, 39, and her new partner were slain at the home she had shared with her headteacher ex in Duffield, Derbyshire. 9 Helen Almey, 39, who was stabbed to death, pictured with her husband Rhys Hancock Credit: Facebook 9 Friends said Helen was just starting to get her life back together” but had to call 999 over Christmas after being threatened. Credit: Facebook Friends said Helen, who had just left her husband, was “just starting to get her life back together” but had to call 999 over Christmas after being threatened. The trouble flared again at the New Year as she marked the occasion with her new partner. Shocked neighbours heard someone yell: “They’re dead! They’re dead! What have you f******g done?” at about 3am. Police arrived just over an hour later to find two “fatally injured” people in the three-bedroom home. A spokesman said they arrested a 39-year-old man at the scene on suspicion of double murder and will question him today. They were not looking for anyone else. Helen bought the home in Duffield with headteacher husband Rhys Hancock in 2014. 9 Cops are today still investigating after two people were found dead in Derbyshire in the early hours of New Year's Day Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 9 Officers outside her home today Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 9 Police officers are today searching for clues Credit: SWNS:South West News Service The couple, who had three children under the age of ten, split several months ago when she ended the relationship. Mr Hancock, 39, was appointed last year as the headteacher at Stanton Vale Special School in nearby Long Eaton. One local said: “My neighbour heard screaming and shouting coming from the house and outside the property at around 3am. “My neighbour said he heard someone shouting, ‘They’re dead! They’re dead! What have you f***ing done?’ over and over.” Another former neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said: “It’s tragic. I can’t say I’m shocked. “The marriage was on and off. I lived close enough to know what went on and so did some of the other neighbours. 'THEY'RE DEAD! WHAT HAVE YOU F***ING DONE?' “Rhys came across as this caring teacher who dedicated his life to kids with special needs. “Helen tried many times to make a life without him. Then last year, she plucked up the courage to kick him out for good. “About six months ago she started seeing this guy. She was really getting her life together. “I don’t know too much about him but I think they met through some sports club — she loved netball and keep fit. "I heard he was a keen runner.” Scenes of crime officers searched the £415,000 home yesterday and a grey Seat thought to belong to Mr Hancock was taken away. Another grey Seat, thought to be Ms Almey’s, and a Honda Civic, believed to be her boyfriend’s, remained on the drive. Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I woke up this morning and looked outside to see what was going on. 9 The 39-year-old was killed in her Duffield home near Derby 9 Helen had three children under the age of 10 Credit: Facebook “All I could see was tape and cones everywhere and police cars. It’s a bit surreal.” A former school pal of Helen’s added: “Duffield is a small place where everyone knows everyone so we’re all in complete and utter shock. We can’t stop thinking about Helen’s poor children. “She was a lovely girl. She was very popular at school.” Neighbours in the village - which counts Derby FC footballer Tom Lawrence among its residents - yesterday described their shock. A former school pal said: “Helen was a lovely girl. She was very popular at school and very sporty and played lots of netball. "Duffield is a very small place where everyone knows everyone so we are all in complete and utter shock. "We can’t stop thinking about her poor children.” A Derbyshire Police spokeswoman said: "We were called to a house in New Zealand Lane at 4.11am today and found a man and a woman fatally injured inside. "A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of two counts of murder. He remains in custody at this time." A statement from the East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We received a call at 4.30am on 1 January from our colleagues in Derbyshire Police requesting medical assistance at a private address in Duffield. "We sent a paramedic in a car and two crewed ambulances." 9 Helen's friends said she was just getting her life together before she was killed Credit: Facebook

1484007546_1484188452

By: Madeeha Araj/ NBPRS/ The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that just days away separate us from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court – ICC, Fatou Bensouda’s announcement of the end of the preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine, and accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC over crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli PM canceled a meeting that was scheduled for an inter-ministerial committee to discuss ways of imposing sovereignty over the Palestinian Valley areas and the northern Dead Sea. Furthermore, the Israeli Minister of Security, Naftali Bennett, puts forward arrangements to the lands register, under which the Occupation Authorities can annex more areas in the occupied West Bank to Israel, thus, violating the International Laws and covenants. He also instructed the register lands to register lands in areas C in the Israeli Ministry of Justice instead of registering them in the Civil Administration. Bennett also instructed officials in the Israeli Ministry of Security to find a legal way that allows dealing with land in settlements as if they are in the Green Line. Within the context, the Israeli reactions to the ICC’s decision occupied a prominent place in the Israeli political arena. The far-right Israeli Minister of Transportation, Tzelel Smritrich, called for demolishing Palestinian villages and eliminate the Palestinian Authority if the investigation process is continued. The Israeli Minister of Security, Naftali Benin, launched a sharp attack on the International Criminal Court in Hague, describing it as a “anti-Semitic factory,” while the leader of the “New Right” party, Elite Shaked, said that, “it is necessary for Israel to face the ICC’s decision with all available means.” He considers that the court has no authority to carry out such investigations. Moreover Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has described the ICC’s decision as “persecution of the State of Israel.” Leader of the Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s main rival, is also to be investigated at the International Criminal Court, as he was the chief of army during the war on Gaza in 2014, he added that “there is no basis to demand an investigation against Israel.” He stressed that “all Israeli government’s coalition, the opposition, and others, are same and stand together, claiming that Israel and its army don’t commit any war crimes. American responses also to the International Criminal Court came soon, theUS Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said in a long interview with the Evangelical Radical Broadcasting “CSN” on the 22nd of this month that his decision announced last Nov. to legalize settlement and Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, was right. He claimed that the Israeli civilian settlements in “Judea and Samaria,” the name given by the occupation authorities on the West Bank, are not inconsistent with international law, stressing that the United States stubbornly opposes the opening of the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli war crimes, and he also said we agree with President Trump that the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank does not in itself contradict international law It was noted that the occupation government’s intends to move forward with its settlement plans and support for settlerss, the Finance Committee at the Knesset approved a special grant for West Bank settlements amounting to US $10s of millions. The grant includes NIS 34.5 million in favor of settlement councils that “suffer from a financial crisis in the light of private security expenditures”, It also includes the amount of NIS 5.5 million for the purposes of supporting the ambulance and rescue authorities. Whereas, the Chairman of the West Bank Settlements Council, David al-Hayani, of the “Yesha Council” praised the Israeli Prime Minister for the grant, noting the security importance that the West Bank settlements represent to Israel and the need to support its steadfastness. Nablus, the Governorate witnessed leveling large areas of lands belonging to villages in the Nablus Governorate in order to expand the Shilo and Shvut Rachel settlements, illegaly built on the lands of the Jalod, Qariot and Qasra villages, where bulldozers supported by the military forces carried out extensive bulldozing work to build more settlement units to expand Shvut Rachel settlement over the lands of Jalud village. The sweeping works came despite the decision issued by the Supreme Court of the Occupying Power last year, which the Israeli high court ordered that all construction and expansion work in the Shvut Rachel settlement on the lands of Jalod village shall be stopped. Qalqilia, the occupation authorities issued a decision to expand a main road located behind the annexation wall near the settlement “Alfei Menashe,” thus restricting movements of the Paestinian farmers and owners of the nurseries behind the mentioned wall, and then to confiscate their lands. The expansion of the road, which extends over 1,300 meters, will confiscate 500 donums there, this will lead to the destruction of artesian wells and damage 11 nurseries behind the wall.

From Truthout In a significant development for Israeli accountability, Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), seeks to launch an investigation into war crimes committed in Palestine. But she has established an unnecessary and politically suspect condition to slow down the process. Following a five-year preliminary examination, Bensouda found a reasonable basis to mount an investigation of "the situation in Palestine." She is "satisfied that (i) war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip ... (ii) potential cases arising from the situation would be admissible; and (iii) there are no substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice." Bensouda began the preliminary examination six months after Israel's July 2014 "Operation Protective Edge," during which Israeli military forces killed 2,200 Palestinians, nearly one-quarter of them children and more than 80 percent civilians. In a preliminary examination, the Office of the Prosecutor decides whether: the crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC; there are genuine national proceedings; and beginning an investigation would further the interests of justice and the victims. In an investigation, the prosecutor develops evidence, identifies suspects, and applies for arrest warrants and summons to appear before the Court. Bensouda filed a 112-page document with the Court's Pre-Trial Chamber. She found a reasonable basis to believe that Israeli forces committed the war crimes of willful killing, willfully causing serious injury to body or health, disproportionate use of force, transfer of Israeli civilians into the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, and the killing of over 200 Palestinians during demonstrations at the Israel-Gaza fence. She also cited a reasonable basis to investigate possible war crimes by Palestinians, including intentional attacks against civilians, using civilians as human shields, and the commission of torture and willful killing. The prosecutor could have commenced the investigation without asking the Court's permission. Bensouda determined "that the Court does indeed have the necessary jurisdiction in this situation." But given the "unique and highly contested legal and factual issues," particularly the issue of "the territory within which the investigation may be conducted," she asked the Pre-trial Chamber for a ruling on "the scope of the territorial jurisdiction" of the ICC under the Rome Statute. Bensouda wants confirmation that the "territory" subject to investigation "comprises the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza." She recommends that the jurisdictional issue be "resolved without undue delay." Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute. The ICC, however, can exercise jurisdiction over nationals of a non-party if they commit crimes in the "territory" of a state party. In 2012, Palestine was recognized as a non-member observer State to the United Nations under General Assembly Resolution 67/19. Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute and became a member of the States Parties of the International Criminal Court. The State of Palestine, which welcomed Bensouda's decision to start an investigation, noted that the ICC prosecutor "has jurisdiction over the occupied territory of the State of Palestine, given that Palestine is a State Party to the Rome Statute and that the State of Palestine granted the Prosecutor jurisdiction to look into crimes committed in its territory." Israel contends that "a sovereign Palestinian State does not exist, and that the precondition to the Court's jurisdiction thus cannot be fulfilled. This is because sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remains in abeyance, and the Palestinian entity manifestly fails to meet the criteria for statehood under general international law." In his legal opinion, Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit wrote, "the Palestinian Authority lacks effective control over the territory concerned (and in claiming that the territory is occupied by Israel, essentially concedes that that is so)." He claims that because there is no sovereign Palestinian state, there is no "territory" over which the Court can exercise jurisdiction. However, Israel is occupying the Palestinian territories, which does not give Israel sovereignty over them. Al-Haq, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al-Mezan) and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a joint statement saying, "Israel does not have sovereign authority, but de facto administrative authority premised on actual and potential effective control in terms of military presence and substitution of authority..." Moreover, "...Israel, the Occupying Power, exercises extra-territorial jurisdiction in the occupied Palestinian territory for purposes related to the protection of the occupied population due to the fact that the area is under its temporary control and military occupation. This does not in any way give Israel sovereign rights over the territory," they wrote. The issue of territorial jurisdiction is "a redundant and moot point" that amounts "to an unnecessary delay in the progression of the situation to full investigation," the Palestinian organizations noted. Since jurisdictional issues are usually decided during the preliminary examination, the groups asked why "the question of territorial jurisdiction has only now come to the fore?" After Bensouda indicated she wished to open an investigation, she was lambasted by the Israeli press, which branded her "public enemy number one." Bensouda may fear additional repercussions if she proceeds with the investigation without a jurisdictional ruling from the Court. In April 2019, after she asked the Court to open an investigation into war crimes committed by Afghan and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the United States revoked her visa. The Court then denied Bensouda's request to launch the investigation, citing the "interests of justice." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to take further action against investigators who participate in an ICC investigation. Next Page 1 | 2

1484039666_1483920820

​Wolves winger Adama Traore has admitted that he would not 'close any doors' in the future if Real Madrid were to come calling despite his ties to Barcelona, but also claimed that he wishes to become one of the best in England before considering a move back to Spain. Traore has been in outstanding form this season for Nuno Espirito Santo's side. He has made 29 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring five times and providing seven assists. As a result of his fine form, Traore has been linked with a number of clubs, notably Tottenham Hotspur. Following their dramatic win over ​Wolves, Spurs' star players ​​were stunned by Traore's impact on the game and pleaded with manager Jose Mourinho to sign him. However, in response, Nuno ​insisted that the forward was 'happy' at the club. The 23-year-old, who came through the ranks at ​Barcelona's La Masia academy, has now admitted that if he does not have the opportunity to return to Barça, he wouldn't rule out a move to rivals ​Real Madrid. "If I do not have the option of Barça and I have to go to Real Madrid, I do not close any doors," he said on La Sexta show Jugones, as quoted by ​Goal. "There was a misunderstanding with Barça. Something happened that I didn't like, but I prefer to keep it for myself." The Spaniard went on to reveal that while he would consider a return to Spain in the future, he first wants to achieve his goals in England. He added: "Yes, why not [return to Spain]? But I made a promise to become one of the best in England." Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ​recently lavished praise on the player, claiming that he is a 'big, big talent', before adding that he is even harder to defend against than the Premier League's top goalscorer Jamie Vardy.

Adama Traoré is one of the revelations of the 2019-20 season. The Wolverhampton Wanderers player has been grabbing headlines for his performances in the Premier League, which led to him receiving a call-up to the Spanish national team under Robert Moreno, who has since moved on to Monaco. Traore on Madrid and Barcelona The winger's power and pace, along with a new-found crossing accuracy, have made him an almost unstoppable opponent at times, with many commentating on his physical growth. Speaking to Spanish programme Jugones ahead of the New Year celebrations, Traore responded to questions about the big two clubs in his homeland, among other things. "I don't do weights," the 23-year old stated when asked about his obvious muscle growth. "It's hard to believe, but I don't do them. "It's genetic. I exercise, but I grow very quickly." Rising star | Wolverhampton's Adama Traore celebrates scoring against Manchester City. PETER POWELL (EFE) After starting his career in Barcelona's B team, and then making a brief appearance for the first team aged just 17 (coming off the bench to replace Neymar against Granada) the inevitable question was asked about potentially signing for their rivals, Real Madrid. "If I have to go to Madrid, I will go," was the player's response, which may have got some Los Blancos fans' attention. "There was a misunderstanding with Barcelona. My departure was not the best, but I keep that story to myself." And regarding a potential return to Spain Traore was clear. "Yes, why not? But I made a promise to become one of the best in England." Wolves' next match in the Premier League is against Watford at 16:00 on 1 January.

1484084350_1484110209

We noticed you’re blocking ads! Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse broke with tradition on Wednesday and celebrated the country’s independence day in the capital for security reasons following months of political turmoil. Moïse, whose government has been accused of corruption, denounced graft during his speech at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince and urged Haiti’s elite to work with the government and help create employment. “We’re still extremely poor,” he said. “Those who continue to get rich find it normal that they do not pay taxes, find it normal that there can be no competition, find it normal that they set prices for consumers, especially when this consumer is the state itself.” Moïse also apologized for the country’s ongoing power outages and renewed his 2016 campaign pledge to provide electricity 24 hours a day, saying it was harder to accomplish than he imagined. The speech that marked the 216th anniversary of the world’s first black republic was originally slated to take place in the northern coastal town of Gonaives, where Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence. But the town, like many others, was hit by violent protests that began in September amid anger over corruption, fuel shortages and dwindling food supplies as opposition leaders and supporters demanded the resignation of Moïse. More than 40 people have been killed and dozens injured. Large-scale protests in Port-au-Prince have since dissipated, although smaller ones are still occurring elsewhere in the country. On Wednesday, opposition leaders and supporters gathered in Gonaives to attend the funeral of an anti-government protester and then carried his coffin through the streets as more protesters joined them. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

1484177592_1484180941

A street performer dressed as a toy soldier to help direct traffic and sent pedestrians into hysterics in the Philippines. Footage shows the man dressed head-to-toe in forest green clothing mimicking the Army Soldier from Toy Story. He stands in the middle of a busy intersection in Baguio City, the Philippines, to try to control the traffic flow. A street performer donned an toy army soldier costume to direct traffic and pedestrians in Baguio City, the Philippines He waves his arms to direct cars across one path before turning and encouraging pedestrians to come forward. Within seconds, bystanders follow his command and hastily cross the junction, in the clip from December 6. The soldier then stops at the front of the road, waiting for pedestrians to make their final journey, Crowds of people were safely ushered across the busy intersection by the comical performer who spoke in a squeaky voice The camerawoman can be heard laughing as she watches the street performer pretending to discipline a man wanting to cross and reluctant to follow his orders. He waves more pedestrians away from the road and captures the attention of a little boy who can be heard shouting 'oi' after him. One gentleman gives the soldier a high five while he is negotiating the road during rush hour. The busy street became the performer's stomping ground for one evening. Street performers are to complete an application and pay a regulatory fee of P350 which will be at the discretion of the City Mayor before they can legally perform More onlookers giggle as they listen to the man's squeaky voice added for comedic effect. With the increasing number of buskers in the city, Baguio has released an ordinance which requires street performers to obtain permits from the city hall before they can legally perform in the street. Entertainers are to complete an application and pay a regulatory fee of P350 which will be at the discretion of the City Mayor. Since Baguio City has now been recognised in UNESCO's Creative Cities list, local artists contribution must be emphasised.

Police are looking for an impatient driver who threw a 'grenade' under the wheels of a car in Russia. Footage shows the white Skoda snake across three lanes before accelerating right behind a vehicle in St Petersburg. Seconds later, a passenger's arm is held outside of the window and appears to let off an smoking 'grenade'. A driver held their arm outside of their Skoda to throw a 'grenade' under the wheels of another vehicle in St Petersburg, Russia The object, which is thought to be a smoke grenade which cannot cause serious damage, releases a dark cloud. Seconds later, the driver then puts their hand back into the car and instantly moves across to the furthest lane. A bang is heard as though they have thrown another explosive, in the clip from December 29. The car in front of them approaches to flash its lights as though they are trying to send them a message. Police are hunting for the driver who is thought to have chucked an airsoft grenade on to the motorway on December 29. The car snaked across the three lanes before driving on the tail of another vehicle and launching the object The cars steadily drive along the curved road and the impatient driver can be seen on the edge of the dash-cam footage. They impatiently swerve over the lines on the road to try to get ahead of the build up of cars. They grind to a halt and the car appears to have overtaken on the right-hand lane. St. Petersburg police are now looking for the driver who threw a suspected Airsoft under the wheels of the cars behind them. Within a matter of seconds, the car crossed to the right of the three lanes, in the dash-cam footage. Smoke was released from the object before a hang was heard An social media user said: 'If there is a grenade, then some kind of Airsoft or even fireworks. 'For even if it was a conventional RGD, everyone around us would have blown out for a long time, including the machine that was shooting.' No injuries were reported during the incident.

1484763362_1484653098

In an unusual event, a bride and a room arrived in ambulances for their wedding reception. The incident took place in Malaysia’s Kuantan city. The video of the would-be couple arriving in separate ambulances was shared on Facebook and soon it went viral. In the four-minute video, the groom appears to be in a paramedic uniform wheeling his bride into the hall on a stretcher. It has been watched over 2 lakh times and has received more than 500 comments. But, it didn’t go down well with netizens. They decried the couple using the ambulance. One user accused the bride and groom of “misusing” the ambulance. Following the allegations, Melaka Health and Anti-Drug Committee chairman Low Chee Leong told The Star newspaper the incident didn’t take place in the city as claimed by social media users. Leong said has checked with the local hospitals and has found the ambulances didn’t belong to any hospitals. Yet, he has written to the Health Ministry to probe the video footage. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has told The Star that they were private ambulances and so didn’t constitute abuse of public property. He further added that the wedding was a private affair and was not an official event of the health ministry. Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

Among the many reasons the Twitterati has been abuzz about News18's The Newcomers Roundtable 2019 is Soni actor Geetika Vidya Ohlyan's act of dissent when she drew attention to the words etched on her hand - "Unnao", "CAA" and "Jamia". "I hope the victim gets... like the Unnao verdict is today... and I hope we don’t get disappointed more, and times improve and I hope we are kinder towards each other,” Ohlyan said while alternately raising her palms to make the words visible. Ohlyan also had a vertical line of the hakenkreuz (the Nazi symbol that resembled the swastika) and crosses drawn on her arms, to presumably express her opposition to fascistic regimes. I was not expecting that someone will talk about Unnao Rape case and CAA. She had written Jamia also on her hand. That someone is @GeetikaVidya pic.twitter.com/o0K8j4x0Lx — Harsh (@_ambedkarite) January 1, 2020 In response to host Rajeev Masand's question about what changed for the actors after they became celebrities, Ohlyan's answer stood out. "One factual observation about current times is people do not listen to economists or historians. they listen to celebrities." She then goes onto say that she continues to study as she understood how it would help her when she became a celebrity. "I was asked why I was studying more. I said because I am gonna be a celebrity. And when I be a celebrity they should listen to me. The food that I receive is increasing, so I am making my table bigger rather than my walls higher," was her poignant reply. Only two movies old, the actor's responses won the hearts of Twitteratis especially since many of her counterparts have remained mum over the issues of the Citizenship Act and the series of police brutality on protestors. Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.

1484033455_1484122375

All you need to know about banana cue is that it is caramelized, fried banana, served on a stick. Its cousin, camote cue? That’s caramelized, fried sweet potato, served on a stick. I know a guy who doesn’t like sweet potatoes. “There is nothing you could do to a sweet potato that would make me like it,” he has said. Even deep fry it and caramelize it? “Even that,” he said. So he has no interest in camote cue, although I still think he would enjoy it if he tried it. And that’s fine. It just means more camote cue and banana cue for the rest of us. Both of the cues, banana and camote, are popular street foods in the Philippines. You are especially likely to find them as a mid-afternoon snack, or meryenda. I imagine they are particularly popular among children coming home from school, but adults adore them, too. Best of all, for our purposes, they are incredibly easy to make. They may be a little bit messy, especially if you tend to be a messy cook anyway, like me. But clean-up is a pleasure when you have a belly full of banana cue or camote cue. One simple cooking technique is used for both dishes. You heat oil until it is hot enough to deep-fry, from about 350 to 375 degrees. Then you drop in the (peeled) banana or the (sliced) sweet potatoes. These will start to turn golden brown after a few minutes. That is when you add a handful or two of brown sugar. Spoon the brown sugar-oil over the bananas or sweet potato slices, occasionally turning the pieces, until they are golden brown all over. Remove them from the pot, shake off as much oil as you can, and allow them to cool for a couple of minutes. Place one or two on a skewer, just because everything tastes better on a skewer or at least is more fun, and serve. Before you rush off and try the banana cue, though, you should know that it doesn’t work on what we Americans think of as ordinary bananas. Believe me, I tried. And as I had feared, the most common bananas in the United States are too soft and narrow to stand up to the rigors of deep-fat frying. In the Philippines they use a squatter, thicker, starchier variety of banana called saba bananas, also known as cardaba bananas. That’s a perfect ingredient, but they can be hard to find in this country, so I used burro bananas. Burro bananas are usually grown in Mexico, and are also shorter and thicker than the bananas we are accustomed to. They can be deep-fried with impunity, and also happen to be delicious. I bought mine at Global Foods Market. I also decided to try to make banana cue with plantains, and they worked fine. They are certainly hearty enough to be fried with ease, and they happen to taste great when fried and caramelized. But they aren’t as sweet as the burro bananas, and I missed that extra dimension to the snack. And finally, a word about clean-up. You may find that, after you are done, you have clumps of cooked brown sugar stuck to the bottom of your pot. It may seem difficult to get it off, but actually it is quite easy: Just put a couple of inches of water in the pot and bring it to a boil. The sugar will dissolve, and any part of it that doesn’t dissolve will be easy to remove. Your pot will be so clean you’ll want to use it again to make more banana or camote cue. Camote Cue 3 cups oil, for frying 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices 1/2 cup brown sugar 1. Pour oil into a large pot. Heat over medium heat until hot enough to deep fry, about 375 degrees. 2. Carefully add the slices; the oil should immediately start to bubble. Turn slices occasionally until beginning to turn light brown. Sprinkle brown sugar over top and cook sweet potatoes, turning occasionally with tongs or a spoon. 3. Camote cue is done when the sweet potatoes are a golden brown all over and can easily be pierced with a fork or sharp knife. Remove from oil and allow to cool for a minute. Place 2 or 3 pieces on a skewer, and serve warm. Serves 6. Recipe by Daniel Neman. Per serving: 423 calories; 36 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; no cholesterol; 1 g protein; 25 g carbohydrate; 14 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 39 mg sodium; 30 mg calcium Banana Cue Oil for frying 6 saba or burro bananas, or 3 plantains, peeled 1/2 cup brown sugar 1. Pour oil into a pot big enough to hold all the bananas or plantains; the oil should be at least high enough to come about halfway up the side of the bananas, 2 to 3 cups, depending on the size of the pot. Heat over medium heat until hot enough to fry, about 375 degrees. 2. Carefully add the bananas (cut the plantains in half first, if using); the oil should immediately start to bubble. Turn bananas occasionally until beginning to turn light brown. Sprinkle brown sugar over top and cook, turning bananas occasionally with tongs and spooning sugared oil over the top of bananas if they are above the oil. 3. Banana cue is done when the bananas are a golden brown all over. Remove from oil and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Place 1 or 2 pieces on a skewer, and serve warm. Serves 6. Recipe by Daniel Neman. Per serving: 476 calories; 37 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; no cholesterol; 1 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 25 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 7 mg sodium; 13 mg calcium

Image: Timo Sihvonen / Yle In many municipalities the Christmas break will last until 6 January. Some parents’ imaginations are no match for the current dark, snowless conditions, however. You shouldn’t let that get you down, says Panu Könönen, marketing and communications manager of the Outdoor Association of Finland, as woodlands are often close at hand and they offer many options for impromptu outings. If you’re running out of ideas for activities for your youngsters, try a few of these tips. 1. A forest trek Plan a walk to a nearby campfire, camping hut or lean-to. Make sure to pack enough snacks and a thermos with warm juice or cocoa. Building a fire and enjoying a bite in a darkening forest is an experience in itself. Story continues after photo. Image: Timo Sipola / Yle You can also incorporate a theme or story for the trip if the prospect of a hike might otherwise seem dull. Suggest a search for a troll forest or examine the different kinds of leaves or animals you can find in the woods. 2. Touch and tell Punch holes in the sides of a cardboard box. Place different objects in the box so your kids can touch them and guess what they are. You can help out by providing clues. The greater the variety of objects you put in the box, the more fun for everyone! The box can do double duty as a makeshift picnic hamper. 3. Create an outdoor gym Who needs a pricey gym when you can use the forest or even your backyard for a fun workout? Adults and youngsters can do pushups against trees or you can hang from a sturdy branch to develop upper body strength. Don’t forget piggyback, an old favourite for the young and not-so-young. Encourage the kids to use their imagination and develop power moves for the entire family. If you run out of ideas, you can consult the Outdoor Association of Finland’s website for more outdoor activity suggestions (in Finnish). 4. A reflector trail Create a reflector trail in your nearby forest or backyard by hanging safety reflectors from trees and shrubs. Have the entire family use flashlights to follow the trail and find all of the reflectors. Story continues after photo. Image: Tarja Hiltunen / Yle The trail can be incorporated into a treasure hunt or it can lead to a campfire. You can also stash treats such as small toys or plush animals along the way. 5. A treasure hunt Place a small LED light inside the small yellow box that comes in chocolate eggs. Or you can use some other glass or plastic container to create a magical effect with the light. Hide the containers in the nearby forest or your backyard so children can look for the hidden treasure. 6. Stage an animal rescue A variation of the treasure hunt, this activity calls for a Bluetooth speaker, a smartphone and a stuffed toy. Story continues after photo. Image: Meeri Männikkö / Yle First, hide the plush toy and the speaker in the same place. Make sure the connection between the phone and speaker is activated and working so you can play animal sounds. Participants try to track the animal (plushie) – for example a lion – by following the roaring sound. This activity is suitable for indoors as well as outdoors. 7. Cops and robbers in the dark Form players into two teams. One team represents the police and is armed with flashlights. The other team is the robbers, who then try to get to their hideout without being caught by police. The game begins when the robbers shout, "This is a hold-up!" If a police officer shines the light on a robber and shouts his name, the robber must freeze. Another robber can rescue her frozen partner in crime by crawling between his legs. The game ends when all the robbers have either safely made it to the hideout or have been rounded up by police. 8. Upside down day Who doesn’t love a chance to disregard norms and turn things topsy turvy? On upside down day, your family can have dinner for breakfast and wish each other "Good night" instead of "Good morning". Take it all one step further by wearing your clothes on the wrong side and walking backwards! Suggested activities were provided by the Outdoor Association of Finland and the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare.

1483805857_1483895137

New Delhi, Jan 1 () Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd on Wednesday reported a 1 per cent rise in automobile sales in December 2019, as a rise in passenger and utility vehicles offset a dip in commercial vehicle sales. In a regulatory filing, M&M, a part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, said domestic auto sales came at 37,081 units in December as compared to 36,690 vehicles sold a year back. Passenger vehicles clocked 4 per cent rise in sales to 15,691 while utility vehicles posted 10 per cent rise to 15,225. Advertisement Commercial vehicle sales, however, slipped 5 per cent to 16,018 reflecting a slowdown in the economy and rural consumption.Exports were also down 30 per cent at 2,149 and they pulled down the overall M&M December sales by 1 per cent to 39,230 units. During April-December, domestic sales were down 11 per cent at 3.6 lakh units reflecting a slowdown in the auto sector witnessed during the first half of the current fiscal. Together with declining exports, total sales were down 12 per cent to 3.8 lakh vehicles in April-December. Advertisement In the Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs, cars and vans), Mahindra sold 15,691 vehicles in December 2019, compared to 15,091 vehicles in December 2018. In the commercial vehicles segment, the company sold 16,018 vehicles in December 2019, as against 16,906 vehicles in December 2018. In the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 478 vehicles for the month. "Our performance in the month of December is as per year-end sales outlook and currently we are also comfortable with our overall stock levels. As we get into the new year, we are fully equipped to roll out our BSVI products and have taken all requisite measures for a smooth transition over the next three months," M&M Ltd Chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division Veejay Ram Nakra said. ANZ DRR

Maruti Suzuki XL6 review 07:27 Hyundai Aura first look 02:25 MG ZS EV review 14:41 NEW DELHI: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday reported rise in their domestic sales in December, even as Hyundai and Toyota posted negative growth.Beating the year-end blues Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales were at 1,24,375 units in December as against 1,21,479 units in the same month a year ago, registering a growth of 2.4 per cent.The company said its compact segment comprising New WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire recorded sales of 65,673 units last month as compared to 51,346 units in December 2018, a growth of 27.9 per cent.Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Ertiga, XL6, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza, were at 23,808 units as compared to 20,225 units in the same month in 2018, a growth of 17.7 per cent.However, the mini segment comprising Alto, S-Presso and Old WagonR witnessed a decline of 13.6 per cent at 23,883 units as compared to 27,649 units in December 2018.Mahindra & Mahindra also posted domestic sales of 37,081 units in December as compared to 36,690 units in the same month previous year, up 1 per cent."Our performance in the month of December is as per year end sales outlook and currently we are also comfortable with our overall stock levels," M&M chief of sales and marketing, automotive division Veejay Ram Nakra said.He further said, "as we get into the new year, we are fully equipped to roll out our BSVI products and have taken all requisite measures for a smooth transition over the next three months."Hyundai said its domestic sales were at 37,953 units in December 2019 as compared to 42,093 units in the same month previous year, down 9.8 per cent.Domestic sales last year were at 510,260 units as against 550,002 units in 2018, a decline of 7.2 per cent, it added.Commenting on the sales performance, HMIL director sales, marketing and service Tarung Garg said, "the year 2019 has been a challenging year for the Indian automotive industry. Even in such adverse conditions, Hyundai Motor India as committed has launched 4 new benchmark products in different segments."Toyota Kirloskar Motor's domestic sales in December 2019 stood at 6,544 units as compared to 11,836 units in the same month in 2018, down 45 per cent.The company said its domestic sales in 2019, stood at 1,26,701 units in 2019 as compared to 1,51,480 units in 2018, down 16.36 per cent, the company said."We are happy that there has been a continued positive retail sales momentum despite the overall slowdown in the industry. We currently don't cater to the entire market with our products, although the segments we represent have shown de-growth of around 22 per cent, yet our de-growth as compared to the segment has been much lesser," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Senior Vice President, Sales and Service Naveen Soni said.MG Motor India reported retail sales of 3,021 units in December 2019."As a new entrant in the Indian market, the robust sales momentum of our first offering, the HECTOR, has been very encouraging. We are working closely with our global and local suppliers to increase the production of the HECTOR in 2020 to support the booking backlog," MG MOtor India director – Sales Rakesh Sidana said.

1484009054_1484052856

(MENAFN - Saudi Press Agency) Riyadh, January 01, 2020, SPA -- A statement by the Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen COL Turki Al-Malki: "At (1545) this evening, six Saudi War Prisoners arrived at King Salman Airbase. Receiving them was His Royal Highness the Joint Forces Commander Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Turki Bin Abdulaziz, a number of the Joint Forces Command Staff and their families. The Joint Forces Command values the efforts exerted by the International Committee of the Red Cross in handing over PoWs under the Stockholm Agreement." --SPA 16:44 LOCAL TIME 13:44 GMT 0010 MENAFN0101202000780000ID1099495460

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) RIYADH, Jan 1 (KUNA) -- Six Saudi war prisoners have arrived at King Salman Airbase in Riyadh, said the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen. Joint Forces Commander Lieut. Gen. Fahd Bin Turki Bin Abdulaziz, Joint Forces Command Staff and the prisoners' families welcomed the prisoners at the airbase, the coalition's spokesman Col. Turki Al-Malki was quoted by the Saudi official news agency as saying. Al-Malki appreciated the efforts exerted by the International Committee of the Red Cross in freeing the Saudi prisoners pursuant to the Stockholm Agreement. On December 13, 2018, parties to the conflict in Yemen came together in Stockholm, Sweden, and agreed to a series of undertakings that raised hopes for a peaceful settlement of the conflict that began in 2015. The agreement mainly encompassed an immediate cease-fire, mutual redeployment of forces in Hodeidah and the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa, facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid and a prisoner swap. (end) mdm.mt MENAFN0101202000710000ID1099495480

1483803964_1484247625

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad as the Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). Also, Hajia Saratu Shafil has also been appointed new Acting Registrar-General for the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Read Also: Buhari appoints new CMD for Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital In a statement, CAC’s Head Public Affairs, Moses Adaguusu, said the appointment was conveyed via a letter dated December 30, 2019 from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Supervising Ministry of the CAC. Ahmad appointment was announced by the Minister of Power, Mamman Sale through a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr. Aaron Artimas. He said Buhari also appointed Chief Olaniyi Alaba Netufo as the Executive Director – South West and Eddi Mietuade Smith Julius as Non-Executive Director, South-South.

The Federal Government on Tuesday appointed Hajiya Saratu Shafii as the Acting Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, replacing Azuka Azinge. The Head of Public Affairs of the commission, Mr Moses Adaguusu, made this known in a statement in Abuja. Adaguusu said Shafii’s appointment was conveyed to CAC through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. He said until her appointment, Shafii was a Director, Incorporated Trustees Department of the commiss The new acting Registrar is graduate of Law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985. Shafii started her working career with the Niger State Ministry of Justice from 1986 to 1991, and later joined CAC in 1992 as a Senior Litigation Officer and rose through the ranks to become a director in 2012. Recall that that the Code of Conduct Tribunal had ordered the suspension of the immediate past Acting Registrar-General of the commission, Ms Azuka Azinge, for not declaring her assets.

1483806409_1484187744

According to a list compiled by a dozen sustainability organizations , cities and towns in Slovenia, including Ljubljana, as well as locations in Spain and Palau — where visitors must pledge to protect the natural and cultural heritage before entering — were among the best places to visit and leave a light footprint in 2019. Each of them was selected based on certain criteria: that they had a governing body to manage sustainability; showed commitment to protecting natural resources, people and heritage; and reduced energy consumption, among other factors. The aim of the list is to raise the bar on sustainability issues for all cities, said Claire Ellis, the chair of Ecotourism Australia, one of the organizations that helped determine the list. Slovenia, Dr. Ellis added, was among the first countries to develop sustainability tools and certification programs at the national level . In 2016 its capital, Ljubljana, was voted Europe’s greenest city by the European Union, thanks to its public transport, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, and commitment to protecting green areas and saving waste water.

Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A post shared by Danielle Brooks (@daniebb3) on Dec 31, 2019 at 5:33pm PST 2019 was a big year for “Orange Is the New Black” star Danielle Brooks. A little over a month after welcoming a baby girl, the actress revealed on New Year’s Eve that she’s engaged to boyfriend Dennis Gelin. “I never thought one of the best days of my year would happen the last week of the year,” she captioned a photo of the couple dancing, showing off her engagement ring. “I get to marry my best friend. We’re ENGAGED!! So excited to become your wife. D&D until the end. ❤️🥂” She also posted a video of the pair dancing. Brooks welcomed her first child in November. “When one chapter ends, another begins,” she wrote at the time.

1483803656_1484176201

PHOENIX — Phoenix-area residents and visitors can expect a dry but chilly New Year’s Eve as they ring out 2019. Tuesday temperatures are forecasted to peak at 61 degrees around 3-4 p.m. but steadily drop under 50 degrees as the night progresses. Those planning to toast the new year outside should make sure to grab a jacket — it’ll be about 48 degrees at midnight. Revelers up north will need even heavier layers. Flagstaff will be just 16 degrees when the clock strikes 12. Chilly but clear #NewYearsEve in #Phoenix, with a cool 61 degrees for a high on #NewYearsDay. It'll be a much colder midnight celebration in other parts of #Arizona, though. Bundle up and stay safe!#abc15wx #azwx pic.twitter.com/9FWBMXNPzv — Iris Hermosillo (@IrisABC15) December 31, 2019 But everyone can plan to leave the umbrellas at home. The highest chance of precipitation for the day is 3% in Phoenix and 6% in Flagstaff. What about the first day of the new year (and decade)? Temperatures in the Valley are expected to peak at 60 degrees, and there is only a 4% chance of rain. According to the National Weather Service, Phoenix temperatures have been below normal since Dec. 22, when it reached 72 degrees. The next day the city will see above normal is shaping up to be Saturday, with a high of 68.

The Children’s Hands-On Museum hosted a New Year’s Eve party for kids on Tuesday morning. Party-goers made their own crowns and fired off bubble-wrap “fireworks” during a balloon drop at noon that ushered in 2020. The museum, 2213 University Blvd., will have a Lego Day on Saturday. Kids can take the Lego Challenge and see if their Lego creations can withstand the earthquake table test. Admission is $9, with children younger than 1 admitted free. For more information, call 205-349-4235 or go to www.chomonline.org. .

1484037837_1485995558

88TH PRECINCT Fort Greene–Clinton Hill Park ambush A gun-wielding robber stole a man’s cellphone in Fort Greene Park on Dec. 23. The victim told police that the knave jumped him and demanded his iPhone 8 at the corner of Washington Park and Myrtle Avenue at 11:40 am, before displaying a gun and grabbing the unlocked phone. Blade-wielding bandit Police arrested a man they suspect of robbing a Myrtle Avenue grocery store at knife-point on Dec. 24. An employee told police that the 54-year-old suspect allegedly grabbed soap, air fresheners, and oils and fled the store between Hall and Ryerson streets at 6:40 pm, and when the employee chased him, he pulled out a box cutter and swung it at him and other workers. Police arrived at the scene shortly after and arrested the suspect on felony robbery charges, according to police reports. Candy crooks Cops cuffed two men who allegedly robbed a Fulton Street deli on Dec. 24. The victim told police that the suspects took a candy box, trashed the bodega, and swiped him in the head at 9:55 pm between S. Portland Avenue and Hanson Place. Cops caught up with the men on Fulton Street near Bedford Avenue at 11:13 pm and arrested them on felony robbery charges, according to the authorities. Filched! A group of goons robbed a man on Park Avenue on Dec. 27. The victim told police that the six scumbags went through his pants and jacket pockets underneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at N. Oxford Street at 6:30 pm, before running off with his phone, keys, cash, and wallet. Jumped! Some dirtbag jumped a guy on Fort Greene Place on Dec. 28. The victim told police the villain grabbed him from behind, putting him in a chokehold, and said, “ We’re going to do this, give me your wallet phone, everything in your pockets,” while pushing a metal object — possibly a knife — against his side, between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place at 5 am. The victim gave the wretch his phone and wallet and the thief hightailed it toward Lafayette Avenue, according to police. Slicey situation Six scofflaws ambushed a man outside a Dekalb Avenue pizza place on Dec. 28. The victim told police that one of the bandits punched him in the head while another held him at knifepoint between St. Felix Street and Fort Greene Place at 9:50 pm, before the villains grabbed his wallet and fled, while shouting “go back to Mexico.” Face slasher A slasher cut a guy’s face at Navy Walk on Dec. 23. The victim told police the criminal slashed him near Myrtle Avenue at 4:40 pm. Paramedics brought him to Methodist hospital for treatment of serious injuries, according to a police report. Pipe it! A bodega employee attacked a guy with a pipe on Fulton Street on Dec. 24. The victim told police that he entered the store between Hanson Place and S. Portland Avenue at 11:15 pm to retrieve his headphones, before getting into a fight with the store employees, before one of them grabbed a metal pipe and smacked him in the leg. Paramedics brought the victim to Brooklyn Hospital for treatment, according to police reports.

Dec. 24, 12:31 p.m. Officers received a report that a female runaway returned home and her parents had a video of her doing drugs. The anonymous caller said the girl sold Xanax to another juvenile. The parents requested a medical transport to take her to the hospital to be drug tested. Dec. 24, 3:05 p.m. Someone called and said an English Mastiff was in danger in a backyard. The caller said the dog looked like it was dying. It was very thin and weak and not allowed inside. Officers spoke with the owner, who said the dog was 13 years old and would be going to the vet after “one last holiday.” Dec. 25, 7:55 a.m. A woman reported that her vehicle had been stolen while she was in Starbucks. She told the officers she had slept in it the night before and could not find her keys. She also said her small dog was inside the vehicle. As the officers were attempting to locate the vehicle, she told them she had actually been sleeping in the vehicle for four or five days. They determined drugs were involved, found the car and had the man who took it at gunpoint. Both were taken into custody and the man was transported to Clark County Detention Center. The dog had been let go and was found about 3½ hours later. Dec. 25, 11:31 a.m. Officers received a report that a juvenile was trying to climb over a fence into an unoccupied residence. They responded and found a second juvenile. They determined that both lived at the home and everything was fine. Dec. 25, 1:10 p.m. A woman called the police and said a man in a parking lot had made a “weird face” to her son. She said he acted like the man was going to slit her son’s throat and then left the scene. She also said her neighbors were drug dealers. The officers said she was being very argumentative. They said she “fired them and advised” that she was now the police. She also would not tell them her name. Officers said she was possibly drunk. Dec. 26, 2 a.m. Officers reported that they were out with a possible suspect from a stabbing being investigated by the Henderson Police Department. A minute later they had the suspect at gunpoint. Three people were detained and the officers contacted HPD, which arrived and took the suspect into custody. The other two people were let go. Dec. 26, 1:36 p.m. Officers took a man into custody for going 90 miles per hour in a 50 mile an hour zone. The driver was also not wearing a seat belt and had a child in the back seat. Dec. 27, 6:44 a.m. Someone reported that an electrical box in front of an apartment had blown out and was sparking. The city’s electrical department was notified. Officers shut off the main breaker, but the circuit breaker box was still smoking. The adjacent apartment was also evacuated. Twenty minutes later the fire was out and there was just some smouldering wires. About half an hour after the call, someone from the electrical department arrived and shut off power to the building. Dec. 28, 1:37 p.m. A man called the police and said the cables to his satellite dish had been pulled out of the side of his house. He said he wanted to speak to an officer and possibly file a report. Officers responded, but the man decided not to file a report. He requested extra patrol in the area. Dec. 28, 6:51 p.m. Someone reported that three juveniles were at a playground and one of them had urinated on a wall. Dec. 29, 7:35 p.m. Officers received a report that someone’s neighbor had a television that was playing loudly. The caller said it was an ongoing problem. Officers responded, and the man agreed to turn down the patio television and wear headphones when watching it. Dec. 30, 6:12 p.m. Officers responded to a report of people using fire pits in a park and on the sidewalk. They responded, and the controlled fire pits were moved a proper location with the park. All parties were cooperative.

1484189112_1484060865

As Brown, 24, puts it, “That just feels safer and less complicated.” She has begun to more closely consider what she wears — her Star of David earring, or the college sweat shirt featuring Hebrew print. Sometimes, when an Uber driver asks what she’s studying in grad school, she says “religious studies” rather than offering the more specific answer — which is that she’s in her first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Newton Centre. There are things Michaela Brown thinks about these days that she never did before. Amid a troubling spate of violence against Jews across the United States — including an attack on Saturday in which a machete-wielding intruder left five people injured during a Hanukkah celebration at a home in suburban New York — members of the Jewish community in Boston and beyond have found themselves faced with a growing unease. Advertisement Anti-Semitic incidents have long been a part of the American landscape, Jewish leaders said, but they typically have taken the form of anti-Semitic rants or spray-painted swastikas. The recent violence, they say, is new. And in a current cultural and political climate in which many feel that animosity and bigotry have become tolerated by some — if not outright encouraged — it feels especially unnerving. In response, some congregations are now ramping up security. Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League reported that violent attacks against members of the Jewish community in the Unites States doubled from 2017 to 2018 — with 39 cases of physical assault last year involving 59 victims. Grim headlines have seemed be increasing. Three people were killed during an attack at a kosher market in New Jersey earlier this month. And a shooting at a California synagogue in April killed one and wounded three others. In 2018, a mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh left 11 dead and two injured in the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in US history. Advertisement The rise in violent incidents has compelled some local Jews to make uncomfortable calculations about wearing Jewish symbols in public. Others, though, remain determined to not abandon their identity in any way. “It’s something we’re forced to think about in ways we haven’t in the past,” says Samantha Walsh, who serves as director of Needham-based B’nai B’rith Youth Organization New England, an organization for Jewish teens. “We’re grappling with, how do we stay in the public and be proud of being Jewish, while also making sure that the teens that come to [our] program are out of harm’s way?” Until recently, such concerns were largely absent in the United States. In France, members of the Jewish community have been warned about appearing in public while wearing Jewish symbols, out of concerns for safety, said Joseph Polak, chief justice of the Rabbinical Court of Massachusetts. And during trips abroad, some members of the local Jewish community say, it’s not uncommon to avoid wearing certain Jewish-related clothing or accessories. But as anti-Semitic incidents have risen to nearly historic levels — in Massachusetts alone, the ADL logged more than 530 anti-Semitic incidents between January 2016 and November 2019 — such concerns have permeated the United States, too. Erin Miller, the chairman of Boston University’s Hillel Alumni Council, said that even in the progressive haven of the Northeast — where the Jewish population is sizable — her family worries about her well-being. Advertisement “My own my mother was texting me today — she’s very nervous of me living in New York, being in public places,” says Miller, who is currently attending medical school in New York. In August, pictures of students from the predominantly Jewish Brandeis University appeared on an online forum accompanied by anti-Semitic and racist language. The university asserted in an e-mail to the student body that the forum posed “no direct threat to these individuals or to Brandeis,” but many still felt threatened or violated by its presence, according to Linzi Rosen, a sophomore at Brandeis. “We grew up believing we’d never face the same threats that our grandparents did,” she said. “But now there is this concern looming that something might happen. The threat feels a bit like wind — like you have no control whether it will strike here or home or somewhere else.” In response to the increase in anti-Semitic violence, various local synagogues have ramped up security in recent years. Brookline’s Temple Beth Zion has opted to hire a security guard for all public events, while the Temple Emeth, whose 500-pound menorah was stolen last year, now requires visitors to ring a doorbell and requests a police detail for Saturday services. Charles Homer, the president of the Brookline synagogue Temple Sinai, said it was “better not to say” what exact steps have been taken by his synagogue. But such measures, some worry, could alter the relationship younger generations have with the church. Advertisement “My niece is three, and her first memory of walking into Jewish spaces is going to be walking through metal detectors and having her bags checked,” says Brown. “It’s just a different feeling.” Even as the recent spike in anti-Semitic violence has left many on edge, however, it has also served as something of a galvanizing force. Homer, the president of the Brookline’s Temple Sinai, said he’s noticed many congregants becoming “more assertive” of their Judaism in the wake of recent tragedies, wearing yarmulkes and the Star of David. Rosen, who identifies as a lesbian, said the rise in anti-Semitism both locally and nationally has made her feel as if she is now part of two marginalized groups forced to contend with bigotry. But despite these concerns, she says, she has never felt “more connected with” or “more proud” of her Jewish identity. “People go in two different directions,” Rosen said. “Some may opt to become less obvious. But more often than not, I’m seeing people who are more assertive. People who are wearing kippahs or the Star of David who never have before. “Just an overall pride in their faith.” Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan.arnett@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @duganarnett.

Los Angeles police have stepped up patrols in and around Jewish communities and synagogues after a man stabbed and wounded five people gathered for a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in New York. The increased patrols are “out of an abundance of caution,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore tweeted Sunday morning. The LAPD did not elaborate on the extra security measures. “The LAPD stands with members of our Jewish community,” Moore tweeted. “There is no place for hate in Los Angeles.” The stabbings happened on the seventh night of Hanukkah, which the victims had been celebrating in the rabbi’s home north of New York City. One person was seriously wounded and is in critical condition. Advertisement It follows a series of attacks targeting Jews in the region, including a shooting at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey earlier this month that left six dead, including a police officer and three people inside the store. Beverly Hills police arrested Anton Nathaniel Redding of Millersville, Pa., earlier this month in connection with the ransacking of the city’s Nessah Synagogue in which prayer books were shredded and several Jewish relics damaged. Redding has been charged with vandalism of a religious property and commercial burglary, charges that include a penalty enhancement for a hate crime, police said. Hate crimes in Los Angeles County have reached their highest point in nearly a decade, according to an annual report by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. Although religious crimes overall declined slightly, anti-Jewish crimes rose 14% and constituted 83% of religion-motivated crimes. Advertisement In April, a shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego County that left one dead came exactly six months after 11 worshipers were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Times staff writer Sarah Parvini contributed to this report.

1484188257_1484552226

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is credited with dramatically overhauling and expanding the national sports league while serving as its longest-tenured commissioner, has died, according to the NBA. He was 77. The renowned businessman had been hospitalized after suffering a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12 that required emergency surgery, the NBA had said at the time. Stern died on New Year’s Day as a result of the hemorrhage, according to a statement from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. His wife and family were with him when he died. “David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads. But over the course of 30 years as Commissioner, he ushered in the modern global NBA,” Silver said, crediting Stern with making the NBA a “truly global brand” and calling him one of the “most influential business leaders of his generation.” Stern had served as commissioner of the multibillion-dollar sports operation for 30 years, succeeding Larry O’Brien in 1984. He handed the reins over to then-deputy commissioner Adam Silver in 2014. ASSOCIATED PRESS Former NBA Commissioner David Stern speaks during his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2014. During his three decades at the helm, he expanded the sport’s popularity and digital coverage ― with the NBA being the first major professional sports league to appear on cable TV ― as well as expanded the league internationally ― having introduced national players to international teams, and vice versa. He also allowed the first NBA players to participate in the Olympic Games in 1992, and the so-called “Dream Team” won the gold. He also oversaw the creation of the WNBA, the NBA’s women’s counterpart, in 1996. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which added his name to its walls in 2014, branded him as “one of the most influential commissioners in the NBA’s history.” “Under Stern the NBA added seven new teams, and the relocation of six NBA franchises,” the sports memorial’s tribute to him reads. “The expansion of the global game was one of Stern’s greatest accomplishments during his tenure by opening 13 global NBA offices and staged regular season games outside the U.S. which was the first ever in professional sports.” Despite stepping down as commissioner in 2014, Stern remained affiliated with the NBA as commissioner emeritus. He traveled overseas on the league’s behalf and did public speaking and consulting. “David Stern is the single most important person in the history of basketball,” former NBA player and broadcaster Bill Walton said at the time of Stern’s resignation. “He has used basketball to make the world a better place. ... He is a master at getting to what’s next.”

Former National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his tenure, has died at the age of 77, the league said on Wednesday. Stern, who served 30 years as the NBA's longest-tenured commissioner before Adam Silver replaced him on Feb. 1, 2014, had been in serious condition after undergoing emergency surgery on Dec. 12 in New York following a sudden brain hemorrhage. “Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of David’s vision, generosity and inspiration," current commissioner Silver said in a statement. "Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand." Stern oversaw the NBA's extraordinary growth with seven new franchises, a more than 30-fold increase in revenue, a dramatic expansion of national TV exposure and the launch of the Women's National Basketball Association and NBA Development League. He also had a role in many other initiatives that helped shaped the league, including a drug policy, salary cap system and dress code. But Stern's greatest accomplishment as commissioner is widely considered to be the way he transformed the NBA, which at one time was largely an unknown commodity outside the United States, into a globally-televised powerhouse. Under Stern's leadership, the league opened 13 global NBA offices and, in 1990, became the first U.S. professional sports league to stage a regular-season game outside North America when the Phoenix Suns played the Utah Jazz in Japan. "David Stern was the most important non-player/non-coach who ever passed through the NBA and it’s not really close," Bill Simmons, broadcaster and author of "The Book of Basketball: The NBA" said on Twitter. Bill Russell, who won 11 championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics long before Stern became commissioner, said in a tweet, "He changed so many lives. David was a great innovator and made the game we love what it is today. This is a horrible loss." Stern also presided over four NBA lockouts, including two that resulted in shortened seasons in 1998-99 and 2011. Stern, who had remained affiliated with the NBA and held the title of commissioner emeritus, was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. "David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads," current commissioner Silver added in his statement, adding that Stern "ushered in the modern global NBA. He launched groundbreaking media and marketing partnerships, digital assets and social responsibility programs that have brought the game to billions of people around the world."

1484038757_1483871486

Six weeks after four men were killed in a mass shooting at a home in southeast Fresno, the Fresno Police Department announced the arrest of six suspects on Tuesday. One suspect remained at large. Police said that on Nov. 17, two men sneaked into a backyard party in a majority-Hmong neighborhood and opened fire into a crowd of nearly 40 friends and family who had gathered to watch a football game. Sixteen people were shot, and four died: Kou Xiong, 38, Xy Lee, 23, Phia Vang, 31, and Kalaxang Thao, 40. At a news conference Tuesday, Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall announced that the six suspects connected to the shooting were members of the Mongolian Boys Society gang. Hall said that the shooting was retaliation against the Asian Crips gang following a shooting that took place 16 hours before the backyard attack that left one of the Mongolian Boys Society members dead. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Fresno police said that they had created an Asian gang task force and feared further violence ahead of the Hmong New Year’s celebrations that will draw hundreds of Hmong to the area for what is considered to be the largest celebration of its kind in the nation. Advertisement Police originally had said there were no indications that any of the victims had gang ties. They did believe, however, that the home was targeted, but didn’t offer further details. Hall said that one person at the party was a former affiliate of the Asian Crips, but was not an active member of the gang. The suspects targeted the house because they believed the event was an Asian Crips gang party, he said. On Dec. 17, one of the suspects who was a person of interest in the backyard shooting was arrested on suspicion of mail theft. Police said they located a Glock pistol, believed to be the weapon used in the shooting, and two 30-round magazines. On Thursday, Fresno police served 19 search warrants in the cities of Fresno and Visalia and contacted 40 people at the locations. Thirteen firearms were seized during the searches, one of which was determined to be the second weapon used in the backyard shooting. Police credited a tip to revelations during the investigation. Advertisement The arrests came one day after officials labeled the tragedy a gang-related shooting. The suspects from Fresno – Billy Xiong, 25, Johnny Xiong, 25, Anthony Montes, 27, Porge Kue, 26, Pao Vang, 30, and Jhovanny Delgao, 19 – each could face charges that include four counts of homicide, 12 counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The suspects are being held on bail of more than $11 million. “The shooting affected not only the city, but also really impacted our Hmong American community,” Hall said. Police have been on high alert this week, monitoring social media for potential threats since the weeklong New Year’s event at the Fresno Fairgrounds started last weekend. “The Hmong New Year celebration provides an opportunity to showcase the rich tradition of the Hmong culture and its people. This year it also shows the strength and resolve of a community that has recently dealt with tragedy,” Fresno Mayor Lee Brand tweeted. The killings brought sudden attention to one of the nation’s largest Hmong communities, which has been left reeling as police searched for the suspects and motive. The youngest victim to die in the shooting, Lee, was a well-known Hmong singer. One of his most popular music videos has garnered over 4.4 million views – nearly 1 million of which came after his death – with hundreds of comments expressing sadness over his loss. Many Hmong immigrants in California, including Kou’s family, are survivors of the so-called Secret War that followed the 1975 collapse of the kingdom of Laos. The Hmong people fought alongside U.S. troops against communism during the Vietnam War, marking them as targets after the Laotian communist government took over. Most refugees fled to camps in Thailand before they were settled in the U.S. California now has the largest Hmong population in the country, with nearly 100,000 people. Advertisement Times staff writers Andrea Castillo, Anh Do and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde contributed to this report.

Judge fines Sandy Hook hoax promoter AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax. Jones is being sued for defamation in Texas by the parents of a 6-year-old who was among the 26 people killed in the Newtown, Conn., attack. State District Judge Scott Jenkins ruled on Dec. 20 that Jones and his defense team "intentionally disregarded" an earlier order to provide witnesses to attorneys representing Neil Heslin, a Sandy Hook father who filed the lawsuit. Jenkins also denied Jones' request to dismiss the lawsuit. An attorney for Jones did not immediately comment Tuesday. Jones operates Infowars in Texas. He is fighting similar lawsuits in Connecticut filed by other families of Sandy Hook victims for promoting a theory that the shooting was a hoax. A 20-year-old gunman killed 20 first-graders, six educators and himself at the school after having killed his mother at their Newtown home. The families said they have been subjected to harassment and death threats from Jones' followers because of the hoax conspiracy. Jones has since acknowledged that the Sandy Hook killings occurred. His attorneys have defended his speech in court as "rhetorical hyperbole" and deny it was defamation. In June, the father of 6-year-old Noah Pozner, one of the Sandy Hook victims, won a defamation lawsuit against the authors of a book that claimed the shooting never happened. 6 arrests made in deadly Fresno shooting FRESNO, Calif. -- Police said Tuesday that they have arrested six suspected gang members in the shooting deaths of four men last month at a backyard gathering of family and friends that they believed was a rival gang's party. Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall said at a news conference that the suspects are all self-admitted members of the Mongolian Boys Society gang and that they were retaliating against a rival gang called the Asian Crips that they believed was responsible for killing a member of their gang hours earlier. The victims were killed Nov. 17 when gunmen entered the backyard of a home through an unlocked gate and used semi-automatic weapons to open fire on people watching a football game. Four people were killed, and six people were wounded. Billy Xiong, 25, of Fresno was arrested Dec. 17 in a mail-theft case and authorities found one of the weapons used in the killing of the four men, Hall said. His brother, Randy Xiong, was the gang member who was slain 16 hours before the mass shooting. Fresno police served 19 search warrants last week, recovering the other gun used in the slayings, which had been stolen from Oklahoma, Hall said. Also arrested were Anthony Montes, 27; Jhovanny Delgado, 19; Pao Vang, 19; Porge Kue, 26; and Johnny Xiong, 25. Sia Vang is wanted, police said. No bail for cancer-research-theft suspect BOSTON -- A medical student from China who U.S. authorities said tried to smuggle cancer research material taken from a Boston hospital out of the country is being held without bail by a judge who ruled he was a flight risk. Zaosong Zheng, 29, who last year earned a visa sponsored by Harvard University to study in the U.S., appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy ruled that evidence suggested Zheng had tried to smuggle vials of research specimens in a sock in his suitcase bound for China and granted the prosecution's request to hold him without bail. Authorities said he stole the materials from his lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He was arrested Dec. 10 at Boston's Logan Airport on a charge of making false statements. Zheng was possibly acting on behalf of the Chinese government, the FBI said in an affidavit included in court documents. Iowa care center's chief fired after probe GLENWOOD, Iowa -- The superintendent of an Iowa care center for people with intellectual disabilities has been fired during a federal investigation into the facility. Jerry Rea was notified in a letter Monday that he was being discharged from Iowa Department of Human Services employment and his position at Glenwood Resource Center. "This action is being taken as a result of a mounting list of disregard for policies and procedures," said the letter signed by Rick Shults, who oversees the department's mental health and disability services division. Efforts to reach Rea on Tuesday were unsuccessful. The Glenwood center cares for about 250 people with intellectual disabilities. Few details have been released about the federal investigation into Glenwood. A Nov. 21 letter said the investigation was focusing on whether the state was violating the federal rights of residents by placing them at risk with experiments that include using residents as subjects of sexual arousal research. A Section on 01/01/2020

1484010778_1483974877

At the end of a tumultuous decade for biodiversity, in which a report based on the most comprehensive study of life on Earth warned that “nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history”, we spoke to some of the world’s leading voices on the environment about their greatest fears for the next decade – and also their hopes. As the IPBES report’s authors noted: “It is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global.” We asked three questions: 1. What habitat or species are you most concerned about? 2. What is the biggest missed opportunity of the last 10 years? 3. What conservation work are you most excited about in the coming decade? Ana María Hernández Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 1. The species I am most directly worried about is our own! Humanity has reached a point that has enabled us to inflict large-scale and lasting damage on our natural world – destroying ecosystems, driving species extinctions and even changing our global weather patterns. Food security, energy, health and livelihoods all depend on nature’s contribution to people. 2. Humanity never seems to miss the opportunity of missing an opportunity. My greatest regret of the last 10 years is how many chances we have collectively missed to make better choices and drive better policies. We have known enough about the risks of our damage to nature, yet the determination to act and to change seems to be constantly deferred to a later date. Before we know it, we will run out of time and the question will no longer be what we regret most, but rather how could we have been so foolish. 3. The conservation work I am most excited by goes beyond traditional conceptions of conservation – acknowledging that the nature crisis must be understood as one that is also a social, ethical, economic, health and security crisis. This is the basis for the next work programme of the IPBES (until 2030). It has potential to finally tackle the root causes of the loss of nature – values and behaviours that drive the destruction of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. Mya-Rose ‘Birdgirl’ Craig 17-year-old British Bangladeshi activist 1. The species I am most worried about is the critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper (SBS), which breeds in the Arctic Russian tundra, migrates 8,000 km along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, with a significant percentage wintering on intertidal mudflats on Sonadia Island in southern Bangladesh. My mother’s family are Bangladeshi and so I feel a huge connection to this tiny, captivating bird, with its minute spoon-shaped bill. In 2010 the population was down to 200 birds, the combined weight of which is less than a single mute swan. The SBS is still a long way from being out of danger, despite a captive breeding programme. With many current threats, from mudflat reclamation in China to a sea-level rise wiping out their wintering areas, the survival of this species is still on a knife-edge. 2. Ten years ago, we understood more than ever before about the habitats across the world, the life they support and their importance to our planet. This gave us a huge opportunity to conserve the rarest habitats by working with indigenous peoples who understand them best. However, these were opportunities either squandered or exploited by the large global conservation organisations, such as the WWF and Wildlife Conservation Society, who have instead continued to remove indigenous peoples from their land in Africa and Asia, leaving the land more vulnerable to commercial poaching. Poaching in Africa and Asia is now pandemic, with wildlife no longer being protected by indigenous peoples who would previously have been able to identify poachers before they killed, but are instead excluded from having an input in conserving their animals. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Global climate strike in Kenya. Photograph: Daniel Irungu/EPA 3. I see a change coming in the way that international conservation organisations work with local and indigenous peoples around the worldto save habitats, species and retain biodiversity. The decolonisation of conservation is happening, with a final realisation that indigenous peoples who have been successfully managing their land for thousands of years will be able to stop the mass commercial poaching and hunting taking place in national parks. I have seen examples of indigenous peoples in Africa, South America, and Asia using conservation to support their heroic efforts to save rainforests and species like orangutan in Borneo and yellow-headed picathartes in Ghana. I have recently become a global ambassador for Survival International, which fights for the human rights of indigenous peoples. I am very hopeful about seeing this new type of conservation work rise and dominate over the next decade. I hope that all of this will finally stop the assumption that white, ‘educated’ people understand and can look after lands, habitats, and wildlife better. I intend to be at the forefront of that campaign, which is the international side of the coin to my campaigning so far which has been making the sector ethnically diverse in the UK, rather than 99.4% white as it is now. Chris Packham Naturalist and television presenter 1. I am worried about those species that are highly specialised in terms of their habitats. The more specialised you are as an animal, requiring unique resources, diet and habitat to survive, the greater effect any rapidly changing circumstances will have. It doesn’t just have to be animals either, it also includes things like chalk streams and sandy lowland heath – in the UK we have more than anywhere else in the world and this habitat is rarer than tropical rainforests. Those things that are least resilient and least common need to be our focus. 2. Activism is growing now and we are seeing positive results with Extinction Rebellion and School Strikes for Climate having a big impact. But it has been dormant for some time and that’s disappointing. Second, our NGOs aren’t showing their muscle. Many are very broadly supported and have an enormous legacy of credibility: the RSPCA, the RSPB and Wildlife Trust for example have vast public support but they’ve not been wielding that to best benefit and that’s been disappointing. And lastly we have an enormous armoury of technologies, capabilities and tried-and-tested methods to implement practical conservation with almost immediate success but we haven’t been doing enough of it. 3. I’m interested in new techniques and also divesting our trust into younger ecologists and conservationists who are brave and take risks and who know that there are enormous gains to be had if we get off the fence and start actually calling some shots. I’m looking for a new attitude in conservation. In terms of the practicalities: rewilding. Through this there are opportunities for carbon capture and planting trees, landscape resilience in terms of preventing flooding, and biodiversity generating a more natural mosaic and ecosystems which would be good. Jane Goodall Primatologist and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute 1. While governments delay or ignore their commitment to reducing emissions it is vitally important to protect and restore our forests. We are destroying these precious forests at a terrifying rate, thus releasing stored CO2 from the trees and the forest soils into the atmosphere. The forest habitat is home to many of the most endangered specieson the planet so protecting and restoring forests is an imperative for us all. 2. We have missed so many opportunities – introducing environmental education into schools around the world, doing more to alleviate poverty (the really poor destroy the environment as they try to make a living, buy the cheapest food to survive). But perhaps the biggest opportunity missed is the lack of government subsidies for innovative technologies that will help us to live in better harmony with the natural world. Instead of subsidising clean green energy – solar, wind and tide – it is the big oil and gas companies, with their billions of dollars, that are receiving the support and tax breaks that enable them to continue to pollute and destroy. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A GPS collar is placed on a jaguar for research and monitoring in Maracá-Jipioca ecological station, Amapa, Brazil. Photograph: André Dib/WWF-Brazil 3. I am really excited about some of the technology that is already making a huge difference, for example radio collars and microchips that enable scientists to accurately map animal movements. Also drones that can help to map habitats and plot out the range of individual animals, and a newly developing field of thermal cameras on drones that can detect wildlife under forest cover … helping rangers to better protect wildlife from poachers. Stephen Corry Director of Survival International 1. I am most worried about human beings, and especially those who live most differently to “ourselves”. Many, especially non-European, peoples hunt, herd or grow their own food and are, at least in part, self-sufficient. We can’t all live like this, but we can learn from them. If the keys to real change lie anywhere, it lies with them. 2. The greatest missed opportunity has been the complete failure of the billion-dollar conservation industry to do anything more than pay lip service to tribal, indigenous and local peoples, whilst at the same time continuing to steal their lands and destroy them, and failing to “conserve” nature as well as they had been! 3. My hope is for the exposure of the hypocrisy behind the conservation industry, which hopefully will force it to accept the rights of tribal, indigenous and local peoples to manage their own environments, as they have done for generations. This is a struggle between those who want to kick people off their land, and those who want and need to live sustainably on and from it. If the fundamentalist environmentalists win, it will lead to yet more pollution and destruction. Carl Safina Ecologist and writer 1. It’s hard to beat coral reefs for the prize of global catastrophic rapid decline of a habitat. But it’s not a contest, and globally, all habitat types are in declining health. Our footprint continues to expand. It’s been calculated that 70% of all birds on Earth are now poultry, about 60% of all non-human mammals are farmed cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. If you think of all those deteriorating wild habitats as proxy for all plants and animals living in them, you come to one uncomfortable conclusion: the human species is no longer compatible with the rest of life on Earth. 2. We have proven ourselves quite capable of creating global problems but have not shown an ability to control or reverse those problems. As long as we must maintain a global human population growing at roughly the rate of a new Mexico annually (around 70 million), getting in front of problems of the environment and the extinction crisis is like running after a hot-air balloon. The biggest missed opportunity is our failure to have an intelligent and compassionate conversation about human population. 3. Because an expanding human population is the greatest driver of environmental degradation as well as a major driver of poverty and injustice, the greatest lever for conservation is women’s empowerment. The only thing that has worked to ease population is women making their own voluntary choices. On a different front we must transition rapidly away from fossil fuels and the greatest lever there is financial, divesting from fossil fuels, divesting from banks that finance fossil fuels, and investing in clean energy technologies. Tony Juniper Natural England chair and author 1. I’ve spent much of my career working for the conservation and restoration of the tropical rainforests and I have been utterly mortified to see what has recently been happening, especially in Brazil this year, where vast fires have wiped out thousands of square kilometres of habitat. These ecosystems are vital not only for wildlife and human cultural heritage, but also in the battle against climate change and for water security. 2. In 2010 countries agreed an ambitious set of 10-year goals to conserve the Earth’s incredible wildlife riches. These Aichi Targets have been largely sidelined to the point where they will be missed. A meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity will take place in China in 2020, where the global compass on this agenda will be reset for the coming decade. Countries really need to up their ambition in advance of that meeting, otherwise the mass extinction of species that is now gathering pace will soon turn into a tragedy of truly colossal proportions. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man holds a dead snake at an area affected by forest fires in Otuquis national park, in the Pantanal ecoregion of south-eastern Bolivia. Photograph: Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images 3. I am very excited about how in some countries the conservation agenda is beginning to shift, moving from the rather grim task of hanging on to the last remnants of wildlife-rich habitat and rare species, to increasingly being about large-scale nature recovery. This is happening here in England, and I hope and pray that during the coming few years we will be able to show the kind of leadership that is so desperately needed on the global stage, as we are doing on climate change. If we can begin to rebuild habitats and species here in our densely populated islands, then that will be a real beacon of hope, showing that it is possible to reverse historic trends, in the process setting a new path for the future. Now is the time to do this. Dominique Bikaba Director of Strong Roots Congo 1. I am worried about all endemic species of animals and plants, but mostly about great apes; and especially the eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas. Their numbers have dropped dramaticallyin the last two decades. Facebook Twitter Pinterest An eastern lowland gorilla in the Kahuzi-Biéga national park, in DRC. Photograph: Kate Holt/Guardian 2. Separating human from nature has been the biggest missed opportunity! The contribution and role of local communities and indigenous peoples in sustainable conservation is well-documented worldwide. This was not taken into account when “modern conservation”, imported by colonialism, was imposed on mostindigenous lands. Driven mostly by big organisations, this type of conservation has invested enormous amounts of money, energy and time into conservation and the result is a high rate of species extinction and deforestation globally. We missed considering local communities and indigenous peoples in our conservation efforts. We missed an opportunity to understand the spiritual and cultural values of nature. 3. I am most excited about models that consider the rights of natural resources governance and the management of indigenous people! This is the only way we can reverse the damages we brought into “conservation” for lucrative benefits. Kaluki Paul Mutuku Environmental activist at Youth 4 Nature 1. I am honestly worried about all sorts of ecosystems, because man has driven them to the brink of collapse. But most definitely, I am most worried about forest habitats in the sub-Saharan Africa. We are losing our forests at a faster rate, through deforestation and land degradation. 2. The biggest missed opportunity of the last 10 years is not working with nature, indigenous frontline communities, and with youth. World leaders have wasted so many years talking and “negotiating” for their stomachs and unsustainable economic powers while ignoring the role of nature and indigenous communities in addressing climate change. They seem to be waking up now, but time is running out. 3. I am most excited about on-the-ground implementation of nature-based solutions, and especially land restoration across Africa.There is no sidelining of young people anymore. They need us, and we have real experience, not the boring conference reports and speeches. There is no 1.5°C without nature, and there is no 1.5°C without youth. Sir Robert Watson Former IPBES chair 1. Coral reefs are incredibly susceptible to small changes in ocean temperature, and exacerbated by land-based pollution and ocean acidification.Other highly sensitive ecosystems include cloud forests and those at high latitudes. The species most at risk are endemic species who occupy small climatic zones and are unable to migrate fast enough to survive. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A bleaching event discolours a boulder brain coral off the coast of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters 2. I would highlight three missed opportunities – failure to address climate change, which will become the greatest threat to biodiversity in the coming decades; failure to remove perverse agricultural subsidies that lead to loss of biodiversity; and failure to transform unsustainable agricultural production systems into sustainable agricultural systems using agro-ecological processes, coupled with reduced food waste and healthier diets. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dead seabirds on a pier with plastic debris on Midway Atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Photograph: Caleb Jones/AP 3. We need to rethink protected areas, and a redesign of corridors that allow for migration under a changing climate. This should be accompanied by large-scale restoration projects. Ellen MacArthur Sailor and founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 1. All across the world, in habitats of every region, biodiversity is being destroyed. Not a single region of the planet is escaping the onslaught. Globally, a million animal and plant species are facing extinction. The driving force behind this mass extinction is our current linear economy. This “take-make-waste” system sees us remove ever more materials from the ground, make products from them that we mostly use for only a short period of time, and then throw them away as waste. Each element of this approach represents a direct threat to biodiversity. 2. The past 10 years have seen huge conservation efforts, including ocean clean-ups and protected zones – but, while necessary and laudable, they are not enough. The most effective strategy is one that prevents damage in the first place. In short, protecting biodiversity requires a fundamental shift in the way our economy works. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A loggerhead turtle ( Caretta caretta) trapped in an abandoned net in the Mediterranean Sea. Photograph: Jordi Chias/NPL/WWF 3. This vision is becoming reality. To secure long term economic development we need a system fit for the future, not one stuck in the past. What if our aim was not simply to do less harm, but to actively regenerate our natural world? We know what the solutions look like, and that the opportunities are out there. All we have to do is grasp them. Professor Alexandre Antonelli Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1. The overwhelming evidence makes me really, really concerned about the future of tropical rainforests. They are the most biologically diverse ecosystem on Earth, containing millions of species – many of them providing crucial benefits to us and playing essential roles in nature. Increased degradation of natural environments is not restricted to the Amazon: Madagascar lost some 366,000 hectares of forest in 2018, which is 4.3% of all its original rainforest. It is clear to see that this is insanely unsustainable. 2. To stop and revert this trend, we need radical changes across all segments of society. We should all stop and review our consumer choices – it could be by avoiding buying furniture made of non-certified wood, or avoiding products that contribute to deforestation, like meat and dairy produce fed with Brazilian soybeans. The media attention on the climate crisis has unfortunately overshadowed another huge, and arguably even more significant crisis: the loss of biodiversity. The problem with biodiversity loss is that if we lose a species to extinction, it is gone forever – and right now, currently one in five plants are threatened with extinction. 3. There are many great opportunities for tackling the climate and biodiversity crises at the same time, but we must get it right from the beginning. For instance, companies and governments have never been so keen to invest in carbon offsetting, in particular afforestation. But it is important we plant the right trees in the right place. If we do so, we can combine long-term carbon storage goals with habitat restoration, increasing opportunities for wildlife to re-establish and regain stable population sizes.The most important action, however, is to conserve what we already have whenever there’s a choice. Not destroying a native habitat is immensely better than trying to restore it afterwards. Aditya Mukarji Indian activist, 15, who started a battle against plastic straws in 2018 1. The Aravalli biodiversity habitat is the only forest around Delhi and acts as its lungs. It is a haven for more than 900 species of terrestrial plants, 208 species of birds and at least 113 species of butterflies. The Aravallis offer a mosaic of micro habitats for a variety of species – from big mammals to small birds and even microbes. I am worried about many species like the Indian Tiger, great Indian bustard, one-horn rhinoceros, Indian vulture. 2. In India, we have missed the opportunity to implement extended producer responsibility at the time of opening up the economy in the late 1990s. We missed imbibing the fact that development should not be at the cost of the environment. These two factors have been missed not just in India but in all developing nations. 3. The River Cauvery is a forest-fed perennial river which is fast becoming a seasonal stream as 87% of tree cover has been removed in 50 years. “Cauvery Calling” is a campaign setting the standard for how India’s rivers can be revitalised. It will initiate the revitalisation of the Cauvery river and transform the lives of 84 million people. The project aims at helping farmers plant over 2.4bn trees through agro-forestry programmes. Prof Callum Roberts Marine conservationist at the University of York 1. Coral reefs are the richest, most vibrant and best loved of all ocean ecosystems. They provide habitat for countless species, from enormous whale sharks to vanishingly small snails, crabs and worms. On coral reefs, a quarter of all shallow-water marine species are crammed into an area of only one tenth of one percent of the surface of the ocean. But all is not well. Corals are incredibly fussy about temperatures, liking it hot but not too hot. As global warming has gripped the planet, there have been repeated mass die-offs of coral spanning the globe. There are dire but scientifically credible predictions of the near complete loss of coral if we stay on the current path to more than 2C of warming by the end of this century. 2. Ten years ago I participated in a meeting at the Royal Society of London to consider the future of coral reefs. What we concluded was that they were in critical trouble. Reefs had become the first habitat on the planet for which anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, then at 383 parts per million, had already overshot their safe zone (350 ppm). Not only would we have to bring down emissions to save them, we would have to recapture some of the carbon already emitted. We fed the findings of our meeting into the Copenhagen climate conference a year later. To little avail. We are still scrambling to mount an adequate response. 3. If we are to save reefs in any semblance of their present state we will have to give it everything we have. The world community is near achieving its goal of protecting 10% of the sea by 2020. But science tells us we need to protect at least 30% from extractive and damaging uses to safeguard wildlife and habitats. Coral rich countries around the world, like the UK and the Seychelles, have already committed to such protection. There is a good chance this target will soon be adopted across the planet, helping keep coral reefs on life support while fossil fuels are phased out. Ridhima Pandey, 11 Sued the Indian government over climate crisis inaction 1. The model development governments have taken up is out of balance. Mass tree-felling is common to make way for dams, infrastructure and road projects, leading to a big fall in the species count throughout India due to habitat loss. 2. Kedarnath flash floods, Kerala floods, Bihar floods, Assam floods and many such disasters have taken hundreds of lives and continue to do so every year, but as a country we haven’t learned from these disasters. The government itself is saying that the spring water channels are drying up, the rivers are getting contaminated every day, the piles of solid waste are growing like a mountain in every corner of the country, biodiversity and habitat are being lost and still there no plans to mitigatethe situation. 3. The ongoing efforts to clean and rejuvenate the Ganges River and its tributaries have excited me the most.

Posted on 05 April 2019 -WWF: greater awareness is vital to tackling issues as research shows only half (49%) of people in 10 countries are very convinced biodiversity -the total variety of all life on earth - is in decline- As the long-awaited eight-part documentary series Our Planet, voiced by Sir David Attenborough, becomes available on Netflix globally today, a new survey[1] for the conservation organisation shows that only half (49% ) of people across 10 of the world’s most biodiverse countries are very convinced biodiversity -- our ‘safety net’ or ‘web of life’ -- is in decline. Just 39% realise that we depend on nature and biodiversity for key elements of life, such as food, water and clean air. WWF is calling on the public to stand up for the planet and is asking global leaders to address our nature emergency by working together to develop a global plan of action, a New Deal for Nature and People. Despite the lack of widespread awareness of the crisis our planet is facing, the survey showed a majority of respondents (70%) across the 10 countries feel personally responsible for protecting nature and biodiversity. 65% say commitment from their governments to protect it is insufficient. The importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations is also considered as crucial to the majority (80%), while climate change, deforestation, and river and ocean pollution are seen as biodiversity’s biggest threats. The figures highlight the importance of the global conversation that is being sparked by the ground breaking Our Planet Netflix series, created in collaboration with WWF and produced by Silverback Films, and aiming to reach millions of people to create a pivotal moment for nature. Thousands of people all over the world are adding their voices and calling for action via an online spinning globe demonstrating the scale of the movement worldwide. Go to www.ourplanet.com/voice/. WWF Ambassador and naturalist Sir David Attenborough who narrates the series said: “Today we have become the greatest threat to the health of our home but there’s still time for us to address the challenges we’ve created, if we act now. If people can truly understand what is at stake, I believe they will expect business and governments to get on with the practical solutions. And as a species we are expert problem-solvers. But we haven’t yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future.” The Our Planet project launches at a critical time when our nature and wildlife is under threat like never before. Recent figures[2] from WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018 show that global populations of vertebrate species have, on average, declined by 60 per cent since 1970 – less than a lifetime. Colin Butfield, Executive Director of WWF-UK and Conservation Advisor for Our Planet, said: “ We’re the first generation to know the full impact of what we’re doing to our planet, and the last that has the chance to do anything about it. If people around the world speak out and say our planet is worth protecting, our leaders will have no choice but to listen. We hope Our Planet will spark one of the most important conversations of our time - about the one home we all share.” Through the series and WWF Our Planet initiatives, the charity is taking the opportunity to raise awareness, educate, and shift attitudes towards conservation. An array of free online resources at OurPlanet.com have been created to help people of all ages understand the importance of Earth’s habitats and how they can help safeguard them for people and wildlife for generations to come. The website is focused around the eight biomes introduced in the series and enables visitors to take a deep dive into the most pressing challenges and solutions facing our natural world. OurPlanet.com will also provide a wealth of educational resources for schools, youth groups and families to engage young people in the global conversation around the series. These include downloadable classroom materials and guides for educators, an ‘Our Planet Live’ platform offering live link-ups with experts for classrooms all around the world, and a ground-breaking free nature ID app called Seek, developed for Our Planet by iNaturalist, which helps budding naturalists to gain a better understanding of their local environment and global biodiversity. Visit OurPlanet.com to view the ‘How Biodiversity Works’ film to find out more about why it’s so important to our planet. Go to OurPlanet.com to go behind-the-scenes of the Our Planet Netflix series and find out how you can help our planet to thrive again by adding your voice calling for urgent action, make a pledge, and be part of an interactive journey exploring our astonishing planet through an explorable globe. Follow Our Planet on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and be part of the conversation with #ShareOurPlanet: ● Our Planet Instagram: www.instagram.com/ourplanet ● Our Planet Facebook: www.facebook.com/ourplanet ● Our Planet Twitter: www.twitter.com/ourplanet - Ends - Notes to Editors: 1 The Living Planet Report 2018, Nov 2018 2 Online survey on biodiversity across 10 countries, 18+ year olds, fieldwork conducted 3 - 13th Mar 18. 10,328 respondents. Countries include: China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Mexico, South Africa and Kenya. About the New Deal for Nature and People: In 2020 we have the chance to put the world on the path to a better future, due to a historic coming together of key international decisions on environment, climate and sustainable development that have the potential to put our planet at the heart of our economic, political and financial systems. This is an unmissable, one-off opportunity for world leaders to take action for our planet and to move us towards a better future that benefits everyone. A New Deal for Nature and People is urgently needed with the aim of reversing the trend of nature loss by 2030 and restoring nature. About the Netflix Our Planet series The series launches on 5 April 2019, showcasing the extraordinary place we all call home. From the creator of Planet Earth, Silverback Films and in collaboration with WWF, the eight-part series features never-before-seen footage of wildlife and their habitats while also revealing why the natural world matters to us all and what steps must be taken to preserve it. The ambitious four-year Our Planet project has been filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, with over 600 members of crew capturing more than three and a half thousand filming days, and will focus on the breadth of the diversity of habitats around the world, from the remote Arctic wilderness and mysterious deep oceans to the vast landscapes of Africa and diverse jungles of South America. In the first episode, “One Planet,” viewers will travel from the Brazilian rainforest to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, discovering how each fragile habitat is connected and why they are all essential for life to thrive on this planet. Subsequent episodes capture Earth’s key biomes, or habitats: the icy frozen worlds, jungles, coastal seas, deserts and grasslands, high seas, freshwater regions and forests. Thanks to an extensive team that includes some of the world’s best wildlife cinematographers, researchers and scientists — and the latest in 4K camera technology — each episode features several stunning sequences that have never been filmed before. Unprecedented in scope and ambition, Our Planet will entertain and captivate a global audience of all ages. Our Planet is produced by Silverback Films, Ltd. Series producers are Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey. The series is live on Netflix, go to Netflix.com/OurPlanet. The series promotes the shared responsibility we all have to protect the health of our home, highlighting that we may be the last generation that has the chance to address the challenges humankind has created.

1484189394_1484230045

Elizabeth Martin gives Mila, a therapy dog, a treat while Mila makes the rounds at the Fayetteville 911 communications center in City Hall on Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, in Fayetteville, N.C. (Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer via AP)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA) — Starting today, the University of Arkansas’s Office of Sustainability will place hardwood tree stumps at bus stops around Fayetteville. Colorful designs are painted and clear coated on a sanded stump surface, offering a place to sit while passengers wait for the next bus. In 2017, the Fayetteville developed a Tactical Urbanism process to encourage community-led projects that test temporary and low-cost changes for improving neighborhoods and gathering places. Eric Boles, director for the Office of Sustainability said, “The goal is to improve the experience of our transit patrons. The project will be considered a success if people relax on the seats. The hardwood logs are extremely durable and can become firewood – ensuring that the log will never become litter.” The project aims to have stump seating at 10 bus stops. The first two installations are at: W. Poplar Street near Chestnut Apartments N. Leverett Avenue near Noble Oaks Apartments One of the next steps in improving transit services is identifying what type of bus stop amenities, such as shelters and benches, are needed and where. The stump seating project will assist with the goal.

1484010768_1484305811

Sonny Mehta, the head of Alfred A Knopf who led one of the book world’s most esteemed imprints to new heights, has died. He was 77. From The Big Short to Normal People: the books that defined the decade Read more Mehta, who was married to the author Gita Mehta, died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. According to Knopf, the cause was complications from pneumonia. “Mehta’s contributions to the world of letters and publishing are without precedent,” a statement from the publisher read. “His exacting standards – in editorial, production, design, marketing, and publicity – were a beacon to the book industry and beyond.” Mehta oversaw a blend of prize-winning literature by authors including Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy and blockbusters including Fifty Shades of Grey and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Bearded and chain-smoking, he spoke carefully and chose wisely, helping Knopf thrive even as the industry faced the jarring changes of corporate consolidation, the demise of thousands of independent stores and the rise of e-books. An accomplished publisher and editor since his mid-20s, he succeeded the revered Robert Gottlieb in 1987 as just the third Knopf editor-in-chief in its 72-year history. He fashioned his own record of critical and commercial success, continuing to publish celebrated authors signed by Gottlieb, including Morrison and Robert Caro, and adding talent such as Tommy Orange, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Karen Russell. Knopf also was home to some of the best-selling works in recent times. In 2008, Mehta acquired US rights to the Millennium series, a trilogy of crime fiction by a dead Swedish journalist, Stieg Larsson. It sold tens of millions of copies. In 2012, the paperback imprint Vintage won a bidding war for an explicit erotic trilogy that at the time could only be read digitally, the Fifty Shades novels by EL James. Other top sellers released under Mehta included Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, Bill Clinton’s memoir My Life and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. When the Center for Fiction honoured Mehta in 2018, tributes were written by Joan Didion, Haruki Murakami and Anne Tyler, who called him the “Fred Astaire of editing”. Knopf’s catalog often reflected Mehta’s own broad curiosity. In a single season, the publisher might release new fiction by Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez, crime novels by PD James and James Ellroy, poetry by Anne Carson and Philip Levine, history by John Keegan and Joseph Ellis, humour by Nora Ephron and memoirs by Katharine Hepburn and Andre Agassi. Mehta allowed Caro to spend years between each instalment of his Lyndon Johnson biographies, a decades-long project that sold hundreds of thousands and brought numerous awards. Mehta was born Ajai Singh Mehta, the son of Indian diplomat Amrik Singh Mehta. He graduated from Cambridge with degrees in history and English literature and needed little time to make an impact in London, helping launch the career of college friend Germaine Greer and introducing British readers to the profane Americana of Hunter S Thompson. With Pan Books, he released works by rising authors such as Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie while signing up Jackie Collins, Douglas Adams and other bestsellers. He was Gottlieb’s choice to take over at Knopf, but still faced initial wariness from the staff. “People … had the terrible fear that I was going to suddenly publish Jackie Collins over here and really sort of lower the tone of the place,“ Mehta told Publishers Weekly in 2015. “I think the difference was that I probably encouraged people to market a lot more than they were in the habit of doing. I encouraged them to look at a certain type of literary fiction and see it wasn’t necessarily intended for some kind of ghetto, that there was a bigger market for it.” Mehta survived numerous transformations at Knopf, notably the 1999 acquisition by the German conglomerate Bertelsmann AG and the 2012 merger with Penguin. “On a good day, I am still convinced I have the best job in the world,” he told Vanity Fair in 2016, explaining that he had recently finished a novella by Graham Swift. “I opened it and didn’t know what to expect, and I read it in one sitting right here in the office, utterly mesmerised. Sometimes you find something new and you just say ’Wow’.”

Sonny Mehta, a literary tastemaker and kingmaker who spent more than three decades at the helm of the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house, where he courted critical acclaim, profits and sometimes both at once with a lineup of books that included works by a stable of Nobel laureates, the memoirs of presidents and prime ministers, and page-turning crime and love stories, died Dec. 30 at a hospital in Manhattan. He was 77. The cause was complications from pneumonia, according to a statement from Knopf, where Mehta served as editor in chief and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Admired if not universally loved, and feared if only by competitors who knew the extent of his acumen, Mehta reigned for years as one of the most powerful figures in book publishing. With the bestowal of the Knopf emblem, the coursing Borzoi dog that has long served as an imprimatur of literary quality, he conferred on a book almost instant cachet. To some observers, even to Mehta himself, his entree into the highest echelons of the clubby New York publishing scene came as a surprise. He was by his own description an “outsider,” the worldly son of an Indian diplomat, a graduate of the University of Cambridge in England and, when he arrived at Knopf’s New York headquarters as president and editor in chief in 1987, a veteran of the British paperback publishing industry. He was only the third person to lead Knopf, after its namesake founder and then Robert Gottlieb, who left the publishing house to become editor of the New Yorker magazine and championed Mehta as his successor. “Once I was able to establish the whole thing wasn’t a hoax,” he told The Business Times of Singapore years later, “I thought it was the most challenging opportunity I had had in years.” He brought to the job a winning combination of literary taste, commercial instincts and personal charisma. His office, where he was said to indulge in scotch without ever appearing inebriated, teemed with books. He often had a cigarette in hand; in what was perhaps a reflection of a career divided between London and New York, he favored Silk Cuts, a British brand, and American spirits. He was an insatiable and omnivorous reader, his tastes running from high literature to detective fiction. The latter, he said, portrays the “underbelly of society” and holds “a mirror to society.” Knopf had established itself as a literary powerhouse long before Mehta arrived in New York, and he continued that tradition. On his watch, by Knopf’s count, six of the publishing house’s writers won the Nobel Prize in literature: Toni Morrison in 1993, V.S. Naipaul in 2001, Imre Kertész in 2002, Orhan Pamuk in 2006, Alice Munro in 2013 and, most recently, Kazuo Ishiguro in 2017. Many more received Pulitzer, National Book or Booker Prizes. But Mehta, who in 1989 expanded his portfolio by taking over the Vintage paperback imprint, also acquired such blockbusters as the Millennium series by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson, beginning with “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (2008), and the erotic series “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James. Other authors on his roster included Anne Rice, P.D. James and Carl Hiaasen. “I am not ashamed of my enthusiasm for crime books or books that are big bestsellers. People forget that before I came to Knopf there was a long tradition here of publishing … fine crime writers,” he told the publication India Abroad in 2010, citing such authors as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. “There is nothing new about Knopf publishing best-selling books.” Mehta was deeply competitive, even with other divisions of Knopf’s longtime parent company, Random House, where he survived various acquisitions and sales over the years. He brought a personal touch to each step of the publishing process, from signing writers to editing their works to designing book jackets and promoting new releases. When former president Bill Clinton was seeking a publisher for the memoir released as “My Life” (2004), Mehta participated in negotiations that culminated with a record-breaking $15 million advance. (Other major advances that he oversaw included $9 million each for books by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pope John Paul II.) Mehta helped shape “Jurassic Park” (1990), the best-selling science fiction novel in which researchers used ancient specimens of DNA to bring dinosaurs back to life, and was said to have persuaded author Michael Crichton to inject more “chaos theory” into the plot. It was reportedly Mehta’s idea to market Gabriel García Márquez’s novel “Love in the Time of Cholera” (1988) as a love story, in a successful bid to reach more readers. “To avoid intimidating the general reader he instructed the publicity department not to play up the fact that Marquez was a Nobel laureate,” his wife, the Indian writer Gita Mehta, told India Abroad. “The strategy must have worked. That year the book sold over 300,000 copies in hardback.” Other noted writers published by Mehta included Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, John Banville, Julian Barnes, Robert A. Caro, Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Jhumpa Lahiri, Cormac McCarthy, Haruki Murakami, Michael Ondaatje, Richard Russo, Oliver Sacks, Anne Tyler and John Updike. Mehta’s business skill proved critical as Knopf and other publishers faced the head winds of an industry that was changing radically as sales shifted online, independent booksellers struggled to remain in operation and the reading public became accustomed to e-books. He once told The New York Observer that in occasional fits of pique with Amazon – the online bookseller and retailer whose founder, Jeff Bezos, is the owner of The Washington Post – he would refuse to buy books on the website. “I did use it for socks,” he quipped, “but I didn’t use it to buy books.” Ajai Singh Mehta was born in New Delhi on Nov. 9, 1942. His father, one of the first diplomats to represent newly independent India, took the family with him on postings around the world, in Prague, New York, Nepal and Geneva. Mehta received degrees in history and English literature from Cambridge, where he decided that he would not follow his father’s wishes and enter the Indian foreign service. In the early years of his career, he worked in London for publishing houses including Granada Publishing, where he helped found the Paladin Press, and Pan Books. He worked during those years with writers ranging from the English romance novelist Jackie Collins to the Australian-born feminist Germaine Greer – a university friend whom he encouraged to write “The Female Eunuch” – and the acclaimed fiction writers Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie. His work took him frequently to the United States, where he caught Gottlieb’s attention at Knopf. Mehta and his wife, the former Gita Patnaik, were married in 1965. In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, Aditya Mehta, and a granddaughter. Speaking to India Abroad, Mehta said he took particular pleasure in watching the success during his lifetime of Indian and other international writers in the United States, among them Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Chandra and Kiran Desai. “I see all these names, and I tell myself: what an extraordinary change has come over American publishing in the past two decades,” he said. “How much more open this country has become to foreign writers, and how much more welcoming to foreign cultures and experiences.” Send questions/comments to the editors. « Previous

1484011220_1484041021

E-COMMERCE emerged as a major disruptor over the past decade. The next year, however, will determine if the industry’s accelerated growth trajectory will start to decline or will continue unchecked for another decade. In all of Asia, e-commerce is a big deal for two countries — China and Indonesia. As a result of their sizeable population and the high penetration of internet services and mobile devices, both countries have massive digital economies and hence, exciting digital opportunities. Naturally, neither want the e-commerce industry to slow down. Most recently, China’s State Council approved the establishment of 24 new cross-border e-commerce zones to help promote the industry and provide it with the support it needs to thrive in the competitive digital-first era, especially in the form of exemptions in value-added tax and consumption tax for retail and exported goods. Cities that will enjoy benefits accruing from the establishment of the 24 new cross-border e-commerce zones include Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Chifeng, Fushun, Hunchun, Suifenhe, Xuzhou, Nantong, and Wenzhou, among others. Details of the exact nature and quantum of support that these e-commerce zones will be provided with are yet to be disclosed. However, it is certain that the government is watching the industry closely and has a finger on the pulse as far as the needs of the ecosystem are concerned. For China, leadership in e-commerce is not just crucial from a commercial standpoint but also an innovation standpoint since it is home to many of the global giants in the industry including Alibaba, JD.com, and social-influence driven e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo and B5M. To put things in perspective, eMarketer pegged China’s retail industry at US$5.21 trillion for 2019 — and expected e-commerce sales to capture 36.6 percent of that figure, marking a whopping 27.3 percent year on year growth for the industry. While analysts often find it difficult to reach a consensus about the numbers for cross-border e-commerce sales from China, the country does account for a major share of sales on e-commerce platforms overseas. Recently, Shopee Regional Managing Director Ian Ho told Tech Wire Asia provided some evidence of this after the company’s phenomenal success during the 2019 edition of its 12.12 Birthday Sale. On the sale day alone, Shopee recorded more than 80 million visits and sold 80 million items. To help paint a picture of the success, the company said that the total number of diapers it sold on sale day can last a baby for 12,002 years, and the total number of smartphones sold can cover 3 football fields. To Ho’s point about China’s cross-border e-commerce success, the company said it saw cross-border purchases from sellers based in China, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan skyrocket on the sale day. “China recorded the highest number of orders, followed by Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan,” said Ho. Of course, the success story that Shopee has created for China’s e-commerce vendors in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore is something sellers in Southeast Asian countries can replicate as well, using the e-commerce platforms’ proprietary tools to increase market access beyond their home country. Markets that Shopee caters to in Southeast Asia include Indonesia — the other giant in Asia where regulators are excited about providing support and creating additional momentum for the e-commerce industry. According to experts studying the Indonesian e-commerce market closely, Shopee’s efforts to provide a great experience has paid off, helping the company increase market share by two percent per figures released this quarter — capturing 21 percent of the overall industry in the country — attracting 55.9 million monthly desktop visitors. Shopee lags behind Tokopedia and leads Bukalapak, Lazada, and Blibli in the country. In 2020, Shopee and its competitors might win big, if they can re-align themselves with the new rules being set up by President Joko Widodo, including licensing, data privacy, and taxation. Although details of proposed changes haven’t been made clear, analysts believe that some e-commerce players might feel that laws are being drafted to level the playing field between e-commerce companies and brick and mortar retailers. It couldn’t be farther from the truth. For example, the government has lowered the tax threshold on consumer goods imported for sale on e-commerce platforms — from US$75 to US$3 — which can be construed as a blow to e-commerce players. However, the removal of the 10 percent income tax from retail e-commerce imports means that total taxes on imported retail e-commerce will fall from 27 percent to just 17.5 percent. That’s a massive gain for any e-commerce player in Indonesia. While the upcoming laws might be complex, those that can understand and use them to their advantage will clearly win big, at home and overseas, through platforms such as Shopee, which provide access to wider markets in Southeast Asia. At the end of the day, the message in Asia is loud and clear. E-commerce is booming and there are plenty of opportunities for players in the market, whether they’re platform owners or merchants. The year 2020 is bound to be exciting.

On December 24, the Chinese State Council released the Announcement of the State Taxation Administration [2019] No. 36 approving the establishment of 24 pilot cross-border e-commerce zones. The document announces the 24 cities, and states that the details of how this will be established and operate will be worked out by the provincial governments. According to the approval document, the new pilot zones should replicate and promote successful practices adopted by the existing three batches of e-commerce zones and introduce exemptions on value-added tax and consumption tax for retail and exported goods. The 24 cities are – Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Chifeng, Fushun, Hunchun, Suifenhe, Xuzhou, Nantong, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Wuhu, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Ganzhou, Jinan, Yantai, Luoyang, Huangshi, Yueyang, Shantong, Foshan, Luzhou, Haidong, and Yinchuan. The document is a preliminary announcement and a broad-strokes plan for how these trial zones will be constructed and replicated across the country, with guidance for each provincial government to follow when implementing its own specific measures. More details are expected to follow. The document itself only alludes to trial related policies on “value-added tax and consumption tax exemption for cross-border e-commerce retail exports, promoting industrial transformation, upgrading and actively carry out exploration and innovation, brand building, and promoting international trade liberalization and convenience.” However, in October 2019, the State Taxation Administration passed a new corporate tax policy for enterprises within these pilot zones, starting from January 1, 2020. This will likely apply to the 24 cities mentioned above. According to the document: Cross-border e-commerce enterprises subject to tax assessment and collection within the comprehensive pilot zone shall accurately calculate their total revenues, on which corporate income tax will be levied upon assessment at the taxable income rate. The taxable income tax rate shall be four percent. Where a cross-border e-commerce enterprise subject to the levy upon assessment of income tax in a comprehensive pilot zone meets the conditions for preferential policies for small low-profit enterprises, it may enjoy the preferential income tax policies for small low-profit enterprises; If the income obtained by it is tax-free income specified in Article 26 of the Corporate Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China, it may enjoy the preferential policies for tax-free income. Based on the 35 pilot cross-border e-commerce zones that have previously been established, it is likely that these cross-border zones will adopt similar regulations, including allowing companies to enjoy benefits, such as tax rebates, government support to set up e-commerce platforms, and international logistic services.

1484455745_1483963989

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) ABU DHABI, 1st January, 2020 (WAM) -- President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has sent a message of congratulations to President Jovenel Moise of Haiti on the occasion of his country's Independence Day, which is observed on 1st January. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also sent similar congratulations to President Moise and the country's Prime Minister Jean Michel Lapin.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed tops list of 'Most Remarkable Arab leaders in 2019' His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.- Wam Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, came in second. by A Staff Reporter Published: Wed 1 Jan 2020, 4:00 PM Last updated: Thu 2 Jan 2020, 7:29 AM

1483806120_1484422056

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A we say goodbye to 2019, 2020 is on the horizon with hopes, dreams and a list of wishes for the new year. Instead of taking a look back at 2019 let's take a look forward to 2020 in South Lake Tahoe. What does this year have in store for us? The past year was not always a good one. We saw hate, internet bullies, rampant misinformation, long-time businesses closing up, and a growing division in the community. But, we also saw new financial investments in town, a start of better communication, celebrations of what is good, and an increased police force and fire department. What is waiting for us in 2020? Leadership - In 2020 there will be a new fire chief and city manager in South Lake Tahoe, and perhaps another top-level manager. In November's election, two City Council seats will be on the ballot. Over in Douglas County, two commissioners ended up in a fight in 2019 and meetings can be very contentious, especially when talking about Lake Tahoe...will that change in 2020? Cell Tower Ordinance - In the coming weeks a new communications ordinance will be voted on, one that will provide a guide for all future cell and microcell towers. The public has had, and will continue to have, input on what it will say. Vacation Home Rentals - The issues of vacation home rentals in the city limits was covered in the last election, with the result requiring their being phased out. But, a lawsuit may put a hamper on that. Elections - Three members of the City Council still have two years left in their terms, but two are at the end of their four-year term as mentioned above. It is unknown at this time if they, Mayor Jason Collin and former Mayor Brooke Laine, will run again. New Taxes - Voters in the Lake Valley Fire Protection District will vote on a new parcel tax to fund new equipment. Also coming, El Dorado County will be asking local voters to add more to their parcel taxes for snow removal. Recreation Center - The extra tourism taxes added onto hotel and vacation home rentals for a new recreation center have been sitting, waiting to be used for what the voters approved. That fund continues to grow. Hopefully, plans will be finalized this year. Electric Buses - Tahoe Transportation District is having two new electric buses built for South Lake Tahoe. They will be docked at Lake Tahoe Community College's new bus charging stations. Will the school district follow their guide and order more of their own since grant funds are now available for infrastructure? Courts - In the El Dorado County Superior Court, Councilman Cody Bass is scheduled for a jury trial on federal tax charges. Defendants accused of the murder of a pot dealer in South Lake Tahoe in 2016 are still in jail - will they ever be tried? Affordable Housing - Discussion has been going on for a long time, but is 2020 the year we see ground break on new project(s)? Marijuana - New marijuana businesses should be opening in 2020, starting first with an approved microbusiness at the Y and another on James Street. Retail sales only businesses were stopped by court action in November. There will be many more issues in town in 2020, some already known and some not. Hopefully, the public and leadership can discuss them in a thoughtful, constructive manner without the hateful conversations that took place last year. Nothing good can come out of division. Let's have 2020 be the year of kindness, compassion, and progress. One where neighbors can be neighbors and unity is put back into community. Happy New Year! #BeKindSLT

After the revelry, it’s time to buckle down to work. The past year presented new challenges that must be confronted in 2020. On the public health front, the country recorded hundreds of deaths from measles and the return of polio after 19 years. For the first time, the country also registered the fastest rate of HIV infection in the world. There are now two laws to prevent the spread of HIV and discrimination against persons living with HIV / AIDS. The challenge is their efficient implementation – which also goes for the Universal Health Care and mental health laws. On another health issue, the country saw the arrival of African swine fever in 2019. The ASF threat continues to inflict damage on the local swine industry and needs tighter management. Also needing urgent attention on the food front are the country’s rice farmers, who saw their livelihood devastated in 2019 by rice tariffication that allowed unlimited rice importation. While consumers welcomed the lower rice prices, the country cannot afford to be overly dependent on imports of its staple. For the first time last year, the country’s 15-year-olds joined the Program for International Student Assessment. The PISA results were disheartening, with the Filipinos ranking last out of 79 nationalities in reading comprehension and 78th in mathematics and science. This is a continuing challenge for improvement. Even the country’s top ranking in the 30th Southeast Asian Games poses the challenge of sustaining the exemplary performance in bigger competitions particularly the Olympics. There must also be accountability in the hosting arrangements as well as efforts to ensure that the Olympic Village in New Clark City won’t turn into a white elephant. In Metro Manila, 2019 saw an acute water shortage and a persistent traffic mess that call for multipronged solutions, with the necessary infrastructure taking years to complete. Build, Build, Build must move faster this year to make up for the delay caused by congressional bickering over the 2019 national budget. In 2019, Philippine offshore gaming operators created problems that the government must address with a clear policy on online gambling and the employment of foreigners. Related to this, the government must heed public sentiment, as expressed in surveys, for a stronger assertion of the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. There are the continuing problems – the communist insurgency, Islamist extremism that now employs suicide bombers, a weak and compromised judicial system that makes law enforcement shortcuts acceptable to ordinary people. The war on drugs is being recalibrated as the scourge persists. There is much work ahead; at the start of the year, everyone must hit the ground running.

1484034880_1484089061

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (AP) — Baby boxes that allow people to anonymously leave newborns at firehouses have been added in two more Indiana cities, giving the state nearly 20 of the potentially life-saving devices. A baby box was dedicated Sunday at the New Haven Fire Station in the city that's just east of Fort Wayne. Another baby box that was dedicated Monday at the Columbia City fire station, also in northeastern Indiana, became Indiana's 19th baby box. Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey, who was herself abandoned as an infant, said the effort to equip firehouses with the boxes aims to eliminate situations where babies are placed in danger by women or parents seeking to abandon their infants. “Women want and need anonymity,” Kelsey, who is a firefighter and medic, told The Journal Gazette. The baby boxes are containers with a door to the outside of a fire station building. When they're opened, an alarm sounds to alert on-duty staff, nearby volunteers or emergency dispatchers that a child has been placed there. The boxes contain warming and cooling features and they lock after use. The boxes are legal because Indiana is one of five states that have a Safe Haven law. That law allows a person to anonymously surrender a healthy baby 30 days old or younger at any hospital emergency room, police or fire station without fear of criminal prosecution. Kelsey said Indiana had nine surrenders at baby boxes during 2019.

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) — Two people drowned and two others were left hospitalized in critical condition after an SUV plunged into a northern Indiana pond, authorities said. Mishawaka firefighters called the scene Tuesday afternoon pulled one adult and three juveniles from the fully submerged SUV after it entered a retention pond in the city just east of South Bend. St. Joseph County Coroner Michael J. McGann said the two crash victims who were pronounced dead had died from drowning. The two others were in critical condition at local hospitals. Witnesses said the SUV was traveling along a road when it left the roadway and entered the pond, said David Ray, assistant chief for the Mishawaka Fire Department. Local roads were icy at the time, but officials were still investigating what caused the SUV to drive into the pond. Divers searched the pond to be certain all of the SUV's occupants had been accounted for.

1484008055_1484109516

Pete Buttigieg raised $24.7 million in the final months of 2019, well positioning the South Bend, Ind., mayor for the final sprint to the Iowa caucuses. Buttigieg, a little-known Indiana mayor who became a fundraising juggernaut, brought in more than $76 million in 2019 — an astounding total for a candidate who started the year with no national profile and a 24,000-person email list. In 2019, Buttigieg pulled in 2 million donations from 733,000 individuals. Buttigieg’s fourth quarter haul, disclosed Wednesday morning, will power the Buttigieg campaign this winter, as the Democratic presidential primary hardens around the top four contenders, along with former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Buttigieg, who still hovers in the single digits in national polls, has led the field in Iowa and New Hampshire polling in recent weeks, and his fundraising totals will give him the resources he needs to stand out in Iowa next month. Buttigieg is the first leading Democratic presidential candidate to release his fundraising totals for the final three months of 2019. But Buttigieg’s quarter comes amid heavy criticism from his Democratic rivals for how he raises money. Warren, who has shunned high-dollar events altogether, attacked Buttigieg during the December debate for a recent fundraiser at a wine cave, while Sanders spotlighted how many billionaires gave to Buttigieg’s campaign. In a speech in early December, Warren took thinly veiled shots at Buttigieg and Biden, both of whom raise money from high-dollar donors. “When a candidate brags about how beholden he feels to a group of wealthy investors, our democracy is in serious trouble,” Warren said. Last month, Warren pressured Buttigieg into opening his private fundraisers to the media and disclosing his list of top donors. Biden, for his part, has opened his high-dollar events to the media from his campaign launch in April. The Buttigieg campaign touted its small-dollar numbers in a memo announcing his fourth quarter haul. In 2019, 98 percent of the donations were less than $200, the campaign said, and in the fourth quarter, the average contribution was $33. “This quarter, Pete solidified himself as a top tier presidential candidate, not by tapping into the fundraising list or bank account of a sitting Senator or someone who had run for president before, but by speaking to voters who for too long have been let down by politicians in Washington and are looking for a better path forward,” Buttigieg campaign manager Mike Schmuhl wrote in the fundraising memo. His fourth quarter total improved over his third quarter total, which came in at $19 million. So far, though, it’s unclear how Buttigieg’s numbers may compare to other top 2020 contenders, as they haven’t released their totals. Buttigieg has already deployed his resources with TV ad campaigns in all four of the early states. That ad campaign has helped boost his poll numbers in those early states, and he has expanded his operational footprint, adding 65 field offices throughout the country.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced Wednesday that his campaign raked in $24.7 million in the final quarter. He raised a whopping $76 million throughout 2019, according to his campaign. Yet Buttigieg has also faced scrutiny for his fundraising tactics — most notably during last month's Democratic debate, in which he was criticized for attending a fundraiser in a wine cave. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced early Wednesday his campaign raked in $24.7 million in the final quarter of the year — bringing his entire 2019 haul to a whopping $76 million. The figure is a remarkable one for a candidate who had very little national name recognition when he started his presidential bid early last year. "These figures are even more astounding considering that Pete started this race less then a year ago as an unknown candidate, with just a few staffers and zero dollars in the bank," campaign manager Mike Schmuhl said in a statement. "But what we did have was a shared vision of bringing a new kind of politics to Washington and changing the trajectory of our country." It's still unclear how Buttigieg's final-quarter haul stacks up to the other 2020 frontrunners — they have not yet announced their fundraising totals. But Schmuhl said in the statement that of the $76 million raised in 2019, 98% of donations were for figures under $200, and the average donation was $38. He said 326,000 people contributed to Buttigieg's campaign in the fourth quarter, contributing an average of $33. Yet Buttigieg has also faced criticism for his fundraising tactics — most notably during last month's Democratic debate, in which Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed Buttigieg for attending a fundraiser in a wine cave. "The mayor just recently had a fundraiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and $900-a-bottle wine," Warren said. "He had promised that every fundraiser he would do would be open-door, but this one was closed-door. We made the decision many years ago that rich people in smoke-filled rooms would not pick the next president of the United States. Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States."

1484190758_1484279739

Eberechi Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel played significant roles as Queens Park Rangers pommelled Cardiff City 6-1 in their first Championship game of the year. The Anglo-Nigerians scored and provided assists to help ‎Mark Warburton’s men end their recent unimpressive run of form, having failed to secure victory in their previous four matches. Eze ignited the flurry of goals nine minutes into the encounter, sending a sublime cross to Nahki Wells, who in turn headed home the effort for QPR’s opener. Osayi-Samuel doubled the lead in the 27th minute and completed his brace four minutes before half-time, beating two of his markers before firing his effort beyond goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. Just three minutes into the second half, Eze shone again, setting up Wells for his second goal in the encounter. The 21-year-old midfielder then grabbed a goal of his own in the 57th minute after benefitting from Ilias Chair’s assist before Wells sealed the victory to render Will Vaulks’ late strike a consolation goal. With the result, QPR climbed to 15th in the Championship table with 35 points from 26 games and will hope to continue their impressive performances against Swansea City on Sunday.

Nigerian duo Eberechi Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel were impressive as Queens Park Rangers humiliated Cardiff City 6-1 in a Championship clash at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, London on New Year’s Day. Both players were involved in five of the six goals scored by QPR as Eze scored one and assisted two while Osayi-Samuel was on target twice. Nahki Wells scored the first goal in the ninth minute as he ran on to a lofted through ball from Eze to head home, before Osayi-Samuel doubled the hosts advantage at 27th minute with Wells turning provider this time. Osayi-Samuel got his second of the night with four minutes before half-time to make 3-0 as he fired past goalkeeper Neil Etheridge after beating two Cardiff City players. On 48 minutes, Wells got his second goal of the game and QPR’s fourth, heading home off an assist from Eze. The impressive Eze got on the scoresheet when he finished off a lovely cross from Ilias Chair 12 minutes into the second half. The two Nigerians have scored a combined 14 goals in the Championship so far this season and have set up 10 goals in total. Queens Park Rangers are 15th in the English second tier with 35 points from 26 matches, five points off the playoff spots. They face Brentford in their next league game on January 11.

1484189765_1484330350

Postmarital residence patterns in traditional human societies figure prominently in models of hominid social evolution with arguments for patrilocal human bands similar in structure to female-dispersal systems in other African apes. However, considerable flexibility in hunter-gatherer cultures has led to their characterization as primarily multilocal. Horticulturalists are associated with larger, more sedentary social groups with more political inequality and intergroup conflict and may therefore provide additional insights into evolved human social structures. We analyze coresidence patterns of primary kin for 34 New World horticultural societies (6,833 adults living in 243 residential groupings) to show more uxorilocality (women live with more kin) than found for hunter-gatherers. Our findings further point to the uniqueness of human social structures and to considerable variation that is not fully described by traditional postmarital residence typologies. Sex biases in coresident kin can vary according to the scale of analysis (household vs. house cluster vs. village) and change across the life span, with women often living with more kin later in life. Headmen in large villages live with more close kin, primarily siblings, than do nonheadmen. Importantly, human marriage exchange and residence patterns create meta-group social structures, with alliances extending across multiple villages often united in competition against other large alliances at scales unparalleled by other species.

Elena Esposito Elena Esposito is professor of sociology at the University of Modena‐Reggio Emilia. She has published several works on the theory of social systems, media theory, and social memory, including Soziales Vergessen: Formen und Medien des Gedächtnisses der Gesellschaft (2002) and Die Verbindlichkeit des Vorübergehenden: Paradoxien der Mode (2004).

1484007634_1483986428

January Steve Sisolak was sworn in as Nevada’s 30th elected governor along with the rest of the state’s elected officials. Also sworn in were Supreme Court Justices Lidia Stiglich, Abbi Silver and Elissa Cadish who join Kris Pickering, making Nevada’s high court a female majority. In Douglas County, Connie Koontz and Sophia Renkin were shot to death in their homes three days apart within blocks of one another. After a regional manhunt Honduran Wilber Martinez-Guzman was arrested in Carson City in connection with the two murders along with the murder of a Reno couple. February The 80th regular session of the Nevada Legislature opened for business later than planned because of inclement weather in the state capital that by early afternoon closed non-essential offices and sent workers home. Before adjourning for the day, senators introduced a total of 129 pre-filed pieces of legislation and the Assembly put in 114. Carson City celebrated the opening of the renovated Bob Boldrick Theater with a variety show. Featured performers were Carson High School choir and drama, Studio E Aerial Arts, Suspect Terrane, Western Nevada Performing Arts Center, Wildhorse Children’s Theatre, and Youth Theatre Carson City. The Carson High cheerleading squad placed third in the nation in the Co-Ed Varsity Show Cheer Non-Tumbling Advanced Division at the USA Spirit Nationals in Anaheim, Calif. CHS team members were: Wall, Quintyn Madsen, Jaeger, Sadie Jessee, Alicia Singleton, Breanna Nurry, Robin Steinecke, Eddy DeLeon, Isabel Ramos, Teanna Calloway, Brooke Lamreaux, Melanie Sepulveda, Josey Steinecke, Isabel Embro, Liberty Hoefling, Hayden Breiter, Audrey Cook, Haley Kluck, Shelby Friel, Tara Wright, Lexi Embro, Andrew Morris, Jade Chan and coaches Story and Elizabeth Hickson. MARCH Carson Tahoe Health’s Board of Directors appointed Alan Garrett as the new chief executive officer. He replaced Ed Epperson who retired. The Range Task Force started work on getting four bays at the range back open for public use. The Carson Rifle and Pistol Range had restricted hours after stray bullets were reported at the nearby city landfill. Epic Rides Carson City Off Road mountain bike series was pushed back to the end of June because of the amount of snow the region received. Nevada Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson is forced to resign and plead guilty in federal court to wire fraud involving the misuse of $249,900 in campaign contributions for personal expenses. More than 150 people gathered at the Nevada Vietnam War Memorial in Mills Park for Carson City’s annual Welcome Home ceremony APRIL A snowpack measurement at Phillips Station, located next to Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, found 106.5 inches of snow, which amounts to a snow water equivalent — the depth of water that would result if all the snow melted instantaneously — of 51 inches — or 200 percent of average. Bob Gray, who brought the defunct Virginia & Truckee Railroad back to life and spent 40-plus years restoring it, died April 3 in Orinda, Calif. He was 97. Nevada Builders Alliance started work on the property formerly known as Jack’s Bar. The plan is to revitalize the property as the Bank Saloon, the name when it opened in 1899. The facility will include a full-service bar, patio seating and a separate conference room for meetings or private parties. MAY Carson High School senior Crystal Vargas was one of three students in Nevada to be named a Presidential Scholar and among 161 high school seniors nationally to earn the recognition. Sherry Rupert, Nevada Indian Commission executive director, left to become executive director of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) in Albuquerque, N.M. Domino’s Paving for Pizza campaign was in full force as Carson City Public Works filled potholes on Slide Mountain Drive, near Mark Twain Elementary School, while Mrs. Allen’s third grade class watched as part of their lesson plan for the day. Western Nevada College conferred a record number of degrees during its 2019 commencement ceremony as 617 individuals graduated with 651 degrees and certificates. JUNE More than 520 graduating seniors received their diplomas at Carson High School. Waste Management delivered new garbage, recycling and yard waste carts in advance of new mandatory services that started July 1 as part of a new 15-year contract. A new plan for Andersen Ranch, the site of the proposed Vintage at Kings Canyon project, has been submitted to the Carson City planning department for a preliminary review. The submitted conceptual map calls for 204 houses on the 48.2-acre portion of the property between Mountain Street and Ormsby Boulevard. Brig. Gen. William R. Burks retires after 10 years of serving at the helm of the Nevada National Guard. JULY During the Legislature, lawmakers approved sweeping changes to how Nevada conducts elections, all with the laudable goal of making it easier for more people to participate and vote. But those changes — including same-day voter registration — are going to have a downside. Voters will see longer lines when they go to the polls and may not know who won the closest races for a week or more after election day. Carson City Clerk Recorder Aubrey Rowlatt said the impact will be especially unpopular in small counties like Carson City where voters are used to getting to a machine within minutes of arrival and which normally has final results in two hours or less after the polls close. Western Nevada College in Carson City is launching a statewide green business program and a database for collecting outcomes that measure environmental performance for the state. What may have been a storied bootprint from the first man to walk on the moon 50 years ago was preceded five years before the historic landing. That’s when Neil Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crew of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins left their footprints in Churchill County. The three space pioneers along with 11 other astronauts spent a week in Northern Nevada in August 1964 when they flew to the former Stead Air Force Base north of Reno to undergo classroom instruction in desert survival in the rustic high desert and then spent three days in the hot, dry desert putting to practice what they learned from their U.S. Air Force instructors. The roughly $40 million project to rehab Carson City’s Water Resource Recovery Facility was completed in late summer. The project consisted of an odor control system for the headworks where the waste water enters the treatment plant, reducing the familiar smell that emanates from the 5th Street facility. August On Aug. 1, Pacific Publishing Company acquired from Swift Communications the assets of the Carson City Nevada Appeal, The (Gardnerville) Record-Courier, Fallon Lahontan Valley News, and Reno Northern Nevada Business View publications. The papers now operate as the Nevada News Group. Carson City Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Cortney Ronald Staley after a five-hour standoff on Edmonds Drive. When the SWAT team entered the residence — after Staley reportedly threatened to harm a infant — he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with deputies. Carson City native Barbara Perkins finished first in her age group (30-34) and second place overall, clocking in at a personal-best 10 hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds at Ironman Santa Rosa. Perkins later found out her Ironman performance — a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Sonoma, a 112-mile bike ride through Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley, and a 26.2-mile run along the Santa Rosa Creek trail — did more than just put her atop the podium. The Santa Rosa win catapulted Perkins to a No. 1-ranking, for her age group, in the U.S. — and the world. The owners of the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center are in the process of buying up to 20,000 acres of land in Lyon County to create a new industrial center to succeed TRIC. The Carson City School District moves forward on exploring the purchase of a property at 1600 Snyder Ave for a possible new school location. In November, the school received its appraisal setting the property’s value at $4.1 million assessing the site’s ability to be retrofitted. The district, which originally offered to purchase the site for $5.67 million, still awaits results on its phase two environmental inspection of its feasibility study to be returned in February or March. The board is expected to make a decision on the purchase by April 2020. SEPTEMBER Carson City held a night of remembrance coordinated by the Carson City Christian Ministerial Fellowship on the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. About 60 volunteers helped Eagle Scout Gabe Crossman restore the iconic “C” on C Hill. The Carson City Historical Society’s 50th anniversary celebration culminated with a celebration at the restored Foreman-Roberts House. The historic home’s museum was re-opened after two incidents of arson in August 2016 caused smoke damage to the structure’s walls and furniture and one fire burned a 100-year-old door belonging to the house. Joe D’Angelo enters escrow on the Ormsby House. D’Angelo wants to buy the 48-year-old hotel-casino and turn it into Joshua’s House. “Joshua’s House would feature large one- and two-bedroom suites, both furnished and unfurnished, five main floor restaurants and retail space with meeting rooms, and the restoration of the elegant staircase leading to the grand ballroom for all special events, conventions, concerts, plays and community activities,” his application says. The city and D’Angelo butt heads over necessary permits for the project and the sale never comes to fruition. The Carson City IHOP, the site where a gunman shot and killed four people and injured seven others on Sept. 6, 2011, closed its doors. OCTOBER The historic Nevada State Prison, which was in operation from 1862 to 2012, needs roughly $50,000 in work to open its doors as a museum. A needed ADA-compliant ramp, asbestos removal, lighting, and a hook-up to electricity could be completed for approximately $50,000. For more on the society and the prison’s history, visit http://www.nevadastateprison.org. A group of history buffs formed the Friends of Sutro Tunnel to restore the abandoned and deteriorating remains of the town of Sutro at the base of the historic Comstock tunnel. Stacey Montooth celebrates one month as the new executive director of the Nevada Indian Commission. Carson’s Karen Beglin took home her second 4A Northern Regional individual title at The Resort at Red Hawk in Sparks. Carson Middle School teacher Nicolas Jacques was announced as a 2019-20 recipient of the Milken Educator Awards. Jacques, one of two winners from Nevada this year, was welcomed with great fanfare by Gov. Steve Sisolak and his wife Kathy Ong Sisolak, State Superintendent Jhone Ebert, Milken Family Foundation members, Carson City School District personnel and Carson Middle School staff members and students at an assembly where he was presented with an unrestricted $25,000 prize and recognized for his achievement as an outstanding educator. NOVEMBER Chase Blueberg, a 2014 Carson High graduate, makes the USA Bobsled team. He is headed back to Lake Placid in January to continue training for a shot at the 2022 Olympics. Blueberg’s gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chase-blueberg-team-usa-bobsled. The U.S. Travel Association is warning that people have just 11 months left to get a Real ID driver’s license before they will be barred from commercial air travel. The ban approved after 911 takes effect on Oct. 1, 2020. The Board of Supervisors voted to impose a 5 cent per gallon tax on diesel fuel starting sometime in 2020 and then put it on the ballot in 2022 for voters to decide whether to continue it. Panera Bread has leased 4,100 square feet in the soon-to-be constructed retail mall on the west side of Carson Street at Appion Way. It is the same development that will house a 5,000-square-foot Chick-Fil-A. DECEMBER Bonnie Croom, 27, an employee of Right at Home, which provides in-home care to clients in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, has been named National Caregiver of the Year, The Board of Supervisors moves ahead on an $18 million, 160-unit affordable housing project for six acres of Carson City-owned land on Butti Way. The PalaSeek project proposes a multi-story building consisting of 160 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Apartments would be set aside and rents established based on tenants share of the area median income, data published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sixteen units would be for tenants earning below 50 percent of AMI, 128 units for those earning less than 80 percent of AMI, and 16 units for those earning more than 80 percent AMI. The current AMI for Carson City is $68,700. PalaSeek expects to build the project in phases with initial occupancy in December 2021. Carson City is home to one of five historic markers in Nevada recognizing women’s suffrage and marking the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. Friends in Service Helping (FISH) moves forward on a special use permit this month to turn The Whistle Stop Inn into transitional housing for people participating in a new career program. The Carson City Planning Commission approves a special use permit to expand the ExtraMile convenience store and Chevron gas station on the corner of Carson and William streets into Adele’s property. The owner of the property agreed to make the 155-year-old restaurant building available at no cost to anyone interested in moving it to another location by March 1, 2020. The Carson City Historical Society has launched a fundraising campaign to preserve the building. To donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/cchistoricalsociety-save-adeles. Plans for a residential development on Andersen Ranch moved forward after the Planning Commission voted to recommend the project’s tentative map to the Board of Supervisors. The proposed project, called Andersen Ranch Estates, includes 203 home lots and five interior streets. The site is located on 48 acres between Mountain Street and Ormsby Boulevard and would cut through to four streets that now dead end outside the property to provide additional access. Its north and south borders abut existing neighborhoods.

VATICAN CITY — The year 2019 was one of the most challenging of Pope Francis’ six-year pontificate, filled with plentiful activity and personal contact, but also hamstrung by scandal and growing expressions of unease from a minority of the faithful concerned about its direction. During the past 12 months, the Pope produced a post-synodal apostolic exhortation on young people, announced new norms for dealing with clerical sexual abuse, and held a synod on the Amazon. He also found time to make seven foreign trips, visiting Panama for World Youth Day, Morocco, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Thailand and Japan. In February, he also became the first pope in modern history to set foot on the Arabian Peninsula, when he visited the United Arab Emirates — all in a year in which he turned 83 and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest. The papal year began and ended on the theme of clerical sex abuse, with the Pope sending a message to U.S. bishops attending a Jan. 2-8 retreat, convened at his suggestion, on improving accountability and handling of abuse cases. He called for “collegial awareness” and “evangelical paths” and urged them to win trust by “sincere, daily, humble and generous service to all.” The retreat was a precursor to a Feb. 21-24 Vatican global summit on abuse, which drew together 114 episcopal conference presidents to find more effective ways to deal with the crisis. Some lauded the meeting as timely and helpful; others felt it did not go far enough. Vos Estis Lux Mundi But the summit led to a number of concrete measures: The Pope published in May Vos Estis Lux Mundi (You Are the Light of the World), a set of new norms that placed abuse of seminarians and religious in the same category as minors and vulnerable adults. It also established a “metropolitan model” for investigating accusations against bishops whereby a metropolitan bishop with a Holy See mandate would investigate a suffragan bishop. Other fruits were a Vatican handbook for bishops on how to deal with such abuse cases, the creation of “task forces” to help bishops, and, at the end of year, papal rescripts that abolished invoking the “pontifical secret” with regard to sex-abuse cases, with the aim of providing greater certainty and transparency. The Pope also wrote a letter to clergy in August in which he sought to encourage priests suffering because of the crisis fallout. But Francis also faced persistent personal criticism over his handling of cases, in particular that of Argentinian Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, whom he has allowed to reside in his Santa Martha residence and hold a sinecure position in a Vatican department despite an Argentinian prosecutor requesting in November his arrest over allegations he abused two seminarians. In April, the Pope published his post-synodal apostolic exhortation on last year’s youth synod. Titled Christus Vivit (Christ Is Alive), it urged young people to be “courageous missionaries,” warned them of the dark aspects of internet activity, and called attention to vulnerable young people caught up in “war, conflict and exploitation.” Despite homosexual groups trying to steer the synod and the unexpected insertion of “synodality” into the final document, the Holy Father’s document hardly mentioned such themes. Pan-Amazon Synod By contrast, the Pan-Amazon synod in October was considerably more contentious. All its propositions passed by the required two-thirds majority, including the most controversial: a call for further discussion of a female diaconate; a proposal to ordain married permanent deacons as priests, ostensibly to ease priest shortages in the region; and a call for the “elaboration of an Amazonian rite” of the Mass. The monthlong meeting was welcomed for drawing attention to human and environmental exploitation in the region and how to evangelize it better, but concern was expressed that the synod was a vehicle to apply the controversial propositions to the universal Church, especially in Germany, whose Church leaders had largely sponsored the event. The meeting was also overshadowed by other controversies, including what some took to be worship of a pagan idol in the Vatican Gardens, St. Peter’s Basilica and a nearby church. The Pope was later accused of committing sacrilegious acts, claims denied by the Vatican, and four pachamama statues were subsequently seized by a young Austrian Catholic from a church near the Vatican and thrown into the Tiber River. Other synod controversies involved revelations that some of the chief organizers had been funded by the pro-abortion Ford Foundation and that the event appeared to be a mechanism to advance political agendas that were at odds with Catholic teaching. In his closing words, the Pope criticized Catholic “elites,” whom he accused of focusing on technicalities and forgetting the broader picture. His post-synodal apostolic exhortation will be published in the first half of next year. Also on the theme of synodality, the Pope took the unusual step of writing a letter in June to caution German Catholics ahead of its two-year synodal path. The process, which fully begins Jan. 31 and comes in response to clerical sexual abuse, could lead the country’s Church down a path inconsistent with the magisterium and, according to some German bishops, into schism. The German bishops’ conference has insisted the process will be united with Rome on questions touching the universal Church. Cardinal Pell The conviction of Cardinal George Pell of sexual abuse — his appeal was rejected by an Australian court in August and then later referred to a hearing in the High Court in 2020 — was another challenge for the Pope, who, along with most Church leaders, allowed the case to play out without commenting. The Vatican, for its part, has repeatedly voiced its respect for the Australian justice system while stressing the cardinal has strenuously protested his innocence. In November, Francis appointed Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves as the head of Vatican finances, filling the post left vacant since Cardinal Pell returned to Australia in July 2017 to address the legal charges. In October, Vatican police raided offices in the Secretariat of State and a department charged with monitoring the Vatican against money laundering, following complaints of financial mismanagement. Five employees were suspended, and an investigation is continuing. Francis told reporters the incident shows controls against suspicious activity are working. The head of the Vatican police, Domenico Giani, resigned after the names of the five officials were circulated around the Vatican and made their way into the press. Meanwhile, the Pope’s leadership came under fire in May when respected Dominican theologian Father Aidan Nichols put his name to an open letter signed by academics calling on bishops to charge Pope Francis with heresy, while another respected theologian, Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, warned that the Church was becoming increasingly divided and heading toward what he called an “internal papal schism.” Francis was also criticized for signing a “Human Fraternity” document in Abu Dhabi that asserted that the diversity of religions is “willed by God.” He faced further significant blowback from academics and students for allowing major statutory and personnel changes to the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome that critics said would amount to destroying the institution. Other Actions In other acts this year, the Pope unexpectedly created 13 new cardinals, many of whom were again drawn from the peripheries and the developing world. They also included Church leaders in tune with his views: open migration policies, concern for the environment and populism, a diplomatic rather than realist stance toward Islam, and sympathies for those supportive of homosexual issues. After years of requests from historians, the Pope this year authorized the opening of the Vatican Secret Archives in 2020 pertaining to the entire pontificate of Venerable Pius XII (1939-1958). In October, he also renamed them the Vatican Apostolic Archives. On Dec. 1, Francis issued an apostolic letter on the meaning and importance of Nativity scenes, and in September, he declared the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be the “Sunday of the Word of God” in order to promote a closer relationship with holy Scripture and its dissemination in the world. The Pope also met and received in private audience a number of well-known visitors at the Vatican in 2019, including Russian President Vladimir Putin for a third time since 2014, the young eco-warrior Greta Thunberg, and, perhaps most controversially, the pro-“LGBT” Jesuit Father James Martin. Francis also received all the U.S. bishops on their ad limina visit to the Vatican. The bishops welcomed the Pope’s generosity in time and attentiveness, but they also inquired about when the Vatican’s investigation into Theodore McCarrick would be published. The Pope gave no definitive date, but Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston said the Holy See intended to publish the results of the investigation in the new year, “if not before Christmas.” Edward Pentin is the Register’s Rome correspondent.

1484036014_1484012807

Jack Grealish boosted Aston Villa's hopes of survival by inspiring victory at Turf Moor. The Villa midfielder created the opener for Wesley Moraes before adding a second goal, with Chris Wood pulling a goal back which meant Dean Smith's team needed to cling on for victory. Sean Dyche's side have now lost six of their last eight Premier League games and are in danger of getting sucked into a relegation fight themselves. Read Full Article Source: Sports

Struggling Aston Villa picked up their second away win of the Premier League season, securing three vital points in a 2-1 win at Burnley on New Year’s Day, their first league win at Turf Moor since 1936. Villa thought they had taken an 11th minute lead through a diving header from Jack Grealish but a VAR review found that Wesley’s heel was marginally offside during the move and the goal was overturned. It was Wesley who did open the scoring though in the 23rd – the impressive Grealish finding him in the box and the Brazilian swivelled and fired past Nick Pope to give Villa a deserved lead. Burnley were unusually sloppy in defence and lacking their usual spirit of work-rate and it was no shock when Grealish doubled Villa’s lead four minutes before the break, finishing off a lovely passing move with a confident curling finish. Sean Dyche made a double substitution at the break with Jay Rodriguez and Johann Gudmundsson introduced and that had the desired effect with the Clarets much more positive. Rodriguez and Chris Wood both missed good chances before Wood finally found the target with a back post header from an Ashley Westwood cross in the 80th minute but Burnley were unable to force an equaliser. Villa’s former Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton injured himself attempting to keep out the goal and was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

1483803663_1484208838

Music legend Linda Ronstadt compared President Donald Trump to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and said Mexicans are being targeted today the way Jews were in Germany. “If you read the history, you won’t be surprised,” the 10-time Grammy winner told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “It’s exactly the same.” Ronstadt added: Find a common enemy for everybody to hate. I was sure that Trump was going to get elected the day he announced, and I said ‘It’s gonna be like Hitler, and the Mexicans are the new Jews.’ And sure enough that’s what he delivered. She said Germany’s “intelligentsia” had a chance to stop Hitler, but didn’t speak out. “The industrial complex thought that they could control him once they got him in office, and of course he was not controllable,” she said, adding that Hitler then put his own people in place and stacked the country’s courts to consolidate power. “He destroyed centuries of intellectual history, forward and backward,” she said. Ronstadt, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, retired from performing in 2011 due to a Parkinson’s-like condition called progressive supranuclear palsy. She’s the subject of a new CNN documentary, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.”

Singer Linda Ronstadt directly compared President Donald Trump to the German dictator Adolf Hitler, and claimed Mexicans are being treated the same as Jews in Nazi Germany, as reported by Fox News. She made the statement in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, where she also called President Trump “uncontrollable,” and compared his confirmation of many federal judges to Hitler’s efforts to consolidate power in Germany in the 1930s. When Cooper pushed back on Ronstadt’s comparison between Trump and Hitler, she defended herself by claiming that “if you read the history, you won’t be surprised…it’s exactly the same.” She claimed that President Trump has been trying to “find a common enemy for everybody to hate…it’s gonna be like Hitler, and the Mexicans are the new Jews.” She also claimed that the Trump Presidency has caused a strain in her own family due to some of her relatives being Republicans. However, she described her conservative relatives as “fairly rational Republicans,” saying that “we don’t have that in our current White House.”

1484011235_1483838140

Weby is a multi-brand eCommerce dealer for hunting, shooting, camping and running gear Weby will now use NexTech’s eCommerce platform to enhance customer-product engagement and drive increased multi-channel sales for the brands it represents NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCMKTS:NEXCF) ( ), the augmented reality (AR) focused tech group, continues to expand its reach as it announced a new customer deal with retailer Weby Corp. Weby is a multi-brand eCommerce dealer for hunting, shooting, camping and running gear and has been placed on Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America six years in a row. It will now use NexTech’s eCommerce platform to enhance customer-product engagement and drive increased multi-channel sales for the brands it represents. "Market leaders like Weby know the revenue positive impact that the adoption of next-generation technologies can have on driving an organization’s bottom line," said Evan Gappelberg, CEO of NexTech AR. "With our full stack of AR Solutions, Weby will be able to increase their customer engagement, add to cart rates, and revenue while reducing product returns, all visible and measurable through our real-time analytics dashboard," he added. "This deal is an important part of our new major expansion contract with Walther Arms to provide its dealers, numbering in the thousands, with the WebAR 3D experience." Kate Lobanova, the head of Marketing at Weby, added: "We believe that augmented reality can personalize the shopping experience for our customers." NexTech is the first publicly traded “pure-play” AR company and began trading on the CSE on October 31 last year. It has developed a proprietary AR advertising platform that connects consumers to brands and retail locations through a fully immersive AR experience. The company says it has a 'two-pronged' strategy for rapid growth including growth through acquisition of eCommerce businesses and growth of its omnichannel AR SaaS platform called ARitize. Earlier this month, it revealed that its augmented reality (3D/AR) solution for eCommerce could now be integrated into the giant Facebook Messenger system. The move brings the firm even deeper into the eCommerce marketplace and will mean many more customer wins, the firm told investors in a statement. Shares in Toronto nudged up 0.54% to C$1.85. ---Updates for share price--- Contact the author at [email protected]

OPINION: I’m prepared for the real world Earlier this month I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As I look back on my time on campus, I can honestly say I am thankful for both the professors who challenged me intellectually and were open to my conservative views — as well as the professors who tried to indoctrinate me, belittled my principles, or allowed me to be verbally bullied by classmates. That’s because both types of experiences taught me how to better defend my beliefs as I enter the next stage in my life: real life. As I consider law school, I know that my potential future career as an attorney would be built upon defending my stances with wisdom and logic. With that, I appreciate the tutelage the intellectual sparring on campus gave me. It toughened me up, taught me how to argue the facts. That’s not to say that I support professors who shut down their students’ thoughts and opinions. Nor did I enjoy being condescended to as an undergrad. But looking back, in hindsight, it did help me grow. Prior to my university experience, I was home-schooled from first grade through twelfth grade. I felt this non-traditional start to my educational journey might put me at a disadvantage, or at least at a different starting point, than some of my classmates. What I came to discover after some time in the classroom was that I was well-prepared to defend my beliefs. Often I was the only conservative student to speak up in class, and I did have my fair share of leftist professors who badgered me over my opinions on abortion, immigration and economics. For example, one professor my sophomore year labeled me “anti-choice” in front of the class when I expressed that the government should have a Constitutional responsibility to protect pre-born children. But there’s another side to this story, too. I also had some professors who heard me out when I questioned their political views. I can still recall the time I challenged one of my professor’s anti-capitalism opinions during a lecture. After class he walked up to me, and my stomach was gripped with tension of the unknown. Yet to my pleasant surprise, he offered me an extra credit opportunity to write an essay on why I believe capitalism is the best economic system. This teaching opportunity strengthened my ability to articulate my opinions and gave me a chance to practice my writing skills. I am grateful to say I had other professors who, although they disagreed with me, did not shut me down or insult me because of it. These select few professors were the highlight of my college experience, educators who prioritized teaching over indoctrination. They are a powerful reminder that some scholars still allow the Socratic method in their classrooms. They offer a chance for their students — both conservative and liberal — to grow as individuals and intellectuals. Let me speak for my peers when I say “thank you” to all those professors out there who honor their call to educate. You help make our experiences on campus not only tolerable, but enjoyable. Students in the university system in America shouldn’t be afraid to express their different views. They should be encouraged to express dissent and be taught how to defend their ideas and build arguments using reason and logic. Unfortunately, far too often, leftist indoctrination is the lesson of the day. And not all students take it well, namely conservative freshmen who were not taught by their parents or high school teachers counter-arguments to liberal tropes. I’ve seen it happen first hand. They know capitalism is the only system that has lifted the most out of poverty, but they stumble on citing specifics. All too often they get devoured by their left-leaning professors and peers, and end up feeling bullied and belittled. They then go silent, or even worse, buy into the progressive dogma that socialism is the solution to all of the world’s evils. I’m glad that wasn’t me. As I look back on my experience at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I recall professors who challenged my beliefs through bullying tactics and intimidation, as well as professors who challenged me in order to strengthen my arguments and promote my academic success. I grew from both learning experiences. The professors who tried to silence me taught me the importance of standing up for myself and for those who are voiceless in the face of unreason and unkindness. The professors who challenged my beliefs and encouraged me to work on articulating them in order to build a stronger argument gave me the tools I need to succeed in the decades to come. Like me, conservative students who have fought bias throughout their education can step into the real world having already faced adversity by surviving a campus where about 80 percent of your peers and nearly 100 percent of your professors disagree with your political views. While it is disappointing and disheartening that the once-great university system in America is so blatantly biased, and discourages differing viewpoints of students, there is hope in the strong level-headed and determined conservative students who are being shaped by this academic hazing into the future conservative leaders of America. MORE: Conservative grad shares her story: ‘I’ve spent the last four years defending myself’ Read More Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter

1484698286_1484030136

(Gateway Pundit) – Independent County Circuit Judge Don McSpadden suddenly recused himself from Hunter Biden’s paternity case Tuesday morning. Hunter had a child with 28-year-old Lunden Roberts after meeting her at a DC strip joint where she worked as a stripper and she is demanding a hefty child support payment! Ms. Roberts dragged Hunter Biden into a nasty court battle after he has ‘refused to pay child support for over a year’ and refused to pay her $11,000 legal bill. Above: Lunden Roberts Hunter Biden claimed in a sworn statement that he is in debt and unemployed and he is refusing to turn over the last 5 years of his financial records. Lunden Roberts’ attorneys are asking that Hunter Biden be held in contempt of court for refusing to turn over his financial records related to Burisma and the Chinese private equity firm. The Democrat Arkansas Gazette reported that Judge McSpadden recused at 10:20 AM without explanation. McSpadden filed an order at 10:20 AM Tuesday saying he was recusing “pursuant to the Administrative Plan of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.” A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday. Attorneys for Lunden Alexis Roberts had urged the judge to find Biden in contempt of court at that hearing for not providing financial information for the past five years. “One of the clearest indicators of a judge’s integrity is when he or she recuses from a case,” said Clinton Lancaster, one of Roberts’ attorneys. “It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter.” The Daily Mail reported that a ‘defrauded investor’ Joel Caplan filed a motion in Independence County, in an effort to become a part of Lunden Roberts’ case. Joel Caplan claims he was swindled in a scheme known as the ‘China Hustle’ and Hunter Biden’s bank records will show he was part of the scheme. Caplan told Judge Don McSpadden to ‘follow the money’ and in a 30-page filing, lays out how he was allegedly swindled out of 10 years of his life savings in a ‘multi-billion dollar stock scheme known as the China Hustle.’ Caplan, who filed papers from Jerusalem, Israel, claims many Chinese nationals made fortunes from the ploy, which involved presenting fake company documents and claiming they were genuine investments when they were actual frauds. Then the Chinese Nationals went on to use the ill-gotten gains to influence politics and even ‘bribe’ individuals, such as Biden, Caplan claims. Caplan points to Donald Trump’s claim in October that Biden received a $1.5 billion payday from a China-based private equity fund. Biden has denied the claim, saying that he has not taken money from China. He said he bought into a Chinese investment fund after his father left office for $420,000. The $1.5 billion was the amount the fund aimed to raise in China for investments. Still, Caplan wants Biden’s bank records in an apparently far-fetched attempt to trace back the billions of dollars that went missing in China, in his bid for ‘justice’ and to possibly regain his lost savings. Private investigator Dominic Casey also asked to be a part of the case and claimed he has obtained Biden’s bank account records, the Daily Mail reported. The judge in Hunter Biden’s Arkansas paternity case has recused himself today, hours after an attempt to make the businessman’s Ukraine dealings the center of the case, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com. Judge Don McSpadden, of Independence County, didn’t give an explanation when he announced he was recusing himself at 10.20am. McSpadden’s recusal came two hours after ‘defrauded investor’ Joel Caplan, who wants to be made a party in the case, filed a witness statement from ex-Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Shokin claimed he was fired in 2016 because he was leading an investigation into Burisma and refused to shut it down, despite pressure from Hunter’s father, then-VP Joe Biden. thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/breaking-judge-in-hunter-bidens-paternity-case-suddenly-recuses-himself-as-lunden-roberts-attorneys-ask-for-hunter-to-be-held-in-contempt-for-withholding-financial-records/

Breitbart: The Independence, Arkansas, County Circuit judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s paternity case recused himself on Tuesday, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Judge Don McSpadden filed an order to remove himself from the case at 10:20 a.m local time, stating it was “pursuant to the Administrative Plan of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.” The move came as McSpadden was slated to hold a hearing amid repeated requests from the lawyers of Biden’s baby mother, Lunden Roberts, for Hunter to turn over financial documents for the last five years. “One of the clearest indicators of a judge’s integrity is when he or she recuses from a case,” said Roberts attorney Clinton Lancaster. “It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter.” read more

1484396409_1483959633

By In October the Trump Administration started enforcing the law in re: deportation for illegal aliens given the romantic name by Obama, “DREAMERS”. Now we find the Administration is starting the process of getting the legal work done to end States from issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens. Federal law is clear, it is a felony to assist illegal aliens in any way. Plus, the State’s refuse to give data on who they issued the licenses to, If I were an illegal alien with a “legal” drivers license I would be scared—tear it up, move and leave no forwarding address. At some point the Feds will get the information—and by applying for an illegal alien drivers license, admits they are here illegally. “Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ordered a review of state laws that allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and restrict data sharing with federal immigration authorities. Wolf on Tuesday ordered all of the components of DHS to conduct a department-wide review of the state laws to determine how they affect their day-to-day operations, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The DHS chief’s directive indicates he is prepared to take aim against the state laws. “Accordingly, I am instructing each operational component to conduct an assessment of the impact of these laws, so that the Department is prepared to deal with and counter these impacts as we protect the homeland,” Wolf’s memo read. Step by step Trump is returning our nation to the Rule of Law. If the Democrats do not like the laws—they should repeal them, if they can. How many California illegal aliens have committed crimes or registered to vote—and vote? We will never know until the Feds get court orders for the information. Feel safe? Not in California. Homeland Security Chief Orders Review Of State Laws Allowing Driver’s Licenses For Illegal Aliens Jason Hopkins, Daily Caller, 1/1/20 Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ordered a review of state laws that allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and restrict data sharing with federal immigration authorities. Wolf on Tuesday ordered all of the components of DHS to conduct a department-wide review of the state laws to determine how they affect their day-to-day operations, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The DHS chief’s directive indicates he is prepared to take aim against the state laws. “Accordingly, I am instructing each operational component to conduct an assessment of the impact of these laws, so that the Department is prepared to deal with and counter these impacts as we protect the homeland,” Wolf’s memo read. The memo follows implementation of New York’s “Green Light” law, and passage of a similar bill in New Jersey in December. Both laws not only allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses, but also restrict DMV data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. People are helped with their driver licenses as other people wait their turn, at the Driver License Division for the state of Utah on July 9, 2019 in Orem, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) In New York, in particular, numerous county clerks have expressed reservation over the fact that illegal aliens can obtain a driver’s license with foreign documentation — arguing that such a policy paves the way for voter fraud, identity theft, and even terrorism. DHS had already voiced its opposition to a provision in the New York law that prohibits Homeland security Investigations, a division of ICE, from accessing DMV information — even if the agency is investigating serious crimes. “Laws like New York’s greenlight law have dangerous consequences that have far reaches beyond the DMV,” DHS spokeswomen Heather Swift said Tuesday. “These types of laws make it easier for terrorists and criminals to obtain fraudulent documents and also prevent DHS investigators from accessing important records that help take down child pornography and human trafficking rings and combat everything from terrorism to drug smuggling.” A total of 14 states allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses in the U.S. Wolf’s memo ordered DHS agencies to assess the following: What DMV information is currently available and how is it accessed? How is the DMV information used in day-to-day operations? What are the security consequences and long-term impacts if information is limited? The memo also directs agencies to seek solutions for any security consequences that arise from the state laws. “Never before in our history have we seen politicians make such rash and dangerous decisions to end all communication and cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security law enforcement,” Swift continued. “The Secretary is prepared to take every measure necessary to ensure the safety and security of the homeland and we look forward to the recommendations of our agents and officers in the field.”

The acting secretary of Homeland Security is taking aim Tuesday at new laws in New York, New Jersey and other states that allow immigrants to get driver's licenses without proof they are in the U.S. legally, and restrict data sharing with federal authorities. Chad Wolf sent a memo to all the components of Homeland Security, which include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, requesting a department study on how the laws affect its enforcement efforts for both immigration and other investigations into human trafficking, drug smuggling and counterterrorism. New York's law went into effect earlier this month, and migrants lined up to get documents. It was the 13th state to authorize licenses for drivers without legal immigration status, and most of the other states also restrict data sharing. New Jersey lawmakers passed a similar bill in December. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, are frequent thorns in the side of the Trump administration's efforts to restrict immigration. New York City is home to an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country illegally. The laws prohibit state Department of Motor Vehicles officials from providing data to agencies that enforce immigration law unless a judge orders it. New York cut off database access to at least three federal agencies last week when the law went into effect. Wolf said in his memo, obtained by The Associated Press, that the department must be "prepared to deal with and counter these impacts as we protect the homeland." An estimated 265,000 immigrants without legal documents were expected to get driver's licenses within three years, more than half of them in New York City, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Applicants must still get a permit and pass a road test to qualify for a "standard driver's license," which cannot be used for federal purposes like an enhanced driver's license or Real ID. Wolf's directive asks that each agency survey what DMV information is already available, how it is used in day-to-day operations, and what the security consequences are without the data. "The Trump administration takes the mission of protecting the Homeland very seriously," said DHS spokeswoman Heather Swift. She said the laws were short-sighted and unsafe and skirt immigration laws on the books for decades. "These types of laws make it easier for terrorists and criminals to obtain fraudulent documents," she said. New York authorities and other state officials say the laws are meant to lower the number of uninsured people, improve traffic safety and allow for better opportunity for work.

1484188205_1483793850

The video will start in 8 Cancel Sign up to FREE daily email alerts from liverpoolecho - daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email A police swoop that saw dog patrols halt traffic bound for the M53 was a pre-planned operation targeting a suspected money launderer. Vehicles were trapped in a road block after exiting the Wallasey Tunnel at around 5pm on Saturday evening. Dramatic footage showed a man being handcuffed while on the ground after officers surrounded his car. Dog units were among the patrols scrambled to carry out the arrest. One witness, called Tom, said: "After going through the tunnel the first turn-off was blocked off by two police cars so everybody was going straight towards the M53. "As you got a mile or so up the road there was a road block. They had police blocking the road, one police car then came up the right hand side and one up the hard shoulder, it was crazy." It has emerged the arrest was carried out on behalf of the National Crime Agency, the lead agency on tackling serious and organised crime in the UK. The NCA told the ECHO a 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of money laundering offences. The man, from Birkenhead , has since been released under investigation.

Pogba did not travel to East Lancashire with the rest of the squad at the weekend, after making substitute appearances against Watford and Newcastle United. Those two cameos off the bench added up to around 70 minutes of action after almost three months out injured for the 26-year-old. Solskjaer has indicated the midfielder simply required additional rest.

1484137472_1484110209

We noticed you’re blocking ads! Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse broke with tradition on Wednesday and celebrated the country’s independence day in the capital for security reasons following months of political turmoil. Moïse, whose government has been accused of corruption, denounced graft during his speech at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince and urged Haiti’s elite to work with the government and help create employment. “We’re still extremely poor,” he said. “Those who continue to get rich find it normal that they do not pay taxes, find it normal that there can be no competition, find it normal that they set prices for consumers, especially when this consumer is the state itself.” Moïse also apologized for the country’s ongoing power outages and renewed his 2016 campaign pledge to provide electricity 24 hours a day, saying it was harder to accomplish than he imagined. The speech that marked the 216th anniversary of the world’s first black republic was originally slated to take place in the northern coastal town of Gonaives, where Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence. But the town, like many others, was hit by violent protests that began in September amid anger over corruption, fuel shortages and dwindling food supplies as opposition leaders and supporters demanded the resignation of Moïse. More than 40 people have been killed and dozens injured. Large-scale protests in Port-au-Prince have since dissipated, although smaller ones are still occurring elsewhere in the country. On Wednesday, opposition leaders and supporters gathered in Gonaives to attend the funeral of an anti-government protester and then carried his coffin through the streets as more protesters joined them. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

1484188025_1483840677

(Image by SANA) Details DMCA Syrians are, first and foremost, human beings. The notion that they can be accurately described as Sunnis, or Shias, or Muslims or Christians is misleading. It is a form of xenophobic "Orientalism" that obliterates their humanity. Labelling people according their religious affiliations is an imperial weapon used to create sectarianism. And the West seeks to fabricate sectarianism in Syria. Syrians in liberated areas of Syria celebrate Christmas, just like we do, but in terrorist-occupied areas Christmas celebrations are forbidden. Such is the success of Canada's foreign policy. If the Western-supported terrorists were to win, Christmas would not be celebrated in Syria at all. In word and deed, we support anti-Christmas, anti-Everything terrorist proxies in Syria. When the government and media messaging dehumanizes Syria and Syrians, and the public accepts it, the stage is set for more "regime change" war which has inflicted terrorism on Syria and all Syrians for nine years. We should follow Syria's example and consider Syrians first and foremost as human beings. Once they are humanized, it is easier to understand their resistance to the West's terrorist proxies. When we see Syrians (and those who live in other imperial "prey" nations) for who they really are rather than as fictitious depictions of them we will be better equipped to see that imperialists dehumanize all the peoples and all the leaders of countries that they seek to destroy. Furthermore, we'll see that they seek to transform their fictitious narratives into self-fulfilling prophecies. Imperialists create sectarian conflicts. Divide and conquer is a colonial staple. Hate is a weapon of war.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Justin Portal Welby has condemned the killing of 12 Christians by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). DAILY POST had reported that Christian captives were executed by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) during the week. The execution has been condemned by both international and local bodies, while some people have also totally blamed the unfortunate situation to the Muslims. Reacting, Welch urged Nigerians and Christians all over the world to pray for Gods judgement on the killers. The archbishop expressing sadness over the incidence described the victims as ‘Martyrs of Christ’ On his verified Twitter page, he wrote: “The murder by terrorists of 12 Christian hostages in Nigeria has been much ignored over Christmas. “With deep sorrow let us pray for them and those close to them, and for God’s judgement on their killers. They are martyrs to Christ.”

1484189236_1484312289

From Truthdig Carbon capture could help limit the effects of climate change.Carbon capture could help limit the effects of climate change. (Image by (Brian Boucheron / Flickr)) Details DMCA The Green New Deal resolution that was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in February hit a wall in the Senate, where it was called unrealistic and unaffordable. In a Washington Post article titled "The Green New Deal Sets Us Up for Failure. We Need a Better Approach," former Colorado governor and Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper framed the problem like this: "The resolution sets unachievable goals. We do not yet have the technology needed to reach 'net-zero greenhouse gas emissions' in 10 years. That's why many wind and solar companies don't support it. There is no clean substitute for jet fuel. Electric vehicles are growing quickly, yet are still in their infancy. Manufacturing industries such as steel and chemicals, which account for almost as much carbon emissions as transportation, are even harder to decarbonize. "Amid this technological innovation, we need to ensure that energy is not only clean but also affordable. Millions of Americans struggle with 'energy poverty.' Too often, low-income Americans must choose between paying for medicine and having their heat shut off. ... "If climate change policy becomes synonymous in the U.S. psyche with higher utility bills, rising taxes and lost jobs, we will have missed our shot. ..." The problem may be that a transition to 100% renewables is the wrong target. Reversing climate change need not mean emptying our pockets and tightening our belts. It is possible to sequester carbon and restore our collapsing ecosystem using the financial resources we already have, and it can be done while at the same time improving the quality of our food, water, air and general health. The Larger Problem -- and the Solution -- Is in the Soil Contrary to popular belief, the biggest environmental polluters are not big fossil fuel companies. They are big agribusiness and factory farming, with six powerful food industry giants-- Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Dean Foods, Dow AgroSciences, Tyson and Monsanto (now merged with Bayer) -- playing a major role. Oil-dependent farming, industrial livestock operations, the clearing of carbon-storing fields and forests, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the combustion of fuel to process and distribute food are estimated to be responsible for as much as one-half of human-caused pollution. Climate change, while partly a consequence of the excessive relocation of carbon and other elements from the earth into the atmosphere, is more fundamentally just one symptom of overall ecosystem distress from centuries of over-tilling, over-grazing, over-burning, over-hunting, over-fishing and deforestation. Big Ag's toxin-laden, nutrient-poor food is also a major contributor to the U.S. obesity epidemic and many other diseases. Yet these are the industries getting the largest subsidies from U.S. taxpayers, to the tune of more than $20 billion annually. We don't hear about this for the same reason that they get the subsidies they have massively funded lobbies capable of bribing their way into special treatment. The story we do hear, as Judith Schwartz observes inThe Guardian, is, "Climate change is global warming caused by too much CO2 in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels. We stop climate change by making the transition to renewable energy." Schwartz does not discount this part of the story but points to several problems with it: "One is the uncomfortable fact that even if, by some miracle, we could immediately cut emissions to zero, due to inertia in the system it would take more than a century for CO2 levels to drop to 350 parts per million, which is considered the safe threshold. Plus, here's what we don't talk about when we talk about climate: we can all go solar and drive electric cars and still have the problems the unprecedented heat waves, the wacky weather that we now associate with CO2-driven climate change." But that hasn't stopped investors, who see the climate crisis as simply another profit opportunity. According to a study by Morgan Stanley analysts reported inForbes in October, halting global warming and reducing net carbon emissions to zero would take an investment of $50 trillion over the next three decades, including $14 trillion for renewables; $11 trillion to build the factories, batteries and infrastructure necessary for a widespread switch to electric vehicles; $2.5 trillion for carbon capture and storage; $20 trillion to provide clean hydrogen fuel for power, cars and other industries, and $2.7 trillion for biofuels. The article goes on to highlight the investment opportunities presented by these challenges by recommending various big companies expected to lead the transition, including Exxon, Chevron, BP, General Electric, Shell and similar corporate giants many of them the very companies blamed by Green New Deal advocates for the crisis. A Truly Green New Deal There is a much cheaper and faster way to sequester carbon from the atmosphere that doesn't rely on these corporate giants to transition us to 100% renewables. Additionally, it can be done while at the same time reducing the chronic diseases that impose an even heavier cost on citizens and governments. Our most powerful partner is nature itself, which over hundreds of millions of years has evolved the most efficient carbon sequestration system on the planet. As David Perry writes on the World Economic Forum website: Next Page 1 | 2

As we head into the new year and the kickoff to the Roaring Twenties 2.0 (and they will roar), policymakers will be faced with some incredibly important decisions. Several issues will take center stage, ones with the potential to significantly shape our future, from immigration reform to college-loan debt. Certainly, one of the biggest will be the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Although the outcome is nearly certain—there aren’t enough Senate votes to remove the president from office—the issue will steal the air from other issues until the trial is concluded. Post-trial, here are some issues likely to dominate 2020. Each represents a fork in the road, and the direction the nation chooses will be critical. • Immigration: Trump could roll out a new immigration plan as we head toward the elections. In addition to trying to secure more funding for desperately needed border security, a part of the plan could include another attempt at creating a merit-based legal immigration system, rather than one that’s based primarily on family ties. A system that favors applicants with desirable job skills would shift legal immigration’s focus from being centered on the desires of immigrants to being centered on the needs of the American people and our economy. A merit-based system also more easily allows “patriotic assimilation,” creating a more unified nation, rather than one divided into special-interest groups based on where we came from. • Election integrity: With the 2020 elections coming, citizens must be assured that the electoral process for federal, state and local elections is fair. Although many on the left deny it, voter fraud exists. Even the U.S. Supreme Court has noted that voter fraud is a clearly documented part of our nation’s history. Unfortunately, politicians and advocacy groups on the left continue to fight laws that require an ID to vote. They’ve even sued states that have tried to purge voter rolls of people registered in multiple jurisdictions who could vote more than once in an election. Moreover, the push to eliminate the Electoral College would increase the influence of large urban centers at the expense of small states and rural areas, striking at our constitutional structure that balances the rule of the majority with protections for minority interests and state governments. • Education: Politicians have floated proposals of free college tuition for all and loan forgiveness for everyone carrying college debt. They are characterized as “investments in our future,” but the reality is, they would be a suffocating financial burden on every taxpayer, especially middle- and lower-income citizens. There’s also an inherent unfairness to forcing Americans who couldn’t afford to go to college themselves to pay off the loans of those who could. One also has to question what kind of return taxpayers would get for their “investment.” Many colleges are indoctrinating students into a socialist, “America is evil” ideology, and often students graduate unprepared for a career and unable to pay off the enormous college debt they accumulated. Forty percent of those who start college don’t even finish within six years. Despite these issues, because federal loan money is handed out with little scrutiny as to students’ ability to pay it back, colleges have had free rein to raise prices at rates often double that of inflation. In addition, more than 1 million people default on their loans annually, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab. “Free” college tuition would only make things worse. • China: Under the brutal governance of the Chinese Communist Party, China presents a combination of risks our nation has never before faced. Chinese authorities direct attacks on our government cyber networks, steal the intellectual property of our companies, and threaten the travel of ships and planes in and over international waters. The authoritarian regime is also spending enormous amounts of money to build up its offensive military machine. As U.S. policymakers start to pay more attention to China’s threats, we can expect to see more recommendations for rebuilding America’s military to keep China’s in check. Moreover, while the national security threat is very real, because so many raw materials and finished goods come from China, the U.S. will continue attempting to build more positive trade relations with the country. Besides being good for Americans economically, a better trade relationship also serves as a deterrent to Chinese aggression, since there’s little incentive to attack a major market for its goods. What we do about any one of these issues in 2020—China, electoral integrity, education, or immigration—could represent a major turning point for America. From safeguarding the right to vote to protecting the nation from foreign aggression to deciding whether more taxpayer money is the solution to rising college debt, the new year will certainly provide several opportunities to make pivotal decisions about America’s future. Originally published by The Washington Times

1484451748_1484325303

John Robinson, Mallacoota, fires, Gippsland, CFA, volunteers, district 17, wimmera Update 4.30pm Friday: Photos from Stawell CFA captain Grant Wells show the backburning the Grampians strike team is undertaking in Orbost. Saturday will be a day of Total Fire Bans across eastern Victoria, with temperatures set to reach 38 degrees in Orbost. Update 5pm Thursday: Twenty-eight CFA volunteers from across District 16 are heading to East Gippsland on a three-day deployment. Among them is Stawell brigade captain Grant Wells, who told the Mail-Times there were four volunteers from Stawell and five from Ararat in the strike team. "We are going to be based in Orbost fighting the bushfire there," he said. "It has burned to the edge of the town close to the Princess Highway and populated areas. Guys from Beaufort, Skipton, St Arnaud and Snake Valley also put their hands up to be on this deployment." Ararat brigade captain Rob Starrick said the group would return on Sunday. He said most of his volunteers going to Gippsland had been on at least one other deployment, some of them to fight bushfires in New South Wales late last year. "We have a total fire ban on Friday so we have to man our town as well," he said. "If we get a call for a strike team to go to Lexton or the Horsham area we have one ready for that too." 2pm: "THERE is no let up. The smoke in the eyes is quite stinging and you can't get away from it." This is the assessment of John Robinson, a Wimmera Country Fire Authority volunteer charged with running the airbase at Mallacoota in Victoria's far east. The isolated coastal town near the New South Wales border has been ravaged by one of several bushfires burning out of control in the Gippsland region RELATED: Defence to rescue 500 people in Victoria bushfire region Cr Robinson, of Horsham Rural City, said on Thursday the town and airfield were completely covered in smoke. He said he was one of six CFA volunteers from District 17 shipped to Bairnsdale on Boxing Day. "As officers in the Incident Control Centre there, we were tasking helicopters and fixed wing aircraft in response to calls from the firefighters on the ground and to our own aerial observations," he said. "They then sent me by police helicopter (to Mallacoota) on Wednesday, because they had no knowledge of the condition of the airport, to work out what resources and infrastructure would be required should the need arise to move a substantial number of people out of the area. RELATED: One dead, 17 missing in bushfires "All sides of the airport have been burnt, and trees are still smouldering." Cr Robinson said when he arrived in Mallacoota, "up to 3000" people were on a beach to get away from the fire. "A lot of houses have been destroyed and I had to drive around fire to get into town from the airport," he said. Cr Robinson said some groups of people were "determined to stay" despite the fires. RELATED: Australia's catastrophic 2019/20 bushfire season at a glace "You talk to some tourist operators and a lot of them would like to go - I guess they're looking at the weather charts for the next three days," he said. "I think the other sense is if a lot of the tourists left that would give the locals more chance to start some of the recovery process, so there are mixed feelings. "The conundrum here is lots of people here are tourists and if they leave here they leave behinds tents and cars, and they will have to get back at some stage to recover them." Cr Robinson said he expected to leave Mallacoota by helicopter on Friday. CFA District 17 Operations Officer Alfred Mason said another contingent of volunteers from the region would leave for Gippsland on Monday. He said how many was yet to be determined. While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below. https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/alexander.darling/9e3098b1-aa9e-4ade-98ff-59cb458318e0_rotated_270.jpeg/r0_1235_3024_2944_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

There are grave fears for 17 people missing in Victoria's massive, deadly East Gippsland bushfires. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Thursday none of the 17 people missing in the region are emergency services personnel. The increased number comes after family members confirmed Buchan man Mick Roberts had died at his home. "There are at least 17 people that at this stage we cannot account for. Their whereabouts are unknown to us, plus there is one person confirmed as deceased," Andrews told reporters at Bairnsdale. "Whilst Victoria Police have not been through the official identification processes, it is clear that the Roberts family have identified Mr Roberts and we send our condolences to their family and the Buchan community to whom he was so well-known and very highly regarded." READ MORE: * Naval ship arrives at Mallacoota to evacuate people as bushfires cut off town * Lives lost, homes destroyed as deadly bushfires rage in Australia * Naval ships, aircraft ready for Australia bushfire rescues as thousands jump in water to flee flames * 'Out of control': Volunteer firefighters in Australia demand income support, equipment Andrews did not narrow down what communities of East Gippsland the missing people are from. "It may be some of those people are safe but we hold very significant fears for the welfare of anybody who is missing at this time," he said. AP In this image made from video, an aerial scene shows fires burning and smoke rising close to properties in Bundoora, Victoria, on Monday. The fires are expected to last for weeks. The military has arrived to get fire victims across the region relief and resources, and also off the beach at Mallacoota. About 24 communities are isolated and reaching them to deliver supplies have been difficult. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government was offering any assistance requested. "Our task has been to fully support and provide whatever assistance is necessary through all the various agencies of the Commonwealth," he told reporters in Sydney. AP Bushfires are raging across Australia, with at least 16 people killed across the country since they began. "The provision of disaster payments that have now exceeded some more than A$21 million in New South Wales alone and we expect more of that to continue in Victoria as the full devastation of the fires there becomes more evident." All fires in Victoria are currently sitting no higher than a watch and act alert, but smoky conditions have meant flights to rescue people, deliver supplies and swap out firefighters have at times been stopped. Firefighters are being helped on Thursday by moderate conditions, with temperatures in East Gippsland in the low to mid 20s expected to be paired with fairly light winds of up to 20 kmh. AP An aerial scene shows destroyed properties after a wildfire in East Grippsland, Victoria, on Wednesday. Australia deployed military ships and aircraft to help communities ravaged by the fires. But the mercury is forecast to creep up in the region on Friday, before reaching the 40s on Saturday, when the heat, hot winds and possible thunderstorms will increase the risk of new fires. People near the Corryong fire in Victoria's northeast near the NSW border are being doorknocked and told to get out of the region before the weekend.

1484035215_1484014342

Hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signaled that his country is developing a “new strategic weapon” and could soon resume testing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, President Donald Trump appeared to shrug off the potential threat — saying at a New Year’s Eve party that Kim “likes me” and is a “man of his word.” Kim — as reported by Korean Central News Agency, the state mouthpiece — said on Wednesday local time that he no longer felt obliged to stick to a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing, which he said Pyongyang has abided by for the past two years. The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of engaging in “gangster-like acts,” such as continuing to hold joint military drills with South Korea. Under such conditions, Kim said, there is no reason for Pyongyang to remain “unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer.” Kim did not go so far as to say that he was ditching nuclear negotiations with the U.S., which have stalled since 2018 when Trump and Kim made vague promises to work toward denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula during a summit in Singapore. But Kim “confirmed that the world will witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by [North Korea] in the near future,” KCNA reported, without elaborating on the type of weapon it would be. “I think he’s a man of his word,” Trump says of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pic.twitter.com/bYQLXeBYPA — QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) January 1, 2020 Asked about Kim’s strong rhetoric at a New Year’s Eve bash held at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort, on Tuesday night, the president said only that he and Kim “get along” and had come to certain agreements in Singapore. “He likes me, I like him, we get along,” Trump said when asked about Kim’s remarks from earlier in the day. Pyongyang is 14 hours ahead of Palm Beach. “He did sign a contract, he did sign an agreement talking about denuclearization. ... That was done in Singapore, and I think he’s a man of his word, so we’re going to find out, but I think he’s a man of his word,” Trump continued. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CBS News earlier in the day that it would be “deeply disappointing” if Kim “reneged on the commitments he made to President Trump.” “He made those commitments to President Trump in exchange for President Trump agreeing not to conduct large-scale military exercises,” Pompeo said. “We’ve lived up to our commitments. We continue to hold out hope that he will live up to his as well.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warns of new strategic weapon North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world in the face of “gangster-like” U.S. sanctions and pressure, according to North Korean state media. Kim also said that the nation would no longer be “unilaterally bound” to a moratorium on tests of nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The North’s state media said Wednesday that Kim made the comments during a four-day ruling party conference held through Tuesday in the capital city of Pyongyang, where he declared that the North will never give up its security for economic benefits in the face of what he described as increasing U.S. hostility and nuclear threats. Kim’s comments came after a months-long standoff between Washington and Pyongyang over disagreements involving disarmament steps and the removal of sanctions imposed on the North. “He said that we will never allow the impudent U.S. to abuse the DPRK-U.S. dialogue for meeting its sordid aim but will shift to a shocking actual action to make it pay for the pains sustained by our people so far and for the development so far restrained,” the Korean Central News Agency said, referring to the North by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Kim added that “if the U.S. persists in its hostile policy toward the DPRK, there will never be the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the DPRK will steadily develop necessary and prerequisite strategic weapons for the security of the state until the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy,” according to the agency. But Kim showed no clear indication of abandoning negotiations with the United States entirely, or restarting tests of nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles he had suspended under a self-imposed moratorium in 2018. He did issue a warning that there would be no grounds for the North to get “unilaterally bound” to the moratorium any longer, criticizing the United States for continuing its joint military exercises with rival South Korea and also providing the South with advanced weaponry. “In the past two years alone when the DPRK took preemptive and crucial measures of halting its nuclear test and ICBM test-fire and shutting down the nuclear-test ground for building confidence between the DPRK and the U.S., the U.S., far from responding to the former with appropriate measures, conducted tens of big and small joint military drills which its president personally promised to stop and threatened the former militarily through the shipment of ultra-modern warfare equipment into (South Korea),” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to the report in an interview with CBS News Tuesday night. “I was there when Chairman Kim made the commitment that said he would not engage in intercontinental ballistic missiles or test firing of their nuclear weapons, testing their nuclear weapons systems,” Pompeo told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett. “He made those commitments to President Trump in exchange for President Trump agreeing not to conduct large-scale military exercises. We’ve lived up to our commitments. We continue to hold out hope that he’ll live up to his as well.” Some experts say North Korea, which has always been sensitive about electoral changes in U.S. government, will avoid engaging in serious negotiations for a deal with Washington in coming months as it watches how Trump’s impending impeachment trial over his dealings with Ukraine affects U.S. presidential elections in November. Kim and President Donald Trump have met three times since June 2018, but negotiations have faltered since the collapse of their second summit last February in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim’s speech followed months of intensified testing activity and belligerent statements issued by various North Korean officials, raising concerns that he was reverting to confrontation and preparing to do something provocative if Washington doesn’t back down and relieve sanctions. The North announced in December that it performed two “crucial” tests at its long-range rocket launch site that would further strengthen its nuclear deterrent, prompting speculation that it was developing an intercontinental ballistic missile or planning a satellite launch that would provide an opportunity to advance its missile technologies. North Korea also last year ended a 17-month pause in ballistic activity by testing a slew of solid-fuel weapons that potentially expanded its capabilities to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including U.S. military bases there. Author: CBS News Do you see a typo or an error? Let us know

1483805456_1484014772

January 01, 2020 11:14 IST 'What amazes me the most is that today users communicate with voice-activated speakers like as if they were talking to another human being, using words like "please," and "thank you," and even "sorry"!', says advertising guru Sandeep Goyal. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: By 2020, 50% of all searches across the Internet will be voice-based. The one big trend that will dominate the decade of 2020 is the emergence of voice as a potent force in the digital world of tomorrow. Most would be surprised to know that by 2020, 50% of all searches across the Internet will be voice-based. Also, by 2020, 30% of all searches will be done using a device without a screen. At one end of the spectrum, 40% of the adults now use mobile voice search at least once daily. At the other end, 20% of the adults use mobile voice search at least once monthly. The two extremes are coming together faster than anyone ever imagined. What's even more surprising is that 9% of the 55 to 64 age-group also use mobile voice search. Both globally, and in India. Today, 20% of the searches worldwide on a mobile device are voice-based. 25% of all the queries on Android devices, in fact, are voice-based. Reliance Jio alone has 90 million users of Google Assistant today. What's more, 60% of smartphone users across the world have tried voice search at least once in the past 12 months. And yes, 55% of teenagers are using voice search on a daily basis. Photograph: Ashish Narsale/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Today users communicate with voice-activated speakers like as if they were talking to another human being. Already, 22% of houses in the US have smart speakers; by 2022 this number will exceed 55 per cent! But what amazes me the most is that today users communicate with voice-activated speakers like as if they were talking to another human being, using courtesy words like "please," and "thank you," and even "sorry"! Interestingly, we search with voice just like we speak. No wonder, voice search queries are longer than regular text-based searches. Voice search queries tend to have three-to-five keywords in length, compared to one or two words in text search. So, come 2020, there is going to be a whole new paradigm shift triggered by the enhanced, and consistently growing, usage of voice in things digital. Now to video, the other major driving force that will dominate 2020, and beyond. As per a Cisco report, by 2020 there will be close to 1 million minutes of video crossing the Internet per second. Video is expected to make up 82% of Internet traffic by 2021. By 2022, online videos will make up more than 84% of all consumer Internet traffic -- 15 times higher than it was in 2017. In the past 10 years, mobile video consumption has risen by 100%, year-on-year. Can statistics tell a bigger story of what the future holds? Today, more than 8,000 million videos are viewed on Facebook every day. In 2020, the big leap forward will be the virtual reality video. Facebook's new Horizon social VR platform alone will phenomenally expand the experience of travel and event participation. This is already evident in the 360-degree videos of National Geographic that are transforming sensory experiences like never before. It is in keeping with these apertures and opportunities that research agency Kantar reported that 84% of marketers plan to increase their investment in online video advertising over the next 12 months. Photograph: Ashish Narsale/ Rediff.com IMAGE: In the past 10 years, mobile video consumption has risen by 100%, year-on-year. But why is video important? Well, for starters, 97% marketers assert that video helps them increase user understanding of their products and services. 81% of businesses in 2020 are, therefore, most likely to use video as a marketing tool (up from 61% in 2019). The reasons are not far to seek. 46% of users act after viewing a video ad. And if they enjoy the video their purchase intent increases by a whopping 97%. Research shows that including a video on a Web site's landing page can boost conversion rates by up to 80%. For those who require any more convincing: Tracking studies show that a Web site is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video. Video, in fact, increases organic search traffic on a Web site by 157%. In 2020, a voice content strategy will no longer be optional for brands. Voice in the decade ahead will revolve around 'youtility' marketing... how it can prove to be a real and compelling utility for you... not just rooted in information and in being ever-helpful, but in using more complex API-driven interactions that will enhance consumer experience through more layers of specificity and nuance. The insight on video, going forward, simply is that users do not always watch a video with the intention of buying something, now or later. But watching video leads to discovery. And triggering of intent. Leading to evaluation. Finally purchase. So, video is a critical part of every stage in the customer journey. And brands have no choice but to participate in that journey. In 2020, and after. So, the dawn of the new decade is going to be about the 2Vs that will drive another very important V... Voice and Video that will drive consumer Value for brands.

The financial perks of going solar By: Pat Mertz Esswein Posted on: January 01, 2020 Ivica Bilich and Jennifer Twiggs, of Charlotte, North Carolina, love their house’s solar panels. “When I pull up to my house on a sunny day and see the panels, they look like a slot machine dropping money on my front porch,” Bilich said. The couple had been thinking about going solar for years, but in the fall of 2018, the numbers — a combination of falling costs and incentives — finally made sense. A local solar installer proposed a system that cost $20,000 before any incentives. The couple learned they would get a federal tax credit of $6,000 — 30% of the cost of the system — and a $4,320 rebate from Duke Energy. The incentives reduced their total cost to $9,680. “It was a no-brainer for us,” Twiggs said. The case for going solar Homeowners have been installing solar panels at a record pace, taking advantage of falling prices and the federal tax credit, which is slated to be phased out by 2022. Solar panels are getting more powerful, more efficient and cheaper every year, according to industry experts. The average household will recoup the cost of their system in just over seven years. Consider your house’s site If you pay a high electric rate and live in a sunny location, there’s a compelling case for going solar. For an estimate of the cost and benefit of adding solar panels to your home, use the EnergySage Solar Calculator. It uses a combination of satellite imagery (to see your roof, its size and orientation to the sun), data you provide about your electricity bill, real-time cost data from solar firms in your area, and its own proprietary formulas. EnergySage recently launched the EnergySage Buyer’s Guide, which allows consumers to easily search, filter and compare solar equipment (panels, inverters and solar batteries) based on quality rating, aesthetics, performance and pricing. In most states, homeowners whose systems produce more electricity than they use can send the excess to the utility’s electric grid and receive credit on their electric bill. (To see what incentives your state offers, visit dsireusa.org.) Ways to pay A decade ago, a residential system cost $40,000 to $60,000, according to Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage.com, and solar financing wasn’t available. Today, with the cost of a typical system running $18,300 before the tax credit and incentives, two-thirds of homeowners have purchased their systems outright. Buying your system will maximize the financial benefit, but third-party ownership [where the installer owns the panels and you pay them monthly for using them or for the energy they generate] can still reduce your electric bills. With third-party ownership, the solar firm benefits directly from the tax credit, not you — though it may pass along a lower cost to you. If you don’t own your panels, you’ll see 15% to 30% lower utility bills, Aggarwal said. But if you pay for a system with cash, you’ll enjoy 100% of the savings — after you recoup the cost of the system. If you want to finance your system, tapping a home-equity line of credit is a good way to do it. The debt is deductible because it’s secured by your home and the panels are a substantial home improvement. In 2020, the tax credit drops from 30% down to 26%; in 2021, it falls to 22%. After that, it disappears. © 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

1484011425_1484318185

‘Tell them that we Christians exist. We are the bridge between East and West,” said Felomain Nassar-Batshone, program manager, at International Orthodox Christian Charities, Amman, Jordan. The story never changes. Whenever ISIS terrorists approach an Iraqi or Syrian village, Christians are given a fateful choice: They can stay and pay a tax to ISIS. They can convert to Islam. They can be martyred as Christians. Or, they flee. We Americans would do well to remind ourselves that these Christians are the original church. They are in the cradle of Christianity. They are from the part of the world where the Good News was born and raised from the dead. These Christians also know that ISIS is but the latest attempt since the 1915 Armenian Genocide to rid the land of its resilient Christian community. Last summer, they fled with nothing but the clothes on their back. A year later, that’s still all they have. Basim Alqassab, a Nineveh Plain Christian now in Amman, told me, “We live without salaries or hope of return to our homes. Our hearts feel fatigued and distressed with sadness and injustice.” The only thing certain is their faith. In the last seven months, I have visited the region four times, traveling through northern Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan. I have met hundreds of Christians living amidst terrible conditions. In each and every case—where it would be so easy to feel the absence of God—they declare themselves closer to God. I met with the Jan and Yousef families in northern Amman, where the 14 members of their families live in a small apartment that they cannot afford with zero opportunity to return, work, or emigrate. They are Syrian Orthodox Christians from Mosul, Iraq, and they cannot provide for themselves. Yet, they said, “Everything on this planet will fade away. But Jesus Christ will never fail.” In my visit to the small village of Anone, along the Iraqi-Turkish border, I met Fadia, who summed up the perspective of these Christians by saying, “My faith is stronger. We only have God now. Tell [Americans] I live every day with a smile and as if it is my last.” This kind of transcendent trust is humbling. It also challenges each of us to work—spiritually, financially, and politically—toward a solution. I can never forget my short visit with Sarah, a 95-year-old Christian from Qaraqosh on the Nineveh Plain, just 30 miles from where I met her in an Erbil shelter. "I didn't want to be here at this age. I want to be in my home," she said. She went home—to God—in March. A Simple and Complex Plan Here are three things that we as Christians should pray for, so that safety will return to Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East: Rescue. The greatest need is cash assistance. Christians need cash for rent, medicine, and education in the absence of an opportunity to work. Restore. There is a tremendous need to restore lives by restoring trust and addressing trauma. It is imperative that different ethnic and religious groups be in dialogue with each other about their common needs, both—now and if they should return to their homes, as trust is rebuilt. One way to restore trust is through education. Traumatized kids may learn from each other. In Marka, Jordan, Canon Andrew White has started a new school. Originally planned for 135 children, ages 5 to 14, the school now serves 250 refugee children. In Kurdistan, Iraq, we are working to create a new partnership that will holistically address trauma, especially gender-based violence.

» 05/03/2010 09:56 IRAQ Car bomb targets Christian student’s bus near Mosul The toll is one dead and 100 wounded. For over five years the University of Mosul has been in the sights of Islamic extremists who want to convert students and kill the girls who do not wear the veil. Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Another targeted attack on the Christian minority. Iraqi police said the two attacks took place yesterday in the north, where the community decimated by years of religious persecution now live en masse. The attackers used a car bomb and improvised explosive device, detonated by the passage of buses carrying students residing in the town of Hamdaniya, 40 km east of Mosul. The toll is of 100 wounded and one person dead, a Christian, owner of a shop located near the site of the explosions. The students, all Christians, "we were traveling by bus from the University of Mosul, despite constant threats under which they live," said Nissan Karoumi, Mayor of Hamdaniya. For over five years the University of Mosul has been in the sights of Islamic extremist groups fighting for the conversion of young students. Often leaflets circulate in the university that promise to "kill every Iraqi woman who does not wear the veil" and anyone wearing "Western" clothes. Mosul itself has long been the most dangerous area of Iraq for the Christian minority. The Diaspora increases daily and many now argue that the city may soon become completely Muslim, if authorities do not take serious measures to curb the violence and punish those responsible for attacks that mostly remain unknown. The political and sectarian tension is rising and the parliamentary elections of 7 March, have not yet shown a real winner. The country is in the grips of a power vacuum, while the various factions fight for a place in the new government, under pressure from rival outside powers like Iran and Saudi Arabia.

1484455112_1484095819

HYDERABAD: A 37-year-old woman from Chennai, who set herself ablaze outside Panjagutta police station on Tuesday, succumbed to burns on Wednesday while undergoing treatment at Osmania General Hospital. She had suffered 78% burnsFollowing the death of Lokeshwari, police altered the case from Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide ) to sections 417 and 420 (cheating) and 306 (abetting the commission of suicide) of the IPC. A case was booked against Praveen Kumar, the city-based businessman, and her partner. Police teams went to his house in Warasiguda but it was locked.On Tuesday night, Lokeshwari’s dying declaration was recorded by a magistrate at the hospital. Before setting herself on fire, Lokeshwari wrote a petition addressing Panjagutta police. “She stated that Praveen had duped her. Lokeshwari alleged that Praveen exploited her by promising to marry her,” Panjagutta ACP Tirupatanna said.Lokeshwari married Srinivas in 2000. He deserted her a few years later. In 2012, she met Praveen, a mining businessman. In 2013, Praveen set up a jewellery store in Somajiguda and appointed Lokeshwari as its manager. In 2014, Praveen lodged a complaint against Lokeshwari alleging that she stole 23.5 tola gold from the shop. Lokeshwari was arrested and later they made a compromise at the Lok Adalat.“In the petition, Lokeshwari claimed that Praveen had promised to give Rs 7.5 lakh to her as he had lodged a false theft case against her and got her personal jewellery worth Rs 7.5 lakh. As Praveen was avoiding her, Lokeshwari got vexed and ended her life,” the ACP said.

The 37-year-old woman who allegedly set herself on fire at Panjagutta Police Station died on Tuesday midnight. The woman S. Lokeshwari suffered over 80% burns. Police said that she disclosed to them that mental and physical harassment by a person S Praveen Kumar led her to take the extreme step. In 2000, the woman got married to Srinivas of Chennai. Srinivas deserted her after they had a daughter, and died in 2015. Meanwhile, in 2012, she got acquainted with Praveen Kumar in Tirupati, which led to love. They moved to Hyderabad in 2013 and stayed at a rented home in BS Maqta. He promised to marry Lokeshwari even though he knew she has a daughter. Lokeshwari used to work as a manager in Praveen Kumar’s jewellery store in Somajiguda and looked after it when he went to other countries for work, said Panjagutta Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Thirupathanna. In June of 2014, Praveen lodged a complaint against Lokeshwari and others regarding gold ornaments and cash which were missing from his store. She, along with her associates, were arrested by police who recovered the missing ornaments and cash. The case was charged and they settled the matter in December 2014. There on, Praveen started to avoid Lokeshwari. She stayed in Hyderabad for some time and went to Chennai in 2017. The ACP said that Lokeshwari visited Hyderabad along with her house owner P Arasakannan on December 27, 2019. On the same evening, she lodged a complaint against Praveen alleging that he cheated her and requested to recover ₹ 7.5 lakh from him. Based on her complaint , Panjagutta police sub-inspector B Vijay Bhaskar Reddy asked Praveen to come to the police station for inquiry. Denying allegations levelled by Lokeshwari, Praveen sought time as he was on business tour to Bengaluru. “She purchased two litres of petrol on December 31 from a petrol pump by showing her Aadhaar card, concealed it in her bag and started to search for Praveen in Panjagutta. But she did not find him,” the ACP said, adding that she attempted to end her life as she was mentally disturbed because of the alleged harassment and cheating by Praveen. She doused herself in petrol, set herself on fire at Punjagutta bus stop and ran into the Police Station premises. Constables put off the fire and rushed her to Osmania General Hospital. The Police said that a constable M Mounika recorded Lokeshwari’s statement at the hospital on Tuesday night. Police registered cases under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 420 (cheating) and 417 (Punishment for cheating) and took up investigation. After post-mortem examination, her body was preserved at the hospital’s mortuary as her relatives could not afford to take her body to their native place for final rites.

1484188966_1484188954

Sarah Tew/CNET CES 2020 Gamers who've been around since the days of Atari may find it hard to believe that games today are of the same stock: games that started with a few beeps and bouncing lights have evolved into complex narratives with graphics so sharp you can see a character's every eyelash. While developers continue to improve games' graphics, the hardware is naturally getting better, too. But what if the new trend is high-quality games without hardware? In the next few years, it's becoming less likely that you'll need a console at all to play video games -- a trend we expect to see highlighted at CES 2020 in Las Vegas next week. The year 2019 saw a huge shift toward cloud gaming platforms, which let users play games online across various devices through a host gaming server. Google, Microsoft and Apple over the last year all launched gaming services that don't require consoles, and it's quite likely that we'll see other tech and gaming titans tossing their hats into the cloud gaming ring in 2020. (That said, consoles will be getting a new lease on life later in 2020 with the expected arrival of Sony's PlayStation 5.) Technically not a cloud gaming service, Apple Arcade launched in September. With a $4.99 (£4.99, AU$7.99) monthly subscription, users get access to over 100 games that are playable on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Some games have started rolling out for Mac as well. Apple Arcade makes casual play easy wherever you are and doesn't require an expensive console purchase. Instead, subscribers download games from the App Store. Google's cloud gaming service, Google Stadia, launched in November, offering console gamers a serious gaming option, minus the console. Though Stadia still has some kinks to work out, CNET's Scott Stein's review of Stadia says the service works over TVs, laptops and Pixel phones, the controller is comfortable to hold and it's easy to resume saved games when swapping devices -- delivering on some of the promise of cloud gaming. The early-edition Founder's pack costs $120. The pack includes a Stadia controller, a Chromecast Ultra, a short USB-C-to-C cable, a Destiny 2 game download and three months of a $10-per-month Stadia Pro subscription service, which is needed to access of all of Stadia's online features. A more affordable version of Stadia, along with some major game titles, is due out in 2020. Read more: Google Stadia vs. Microsoft xCloud: The battle for cloud gaming Microsoft's Project xCloud gaming service could give Stadia some hot competition -- CNET's Oscar Gonzalez calls it "the cloud gaming service to watch." Though xCloud is still in preview, Microsoft plans to release more features in 2020. The service is meant to be an extension of Microsoft's consoles, and the company said it would be integral to its next console, the Xbox Series X. Project xCloud's unlimited storage space means that players can access Xbox games without having to download them -- a major benefit. New platforms on display at CES 2020 will likely give us a closer look at this trend. For example, iiRcade says it's the first standup arcade game with a built-in online game store platform for downloading a library of new and classic titles. While it's not full cloud gaming, iiRcade demonstrates one of the ways that cloud gaming can be tweaked for multiple gaming mediums. Gaming isn't a one-size-fits-all experience, but few people would turn their nose up at a more convenient or accessible experience. Cloud gaming opens more possibilities and audiences -- whether the console is removed from the equation or serves as an extension of the playing experience. While it's unlikely that we'll see consoles disappear completely, cloud gaming is already shaking up the industry.

James Martin/CNET This story is part of CNET's coverage of Apple Arcade, including exclusive first looks we got at some of the service's high-profile new games. In 2019, Apple took steps beyond premium device hardware and software and firmly established itself as a services powerhouse -- particularly when it comes to gaming. The tech giant came out swinging in September with its dedicated gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade. With a $4.99 (£4.99, AU$7.99) monthly subscription, users get access to over 100 games that are playable on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Some games have started rolling out for Mac as well. Here's the video of the reveal from Apple's spring event in case you missed it: Now playing: Watch this: Apple reveals Apple Arcade, a new subscription gaming... Apple Arcade so far Apple's first foray into subscription gaming has been well-received: From the start, it marketed itself as an accessible gaming platform. It was released in September alongside iOS 13's public beta with multiple games ready to play. By November, the Apple Arcade catalog had grown to more than 100 games, with more released every week. All games are exclusive to Apple Arcade on on iOS -- you can't get them on the wider App Store, though some are on other platforms -- and they're all free of ads or in-app purchases. They include Noodlecake's The Enchanted World, Snowman's Where Cards Fall and Annapurna Interactive's Sayonara Wild Hearts (which was named Apple Arcade Game of the Year). Apple's growing catalog includes something for everyone with genres for puzzle games, family games, mystery games, nostalgic games and more. Just this week it dropped the arcade sports mashup Ultimate Rivals: The Rink, announced at The Game Awards in a sign that Apple is trying to appeal to core gamers. Three of the five nominees for Best Mobile Game at the glitzy awards show are on Apple Arcade, too: Sayonara Wild Hearts, Grindstone and What the Golf? Read more: Apple Arcade review: Mobile gaming gets a massive upgrade for $5 a month CNET got exclusive looks at some of the games like The Enchanted World, Where Cards Fall and Shinsekai into the Depths. Now playing: Watch this: Apple Arcade exclusive preview: Shinsekai Into the Depths Some games we're still looking forward to include The Pathless, also from Annapurna Interactive, Revolution Software's Beyond a Steel Sky and Little Orpheus from The Chinese Room. Apple Arcade vs. Google Stadia: No comparison Apple Arcade looked like it was going to give Stadia, Google's new cloud-gaming platform, a run for its money, but when examined closer, it doesn't make sense to compare the two services. Whether you chose Apple Arcade or Google Stadia depends on what type of gamer you are. Stadia is geared toward serious gamers who are invested in major series like Destiny, Assassin's Creed, Wolfenstein or Final Fantasy. (And even they should probably hold off, at least for a while.) But if you're looking for something for you or your family to play on a weekend, Apple Arcade is probably the better option. While Stadia still has games to add, Apple Arcade has established itself as a lifestyle gaming service from Day 1. There's also the price benefit: For a casual gamer, or someone with kids who impatiently jump from game to game, Arcade costs $60 a year, while many new games for Stadia and other platforms cost $60 each. On the downside, you won't see popular, "AAA" games on Arcade like those released on Stadia. But if you're looking for fun, inventive mobile games with a lot of variety, you likely won't miss those major titles anyway. Sarah Tew/CNET What Arcade means for Apple A dedicated gaming service is new territory for Apple, but the subscription aspect isn't entirely surprising. The tech giant has been slowly laying the building blocks when it comes to services: This year it launched its Apple Card credit card, Apple TV Plus subscription streaming service and Apple News Plus news subscription service. Among all of these, Apple Arcade stands as the most polished service that offers the clearest value, CNET noted in its review. Apple also likely knows that mobile games and casual games are where most of the growth is in gaming, and planting the flag with Arcade will give it a bigger piece of that pie moving forward. Apple isn't a perfect company, but its executives have always appeared to plan, thoughtfully and unrushed, a few steps ahead. It's likely that we will see more subscriptions and services become available in 2020 from Apple and its competitors, as Apple Arcade's catalog of games continues to grow.

1484188413_1484105342

NYTimes Bret Stephens has written an article, What Will It Take to Beat Donald Trump? This is the kind of advice you would expect from a conservative Republican who was recruited from the Wall Street Journal. It's, nonsense, unless you're a Trumper or a Democratic centrist who doesn't believe that American can accomplish anything bold. Here's a sample: ...the progressive left's values seem increasingly hostile to mainstream ones, as suggested by the titanic row over J.K. Rowling's recent tweet defending a woman who was fired over her outspoken views on transgenderism. Third, the more the left rages about Trump and predicts nothing but catastrophe and conspiracy from him, the more out of touch it seems when the catastrophes don't happen and the conspiracy theories come up short. "In a contest between the unapologetic jerk in the White House and the self-styled saints seeking to unseat him, the jerk might just win. How to avoid that outcome? The most obvious point is not to promise a wrenching overhaul of the economy when it shows no signs of needing such an overhaul. So I wrote a comment in response: We have a conservative right-wing columnist telling Democrats what to do and how to win against Trump. That's questionable to begin with. He sounds just like Hillary Clinton and he lists the Centrist candidates who, I believe are really, Republicans light. People don't vote for Republicans light, or Democrats who act like Republicans. They vote for candidates who show that they care about the voters rather than the big dollar donors. We do not need someone who is afraid to take risks or make change happen. We do not need another can't-doist just like Hillary Clinton was, and like Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden are. These Centrists are people who don't believe in America, who are constantly saying that America can't do this, America is unable to do that. We need a candidate who believes in America and the American people, who will stand up for the middle class and the vast majority of Americans. We need a candidate who takes a stand, who has the courage to call for the real change that is desperately needed in America. That is the candidate who will defeat Trump and that is not Klobuchar or Buttiegieg or Biden.But the centrist Democrats fighting for their deck chairs on the Titanic, who are doing everything they can to sabotage progressives, would rather lose the election than allow a progressive to win. It's time for the millions of supporters of both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren make it really clear to the DNC and Democratic leadership that they have to cut this sh*t out, and that includes getting rid of Superdelegates completely, not the bogus ruse that pretends they do count count, because they only vote in the second round of the convention. The thing is, conservative Bret Stephens is saying the kind of stuff that the Centrist Democratic leaders and Centrist candidates Biden, Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Bloomberg are all trying to sell. It'll be interesting to see which of these candidates embrace what Stevens says. And I'd be very surprised if some of the Democratic leaders and the centrist Third Way don't also embrace this America can't do it mentality.

As for 2020, unemployment is at its lowest point in more than 60 years. The S&P 500 has tripled in the past decade. Wage growth, while still somewhat disappointing, is rising fastest for full-time low-income workers. In a vacuum, this would augur a reelection landslide for the sitting president. According to Cembalest’s index of economic strength—combining data on unemployment levels, home prices, per capita GDP, stock-market growth, and inflation—“Trump as an incumbent benefits from the strongest tailwinds” since 1896. (Bill Clinton’s reelection year of 1996 comes close, but unemployment and inflation were higher, and home values and the stock market were only on the cusp of their late-’90s boom.) Derek Thompson: The best economic news no one wants to talk about But Trump isn’t the only force of unprecedented-ness. If he loses to the current front-runner, Joe Biden will violate another soft law of American politics: the Rule of 14. As Jonathan Rauch wrote in The Atlantic: “No one gets elected president who needs longer than 14 years to get from his or her first gubernatorial or Senate victory to either the presidency or the vice presidency.” Zero political experience is just fine with Americans. But too much is not. In the past century, voters have subjected their candidates to a freshness test. And 14 years of political experience seems to be a kind of expiration date. Most impressive, the Rule of 14 predicted the narrow defeats of Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, both of whom lost elections 15 years and 10 months after their first days in the United States Senate. Biden, who leads almost every national poll, served as the senator from Delaware for 36 years, from 1973 until 2009, when he left his seat for the vice presidency. His 44 years of consecutive public service in Washington constitute one of the longest national tenures of any politician in American history. If Biden defeats Trump, the Rule of 14 won’t just get an asterisk; it will get a sledgehammer. Any of the other three top Democratic candidates would also represent historic firsts. If Trump loses, it is all but certain that we will elect either the oldest president ever or the youngest. Bernie Sanders (78), Biden (77), and Elizabeth Warren (70) would all be older on their first day in office than the current record-holder in the oldest-president-ever category, Donald Trump. At 70 years and 220 days old on his first inauguration day, Trump was the oldest president to be elected to a first term, although Reagan in his second term was the oldest sitting president. Pete Buttigieg, 37, would be younger on day one than either Teddy Roosevelt—who, at 42, became the youngest president, after William McKinley died—or John F. Kennedy, who, at 43, became our youngest president-elect. It’s always possible to find some narrow vertical in which a new president qualifies as a “first.” But gender, sexuality, and religion are all significant demographic markers. Warren would be the first female president, Buttigieg would be the first openly gay president, and Sanders would be the first Jewish president.

1484189036_1484919312

If you are a subscriber: Simply log in for unlimited access. If you are a nonsubscriber: You have used your free views allowed every 30 days. You must really value what we do for you. Try a digital subscription for only $0.99. Subscribe now.

I have a VM I am trying to clean up for backup and I can not compact it now. What I have done is : From VMware® Workstation 15 Pro : Linux VM 100gb disk not pre-allocated 40gb shown used in VM files (2gb really used on virtual disk) defragged disk (Worked) Took a while to complete Compacted disk (Worked 1st time) Took a while to complete Disks did not shrink at all I realized there was a snapshot so I deleted it.Took a while to complete. Now Disk says 88GB used ! (Still only 2gb of files on Virtual disk) Tried compact and defrag again and both finish immediately with no errors. Disk not compacted or shrunk at all. tried : # vmware-toolbox-cmd disk shrink / Shrink disk is disabled for this virtual machine. What is going on here ? This all used to work....

1484182174_1484178019

It will be a few more months before lights are installed at the East End skatepark. Will Thomas, 11, gets some air. There was meant to be light by summer, but one of New Plymouth's busiest skateparks will have to wait until March. The long-running $160,000 project to get lights installed at East End Skatepark, a stone's throw from the Coastal Walkway and the beach, was meant to be completed by this summer but has taken time to get off the ground. Councillor Stacey Hitchcock said the main goal was to have the lights in for daylight saving. Supplied The lights are planned for installation in March 2020. The project had been driven by the skateboarding fraternity itself, she said. READ MORE: * East End Skate Park to finally get its lights * Annual plan and fee increases discussed at meeting * Skaters get shady sails cut from park revamp designs "It came from the skaters; they were really excited about it." SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF The project was driven by the skateboarders themselves, councillor Stacey Hitchcock said. The lights will be activated by a button, which will turn them on until they slowly fade off after an hour. They will also shut off automatically by 9.30pm during the week, and 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. New Plymouth District Council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said in an emailed statement they are aiming to start construction in March, subject to contractor availability and technical challenges. "We've been working closely with the Taranaki Skateboarding Association (TSA) throughout this process and they understand that there's been a small delay while we've secured all the funding." SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF The lights were supposed to be in by the summer. Committee chairman Glenn Jeffrey, who also works part-time for the Taranaki Daily News, said there was "absolutely" a demand for the lights. "It was always going to be for those winter periods where it's dark at five o'clock and kids have finished their homework, and rather than sitting in front of the idiot box they can come down here and do their sport." There had been some pushback from neighbours, but under the District Plan light rules they did not need to consult on the work, and the light spill would be minimum, Jeffery said. They will also be seeking community funding to progress the later stages of the revamping project, such as a small area for kids who are learning and resurfacing the concrete.

New Yorkers braved the freezing cold water of the Atlantic for the 116th Annual Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. The temperature outside was about 40 degrees when dozens of people took part in the chilly tradition, wearing everything from summer swimsuits and floaties to elaborate homemade costumes. For many, it's as much a New Year's staple as the Times Square Ball Drop. "I do it for the fun of it! I've been doing it for 15 years,” said one man. “It's the greatest party around, better than last night,” said another. This year's event raised money to enrich the Coney Island community. To learn more visit polarbearclub.org.

1484009649_1483951110

Turkey may hold off from sending troops to Libya if forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar halt their offensive against the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and pull back, the Turkish vice president said on Wednesday.The Turkish parliament is due to debate and vote on a bill mandating the deployment of military forces to Libya on Thursday after Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) requested support as part of a military cooperation agreement."After the bill passed from the parliament...it might happen that we would see something different, a different stance, and they would say "okay, we are withdrawing, dropping the offensive,"" Fuat Oktay said in an interview with Andalou news agency. "Then, why would we go there?"Oktay also said that Ankara hoped the Turkish bill would send a deterrent message to the warring parties.Ankara has already sent military supplies to the GNA despite a United Nations embargo, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters, and has said it will continue to support it.Haftar's forces have received support from Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

France and Egypt called Monday for the “greatest restraint” by Libyan and international authorities to avoid escalating the conflict in Libya, a statement from President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. Advertising Read more Macron held talks late Sunday with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi when both agreed that warring Libyan powers need to negotiate a political solution under UN auspices. The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed readiness this month to send troops to Libya if requested by the country’s Government of National Accord (GNA). The GNA is backed by the UN, but the addition of Turkish troops could further inflame tensions in a country torn by the devastating campaign of strongman Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army. More than 140,000 Libyans have fled their homes since April when Haftar’s forces launched an assault on Tripoli. >> Exclusive: ICC chief prosecutor sends warning to Libyan strongman Haftar UN-sponsored talks on the conflict are set for January in Berlin to try to end the fighting, sparked by the NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Neighbouring countries like Egypt have been on high alert since then, not least against the potential for rival regional powers to exploit the turmoil. Macron and Sisi also criticised a recent deal between Turkey and Libya over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, calling it “against the rules of maritime law”. Critics say the deal, part of a security and military cooperation accord with the GNA, would greatly extend Ankara’s territorial claims. (AFP)

1484188385_1483995169

Society NEW YORK (AP) — Five New York City firefighters were injured early Wednesday fighting a blaze on the 14th floor of a Manhattan high-rise apartment. Four of the firefighters received minor injuries, the New York City Fire Department said, while one received serious but non life-threatening injuries. A civilian also received minor injuries in the fire, which was reported after 12:30 a.m. on East 79th Street. More than a 100 firefighters responded to the Upper East Side residence, the fire department said. The fire was under control by 2:30 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Man caught on video snatching woman from NYC subway train Police have arrested a man after a video surfaced showing him apparently trying to abduct a woman on the New York City subway NEW YORK -- New York police arrested a man after a video surfaced showing him apparently trying to abduct a woman on the subway. Sonny Alloway, 48, was charged with unlawful imprisonment on suspicion of grabbing a young woman and carrying her off a No. 6 train Sunday in the Bronx, the New York Police Department said. A video posted on social media showed Alloway dressed in red from head to toe, talking to the victim before he carried her off the train at the Morrison Avenue-Soundview station. The woman was sleeping on the train next to a man when the train came to a stop and Alloway picked her up and carried her out of the car and onto the platform. The victim quickly got away and ran back onto the train. The clip ends with Alloway walking away. A second video posted on social media and later deleted shows Alloway being punched and kicked on a sidewalk by a group of men on Monday afternoon who appear to have recognized him from the initial video. The suspect took refuge at a corner store, where someone inside reported him to authorities. He was apprehended by police shortly afterward. It's unclear whether Alloway has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

1484009844_1483771573

Today is the first day of 2020. There are 365 days left in the year. TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT 1959: Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrow Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic. OTHER EVENTS 1622: Papacy adopts January 1 as beginning of new year instead of March 25. 1785: The Daily Universal Register — which later became the Times of London — publishes its first issue. 1801: Act of Union of Britain and Ireland takes effect. 1803: Denmark bans import of slaves to the Danish West Indies, becoming the first country to ban slavery. 1804: Haiti declares itself independent from France, becoming the world's first black republic. 1808: US Congress officially prohibits African slave trade. 1818: The first edition of the Gothic novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus by English author Mary Shelley, 20, is published anonymously in London. 1833: British proclaim sovereignty over Falkland Islands. 1851: The leader of the Taiping rebellion in China, Hung Hsiu-ch'uan, proclaims himself emperor. 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation and declares that slaves in rebel states shall be “forever free”. 1877: Britain's Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India. 1892: Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opens. 1901: Commonwealth of Australia is proclaimed. 1935: The colonies of Cyrenaica, Tripoli and Eezaan unite to form the nation of Libya. 1942: Leaders of the United States of America, United Kingdom, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and China sign the UN Declaration. 1949: A United Nations-brokered ceasefire goes into effect between Pakistani and Indian troops fighting over the Kashmir region. 1951: North Korean and Communist Chinese troops break through United Nations lines at 38th parallel. 1956: Sudan is proclaimed an independent democratic republic. 1958: European Common Market and Euratom agreements go into effect. 1962: Western Samoa becomes first sovereign independent Polynesian State. 1965: The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed. 1975: A jury in Washington finds Nixon Administration officials John N Mitchell, H R Haldeman, John D Ehrlichman, and Robert C Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian's conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal). 1979: The United States and China hold celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 1984: Brunei becomes fully independent from Britain. The break-up of AT&T takes place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. Brunei becomes fully independent from Britain. 1986: Portugal is formally admitted to the European Community. 1990: Prices of staple goods double and quadruple in Poland as Gsovernment enacts radical plan to move from centrally planned to market economy; David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor. 1991: Four Nicaraguan Sandinista army officers and 11 Salvadorans are arrested for selling Soviet-made anti-aircraft missiles to Salvadoran rebels. 1993: Czechoslovakia peacefully splits into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 1994: The North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect. Rival Afghan rebel leaders stage a bloody coup attempt that fails but sparks a year of fighting that leaves more than 15,000 people dead. 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden join European Union, expanding it to 15 members. 1997: Turkish troops cross into northern Iraq and kill at least 72 Kurdish rebels after the guerrillas attack a military outpost in Turkey. 1998: More than 400 people, many of them women and children, are killed in western Algeria in the worst massacre so far in six years of violence by Islamic groups. 1999: Eleven nations in the European Union adopt the euro as their common currency. 2000: An anxious world holds its breath as computers silently switch to 2000, but the dreaded Y2K bug's first bite is barely felt. 2002: Rwanda unveils a new flag, national anthem and coat of arms in an effort to promote reconciliation seven years after a half-million people were killed in a State-sponsored genocide. 2003: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party is inaugurated as Brazil's first working-class president and the first elected president from a leftist party. 2006: Russia halts natural gas deliveries to Ukraine in a price dispute and accuses the country of stealing gas that goes through Ukraine on its way to Western Europe. 2007: Ban Ki-moon, a 62-year-old South Korean career diplomat, becomes the United Nations' eighth secretary general; passenger jet crashes off coast of Indonesia after facing heavy winds, killing all 102 people on- board. 2008: France's smoking ban in bars, restaurants, nightclubs and cafes goes into effect. 2009: Slovakia becomes 16th country to adopt the euro. 2010: A suicide bomber detonates his explosives-packed vehicle in a crowd of people watching a volleyball tournament in north-west Pakistan, killing 75 people in the deadliest attack in the country in more than two months. 2011: Christians clash with Egyptian police in the northern city of Alexandria, furious over an apparent suicide bombing against worshippers leaving a new year's Mass at a church that killed at least 21 people. 2012: Yemen's Opposition accuses outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of trying to torpedo a power transfer deal by sparking a new crisis, as troops loyal to him clash with opposition forces, killing three. 2013: A crowd stampedes after leaving a new year's fireworks show in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan, killing 61 people, many of them children and teenagers — and injuring more than 200. The US Senate approves a compromise in the small hours to avert the “fiscal cliff” and sent it to the House, which approves it in a late-night vote; President Barack Obama announces he would sign the measure. In Maryland, same-sex marriage becomes legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Singer Patti Page, 85, dies in Encinitas, California. 2014: The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic dies in an explosion that occurred when he opened an old safe that had been left untouched for more than 20 years. 2017: A gunman kills 39 new year's revellers at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, in an attack claimed by Islamic State (a suspect is facing trial). At least 57 inmates are killed in a prison riot in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas. Antonio Guterres takes the reins of the United Nations as its new secretary general. TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Paul Revere, US patriot (1735-1818); James George Frazer, British anthropologist (1854-1941); Kim Philby, British intelligence officer, Soviet spy (1912-1988); J D Salinger, US author (1919-2010); Grandmaster Flash, US rapper (1958- ) — AP

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 1, the first day of leap year 2020. There are 365 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be "forever free." On this date: In 1785, The Daily Universal Register — which later became the Times of London — published its first edition. In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened. In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio. In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic. In 1975, a jury in Washington found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian's conviction for conspiracy was overturned on appeal). In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1984, the breakup of AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into being, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Sweden, Finland and Austria joined the European Union. In 2005, desperate, homeless villagers on the tsunami-ravaged island of Sumatra mobbed American helicopters carrying aid as the U.S. military launched its largest operation in the region since the Vietnam War. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, died near Daytona Beach, Florida, at age 80. In 2009, an Israeli warplane dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on the home of one of Hamas' top five decision-makers, instantly killing him and 18 others. The U.S. formally transferred control of the Green Zone to Iraqi authorities in a pair of ceremonies that also handed back Saddam Hussein's former palace. In 2014, the nation's first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain time.

1484401139_1484148812

Weather in northwest Orange County for Tuesday, December 31, 2019: Today: Sunny, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 44. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Temperatures are expected to remain in the mid to upper 60s, dipping into the low 70s, with mostly sunny skies. Courtesy of HistoryNet:

A Vermont man's love of history and country have led him to take a special trip this week, which he's calling a true honor. "This is a bucket list item that came early," said Marty Irons, a pharmacist at Beauchamp & O'Rourke Pharmacy in Rutland, who is heading to Hawaii to attend commemoration services this weekend at Pearl Harbor. When he's not filling prescriptions, Irons is a hobbyist historian, who was invited to attend services at Pearl Harbor. This weekend marks the 78th anniversary of the sneak attack by Japanese forces that killed more than 2,400 Americans and injured many more, spurring the U.S. to enter World War II. "It forever changed this country," Irons said of the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941. Irons interviewed as many veterans as he could for a book he wrote about the war in the Pacific. Titled "Phalanx Against the Divine Wind," the book project was dedicated to learning more about his late father-in-law's service to the Navy, and teaching readers about events of the war in a relatable way. Those relationships with veterans are what led to the Pearl Harbor invite, Irons said. "It's fun getting together and meeting these 93, 95, 100-year-old sailors," Irons told necn. "They're terrific guys." Irons said he will be there for three memorial services, two of which are normally off-limits to members of the public, because they're on such hallowed ground at the base. Irons said considering how quickly this country is losing its World War II vets, especially Pearl Harbor vets, marking the sacred anniversary with some of them will be an honor. "We also want to remember that time that America came together, and I think probably even more than ever, this is the time to remember that," Irons said. The pharmacist said he may well get material for his next book project, too.

1484759480_1483838142

From Opinion| Lawrence David| A ‘defrauded’ investor named Joel Caplan claims to have been defrauded out of his life’s savings by Chinese companies and that former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s bank records can unlock the mystery surrounding billions of dollars that have gone missing in the communist country. According to the DailyMail.com court papers show that Caplan requested Judge Don McSpadden make him a third party in Lunden Roberts’ suit against Biden. Lunden Roberts, a professional stripper, is Hunter’s baby mama. (DailyMail.com) …in a 30-page filing, Caplan lays out how he was allegedly swindled out of 10 years of his life savings in a ‘multi-billion dollar stock scheme known as the China Hustle. Caplan, who filed papers from Jerusalem, Israel, claims many Chinese nationals made fortunes from the ploy, which involved presenting fake company documents and claiming they were genuine investments when they were actual frauds. Then they went on to use the ill-gotten gains to influence politics and even ‘bribe’ individuals, such as Biden, Caplan claims. Biden: China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man… I mean, you know, they’re not bad folks, folks. But guess what, they’re not competition for us.” Another exclusive look at @SteveHiltonx’s interview with @realDonaldTrump where Steve asks the president about @JoeBiden’s ties to China – be sure to catch the full interview this Sunday at 9PM ET on @FoxNews! #NextRevFNC pic.twitter.com/66exg8bkUk — The Next Revolution (@NextRevFNC) May 17, 2019 Caplan is asking Judge McSpadden to all investigators to ‘follow the money’ and present what they find as part of the evidence in the case. If the judge grants Caplan’s request, we can speculate where this eventually leads. (Capital Research) As president, Bill Clinton essentially wiped out any strategic advantage the U.S. had by selling advanced U.S. missile technology to our enemy, the People’s Republic of China. That “administration’s voluntary release of all the secrets of America’s nuclear tests, combined with the systematic theft of the secrets that were left as a result of its lax security controls, effectively wiped out America’s technological edge,” David Horowitz writes in the recently published, The Black Book of the American Left Volume 7: The Left in Power: Clinton to Obama. Unlike the administrations that preceded it, the Clinton administration accepted millions of dollars from the military and intelligence services of at least one hostile foreign power. All of this was done in exchange for illegal campaign contributions from a massive totalitarian country determined to eclipse the U.S. as a world superpower. President Clinton also lifted security controls, allowing thieves to access other vital military technologies, while disarming his own side and opposing needed defenses. “One of the key technological breaks China received, without having to spy to get it, was the deliverance of supercomputers once banned from export for security reasons,” writes Horowitz. This article originally appeared at and was republished with permission. Scroll down to leave a comment! Join us at SPREELY if you want REAL NEWS without the leftist censorship! Also join us at MUMBLIT! Dean James at Right Wing Tribune God Bless.

Much to his father’s dismay, Hunter Biden just can’t stay out of the news. Not only has a judge recused himself, but a new character (Joel Caplan) has entered the story, pointing a finger at Hunter. Hunter has been crying ‘poor’ with respect to child support. Which seems odd, considering where he calls home. At this point, dad probably wishes he’d had the good sense to ‘pull some strings’ and get the baby-momma looked after some other way. Because now Hunter’s drama is bleeding into dad’s presidential hopes. (Again) Trending: Victims No More: These Orthodox Jews In NY Are Locked And Loaded The son of former Vice President Joe Biden shares a ZIP code in the Hollywood Hills with celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Christina Aguilera and Halle Berry, according to documents filed in Hunter’s Arkansas paternity case. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom mid-century home is valued at $2.5 million. It sits at the end of a private gated drive and includes a pool. Source: NYPost There has been a new development in attempts to access Hunter Biden’s financial history for this case. As of 10:20 on the last day of the decade, the presiding judge pulled the plug on his involvement with the case. He didn’t give any specific explanation for why. The judge in Hunter Biden’s Arkansas paternity case has recused. Independence County Circuit Judge Don McSpadden filed an order at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday saying he was recusing “pursuant to the Administrative Plan of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.” A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday. Attorneys for Lunden Alexis Roberts had urged the judge to find Biden in contempt of court at that hearing for not providing financial information for the past five years. “One of the clearest indicators of a judge’s integrity is when he or she recuses from a case,” said Clinton Lancaster, one of Roberts’ attorneys. “It highlights the ethos and values that make the judiciary such a powerful, separate branch of government. Our client sincerely thanks Judge McSpadden for his time and attention to what has become a difficult and convoluted child support matter.” Source: ArkansasOnline What was the plot twist? The plot twist was a corroborating witness claiming Biden had helped con him out of a fortune, in a scheme involving Chinese nationals. Shokin’s witness statement was submitted to the court as part of Joel Caplan’s motion this week to try and become a party in Roberts’ paternity case with Biden. He claimed in Monday’s filing that he wanted in on the case so he could get his hands on Biden’s bank account records in order to prove he allegedly received $1.5 billion from Chinese companies that ‘hustled Americans out of their life savings’. Caplan told Judge Don McSpadden to ‘follow the money’ and in a 30-page filing, lays out how he was allegedly swindled out of 10 years of his life savings in a ‘multi-billion dollar stock scheme known as the China Hustle.’ Caplan, who filed papers from Jerusalem, Israel, claims many Chinese nationals made fortunes from the ploy, which involved presenting fake company documents and claiming they were genuine investments when they were actual frauds. Source: DailyMail Remember how Hunter was supposedly using his wealth to be the ‘provider’ for the Biden clan, including Joe? Suddenly it really DOES matter where all that money was coming from… and whether of it can be traced back to the US taxpayer. Will Biden come to regret all those taunts for Trump to ‘come clean’ with his financial dealings? Does Sleepy Joe have a few financial skeletons in the closet he’d rather we didn’t look too closely at? No WONDER his first instinct was his flat out refusal of the right of Senate to subpoena Joe or Hunter concerning their role in Ukraine. The plot thickens.

1484010965_1484133966

Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Matt Lauer is dating glamorous marketing guru Shamin Abas after finalizing his divorce from longtime wife Annette Roque, Page Six has confirmed. The former “Today” host has been spending time with Abas, who runs a luxury brand marketing firm, in the Hamptons after he and wife of more than 20 years Roque finalized their divorce this fall. Lauer and brunette Abas, who bears a strong resemblance to his former wife, have known each other for more than 10 years, we are told, but their relationship only recently became romantic. The new couple was just pictured jetting off to spend the holidays together in New Zealand, where he owns a $9.2 million lakefront ranch. A source close to Lauer told Page Six, “Matt and Shamin have known each other for many years, as she spends a lot of time in the Hamptons, as does he. They very recently began dating, she is a lovely woman.” Abas did not immediately respond to emails. Lauer, 62, and Abas were photographed boarding a flight to New Zealand together on December 19, In Touch first reported. While there have been numerous reports of Lauer spending time with new girlfriends in the Hamptons since his split with Roque, 53, Abas is the first woman he has been confirmed to have been seeing on a serious basis. Abas’ eponymous New York City-based firm has worked with clients including Ferrari North America and Jet Aviation. She also works with fancy Hamptons golf club The Bridge on an invite-only classic car exhibition. Golf-loving Lauer is believed to be a member of the swanky club in Noyack, which is very close to his former marital home with Roque Lauer and Roque, who together have three children aged between 13 and 18, separated after Lauer was fired by NBC in November 2017 following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. This past October, Lauer’s former NBC News colleague Brooke Nevils alleged that he raped her in his hotel room when they were covering the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He has strongly denied her claim, stating that the sex was consensual. In 2017 Lauer bought the lease on the 16,000-acre New Zealand sheep and cattle farm Hunter Valley Station. It reportedly includes more than eight miles of lakefront land bordering Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, eight miles of riverfront along the Hunter River, a five-bedroom farmhouse and an assortment of other farm buildings and fishing huts.

It looks like Matt Lauer is having no problem getting a successful and seemingly intelligent woman to think he could be a good man to date and to even trust her heart to. Page Six is reporting that the disgraced former “Today” host, 62, has been “spending time” with Shamin Abas, 53, described as a “powerhouse publicist” and luxury-brand “marketing guru” who, incidentally, bears a strong resemblance to his ex-wife, Annette Roque. Matt Lauer dating marketing guru Shamin Abas after finalizing divorce https://t.co/zYBebuKJVb pic.twitter.com/TW0on1lSDN — Page Six (@PageSix) December 31, 2019 The way Lauer and Abas are “spending time” together is “serious” and consequential, according to Page Six. They recently enjoyed the holidays together in New Zealand, where Lauer owns a $9.2 million lakefront ranch, Page Six said. A source close to Lauer told Page Six, “Matt and Shamin have known each other for many years, as she spends a lot of time in the Hamptons, as does he. They very recently began dating, she is a lovely woman.” The couple’s friendship only recently became romantic, according to Page Six. The turn came a few months after Lauer and Roque finalized their divorce in September, after more than 20 years of marriage. But one has to wonder how Abas thinks Lauer could be a good prospect for a healthy, happy relationship. Sure, many people found him charming and affable on TV, and many find him attractive, in that graying, distinguished way of prosperous, older men. And, yes, Lauer still seems to have plenty of money — despite being unemployed and paying out at least $20 million in a divorce settlement to Roque. But Lauer also has been accused of rape, and he admitted himself that he engaged in extramarital affairs during his marriage. Booke Nevils, a former NBC News co-worker, alleged in Ronan Farrow’s new book “Catch and Kill” that Lauer raped her in his hotel room at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Nevils’ allegations prompted NBC to fire Lauer in 2017. Nevils also asserted that she continued to have sexual encounters with Lauer after the Olympics but that they were completely “transactional,” because she felt he could hurt her career if she didn’t comply. Nevils’ allegations were only the tip of the iceberg in a #MeToo-era scandal involving the downfall of one of America’s most popular and powerful TV news personalities. Several more women came forward to allege that Lauer was sexually inappropriate with them during his 20 years at NBC, and network executives have faced charges — which they denied — that they knew something of Lauer’s allegedly harassing behavior but did nothing to stop it. Tabloid reports of Lauer being a “womanizer” went back years. Roque first filed for divorce in 2006, alleging “mental abuse, extreme mental and emotional distress, humiliation, torment, and anxiety.” After Lauer and Roque reconciled, she continued to deal with reports that Lauer kept his Manhattan apartment so that he could enjoy a bachelor lifestyle during the workweek while she lived apart in the Hamptons and raised their three children, ages 13 to 18. Following the publication of Farrow’s book in October, Lauer issued a lengthy statement in which he vehemently denied forcing Nevils to have sex with him, Variety reported. He said their encounter in Sochi was consensual, and he said their subsequent sexual encounters also were consensual. “I have never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex. Period,” he wrote in his open letter. But in his letter, Lauer also admitted to having other “extramarital relationships,” which would probably give some women pause in getting involved with him. “Because of my infidelity, I have brought more pain and embarrassment to my family than most people can ever begin to understand. They’ve been through hell,” Lauer wrote. But Lauer also claimed in his letter that he had “taken responsibility” for what he did “wrong” and accepted “the consequences.” Maybe Lauer has indeed reformed, and Abas is perhaps catching him at a point in his life when he would no longer put another woman through the “hell” Roque endured. Then again, according to Page Six, Lauer’s allure is such that there have been other women vying for his attention in the wake of his downfall. “There have been numerous reports of Lauer spending time with new girlfriends in the Hamptons since his split with Roque,” Page Six reported. But it looks like Abas is the first woman he has decided to keep company with on a serious basis, Page Six added.

1484188771_1483955656

But as the ruling NLD enters its fifth and final year in office, the optimism has turned into bitterness and frustration as people are hauled to court and jailed for speaking their minds. Human rights activists said the laws that the Tatmadaw (military) juntas used to suppress individual freedom are still very much in use by military and civilian officials. Among the laws that rights advocates said curtail freedom of expression are Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens, sections 505(a) and (b), and 124(a) of the Penal Code, and the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law. Athan, a freedom of expression group, said that over 250 people were either imprisoned or charged with violating laws that restrict freedom of expression through June this year. U Aye Maung, who formerly represented Rakhine State’s Ann constituency in the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), and ethnic Rakhine author Wai Hin Aung were found guilty by a Rahine court of incitement and high treason for their speeches to a public gathering in Mrauk-U township. They were sentenced to 22 years in prison. In his speech, U Aye Maung had said, “Burmese people only think of Rakhine people as slaves and deny them equal rights. There are people going for armed revolution to get sovereignty and by taking advantage of political flaws. We need to get to our goals and change our mindset for self-government again.” Nationalists like the extremist monk U Wirathu and activist U Hla Swe were also prosecuted because of speeches they made under laws that human rights advocates see as curtailing free expression. They faced life imprisonment if found guilty. U Wirathu was charged because of his speeches at demonstrations against amendments to the 2008 Constitution. U Hla Swe was changed over his speeches at demonstrations supporting the military at Yangon City Hall. Officials said their speeches had defamed the government. Both are still at large, have standing arrest warrants, and are considered fugitives from the law. In Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, six Karenni youths were sentenced to six months in prison for describing State Chief Minister U L Paung Sho and Kayah State Planning and Finance Minister as “political criminals and Karenni national betrayers” during a protest against erecting a statue of independence hero Bogyoke Aung San in a park. In Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, a judge sentenced two youth activists to 15 days in prison for holding a street performance to mark the eighth anniversary of the resumption of clashes in the strife-torn state. When one of the activists handed the judge a broken scale, he was given an additional three months in jail. U Myo Nyunt, NLD spokesperson, said that Myanmar’s laws restricting freedom of expression are necessary to maintain law order in the country as it transitions to democracy. He said that even though the NLD had fought military dictatorships for decades, it had to be careful when opposing laws implemented under the repressive regime. “Democratic countries face the inevitable problem of groups that have different opinions and violent protest,” he said. “We have to manage them according to the law. Acts that violate the law are undemocratic.” U Myo Nyunt said courts under the NLD-led government had been “relatively lenient” in sentencing those found guilty of breaking freedom of expression laws. Unlike previous regimes, the NLD-led government does not interfere in the judicial process, he said. The Tatmadaw also charges people under freedom of expression laws, mostly ‘section 505(a) sedition.’ But advocates said they would not settle for anything less than total freedom of expression. “It’s very important for the authorities of Myanmar to immediately repeal the laws that target and oppress peaceful activists and critics,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Southeast Asia regional director for Amnesty International. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) expressed concern about what it saw as the deterioration of freedom of speech and expression in Myanmar. “The climate of freedom of speech has terribly deteriorated and is now in critical condition,” the group said in a statement. AAPP said there are 633 political prisoners in the country’s prisons. As of November this year, 80 people were jailed for political offences, 180 are facing trial while being detained in prison, and 373 are awaiting trial outside of prison, it said. Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental rights that strengthen democracy. Filing court cases against, and giving prison sentences to, activists, workers and civilians who express their views stunts the democratic process, the group said. Human rights activists have demanded the amendment or repeal of laws that restrict freedom of speech and expression. But neither the government nor parliament have shown any sign of paying attention to the demands, as the two institutions struggle to seek a balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility. – Translated

For Subscribers Hampton Beach Ocean Wok: Founder Matthew Fan to revive restaurant Ocean Wok founder Matthew Fan is returning to take over the restaurant which he says went downhill after he left.

1483804170_1484301400

New Delhi: The government has cancelled the allotment of a coal block for the power project in Jharkhand, as even after a decade of allotment no significant progress was made to operationalise it.The coal block was allotted in 2009, to Karanpura Energy Ltd -- an SPV of erstwhile Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB)."It is noted that even after lapse of 10 years since allocation of the coal block (Mourya coal block), no significant progress has been made to operationalise the coal block," the coal ministry said in a letter to the company.Due to long delays in development of coal block, show cause notices were served by the coal ministry to the company in December 2013, and September and October, 2019.The company in its reply to the ministry in November, 2019 cited non-availability of land, water and resistance from the local inhabitants as impediments in development of the coal block.The coal ministry, however, said that the reply "was not found satisfactory".As per the allocation letter, the ministry said, the mining lease of the block may be cancelled on the grounds, including unsatisfactory progress in the development of coal mining project and breach of any of the conditions of allocation.In 2009, the ministry had conveyed 'in principle' approval to the working of Mourya coal block, in the state of Jharkhand, for power project to be set up by Karanpura Energy Ltd.

Singapore’s economy expanded at its slowest pace in a decade last year as the manufacturing sector struggled, preliminary data showed on Thursday, even though growth picked up slightly in the fourth quarter. The export-oriented economy has been hit hard by the drawn-out trade war between the United States and China as well as a cyclical global downturn in the electronics sector. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7 percent in 2019, the slowest annual pace since 2009 and down from 3.1 percent in 2018. Authorities are forecasting growth of between 0.5 percent and 2.5 percent this year. The services and construction sectors offset weakness in manufacturing, helping the economy grow at a slightly faster pace in the fourth quarter. GDP grew 0.8 percent in October-December from the same period a year ago, compared with a revised 0.7 percent in the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement. Analysts had expected GDP growth of 0.8 percent. The economy grew 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis, compared with an upwardly revised 2.4 percent rise the quarter before. Analysts had expected a 0.4 percent expansion. “The global economic slowdown has already affected us. This year we avoided a recession. Our economy is still growing, but less vigorously than we would like,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his annual New Year message on December 31.

1484188635_1484299664

(Image by Fredg) Details DMCA I have been writing about Hunter, the Border Collie, who can find locations stored in my long-term memory with one or all of the 3 Tele's: Telepathy is the ability to transmit words, emotions, or images to someone else's mind. Telekinesis is the ability to move objects through mind power. Teleportation refers to transporting yourself or your mind to a location miles away from you in fraction of seconds. If you have read the recent article headlined at OpEdNews, Hunter and My Hippocampus: The Real "House Hunters", about Hunter taking me to the address where my girlfriend lived in 1970, then scroll down to The 3 Tele's Hypothesis: Schuylkill Drive is a Trap Street. Long-term memory is divided into two types: declarative (explicit) memory and non-declarative (implicit) memory. Explicit memories include all of the Memories that are available in Consciousness [1] The night I brought Hunter home and parked three houses away, he found the house. Thirteen days later I took him to Hidden Hills where my cousin lives and parked over a mile away. I have never walked, hiked or done anything on foot in Hidden Hills. If you have a of lot time on your hands, then you can watch the 9-minute video. The thumbnail on the YouTube video is the map of the route he took to get to their house. I also made a 5-minute version where you can watch Hunter find the house and run up the driveway into the garage to the back door. Why is that important? He is off-leash and everyone who visits enters the house through the garage. Either video will convince you that he isn't "finding" by scent, nor am I giving him non-verbal clues. We can also eliminate that his success at "finding" is not "an inevitable consequence of my mind searching for causal structure in reality, so that I can learn and adapt to my environment." [2] When I told Hunter to find where I lived when I brought him home, where my cousin lives in Hidden Hills, and where I lived in Agoura Hills in 1974 [3] he was telepathically accessing my explicit memories of the locations at the request of my conscious mind. Implicit memories are those that are mostly Unconscious When Hunter found where I worked in 1972, he was telepathically accessing my implicit memory of the Informata office in Encino, at the request of my unconscious mind, the hippocampus. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Every change begins with a leadership decision. Making the decision to institute changes is not always easy. Being prepared, planning well, and being surrounded by a good team will make that decision a lot easier. Begin by putting yourself in a positive frame of mind. You are likely to experience higher than normal levels of stress and knowing this beforehand will give you the ability to be prepared mentally and physically. You will be the anchorperson and foundation, and with your steady hand will guide your team through the stressful events. Be a reassuring and active force throughout the whole process. It is impossible to prepare for every contingency, but planning for the known is a must. Add time or extra room to the schedule for the unknowns. When you encounter an unexpected event, your schedule should not be put off by much if you have built in some leeway. It will provide that buffer that gives you and your team the ability to deal with the unknowns and keep rolling with the change process Surround yourself with people that you can delegate to and be confident in their abilities and skills. Be precise and specific with your directions as when the change process begins you will be depending on these individuals and their talents. Communicating and providing feedback are the keys to successful delegation; make sure your team understands this. If communication fails or there is not accurate feedback the chances of a success are lessened. An issue that sometimes arises when delegating is micro managing. Keep an eye out to not micro-manage as you can quickly lose track of events and it will take time away from your main duties. Delegating is a skill that takes time as you must first learn the strengths and weakness of your team and know what tasks you can and cannot hand out. It may not be possible to always delegate, but when it can be done it will provide a great resource. Always be available during the change process. Before the change prepare your friends and family that you may not be available for social events. Reassure your team that you are there for them and you are here to provide them with the necessary resources to lead them through the change. Stress to them that you are available and focused on keeping the communications lines open. Always be aware of rumors, they will happen before during and after the change. Do not ignore any rumor, put out honest and clear communication as soon as possible. Reassure your team that if they hear a rumor to seek out more information from a reliable source. Remind them that spreading rumors helps no one and will cause more harm than good. Not everyone will agree on the change. Keep in mind that these types of feelings are normal, as people generally do not enjoy change and are sometimes made nervous by it. You will likely encounter pushback and resistance by a number of team members. Provide facts and data to show why the change is happening and reassure them the need and benefits of the change. These types of individuals are best suited to be educated about the change with information. If you are encountering an extreme case of pushback, provide them with some choices that still fall within the spectrum of the intended change. They should then feel more involved in the process and it will help alleviate the negative mindset they may be experiencing.It is vitally important to make sure that all stakeholders and employees are on board with a change. In order to continue increasing awareness and to build desire to support the upcoming change; the change management team must reach out to the organization at large. The force field analysis, developed by German social psychologist Kurt Lewin helps a change management team to: • Identify pros and cons of an option prior to making a decision • Explore what is going right — and what is going wrong • Analyse any two opposing positions. If concerns or issues arise, then steps must be taken to ensure awareness is continually raised and that desire to support the change is increased. Strategies that can help the change management team responsively address employees’ concerns include: • Engaging employees, providing forums for people to express their questions and concerns • Equipping managers & supervisors to be effective change leaders and managers of resistance • Orchestrating opportunities for advocates of the change to contact those not yet on board • Aligning incentive and performance management systems to support the change. Change is not exempt from Murphy’s Law. And even if something isn’t going wrong, change management team members must constantly be observing, listening, and evaluating the progress and process during a change. Below are several tools to help the team accomplish this. A feedback form is used to gather information from those involved in a change to help shape the remaining course of the change project. Instead of a paper form, feedback can be obtained through online surveys (Zoomerang.com or Survey Monkey.com), an in-house questionnaire on the intranet, a few questions sent by email, or a focus group. The questions will vary depending upon the subject being queried. Open Feedback include asking participants for suggestions and comments. The compiled results of the feedback forms can be used by the change management team members to modify the project plan and/or the communication plan or to work with specific individuals or groups that may be providing roadblocks to success. Once a change initiative is underway, it is critical to sustain the change with reinforcement. The leader must make sure that the project and communication plan remain on track. They need to identify, and explore any issues from employees or stakeholders that have emerged, and review and consider any feedback gathered to date. Acting as a facilitator, the leader helps to bring about learning and productivity. Communication will be a byproduct of this by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, and supervision.He or she listens actively, asks questions, encourages diverse viewpoints, organizes information, helps the group reach consensus, and understands that the individual needs of team members will affect teamwork. The LEAD model provides a simple methodology for facilitating a participative meeting: • Lead with objectives: When clear objectives are stated up front, group energy is channeled toward achieving an outcome. The objectives shape the content of the meeting. • Empower to participate: In the Lead model, the facilitator is empowered to encourage active participation. • Aim for consensus: Getting the team to consensus will have members more likely to support and carry out the decisions of the team. • Direct the process: How the meeting progresses will influence the quality of the decisions of the team, and influences the commitment of team members. Leaders must differentiate between process and content. Content includes the topics, subjects, or issues; process is about how the topics, subjects, or issues are addressed. Because communications from managers and supervisors have been shown to have a significant impact on employees during a change initiative, it is appropriate that they be actively involved in celebrating success with employees as a result of positive performance. Celebrations can occur on three levels: 1. One on one conversation: In a private meeting, a supervisor should attest to the fact that due to the employee’s effort, a change was made, and how it is succeeding. He or she should extend verbal thanks to the employee. 2. Public recognition: Public recognition officially acknowledges outstanding performance and points out a role model that helped make a successful change happen. Supervisors should carefully consider who receives recognition, and not alienate group members who participated in the change but who many not have distinguished themselves as significantly. 3. Group celebrations: Fun or engaging activities are used to celebrate key milestones by a group. They include buffet or restaurant lunches, dinner events, or can include group outings to sports, amusement, or cultural events. It is important that these types of celebrations try to include the involvement of the primary change sponsor in some way. Professor Akindotun Merino Email: Info@africamentalhealth.net Twitter: @drakinmerino Fb: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Africamentalhealth/ Phone: 08118048229

1484189219_1484067380

From Common Dreams Beware. Because disparaging and minimizing Bernie in 2019 didn't work, the next step in 2020 will be to trash him with a vast array of full-bore attacks. Bernie Sanders (Image by photogism) Details DMCA A central premise of conventional media wisdom has collapsed. On Thursday, both the New York Times and Politico published major articles reporting that Bernie Sanders really could win the Democratic presidential nomination. Such acknowledgments will add to the momentum of the Bernie 2020 campaign as the new year begins -- but they foreshadow a massive escalation of anti-Sanders misinformation and invective. Throughout 2019, corporate media routinely asserted that the Sanders campaign had little chance of winning the nomination. As is so often the case, journalists were echoing each other more than paying attention to grassroots realities. But now, polling numbers and other indicators on the ground are finally sparking very different headlines from the media establishment. From the Times: "Why Bernie Sanders Is Tough to Beat." From Politico: "Democratic Insiders: Bernie Could Win the Nomination." Those stories, and others likely to follow in copycat news outlets, will heighten the energies of Sanders supporters and draw in many wavering voters. But the shift in media narratives about the Bernie campaign's chances will surely boost the decibels of alarm bells in elite circles where dousing the fires of progressive populism is a top priority. For corporate Democrats and their profuse media allies, the approach of disparaging and minimizing Bernie Sanders in 2019 didn't work. In 2020, the next step will be to trash him with a vast array of full-bore attacks. Along the way, the corporate media will occasionally give voice to some Sanders defenders and supporters. A few establishment Democrats will decide to make nice with him early in the year. But the overwhelming bulk of Sanders media coverage -- synced up with the likes of such prominent corporate flunkies as Rahm Emanuel and Neera Tanden as well as Wall Street Democrats accustomed to ruling the roost in the party -- will range from condescending to savage. When the Bernie campaign wasn't being ignored by corporate media during 2019, innuendos and mud often flew in his direction. But we ain't seen nothing yet. With so much at stake -- including the presidency and the top leadership of the Democratic Party -- no holds will be barred. For the forces of corporate greed and the military-industrial complex, it'll be all-out propaganda war on the Bernie campaign. While reasons for pessimism are abundant, so are ample reasons to understand that a Sanders presidency is a real possibility. The last places we should look for political realism are corporate media outlets that distort options and encourage passivity. Bernie is fond of quoting a statement from Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it is done." From the grassroots, as 2020 gets underway, the solution should be clear: All left hands on deck.

Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? As 2019 closed, the centrist pundits and politicians who make it their mission to police the Democratic Party were busy reanimating one of the oldest lies in the book. They were aiming at 2020, the year in which the party will nominate a candidate to take on the biggest liar in American politics: Donald Trump. To beat Trump, the centrists argued, Democrats must reject “purity tests.” Ad Policy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, luckily, has recognized this threat contained in the coded language about “purity tests” and countered it with a masterful defense of the politics of principle that will be essential to upend Trump and Trumpism. She finished the year arguing, correctly, that Democrats must stand strong for their ideals in 2020, or they will run the risk of letting Trump frame the debate. “For anyone who accuses us for instituting purity tests, it’s called having values. It’s called, giving a damn,” the Democratic representative from New York told a cheering crowd of 14,000 at a December 21 rally for Bernie Sanders in Venice, California. While at least one Sanders rival, Pete Buttigieg, has been busy decrying purity tests regarding issues and strategies, AOC has pushed back against a politics where the parties are defined by the demands of big donors—and the cautious policies they favor. “It’s called having standards for your conduct to not be funded by billionaires but to be funded by the people,” she said. MORE FROM John Nichols William Greider Knew What Ailed the Democratic Party December 27, 2019 President Scrooge and His Dickensian Cabal December 25, 2019 Who Tops the 2019 ‘Nation’ Honor Roll? December 24, 2019 Author page The wrestling over standards between progressives and centrists is real, and it can be healthy for a democracy. Unfortunately, the centrists who refuse to surrender their rigid grip on the Democratic Party—especially when it comes to naming presidential contenders—want Democrats to believe that the only way to tackle Trump, the man who has shredded every standard for electioneering and governing, is with a return to politics as usual. They imagine that it is possible to make politics great again. Their back-to-the-future approach, which is as dangerous as it is naive, suggests that the 2016 election was an aberration. Centrism is an unyielding ideological construct. It demands that candidates and parties abandon ideals in order to satisfy the whims of professional pessimists like David Brooks of The New York Times, who earlier this year reduced the Democratic contest to a David Brooks primary. In a Times column headlined, “Dems, Please Don’t Drive Me Away,” Brooks warned, “The party is moving toward all sorts of positions that drive away moderates and make it more likely the nominee will be unelectable. And it’s doing it without too much dissent.” Never mind that poll after poll shows that the “positions” Brooks perceives to be electorally poisonous—support for real health care reform and a sufficient response to the climate crisis—are, in fact, quite popular. Never mind that Brooks, a man unscathed by even the slightest measure of irony, bemoaned the lack of dissent in a column prominently featured in the nation’s most influential newspaper. Brooks was not happy because no one seemed to accept his premise that “the moral case against Trump means hitting him from the right as well as the left.” Current Issue View our current issue The defenders of the empty politics of the past spent 2019 in a fret fest over the success of a democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders, and a progressive anti-monopolist, Elizabeth Warren, in framing out a bold vision for the party and the 2020 campaign. The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell warned against “lazy sloganeering — lately exemplified by Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal” and counseled that Medicare-for-All was “in danger of becoming a purity test for 2020 candidates.” Actually, Medicare-for-All should be a purity test for candidates; as AOC said, “it’s called having values.” If the Democratic nominee in 2020 cannot communicate a vision for treating health care as a right, then the party will sacrifice one of its strongest tools for mobilizing young and disenfranchised voters. Democrats should recognize the value of keeping pure on major issues—even if major donors might ask them to compromise. Clarity on the big issues helps a party to increase turnout among potential voters who agree and to shape the discourse in ways that appeal to independent voters who are frustrated by the concessions that both major parties make to America’s oligarchs. It is reasonable to suggest, as does former President Obama, that the Democrats must avoid being so pure that they only attract “people who already agree with us completely on everything.” Even Warren, who made her name taking on the big banks, admits, “Nobody is perfect, and nobody is pure.” But Warren also says that Democrats have to avoid compromising at the start of the process, with “vague calls for unity.” And Sanders continues to advocate for a renewal of former President Franklin Roosevelt’s “I-welcome-their-hatred” approach to the billionaire class. In the last Democratic debate of the year, Buttigieg decried efforts to apply “purity tests” when it comes to campaign fund-raising and claimed that “in order to build the Democratic Party and build a campaign ready for the fight of our lives, these purity tests shrink the stakes of the most important election.” Warren and Sanders stood their ground, making the case for funding campaigns with lots of small donations as opposed to bundles of big checks. Buttigieg stood his ground, as well, rejecting charges that he is running as “Wall Street Pete,” defending “traditional fundraising” and telling The Washington Post, “The thing about these purity tests is the people issuing them can’t even meet them.” Perhaps. But Democrats should at least try to meet some of them. That was AOC’s point when she warned against buying into the fantasy that “there is no difference between being funded by a handful of wealthy people and being funded by small grassroots donations.” “Let me tell you something,” the former waitress explained, “I go into work all the time and I hear people say ‘what will my donors think?’ I hear that phrase. I hear and I see that billionaires get members of Congress on speed dial and waitresses don’t.” If Democrats want to mobilize the masses in 2020, they’ll need the waitresses—and the rest of the working class—not the defenders of billionaire money and elite centrism.

1484011085_1484010762

In recent days, information came up about Rafael Nadal's possible outfit for the 2020 Australian Open. Now here the first images of the shoes that the Spaniard could wear in Melbourne. The world no. 1 would wear shoes with predominant pink and white colors. Behind the left shoe, there will be the word Rafa, while behind the right shoe there will be the Spaniard's logo: the horns of the bull. Surely this is an interesting choice by Nadal and Nike, who continue to experiment with new original outfits at each Major, seeking combinations of styles, shapes and colors. What do you think of the shoes that Nadal will wear at the 2020 Australian Open? Muy fan de las zapatillas de Rafa Nadal para el #AusOpen 2020. pic.twitter.com/22XPlAWF17 — 𝗠iguel Ángel 𝗗aza (@miguelangeldaza) 26 dicembre 2019 Nadal will be the defending finalist of the event that will start on 20th January 2020. The men's singles final will be played on 3rd February. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion. The Serbian won his seventh title at Melbourne Park. It was his first title in three years at the event, since crashing out in the earlier stages in 2017 (second round) and 2018 (quarter-finals). Roger Federer claimed the title on both occasions, defeating Nadal in the final in 2017 in five sets. It was the first time the Swiss had defeated the Spaniard at the Australian Open, in three attempts – 2009, lost in the final; and 2014, lost in the semi-final.

Former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva will miss the Australian Open - the first Grand Slam of the 2020 season - due to problems with her left wrist. The 35 year old Russian has been a semi-finalist at the Australian Open on two occasions in her career - in 2009 and 2011. She has also reached the finals in a Grand Slam on two occasions - at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010. Zvonareva last played in the main draw of the Australian Open in 2015, when she reached the second round and had lost in the first round of qualifying in Melbourne in 2018 and 2019. She is a former doubles champion at this tournament - having won the 2012 doubles title with fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Zvonareva joins former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on the sidelines of the tournament on the women's side - the Belarusian has missed the tournament due to personal reasons. The 35-year-old Russian is ranked No. 159 in the world currently but had entered the event by using her protected ranking. On the men's side, former World No. 1 Andy Murray, Japan's Kei Nishikori and Frenchman Lucas Pouille have also withdrawn due to injuries. The first Grand Slam tournament of the season begins in Melbourne on January 20th.

1484188657_1484188665

(Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCA President Trump has reversed many regulations. We all know there were purposes for each of these regulations. Interestingly, the people hurt more are those who voted him into office. As an example, wealthy people don't have to be concerned about the water in creeks surrounding coal waste. They can afford to build private streams in gated communities away from industrial plants and waste. They can afford to have purified air pumped into their homes 24/7. The majority of the Trump voters affected by his irresponsible deregulation do not have the options of those affected. They are the ones that will get illnesses caused by the President's irresponsibility. The Brookings Institution has a tracker that details all the rollbacks during the Trump administration. The Trump administration has major deregulatory ambitions. But how much deregulation is actually happening? This tracker helps you monitor a selection of delayed, repealed, and new rules, notable guidance and policy revocations, and important court battles across eight major categories, including environmental, health, labor, and more. For a more thorough explanation of the tracker, including guidance on how to use its interactive features and an explanation of how entries are selected, click here. Sign up here to subscribe to the newsletter, which will include select updates from the Deregulatory Tracker as well as new research from the Center on Regulation and Markets. Whether you support or oppose ongoing regulatory changes, Americans have the right to participate in the regulatory process and to comment on these proposed rules. Read more on here on how to submit the most effective comments on proposed regulations. Ali Velshi and his team at MSNBC must be commended. While most networks and segments concentrate on impeachment, the mundane, or on issues to deflect Americans from issues that really matter, every so often Velshi, a real journalist, gets real informative.

(Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCA Dean Obeidallah appeared on MSNBC's AM Joy and made a very important critique on Democrats ceding the economic narrative to Donald Trump. A few weeks ago I wrote a piece titled "Make the stock market record highs and low unemployment Trump's failure." A meme about the stock market recently got my attention. It brought not only rage and tears but confirmation about what we must be fighting for now. The meme was simple enough but poignant. The next time you feel poor, and can't fill your gas tank, and you hold back tears trying to put together a grocery trip that can get you and your family through the week on just $40, remember that the stock market is at a record high and America is great again. Only a few are partaking of this "great economy." Ask yourself a question. Why aren't wages going way up with so little unemployment? Does supply and demand work no more? It is not about economics 101 anymore. One should remember that when a resource is scarce, that resource increases in price. As such, if we are at full employment, it is clear that wages should be increasing at a high clip. But that is not occurring. One reason wages are not increasing isn't at all hard to infer. Many are made to believe that their jobs are not secure. You ask for too much then the threat of a factory move becomes a concern to employees, It is clear we have a rigged economy. The population is manipulated to believe this is all they can strive for and anything different is on the fringe. The message Dean Obedallah was trying to get across is similar. "Democrats are ceding this idea that this economy is perfect," Obeidallah said. "That Don has turned in a miracle." In reality, Donald Trump is losing to Donald Trump, of a year ago when we had 3% GDP growth. Now we have under 2%." Dean Obeidallah continued making the case that Democrats should be making instead of acquiescing to the talking point about a great economy. On wage growth, he said that while we have 3% wage growth, inflation is 2% which gives a real wage growth of 1%. On unemployment, he talks about the poorly covered job losses in the Midwest. And he wants all of us to remember that most Americans don't have $400 in the bank to cover an unexpected or emergency expense and that bankruptcies are high. Dean Obeidallah hits the nail on the head. One hopes the Democratic Party gets aggressive with the narrative and lean into the economy that really is not very good for most. They must also take note of a subject covered on Politics Done Right about the danger signs that could lead to an economic collapse.

1484037661_1485647004

Rudy Giuliani is prepared to do more than just testify at President Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial. The former New York City mayor made clear in comments to reporters on Tuesday night that he’s ready to pull out all the stops to defend his client—and that apparently includes giving “lectures” and doing “demonstrations.” Asked if he would testify at the trial, Giuliani appeared unable to settle on a single, coherent answer. “I would testify, I would, um, do demonstrations. I’d give lectures, I’d give summations. Or, I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case. Well I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but, uh, if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway,” Giuliani said at a New Year’s Eve gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. He also dodged a question about whether he had any plans for another trip to Ukraine, an activity that has been at the center of the impeachment proceedings against Trump, which center on allegations he abused his power to pressure Ukraine to do him political favors. Giuliani, accused of hijacking American foreign policy to run a dirt-digging mission in Ukraine that would boost Trump domestically, returned from his latest trip earlier this month claiming to have boatloads of evidence to exonerate Trump and incriminate Trump's political foes, including former vice president Joe Biden and many Democrats. So far, however, despite Trump claiming Giuliani would be filing a report with the Justice Department on his Ukraine findings and Giuliani saying he planned to brief the Senate on the matter, his findings have apparently not been embraced as the smoking gun against Democrats that he believed they would be. As The Daily Beast reported earlier this week, some Republican senators have actively avoided Giuliani ahead of the impeachment trial over concerns that his Ukraine findings may be mingled with Russian conspiracy theories. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who first called on Giuliani to share his findings, has urged him to “make sure it’s not Russian propaganda.”

What the hell just happened? pic.twitter.com/QmwXTgwcxD — Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) January 1, 2020 Quick hit from Rudy last night at the Mar-a-Lago party… President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani says he’d be willing to testify at his client’s Senate trial, but he would “love” to represent Trump in the proceedings. “I would testify, I would do demonstrations, I’d give lectures, I’d give summations, or I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case,” Giuliani told reporters as he made his way into a New Year’s Eve celebration at the president’s Florida resort on Tuesday night. “I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway,” he said, referring to his pioneering use of racketeering laws to take down New York mob leadership in the 1980s. “It was 30 years ago, but let’s see if I can still do it,” he said. The former New York City mayor did not elaborate, but he has said before that Trump did nothing wrong in the dealings with Ukraine that led to his impeachment, and that the real wrongdoers are former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. The impeachment proceedings center on Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine’s president to investigate the Bidens, focusing on Hunter Biden’s work on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was calling for the removal the country’s top prosecutor as part of the Obama administration’s anti-corruption efforts there. “I’m great at it. It’s what I do best as a lawyer. That’s what I would be good at,” he said. “Oh, I would love it, I could rip — you know, I hate to sound like a ridiculously boastful lawyer, but cross-examining them would be, I don’t know, I could’ve done it when I was a second-year assistant U.S. attorney. They’re a bunch of clowns.” Direct link to video…

1484400060_1483974916

LUDHIANA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer — who is the additional director general (ADG) of the zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Ludhiana — in a Rs 3-crore bribery case.Prior to ADG Chandar Shekhar’s arrest, CBI nabbed two businessmen — Rajesh Dhanda of Ludhiana and Anup Joshi of Delhi — on Tuesday afternoon from a five-star hotel in Delhi with Rs 25-lakh cash, which they had allegedly accepted on behalf of the DRI officer. Dhanda is a prominent name in the city’s textile circle and has a huge business interest in Dubai, while Joshi is a customs clearing agent.A statement issued by the CBI said, “The CBI arrested a DRI, Ludhiana, ADG and two private persons, including a friend of the public servant, in an alleged bribery case of Rs 25 lakh. A case was registered against the accused on a complaint, in which it was alleged that in June 2019, Ludhiana DRI had conducted a search at a private clearing agency, which provides services to various exporters. In this search, some documents pertaining to an exporter were also seized. The complainant, a resident of Delhi, submitted a complaint to the CBI that a clearing house agent and a close friend of the Ludhiana ADG demanded Rs 3 crore on behalf of the public servant for ensuring that he would not be implicated by DRI regarding recovery of his documents. CBI caught both private persons while demanding and accepting Rs 25 lakh from the complainant. During investigation, the public servant was also arrested. Searches are being conducted on the premises, including residence and offices of the accused located at Delhi, Noida and Ludhiana. The accused will be produced before the competent court. Further investigation is continuing.”A clearing agency gets import and export shipments cleared from different departments.It was only in the afternoon that the agency sources confirmed the arrest of the ADG, as earlier the CBI officials were maintaining that he was under detention. On Wednesday morning, different teams of the CBI visited Ludhiana along with the arrested officer and reached the office of DRI in Ghumar Mandi. Later, they went to the residence of the ADG at Marvel Homes on Ferozepur Road.The ADG is among the most powerful postings as he has jurisdiction over Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. ADG Chander Shekhar has had an illustrious career and was involved in big anti-narcotics operations. In November last, he grabbed national limelight when in two separate operations in Kashmir Valley, the DRI, in a joint operation with Army and other agencies, had seized heroin worth Rs 120 crore along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the border fence.

The CBI on Wednesday arrested an Additional Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Chander Shekhar and a middleman in connection with Rs 25 lakh bribery case, officials said. The searches are going on in New Delhi, Noida and Ludhiana, they said. According to the DRI web site, Chander Shekhar is posted as ADG, Ludhiana. The agency had arrested the middleman while he was allegedly receiving the bribe on behalf of the officer, they said. During the questioning, the middleman told the sleuths that the bribe was allegedly for the officer, they said. The agency suspects it to be a part payment of a huge bribe which was discussed between the two, they said. Also read: Maruti Suzuki car sales grow 2.4% in December; sells 133,296 units Also read: Courts allow banks to utilise movable assets of Vijay Mallya to clear debt

1484189504_1484254401

Ten years is a long time to wait for anything, but the release of Vietnam’s latest defense white paper on Nov. 25 — the first since 2009 and fourth since Hanoi began issuing white papers in 1998 — was certainly worthwhile. Vietnam’s defense white papers have traditionally served as generic, non-offensive policy statements on external threats to Vietnamese security and an explanation of how the Ministry of National Defense is addressing them. Wrapped in Marxist-Leninist ideological narrative and steeped in subtlety, ambiguity, and coded language, it is typically difficult to determine a clear message from these documents. However, the latest defense white paper represents Hanoi’s clearest warning yet to China — Vietnam’s near-exclusive security threat and one it perpetually attempts to both engage and balance against on multiple fronts — that Vietnam might have to strengthen defense ties with the United States if Beijing’s bad behavior persists in the South China Sea. That is a message with significant implications for Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy to keep the region “free and open” from coercion. A Warning to China Vietnam’s bilateral ties with China are often complex and contradictory. On the one hand, Vietnam treats China with great respect and attempts to work with it on a range of security and economic issues. Indeed, Hanoi in 2008 raised China ties to the level of a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” — the highest designation it accords to any major power. On the other hand, Hanoi is increasingly frustrated by growing Chinese assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. Tensions were particularly high this summer during a months-long standoff near Vanguard Bank — which is the westernmost reef in the Spratly Islands — that wound up extending up and down Vietnam’s coastline. Hanoi is also deeply suspicious of Beijing’s intentions to leverage the Belt and Road Initiative for “win-win” outcomes, both within Vietnam and in relations with close Vietnamese partners Cambodia and Laos, possibly designed to encircle Vietnam. Despite Hanoi’s cautious approach toward its larger northern neighbor, the 2019 defense white paper is more negative on China than the 2009 paper or any previous version. In 2009, the white paper mentioned the word “China” only four times in the main narrative (not including appendices, which provide lists of activities rather than characterization of bilateral ties), and the description was exclusively positive, highlighting constructive bilateral activities such as delimitation of the Gulf of Tonkin and land border. Contrast that with the 2019 defense white paper in which Hanoi brings up China eight times, three of which are negative references related to Beijing’s destabilizing behavior in the South China Sea. Most notably, the white paper reads, “Divergences between Vietnam and China regarding sovereignty in the East Sea [South China Sea] are of historical existence, which need to be settled with precaution, avoiding negative impacts.” But with everything in Vietnam, balance is essential, and thus the silence on China in the paper’s military history section is deafening. Consistent with past white papers, Hanoi details wars against both France and America, but noticeably omits any sensitive discussion of war against China in 1979 at the land border. Hanoi also neglects to mention Vietnamese military operations preceding the war in 1978 against Chinese Khmer Rouge proxies in Cambodia. Nor does it highlight major at-sea incidents, including China’s attack at Johnson South Reef in 1988, China’s May 2014 emplacement of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in disputed waters and subsequent ramming of Vietnamese vessels by Chinese ships, or the most recent standoff in 2019 near Vanguard Bank over international energy extraction. Yet in other venues, Vietnam has loosened up significantly in terms of identifying China as a problem for Vietnam — even allowing commentators starting in February 2019 to refer to it as the “invader” during the border war to commemorate the 40th anniversary of that conflict. Hanoi’s decision not to call out China for past aggression in the defense white paper indicates that it does not want to go too far in its criticism of Beijing — just far enough to make the point. With this white paper, Hanoi also appears to have expanded its “three nos” defense policy of no alliances, no foreign basing on its territory, and no alignment with a second country against a third. The defense white paper adds that Hanoi is against “using force or threatening to use force in international relations.” At first glance, this seems like a recitation of an obvious norm of international behavior. However, when considered within the context of the recent Vanguard Bank standoff and 2014 oil rig incident, which nearly spiraled out of control, it appears Hanoi is attempting to signal its intent to avoid starting armed conflict with China. The three nos are essentially a means by which Vietnam circumscribes its international behavior to avoid provoking China, so this interpretation is at least plausible. And a Potential Opportunity for the United States Buried within the new defense white paper are also subtle messages of opportunity for Washington. The white paper, for example, uses the term “Indo-Pacific,” noting, “Vietnam is ready to participate in security and defense cooperation mechanisms … including security and defense mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific region.” By using this term adopted by the Trump administration, Vietnam is likely making it known to China that it supports the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. Others may argue that Hanoi intends only to refer to regional security mechanisms within the Indo-Pacific, such as those led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Vietnam is a part. However, discussion of ASEAN occurs separately from the Indo-Pacific in the white paper. Furthermore, Vietnam knows well that words matter. In this case, Indo-Pacific has apparently been uttered only one other time by a Vietnamese leader — during former President Tran Dai Quang’s March 2018 visit to India. Thus, any further mention of Indo-Pacific is quite significant. The defense white paper further notes that “depending on the circumstances and specific conditions [authors’ emphasis added], Vietnam will consider developing necessary, appropriate defense and military relations with other countries.” Although Hanoi in the 2009 defense white paper also underscored the need for strengthening bilateral defense ties with countries that could support Vietnamese national interests, the addition of the italicized clause in the 2019 version indicates there is now a causal linkage between the deterioration of Vietnam’s external security environment and the nations with which it chooses to deepen defense cooperation. A reasonable interpretation of this is that, if China’s bullying behavior in the South China Sea continues, Vietnam might finally promote America’s status to that of a “strategic partnership” — signaling mutual long-term interest to balance against China. Door Is Open for United States, but Only Slightly More Ajar Vietnam’s geopolitical struggle with China presents strategic opportunities for Washington to collaborate with Hanoi in ways that promote the mutual interests of both nations. Hanoi will carefully calibrate collaboration, however, to ensure it remains independent and avoids becoming a strategic pawn in great power competition between China and the United States. Indeed, the defense white paper cautions against allowing the South China Sea to become a “flash point” in great power competition. In real terms, that means Vietnam’s three nos defense policy (or now three nos plus one?) remains sacrosanct. As a result, Vietnam will be highly reluctant to participate in any activities that are likely to antagonize Beijing without China threatening first. As one of us wrote previously, Vietnam, for example, is unlikely to join Australia, India, Japan, and the United States as part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to collectively deal with Chinese coercion because doing so would appear to sanction China’s containment. But there are many other intriguing possibilities that the defense white paper brings up as well. For instance, it identifies nontraditional security issues, ship visits, and multilateral defense cooperation as areas that — if managed correctly — would enable Washington to increase collaboration with Vietnam without upsetting Vietnam’s efforts to balance its bilateral relations between major powers. Nontraditional security issues, such as cyber threats, terrorism, climate change, maritime piracy, and natural and environmental disasters, are not new white paper concepts, but their emphasis in this year’s iteration is noteworthy. The 2009 white paper refers to these issues as a “major” concern to all countries, but the 2019 version stresses the “acute challenge to peace, security, stability and cooperation for development in the region” that these threats present. Collaboration on nontraditional security issues is benign, as Vietnam can work with the United States on them without provoking China. These are also challenges faced by all nations that must be addressed. According to this year’s paper, Vietnam “prioritizes” nontraditional security collaboration “with countries in the region and the world” and “is ready to expand defense relations and cooperation regardless of political regimes and levels of development.” Expanding existing U.S.-Vietnam humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises, such as Pacific Partnership or Pacific Angel to address additional nontraditional threats, may be one way for Washington to take advantage of Vietnam’s strategic suggestion. The defense white paper’s discussion on foreign military ship visits suggests Vietnam intends to expand its maritime collaboration with foreign partners. A 2012 Vietnamese law, known as Decree 104, specifies the rules and regulations for a foreign military ship to visit Vietnam, allowing one courtesy port call each year. The 2019 paper, however, states, “Vietnam is willing to welcome vessels of navies, coast guards, border guards, and international organizations to make courtesy or ordinary port visits or stop over in its ports to repair, replenish logistic and technical supplies, or take refuge from natural disasters.” This suggests Vietnam intends to increase the number of courtesy port calls permitted under Decree 104 and to liberalize its classification of ship visits. A legal revision of Decree 104 would present opportunities for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to increase the frequency of courtesy ship visits and to include repair or replenishment as justification for additional port calls. While Vietnam may calibrate port call periodicity to avoid provoking China, it could also assert its independence by using more frequent U.S. ship visits to signal displeasure over Chinese coercion. Finally, Vietnam’s new emphasis on multilateral defense cooperation enables it to enhance its defense collaboration with global partners. Forums such as the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting, ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus, as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum, promote regional peace and stability, and their military exercises do not target any country, which makes them ideal venues for Hanoi to pursue its defense diplomacy. Unlike previous iterations of the defense white paper, the 2019 version includes an annex that lists Vietnam’s participation in ASEAN multilateral military activities. The inclusion of this annex suggests collaboration in these multilateral military activities is a priority for Hanoi. Washington is a member of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus and ASEAN Regional Forum. Using these settings to deepen collaboration with Vietnam and other ASEAN nations advances the interests of both the United States and Vietnam. Let Vietnam Make the First Move Vietnam’s latest defense white paper is full of warnings to China and opportunities for the United States. In the future, Washington need not force the issue by trying to “convince” Hanoi that it should increase the number of bilateral defense activities. The white paper makes clear that Hanoi gets it. Rather, Washington simply needs to reassure Vietnam that the United States is committed to the relationship by deepening existing military exchanges, which will give Vietnam greater confidence to stand up to China when the time comes. Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. He formerly served as the daily intelligence briefer to the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs at the Pentagon. Capt. Christopher Sharman, U.S. Navy, is a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Stanford University Hoover Institution. He previously served as a Navy attaché in both Vietnam and in China. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. Image: Department of Defense (Photo by Army Staff Sgt. Nicole Mejia)

Pressure is mounting for Australia to get involved in the South China Sea conflict. The battle for the South China Sea is heating up. Vietnam. Malaysia. The Philippines. All have drawn lines in the sandbars against China. But it may already be too late. This past year, Vietnam stood its ground over the right to deploy an oil rig within its UN-mandated waters. Malaysia complained publicly of interference by the Chinese coastguard. The Philippines moved to secure its Scarborough Shoal islands. And, all the while, new nations have been joining the Freedom of Navigation pushback over Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea. China’s aggressive military moves have forced members of the traditionally timid Association of Southeastern Nations (ASEAN) to reassess their stance. Many are already focused on modernising their armed forces, with defence spending in the region doubling over the past 15 years. That spending is moving away from counter-terrorism efforts towards higher-level conventional warfare. But nations like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are beginning to realise they cannot stand alone. September marked a seismic shift in the region’s thinking. Ten Southeast Asian nations joined the United States Navy in five days of war-games. While it involved only eight warships and four aircraft, it marked an unprecedented step down the path towards regional unity. But Chairman Xi Jinping’s bellicose assertion of his nine-dash-line South China Sea policy is yet to be checked. VIETNAM ON THE FRONT LINE Two Communist nations are at the forefront of the South China Sea crisis. Vietnam is defending its UN-mandated territorial rights. China has dismissed them. Despite the immense disparity between the two nations’ economies and armed forces, Hanoi isn’t backing down. Instead, it has taken the lead among its Asian neighbours to assert its borders. For four months, Vietnam’s tiny coast guard stood nose-to-nose against much larger Chinese vessels over the disputed Vanguard Bank oil and gas fields. Hanoi had hired a Russian firm to establish an exploratory rig. Beijing countered, using the guise of sea floor mapping to interfere with its operations. Vietnam threatened to take the dispute to the same international court of arbitration that in 2016 rejected China’s claims over Philippine territory. Beijing was indignant at the suggestion, with a foreign ministry spokesman declaring Hanoi “needs to avoid taking actions that may complicate matters or undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea as well as our bilateral relations”. President Nguyen Phu Trong dug in his heels: “Vietnam would “never concede the issues of sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity.” It’s a stance the United States is keen to encourage. “We will not accept attempts to assert unlawful maritime claims at the expense of law-abiding nations,” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said in a November visit to Hanoi. “The United States firmly opposes intimidation by any claimant to assert its territorial or maritime claims, and we call for an end to the bullying and unlawful activities.” He then announced the supply of surplus US Coast Guard vessels to bolster Vietnam’s fleet. Senior defence analyst Derek Grossman of the RAND strategic think tank says this co-operation is just the first step. “Hanoi could also continue to grow and deepen its web of defence ties with ASEAN countries, Australia, Japan, and Indi,” Mr Grossman says. “Getting those countries to speak up during the next crisis – none did so this time – will be a challenge but not impossible.” And many analysts argue that crisis may be just around the corner. A LOST BATTLE? “The PRC is currently consolidating and normalising control of the SCS seized in 2015 following 20 years of hybrid warfare,” former ADF intelligence analyst Dr Mark Baily warns in an essay published by the Australian Naval Institute. “Their normalisation phase will include civilian settlement of the artificial military base-islands, establishment of a ‘patriotic tourist industry’ and cynical insistence that the artificial military base-islands it forcibly seized are sovereign territory and therefore possess territorial seas and exclusive economic zones,” he wrote. Their existence represents both a strategic and ideological victory for Beijing. The island fortresses extend the range of combat aircraft, ships and missiles. They also act as surveillance platforms over any shipping that passes through the South China Sea. “China’s facilities have probably already reached a level of capability that no outside combatant which enters the South China Sea, however covertly, can be completely confident it is not being tracked,” says Professor James Goldrick of UNSW Canberra. And there is danger in thinking of the island fortresses as China’s “great wall of sand”. It entrenches Beijing’s goal of “regarding the waters that lie between them and the mainland as Chinese territory”. Whether or not these islands are unsinkable aircraft carriers or immovable targets is irrelevant, Mr Goldrick says. “They’re a very public statement of China’s power under its nationalist narrative of “reunifying a supposed ideal Chinese nation-state on equally supposed ideal historical boundaries”. THE NEXT CONQUEST Dr Baily highlights this is the second time the South China Sea has fallen under the strategic control of one regional power. It started with Japan and Britain jostling for diplomatic influence during the 1930s. It escalated into base building and military posturing. It climaxed with the defeat of the British at Singapore and the destruction of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. “The loss of strategic control of the South China Sea has destabilised the region and revealed the PRC to be intent on regional hegemony. This mirrors the strategic situation of the 1930s, which generated a major regional war by 1937 and expanded to general war in 1941. This level of strategic risk is without precedent since the late 1950s and requires responses dormant in Australia since that era.” The objective of Beijing’s South China Sea actions are clear, he argues: “A trade route is being garrisoned via fortress building.” As a result, Dr Baily says, regional nations must band together to block China’s next expansionist ambition. “While the danger has been recognised 15 years too late, initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Maritime co-ordination cell may help prevent losing strategic control of the Indian Ocean.” With the South China Sea virtually secured, Beijing is expected to further ramp up its activities in the southern hemisphere. Particularly, the “belt” between the Persian Gulf and China, along which 43 per cent of its oil supply flows. “This helps explain PRC territorial aggression in the SCS and efforts to dominate the Indian Ocean as part of its Belt and Road Initiative,” Dr Baily warns. “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is acting on national sovereign requirements which ignore the ‘rules-based international order’.” Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer. Continue the conversation @JamieSeidel

1484013727_1483751329

Ninety years ago, a crowd of thousands that included celebrities Charlie Chaplin and Al Jolson poured into Tijuana as the Agua Caliente racetrack opened on Dec. 28, 1929. That opening day at Agua Caliente started an eventful 63-year run of racing at the border track. From The San Diego Union, Sunday, December 29, 1929: Nearly 15,000 Fans Witness Opening Card At New Caliente Oval By Ted Steinmann Before a crowd that filled the stand to capacity and overflowed onto the lawn and walks, a throng of 15,000 enthusiastic followers of the turf, the new new home of the Agua Caliente Jockey club opened its gates yesterday. Advertisement It was a double celebration, a welcome upon the return of the thoroughbred to the Southland and a dedication of the magnificent new $2,500,000 home of winter racing in the west. The plant was all that the throng expected and more. To Scot’s Grey, game 5-year-old gelding from the stable of William R. Coe, New York sportsman, went the honor of winning the inaugural event, the San Diego handicap. The roan ran a game race. Getting to the top on the first turn, the son of Grey Fox II never relinquished the lead, though repeatedly challenged by others in the field of eight. He came on in the stretch drive to win by half a length over Fire Brigade, with Battle Ax, coupled with the winner in the betting, taking the show. CREECH SADDLES WINNER Benny Creech, veteran conditioner of thoroughbreds, now traing the Coe string, saddled the winner, with N. Rechardson riding. Time was 1:46 for the mile and a sixteenth. Advertisement Scot’s Grey took down $1300 of the $2000 purse as first money for Coe, with Fire Brigade winning $425 for P.L. Ciceri. Battle Ax won $225, third money, for Creech, and Scimitar, winner of the Tijuana cup last year, took fourth money for the Agua Caliente stable of James N. Crofton of $50. The latter, top weight of the field and favorite with the throng, which remembered his victory in the Tijuana cup last spring, was away slowly and though coming with a bust of speed in the stretch, could not get up. The winner rewarded at $9.40, $6,40 and $6 in the $2 mutuel machines; tickets on Fire Brigade were worth $28 to place and $19.50 to show, Battle Ax paying off with the winner as the Coe-Creech entry. (The San Diego Union) When Scot’s Grey returned to the judges’ circle Al Jolson, famed “mammy singer,” stepped up as master of ceremonies, while his wife, Ruby Keeler, crowned the winner with a floral shield carrying the emblem of the jockey club. Miss Keeler greeted Jockey Richardson after he dismounted while the newsreel and still camera clicked amid the cheers of the crowd. The premiere of the new course was all that could be expected. True, there were little things to be done here and there, but the racing strip was ready and all major equipment was ready. The beauty of the structures and the completeness of the plant in every detail took the crowd by storm. It came expecting great things and found even more. Wirt G. Bowman, Baron Long and James N. Crofton, the “Big Three” of Agua Caliente, dreamed of a course that would do that, and yesterday the dream came true. Aerial view of the race course of the Agua Caliente Jockey club before it opened on Dec. 28, 1929. The photo shows the back of the grandstand, clubhouse and a portion of the mile oval track. The covered walk from the railroad and sunken gardens are in the foreground with parking spaces to the right. (Photo from Harry Pollok / Agua Caliente Jockey Club) Published The San Diego Union Dec. 24, 1929. Advertisement The crowd began arriving early to view the new plant. By train, automobile and airplane the throng came. After the arrival of the 10-car special from Los Angeles and San Francisco and the major race trains, the stand was well filled and the crowd overflowed onto the lawn. Hundreds thronged the grounds, getting oriented before the first race of the day.

Will you be taking the plunge at the Lyme Lunge and braving the icy sea this afternoon? The Lyme Lunge returns today with thousands of people expected to descend on the town’s sandy beach to charge into the water. The Rotary Club of Lyme Regis’ annual event includes participants donning fancy dress and following the club’s president into the sea at 1pm. This year, the Lyme Lunge is raising money for the Dorset County Hospital chemotherapy appeal and Rotary charities. For more information and updates of the event, search for Rotary Club of Lyme Regis on Facebook. But just before the dip, there’s time to catch the New Year’s Day duck race. The duck race will start at Windsor Terrace at 12noon and finish at Jordan Flats. Ducks cost £1 and will be on sale outside Higher Mill Flats, Windsor Terrace, from 11.15am. The first duck wins £50, the second wins £25, the third wins £10 and the last duck wins £5. All proceeds will go to Lyme Regis Christmas Lights.

1484012841_1483948966

Judges order Ohio to use legislative maps rejected by state court Ohio redistricting news: Ohioans will pick new state lawmakers on Aug. 2 using maps that the Ohio Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional.

The only thing that rivals President Trump’s tally of kept promises is the endless list of inaccurate predictions his critics have made about the U.S. economy. Of course, we heard these apocryphal predictions even before Donald Trump won the 2016 election. For instance, in October 2016, the far-left publication Politico boldly declared that “Wall Street is set up for a major crash if Donald Trump shocks the world on Election Day and wins the White House.” The ability of Trump’s critics to predict our economic future hasn’t improved with age. Throughout 2019, numerous so-called “economists” and “experts” have taken a swing at the president's economic policies, warning Americans that the next stock market crash was right around the corner. DAVID BOSSIE: TRUMP PERSEVERES IN 2019 — STANDS TALL DESPITE RELENTLESS ATTACKS FROM DEMOCRATS AND MEDIA In January, the uber-liberal Huffington Post published a typically baseless piece titled “4 Signs Another Recession Is Coming ― And What It Means For You.” Vox published a similar fear-mongering prediction over the summer, arguing that Wall Street “is at a point where it can’t — or won’t — ignore President Donald Trump’s trade antics and Twitter tirades like it used to.” And who could forget some of the most recent warnings that slam Trump’s trade policy, such as Investor’s Business Daily’s headline: “Stock Market Reaction To Tariffs: Wall Street Has Seen This Before; The End Is Not Good.” Despite the doom and gloom, as 2019 came to an end, the president inched ever-closer to a revolutionary trade deal with China, completing negotiations on what has been called phase one of that agreement. The Trump administration also successfully campaigned to get the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement approved by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, further instilling confidence and optimism in entrepreneurs that the ongoing economic renaissance is here to stay. The Democrats love to make predictions about President Trump’s policies, but they don’t seem to learn from their own mistakes. Not surprisingly (unless you suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome), investors responded. The S&P 500 finished 2019 up 29 percent, its best year since 2013. The Nasdaq finished the year up 35 percent, shattering the 9,000 level for the first time in history. The Dow’s listing of blue-chip stocks rose an impressive 22 percent. These results leave little doubt that investors are fully confident in the U.S. economy – despite the droning criticism from the Left. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER In fact, under Trump, the benchmark S&P 500 has already returned over 50 percent and is performing well above the average under past administrations. These returns aren’t just for the millionaires and billionaires you heard so much about if you listened to the millionaires and billionaires who participated in the Democratic presidential debates describe how they would tank the economy – for our own good. Rather, according to Gallup, about 55 percent of American workers own stocks either individually or through mutual funds or retirement savings accounts, like a 401(k) or an IRA. They have all been positively impacted by stock market growth under Trump and I can guarantee you they noticed. That’s a lot of voters. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP No wonder Democrats have so aggressively pursued an obviously futile attempt to remove the president from office. At this point, it's all they’ve got – and it isn’t much. The Democrats love to make predictions about President Trump’s policies, but they don’t seem to learn from their own mistakes. As Trump said in response to the latest stock market surge, “With new trade deals, and more, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY ANDY PUZDER

1484453991_1484277575

IIT-Kanpur Action after probe report: IIT-K director Statement by : (The headline of the story has been changed. The earlier headline drew from a story filed by news agency IANS. The story has also been updated to include the statement issued by IIT Kanpur.) KANPUR: An internal probe committee of IIT-K which is probing if the protest march by students on the campus against crackdown on Jamia students last month had violated curbs in the city, will also look into alleged raising of anti-India slogans with communal connotation.“A high-level committee investigating the matter from all angles will also probe whether anti-India slogans were raised and communal statements delivered,” institute director Prof Abhay Karandikar told reporters here on Wednesday.When specifically asked whether anti-national slogans were raised during the march, IIT-K director Prof Karandikar said, “The investigation will look into this charge. Any action will be taken only when the report is tabled before us in 15 days.”IIT-K students had taken out amarch on the institute campus on December 17 to extend support to Jamia students, who faced police action during anti-CAA protests.After the march, a faculty member of the institute had given a complaint to the institute administration, alleging the students raised slogans which had an anti-India and communal slant. The institute released a statement through its media cell on December 17, stating a request had come from some students to take out march to protest police action against Jamia students. After consultation with the district administration, the institute declined permission and appealed to students to instead hold an indoor meeting.“Though many agreed, a small number of students had decided to go ahead with the march,” the media cell of the institute had said in the statement.On December 21, Prof Karandikar had written on his Twitter handle — “Institute never permitted any such protest/march. Deputy Director and Dean advised students against such activity. A high-level committee with the power to take disciplinary action has been constituted based on complaints received. IIT-Kanpur system does not tolerate any indiscipline.” A student who did not wish to be named told TOI the protest march was against the police crackdown on Jamia students and they had nothing to do with the amended Citizenship Act or National Register of Citizens. She said the professor, who made the complaint with the institute, had misunderstood the entire matter.In an article published on IIT-Kanpur student’s media portal, students had clarified what exactly happened on the day of protest and how their chant was given a “communal and misleading” turn. The students stated they recited only a few lines of a particular poem in reference to the police crackdown on the students of Jamia.“Since yesterday some media has been reporting that IIT-Kanpur has set up a committee to decide if a poem by poet Faiz is anti-Hindu or not. This is extremely misleading. The reality is that institute received a complaint from multiple sections of the community that during a protest march taken out by students certain poem was read and then subsequently some social media posts were made which were inflammatory. The institute has also received complaints from other sections of the community that a group had tried to block the march. This is incorrect. The institute has set up a committee to look into all these complaints and also see if these complaints are genuine or not and if they are found to be true then what remedial action needs to be taken,” said deputy director, IIT-Kanpur, Prof Manindra Agarwal in a video byte released by IIT-Kanpur’s media cell on Thursday evening. He also said that the committee to probe all these complaints has been set up by the Director. The committee will give its recommendations to the Director after completing the probe.

Kanpur: Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz had rattled the Pakistan political and military establishment from time to time with his revolutionary outpourings. The renowned poet with Left leanings seems to have outraged Indian ‘right wing’ sensibilities too with his litany of protest, Hum Dekhenge, lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge…," a poem that was ironically intended to run down the military despot, General Zia-ul-Haq. In yet another absurdity, the IIT Kanpur has set up a panel to decide whether the poem penned by the atheist Faiz is ‘anti-Hindu’. The poem reads thus -- "Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge. Jab arz-e-Khuda ke kaabe se. Sab but uthwaye jayenge, Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm. Masnad pe bithaye jayenge. Sab taaj uchale jaenge. Sab takht giraye jayenge. Bas naam rahega Allah ka. Hum dekhenge." It is the last two lines of the poem, which have raised hackles and were obviously misinterpreted -- "When all idols will be removed, only Allah's name will remain." Here, it needs to be understood that Zia had tried to use conservative Islam as a tool of repression tool to tighten his tenacious stronghold over the country. In Hum Dekhenge, Faiz called out Zia — a worshipper of power and not a believer in Allah — using imagery of faith as well as Qayamat, the Day of Reckoning. The panel was set up in response to complaints filed by a faculty member who claimed that the students, during a protest, sang this poem which was anti-Hindu. The panel will also probe whether the students violated prohibitory orders clamped in the city on the day of the march, and whether they posted objectionable content on the social media and whether the Faiz poem is anti-Hindu. It may be recalled that the IIT-Kanpur students had taken out a peaceful march on the campus on December 17 in support of the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and during the march, the students sang the Faiz poem. The IIT faculty member, in his complaint, has alleged that the students made anti-India and communal statements during their demonstration in solidarity with the Jamia students. He has further stated that "organisers and masterminds must be identified and expelled immediately." Fifteen other students have also signed the complaint filed by the professor against the protesting students. Meanwhile, IIT students have said that the faculty member who lodged the complaint has been banned on a social networking site for posting communal content. In an article published on the IIT-Kanpur student media portal, the students clarified what exactly happened on the day of protest and how their chant was given a 'communal and misleading' turn. They stated that they had recited a few lines of the Faiz poem in reference to the police crackdown on the Jamia students.

1484189293_1496319911

× Expand Courtesy Midtown At Midtown Sushi & Ramen, from left: Spicy Midtown, New Miso Butter, Seafood Nagasaki Champon ramen Cupcakes and comfort food. Cake pops, feta-and-watermelon salad, and the cult of locavore. Yes, it’s been 10 years since the first decade of the 21st century went into its final innings, 10 years since those were the shiny objects of our culinary attention. Ten more years have gone by—we’ve called it another decennium—and we’re now wondering: What's the one dish that defines this past decade? Sure, your first response might be, “Well, of course, it’s Taco Bell’s chalupa.” Damned right. But let’s face it: Not everyone’s living la vida Bell, and they just don’t get it. And we’re thinking in terms of a dish that doesn’t just appeal to, you know, gourmets like us but that represents a food trend that's fundamentally captured the enthusiasm of the whole country. A dish like ramen. Go back to 2010, and you’d find a dining landscape where ramen was, at best, a salt-saturated Stuckey's along the main highways of gastronomy, a brief stop made mostly by dorm-bound college kid and others looking for a quick, filling, and almost ridiculously cheap meal. Those crinkly bricks of noodles steeped in broth supplied by the packet were, to many, what hardtack was to Civil War soldiers. Nobody thought of it as a holiday feast, but it did the job. Comparing these 20-for-a-buck packages of Maru-chan ramen to the real thing is, of course, like comparing a can of Chef-Boyardee Beefaroni to Misi’s strangozzi with pork sugo. But you get the point. In Japan, wheat noodles were slipped and slurped into the country through Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century. The Japanese took the noodles and ran with the concept, adding broths and toppings and more regional varieties than Ben and Jerry have flavors. Ramen’s popularity popped in the years following World War II. Rice was scarce. Wheat flour, imported by the United States, was plentiful and made for great noodles. In the mid-'50s, instant ramen exploded, and the food that launched a thousand all-night study sessions per year eventually became part of the American food scene. It wasn’t until this past decade, however, that ramen as a serious dish really started cooking. Almost overnight, ramen became a matter of connoisseurship in the United States. On both coasts, Japanese and American chefs introduced some of the classics: Sapporo ramen, from way up in northern Japan, rich with miso; Nagoya’s spicy ground pork ramen; Hakata ramen and its ruinously opulent, milky tonkotsu broth. Some were authentic representations. Others? Well, at least we didn’t have any small-plate, foraged ramen bowls or that featured the José Andrés foam treatment. As expected, those who had slurped ramen in its homeland were dismissive of the attempts and innovations worked in the United States and abroad. What was not expected was that non-Japanese chefs in America’s ramen parlors persisted during the past decade. Some took the route to Japan to apprentice there. Others forged a different path, working to both incorporate their ramen into the mainstream of American cuisine and simultaneously to gently lead Americans to a more traditional version of the dish. What’s unique about ramen is that its roots in Japan are so relatively recent that “traditional” isn’t really applicable in the sense that we often use that word when talking about food. Yes, there are specific regional versions. The truth is, ramen places in Tokyo and everywhere else in Japan have long been playing around, experimenting, pushing boundaries. There are ramen restaurants in Japan serving up kiwi berries in noodle bowls or topped with pizza ingredients, including mozzarella. Many American ramen chefs are taking the same approach. Ramen became popular in the past decade in this country, evolving from that simple college dorm repast into something that's the subject of almost obsessive dedication for its enthusiasts. Yes, we sometimes crave the “real thing," which means the atmosphere of a ramen-ya, as well as the tastes and textures. (When we do, we go to Samurai Noodles, in Seattle’s International District, a place smaller than your doctor’s exam room, with tree stumps for seats and windows perpetually steamed with the cooking of the broth. Yes, it is worth the trip.) Courtesy Ramen Tei At Ramen Tei, white miso broth, tofu, black garlic oil, king oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, bamboo shoots, seaweed, ajitama egg, scallion We also appreciate the innovations of such St. Louis restaurants as the superb Nudo House, Nami Ramen, Robata, Ramen Tei, and Midtown Sushi & Ramen. None of them look like a Japanese ramen shop. They don’t have the same fragrances, the same sounds. Somehow, though, they’ve made the transition of turning what was a purely Japanese dish into an international one. Ramen in the West has managed to retain some of its original character and, at the same time, become a unique expression, a reflection of its adopted home. Not bad for a bowl of noodles.

× Expand FeatureChina via AP Images Robots operate on the production line of LOW-E glass in a factory in Qinhuangdao in northern China’s Hebei province, December 19, 2019. Artificial intelligence, robots, and other advanced technologies are already transforming the world of work—and their impact is just beginning. They’ll grow the economy and make it more efficient. But unless American workers are involved, that growth and technological change will benefit only those at the top. The challenge of making economic growth and technological change benefit all working people and not just those at the top is the same challenge I’ve written about and talked a lot about over the years. It’s the challenge of reversing widening inequalities of income, wealth, and political power. A big part of the solution is making sure workers have a voice and a union. That way they have more bargaining leverage to get a piece of the pie that in recent years has been going almost entirely to the top. We shouldn’t think of emerging technologies as things we have no control over—as if they just happen automatically, inevitably. We have the power to shape technological progress. We need to assert our roles as workers and members of a democratic society to ensure that new technologies benefit all of us. Here are five ways to do so: First, workers need a stronger voice, from the boardroom to the shop floor. Workers at all levels should participate in the design, development, and deployment of technology in the workplace—as they do in Germany. This is not only good for workers. It’s also good for companies that otherwise waste countless dollars trying to figure out how best to use new technologies without consulting frontline workers who are closest to processes and products, and know how to get maximum use out of new technologies. In the early 2000s, Home Depot spent over $1 billion in automation but reduced investment in their workforce. In the end, because workers were left out of the process, many of these automated systems failed and had to be scaled back. Second, if we want corporations to invest in innovation and their workers we need to reform Wall Street. So instead of buying back their own shares of stock to manipulate stock prices and laying off employees to boost short-term profits, corporations can make the long-term investments that are necessary for their competitiveness and for the competitiveness of their workers. Every corporation can get access to the same gadgets. What makes a corporation uniquely competitive is its people—how its workers utilize the new technologies. Third, we need to rebuild strong collaboration between government and business in researching and developing new technologies, so they work for the benefit of all. That’s what we did in the three decades after World War II, when the Defense Department worked with the private sector to develop the internet, telecommunications, and aerospace; when the National Institutes of Health did basic research for pharmaceuticals and medical breakthroughs; and our national laboratories pioneered research on biofuel, nuclear, wind and solar energy. Conservatives often object that it’s not the role of government to steer technological development. Yet most of the cutting-edge technology that’s the crowning achievement of the United States’ private sector was in fact developed as a result of public innovation and public funding. Our government is still steering technological development. The difference now is we have the capacity to steer that development in a way that generates broad-based prosperity, not just jaw-dropping incomes for a few innovators and investors. Fourth, a more open and forward-looking industrial policy can help steer the nation’s economic growth toward combating our central challenges—climate change, poverty, our crumbling infrastructure, costly and inaccessible health care, lack of quality education. Tackling big ambitious goals like transitioning to clean energy can encourage collaboration between different sectors of the economy. Backed by the right technologies, they can also be sources of the good jobs of the future. Conservatives claim the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers. But that’s what we’ve done for years. We already have an industrial policy when the government bails out Wall Street banks, gives special tax breaks to oil, and hands out subsidies to Big Agriculture. But it’s a backwards industrial policy, led by powerful industry lobbyists. We need a forward-looking industrial policy that develops the industries and jobs of the future, and does so openly, in ways that benefit working people and society. Finally, we need to assure that our workers are protected from the downsides: That new information technologies along with their increasing potential for monitoring and surveilling workers don’t undermine worker autonomy, dignity, and privacy. That the use of algorithms to manage workers doesn’t give top management unwarranted power in the workplace. And that workplace technologies don’t make work more unpredictable for millions of workers. Workers need some control over how these technologies and the data they produce are used. And for this they need strong unions. New technologies advancing toward our workplace shouldn’t reduce the standard of living of Americans. They should raise our standard of living. But that won’t happen automatically. Workers need a voice. Government needs a responsible role. We deserve a forward-looking and open industrial policy. And the rules of the game need to be fair. We should all be able to steer the direction of technological change and influence how new technologies affect our lives.

1484011122_1599884608

Seven members of the Barcelona squad haven't been good enough so far this season, according to the results of an AS.com poll in which readers were offered the chance to give a 'pass' or 'fail' verdict on the players' performances in 2019/20. Dembélé once again fails to win over Barcelona fans More than 10,000 AS.com users have taken part in the survey, whose chief initial conclusion is that, for the third year in a row, Ousmane Dembélé has failed to win over the Barça fans: 87% of voters opted to hand the Frenchman a 'fail'. In addition to Dembélé, the supporters have also given the thumbs-down to Junior Firpo, Moussa Wagué, Samuel Umtiti, Jean-Clair Todibo, Carles Aleñá and Arthur Melo - a player whose Camp Nou career is currently in free fall. Also of note is that Antoine Griezmann has just made it into the 'pass' group, with Nélson Semedo the only individual to get a lower positive percentage than the summer signing, who is ranked as Barça's 13th-best player of the season. Full screen De Jong has been given the thumbs-up by the Barcelona fans. LLUIS GENE (AFP) De Jong the best signing, Ter Stegen takes top spot Frenkie de Jong has been deemed the Catalans' most successful new recruit this term, coming third in the standings behind only Lionel Messi and Marc-André ter Stegen, with the goalkeeper actually beating the Argentine into second place. The top three are followed by Gerard Piqué, Clément Lenglet, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suárez and Arturo Vidal. The high marks given to Rakitic and Vidal are particularly noteworthy, given the difficulties they have both had in getting game time. Barcelona squad - pass/fail rankings: 1. Marc-Andre ter Stegen - PASS (93% approval rating) 2. Lionel Messi - PASS (90%) 3. Frenkie de Jong - PASS (84%) 4. Gerard Piqué - PASS (80%) 5. Clément Lenglet - PASS (78%) 6. Ivan Rakitic - PASS (76%) 7. Luis Suárez - PASS (73%) 8. Arturo Vidal - PASS (70%) 9. Neto - PASS (65%) 10. Sergi Roberto - PASS (61%) 11. Sergio Busquets - PASS (60%) 12. Jordi Alba - PASS (60%) 13. Antoine Griezmann - PASS (58%) 14. Nélson Semedo - PASS (56%) 15. Arthur Melo - FAIL (46%) 16. Carles Aleñá - FAIL (43%) 17. Jean-Clair Todibo - FAIL (33%) 18. Moussa Wagué - FAIL (32%) 19. Samuel Umtiti - FAIL (32%) 20. Junior Firpo - FAIL (23%) 21. Ousmane Dembélé - FAIL (22%)

The Passion Translation (TPT) 6 My son, if you cosign a loan for an acquaintance and guarantee his debt, you’ll be sorry that you ever did it! 2 You’ll be trapped by your promise and legally bound by the agreement. So listen carefully to my advice: 3 Quickly get out of it if you possibly can! Swallow your pride, get over your embarrassment, and go tell your “friend” you want your name[a] off that contract. 4 Don’t put it off, and don’t rest until you get it done. 5 Rescue yourself from future pain[b] and be free from it once and for all. You’ll be so relieved that you did![c] Life Lessons 6 When you’re feeling lazy, come and learn a lesson from this tale of the tiny ant. Yes, all you lazybones, come learn from the example of the ant and enter into wisdom. 7 The ants have no chief, no boss, no manager— no one has to tell them what to do. 8 You’ll see them working and toiling all summer long, stockpiling their food in preparation for winter. 9 So wake up, sleepyhead. How long will you lie there? When will you wake up and get out of bed? 10 If you keep nodding off and thinking, “I’ll do it later,” or say to yourself, “I’ll just sit back awhile and take it easy,” just watch how the future unfolds! 11 By making excuses you’ll learn what it means to go without. Poverty will pounce on you like a bandit[d] and move in as your roommate for life.[e] 12–13 Here’s another life lesson to learn from observing the wayward and wicked man.[f] You can tell they are lawless. They’re constant liars, proud deceivers, full of clever ploys and convincing plots.[g] 14 Their twisted thoughts are perverse, always with a scheme to stir up trouble, and sowing strife with every step they take. 15 But when calamity comes knocking on their door, suddenly and without warning they’re undone— broken to bits, shattered, with no hope of healing.[h] Seven Things God Hates 16 There are six evils God truly hates and a seventh[i] that is an abomination to him: 17 Putting others down while considering yourself superior, spreading lies and rumors, spilling the blood of the innocent, 18 plotting evil in your heart toward another, gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong, 19 spouting lies in false testimony, and stirring up strife between friends.[j] These are entirely despicable to God! 20 My son, obey your father’s godly instruction and follow your mother’s life-giving teaching.[k] 21 Fill your heart with their advice and let your life be shaped by what they’ve taught you.[l] 22 Their wisdom will guide you wherever you go and keep you from bringing harm to yourself. Their instruction will whisper to you at every sunrise and direct you through a brand-new day. 23 For truth[m] is a bright beam of light shining into every area of your life, instructing and correcting you to discover the ways to godly living. Truth or Consequences 24–25 Truth will protect you from immorality and from the promiscuity of another man’s wife. Your heart won’t be enticed by her flatteries[n] or lust over her beauty— nor will her suggestive ways conquer you. 26 Prostitutes reduce a man to poverty,[o] and the adulteress steals your soul— she may even cost you your life![p] 27 For how can a man light his pants on fire and not be burned? 28 Can he walk over hot coals of fire[q] and not blister his feet? 29 What makes you think that you can sleep with another man’s wife and not get caught? Do you really think you’ll get away with it? Don’t you know it will ruin your life? 30 You can almost excuse a thief if he steals to feed his own family. 31 But if he’s caught, he still has to pay back what he stole sevenfold; his punishment and fine will cost him greatly. 32 Don’t be so stupid as to think you can get away with your adultery. It will destroy your life,[r] and you’ll pay the price for the rest of your days. 33 You’ll discover what humiliation, shame, and disgrace are all about, for no one will ever let you forget what you’ve done. 34 A husband’s jealousy makes a man furious; he won’t spare you when he comes to take revenge. 35 Try all you want to talk your way out of it— offer him a bribe and see if you can manipulate him with your money. Nothing will turn him aside when he comes to you with vengeance in his eyes! Image courtesy of pixabay.com. Used with permission.

1484013827_1484245335

Laura Farber is the first-ever Latina president of the Tournament of Roses Association, which organizes the nation's most famous New Year's Day parade. (Courtesy of Tournament of Roses) Laura Farber, a native of Buenos Aires, is the newest president of the Tournament of Roses Association, which puts on the nation's most famous New Year's Day parade. Farber is also the board chair, and as the first Latina president in the Tournament's history, she's part of a continuing effort to increase diversity at the venerable volunteer organization. To that end, Farber named three Latinas to serve as co-grand marshals: actresses Rita Moreno and Gina Torres, and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. Farber also asked that the B-2 pilot who flies over the 2020 festivities be a woman (wish granted: Lt. Col. Nicola Polidor). She also chose this year's theme, "The Power of Hope (El Poder de la Esperanza)." She told us the choice was inspired by her and her husband's immigrant experiences (he's from the Dominican Republic), and fueled by a desire to see a divided country come together in the new year. MAKING HISTORY The pantheon of past presidents includes just two other women (who served in 2005-06 and 2012-13). Farber is the first Latina and native Spanish-speaker to work her way up to the post. Becoming president is an eight-year ascent that starts with serving as a vice-president on the executive committee, then as secretary, treasurer and executive vice-president. Farber attributes her rise, in part, to a mechanism put in place relatively recently to increase diversity in an organization that was traditionally white and male. She got her Tournament start as one of the executive committee's five "at-large" members, whose two-year terms are intended for women and people from minority backgrounds, allowing them to "sit at our policymaking table, to make decisions about the direction that we're going and to also have an opportunity to display what they love and know and then go back into our membership," Farber explained. Farber also noted that the Tournament of Roses runs community outreach efforts such as the queen and royal court, high school student ambassadors and the college intern program. "You have to have a pipeline, or else it becomes difficult to continue what your institution is trying to achieve, which is reflecting our diverse community," she said. The theme of the 2020 Rose Parade is "The Power of Hope (El Poder de la Esperanza)." ( Courtesy of Tournament of Roses) THE APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION THINGS THE PRESIDENT DOES "Well, it is a lot of time. I'm not going to say it's not," Farber said of her main job, which is serving as the ambassador of all things Tournament of Roses. Her work includes dozens of speaking engagements and decisions that must be made long before the first float glides down Colorado Boulevard on New Year's Day, including choosing the theme, artwork, and grand marshal(s), as well as scouting and selecting bands. Her other duties include reaching out to local schoolchildren. "I have made it an important emphasis to go to schools all over the place to read at libraries in Spanish and English, and to just be out there," she told us. The Tournament president also runs the executive committee's bi-weekly meetings and the board of directors' quarterly meetings, and shows up in support of membership events. Farber is also an employment law attorney with Hahn and Hahn LLP (a Pasadena firm that has provided four previous presidents), and a mother of two school-age kids. "This is beyond a full-time job, but I love it," she said. "I don't see it as a job. I see it as giving back, and I've enjoyed every moment." WHAT FLOATING FLOWERS HAVE TO DO WITH WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE Farber could barely contain her excitement about some of the notable entries in the 2020 Parade, including two floats that celebrate the 100th anniversary of women nationwide receiving the right to vote. Huntington Library is also celebrating a centennial, with tableaux from its famous gardens. And the California Mayflower Society funded a replica pilgrims' ship to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth Rock. Farber also selected three "honored guests" to ride together in a car: the first Latina astronaut Ellen Ochoa, actress Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on Sesame Street for nearly half a century, and the Spanish-language Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrín. 2020 Grand Marshals (left to right): Laurie Hernandez, Rita Moreno and Gina Torres. (Courtesy of Tournament of Roses) LISTEN TO THE MUSIC Farber said this year's parade has the largest number of international bands ever — from Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Japan, and an all-female marching band from Denmark. But it's a Moreno Valley band that she was anxious to highlight: Rancho Verde High School's Crimson Regiment. Many of the student musicians are from low-income and military families, and their school district provides free uniforms and free instruments and maintains them so that socioeconomic status doesn't stand in the way of involvement in the band. "Most of their kids are AP and honors students," she said. "That will be the most phenomenal, hopeful band. That will be the embodiment of The Power of Hope." Another entry in this year's parade is the Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band, which includes musicians from Farber's alma mater, Alhambra High. TELL US ABOUT THE HORSES The noble steeds who drew the festooned carriages in the first Rose Parades have remained well-represented through the ensuing years. The 2020 edition features 17 equestrian entries, ranging from Buffalo Soldiers and the last Marine Corps Mounted Color guard to women rodeo riders and members of the Valley Hunt Club, which staged the first Tournament of Roses in 1890. Farber said first-timers include the Horsewomen of Temecula Wine Country — "eq-wine" for short. "We have a whole group of amazing diverse equestrian riders. It's going to be fantastic," Farber said. YAY CIVIC PRIDE "I'm very excited about this parade. You can probably sense that!" Farber said. It's a sentiment shared by many in the San Gabriel Valley, which reaps a bounty of tourist dollars from the estimated 800,000 parade goers. But that enthusiasm is not limited to the SGV. Valley cities including La Cañada Flintridge, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Alhambra create float entries, but Burbank, Torrance and Downey also have their own floats this year. Some, including La Cañada's, are built and decorated by their residents. "It means so much to so many people, this tradition — but also innovation," Farber said. "We believe in the balance between tradition and innovation. And that has been an important theme. And we are trying to carry that out in so many different ways." One way is the addition this year of a mid-parade performance between the opening and closing numbers that are relatively new to the procession. HOW MUCH MONEY DOES THIS GENERATE? "Everyone wants to have a wonderful new year. And that's why "The Power of Hope" was selected [as the theme]," said Farber. She said the Tournament of Roses is documented to generate an annual $200 million economic impact. Revenue generated by visitors goes up when out-of-state teams play the football game, and the upcoming Rose Bowl match-up will pit Oregon against Wisconsin. Hope is high among hoteliers and restaurateurs in the area, she said. WHEN VEHICLES BREAK DOWN It happens almost every year. Things break. Accidents happen. But the 2019 parade was notable for what went wrong. The Chinese American Heritage Foundation float caught on fire, right at the corner turn onto Colorado Boulevard in full view of television cameras. Nobody got hurt, but it caused a lengthy backup, and the final few entrants didn't get their moment to shine on live TV. Farber was asked about preventing a similar mishap. "We've made some changes in terms of improvements — once again, innovations. And so we are confident that we won't have something like that happen again," she said. "We want to make sure that the entirety of our parade goes down that route." TRASH, TRASH, TRASH The Rose Parade generates literally tons of trash. Some gets swept up during the parade by the Pooper Scooper patrol that follows the horses. More gets sucked up by giant vacuums that come along at the end. Trash is not Farber's focus — that's the city's job — but she did say that "not only is it collected, but now we have composting. We have recycling. We're doing a lot of things, in collaboration with the city and all our other partners, so that this does not become landfill." The city reported in January that Pasadena Public Works collected about 90 tons of trash along the parade route and inside and outside the Rose Bowl after the last round of festivities, a 4% decrease from 2018. The city also said more than 10 tons of clean cardboard and over 10,000 beverage containers were recycled.

Who could blame Sandra Brockman for strutting through the crowd at the Rose Parade in a pair of red shorts? With temperatures in the high 50s, Southern Californians wearing hoodies and stocking caps shivered around her. But Brockman, 60, basked in the sunlight. She had come to the 131st annual Rose Parade from blustery central Wisconsin with her 85-year-old aunt, Helen Haydock, whose hometown of Wisconsin Rapids declared a snow emergency this week. After Haydock’s husband, a man with whom she had traveled the world, died in June and the Wisconsin Badgers made the Rose Bowl to face off against the Oregon Ducks, she decided to come to Pasadena to see in person the floats she had admired on television for years. “Of course I support Wisconsin,” Haydock said, “but I really wanted to see the floats.” Advertisement The Rose Parade — started in 1890 as a promotional event by a local social club to show off Pasadena’s famously mild winter weather — kicked off this year under postcard-perfect blue skies, ringing in the new year with the theme “The Power of Hope.” For many, the Rose Parade has become a wholesome annual respite from the divisive politics gripping the nation. On Wednesday, the parade took place at the start of a new decade and the beginning of an election year in which President Trump is running for reelection after being impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Sheldon Fuller, a 39-year-old South Pasadena attorney, first saw the Rose Parade as a teenager with his father but said the cheery display is more powerful than it ever has been, with “so many mass killings [and] impeachment.” “I think it’s beautiful,” Fuller said. “There’s all walks of life who put on a cultural exposition.” Advertisement Some election-year politics were scattered throughout the parade route. One group of Bernie Sanders supporters walked through the crowd yelling, “Feel the Bern!” to the tune of the classic chant, “Olé, olé, olé.” For Andy Au, the Rose Parade was an opportunity to promote Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Au, a 55-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from South Pasadena, posted up in the middle of Colorado Boulevard in the predawn hours with a flashing bike light and a Yang sign. Au, who said he did not work for Yang’s campaign, called the candidate “completely out of the box.” A few passersby made snarky remarks when they saw Au passing out fake $1,000 bills with Yang’s face on them. One float, featuring a 30-foot Statue of Liberty covered in eucalyptus leaves, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Beside the float, women walked in long white dresses and suffragette sashes. The floats rolled along without any significant hitches, unlike last year, when the Chinese American Heritage Foundation’s float caught fire near the beginning of the parade route on Orange Grove Boulevard. The UPS Store float, which won the Sweepstakes Trophy for beauty, suffered mechanical issues and had to be towed by a massive white truck — a rare sight because the balky floats each have their own driver skilled at slowly maneuvering through the 5.5-mile route. The float, which was 35 feet tall and 55 feet long, featured tamarin monkeys with bright orange hair made of layered marigold petals and toucans with glistening black seaweed feathers. This year’s parade also was a celebration of diversity, overseen by Laura Farber, the first Latina president of the Tournament of Roses Assn. and an immigrant from Argentina. The parade also had three Latina grand marshals — Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, actress Gina Torres, and Emmy-, Grammy-, Oscar- and Tony-award-winning performer Rita Moreno. Advertisement Honored guests riding the route in a 1915 Pierce-Arrow Model 48 were legendary Spanish-language Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrín; actress Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on “Sesame Street”; and astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina to go into outer space. Alyssa Conde, 20, of Downey felt a pride being surrounded by fellow Latinos in the crowd — a joy that was heightened when she saw Costa Rican and Salvadoran dancers grooving in the parade. A throng of Salvadorans near her waved their country’s flag and cheered. “I feel very proud,” said Conde, who is Mexican American. “I know our people have gone through a lot, especially in Mexico and El Salvador, but they’re being heard.” Miguel Santoscoy, 24, of Canoga Park said he appreciated that there was more cultural representation, especially for Latinos, this year. “I’m glad they’re taking it more seriously than before,” said Santoscoy, who has Mexican roots. Gerardo Echavarria, a 50-year-old South Gate electrician, was attending the parade for the second time and immediately picked up on the increased Latino representation. “I was pretty emotional because I’m Mexican, and to see bands representing my country was amazing,” Echavarria said. His friend, Luis Recalde, a 54-year-old Huntington Park salesman, has attended for six years and said that in the past the event looked “very commercial.” But Wednesday’s lineup helped bridge a gap for those who “want to feel near their country,” said Recalde, who is Argentinian. Advertisement A float by the Sikh American Float Foundation featured a colorful tree made of walnut powder, lemon seeds, coffee and coconut powder, as well as a huge figure of Bhai Ghaneya Singh Ji, a devout Sikh known for giving water to wounded soldiers on both sides of an armed conflict. Marching bands from Japan, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico performed, and a group called Helsingør Pigegarde from Denmark made a statement by being the only all-female marching band in the parade. The crowd danced — and Twitter lit up — as East L.A. rock band Los Lobos performed “La Bamba” from atop a float. Esprit Jones, 39, of Pasadena staked out a spot near the end of the route, where she hoped to “cheer on the bands as they finished.” She held her 7-year-old daughter, Brielle, who sported pink earmuffs with a unicorn horn. Jones has been bringing Brielle, who noted that she could “smell the ponies” from the sidewalk, to the parade for the last four years because she wants her to be exposed to all kinds of people coming together to have fun. “There are so many ideas and different cultures here,” Jones said. “It’s beautiful to see us all together for one cause, even if it’s just for a day.” Wearing an Oakland Raiders hoodie under a black pea coat and gray scarf, his mitten-covered hands clasping a hot cup of tea, Stephen McGee was attending his first Rose Parade. The 39-year-old from Long Beach has watched the parade for years on television and finally came this year with his girlfriend, whose family has been attending for a decade. “I’ve been putting it off every year,” McGee said before the parade began. “I’m ready to experience it. ... Everyone has been so nice and engaging.” Proving that even the less glamorous parts of the Rose Parade can be festive, two volunteers cleaning up horse manure with a shovel and barrel strutted down Colorado Boulevard wearing poop emoji hats. Another volunteer, Ger Alderson, compared being part of the pooper-scooper squad to going to Disneyland. “It’s the funnest, most exciting thing!” said the former kindergarten teacher from Thousand Oaks. Alderson, 68, and her husband, Will, both grew up watching the parade every year. They keep up the tradition to honor Will’s late father, who loved the event. This year they enlisted the help of their neighbors, Rich and Cathy Hanson, to clear manure from the parade route. The four wore Dr. Seuss costumes handmade by Alderson, drawing roars of cheers and laughter. Will Alderson, a retired firefighter, was dressed as the Grinch. But he couldn’t hide that he was giddy. He loved being a pooper scooper. Times staff writers Laura J. Nelson and Erin B. Logan contributed to this report.

1484013620_1484035601

A fun evening with a sophisticated flair will benefit the Augusta Symphony. “We thought we’d try a different approach,” said Anne Catherine Murray, the symphony’s executive director about the organization’s annual fundraising gala, Augusta Symphony 003, which will be held Jan. 11 at the Miller Theater. The past two Januaries have featured concerts with Tony Award-winning performer, Sutton Foster. This year’s event will give a nod to the famous fictional spy James Bond. The symphony will be playing James Bond themes with singers from the Mepro Music Production company in Vienna, Austria. The company has been licensed to create several shows including The Music of Bond. Other shows in its repertoire include the music of John Williams, magical moments with music from Harry Potter movies and another show based on the music of romantic movies. The music will be familiar to 007 fans. Some of the Bond songs that will be in the concert include the theme from “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Skyfall” and “Goldfinger.” There will also be instrumental selections. Murray said there will be a few film clips shown during parts of the concert. Not only will there be the music of Bond, but there will be other Bond touches throughout the night. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a reception with light hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. Patrons can imbibe Bond’s famous “shaken not stirred” martini, the Vesper. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. There are two levels of support. Platinum is $250 per person, and gold is $175 per person. Platinum supporters will receive valet parking and will be guests at an after party in the Knox Music Institute. The after party will feature “indulgent” hors d’oeuvres, full bar and an immersive Bond experience. “It’s going to be a really great event,” said Murray who added that the committee has a few secrets that members haven’t even shared with her yet. Murray said the black-tie fundraiser has taken the place of multiple smaller events throughout the year. Attendance has been high for the past couple of years as the community has rallied around the renovated Miller Theater. She hopes for similar attendance this year and said that supporters will be in for a memorable night. Tickets for the gala are available through the Augusta Symphony’s website, augustasymphony.com, or at the Miller Theater Box Office at (706) 842-4080.

Destiny 2 Bungie There are a lot of discussions about the current state of Destiny 2 and what it’s doing with its “fill in the gaps” seasonal model, which will be in place for the indefinite future. But here in the beginning of 2020, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to start looking ahead to the end of 2020, which is when the new generation of consoles will arrive with Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Normally, we have a pretty regular pattern as to how these things go. Early adopters buy new consoles and most new games are out for both the new and old systems for a while. And in this case, it seems like both Xbox and PlayStation will have some level of backward compatibility. For a game like say, God of War, that seems relatively straightforward, as there might just be the ability to play it as-is with backwards compatibility, or at most, they re-release it with PS5-level “upgrades.” For a game like Destiny 2, it’s a much, much more unique situation, given the ongoing nature of the game. And as such, I have about ten trillion questions about how this is going to work with the next generation of consoles on the horizon. Man, where to start? Destiny 2 Bungie Could Destiny 3 be a next-gen launch title? This seems pretty unlikely to me, and yet I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question. It would make sense for there to be a “clean slate” refresh with the launch of the new console generation to some degree, more so than when Destiny 2 wiped out Destiny 1 in the middle of the last console gen, at least. But I can also imagine there just being another Forsaken-sized expansion instead as the big content drop of the year, a culmination of the changing seasons’ worth of content before it. But how does that work with old and new gen? Now that we have cross save, theoretically you could have the ability to play on both say, PS4 and PS5 simultaneously, rather than having to port characters forward like we did with PS3 > PS4. Though cross play could be a different story, and I would wonder if say, you start playing on PS5, if you’re able to play with your friend still on PS4 without going back to that version yourself. What upgrades would Destiny have on next-gen? You would assume that console players could finally get the 4K, 60 fps console experience they have been yearning for, though other upgrades past that are a question, which leads me to my next point. Wouldn’t developing for last-gen hold Destiny back? This is the exact same problem we ran into in the PS3/360 era, where Destiny 2 was finally the game to throw off the shackles of the previous gen and expand dramatically as a result. Presumably the power of PS5 and Xbox Series X means that Destiny could be bigger and more beautiful than ever. And yet will Bungie still need to be developing for PS4 and Xbox One owners for years, holding back the potential of the new gen systems? I would worry about that. Here’s my theory. Destiny 2 Bungie My guess is that we get a cross-gen expansion for Destiny 2 in the fall, one that plays on both PS4 and Xbox One, and also PS5 and Series X. When played on the new consoles, we might get to see some PC-level improvements to load times and framerate, but it’s not like Bungie is going to debut some top-to-bottom next gen engine rebuild or something. Then, my guess is that we get Destiny 3, or whatever it will be called (something Destiny 3-sized at least), maybe a year or two into the next generation of consoles. And it will be fully next-gen, leaving the past games behind and, yes probably making us start over from scratch again in terms of our loot. This will be the moment when big, big changes come to the series and we might see more significant improvements due to the capabilities of the new consoles (and as ever, PC). It is probably too early for Bungie to start talking about any of this, we still have several more seasons to get through before fall, but given that next-gen launches this year, I do think these are questions to be asking and theories to be forming. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Pre-order my new sci-fi novel Herokiller, and read my first series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook.

1484189574_1484212280

What are you looking for? Cost of Living in Melbourne Crime in Melbourne Climate in Melbourne Food Prices in Melbourne Gas Prices in Melbourne Health Care in Melbourne Pollution in Melbourne Property Prices in Melbourne Quality of Life in Melbourne Taxi Fares in Melbourne Traffic in Melbourne Crime > Australia > Melbourne Crime in Melbourne, Australia Compare Melbourne with: Melbourne ? Add data for Melbourne Do you live in Index Crime Index: 44.49 Safety Index: 55.51 Crime rates in Melbourne, Australia Level of crime 46.72 Moderate Crime increasing in the past 3 years 68.09 High Worries home broken and things stolen 42.54 Moderate Worries being mugged or robbed 39.09 Low Worries car stolen 34.58 Low Worries things from car stolen 40.82 Moderate Worries attacked 43.00 Moderate Worries being insulted 45.51 Moderate Worries being subject to a physical attack because of your skin colour, ethnic origin or religion 30.45 Low Problem people using or dealing drugs 55.52 Moderate Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft 53.41 Moderate Problem violent crimes such as assault and armed robbery 46.07 Moderate Problem corruption and bribery 34.98 Low Safety in Melbourne, Australia Safety walking alone during daylight 73.92 High Safety walking alone during night 43.98 Moderate Contributors: 515 Last update: February 2019 These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high. Tweet Do you live in Melbourne? Yes, I'm willing to do a survey

The fires in Australia continue, and chilling images and video show the scale of the destruction in all of the states and territories. At least eight people have died since Monday, and seven are missing. Over eleven hundred homes have been lost this fire season in New South Wales alone. New Zealand journalist Rebekah Holt is in Melbourne and joins us as the sun rises through the smoke in Australia this morning. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP

1484188969_1484211715

There’s a massive hole in 2020. A blind spot, if you will. Next fall, new consoles arrive. That doesn’t affect us much on the PC side, but it does mean everyone’s playing cards close to their chest at the moment. Holding onto surprises. Keeping quiet about quite possibly the biggest games of 2020. So as we look towards the coming year, keep in mind we’re only seeing half the picture—if that. And yet it’s still pretty damn impressive, with Cyberpunk 2077, Doom Eternal, and Dying Light II headlining one of the most packed spring lineups I’ve ever seen. Oh, and lest we forget, there’s a new Half-Life game releasing in March. These are exciting times, friends. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - March 11 When Microsoft announced Ori and the Will of the Wisps at E3 2017, I don’t think I ever imagined it would take until 2020 to release. Here we are though, and at least it’s early 2020. Regardless, the second Ori outing looks every bit as beautiful as the original. It’s got that same soft watercolor look, lots of dark blues specked with pink and green and red highlights. I’ll be curious how the sequel ups the challenge for veterans without making it unapproachable for newcomers—the original struck a tight balance. But either way, I can’t wait to play it finally. It’s more about the spectacle for me anyway. Half-Life: Alyx - March No, it’s not Half-Life 3. After more than a decade, Valve’s finally putting out a new Half-Life game though, one where you play as Alyx in the events leading up to Half-Life 2. A pre-sequel, to borrow a phrase from Borderlands. The catch? It’s VR exclusive, a showcase for Valve’s Index headset—and for Oculus, the Vive, or any other PC VR setup you might own. That’s undoubtedly frustrating for anyone who hasn’t made that investment yet, but perhaps Half-Life: Alyx can be as groundbreaking for VR as Half-Life 2 was for physics engines all those years ago. We’ll see. Doom Eternal - March 20 Doom Eternal was supposed to unleash hell last November, but fell victim to a last-minute delay. Now it’s ripping and tearing its way through March instead. As we’ve said before, Doom Eternal is just “More Doom,” and that’s not a bad thing. With nearly four years separating the reboot and its sequel, I certainly haven’t tired of semi-mindless run and guns, especially ones that play this slick. Hopefully it’s been delayed for the last time, and we can all get to murdering demons in the near future. Resident Evil 3 - April 3 The Resident Evil 2 remake was one of our favorite games of 2019. Using the core story beats of the 1998 original, the updated Resident Evil 2 reimagined Claire and Leon’s adventure with a proper over-the-shoulder camera, a more grounded tone, and an ingenious map. It’s the first Resident Evil game I’ve ever truly loved. For 2020, Capcom will try to work the same trick again and resurrect Resident Evil 3. I didn’t expect it this soon, but nor am I complaining. Cyberpunk 2077 - April 16 When we saw the first Cyberpunk 2077 demo at E3 2018, I doubted it could run on current console hardware. I still doubt it, honestly. CD Projekt is determined to prove me wrong though, scheduling Cyberpunk 2077 to release in April. It seems impossible it could live up to the hype, seven years after the original teaser trailer and five years after The Witcher 3. But then again, I would’ve said the same about The Witcher 3 and it’s one of my favorite games this decade. Maybe the favorite. Dying Light 2 - April? We haven’t seen nor heard much from Dying Light 2 since E3 2019. That’s...worrisome. It’s an ambitious game, and when ambitious games go radio silent I assume they’ve been delayed. I wouldn’t be surprised, either. Dying Light 2 is doing branching storylines on a massive scale. The demo we saw at E3 2019 ended with an entire district emerging from underwater, a section of the city you’ll only see if you make certain choices along the way. As Techland put it, “It’s not about which ending you get, but how the city looks when you finish the game,” claiming you’d only see 50 percent of the content in any given playthrough. Pretty cool, but it sounds like a lot of work. Wasteland 3 - May 19 Five years after Wasteland 2 took home our Game of the Year prize, the sequel’s almost ready. What we’ve played so far seemed very cold, with the Desert Rangers trading out sweltering Arizona for the frozen wastes of post-apocalyptic Colorado. It’s still very much Wasteland though, with satisfying turn-based combat and skill checks galore. And given InXile’s track record, I’m sure the writing will be solid. My only hope is that the Microsoft acquisition gave InXile time not only to add more content, but to polish what was already there. I don’t want to wait for the inevitable Director’s Cut this time to get the game as InXile originally intended it. Baldur’s Gate III Will Baldur’s Gate III release in 2020? I have my doubts. Google announced it as part of the Stadia launch lineup though, and Stadia has...technically launched. Theoretically that means Baldur’s Gate III will also arrive in the near future. Theoretically. If it does make it out, it’ll be fortuitous timing. Baldur’s Gate II turns 20 next year, a nice round anniversary worth celebrating with a long-awaited sequel. That said, I’m happy to give Larian as much time as it needs. Following up one of the most beloved CRPGs of all time can’t be easy. Empire of Sin Brenda Romero’s apparently waited decades to make Empire of Sin, a hybrid real-time strategy/turn-based tactics game set in the Prohibition Era. I’m glad it’s finally getting made, because it has some really neat ideas. Foremost among them is what Empire of Sin calls RPCs or “recruitable player characters.” These are your gang members, and they’re not just faceless grunts. They have personalities, relationships with other characters, dreams and desires. You might recruit a character only to find out her lover’s in a rival gang, and then be able to exploit that—or have it come back to haunt you when she refuses to fire at her lover at a crucial moment. It’s an interesting wrinkle to consider, though I’m curious how often these situations will present themselves outside a demo. We’ll see. Next page: 2020 games, continued

MONROE, Mich. (AP) — A southeastern Michigan police officer is credited with pushing two people out of the path of a suspected drunken motorist who nearly slammed into them and then fled the scene. Monroe police said the officer had pulled over a vehicle early Sunday along the city’s Telegraph Road when an SUV came barreling toward the back of his police cruiser. The officer quickly pushed two people over the roadway’s guardrail to prevent them from being hit, Monroe Police Capt. Jon Wall told WDIV-TV. “He heard what sounded like a car slamming on its brakes, which was squealing the tires, which alerted him to look into that particular direction,” Wall said. The SUV went up on a sidewalk before its driver put it in reverse and fled the scene. Police pursued the SUV and soon arrested the motorist. Walls said the suspect is facing several charges, including fleeing, resisting and obstructing.

1484037576_1484254284

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after officers allegedly shot and wounded a man in St. Catharines. ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after officers allegedly shot and wounded a man in St. Catharines. The Special Investigations Unit says the incident happened on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, when Niagara regional police officers arrived at a home where a man reportedly had a knife. The agency says the officers found the man, and there was some sort of interaction between them. It says the officers then shot at him, and he was hit several times. The SIU says the man was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The arm's-length agency is automatically called in to investigate reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2020. The Canadian Press

HALIFAX -- Halifax police have launched an arson investigating following a structure fire in an apartment building. Halifax Regional Police say several callers reported smoke in the Victoria Road apartment building on Wednesday afternoon. No one was hurt and tenants were temporarily evacuated as firefighters extinguished the blaze. Police say fire investigators confirmed the fire was intentionally set and handed the probe over to officers. The arson investigation is ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2020.

1484450532_1484534854

(MENAFN) The car manufacturer FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd. said that the sales of its Audi brand in China have hit a new high record of sales in the previous year 2019. The country has remained the company's largest single market in the globe as Audi vehicles that were sold in China in the earlier year posted an increase of 4.2 percent since the earlier year to set at 688,888 vehicles. Domestically made models like the recent Audi A6L, new Audi Q5L, Audi A4L and other big models saw significantly good performances as their total sales hit 630,800 vehicles. New Audi A8L sales registered an increase of 21.6 percent since the earlier year to set at 12,428 and a total of 58,088 Audi cars were imported to the country. MENAFN0201202000450000ID1099497208

(MENAFN) Official data showed that the chemical sector in China showed a stable growth in the starting 11 months of the earlier year of 2019. The National Development and Reform Commission of China showed that the value added output of the sector increased 4.5 percent since the earlier year, which means 0.8 percent faster than the same period of the earlier year 2018. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the major goods output increased in the period, the processing capacity of crude oil rose 6.7 percent since the earlier year to come in at 593.18 million tones, the chemical fiber output increased 13.5 percent to 54.93 million tones. The commission said that the industry output has reached 8.3 percent since the earlier year in November, posting an increase of 6.6 percent in the same period of the earlier year in 2018. MENAFN0201202000450000ID1099497763

1483803515_1484920778

Tollywood star Mahesh Babu, who will be seen in Sarileru Neekevvaru, took to social media and shared an emotional new year message with his fans, friends and family. While celebrities are taking to social media to wish their fans for new year, social media is flooded with new year wishes from across the world. Tollywood star Mahesh Babu, took to his social media space and shared an image. In the image, his new year wish to his fans and well-wishers was written. The Tollywood superstar could be seen as a gangster in his film after Sarileru Neekevvaru. The actor is currently busy with the promotions for his upcoming movie Sarileru Neekevvaru. “The end of a remarkable year, I would like to thank God for all his blessings, my family for loving me unconditionally, my friends for always being there for me, my fans for their unwavering love and support. Thank you for making 2019 an exceptional year! Wishing you and your loved ones a phenomenal 2020,” He wrote on the microblogging site. Meanwhile, Mahesh Babu’s Sarileru Neekevvaru, which will be the actor’s 26th film. It has Rashmika Mandanna as the female lead and the makers recently released first teaser of the film. It set high curiosity among the fans of Mahesh. While we can’t wait for the release of the movie, a new photo of Mahesh from the shooting has been going viral on social media. The superstar shared the monochrome picture on his Instagram. Sarileru Neekevvaru will be released during Sankranti 2020. The superstar will be seen as an army man in the film. Directed by Anil Ravipudi, the major part of the film has been shot in Kashmir. Credits :Twitter Read More

Life New Year, Same You What if, instead of “New Year, New You,” you decided you were satisfied with the course you had already set? What if you’re already happy with who you are? This doesn’t have to mean you have to stop improving. Change and growth are healthy. It just means: if you were already doing the right things in the “old” year—wouldn’t you want to keep doing them? For me, challenge is one of my values. I want to set big goals and attempt hard things. But it’s not a new value; it’s one I’ve had for a while. If I ever lose interest in challenging myself, I suppose that would be a new me. It’s just not a version of myself I’m remotely interested in. Two years ago, I was in a dark place and feeling uncertain about a lot of things. Since then, I’ve made a number of changes in my life, both large and small. Many, many times in the months that have passed, I’ve looked up from whatever I’ve been doing with a sense of wonder. I can’t believe I’m here, I think. I’m so glad I was willing to walk through that dark place. I kid you not, this happens to me at least several times a day. I hope it never ends. All things considered, I was pretty happy with 2019—and while I hope to continue to grow and improve, I don’t need a full-on transformation this year. If you’re happy with the version of yourself you already have, maybe the question to ask at this point is: how can I be better than before? Which is not the same as being totally different, because there’s no reason to change what you’ve worked so hard to achieve, accomplish, or become. Happy New Year! ### Image: Erwan

1484039359_1484478322

Tom Brady Uses Protection Stones, And Other Top 'Talkers' Of 2019That time the six-time Super Bowl champion revealed that his supermodel wife has him use protection stones... Boston's Favorite Spots For Inexpensive Italian FoodLooking to satisfy your appetite for Italian fare without breaking the bank? Boston's Best Day SpasIf you are looking for some pampering and relaxation, maybe a day spa in the place for you. Here are the top rated spots in Boston. To Do List: Holiday Pops, Harlem Globetrotters & Outdoor SkatingThe kids are just about on Christmas break and you’ll be looking for ideas to get everybody out of the house and moving. Small Bites: Where To Celebrate National Cupcake Day In BostonCupcakes are having a moment, and with good reason. Here are some of the best in Boston. Weekend To Do List: Ski Chalet In The City, Holiday Market, Tea Party ReenactmentWant to cozy up by the fire of an après ski chalet – in the city? It's just one option on this weekend's To Do List.

WEYMOUTH - Oh, baby! It’s a boy. The first South Shore baby of 2020 was born at 1:26 a.m. at South Shore Hospital. The hospital says Baby New Year weighs 7 pounds, 8 ounces and he is 19¾ inches long. The family declined to be interviewed. Mother and son are resting comfortably. UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency, estimates that 400,000 babies will be born on New Year's Day. In the United States, 10,452 babies wereexpected on Jan. 1. In Boston, Dominick was born at exactly midnight at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, making him the city’s first birth of 2020.

1484037338_1484173131

A STUNNING mansion with Mediterranean-style sea views and infinity pool is up for grabs for £3million - in Torquay. The jaw-dropping seaside home was expertly designed to make the most of panoramic views of spectacular Tor Bay, with photos showing off the luxurious interiors. An infinity pool makes the most of the gorgeous views from the home... in Torquay, Devon Credit: Bournemouth News Infinity House has been owned by the same family for nine years but it is now on the market Credit: Bournemouth News The sprawling living room is clean cut and white Credit: Bournemouth News The stunning property is in one of the most exclusive areas of Torquay in Devon Credit: Bournemouth News The five-bedroom property is in one of the most exclusive areas of Torquay in Devon and could now be yours if you have a spare few million. Just a few of its drawcards include a huge living space that opens out to an infinity pool, along with a cinema and outdoor entertainment areas. Beyond the outdoor heated pool are the gardens below and then the blue sea. Hamish Humfrey, of Knight Frank, said: "This is an exceptionally luxurious waterfront home. "The design and the quality of finish make it one of the best houses that I have seen in the area. "Every room has been expertly designed to take advantage of the panoramic sea views over the infinity pool and panoramic sea views beyond." The property is currently being used by a family, who have lived there for nine years. And a future owner can look forward to using the three story hillside home's main living space with a separate drawing room, a study and two balconies. Kitted out in stylish white, most rooms make the most of the magnificent views on offer. Even heading upstairs is an impressive affair, with a bespoke winding staircase leading to the first floor. The three story hillside home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms Credit: Bournemouth News Just one of the impressive five bathrooms in the luxurious home Credit: Bournemouth News On the ground floor in the main living space with a separate drawing room Credit: Bournemouth News The lower ground floor has a cinema and entertainment room Credit: Bournemouth News The pool lit up at night shows the stunning fit out of the home Credit: Bournemouth News The home has a bespoke winding staircase Credit: Bournemouth News The entire house takes advantage of panoramic views Credit: Bournemouth News The home's ultimate selling point is its large living space that opens out to an infinity pool Credit: Bournemouth News A separate annexe which has two more bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and an office Credit: Bournemouth News The pool is so close to the living space its almost possible to dive in straight from the sofa Credit: Bournemouth News The luxury home is up for grabs for £3m Credit: Bournemouth News MOST READ IN NEWS Latest 'FLY HIGH' Three BA ‘angels’ killed and stewardess, 25, fighting for life after NYE crash 'THEY'RE DEAD' Couple stabbed to death 'by ex in 4am knife rampage as witnesses screamed' Exclusive HALF WAYNE LINE Wayne Rooney builds full-size footie pitch at his £20m 'Morrisons Mansion' BLOODY RIDDLE Caroline Flack’s boyfriend claims it’s NOT his blood on her bed in horror pic Exclusive BEDROOM BLOODBATH Shocking pic shows Caroline Flack's blood-soaked bed after 'lamp attack' Breaking FIND HER Desperate search for girl, 15, who vanished in dressing gown and slippers on NYE It comes after a five-bedroom home in London left house hunters feeling ill over its bizarre number of plug sockets. Meanwhile a house which was featured on Grand Designs went up for sale for £1.1m - the same price as a one-bed flat in Notting Hill. And this mum revamped her cracked leather sofa for £20 by giving it a lick of paint.

MURDERS of three homeless people whose deaths “are connected” have raised fears a serial killer is stalking Louisiana’s streets - and those who live on them. Officials were so alarmed by the murders that a news conference was called Friday to warn people “there is danger in sleeping outside,” ABC reported. 1 Baton Rouge police urge homeless not to sleep outdoors after 3 killings they think are related. Just hours before, a 50-year-old homeless man was found dead of a single gunshot wound on the porch of a vacant home, according to WBRZ. Police Chief Murphy Paul told reporters whoever is behind the slayings seems to be targeting “homeless, and therefore vulnerable,” people. “We do believe that it was incumbent upon us to provide the public, the media and the service providers that provide services to our homeless that there is danger in sleeping outside,” he said. Friday’s killing was about two blocks from the location of a Dec. 13 double-homicide in which two people were gunned down beneath an overpass. The victims, a 53-year-old woman and 40-year-old man, were both homeless, police said. Investigators at the time reported no known motive for the murders, WBRZ reported. But since identifying a potential connection between the murders, Baton Rouge cops have requested FBI and state police assistance. A member of the city’s homeless community, Amanda Owens, told The Advocate she and others were on edge. Owens said the deceased were rumored to have been sleeping when they were shot “execution-style.” “It’s like - do I have a target on my back, or what?” Owens said. She added: “We’re kind of wondering if it’s a serial killing-type thing.” MOST READ IN NEWS Pictured 'RIP ANGELS' BA stewardess, 20, killed in crash with cabin crew pals weeks into dream job BLOODBATH Mum-of-three, 39, 'stabbed' to death with new lover 'after kicking out husband' MID-AIR DEATH Passenger dies on easyJet flight from Alicante to Newcastle on New Year's Day Latest FOUND SAFE Two cousins aged eight and 12 who vanished from home at 1am found safe and well Exclusive PAEDO PAST Karen Matthews’ fiancé is a paedophile caged for 5 years for abusing a girl KILLER INFERNO Australia fires map: Where are the blazes in Australia? wrongmove Couple's fury as £300K dream home 'floods with sewage & washes clothes with poo' Exclusive BEDROOM BLOODBATH Shocking pic shows Caroline Flack's blood-soaked bed after 'lamp attack' Exclusive HALF WAYNE LINE Wayne Rooney builds full-size footie pitch at his £20m 'Morrisons Mansion' Latest 'FLY HIGH' First pic of BA 'angel', 23, killed alongside two cabin crew pals in NYE crash All three victims were visible from the street and killed nearly in the open, The Advocate reported. That detail has led those who work closely with the community to urge those who choose or are forced to spend the night on the streets to find more concealed sleeping areas.

1483805573_1484265728

× An Alabama woman texted ‘I feel in trouble’ before she disappeared, mother says A woman who disappeared after leaving an Alabama bar had texted a coworker that she was with strangers and felt she was in trouble, her mother says. Paighton Houston, 29, visited the Tin Roof bar in Birmingham on the night of December 20, her family says. She was last seen leaving the bar with two heavy-set black men, Birmingham police say. She appeared to have left the bar willingly with the two men, police say. But a text she sent that night to a coworker indicated she thought she might be in peril, her mother, Charlaine Houston, said in a Facebook post. “If I call answer, I don’t know these people and I feel in trouble,” the text reads, according to her mother. Paighton had driven to the bar with the coworker earlier in the day, the mother wrote. Her bank account has had no recent activity, and calls to her cell phone go straight to voicemail, her family says. Paighton Houston lives in Trussville, roughly a 15-mile drive northeast of downtown Birmingham. She was last seen wearing ripped blue jeans, a coral-colored T-shirt and blue Converse shoes, police said. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has offered a $5,000 reward for credible information in the search for Houston. Crime Stoppers also is offering a $5,000 reward. “In the midst of the busy holiday season, it is critical that we support Paighton, her family and law enforcement to ensure we do everything possible to bring her home,” Ivey said.

Wallbridge Wallbridge law firm in Timmins donated $5,000 to both Living Space and Project Love during the holidays. Almeda Wallbridge, seen here on the left, with Lynda Lloyd Geddes from Project Love, said, “At Wallbridge Wallbridge, we know that misfortune can change people’s lives in an instant – we are proud to contribute to these two worthwhile organizations who are working to ensure that everyone in our community is safe, warm and fed during the holidays and throughout the year.” Submitted